35 Fun Farm Activities for the Classroom

Inside: 35+ engaging farm activities for preschool and kindergarten. Find literacy activities, farm crafts, dramatic play ideas, STEM related activities, and real world experiences to help you plan the best farm unit ever!

It’s important for preschoolers and kindergartners to learn about the world around them, and part of that world is agriculture. Farmers have a massive impact on our lives—from the food we eat to the natural environment we live in.

If you’re looking for a specific type of farm resource for your class you can click the link below to jump right to it:

• Crafts
• Literacy Activities
• Dramatic Play Ideas
• Sensory Play Ideas
• STEM Activities
• Books about Farms
• Circle Time Songs
• Real World Experiences

Farm Crafts

Crafts bring your unit’s theme together with fine motor skills, plus you can get students talking about their work to expand their verbal skills.

Try our cute story-inspired chicken craft (above), our shear-a-sheep craft (below) to get started.

Then, check out some of the other fun farm crafts I found for you:

Clockwise, from the top left:

• Oink! oink! The kids will love this adorable handprint pig craft.
• Kids of all ages can make this chick painting activity their own.
• This handprint Chicken craft includes a book suggestion to go with it
• I love this adorable felt board sheep activity too.
• Older kids will enjoy making craft stick farm animals, or you could make a set for the little kids to play with.
• (not pictured) here’s another easy prep sheep shearing handprint craft.
• (not pictured) These sweet barnyard animal crafts are also just right for preschoolers.
• (not pictured) If you want to focus on how farmers grow vegetables, this carrot handprint craft is perfect.

When you’re done crafting, look at photos of real farms, and help the children find the differences between their crafts and the real deal. (Of course, make sure to do this in a way that still makes them feel proud of their artwork!)

Farm Themed Literacy Activities

Make your early literacy activities feel more relevant by incorporating them into your farm unit with some of these engaging resources.

Clockwise, from the top left:

• Preschoolers can practice letters with these cute free playdough letter mats featuring 8 different farm animals.
• Children will love seeing their own name on every page of my easy prep personalized farm emergent readers.
• Read the book Mrs. Wishy Washy’s Farm by Joy Cowley (affiliate) and then put together these printable sequencing hats to help children retell the story.
• Print off this free printable farm animal easy reader to practice lowercase letters and letter sounds.
• Practice building letters from popsicle sticks with this free barn alphabet printable.
• (not pictured) These free sets of farm to table sequencing cards are so well thought out! They would be an excellent preparation or complement to working on story sequencing.

UPDATE: Now you can get these playful Farm Alphabet Mats in my store. These are just right for preschoolers who are starting to learn about letters.

Dramatic Play Farm Activities

Your students will love it if you set up a farm theme dramatic play area in your classroom. Here are some of my favorite ideas:

Clockwise, from the top left:

• Baaa! Play with this fun sheep mask and then try out some of the other creative activities listed in the same post.
• These clothespin farm animals also have a lot of play value. They will be good for strengthening little fingers too.
• Next, cut out this printable cow mask and get ready to have a mooo-velous time playing farm.
• You might also want to use a free printable template to make these farm animal stick puppets – aren’t they adorable?!
• (not pictured) I also love all the ideas on Pocket of Preschool. You also could add in some tractor toys, or make one from a cardboard box.
• (not pictured) If you want more of an activity than a craft, try making this larger sheep you can “shear” or make a pretend play cow that you can “milk”
• (not pictured) You can also create a pretend vegetable garden for preschoolers to “pick.” Or, create a farm sensory play area.

Sensory Play

Even your youngest farmers can get in on the fun and learning with these farm themed sensory play and small world ideas:

Clockwise, from the top left:

• Get crafty and add some extra interest to your farm sensory bin with these farm character eggs.
• I love the setup for this farm themed sensory bin. It’s a really good starting place.
• This taste-safe (actually edible!) farmyard small world play setup is perfect for toddlers and even babies.
• You may also like some of these appealing additions to your farm themed small world play or sensory bin.
• If you enjoy crafting, you can make these floating ducklings for your farm bin. They look like so much fun!
• (not pictured) This chicken sensory bin also has a ton of play value.

