A First Look at Farm Life for Preschoolers
Most preschoolers already know their way around a farmyard. They can spot a cow, horse, duck, or sheep without much help, which gives you an easy place to start. The point of this lesson is to get them talking about what they see, what the animals are doing, and how they are related.
The Larsen Farm Animals 23-piece puzzle gives children plenty to notice. A cow peers over a blue fence with a rooster nearby. A mare stands in the stable doorway beside her foal. A duck swims across the water with her ducklings following behind. Because several of the animals are pictured with their young, the puzzle also makes it easy to turn the activity into a simple parent-and-baby matching game without requiring children to read.
The whole lesson takes about 30 minutes and requires very little setup. You can use it one-on-one at a table or spread the pieces out on the floor for a small group.
AT A GLANCE
| Grade Level | Preschool and Pre-K | Ages | 3 to 5 years |
| Total Time | 20 to 30 minutes | Group Size | 1 to 3 children |
| Subject | Early Science and Math | Difficulty | Beginner |
MATERIALS NEEDED
- Larsen Farm Animals 23-Piece Puzzle
- A low table or clear floor space
- Crayons and paper
- A small bowl or basket for holding loose pieces
- Toy farm animals, if you have a set (optional)
- A picture book about a farm for follow-up reading (optional)
HEAD START ELOF ALIGNMENT
| P-SCI 1 | Child observes and describes observable phenomena, including objects, materials, organisms, and events. |
| P-SCI 2 | Child engages in scientific talk. |
| P-SCI 3 | Child compares and categorizes observable phenomena. |
| P-MATH 3 | Child understands the relationship between numbers and quantities. |
| P-LC 6 | Child understands and uses a wide variety of words for a variety of purposes. |
| P-PMP 3 | Child demonstrates increasing control, strength, and coordination of small muscles. |
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
- Build it yourself first. You want to already know which pieces give people trouble, so you can help without taking the puzzle away from them.
- Count the lambs and the ducklings before the children do. It is hard to confirm an answer you are also guessing at.
- Pick three or four animals to actually work on. There are more than a dozen in the picture, and no preschooler is holding all of them at once.
- Decide whether the child gets the whole tray or a few pieces at a time. Threes usually do better with a few at a time. Fives will want the lot.
- Put the tray where everyone can reach without stretching. A child who has to lean across the table to place a piece will quietly stop trying.
LESSON STEPS
1. Talk First, Build Second 3 to 5 min
Keep the tray out of sight for a minute and ask what animals live on a farm. Let the answers come in whatever order they come. Make the sounds together while you are at it, since that is what everyone wants to do anyway.
2. Build the Puzzle Together 8 to 10 min
Hand over the pieces and let them work. Say each animal’s name as it goes in, or better, wait and let the child say it. The hard part here is keeping your own hands out of the tray. When a child stalls, turn the piece right side up and set it down closer to where it belongs. That is almost always enough.
3. Find the Babies 4 to 5 min
Once the picture is whole, point at the ewe and ask where her lambs are. The mare and her foal in the doorway work the same way, and so does the duck with the ducklings behind her. Hand over the words as you go. Plenty of children have known sheep for two years without ever hearing lamb. Then ask what the babies and the grown-ups have in common.
4. Count What You See 3 to 5 min
Have the child touch each animal as they say the number out loud. The lambs are the easiest group to start on. Ducklings next, then the piglets by the barrel. Touching matters more than it sounds like it should, because a child counting by waving a finger in the air will skip one nearly every time, or double back and count the same lamb twice. If a group runs long, stop partway through and move on. Nobody has to finish.
5. What the Animals Give Us 2 to 5 min
Point at the cow and ask where milk comes from. Wool is the same question asked of the sheep, and the goat gives milk, too. Stay with what is actually in the picture. Finish by asking whether anything they ate today started out on a farm.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Q Which animal in the picture would you want to take care of, and how would you look after it?
Q The cat is up in the tree, and the owl is sitting on the ledge. Why do you think they picked those spots?
Q What sound does each animal make? Can you make them all one after another?
Q Some animals in the picture are inside the fence, and some are outside. Why might a farmer want a fence?
Q If you could add one more animal to this farm, what would it be?
| Teacher Tip: Extend the Learning Do not put this one away when the lesson ends. Leave it out somewhere a child can reach on their own, and you will catch them naming animals to themselves days later with no adult anywhere near it. When someone comes back to it, ask about a corner you skipped the first time. The swallows under the eave are good for this, or the roses climbing the wall. Children almost always turn out to have noticed something they never said out loud. |
| Ready to bring this lesson to life? The Larsen Farm Animals 23-Piece Puzzle is available at Springbok Puzzles. It is made from 100 percent recycled cardboard with extra-thick 2.5 mm pieces, and the tray keeps everything in one place between sessions. Browse the full Larsen educational puzzle collection at springbok-puzzles.com. |
