Learning with the Feathery Friends on Campus
There are several things that make the Friends Community School experience special and unique. One notable part is the presence of chickens and their not-so-distant relatives, guinea fowl, on campus. It is not uncommon for students to see the guinea fowl wandering around campus in a flock or hear their distinctive call as they play during recess. Throughout the year, Lower School students interact with these feathery friends in a variety of ways. For the Kindergarteners, all of whom are new to campus, it may be their first introduction to guinea fowl or roosters. Older students, such as those in those grades 3/4, may visit the guinea fowl or chicken coop as part of a specific lesson. With the help of Gillian Rosenzweig-Stein '10, Senior Auxiliary Programs Manager and one of the guinea’s most trusted caretakers, classes are able to visit the chickens and guinea fowl, interact with them, and take advantage of the hands-on, experiential learning opportunities that come with having two species of birds on campus.
Kindergarten Introductions
Each fall, FCS welcomes around 25 new Kindergarteners. During their K year, these naturally curious students take full advantage of the FCS campus, often exploring nature and forging their own path (literally—Kindergarteners of class 2030 created their own trail!) No full exploration of FCS would be complete without visiting the guinea fowl and chicken coop. To acquaint the new students with the birds as soon as possible, Gillian invites them to the coop to meet the feathered residents and help explain their role on campus. The students learn about the birds’ habitat, the eggs they lay, what they eat, and how to interact with and pet them. At the end of each visit, the Kindergarteners enter into the coop and are able to hand-feed and pet the birds! The Kindergarteners leave feeling more comfortable and knowledgeable, laying the foundation for many future visits to the coop in the years to come.
Anatomy in 3/4
As students get older and academics deepen in focus, teachers find new ways to utilize the guinea fowl and chickens! Recently, in 3/4, Cynthia Fox Barney’s class used the birds as a practical application to build on their current science topic: anatomy. They visited the coop twice during this unit to observe and identify different anatomical features of the birds. Students then applied their understanding of both the external and internal anatomy of chickens to make connections and comparisons to human anatomy. After a conversation about bone and muscle injuries, the students pondered what the chickens might be communicating when squawking loudly. In a multi-disciplinary approach, Cynthia reminded the students that these topics don’t exist in isolation and encouraged them to harness that idea and use it as inspiration for their upcoming Writers Workshop.
Located in College Park, MD, Friends Community School is a progressive Quaker K-8 day school, founded on the belief that every child is a valued member of our community. We offer a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage.
Friends Community School
5901 Westchester Park Drive
College Park, Maryland 20740
301-441-2100
5901 Westchester Park Drive
College Park, Maryland 20740
301-441-2100
