In addition to these arts and crafts projects for our farm unit, Samantha and Amelia enjoyed several farm-themed play activities.
First up: farm animal washing station. “The animals need a bath!” I told S and A.
Amelia to the rescue! She was not afraid to get her hands (or legs, or dress) dirty for this activity.
I thought you meant I needed a bath…
Time to change out of those wet clothes.
A second wash wouldn’t hurt.
These kinds of activities are always great for the girls’ language development. I can ask them to find an animal for me, ask what animal I’m holding, or say the name of the animal when they point to it.
Where did my piggy go?
Amelia was the designated tub filler-upper.
She took it very seriously.
We are still playing with this Old MacDonald activity– it was a huge hit! I printed out the barn, laminated it, put a velcro backing in the middle and glued on the barn doors. I also printed out some little animals, which I then laminated and glued velcro on the back.
S and A had a blast sticking each of the velcro animals inside the barn and singing, “Old Macdonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O! And on that farm he had a…..(open the barn doors) HORSE!” The girls giggled every time.
The only downside was S and A fighting over which animal to put in the barn next.
Even when Samantha chose the animal she wanted in the barn, she always acted surprised when I opened the barn doors.
Another easy, no-mess activity we did was Matching Lego Animals. I ended up bringing this to the park on a playdate with some of S and A’s friends and even the older kids were into it.
The object of the game was to put the matching pieces together. It was a little advanced for S and A at this point, but they still enjoyed taking apart the legos.
Bandit: I COULD DO THIS IN MY SLEEP.
Samantha concentrates on finding the matching pieces.
Amelia’s favorite was always the dog.
Add this one to the list of activities I think the girls will do by themselves so I can do something productive veg, but didn’t actually work out. The girls haven’t mastered the art of putting legos together and constantly wanted my help. It was still enjoyable watching them put together all the different animal combinations.
Samantha eventually invented her own, much more exciting game with the legos by tearing off the animal pictures and sticking them on herself.
Now we’re talking.
Mess alert: Farm Animal Sensory Bin made with birdseed, sunflower seeds, peanut casings, corn kernels and whatever else I could find that was farm-y.
Choosing the right scoop for the job.
As with all their sensory bins, the girls enjoyed scooping and pouring the material, but it ended up getting EVERYWHERE. We had visits from chipmunks for days (much to the girls’ and Bandit’s delight).
So simple, yet engaging for the girls: Animal Matching. Another great one for building language skills.
Can you find the pig?
THIS SHEEP DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THE ONE IN THE PICTURE.
Um….I have a goat and a lamb left over…how can I win this game IF YOU DON’T PUT OUT ALL THE CARDS?
Our other farm unit activities involved little to no set-up, including playing outside with the girls’ beloved wooden barn and their farm animals.
We practiced several different puzzles.
The girls loved mixing and matching animal heads and bodies with this magnetic puzzle. The Melissa and Doug Farm Sound Blocks were another favorite.
Play dough took their farm animals to a whole new level.
Amelia takes a break after putting on a puppet show with her duck, pig, cow, rooster and dog puppets.
Not pictured here, but books we read during our farm unit included:
Touch and Feel Baby Farm Animals
The Little Red Hen
Barnyard Dance
Peekaboo Farm
Spot Goes to the Farm
Moo Baa La La La
Peek a Moo
And songs:
Old Macdonald Had a Farm
5 Little Ducks
BINGO
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Farmer in the Dell
Little Bo Peep
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Perhaps the girls’ favorite part of our unit was listening to Daddy’s stories about working on his brother-in-law’s farm in Washington during the summers. They loved seeing pictures of him on tractors and I don’t know who’s more excited to visit the farm someday…Jake or the girls!
Lots of love,
