Patty Gagnon, Kindergarten Teacher
Freedom Elementary School
Loon Lake Road
Freedom, NH 03836
539-2077
Subject Matter: Farming
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Key Questions to be explored:
1. What is involved in caring for farm animals on a daily basis?
2. How old do chickens live to be?
3. What happens in a chicken coop on a daily basis?
Outcome:
After spending a day on a small farm, I have gained knowledge to share with my kindergarten students, i.e. types of animals, feeding, grooming and overall care of these animals.
Activity: Creating a mock chicken coop for our kindergarten classroom.
Materials: Treasury for Children by James Harriot. First Edition, October 1992.
ISBN-0312085125
Cardboard box
Toy chickens (or pictures of chickens)
Toy eggs, egg carton
Hay
Procedure:
1. Read Blossom Comes Home by James Herriot. Discuss all of the different animals found on the farm. Some topics for discussion may include the following ideas: 1) cows produce milk, which is eventually sold at the grocery store, 2) pigs have many piglets at one time, and nurse from their mother as shown in this story, 3) chickens lay eggs in a chicken coop. (Many animals can be added to your list.)
2. Further the discussion about chickens. Chickens live to be about six to eight years old. On the farm I visited, they had a total of 16 chickens (12 adults and four 4- months old.') Explain to the students that they will assist you in making a mock chicken coop for the classroom. Using chart paper, write down different ideas that the children contribute to planning a chicken coop. Brainstorm what you could make a coop out of, i.e. cardboard box. Also discuss what you would put in the coop, i.e. hay, toy chickens brought in from home or pictures of chickens, pretend plastic eggs from a kitchen set.
3. Using a cardboard box, have the children draw three circles that will be cut out for the opening of a chicken coop. The teacher cuts out the circles. Stand the box on a table, at eye level for the children to play with. Put in some hay and the pretend chickens. Discuss how some chickens will lay more eggs then others. (At the farm site I visited, the owners keep the hens for about two years then give them away.) Tell the students that in the early morning, the class will check the coop for eggs. This is when the chickens lay their eggs.
4. The following morning, the teacher will plant eggs under each chicken, Have the children take turns removing the eggs from the chicken coop and put into a basket. From the basket, the students put them into a cardboard egg container.
5. Count the eggs in the dozen box and discuss that there are twelve eggs in a dozen. This is a good time to discuss how eggs are sold in a grocery store. Discuss the process of a farmer selling his eggs to the store in return for money.
6. Keep the mock chicken coop set up in the classroom so that the children can role play life on a farm.
7. Have farm books available in the classroom for the children to read and enjoy.
Closing Activity:
Have each student color and cut a picture of a photocopied farm animal. Make a stick puppet by gluing the picture on to a pizza round and craft stick. The entire class sits down in a circle and begins singing "Old MacDonald Had A Farm". As each animal is called out, the student with that animal stands and dances around the circle. Continue singing the song until all animals have been sung.
How will this lesson be reviewed and evaluated?
I will know that my objectives will have been met when the children participate in the discussion of farm animals and the process that takes place when chickens lay eggs.
Comments:
During our farming unit, I would like to take my students to visit a farm. Hands-on experience is so important at this age.
Animals owned on The Little Farm:
8:00 a.m: Farmer begins morning chores.
1. Horse has been confined in his stall all night. Farmer lets her out to pasture. She is given hay to eat. Farmer cleans out horse's stall. Fresh bedding of hay is put into the stall. This takes approximately 10-15 minutes.
2. All animals get fresh water. The water buckets are thoroughly cleaned twice a week. Animals include: calf, goats, sheep, horse, chickens.
3. Calf, goats and sheep all get grain each morning.
4. Chickens get one pellet of compound each morning. This pellet is a good egg producing compound made up of ground up grains and forage. This combination is ground into a mash, compressed and dried. Chickens are given "chicken scratch" (assorted seeds) as a treat when young children visit the farm, The chickens eat once a day. They are not given anything to eat in the evening.
It takes approximately 20 minutes per day to feed all of the animals. They are now set for the day.
Each evening all animals except for the chickens will get more hay. This hay consists of grass and weeds from the field, The horse is brought in for the evening. The other animals are free to roam around the pasture. In the past five years, he has only lost two chickens to stray animals. A hawk and a dog have attacked and killed them.
The farmer makes occasional trips (once or twice a week) to the hardware store to buy supplies. He purchases wire and staple nails to repair fencing in the pasture and the chicken coops. He occasionally has to purchase materials such as plugs for his tractor.
Motorized equipment on this farm consists of a tractor with an attached hay wagon, rototiller and a riding lawn mower. A small manual hay cutter, a sickle, is used on this farm
Summer is a busy time for the farmer. During July and August the farmer's biggest responsibility is cutting the hay for the winter months. He uses his riding mower to cut the weeds. The hay is left in the field for two to three days to dry. He then piles it into the wagon and brings it into the barn. By hand, he uses a long handled hay rake to put the hay upstairs in the barn. This particular farmer prefers to do a lot of the haying by hand because other people are involved. On larger farms, farmers rely on large heavy equipment, such as a combine. Farmers who do not own combines will rent services to cut their hay This process must be done carefully. If the hay is not dried properly prior to bringing it into the barn, the hay looses nutrients which is important for the animals to receive. All of the hay brought into the barn is saved for the winter months.
It takes approximately 15 wagon loads to feed the animals throughout the winter months. After one or two frosts, the animals begin to eat the hay that has been brought into the barn. The animals' body heat keeps the barn's temperature above the freezing mark. (A large dairy farmer's barn with several will be much warmer because manure gives off a great deal of heat.) On this farm, the farmer keeps a light bulb on above the water tubs to prevent the water from freezing. The animals are kept in the barn at night, however, during the day, they like to go out in the pasture and make paths through the snow.
This farmer has six vegetable gardens in his field, The neighbors are invited to use his land for their summer gardens. Each spring the farmer uses a rototiller to turn the soil prior to planting. Planting takes place in May for approximately two weeks. Weeding is very important for gardens of any kind. If weeds are not removed, they will take up the nourishment of the soil which effects the plants. The farmer weeds for one hour each day when the plants begin to grow. If there is little rainfall, he uses hoses to water the gardens. During very dry seasons he will pump water from the nearby pond. Vegetables planted on this farm consist of: corn, potatoes, carrots, onions, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, gourds, and peas.
Harvesting is done in the fall (September and October). The farmer watches all vegetables closely for rot. After all vegetables are harvested, he puts the garden to bed for the winter. This consists of removing all corn stalks. Corn stalks are given to all of the animals. Although stalks are extremely tough, they are eaten by the animals, particularly sweet corn. He then uses his rototiller to turn the garden over, Other tools used to turn the garden over consist of a plow (on a larger farm), and a spring toothed harrow (on a smaller farm). He will invite the neighbors to garden with him again next spring.
All potatoes are put in the cellar for the winter months. Potatoes must be stored in a cool place to avoid sprouting. Onions are also stored in the cellar.
In addition to caring for the animals and gardens, this farmer opens his farm to the public for group tours. Each morning, he and his wife will sit down and plan their tour. Depending on the age of the children and group size, the tours vary. Children are given a chance to feed some of the animals, go on "treasure hunts" around the farm, plant in the gardens, go on a hay ride, use a real well, and listen to a story in the field. Some groups bring their picnic lunch and spend the afternoon.
This farmer is semi-retired. His busiest time around the farm is during the spring, summer and fall seasons. Winter months are fairly quiet.