Hawks Discover Through Curiosity (ages 7-9)

by Sarah Post

Three words that come to mind for the Hawks classroom this fall are connection, curiosity and community. Hawks started the year making connections with each other after the long summer away from school. We got to know people new to Red Fox and reacquaint with returning friends. Together we learned about our new space in the cabin and asked ourselves, “How can we take care of our materials, our space, and each other?” We had wonderful discussions and made lists of our ideas about Math and Language Arts and why we come to school. Together we wrote a community agreement for how we want to be this year.

Hawks have been curious about each other, our school inside and outside, and our greater community. Hawks are curious about what makes a good story and what it means to multiply numbers. Hawks are curious about cursive–it’s so much smoother than print! Hawks are curious about quartz, rocks, branches, sticks and dirt. Hawks are also curious about seeds! We investigated how seeds look and feel and how they travel. We also learned that some seeds we can eat, like garlic. Hawks loved tasting some radishes that we recently harvested after growing them from seed in our cold frame. As a connection to our larger community, Hawks along with Owls and Eagles visited Smokey House Center and learned about the flax plant. We collected data about how many flax seeds we find in a dried seed pod. It was difficult work, but we also learned how to calculate the average number of seeds using the data we collected. We are also learning about how we can help and show kindness to people in our community. We collected socks and baking supplies to share with the Manchester Food Cupboard. We look forward to a wonderful wintertime full of connections, curiosity, and community in the Hawks classroom!

"I had a birthday. We celebrated it at school. My Daddy came into school and shared a story about me. I brought in mashed potatoes for my birthday treat for the school. It was fun because I was so happy. It was soooo fun. I love it." - Winter

"Red Fox Community School made water filters during commuminty meeting. We used white sand, brown sand, gravel, charcoal, and a coffee filter. The Eagles taught the Owls and Hawks how to make it." -Barnaby

"At Smokey House Red Fox did pumpkin painting, flax seed picking, and a hike. We learned how to tap trees. I thought it was pretty fun. It was an amazing field trip. We collected and counted the flax seeds that we brought back to school. The flax seeds come in pods that we crush and then lightly blow away to see the seeds. " - Ava