|
Farm Misc. Ideas & Links
Milk Jug
Containers
Recycle plastic milk
jugs for a variety of classroom uses.
Simply cut a wide circle
around the spout of a clean milk jug, leaving the handle intact.
These jugs are handy for carrying small manipulatives, craft
supplies, or napkins and cups
at snack time. The handles make
them easy for even the youngest toddlers to tote around.
In the Barnyard
Place a barn with animals into the block center
and encourage the children to create a place
for each animal in
the barnyard, while naming the animals and making the sounds and
appropriate actions.
Model how a horse might run, a pig might roll
around, a chicken might peck, a farmer might ride on the tractor,
etc;
Water Table Farm
When we did the
farm, I lined our water table with plastic (it being winter) and
filled it with
potting soil then planted grass seeds which grew
quite quickly. We placed a barn
in the grass –
we used a plastic one, but you could make one from
cardboard, then we added a variety of
plastic farm animals. The children
were fascinated with it - ours were mostly between 2 and 4
years
old and there was always several around it most of the morning
each time we put it out.
They put the animals in the barn, round
the pretend pond – ducks on the pond (the pond was felt)
I would
have liked to put a bowl in with real water but it was winter and
we thought it better not to.
You could use
the idea to:
count animals
to match same
animals
teach colors
(pigs pink, ducks yellow etc)
differentiate
between birds and animals
Farm Listening Center
Place farm
books with accompanying tapes for children to listen to
a story in
the music center, and specific farm titles on the bookcase.
Make up a
farm tape with the coordinating sounds of each animal,
and attach
a switch to the tape player, so that the child may press the
switch
to hear the animal's sound, each time he/she flips the page
to a new animal.
Farm Visit
My class visited a farm where one of my students
lived. We were talking about pets.
The student said we could see
his horse. When momma came to pick him up from school,
the student
asked his mom can the class come see his horse. I told her he said
he had a horse.
Mom said they just moved to live with her parents,
on a farm and she would be more than happy if we came.
I told her
that the other pre-k class would be coming, as well. She said she
had no problem with that.
So, I talked to the other pre-k teachers
and my principal.
We rode the bus and sang songs on the way. When we arrived, the
student was SO happy.
I thought he would have a panic attack. Mom
and grandparents met us and gave a tour of the farm.
It was a BIG
farm, but it was big enough for the kids!
Gramps let the kids milk the cow, while Granny showed us how to
gather eggs.
Mom let the kids feed the chickens.
Even though the school's cafeteria supplied us with lunch,
mom and
Granny made some cookies and lemonade.
It was made by squeezing "a
whole lot of lemons", as the kids said!
Farm Feast
Plan a day to have youngsters dress in their favorite farm finery
such as overalls,
blue jeans, plaid shirts, and hats. Then have
youngsters prepare a sampling of farm foods for
a fresh farm
feast! Include items such as corn-on-the-cob, biscuits, fresh
berries, and lemonade.
Farm Animal Block Center
Add plastic animals and a toy
barn to your block center.
Farm Facts
Good milk cows give
about 10 to 11 gallons of milk each day.
Cows are usually milked twice daily.
Some of the cows have a favorite place to stand in line while they
are
waiting their turn. Some like to go first, and some last.
During the summer months a dairy cow might drink up to 40 gallons
of water each day.
Cows eat: hay, corn, corn silage, cotton seed and wet brewer's
grain, mixed together like a salad.
Cows are female cattle. Males are called bulls and babies are
called calves.
Cows provide milk, which is the source of daily products,
including cheese, butter, and yogurt.
The organ on a cow that holds her milk is called an udder or a
bag.
There are many varieties of cattle.
In the United
States, cows seem to say moo moo, ducks say quack quack,
and pigs say oink oink.
Children in Japan
describe animal sounds differently.
There, ducks say ga ga, cows say mo mo, chickens say piyo piyo,
and pigs say bu bu.
In Rwanda, dogs say
wu, wu, wu and roosters say guglug, guglug, guglug.
African cats say miyau, miyau and cows say baaah, baaah, baaah.
In Italy, ducks say
qua, qua.
German roosters
don't say cock-a-doodle-doo; they say kikiriki.
Now here is a very
tricky question:
Do you think the animals make different sounds or do people
just describe them differently depending on where they grow up?
All cows are
females. (The males are called bulls)
Cows have four stomachs. (You have just one!)
Cows often have their ears pierced - with I.D. tags.
A cow can't give milk until she's given birth to a calf.
The average cow produces 90 glasses of milk each day.
That's enough for 30 children to have 3 glasses of milk a day.
Cows provide 90% of the world's milk. Water buffalo,
camels, goats, sheep, horses, and reindeer are also milked.
A cow weighs about 1400 pounds. That's probably 10-25 times what
you weigh!
A cow's udder can hold 25-50 pounds of milk. No wonder she's so
eager to be milked!
A Holstein's spots are like a fingerprint or snowflake.
No two cows have exactly the same pattern of spots.
A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.
Good milk cows give about 10 to 11 gallons of milk each day.
During the summer months a dairy cow might drink up to 40 gallons
of water each day.
Cows eat: hay, corn, corn silage, cotton seed and
wet brewer's grain, mixed together like a salad.
Trip to a Duck Pond
If possible, arrange
to take the children to a nearby pond where ducks are found.
Take bread or crackers for the children to feed the ducks.
Duck Facts
The male duck is
called a drake.
The female is called a duck.
Babies ducks are called ducklings.
In the spring, the female duck lays and broods ten to fourteen
eggs.
After 4 weeks, the yellow ducklings hatch.
Ducks have webbed feet, so they are good swimmers.
They eat tadpoles, snails, worms, and plants that they find in the
water.
Duck body parts include: bill, wing, webbed feet, and feathers.
Farm Fun
They have a great Farm Park
here that lets the kids see farm animals and they
even have a fake cow that lets the kids milk the cow (just water
comes out but a great idea).
They have this throughout the year and the kids when we are able to really
love going.
They also had a saddle area that the kids could get on to pretend they
were riding a horse.
They also have there a playground that looks just like a farm! Super cute!
Also a place
that is a play area that has nothing but hay for the kids to climb and
they really loved that.
~ FARM LINKS ~
Farm
Theme at PreKinders
Everything Preschool's Farm Ideas
Farm Activities at Perpetual Preschool
Kids Farm
On The Farm Kid Activities
Old McDonald Had A Farm at the Virtual Vine
Farm Lesson Ideas at 123 Child
Farm
Ideas at Step By Step Child Care
DLTK's Farmer In The Dell Fun
Farm Animals at First School
Farm Unit at Teaching Heart
Down On the Farm at KinderKorner
Old McDonald Had A Farm coloring pages
Old
McDonalds Farm Coloring Book
Cyberspace
Farm
Down On The Farm at Little Giraffe's
Food / Nutrition Ideas at Little Giraffe's
Down On the Farm @ Linda's Learning Links
On the Farm at the Teacher's Guide
Fun On the Farm at Teachers.net
From the Farm Matching from Bry-Back Manor
Farm
Unit at The KCrew
Sheep In A Jeep Lesson at A To Z Teacher Stuff
On the Farm Poems at CanTeach
Animal Babies on the Farm at Eduplace
On The Farm Or At The Zoo at Eduplace
NC
Dept. of Agriculture Activity Pages
All About
Farm Animals at Kiddyhouse.com
Pre-K Fun Theme Pages are
for educational reference only!
No copyright infringement is intended.
I do not claim any of these as my own ideas.
They are shared from friends and fellow group
members.
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!
|
