Farms Archives - The SEEDS NetworkThe SEEDS Network

Fall in New England is a wonderful time to teach preschoolers many things about the season. The change in the weather (and the leaves), along with the harvest of apples and pumpkins are fun to learn about.

If you are fortunate enough to have local farms in your area, a field trip is a great way for young children to experience some of the agriculture of your area first-hand.

By taking preschoolers to visit a local farm, they can learn so much. It is a great opportunity to teach them about living things (animals), life cycles (egg to chick / seed to fruit), where food comes from and local geography.

You can also extend preschoolers learning of farms, apples and pumpkins with some of these activities!

Science

Make your own apple cider – Bring in a juicer and take some fresh apples from your field trip and turn them into cider. Children can observe and experiment with how things turn from one form to another (ie. solid to a liquid).

Seasonal sink or float – Experimenting with Fall objects (such as leaves, acorns, pumpkins and apples) to see which will sink and which will float.

Apple science– Observe changes to apples when they are cut and exposed to the air.

Open it up! – The best hands-on fun and learning happens when you dig in and open it up! Cut into an apple, dig into a pumpkin and let children touch, see and smell.

Art

And you can even use the parts of apples or pumpkins in children’s art … adding another sensory experience to the process of their art!

Apple stamping art – Slice apples in half and place them into paint. Then stamp it onto the paper.

Paper Plate Pumpkins – Using paper plates, orange paint mixed with some white glue and dried pumpkin seeds children can make their own pumpkin. Really fun after you have opened up a real pumpkin and explored the inside!

What is your favorite apple or pumpkin activity? Please share with us in the comments!

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!

The SEEDS Network

Supporting Early Educators with Dynamic Solutions

Category Archives: Farms

Learning about apples and pumpkins in preschool

Science

Art

Milking a cow in preschool