Dear Family,
Our unit for the next week is “Learn Every Day about Farm Animals.” Your child will
learn about animals that live on farms. We will talk about the fact that many foods people
eat come from farm animals. He/she will learn about the importance of keeping farm
animals healthy. We will also talk about farm animals from other countries. In addition,
your child will learn about life on a farm and how it compares to life in the suburbs or the
city.
We will talk about four-legged farm animals, such as cows, pigs, sheep, and goats, and
the products they provide. We will talk about horses, donkeys, and mules and the work
they do on a farm. Your child will also learn about two-legged animals, such as ducks,
chicken, and geese, and the products they provide.
Here are some activities we have planned:
Art Center: Make hobby horses; make art collages that show the places ducks like to
live; work together to paint large appliance boxes to look like barns and other farm
buildings; use stencils to create a book about life on the farm; and use fake fur and other
craft materials to create pictures of yaks.
Fine Motor Center: Peel boiled eggs for snack and crush the shells for use in an art
activity; and cut apart photo cards of animals and use the pieces to make crazy, mixed-up
animals.
Music Center: Sing and act out the motions to a fun song about the clothes that cowboys
and cowgirls use to protect themselves; and learn the names of the enclosures used to
keep farm animals safe (corral, pigsty, barn, pasture) as we sing a fun song together.
Block Center: Learn about camels and set up a desert scene using tubs of sand and small
blocks for building pyramids.
Literacy Center: Explore rhyming sets of words in a poem about animals on the farm;
and match farm-related items using photo cards.
Math Center: Play a counting game using photo cards of spotted pigs; use farm animal
tokens to solve simple math problems; create a farm counting book; sort and match adult
(male and female) and young farm animals; and create a bar graph of the children’s
favorite animals or animal sounds.
Sand and Water Center: Create a farm scene using sand, grass squares, small tubs of
water, play houses and vehicles, and plastic farm animals.
Discovery Science Center: Make butter from heavy whipping cream; and learn that the
hair from some animals is used to create clothing and examine examples of wool, rabbit,
and other fur products.
Outdoor Activities Center: Play a shuffleboard-type game in which the children help
cow figures get to a pasture to eat; experiment with milking a pretend cow (a glove filled
with diluted white paint affixed under a cow cutout); and play racing games on hobby
horses.
At home you can:
 Look for cows, pigs, and sheep on your drive home.
 Ask your child to tell you something he/she has learned about farm animals.
 Look for waterfowl near your home.
 If possible, visit a local farm that gives tours.
We are very excited about the activities we have planned. As always, thank you for
sharing your child with us. Please don’t hesitate to call or email with any questions or
concerns.
Sincerely,