(Lakin, KS)--School teachers know there's a fine line between learning in the classroom and applying it to the real world. One teacher in Lakin thinks she may have found a way to bridge that gap.

"My purpose as a teacher in life is to prepare them (students) for life, not just the state assessment," says Lakin Middle School teacher, Wendy Hill.

A math teacher for 16 years, Hill wanted to find a way for her sixth grade students to apply what they learned in the real world.

In 2007, she started a mock version of Extreme Home Makeover. Using her own house, each year she takes the Lakin sixth grade class to her home, gives them a floor plan, a tape measure, and puts them to work.

Students measured nearly every facet of her property, from fences to countertops to the roof. Hill says the best part about the project is seeing her students use the skills taught to them in class.

"It's kind of fun to learn hands on and not in a textbook," says one sixth grader.

The next stage of the project involves the class going to Home Depot in Garden City where they'll be allocated a budget. They'll have to buy the supplies needed for their portion of the house without going over.