Rooms and Reflections : Downs Hotel

Hello again, friends.

Today I want to welcome you to Downs Hotel...

Otherwise known as, our latest school project.

The idea to create our own little hotel as a way of studying hotels in our homeschooling, came last month when I took the kids to visit a lavish 5-star hotel in our area.

(Look at that mirror!)

This hotel is about 45-minutes away from us, in Kohler, Wisconsin, and is such a treat to visit.

My mother came along, too, and we made a day of it!

I told the kids we'd do a study on hotels by visiting one, asking lots of questions, then recreating the experience at home.

They were excited to try it!

(The lobby displays some of the original china that was used here 100 years ago.)

Before we left home we wrote down our questions for the concierge.

The kids had questions like...

~ How many different job titles are here?

~ How many visitors come through in one day?

~ Is there a dress code for the workers?

~ How many rooms do you have?

etc...

I happened to notice a framed certificate on the lobby wall that looked like a recognition from Forbes.

When I asked the concierge what kind of standard needs to be met to get attention from Forbes, she told us that, "Everything must be exquisite, and done to perfection."

Even their cafe is beautiful and unique...

We learned that the stained glass walls were imported from England then bought at auction by Mr. Kohler many years ago.

It's simply called, The Greenhouse.

Isn't that lovely?

We all enjoyed an ice cream cone here...

When the time came to create a "hotel" at home, we used our observations from our field trip, and the information the concierge gave us, for our ideas and inspiration.

For example, the lobby had some games and puzzles out, inviting visitors to relax and enjoy...

So the children included games in our hotel lobby...

We enjoyed browsing through the hotel gift shop and selecting something to purchase...

So the children remembered to include a gift shop as well...

In preparation for Downs Hotel, each child picked the job description they wanted for themselves.

Then they were responsible for gathering the items and clothing they would need to perform their job, as well as setting up an area for it in the house .

Here they are the morning of Downs Hotel...

Welcome! Come on in and meet our staff!...

Elsa was our concierge.

Here she is ready for a days' work of greeting customers at our front desk...

Soren was our doorman, but he also ran the gift shop...

Nola wanted to be the maid...

Roman was our restaurant host and chef.

He named his restaurant the Black Horse Cafe...

And I was the hotel manager...

As you can see, we all dressed the part and wore name tags. Roman did a great job of making our name tags, as well as all the signs for the hotel...

He even worked with Micah to create a Downs Hotel brochure.

The pictures I took of it are not that good, but for documentation sake I will include them...

The kids wrote an "About Us" description...

Roman said he wanted our hotel to be over 100 years old!

It was our concierge's job to make sure each guest received a brochure upon checking in at the front desk.

Which leads me to my next point... We invited some of our relatives over to experience the accommodations at Downs Hotel.

Here they all are enjoying lunch at the Black Horse Cafe...

I am so thankful for family members who are willing to come over and "play" with us...

(A close-up of the menu Roman created.)

Some tips I can share with you if you want to create something like this in your homeschool...

I allowed the kids to explore this whole idea all the way through to the end of their imagination.

I did not micromanage it or force anything on them.

They designed Downs Hotel according to their inspiration and interests, not mine.

I was just there to help and allow their ideas to come to fruition.

So, when the kids said they wanted the hotel to have a pool, I encouraged them to stretch their creative muscles and make a pool...

(Notice the No Diving sign, water cooler, and towels, haha!...)

The funny moment of the day was when our housekeeper announced she had worked hard enough and was going on break. We then found her relaxing by the pool like this, haha...

Another tip I can share that worked out really well is we put together envelopes of toy money (purchased from the Dollar Tree) that were given to each guest when they checked in. That way our customers had "money" to spend at the gift shop and restaurant.

This gave the kids a good opportunity to conduct transactions with customers and practice change counting.

The last tip I'll share is to remember to have some employee training before the event and hold a staff meeting right before everyone arrives.

This was helpful to make sure we were all ready and on the same page.

At our staff meeting I reminded the kids to stay in character and play up their part!

"Remember," I said, "She isn't Aunt Jenna today, you are to call her Mrs. Phillips. And Grandma is a customer today, so don't ask her for gum from her purse!"

Haha!

I encouraged them to check on our customers and say things like, "So, where are you fine folks from? Are you enjoying your stay? Let us know if you need anything."

(The kids thought this was really fun!)

Overall, I thought our idea for Downs Hotel turned out well and was a great learning experience for the kids...

(Taking lunch orders.)