Animals grab a toddler’s attention like a pig to slop. Farm animals, zoo animals, jungle animals, ocean animals – every animal captivates and fascinates, even me as an adult. Animals are intriguing to watch and even more fun to pretend to take care of them! This farm dramatic play center is the perfect way to incorporate your toddlers’ love of animals with engaging ways to learn through play. Check out our farm dramatic play center!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you by linking to Amazon.com. See the full disclosure here.
Farm Lesson plans
Farm Dramatic Play
Setting Up Your Barn
Ever since I discovered how to print poster sizes, I have been obsessed. This feature just makes it so easy to make images larger than life. Okay, not really, but big enough for our toddlers to imagine they are down on the farm.
Here’s how to print a large barn from a PDF: After selecting print, go down to Page Size & Handling and select Poster. Then, adjust the Tile Scale percentage and print. Next, cut off the edges and put the barn together like a puzzle. This can be attached to your wall, or if you want to reuse this year after year, just glue or tape it onto a poster board. Brilliant!
Just so you know, if you give a toddler a barn, they’re going to want some animals. I’ve included animal heads in this resource to make it easy (and affordable) to DIY farm animals. Just print the heads and attach them to 2-liter bottles that have been cut, tin cans, or blocks using strong, clear tape. I even added some colored paper inside the 2-liter bottles to match the color of each animal’s body. Done!
Want something more realistic? I’ve included a link to farm stuffed animals below.
As you can see from the picture, I used a cube shelf as a way to organize the animals into their individual corral. The baskets on my shelf were turned over on their sides to give it a rustic feel. Then, labels for each animal were added, some troughs (small wooden boxes from Dollar Tree), and a few other supplies for each animal that I will talk about down below. You could use a shelf or a table with baskets to set up your farm dramatic play area, too!
Materials:
- Farm Dramatic Play
- farm stuffed animals
- 2-liter bottles
Milk the Cow
Farm Dramatic Play
In the picture above, there is a list of Farmer’s Chores that can help guide and initiate prolonged dramatic play with our little ones. It gives the kiddos ideas on what activities they can do in the farm dramatic play center. This chore list is FREE for anyone who wants to just use that in their class.
So the first chore down on the farm is to milk the cow. I taped a rubber glove to our shelf behind the cow printout. The kiddos could pretend to squeeze the udders and collect milk in a bucket.
One day this week, we even added real milk to the rubber glove and poked holes in the fingertips to add even more excitement to the experience, which we’ve included as one of our farm fine motor activities.
Materials:
- Farm Dramatic Play
- rubber glove
- small bucket
Collect the Eggs
Counting Through Play
Next up, we pretended to collect the eggs from the hens. The kiddos gently grabbed the wooden eggs from the nest and placed them in the basket. Try not to break the eggs!
Then, they counted the eggs that the hens laid that morning. (We talked about how it’s a different number every day.) Finally, they used a clothespin to mark the number of eggs collected on the chart. Great way to add in some math with dramatic play!
Materials:
- Farm Dramatic Play
- nest
- wooden eggs
- clothespin
Herd the Sheep
Coding Directions
For our next chore on the farm, we herded sheep back to their corrals using directional cards.
My eldest knows her left from her right because she chooses the route on our nightly walks through the neighborhood by telling me left, right, or straight.
But it’s definitely different having to set up a route for the sheep to follow home! I love how the kids could set up different paths on the grass and practice directional words all in one.
Materials:
- Farm Dramatic Play
- grass rug ($20 at Home Depot)
Pick the Vegetables
Pretend Garden
As part of our farm dramatic play center, I made this DIY garden. And let me tell you, it was so easy! I really don’t like to make complicated things for the classroom. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
You will need a shallow box, pool noodles, a brown piece of cloth (I used an old pillowcase back from the early 2000s when brown was in), and small vegetables (I used vegetable counters).
First, cut a pool noodle the length of the box using a large knife and a cutting board. Make sure to cut them a little bit longer than the box so they stay put. Continue cutting pool noodles until the box is filled. Next, tuck your brown piece of cloth into the cracks and the sides of the box. I didn’t even glue the cloth because the pool noodles were so snug. Last, add in some vegetables and your garden is ready to go!
The kids could go to the garden each day and pick the vegetables. There was a watering can and baskets for them to use in the garden. After the kids were done, they had to put the vegetables back into the garden, matching the vegetables in each row to incorporate sorting.
Materials:
- medium cardboard box
- pool noodle
- brown fabric
- vegetable counters
Feed The Pigs
Following Directions
Next up is feeding the pigs!
I decided to incorporate some cooking in the kitchen with this one for our future chefs (or really any tot who loves to pretend to cook in the play kitchen). The kids can pretend to chop up the fruits and vegetables and add them to the pot. Boil the concoction until it’s piping hot and then feed the pig slop to the pigs.
Who knew farmers had so many different skills?
Materials:
Care for the Horses
Pretend Play
Being around horses is truly calming. The comfort of their steady trot, the wisdom in their eyes, the way they connect us to nature and can transport us to new places. The feelings created when we are around horses is probably why many children love them. Or maybe it’s because they love galloping around the room saying, “Yeehaw!”
In our farm dramatic play setup, we pretended to care for our horses by combing their hair, cleaning their hooves, feeding them hay, and giving them plenty of exercise.
If you have a stick pony, the kiddos would just love it! I’m sure of it!
Materials:
- Farm Dramatic Play
- small wooden boxes (Dollar Tree) or troughs
- shredded yellow paper
- brush
- stick pony
Plow the Fields
Farm Dramatic Play
When we first set up our barn, the kids made a corn craft to create the cornfields. Use the corn outline (which is provided in the Farm Dramatic Play printouts) and a Lego brick to stamp the corn kernels. Just dip the Lego into orange, yellow, and white paint and dab away!
Then, you can use Velcro dots on top of the corn printouts so the kiddos could really “pick” the corn. So neat!
And you know what is the perfect addition to this area: a riding toy tractor!
Materials:
You might also like...
MORE Farm Activities
Farm dramatic play is the perfect way to teach young children about life on a farm. They can collect the eggs, care for the horses, make pig slop, herd the sheep, and plow the fields. Make it fun, make it hands-on, and incorporate some of those foundational skills wherever you can to help your little ones learn through play! Why not set up your farm today?
