Have children draw barns with cut doors that fold open. Paste each barn onto another sheet of paper, then have kids draw a farm animal behind the doors. Take turns guessing each child's hidden animal by having the child make its sound. Making butter helps kids understand how products from farm animals become food on their table. Fill baby food jars halfway with heavy cream and shake them until the fat separates and solidifies into a clump of butter.
Recite "This Little Piggy," a favorite of small children, using their fingers or toes as the little "piggies." Have a relay race with kids carrying plastic eggs in spoons, or have them act out animal motions and sounds while running a race. Kids can gallop and neigh like horses, cluck and strut like roosters or waddle and quack like ducks. For another traditional farm animal game, seat children in a circle for a few rounds of "Duck, Duck, Goose."
Classic farm stories include "The Little Red Hen", and the sequel about her grandson, "The Little Yellow Chicken." These tales teach children the reward of helping a friend--and the penalty of selfishness. The story of Old MacDonald appears in various retellings, including a funny tale about moving the farm to the city in Judi Barrett's "Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House." Integrate math with farm animals by reading Eric Carle's "Rooster's Off to See the World."
In addition to the traditional "The Farmer in the Dell" and "Old MacDonald" tunes, kids can sing "Farm Sounds" written by John Saltsman. Set to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus", the lyrics begin with a mooing cow and include animals and their sounds from around the farm before ending with a nose-wiggling gesture to represent the silent rabbit. Judy Hall has written "Take Me Out to the Barnyard," a song about animals set to the traditional baseball tune.
Call around to find farms that welcome little visitors, and then schedule a field trip that includes hands-on activities to introduce children to the realities of farm life. Activities will vary by location but may include pony rides, petting goats, sheep or pigs, milking cows or goats and gathering eggs from chicken coops.