SANDPOINT — Home School Academy students put their math, art and science talents to use in building toboggans with only cardboard, duct tape and paint.

While the project was all about teaching them design and engineering, Thursday was all about fun as they got to test out their projects during the school's "end-of-winter celebration" at the Schweitzer Fire Station.

For the school's first "Cardboard Classic," 9-year-old Rafael McGehee and his team designed "The Flying Fruit Bowl," though that wasn't the first choice of a name for their toboggan.

"Since the bottom is completely silver, we thought about it being 'The Silver Wind,'" he said.

After the rest of the toboggan was painted in orange and pink, however, Rafael said his teammates decided on "The Flying Fruit Bowl" — a fitting name for the colorful contraption.

Rafael's brother, 11-year-old Joaquin McGehee, designed "The Duck" with his team, which he said was named for the duct tape they used that was decorated with duck symbols.

"The Moose," "The Pig," "The Bat," "The Blue Heron," "The Flying Fire Van," "The Fruit Bowl," "The Angels," "USA 17" and "The Pink Comet" were also chosen names for the toboggans.

Home School Academy director and teacher Melinda Rossman said the kids learned a lot from their first toboggan-building experience.

"They were already talking about how they would build them for next year," Rossman said after the toboggan runs.

The Home School Academy is now up to 82 students on the roster for the upcoming spring session, and Rossman said she has been in conversation with several more families as well.

"I know we will start next school year at 100 strong," she said, adding that when the school moves into a new building by that time, she will be able to accomodate 100 kids without feeling crowded.

The Home School Academy has thus far been held on the second story of a building across Division Avenue from Sandpoint Middle School. Rossman said she is excited to be moving the school into the Special Services building in front of Sandpoint High School. In the new building, she said, the school will be able to offer four sessions simultaneously, which students can rotate through, taking up to three sessions per day.

Rossman said she has been scheduling a lot of lessons and activities outside the school, but in the new building she will be able to do a lot more on-site, including bringing in subcontractors to do lessons. She will incorporate an art studio, a science studio, a culinary arts studio and more, she said.

"There is just so much happening," she said. "It's like my educational dream has come true."

The kids and parents always have good things to say about the school as well. When asked what his favorite part of the Home School Academy is, Rafael said "Almost everything," including snowshoeing, skiing and learning how to build toboggans. Joaquin said his favorite thing this year was skiing at Schweitzer. Joaquin and his schoolmates built snow caves as well, he said, which proved somewhat difficult.

"Last time we went there was to make igloos, and then it snowed a lot," he said. "So the next time we went there to build our snow caves, the first layer was completely ice."

As the winter session comes to an end for the Home School Academy, the spring session is slated to include tutoring and science on Mondays; Wild-Crafting, invention time and dance on Tuesdays; theater, music, culinary arts arts and art on Wednesdays at the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint; environmental field days on Thursdays; and the final day of the week will continue to include "free-form Fridays" and Latin lessons.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.