Instruct each child in your class to draw a diagram of the type of house she wants to build out of paper. Tell children to make drawings of the outside front and back of the house as well as the sides. Also, give them time to draw each room they want to include. Let them tell you about the various rooms in homes including kitchen, bath, bedrooms and living rooms.
Discuss foundations with your class. Explain that though they will be constructing their project out of paper they still need to create a foundation for the house to sit upon. Help your kindergarten students construct various shaped foundations out of thick cardboard. Describe crawlspaces to them so they can leave space between multi-layers.
Assist the children in creating rooms with walls to attach to their paper houses. Instruct them to refer back to their drawings for help. Encourage each student to find ways to firmly anchor the walls. Card stock works well for this part of the construction.
Tell each child to put double-thick card stock for the outside walls of the house. Help them cut out a couple of windows. The front piece should have a door cut out which you can then use brass fasteners to reattach, making it possible for the door to be opened or shut. Then, assist them glue two pieces of the stock together prior to affixing the walls to the foundation. Let all elements dry prior to continuing this project.
Tell students to begin construction on the roof for their houses. For some designs, this might require more than one piece. Talk to them about various types of architecture which might help them decide on a triangular, flat or domed top for their houses. Help the students measure the pieces that will be required before they begin cutting them out. Assist them in gluing on the roofs and, again, allow the pieces to thoroughly dry.
Instruct students to begin decorating the outside of their houses. Set out a variety of items such as water color paints, crayons, markers, buttons, pipe cleaners and other small objects along with glue and paste. Encourage creatively in such things as adding shutters, chimneys, drain spouts and gutters. Children can take their projects home with them in order to work on the inside rooms.