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Playing Preschool - Unit 11: On the Farm

Updated: Jun 6, 2021

A Companion Guide to Busy Toddler's Playing Preschool Curriculum


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Fun on the Farm

Farm animals seem to the be a universal language of childhood. Before babies even learn to speak a handful of words, they can often make animal noises and sounds. By the time they are toddlers, they may be able to identify them in books and in real life by name. This unit takes a closer look at the attributes of each animal and their role in life on the farm. From milking a "cow" to making butter, the learning came to life in so many fun ways!


Building Background Knowledge

Video Links


Suggested Books

*Books with an asterisk are my Top 5 Picks to Add to Your Home Library for this unit



Additional Book List

Books in bold are also suggested books in another unit.


Non-Fiction

Fiction

Additional Resources/Activities


Puzzles and Stickers



Figures and Vehicles


Games and Role Play

Activities

  • Developing Life Skills: Take a trip to the farmer's market and see what produce is in season. Give you child a shopping list and make it a scavenger hunt!

  • Field Trip: Visit a working farm or dairy for some hands-on learning. If that's not an option, go to a farm supply store like Tractor Supply Co., or Rural King. Check out the equipment farmer use. Sometimes they have baby chicks or pot-bellied pigs for sale!

  • Imaginative Play: Let your child create a sensory (and taste-safe) farm scene with a toy barn, animals and tractors. Give them a sheet pan, a green sheet of construction paper (grass/field) chocolate pudding (mud), Kellog's Mini Wheats (grass/grain), rolled oats or Cheerios (oats), cornmeal (grain), popcorn kernels (corn), and a bowl of water with blue food coloring (pond). Then ask them to set up the farm and feed the animals! This activity rolled right into the activity for Mrs. Wishy Washy's Farm: bathing the animals! An hour well spent.

My 2.5 year old storytelling life on the farm.


  • Cooking Activity: After playing with popcorn kernels in a sensory bin, use them to make popcorn! We have a Whirley Pop and it is so fun to stir and anticipate the popping until the kernels explode.



  • Read-along-play-along Activity: After reading The Very Busy Spider, make your own 3-dimensional spider web. You can read about the inspiration for this activity in this post: A Day in the Life of Raising a Reader.




Scaffolding/Extension


  • With self-correcting puzzles, start with just a few and build from there.

  • For and extra challenge for the tractor-obsessed or mechanically-inclined, check out the John Deere Take Apart Tractor



What was your favorite part of this unit? What other books did you read? What other activities did you do? Please share your photos and feedback in the Playing Preschool with Busy Toddler Curriculum Facebook Group in Photos/Albums/Year 1 Themes On the Farm


Until next time, may your coffee be warm and your toddler be busy!

Up Next: Playing Preschool: Unit 12 - Weather




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