Winners to be featured on Neal Communities’ holiday card designs
LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL. (November 10, 2025) — Hundreds of students at the new Skye Ranch School are participating in the Neal Communities “My Favorite Home” art contest. Taking place for the 24th time, the annual art contest gives elementary students an opportunity to design their vision of an ideal home, with winners in each grade level selected at an event on November 18. The top three home designs will be featured on the Neal Communities, Neal Signature Homes and SimplyDwell Homes holiday cards.
The top 10 designs for each grade level will be displayed and judged at an event taking place on November 18 at 9 a.m. at Skye Ranch Elementary, with the top designs chosen to be featured on the Neal holiday cards. The contest invites young artists to express their ideas of home and feature a vibrant mix of realistic and imaginative interpretations, ranging from classic houses to whimsical creations like pumpkin houses, tree houses, and hobbit houses.
“The process has been relatively easy when discussing houses with the students,” says Skye Ranch Art Teacher Amber Richter. “Some immediately had an idea from the get-go, but others had a harder time coming up with an idea for a house because it can be a very broad subject. To help spark inspiration, students were shown a variety of house examples, both real and imagined, allowing them to use these as creative jumping-off points.”
Kindergarteners explored individuality through the book “The Big Orange Splot,” learning the importance of making their houses a reflection of their own interests, just as the story’s characters do. For grades 2-4, unconventional homes such as windmills, lighthouses, and other imaginative dwellings captured the students’ imaginations, encouraging them to personalize their work and build upon the details to make each piece truly unique.
“The children love the idea of living in something that seems like it is out of a story book,” Richter says. “They have really enjoyed creating their houses and then building further on the detail to personalize it and make it their own.”
Fifth and sixth grade participants took the theme even further, designing homes inspired by their passions and hobbies—including Nike shoes, baseballs, and football helmets—demonstrating that creativity knows no bounds.
“I wanted the students to see that individuality in our lives and artwork is important,” Richter adds. “Students in grades 2-6 used a variety of mediums like pencil, color pencils, crayons, markers, and watercolor.”
Neal Communities donated $5,000 to the school for its participation in the contest, including $1,500 for supplies to execute My Favorite Home. The remaining donation will go toward the purchase of art supplies for the school.
“Since we are a new school, there are many supplies that we need that we will be purchasing with these funds,” says Richter. “Oil pastels, glaze for ceramics, higher quality color pencils, watercolor pencils, construction paper, the list is long! We have hundreds of students, so our materials get used very quick.”
