Farm Crafts: Kindergarten Ideas to Extend an "On The Farm" Thematic Unit
On The Farm Theme
This theme is ideal because of the wealth of books, activities, songs, and crafts available that easily tie in to a farm theme. Kindergarten aged children are interested in food and where it comes from, and familiar with the animals that are commonly found on the farm. With just a few materials you probably already have in your classroom and a bit of imagination, you can create many farm crafts. Kindergarten students will be proud of the creations they’ve made.
Recyclable Barn and Silo
Materials Needed:
- Cardboard boxes of different sizes
- Empty cardboard or plastic oatmeal containers
- Construction paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Tape
- Red and white paint
Before beginning this activity, look at pictures of barns and silos with your class. Discuss the uses of these buildings with your children. Be sure to note that grain is stored in the silo and the barn is usually where the animals sleep. Notice the shapes and colors of the structures. Be sure there are plenty of pictures of these buildings to look at while creating this craft. Invite children to create their own barn and silo using the recyclable materials. Use construction paper circles to make the roof for the silo, cutting a slit from the side to the middle of the circle and taping together in a cone shape.
Children can add their cardboard farm buildings to the building block area to extend their learning. Or, you can create a farm scene in your classroom using the recyclable barns and silos.
Root Vegetables
This craft will focus on food that grows in the ground, such as carrots, potatoes, and beets.
Materials Needed:
- Printable sheets with carrots, potatoes, and beets
- Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Green construction paper
- Brown and white tempera paint
- Paintbrushes
- Sand
After a lesson plan focusing on how food gets from the farm to your fork, try this simple color and cut activity. Give each child the three vegetable sheets and ask them to color the vegetables and cut them out. Ask the children to use the glue stick to attach the vegetables to the green construction paper in a straight line, as they would grow on the farm. Mix the brown and white paint with a small amount of sand to create a mixture that looks like soil. Use the paintbrushes to paint the vegetables underground, with just the tops of the vegetables visible “above the ground”. This is a great activity for following directions and enhancing listening skills.
Animal Stick Puppets
Materials Needed:
- Farm animal printable: sheep, chicken, pig, cow, horse (This particular printable can also be used as a science worksheet activity to match male and female animals with their babies)
- Colored pencils
- Scissors
- Glue
- Popsicle sticks
Have the children color and cut out the farm animal faces. Attach the faces to the popsicle sticks using glue. Use these stick puppets to re-enact stories such as Little Red Hen or songs such as “The Farmer in the Dell” and “Old MacDonald had a Farm.”
References
Extend your “On The Farm” thematic unit with easy and fun farm crafts. Kindergarten students will enjoy making these creations and many can be used to decorate your classroom during the unit.
DLTK’s Farm Animal Activities
“Creative Activities for Young Children”; Mary Mayesky; 1996
