Pre-K & Preschool theme ideas for learning about farms, farm animals, and crops.
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Books
Click here for a complete list of Farm Books
Farm Large Motor Games
Horses Stop & Go
The children crawl around the carpet pretending to be horses as the teacher calls out “stop” and “go”. This can also be played with the children galloping.
Wheelbarrows
Children hold a partner’s feet as they walk on their hands like a wheelbarrow, taking turns being the wheelbarrow. Each pair of children has about 6 beanbags to carry (on the wheelbarrow’s back) one at a time to their destination.
Farm Literacy Activities
“Old MacDonald’s Farm Animals” Class Book
Each child makes one page and we put them all together to make a class book. The children decide on a farm animal they want to draw and the sound that animal makes and the children dictate the words to be written in the blanks:
“Old MacDonald had a farm.
E-I-E-I-O
And on that farm he had a ______.
E-I-E-I-O
With a ___ ___ here,
And a ___ ___ there,
Here a ___, there a ___, everywhere a ___ ___.
Old MacDonald had a farm,
E-I-E-I-O.”
Farm Poetry
Children choose a farm animal they want to draw. We glue the animal and the farm poem form onto a large sheet of paper. To make the poem, children dictate the words to be written in the blanks:
I am a [type of farm animal].
I can [movement].
I can [sound].
I feel [texture].
I smell [scent].
I am [emotion].
I am [color].
I am a [repeat first line].
“The Hat” Characters
After reading Jan Brett’s book The Hat, we talk about what “characters” are in a story. The second time we read the story, each child is given a character mask from the story. As we come to each character’s part in the story, the child with that character’s mask stands. After the story is read, we name each of the characters and talk about what they did in the story and what they said.
“The Hat” Character Masks
“The Hat” Clipart for Puppets
Farm Animal Bingo
Use farm animal counters to cover the letter/number/shape on the bingo cards. We use these to play alphabet bingo, number bingo, shape bingo, or rhyming bingo.
Farm Bingo Stamping Game
Read about and print the Cow and Pig Bingo Games here.
Farm Roll & Write Game
Print and find directions here: Roll & Write Games
Story Retelling
This is an activity that goes with any theme. Choose a book that goes with the theme, and have the children retell the story.
Read the blog post here for details: story retelling
Farm Math Activities
Farm Pattern Block Mats
Read about and print here: Pattern Block Mat Printables. (Go to this page and look for the donkey and horse mats.)
Chicken Grid Game
Read about and print here: Grid Games
Milk Graph
Children first mix and then taste-test three kinds of milk: vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. Children decide on their favorite kind of milk, and put their name on the graph. We count to see which had the most/least/same.
Farm Science Activities
Making Butter
We pour whipping cream into baby food jars. Children shake the jars until a ball of butter is formed in the jar. (Liquid and solid will separate). Then we spread the butter on bread to eat.
Planting Seeds
Children plant a variety of seeds in a seed sprouter. We planted 3 each of 4 different types, and later transferred them to clay pots. These were to stay in our classroom, and the children planted another seed of their choice in a clear cup that they could take home after it sprouted. We watched the growth of the plants, which encouraged lots of observation and discussion skills. The photo shows the seedlings of four types of seeds we planted: bean, corn, tomato, and watermelon. By planting four different types, children were able to observe which seeds germinate for shorter or longer periods of time. The bean and corn were the fastest to sprout, while the tomato came in third, and the watermelon took the longest to sprout.
Farm Social Studies
Farm Food
The children bring empty food packages or pictures of food from home. The children take turns showing the class what they brought. We discuss where the food comes from, and how a farm was involved in producing the food.
More
Garden Prop Box
{Dramatic Play Center}
Include: Garden gloves, Trowels, Watering can, Flower pots, Artificial plants & flowers, Bird feeder, Wind socks, Knee pads, Aprons, Straw hats, Plastic vegetables
Rhymes
Nursery rhymes that go well with a Farm Theme:
- Little Boy Blue
- Little Bo Peep
- I Hop on My Horse
Look for printable posters of these rhymes on the Nursery Rhymes Page.
Songs
- Down on Grandpa’s Farm, by Raffi (Download on iTunes)
- Old MacDonald Had a Band, by Raffi (Download on iTunes)
- Did You Feed My Cow?, by Ella Jenkins
- Little Red Hen Song, by Mrs. Jones
- A Place on the Farm, by Jack Hartmann
- Farm Songs @ Preschool Education
Find more Farm Activities for Pre-K