Although we weren't able to visit a farm this year, we were lucky enough that one of the parents brought a horse and goat to our parking lot. It was a lot of fun and the children asked great questions.
Art Activities
Books
Songs/Fingerplays
Center/Misc Ideas
Cows
Use the cow pattern below and paint black spots on him with a clothes pin holding a cotton ball.
Oh Dear
OLD MCDONALD HAD A FARM
Tune: Old McDonald Had a Farm
Old McDonald had a farm.
Ee-i-ee-i-o,
And on this farm he had a cow,
ee-i-ee-i-o,
With a moo-moo here,
and a moo-moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo,
everywhere a moo-moo.
Old Macdonald had a farm,
ee-i-ee-i-o
Let the children match up and name the baby farm animals to their mothers.
Horse Mask
You can cut out the eyes from the horse mask below and use chalk to color it and then attach a popsicle stick to it to make a cute mask.
Barnyard Dance
Down On The Farm
DID YOU EVER SEE A FARM
Tune: Did You Ever See A Lassie?
Did you ever see a farm,
A farm,..... a farm,
Did you ever see a farm
and the animals there?
There's a horse who says neigh!
Goes neigh all day.
Did you ever see a farm
and the animals there?
There's a cow who says moo
He's hungry too..oo.
Did you ever see a farm
and the animals there?
And a duck going quack,
Who says he'll be back.
Did you ever see a farm
and the animals there?
Pretend To Be Different Animals
Let one child act out one of the animals, while the rest of the class tries to guess what it is. You can make it tougher if you don't allow sounds.
Hand Print Duck
Paint part of the bottom of a piece of paper blue for a pond and then after that has dried, paint the child's hand yellow and place it on the water. Then add an eye and beak for a cute little duck.
Paper Plate Duck
Paint a paper plate yellow or brown with beak orange on back side so you can fold the head over forward like the example shown. You can also add feathers for fun.
Big Red Barn
Little Blue Truck
ANIMALS ON THE FARM
Tune: The Wheels On The Bus
The cows in barn goes moo, moo, moo,
Moo, moo, moo. moo, moo, moo,
The cow in barn goes moo, moo, moo,
All around the farm.
Verses
The horse in the stable goes neigh,
The pig in the pen goes oink,
The hens in the coop go cluck
The lambs on the hill go baa
The ducks on the pond go quack
Play Dough
Use different farm animal cookie cutters to make a farm full of different animals.
Farm Cookie Cutter Prints
Use farm shaped cookie cutters dipped in paint to make farm animal prints. You can also cut a paper gate to put on top of the animals if you'd like.
Farm Animal Stamps
Use Stamps in shapes of farm animals to paint different animals on a farm.
Jobs On A Farm
Cocka Doodle Doo
IF I WERE A FARMER
Tune: Did You Ever Seen A Lassie?
Oh, if I were a farmer, a farmer, a farmer
Oh, if I were a farmer, what would I do?
I would milk the cows each morning
Each morning, each morning
I would milk the cows each morning, that's what I'd do.
Continue using:
I would feed all the animals
I would gather eggs for breakfast
I would clean all the horse stalls
Discuss How To Care For Farm Animals
Compare the similarities and differences between caring for farm animals and caring for pets.
Paper Plate Pig
Let the children paint two different sized paper plates pink. When they are dry glue them together and add a snout, ears, feet and a cork screw pipe cleaner tail.
Cotton Ball Sheep
Use the sheep pattern below and let the children brush glue on to it and apply torn apart cotton balls. If you are careful, cotton balls can be almost unrolled to stretch them out.
Barn Dance
A Reading Rainbow Selection
Barn Cat
I HAD A LITTLE ROOSTER BY THE BARNYARD GATE
I had a little rooster by the old barn gate
And that little rooster was my playmate
And that little rooster went cock-a-doodle-do
Dee-doodley-doodley-doodley-do
I had a cat and the cat pleased me
And I fed my cat on the green berry tree
And the cat went meow.
And that little rooster went cock-a-doodle-do
Dee-doodley-doodley-doodley-do
Bring In Different Farm Products
Let each child bring a product from home that comes from an animal on the farm. Discuss what changes occur to it between the farm and the supermarket.