A New Visitor

This creature of beauty greeted Amber and me as we walked up the sidewalk to school on Thursday morning. We stopped and stared, in awe of its peacefulness amidst the hustle and bustle of a week day morning. A place which usually is home to running and jumping, laughing and screaming, was a quiet place for this hawk to perch and observe. I quickly grabbed my cell phone to snap a picture all the while eager to share this picture with my Kindergarten friends.

This picture was the main subject of Thursday's Morning Meeting. We spent a good 20 minutes looking at the picture, making observations and predictions, and drawing conclusions about what the hawk was doing. Through this discussion, the Kindergarteners quickly came to conclude that this perhaps was the Hawk that left part of its meal near the back Willowwind fence earlier in the week. His (or her's) presence was a wonderful opportunity to discuss nature and the circle of life that exists. Rather than being fearful of the hawk's choice to visit (and perhaps hunt near) our playground, our Kindergarteners were eager to discuss and learn more. They believe that we may be fortunate enough to see it again. After all, it has found a meal (or two) thanks to the open land created by our playground space.

What a great way to start the day - inside the classroom and out.