Animal Studies with the Hawks

by Kristin Finch

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This spring was filled with exploration, building, researching and a lot of rain! The weather may have seemed unsuitable for lots of outside time to some, but not the Hawks. We suited up in all our outdoor gear, rain or snow because it was snowing into the spring, and ran outside! The Hawks built amazing structures, fashioned instruments out of natural materials, played soccer and kickball, rode bikes, and especially played in a lot of mud!

Our theme this year is Animals. Hawks love all animals! Our study of the scientific classification groups and various species led to the share of so much knowledge throughout the class. Our games of I'm thinking of an Animal became more complex and it was amazing to hear the children use the vocabulary to ask the question like “Is it an invertebrate?” or “Is it a mollusk?” Many of these questions led to discussion to narrow it down because they did alway know the answer, thinking about if the body segmented, how many legs the animal had if any, etc. 

        Together with the Owls and Eagles, we have had many field trips that have contributed to our animal study and knowledge. In the second half of the year we returned to Hildene to learn about the black capped chickadees and their amazing growing brain that helps them remember thousands of locations they have tucked away food to survive our harsh winters. We explored at Smokey House Center, seeing their beaver pond, multiple dams and lodges and were lucky enough to catch beaver tracks in the mud. We had a multitude of other experiences and trips throughout the year as well.  We had Bike Day, where we rode to the rec park, two trips to SVAC, once to see Art from the Schools (and the Red Fox artwork in it), and again for our benefit concert with Maxine and Friends. We visited a local assisted living facility,  Bromley Manor several times to sing and read to the residents there and the Manchester Food Cupboard to help pack bags for distribution. All of the field trips bring experiential learning to life for all of our students and help us further understand and care for our community. 

As part of our project based learning, students researched a Vermont animal of their choice and accompanied it with a diorama or a mobile. Using our deep knowledge of what we learned all year about animals, the Hawks joined Eagles and Owls in mixed aged groups to brainstorm ideas for our play. They helped each other flesh out ideas and come up with a storyline that evolved into our wonderful spring play, “Extirpated, Not Forgotten: Three Amazing Tales.” It is quite the undertaking and all students were up for the challenge in some way or another to help with memorizing lines, making props and costumes, and practicing their roles. The whole process, from idea to product, is the perfect example of how much we value the creative process at Red Fox. The result was a wonderfully creative, fact-filled, and funny play that everyone was proud to share. 

We began this winter with studying origin stories.  We first read origin stories as well as myths, legends, and fables, discussing what we noticed about the stories and then charted up what components are necessary to be included in their own origin stories. Students then decided what animal and wrote the full story using the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading. In addition, students created beautifully detailed watercolors to accompany them. Their completed work is included for your enjoyment!

How the Dalmatian Got Its White Spots

By Wolfe

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, dalmatians used to be all black and very rare. In a village, a little boy named Joe had a dalmatian. The dalmatian’s name was Tag. One day Joe decided to make cookies for his teacher. While he was making them, Tag peed on the floor. Joe said, “I’ll clean it up later,” and then Joe went to get the flour for the cookies. He slipped and flour went everywhere. The flour covered most of Tag so now Tag had white spots. When Joe went to clean Tag, the flour stayed on Tag. Tag went to talk to Thrones, the wise old goat. Tag said, “HELP ME. HELP ME.” Then Thrones said in his most soothing voice, “What is wrong, my good friend, Tag?” Tag said, “My master spilled flour all over me. Now he can’t get it off of me. Please help me get it out of my hair.” Thrones said, “Maybe I can take you to Bloop the wizard of the universe and I heard he’s in town this week.” Thrones took Tag to Bloop and then when Bloop saw Tag he immediately said, “Nope, there is no antidote.” You readers may be wondering how Bloop knew what Tag was thinking, but you do remember when Thrones said he was the wizard of the universe. That is the story about how dalmatians have spots.

The Bald Eagle Gets a White Head

by Sebastian 

Once upon a time there was a fox and a brown colored eagle. The eagle was hungry and the fox said, “There are mice under the snow.” The eagle put his head under the snow.  The fox said, “The more  you wait the more mice you will catch.” So the eagle waited and waited and when he took his head out of the snow the fox was shocked because the eagle's head was white. And that’s how the bald eagle got his white head.

How the Tasmanian Devil got its Strong Bite

by Fox

Once upon a time there lived a very cute Tasmanian devil. He was the nicest animal in the forest. One night a snake snuck up to the Tasmanian devil and stole all his food. The Tasmanian devil got really mad. He goes to see the magical platypus. The Tasmanian devil says, “I don’t like that snake that stole my food, I want to get him!” The magical platypus says, “I can fix that, say Kapoof two times and you will get a strong bite.” The Tasmanian devil says, “Kapoof, kapoof!” He got a bone and tried to bite it and snapped in half. Then he went to look for the snake and that’s how the Tasmanian devil got his strong bite. 

How the Mallard Duck Got Its Green Head

By Eleanor Fontaine

Long, long ago, there was a duck living in a forest by a river. This duck was all brown and white. Its feet were orange and webbed. One day it started to storm. A duck named Layla went under a pine tree to stay out of the rain. She was also looking for food when a duck named Bob was bouncing on a branch in the tree. Bob couldn't fly because his wings were wet and he was trying to get a worm. Layla said, “Stop jumping on the tree ‘cause I don't want to get wet from the rain drops coming off the branch.” Bob said, “I’m trying to get the worm. I haven’t eaten all week. I can’t fly ‘cause my wings are wet.” “Ok please be careful and try not to get me wet,” said Layla, but Bob didn't hear her. Bob jumped so hard that pine needles fell down on Layla’s head. The needles stuck into her head. Layla tried rubbing them off on the tree, but they smoothed out and stayed on her head. That is how the mallard duck got a green head.

Why The Cheetah Runs Fast

By Reed

Once upon a time, the cheetah was trying to catch prey in the savanna, but her legs were too slow. She said, ”Why must I be cursed with these slow legs? Why can’t I have fast legs like the lion?” Then the elephant said, “There is a goat that is a god. He can make your legs fast.” The cheetah asks, “Where is he?” The elephant said, “He is in the mountains.” The cheetah went to the mountain. The goat saw the cheetah and said, “You want fast legs. If you want fast legs, you must say these words…Ooga Booga six times.” The cheetah said, “Ooga Booga, Ooga Booga.” Then the cheetah’s legs began to tingle.  The cheetah tried to run and she ran faster than the lion. That is why cheetah’s run fast. 

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Explore. Discover. Learn

Some of our adventures this spring:

School Year Recap 24/25

Spring Zephyr 2025

Smokey House 2025