To show children the importance of team building and getting to know each other, Fall City Elementary counselor Kelly Stinson created the Fall City Families program last fall.

‘Families’ are students in first through fifth grades, put in groups of 10 and led by teachers and school staff. The school has 56 families, each with two students from each grade level. The groups provide an experience outside of a typical, everyday classroom. There are no actual family members or anyone from the same class in a family.

“As a staff, we were looking to see how we could create a nice school culture,” Stinson said.

One Friday each month, families spend 45 minutes working on team building activities and establishing connections among grade levels.

For example, in December, families watched a short film, Harold and the Purple Crayon. It tells the story of a 4-year-old boy who lets his imagination draw his way to distant places. Taking Harold’s lead, families worked together to create their own adventures with one purple crayon, telling their families’ own imaginative story. Pupils each worked together to create their own unique story mural.

The feedback Stinson has gotten from staff on the family activities has been entirely positive. Students were excited to see each other during the day, at lunch and on the bus. They began to see themselves as a unit, no matter the age or grade level.

“Kids reached out to those in their families, and embraced them as friends,” Stinson said.