Volume 5, Issue 16
September 24, 2007

Read our poem to children, encouraging those who have visited a farm to share their experiences.

Let's visit a farm.
What will we see?
Cows, goats, and pink pigs,
Soft yellow chick-ies.

Let's visit a farm.
What will we feel?
A velvet-y nose,
Wool that is real.

Let's visit a farm.
What will we hear?
Oink, Oink, cluck, cluck,
Mooooo -- loud and clear!

Let's visit a farm
On a fall day
Eat crunchy apples,
Sit on bales of hay.

Susan LaBella
Editor, Early Childhood Education Newsletter

READ IT
Read to children Animal Babies on the Farm (Kingfisher Books).
--- Reread the book and invite children to echo-read each line after you.
--- Create a predictable chart that includes sentences such as these: The horse _____. The cow gives _____. The mother hen pecks for _____. Invite children to complete each sentence.
--- Encourage children to draw a picture of their favorite farm animal and to share it with the class. Remind each student to tell why the animal is his/her favorite.

WHOSE BABY ARE YOU?
Gather or photocopy pictures of baby farm animals and their adult counterparts. Glue each picture onto an index card and write the animal's name on each card. Laminate cards or cover with clear contact paper. Reinforce animal names as you share the cards with children. Have children identify which animals are babies and which are adults. Then let groups of children use the cards to match parent and baby. (An alternative would be to match each animal with a product it provides.)

LET'S PLAY
Create a tic-tac-toe pattern on the floor with masking tape. Divide children into two teams -- Xs and Os. Call the name of a mother animal for the first team. The player whose turn it is must give the name of that mother's baby. If the name is correct, that player takes his or her place on the game grid. The team to fill three squares in a row wins. Play should continue until all children have had a turn.

IT ALL ADDS UP
Gather small plastic farm animals in duplicate. Create simple addition or subtraction sentences and let children use the animals as manipulatives to find the correct sum or difference.

WHAT'S MY NAME?
Trace around each child's hand on a piece of pink construction paper. (Make sure their fingers are spread wide apart.) Cut out the hand shapes and let children spread glue on the palm side. Give children popcorn to lightly press onto the palm area of the hand. The thumb will be the lamb's head and fingers will be its legs. Let children use crayons to give their lambs faces. You may wish to have children glue their lambs onto a piece of drawing paper and draw grass, trees, the sky, and so on. Finally, each child can name her/his lamb and write that name on the paper.

MMMM ICE CREAM!
Read to children The Milk Makers, by Gail Gibbons. When you have completed the book, talk about cows, the milk they give, and the dairy products made with milk. Tell children they are going to make "Roll It" ice cream. You will need these ingredients:
--- 1 cup milk
--- 1 cup whipping cream
--- 1 teaspoon vanilla
--- 2 coffee cans with lids, one that will fit inside the other with some room left over
--- ice
--- rock salt
Mix the first three ingredients well and pour into the smaller can. Cover that can tightly with its lid. Place the small can inside the large can. Layer ice and rock salt between the two cans. Cover the large can with its lid. Then instruct children to form two rows facing each other. Have them roll the can back and forth across the rows, moving down the row and back up until you have ice cream. Serve and enjoy!

Check out the following Web sites for additional background and activities.

Tractor Books and Activities
Great activities for a farm unit; includes books and more about tractors.
http://www.kinderkorner.com/pics27.html#tractors

Fun Farm Sounds
Click on each animal to hear the sounds it makes.
http://davisfarmland.com/fun/funsound.htm

Farm Fun
A nice teaching unit on the farm, complete with a print-out worksheet.
http://www.calicocookie.com/farmfunquest.html

Down On the Farm
You'll find songs, rhymes, and a whole lot more.
http://www.kinderkorner.com/farm.html

Red Barn
Directions and pieces for making a model red barn from paper.
http://www.mcguirezone.com/goodies/red-barn.pdf

From the Farm
A printable matching worksheet of products from the farm.
http://www.bry-backmanor.org/actpag128.html