Join Old McDonald down on his farm! These awesome activities for kids are the perfect introduction to farm animals, growing crops, and different pieces of farm equipment. Whether you’re looking for activities for preschoolers or ways to use harvest quantity for an advanced math lesson, life on the Farm has something for you. Welcome the return of spring or celebrate special events with these adorable farm-themed crafts and activities!
1. Farm Animal Masks
Introduce your little ones to all the animals on the farm. Using paper plates and construction paper, have them craft chickens, pigs, sheep, and cows. Cut out eye holes and attach strings to make these masks that are perfect for playtime. A great visual companion to farm-themed songs!
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2. Farm Animal Foam Cups
These foam cup animal puppets are an amazing addition to imaginary playtime! You can paint the cups ahead of time or join your kids as they design their very own barnyard animals. Use pipe cleaners to add ears, tails, and snacks!
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3. Farm Animal Stick Puppets
Put on a show about life in the barn! These adorable paper puppets are excellent for imaginary playtime. Cut out and color animal faces before attaching them to multi-colored craft sticks. Don’t forget to craft a big red barn for the animals to play in!
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4. Hatching Chick Craft
Kids will love helping their chicks hatch with this cute craft. Have them paint their chicks inside the egg outline before covering them with a paper shell. As they peel back the shell, talk about how chickens hatch in real life and how the yolk serves as their nutritious food source.
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5. Chicken Bookmarks
These adorable bookmarks are a cool craft to add to your farm unit. Kids will get to work on fine motor skills through paper origami folding. Add different expressions to personalize their bookmarks. Once finished, use them to keep track of reading progress in their favorite book.
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6. Fingerprint Sheep
Turn finger painting into a beautiful keepsake. Your kids can decide to use one finger or all ten to create these adorable fluffy sheep! Add a googly-eyed face and legs to complete their creations. They can easily be turned into holiday cards or invitations.
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7. Painting With Hay
Design your very own paintbrushes from bundles of hay! Experiment with different-sized bundles to see what kind of patterns you can create to decorate the barn. You might wish to use fake hay to avoid allergy issues.
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8. Chicken Fork Painting
Celebrate the arrival of spring with these adorable chick paintings! Kids will love getting to paint with forks instead of brushes. Add some googly eyes, feet, and a beak. Makes a great greeting card for invitations to family gatherings and birthday parties.
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9. Tractor Track Prints
The most important piece of equipment on a farm is the tractor! Your kids can explore the different types of tractor tire prints with this enjoyable painting activity. Simply glue foam pieces onto a toilet paper roll or a lint roller and paint away.
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10. Animal Track Painting
Explore all the different types of animal footprints found on a farm! Gather some plastic farm animals and dip their hoofs and feet into the paint before tracking along a piece of paper. See if your kids can identify which tracks belong to which animal.
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11. Corn Painting
Why limit your painting time to brushes? This colorful and engaging farm arts and crafts activity uses corn cobs to create mesmerizing patterns. Have kids shuck the corn and remove the silk strings before painting for additional fun!
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12. Carrot Footprints
This beautiful keepsake is an awesome addition to your trove of farm arts and crafts. Paint your kid’s feet and press them onto thick paperboard before cutting them out and decorating them like carrots. You can also use the footprints to create bunny ears or other farm crops!
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13. Puffy Paint Piggy Mud
Explore pigs’ love of mud with this simple farm art craft. Mix equal parts glue and shaving cream to create your own puffy paint. Add some brown paint to make it look like mud. Kids can have fun covering their pigs in as much mud as they want!
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14. Cheerio Corn Cobs
This super easy activity is a fantastic way to work on fine motor skills. Print out the corn cob template and squeeze it on a layer of glue. Kids can place their “kernels” in whatever pattern they like. Feel free to enjoy a tasty snack too!
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15. Ant Farm Fine Motor Activity
An ant farm with no ants! This fine motor activity is a great addition to your farm arts and crafts collection. Kids glue dry beans or beads along a line, making sure they touch each other. Why not create a bead maze for an extra challenge?
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16. Shear The Sheep
Create curly ribbons to craft fluffy sheep! This activity is perfect for practicing cutting skills. Depending on their skill level, you can pre-curl the ribbons for them or show kids how to do it alone. Use their handprints to make the sheep’s body!
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17. Farm Scissor Skills
Hone those fine motor skills by cutting along the line. These printable templates are perfect for working on scissor skills with young learners. Start with rounded corners and gradually add sharper corners to follow. Don’t forget to color the tractors!
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18. Milk The Cow
A latex glove filled with water and a little white paint is all you need for this creative farm activity. Poke holes in the fingers and have kids gently squeeze to “milk” the cow. A super fun way to improve little ones’ motor skills.
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19. Gross Motor Farm Game
These cards are great for practicing gross motor skills. Begin by placing the cards face down. As kids flip them over, have them read the movement instructions out loud. This fun game helps improve their literacy skills by encouraging them to read simple instructions.
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20. Farm Sensory Bin
Farm sensory bins are an awesome addition to your quiet playtime corners. Kids can explore different textures and scents while playing with plastic farm animals. Use a variety of dry goods to talk about different kinds of crops.
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21. Measuring At The Farm
This STEM activity can be adapted to math or science lessons. Compare weights and volumes for different farm products to learn about matter properties. For math lessons, add and subtract objects before calculating the remaining quantity in each bucket.
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22. Mud Slime
No farm is complete without all kinds of creepy crawlies. Create your own slime for some sensory playtime before adding old coffee grounds for a dirt-like appearance. Hide plastic bugs in the slime for your kids to discover and learn about.
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23. Muddy Letter Writing
Practice letter writing with some muddy fun. On each pig’s belly, students write one letter of the alphabet. Have them use markers or pencils to hone their handwriting skills or dip cotton swabs in brown paint to make the letters look like mud!
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24. Gardening For Letters
Head outdoors to play in the dirt while learning the alphabet. Cut a Styrofoam pool noodle into sections and label each with a letter. Tie ribbons through the middle and plant them in a garden. When kids harvest a letter, have them say it out loud to practice letter recognition.
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25. Garden Color Memory Game
Upcycle an old egg carton for a simple and entertaining memory game. Begin by placing pairs of different colored pipe cleaners in each egg cup. Next, have kids race to find all the matching pairs! This simple activity can easily be adapted to keep kids occupied on rainy days.
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26. Animal Mix-Up Legos
This creative activity is a super simple way to practice matching skills. Begin by pasting animal pictures to sets of Lego blocks before separating the blocks and inviting kids to find the correct pairs. When they’ve matched a pair, have them make the sound of the animal!
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27. Barn Shape Matching
These adorable barns make a great addition to your trove of preschool activities, serving as a wonderful introduction to shapes and colors. Use them as presented or create your own exciting games! Be sure to laminate the cards for extra durability.
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28. Animal Shadow Matching
Work on visual discrimination skills with these no-prep worksheets. List the animals found on a farm and help your kids identify their shadows. Or turn it into a matching game by printing out the corresponding animal tiles.
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29. Counting Carrots
Combine a counting lesson with scissor practice. Help your little ones cut orange triangles and green strips of paper. Write a number on each carrot and have your kids attach the correct number of greens. Then have them count their carrot harvest quantity!
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30. Counting Farm Animals
What could be simpler than counting the animals on the farm? This easy no-prep math activity is perfect for preschoolers who are just starting to learn their numbers. Not only will they practice counting, but also writing numbers and letters!
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31. I Spy
I Spy is the ultimate game for kids! It’s great for counting and sorting skills while learning all about farm life. See if they can find a specific piece of equipment that every farmer needs to harvest his crops.
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32. Worm Farms
From blackberry farms to wheat fields, every farmer needs worms! Work on observation skills and learn all about worm habitats with these super simple worm farms. Create a nature journal to record observations.
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33. Hopping Corn
Talk about gases, liquids, and solids with this mesmerizing science activity. Have kids add corn kernels to a mixture of water and baking soda before recording their observations and hypotheses about why the corn hops practice the scientific method.
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34. Naked Egg Experiment
Make eggshells disappear! This cool science experiment introduces kids to chemical reactions and texture transformations. Practice the scientific method by having them observe the actual time it takes to fully dissolve the shell.
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35. Chicken Coop Ball Drop
If you can’t have chickens, this farming activity is a great substitute! Upcycle a cardboard box and paper towel tubes to create your own chicken coop. Expand your farm unit learning by adding some ping pong balls and discussing the impact of gravity.
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