FOOD AND FARM ANIMALS: PK-4

CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOADABLE FOOD AND FARM ANIMALS UNIT

Ana's Week

​Spending the week before Aria’s birthday on a farm, farm animals, and food unit ended up being a great decision, as we were so overloaded with party preparations, cleaning, and guests that keeping it a fun week benefited us greatly. We had wonderful plans to visit a farm of one of our friends the day after Aria’s birthday, but then we were hit with a week of rain and had to cancel our big, end-of-unit excitement. I still think that the idea of what a farm is, what food farmers and farm animals provide, and a basic understanding of liquids, solids, and various foods form was conveyed, so we can count the week as an overall success.

Aria had the most fun with our outdoor activities during the week, from animal and food washes and relays to playing in a farm rice box. Both girls flipped over “milking” a cow using a latex glove filled with water, and that activity entertained the girls over multiple days. Aria also flipped over the Friendly Farm Math Activity set, which helped us practice counting in a fun way. Farm yoga and the farm movement cards were a great way to get energy out while being silly, so we did some exercises each day, with Aria asking for repeats. The farm movement cards really are a must print and do!

My favorite activities of the week were the food activities. Aria and I did some science experiments with food together, practicing converting liquids to solids and solids to liquids. Making and playing with jello was a big hit and provided us with dessert for the grandparents one night. Talking about corn in different forms and watching the hopping corn science experiment was fascinating for all of us in the family. I definitely suggest trying the experiment out (but don’t seal your jar too tight or it won’t work; we learned that the hard way)! The kids loved eating the applesauce we made after studying the parts of an apple, and our colorful foods taste test was a great way to get Aria and Skylar (who has to copy everything her sister does) to eat some veggies for a snack. The most fun we had, though, was making butter and ice cream, neither of which I was sure would work. We found out the best way to shake the ice bag full of milk was to hold it gently on the top of the bag so the warmth of our hands wouldn’t melt the ice. I had to help Aria with shaking the bag for probably half the time, but she loved the experiment and the girls loved eating the ice cream. The butter activity was easy set-up but harder labor. Aria gave up shaking the bottle after a few minutes, but my husband took over and after about 20 minutes we had real butter. It was honestly, truly delicious on our breakfast breads! We used more cream than they said because we had a larger mason jar and I figured I would adapt. In the future, I would use a much smaller amount because it might take less time!

An added benefit to the week, other than I already had most of the items from last year’s unit and therefore didn’t have to buy many supplies, was that it motivated Aria to help me make food for her birthday party. She helped her dad with her cake and helped me cut up and make a fruit salad for the party (which we also used as a lesson on parts of fruits, seeds, and what makes a fruit). Nothing like using school to help with party preparations!

While I wouldn’t call this a strenuous week, I think reminding our kids to think about where our food comes from, aka not just a store, and encouraging them to have a respect for those who work hard to plant, grow, milk, harvest, etc., our foods can only be beneficial. Next week when we go to a pumpkin patch, hopefully we can enhance and hit home the concepts from the unit!