Ordinary carpentry students can make a birdhouse or an ornament box, but the carpentry club at the Milwaukee Jewish School in Whitefish Bay has taken on a bigger and more significant project. Led by teaching assistant and carpentry expert Jim Solinski, students in grades 6 through 8 build a tiny house for veterans in Racine.
The idea of the project stems from the desire to teach practical skills by strengthening the school's core values. “I've been studying carpentry (at school) for seven or eight years and I've always thought it would be fun to do something like home maintenance or basic electricity. "I was told about a donor who wanted us to provide skills-based offerings that kids could use later in life," Solinsky said.
The idea gained momentum as a way to expose students to other career options.
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“Not everyone is ready for a four-year college. Some students are more interested in careers or a two-year technical school," Solinski explained.
© Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Students work with assistant professor Jim Solinski on a small house under construction at the Milwaukee Jewish School in Whitefish Bay on May 2. Sixth through eighth grade carpentry students are building a 128-square-foot home that will be brought to Racine at the end of the school year for veterans to live in.After studying with Veterans Outreach Tiny Houses at the Veterans Village campus in Wisconsin, Solinski visited his father, Dr. Gerald Solinski, who worked as a dentist at an Air Force base in South Dakota in the 1950s.
"We noticed that each tiny house was built by a different company," Solinsky recalls.
When Michael Rembalski contacted the director of program services to ask if the school's carpentry club could build a tiny house, the response was encouraging. "The idea of building a military village house was completely open. And they said: "In any case, we will take it," Solinsky recalls.
But students are not satisfied with bad work.
"This project is amazing," said Veteran Village Coordinator Danielle Opale. "I'm a grown man and I can't hang a shelf without watching a YouTube video, but these kids are building a house."
In January, students traveled to Racine to meet a former resident of the Little House.
"The students met Glenn, a graduate of the program, who had a wonderful attitude," Solinsky said. "He is a very nice person and he answered all the students' questions."
Glenn Miller served in the US Army from 1984 to 1992 and lived at the Veterans Village for two years. Johnson credits the program with preparing him to work full-time and live in his own apartment. Miller is highly respected.
"This place literally saved my life," Miller said. “I think it's really fun for the kids to build this house. It's just wonderful."
The village has common areas such as common areas, dining room and toilets/showers. But having a separate place to live is an important part of preparing veterans for life after the program.
"Our tiny houses allow veterans to get back on their feet when they need to. They allow them to take care of themselves, pay off their debt, go to school or find a job without worrying about the monthly housing payment," said Opal.
"Sometimes you just want your own place and be alone. A small house is like an apartment or a place where you can read a book, watch TV and do whatever you want," Miller explains.
© Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Seventh graders work in a small house at the Whitefish Bay Jewish School in Milwaukee.The Jewish Day School construction site is adjacent to the school's parking lot, but starting construction in January has its own challenges.
"For the first few weeks, I tried to design and explain in the classroom, but we had to go outside and start working," Solinsky said. "So we got together and it was mostly good. I shoveled the snow off the stage a few times and the kids had to cuddle under the heater, but they were great."
He was under pressure, aiming to deliver the house before the end of the school year in June.
"I would only see the kids every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and we weren't making enough progress," Solinsky recalled. "I tell them we have to work overtime on Sundays, and I make that time optional. They love it. We meet from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. and we always ask, 'Can we...can we? Stay until 4:00?' "
Until recently, carpentry students were always excited about the tiny house project. The parents of the school have requested that only the first and last names of the students be used in this article.
"The [school's] core values are kindness, wonder and tikkun olam, which (in Hebrew) means giving back to the world. Kindness is us making an effort, fixing the world and showing compassion because we care about our elders," said sixth-grader Matan.
© Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sixth graders build a small house May 2 at the Milwaukee Jewish School in Whitefish Bay.Students appreciate the talent and mission of the project.
"It's great fun - cloves and warm up ... I hope it's really cool. All these veterans are homeless, they need financial, spiritual and other help." said the seventh-grader, Bailen added.
"I think it's very important to help veterans, they've helped our country, we should give it to them when they need it," said sixth grader Sam.
Learning practical skills is a bonus. "If I go camping and want to use the generator, it will help me figure out how to do it in the future," he said.
"I like to build and I know I'm helping someone. I've learned how to use tools," said Sabella, a sixth grader.
"I learned how to board a window and use a nail gun," answered Rafi, a seventh grader.
"Officers are a good way to make a living. Right out of high school, you can enter a career and live a good life, and it can give kids a taste," said Solinski. .
But children do not taste all the elements of the process. "A couple of the kids asked me if they could go up on the roof and I said no," Solinsky added.
Anyone who has managed a construction project can understand Solinski's lack of budget as a life lesson.
“A good learning experience is that I budget and all the materials go up. "We had some unexpected things," Solinsky said. "The people at Veterans Outreach didn't want the walls to be plaster because they were fragile. They preferred wood walls, which are probably four times more expensive than plaster. So even with the most generous donors, it would still take about four thousand."
© Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Teaching assistant Jim Solinski and students picket fences at a small house under construction at the Milwaukee Jewish School in Whitefish Bay. Solinsky wanted to give his students real-world experience.Visit mjds.org to support the students' efforts and small home project.
This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Carpenter's room comes true: Jewish day schools build tiny house for veterans.
