Everyone loves farm babies. Cute fluffy chicks, adorable calves, lovable kittens all make us stop and go “awe.”
This cutie was born September 6th
Baby chicks are so fluffy and adorable
Today’s Free Teacher Resource is all about babies. We are going to explore farm moms, dads and babies. We are also going to watch some videos of farm births and practice writing the letter Bb.
Social and Emotional
Start out the lesson talking about what makes a family. All families look different. Some have moms and dads. Some have grandparents, uncles and aunts. Some times special friends become our family. Have the students draw a picture of their family.
Next talk about how all animals have a mom and dad too. On the farm mom, dad and baby animals all have special names. Counting Coconuts has some great Adult/Child farm animal nomenclature cards. You could use these cards in a matching game or place them on a discovery table for creative play.
For older kids you can hand out Farm Animals Book Markers from MN Ag in the Classroom. These book markers are FREE.
Language
Usborne Books has a great reader book for 5-7 year olds titled “Farm Animals”. For younger children this book could be read in the class. Second graders could choose a favorite farm animal and write a report what that animal eats, where that animal lives, what the parents and babies of the animal are called and how the animal is born (does it hatch from an egg or is it birthed by its mother).
Fine motor skills
To practice the letter Bb, I had Jonnie practice on the worksheet from Kid’s Learning Station.
Enchanted Learning has a great Farm Babies Mini Word book. Students can work on printing and cutting skills and learn the names of farm animal babies.
Science/Math
If you are brave you could hatch chicks in your classroom. Students can keep track of days in the egg, or practice estimation by estimating which day the eggs will hatch. Watching baby chicks hatch is always fun (please make sure you have a farmer or backyard chicken raiser already in line to take the babies). If you don’t have the resources to hatch chicks, here is great video I found on YouTube.
Chicks are easier to handle in classroom than trying to explain where a baby calf comes from. But if you are extra brave, here is a great video from AppleCheek Farm in Vermont. Please note this is graphic video of an actual birth.
baby calf birth at AppleCheek Farm
That is quite a long list of great FREE teacher resources for a farm babies unit. Make sure to visit my Pinterest Farm Learning Activities board. I am constantly added new accurate (and free) material. If you have other resources you would like to share with the community please share a link. I am going to leave you with another cute baby calf photo.
~Emily
