Students learn life skills with makeshift village

Building Funky Town at Kila School was a month in the making.

Friday was the big day to invite visitors in with a welcoming proclamation by Funky Town Mayor, 8-year-old Jasmyn Young Bird.

“It really means a lot that you are all here,” Young Bird said.

She is one of second-grade teacher Amanda Aleman’s students who designed the town, worked and shopped in its numerous stores. All her classmates had campaigned for mayor by writing speeches, but Young Bird said she was elected mayor, noting that she is responsible, organized and a good communicator.

The town is complete with a hospital, post office, library, 911 dispatch center, recycling center, fishing pond, music studio, pet store, jewelry store, pizza shop and bakery.

“The students came up with ideas on their own to make our community a better or more enjoyable place,” Aleman said. “They set up the stores all by themselves, created the products and they had to solve problems on their own.”

Before the stores opened, students stood up in front of the room and enticed customers with sales pitches. The second-graders changed the tone of their voices and became animated to show off their products. Ten-year-old Jacob Sauer’s pitch to sell a football field elicited delight and surprise from Aleman and his classmates when he ad-libbed a line he hadn’t practiced before: “If you don’t buy it you won’t have the muscles you’ve been dreaming for.”

Nazar Shostak, 8, let customers in on a little secret during his sales pitch, lowering his voice.

“I also want to tell you a secret. It’s the only pet tiger in Funky Town,” Shostak said.

After the sales pitches, students handed out Funky Town money to guests. Students earned the money by working in the shops, completing classroom assignments and having good behavior.

Every aspect of the town contained lessons on leadership, management, application, problem-solving, responsibility and creativity.

“They had to interview family members about their jobs and the tools they use. We read books about different jobs. They filled out job applications to work in the stores,” Aleman said. “Today, half the class are working in the stores and half are customers. All have had to work in the store and be a customer and think of a creation to make the town better,” she added.

As soon as the stores opened for business, a line of customers formed at the bakery overseen by 8-year-old Carley Wehr.

Earlier, Wehr pitched brownies that were “not too big or too small.”

Across from her, 8-year-old Anna Tretter sorted through a pile of recyclables at the Getting Green recycling center. On a different day she worked in the pizza parlor.

“My favorite part was serving the pizza. The hardest part was taking the orders and giving the correct amount of change,” Tretter said.

Sauer, who earlier had pitched his football field, was assigned to work at the Neverland Pond where fourth-grader Logan Denning was fishing with a pole made out of a yard stick and a magnet as a fly. Casting his line made out of yarn, Denning reeled in a paper fish by a metal paper clip. On the back were math problems.

“I’m going to fish the rest of the day. Fishing is my life,” Denning said.

His fourth-grade class had been invited to visit Funky Town.

“I did this in second grade. I worked at the music job,” Denning said.

Funky Town is created about every two years, Aleman said. The success of the town depends on students who don’t mind hard work and are independent.

“We try and open Funky Town for about an hour every day. It’s really cool to see it all come together,” Aleman said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.