Build a Farm: Aspects of Farming for Kids

This class will allow the students the opportunities to take on the role of a farmer as they learn about the unique names of farm animals, important food and shelter that the animals need, necessary space, useful farm tools, and how farm animals contribute to our world. Finally, the class will end with each student building a farm yard, selecting animals, and thinking of the aspects of farming such as food, shelter and space for their animals. This is a very interactive and hands on class. Each class will cover dramatic play, art, math, nature/science, literacy, vocabulary and social learning areas. 

Some supplies will be required for the class, to enhance the learning of the students.

The students will be building, imagining, recognizing words, categorizing, playing, creating, drawing, thinking, feeling and sharing all throughout this class. 

Learners do not need any prior knowledge. An ability to focus attention on building and creating is helpful. 

CLASS 1/ Week of November 1
Special Animal Names
Dramatic Play: Make your animal run, jump, hide, and other actions
Art: Draw your favorite farm animal (an adult and a baby)
Math:  Sorting/ Categorizing farm animals vs. not farm animals
Nature/Science: What is a mammal?
Literacy: Written names of animals will be attached to pictures of the animals
Vocabulary: mammal, baby farm animal names (ie. foal, piglet, lamb, kid, calf…)
Social: Show & Tell your favorite farm animal at the beginning of class

CLASS 2/ Week of November 8
Food
Dramatic Play:  Feeding your animal (Each student will bring an ingredient to use and represent feed for their animal  such as, cornmeal, flour, grain, rice….)
Art: Draw a picture of what your animal likes to eat
Math:  Counting scoops of food 
Nature/Science: Which animals have 4 stomachs
Literacy:  Sentence strip “A ______ eat _______.”
Vocabulary: Carnivore, Herbivore

CLASS 3/ Week of November 15
Shelter
Dramatic Play: Show how your animal goes into the shelter
Art: Building with materials that you brought to class (Lincoln logs, blocks, lego, etc.)
Math: Building a shelter
Nature/Science: Weather (Talk about various types and why the animal needs to use its shelter.  ie When it’s sunny, the horse needs to go in the barn because it’s too hot)
Literacy: Baby animal names using pictures and written words
Vocabulary: Weather vocabulary and forming sentences with ‘because’ (ie. “My horse goes in the barn because it is too cold outside.”)
Social: Show and tell about the shelter that they built and why it is good for the animal

CLASS 4/ Week of November 22
Space
Dramatic Play: ‘Horsey Horsey Farmer Says Stop’ Game (kids will gallop or do another action and the Teacher or classmate says “stop” or “go”
Art:  Choose an animal and paint an appropriate space for it (ie. pen, field, yard)
Math: How many ducks are in the pond or pigs in the mud?
Nature/Science:  What do ducks need? (Water); What do pigs like and why? (Mud)
Literacy:  Positional Words (Teacher gives instructions “Put your duck on the fence.”)
Vocabulary:  field, pen, corral, yard, chicken run
Social: The students get the opportunity to tell their peers an action to do in their space. Practice listening and instruction giving

CLASS 5/ Week of November 29
Basic Farm Tools
Dramatic Play: Charades- Act out using various farm tools on the farm and the classmates have to guess what tool you are using
Art: Roll a tractor or vehicle tires in paint and then onto a paper
Math: Make a pattern with pictures of farm tools
Nature/Science: Categorize the tools for gardens vs. fields
Literacy: Compare and Contrast how farm chores were done a long time ago compared to today
Vocabulary: plow, dig, scoop, rake
Social: Performing for class during charades game, participation with math activities



CLASS 6/ Week of December 6
How Animals Contribute (to the Farm and to Us)
Dramatic Play: “If you were an (animal)” game
Art: Draw a time you visited a farm
Math: Graph of favorite animals of the students
Nature/Science: How various food items come from the farm
Literacy: Farm Riddles
Vocabulary:  Names of groups of animals: herd, flock, drift/drove, pack, clutter, brood,
Social: Taking turns answering questions and asking questions

CLASS 7/ Week of December 13
Build a Farm: Farmers Present Their Farms
Dramatic Play: Pretending to be farmers (Come to Class Dressed Up)
Art: Draw or build your farm to present (this will be homework before class)
Math: Answering number questions from teacher and classmates (ie. “How many animals do you have on your farm?”)
Nature/Science: The ability to take the nature and science knowledge that they have gained throughout the class or that they have previously and use it to answer questions about their farm.
Literacy: matching animal pictures with animal words game
Vocabulary: Opportunity to use all of the vocabulary learned throughout the past few weeks
Social: Interviews-Asking and Answering questions

Here is a list of supplies that will be needed for each class:

Supply list per class:

CLASS 1/Week of November 1
1) Farm Animal of your choice
2) Paper and something to draw with (ie. crayons, markers, pencils, pens, colored pencils)

CLASS 2/ Week of November 8
1) Three farm animals
2) 1 Tablespoon Scoop
3) Something to "feed" the animals as we will be counting scoops of food today (ie. flour, rice, beans, cornmeal, etc)
4) Paper and something to draw with (ie. crayons, markers, pencils, pens, colored pencils)

CLASS 3/ Week of November 15
1) Farm Animal or two of your choice
2) Building materials (ie. lincoln logs, lego, blocks (any size), popsicle sticks, etc.)

CLASS 4/ Week of November 22
1) Paper
2) Paint and paint brush (preferable color options to be available: blue, brown, green, grey, yellow)

CLASS 5/ Week of November 29
1) Small tractor or other small toy vehicle (we will be rolling the tires through paint to make designs with the tracks)
2) Paper
3) Paint (multiple colors of their choice)
4) Plate or box or other item to put paint on to then roll the tractor tires through to coat them in paint

CLASS 6/ Week of December 6
1) Paper and something to draw with (ie. crayons, markers, pencils, pens, colored pencils)

CLASS 7/ Week of December 13
1) Optional: Dress up as a farm for class
2)  OPTION 1:
Bring farm shelter that they built before class (they can use whichever building material that they would like such as, lego, lincoln logs, popsicle sticks, blocks (any size), etc.)
 OPTION 2:
Bring a drawing or painting of a farm shelter that they created before class.