After considering the materials for the exterior walls of the hotel that the children suggested, we as teachers selected one for the children to work with...
Cloth.
Using the work happening in the sandbox as inspiration, we teachers constructed a mini-model of their hotel.
And then with sketchbooks in hand, we asked them to consider how the exterior walls might look. We made note of parts such as windows and doors and we reminded them that the cloth could look like their other construction materials, that of wood, brick, or cement.
For added inspiration we also shared images from the story The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater.