We have been “down on the farm” at preschool these past few weeks, and one of the favorite activities for the children was getting to milk a cow! Ok, not a real cow – but a really cool wooden cow! This was a great way to teach the children about cows and where milk comes from. Children learn best by doing … and they could experience what it is like to milk a cow, much like a farmer would. We were lucky enough to have one of our teachers, Miss Brittany, make this great looking cow!

We filled the red bucket with milk, and the children could gently squeeze the rubber “utters”. They got so excited to see the milk come out!

This same experiment can be done on a smaller scale – using a rubber glove and milk. First, make pin holes in the fingers of a rubber or latex glove (be aware of any latex allergies). Fill the glove with milk and tie the opening of the glove closed. Hold the glove and allow each child to take a turn to make milk come out of the glove into a bucket. You can extend the activity by having the children estimate how many “squeezes” it would take to fill up a glass of milk.

During our Farm week – we also had some farm animals come and visit our school. The highlight was the children had a chance to milk a REAL goat! This was a great hands-on experience – and the children learned of another animal that also produces milk!

Do you have any fun farm ideas? Share them with us here!