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Farm Themed Count and Add Activity for Preschool

Farms are a popular choice for preschoolers and this week we are focusing on Farms as the theme of the week and some Maths. On our none preschool days (she attends the same preschool that J did 2 and a half days a week) I try and mix up our activities and play focusing on different aspects. So with our collection of farm animals, we sat down to do some hands-on mathematics.

Farm themed math activity for preschooler - farmyard animal count and add

Materials Needed

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Selection of Farm Animals – if possible 6 of each type of animal you have
Large sheet of Paper or farm mat if you have one
Piece of Paper
Markers
Dice

Objectives

This activity covers the following Learning Objectives for Preschool and Kindergarten.

  • Counting up to 20
  • Recognising number patterns on a die
  • Introducing number sentences

More Hands-on Counting Activities for Preschoolers

Preparation

Farm themed math activity for preschooler - farmyard animal count and add

I drew out a very quick representation of a farm on a large sheet of paper – a farm house and 3 fields, a cow shed and a pig sty (if you have a farm playmat then you could use this instead). Collected together all of the farm pieces and our die. Set out the activity with the farm animals, farm and dice as well as blank piece of paper.

Farm Count and Add

Sitting down together we quickly reviewed the different farm animals – our farm animals are great they are by Britians and great representations of the animals, however they replaced a set that the review of the animals would have been very necessary as they animals weren’t entirely clear. Once we had our 3 animals identified and sorted into groups of the same animals – pigs, sheep and cows we then started to play.

Farm themed math activity for preschooler - farmyard animal count and add

Using a farmer as the counter T placed her in the farm house I had drawn on the paper – she then rolled the die and together we counted out the dots, if you are using the die for the first time then help your preschooler out by placing a finger on the first dot and working around – counting out irregular patterns of dots, characters or any other objects can be tricky and teaching them little tricks like working in a clockwise direction or keeping a finger on the starting point can help them to develop tactics for life.

Farm themed math activity for preschooler - farmyard animal count and add

The farmer then moved the animals that T chose into one of the fields counting them as they went in and checking that the same number of animals as was on the dice was in the field.

Farm themed math activity for preschooler - farmyard animal count and add

After rolling 3 times I wrote a simple number sentence down – if you were good at drawing (I don’t think T would have recognised a pig from a cow if I had drawn them) then you could draw out the animals but in my case I wrote the name, either method adds to the learning opportunities.

We then counted all of the animals in the farm and totalled them up.

Farm themed math activity for preschooler - farmyard animal count and add

The nice thing was once we had finished the activity T sat down and carried on playing farms with the animals and my homemade farm playmat for about an hour counting the animals into the field and her farmers talking about how many animals they had on the farm in total and what would happen in some went to market (they would be sad in case you were wondering we’re not at the stage of understanding subtraction at all).

Farm Books to add to your book box this week.

Here are some fun books for preschoolers that you can add to your book box for a farm themed week

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson

Goodnight Tractor by Michelle Robinson

Maisy’s Tractor by Lucy Cousins

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker

How Big is a Pig? by Clare Beaton

The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton

Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Duck on a Tractor by David Shannon

Farm themed activities for preschoolers

Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Art, Sensory, Songs and MORE!!!!

Farm Animal Letter Sounds by Mom Inspired Life

Learning to Write: Labeling the Farm by Growing Book by Book

Make a Who Am I Farm Animal Book by The Educators’ Spin On It

Corn Life Cycle & Sequencing Cards for Preschool by The Preschool Toolbox Blog

While at the Farm:  Children’s Farm Song by Capri + 3

Farm Animal Counting and Sorting Sensory Bin by Life Over C’s

Farm Themed Count and Add Activity for Preschool YOU ARE HERE

Corn Painting – An Art Activity for a Preschool Farm Theme by Fun-A-Day!

Preschoolers DIY Farm by Tiny Tots Adventure

Preschool Science: Duck Feather Experiment by Raising Lifelong Learners

Farm Animal Sort by Powerful Mothering

Wash the Farm: Fruits and Vegetable Sensory Play for Preschoolers by The Kennedy Adventures


More Farm Themed Activities for Kids

Farm Beginning Sounds Activity

Apple Picking Field Trip

Farm Small World Play


Pin this Farm Themed Maths Activity to do later

Farm themed math activity for preschooler - farmyard animal count and add
Author
Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, teacher, mum, and home educator from the UK. She loves getting creative, whether it is with simple and easy crafts and ideas, activities to make learning fun, or delicious recipes that you and your kids can cook together you'll find them all shared here on Rainy Day Mum.

8 Comments

  1. Love hands-on math games like this. They are so exciting for small children and there are so many different ways you can change it up to keep it fun and novel!

  2. Great activity! I am loving all the different farm scenes the team made this week. So many variations and skills to be worked on! This is an excellent way to practice math!

  3. That is a fun game to help with early math skills. I will have to look for a large set of dice. It would be much easier for my preschoolers to count the dots that way. Your farm animals are so detailed. What a great collection!

    1. Thank you so much! Now, I don’t have to look for the dice.

  4. This looks great! I love your farm! Pinning this to remember for later!

  5. What an interactive fun farm game to learn the numbers. Can I ask you where you got your large die? I have been looking for one!

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