My daughter loves all animals! I thought it only fitting to plan a week around farm animals. I hope you find some of this useful! Enjoy.
Books:
Cock-A-Doodle-Moo,
Bernard Most
"Not Now!" Said the Cow,
Joanne Oppenheim
Farm Animals,
Elizabeth Kaufamn
Oink! Moo! How Do You Do? A book of animal sounds,
Grace Maccarone
Big Red Barn,
Margaret Wise Brown
Barnyard Banter,
Denise Fleming
Wake Up, Big Barn
The Cow that Went Oink,
Bernard Most
Music/Rhymes:
The Farmer in the Dell (song)
Old MacDonald Had a Farm (song)
Five Little Ducks (song)
The Animals in the Barn
(tune: Wheels on the Bus)
The cow in the barn goes moo, moo, moo
The duck in the barn goes quack, quack, quack
The pig in the barn goes oink, oink, oink
The dog in the barn goes ruff, ruff, ruff
The mouse int eh barn goes squeak, squeak, squeak
The sheep in the barn goes baa, baa, baa
The horse in the barn goes neigh, neigh, neigh
--Adapted by Cindy Montgomery
Cluck, Cluck, Red Hen
(tune: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep)
Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes, sir, three bags full.
One for your sweater and one for your rug,
One for your blanket to keep you warm and snug.
Cluck, cluck, red hen, have you any eggs?
Yes sir, yes sir, as many as your legs.
One for your breakfast and one for your lunch,
Come back tomorrow, I'll have another bunch.
Moo, moo, brown cow, have you any milk for me?
Yes sir, yes sir, as tasty as can be.
Churn it into butter, make it into cheese,
Freeze it into ice cream, or drink it if you please.
Buzz, buzz, busy bee, is your honey sweet?
Yes sir, yes sir, sweet enough to eat.
Honey on your muffin, honey on your cake,
Honey by the spoonful, as much as I can make.
Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
--Jackie Reinach
Eight Baby Pigs
Two mother pigs lived in a pen (thumbs)
Each had four babies and that made ten. (finger of both hands)
All eight babies loved to play (bend and straighten fingers)
And they rolled and they rolled in the mud each day (circle hands around)
At night with their mothers they curled in a heap (hands into fists)
And squealed and squealed til they went to sleep (wiggle fingers, squeal and be quiet)
Making Butter Boogie
Shake it up
Shake it down
Shake it, shake it all around.
Shake it high
Shake it low
Shake it, shake it to and fro.
Shake it over
Shake it under
Pretty soon, you'll have butter!
Activities:
1.
Movement/Exercise: Have your child do the actions of different animals: gallop like a horse, neigh like a horse, moo like a cow, butt like a goat, waddle like a duck, quack like a duck, crow like a rooster, strut like a rooster, wallow like a pig, etc... Then get out a brown blanket and have fun "rolling in the mud" like some of those animals might do.
2.
Math: Get a few figures of the same type of farm animals (horses and cows, roosters and pigs, etc...). I'm planning to check out the dollar store for some, but you might have some around your house (alternatively you could print some off of your computer). Put two of the types in a pile and have your toddler sort them into their right group. Ex: If you had goats and ducks you would put all the goats and ducks in a pile and then have your toddler put all the goats together and all the ducks together. You can also work on animal sounds while you do this :)
3.
Arts/Crafts: Farm Animal Mobile: Print (from the computer) or draw pictures of farm animals. Color them and cut them. Use a piece of string and tape or glue the animals to the string. Then attach theme to a hanger or branches to make a mobile. Display in a prominent place.
4.
Creative Play:
This is a great idea for some fun playtime with farm animals. Alternatively, find someone (maybe it's you) who has a little barn, farm animals, etc... and play with it with your child.
5. Check out
this website for some more great ideas to choose from for this week.
Spiritual: Tell the story of Noah's Ark (with pictures, felt, etc...). Teach your child that Heavenly Father loves all animals.
Extras: This week see if you have a local farm you can visit, make butter with your children at home or make a special snack: pigs in a blanket!
