Farm!

Farm theme has been so much fun so far! We are in week one..with two more weeks of this theme.  For an art project the students made their own interpretation of farm animals. We read farm books including, "On the Farm" and "The Big Red Barn." I pre-cut barns out of construction paper and then the students drew their sleeping farm animals inside their barn. They chose to enhance their animals with cotton, yarn, and feathers that I supplied in plastic shoe boxes on the table. Raffia "hay" was included.  I love how their interpretations turned out! 

"Horse and chickens!" 

"Sheep, horse, pig, and scarecrow!"

The "owl" is so creative!

This is our newly opened science center. We are growing corn seeds in the window..some are already sprouting as of this week! 

The science center for farm theme includes chicken "sound" eggs.  (taped plastic eggs filled with rice, cotton, beans, beads, etc) We held a "share square" on the carpet and I introduced/modeled the new science activities and tools. They learned the terms: tweezers, tongs, magnifying glass, and safety goggles. 

This tray activity is called "Chicken Feather Sorting."  We've been talking about colors this week, so I grabbed a bunch of leftover feathers from our barn projects and the colored milk pails from last weeks sensory center, and put this activity together.  The mini pails are actually from the mini desserts at Logan's Roadhouse! I found the trays last year in Target's summer aisle. I love using the trays because the activity is already set up, the students just take it off the shelf to the table, do the activity, and back to the shelf..

Corn seed counting/one to one correspondence. Ice cube trays are so handy!

The kids loved this fine motor activity! I bought mini corn cobs at southern agriculture and students could pick off the corn kernels with tweezers! The shoe box really helped with keeping the corn kernels off the floor.  We can use the corn kernels for other activities and the cob for a painting project!  It took one week for the kids to pick off one mini corn kernel.

Welcome to our "Down Home Breakfast Cafe!"  The cute eggs and bacon were made by my mother in law!  The cow napkins are actually bandannas.  The cafe also serves up a variety of boxed cereals, milk, butter, juices, donuts, and muffins. The breakfast cafe idea came from my great co-teachers! 

I also incorporated some English/Spanish food/family/farm books.

I purchased the the mixer, blender, toaster, and teapot at a garage sale..all as a set for for under five dollars! The cute berries were made by my mother in law too!

Reading center complete with a Mrs. Wishy Washy tub with animal puppets and scrub brushes inside. The students and I have been singing the "Wishy Washer Woman" song: (with hand motions!)

"Way down in the valley where nobody goes..is the wishy washer woman washin' her clothes.
She goes ooh ahh..ooh ahh. And that's how the wishy washer woman washes her clothes.

Way down in the valley where nobody goes..is the wishy washer woman blowin' her nose.
She goes achoo, achoo, achoo, achoo! And that's how the wishy washer woman blows her nose!"

Farm and color picture books and an easel that is soon to house an interactive laminated barn scene.

This is a vocab./letter match tray activity for ABC center..I found the cards at  http://www.2teachingmommies.com/2011/09/on-farm-expanded.html

Students dig through corn kernels to find scrabble letters and match them to vocab. words. This idea is from  http://katherinemariephotography.com/blog/archives/9197/copyright-katherine-marie-228   

Letter matching with clothespins and cards for free from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Farm-Center-Printables

This math tray activity is free from  http://www.2teachingmommies.com/2011/09/on-farm-expanded.html

Farm sensory tub..the oatmeal idea is from my next door pre-k teachers. I would have never thought of oatmeal!  The tub includes tractors ( I didn't have any farm type tractors, so I used construction tractors), garden tools, plastic baggies to fill and dump, a silo, and plastic farm animals (grocery store purchase). 

This tracing activity is in our writing center. I laminated the printables so students could use the dry erase markers. The cards are from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Farm-Center-Printables

Farm animal stencils are also included in the writing center.

This has nothing to do with farm but this is an update photo of our drop off station.  Students are responsible for getting their folder out of their backpack and placing it in the owl tub. I check and sign the folders and place them in their mailboxes. Any artwork or journal papers they complete..they are responsible for putting them in their mailboxes. They are also responsible for taking their folders out at the end of the day. I purchased the mailbox unit for $5 at a garage sale..it was an ugly fake wood paneling ..so I painted it bright teal to match the room!