A Year of Tot School: Life On The Farm

Welcome to Tot School 2.0! We’re so excited to share our preschool farm activities and read alouds with you in our Tot School Unit: Life on the Farm.

Why 2.0? Well, this is our second round of Tot School here at the Oakleaf Academy for Boys. And, to be honest, I didn’t think I’d do it again.

When I first made the decision to homeschool, I wasn’t sure it was something I would do long term. But after teaching in preschools and early education private schools, I knew I wanted something different for my kids than your run of the mill, spit ‘em out ready for Kindergarten program.

However, I didn’t think I was cut out to be the one to do it. But I was determined to give it a try, so I spent hours researching preschool teaching methods and curriculum until I stumbled upon a Reggio Emilia Inspired School.

It was incredible. Kids painting with acrylics, building with real wood working materials, and engineering with clay and natural materials. I saw what a child was capable of doing when someone believed they could, and I was forever changed.

“Children want to be sparked like flames, not filled like barrels.”

Heraclitus

The idea that kids are not only capable, but that their natural curiosity and wonder are sparks to be ignited rather than impulses to be stamped out is what’s missing from traditional schooling. When you have to teach to a test, there isn’t much room for imagination and play.

Newly inspired, I set out to recreate the Reggio schools in my home. I planned and prepped beautiful provocations based around great works of children’s literature and documented every milestone along the way.

I fell in love with teaching as I watched my oldest son blossom while creating, imagining, and exploring his world in a place where he could hear the word “yes” rather than the constant “no” he was used to getting from adults.

His preschool year was full of beauty and wonder, but the messy loose parts, constant prep, and endless documentation became too much for me to keep up with, and I burned out.

Once again I dived into my research, looking for another path forward. I didn’t want to lose the open ended education that we’d begun to build, but with a second little guy in tow, I needed to let it be easy.

It was around this time that I discovered minimalism, and as I purged the clutter from my home, I decided to get rid of the fluff in our curriculum as well.

I discovered Charlotte Mason, and as I read her ideas about living literature, I realized how much my kids were learning simply by my reading to them.

It’s not that what I was doing was wrong. It was just too much of a good thing.

They didn’t need three activities a day to reinforce what they were learning. They would make the connections themselves when allowed to discover them through simple, playful learning.

Another idea that I adopted from Charlotte Mason was to delay formal education until age six or when the child begins to show interest in deeper learning. So as preschool turned into Pre-K, and Pre-K into Kindergarten, we continued a gentle education, but made small shifts into more academic pursuits by adding in early phonics and math.

Because they are so close in age, this delay in formal education meant that my middle son has always been happy joining in my oldest boy’s preschool activities when they inspire him, and doing his own thing when they don’t. I didn’t see the need to do tot school with him because I was letting him lead in his learning.

So why start again now?

There are two reasons:

1. I have a 2 year old who isn’t able to do many of the activities his older siblings are now engaged in, yet he desperately wants to be included. And if he’s showing an interest in learning, I want to meet that need.
2. I need to keep this same precocious 2 year old busy while I’m teaching my older boys.

This time around I’m keeping it super simple with one intentional, play based learning activity each day. I’m going to let the literature do most of the teaching while the activities build crucial thinking and motor skills.

Each activity is adapted from my upcoming preschool curriculum A Child’s Tale – Adventures in Living Literature, which I’m using with my middle guy for his Pre K homeschool curriculum this year. That way I’m not adding to my day. I’m simply going to let my little guy join in with what we’re already doing at his own level.

A Child’s Tale is broken down into seasonal studies consisting of 12 weeks each. This third week of our fall unit focuses on preschool farm activities and books!

I’m so excited to have you along on this journey! Whether you’re a first time homeschool mom trying to ease into teaching your child, or you’re an old pro just trying to connect with your littlest each day, I hope this curriculum truly blesses your family!

Fall Week 3: Life on the Farm

Monday:

Read Aloud: Big Red Barn – Margaret Wise Brown

Activity: Make Clay Farm Animals

Use clay to make different farm animals. Count how many animals you make. Bake them according to the package directions!

Tuesday:

Read Aloud: Moo Baa La La – Sandra Boynton

Activity: Poetry Teatime

Serve tea (or any favorite beverage), and a favorite snack.

Take it Further:

Pigs in blankets are a simple, fun snack to make with your littles for teatime!

Read Country Life (A Traditional Folk Song).

I like to rise when the sun she rises,

Early in the morning,

And I like to hear them small birds singing,

Merrily upon their layland,

And hurrah for the life of a country boy,

And to ramble in the new mown hay.

In spring we sow at the harvest mow

And that is how the seasons round they go,

But of all the times, if chose I may,

I’d be rambling in the new mown hay.

(chorus)

In summer when the sun is hot,

We sing, and we dance, and we drink a lot,

We spend our time in sport and play,

And go rambling in the new mown hay.

(chorus)

In autumn when the oak trees turn,

We gather all the wood that’s fit to burn,

We cut and stash and stow away,

No more rambling in the new mown hay.

(chorus)

In winter when the sky is grey,

We hedge and ditch our time away,

I think of summer when the sun shines gay,

And rambling in the new mown hay.

(chorus)

Wednesday:

Read Aloud: Little Blue Truck – Alice Schertle

Activity: Little Blue Truck Mud Sensory Bin

Make a package of chocolate pudding according to the instructions on the box. Once it sets, line the bottom of a plastic bin (I prefer clear) with the “mud.” Present your child with a little blue truck (or any play truck you have on hand) and toy animals. Let them retell the story as they play!

Thursday:

Read Aloud: The Little Red Hen – Paul Galdone

Activity: Cooperative Cup STEM Game

See it on my Preschool STEM Activities Pinterest Board. Talk about how much easier everything would have been for the little red hen if she and her friends had worked together.

A Year of Tot School will be divided into 12 weeks of playful learning for each season of the year. For a total of 48 weeks. These preschool farm activities are the third week in our fall series.

If you want to check out other tot school themes, you can find them all here!

If you love these preschool farm activities, pin them so you can come back to them again!