STEM

Weave science, technology, engineering, and math into your farm unit with some of these activities:

Clockwise, from the top left:

• Work on early number sense with this cute farm themed count and add activity.
• Slip one of these farm animal counting mats into a sheet protector to work on early number sense.
• This animal building challenge could easily be adapted to farm animals.
• Children can match farm animals and their babies with this easy prep set of puzzles or these simple Farm Animal Babies & Moms Matching Worksheets for PreK to 2nd grade.
• Finally, this farm animal matching activity for toddlers and young preschoolers helps develop spatial thinking skills needed later in geometry and engineering. 

Read About Farm Activities

(Disclosure: Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.)

Let storytime help you teach! Here are a handful of great books about farming.

Gail Gibbons’ book on farming is newly updated, and is a thorough and interesting introduction for young children.

I adore Before We Eat: From Farm to Table for its simple rhyming text and grateful message. This one is a Must Share!

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown is another sweet and simple introduction to farm life, with a focus on the barn and its residents.

Finally, you might like the Farm theme personalized emergent readers in my store. You type student names once, and they ‘magically’ fill in on every page of the book. Children love seeing their names in their own little books!

UPDATE: I now have a whole post with more farm books for kids that you’ll want to check out!

Circle Time Farm Songs

If you want songs beyond “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and “The Farmer in the Dell”, here are a few more ideas for you.

First, Nancy Kopman’s cute song “Animal Farm” will work if you’re teaching virtually as well as in person.

Here are links to a few more songs that you might like to sing with your class:

• Grandma’s Farm would also translate well to circle time, especially if you pull out a few props.
• Farmer Plants the Seeds by the Kiboomers has new words to a familiar tune.
• This Farm Animal Movement Song is a little longer but is active and fun too.

Real World Farm Experiences

Finally, if you can manage it, authentic activities will really make your farm theme or unit memorable and meaningful.

Learning about farmers and the work they do means learning about nature, the community, and the natural processes of life. Here are a few ways to teach kids about farm activities right in your classroom.

Learn from the Experts

One of the best ways to learn is to hear from an expert. Take a field trip to a local farm, or invite a farmer to come speak to your classroom. Your students will get the chance to ask all of their questions and hear answers from someone who does this for a living.

Try to hear from different kinds of farmers as well. Someone who raises livestock and someone who owns large crop fields will have different experiences to share.

Where do you find a farmer? Start with your network. Does someone have a friend or family member who might like to visit? What about a friendly seller from your local farmer’s market?

If you strike out, you could also reach out to your county agricultural extension or local 4-H organization.

Start a Garden

Nothing beats hands-on experience, and starting a mini garden in your classroom is a simple project that everyone can enjoy. Take turns watering and checking on the plants, or give everyone their own mini pot to care for throughout the project. This is a great way to learn about the basics of what plants need to live, and your kids will get to watch as the fruits of their labors grow. To get the full farming experience, grow simple herbs or other edible plants that your students can taste once they finish growing.  

Keep a Class Pet

Class pets are a great way to teach responsibility, but they’re also one of the most popular ways to educate kids about agriculture. You can buy chicken eggs and have your kids observe them in the incubator, as they hatch, and during their first few weeks of life.

Incubators are a good type of item to get donated, either from your PTA, a small group of parents, or an organization like DonorsChoose. They can be used year after year to teach your students about raising animals and the specific things they need to survive.

Plus, everyone in your class will immediately fall in love with their new feathery friends. Just make sure to do your research and have a home prepared for your chicks once they outgrow your classroom.

As your students learn about the world of farming, you’re building background knowledge for future reading comprehension, providing introductory science lessons, and more. A farm theme may seem cute (and it is!), but remember that it’s important too.

Happy Teaching,

Heather