Farms and rural living

Farms

Early childhood education services in regional areas of Australia can integrate this topic into their program, so the children can benefit from learning about their local community.

Children who live in the city may also be interested in farms, animals, agriculture and or rural living. They may enjoy learning about different parts of Australia. Some children travel to the country for holidays.

EYLF learning outcomes

Learning about rural lifestyles aligns with the Early Years Learning Framework as children connect with nature (2.4) and places (4.4).

Learning experiences

Teach babies and toddlers through farm animals

Farm animals are popular with babies and toddlers and early childhood educators can use them as a teaching tool, to develop skills and knowledge in a wide range of areas.

  • Use farm animals as a theme for sensory play: soft toys, touch-and-feel books, and hands-on experiences with straw, fake fur and or real farm animals. Play songs and sound effects with animal noises.
  • Encourage babies and toddlers to imitate the sounds of different farm animals and to expand their vocabulary by labelling and naming the animals.
  • Educators can describe animals using language associated with colour, shape, classification and quantity (e.g. "there are four chickens in the coop", "chickens are birds", "the black and white spotty cows").
  • Explore emotions by roleplaying with a stuffed toy pig. (e.g. "he's hurt his leg, let's make him better").
  • Use farm animal toys to teach gross motor and cognitive skills (e.g. pop-up and pull-along toys).

Create art

Drawing, painting and collage can help children think about farming and the origins of food. View Earth Art Heart, a selection of artworks at Boorai, a children's art gallery in Melbourne. These were produced in response to farming and the role farmers play in providing us with food.

Play with a small world

Fill the bottom of a trough with grass. Add in loose parts and toys so children can play with their own rural landscape:

  • Toy farm animals, people, cars and machinery.
  • Fences made from pop sticks.
  • Green playdough (which will help the fences stand up).
  • Bits of blue, green and brown fabric.
  • Pebbles, straw and sticks.

Play with farming photographs

Unfortunately, most images of farms in childcare centres are cartoons. While these can be attractive and cute, they refrain from teaching children the reality of rural living. Review your learning resources and look for ways to introduce real-life photographs:

  • Add farming magazines, product catalogs for tractors, and tourist brochures to your book corner. Or, cut them up for collages.
  • Search for images on the internet that show cows being milked and farms being plowed.
  • Read books about rural lifestyles that have complex and thought provoking illustrations.
  • Invite children to bring in relevant photos from home.

Events

Discussions

  • Discuss where different foods or ingredients come from (e.g. milk and cheese from cows, bread from wheat crops). How do farms take the food to factories and shops?
  • List types of farm animals and their sounds. Also, list crops grown on farms.
  • What do farmers do each day? How do farmers take care of their crops and animals? What do farmers do to keep their farms safe?
  • What types of tools, vehicles and equipment are used on farms?

Resources

Picture books

  • A Year on Our Farm by Penny Matthews and Andrew McLean
  • Farmer John's Tractor by Sally Sutton and Robyn Belton
  • Mallee Sky by Jodi Toering and Tannya Harricks
  • Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins

Music

Websites

National Geographic: What are crops?