 I’m yet to met a toddler who doesn't squeal with delight when talking about going to visit the farm! Our Little Starlings children absolutely love learning about what’s going on at the farm and they are always keen to create some amazing artwork while they learn about who lives on the farm. As we’re all still in lockdown we thought you might like a few more ideas that can bring our playful farm learning to your place.  GLOVE “COW” MILKING ACTIVITYMilk is a very familiar product for our little ones, but where does it come from? This fun activity is a great why to show little ones how we get milk from a cow. It’s also great for hand strengthening and developing hand-eye coordination. To ‘milk’ your cow you will need: Container Clean rubber glove(s) Black Sharpie Pen Water Needle To get started decorate your glove(s) with cow print spots to get into the theme. Then using a needle, prick the end of one or two fingers of the glove. Depending on the thickness of your gloves, you may need to stretch the hole with the needle in a circular motion to widen the hole. Fill the glove with water and tie the open end of the glove so that it holds the liquid without spilling. The fun part is to allow the child to grasp and squeeze the fingers downward to simulate milking a cow. You can attempt to fill a small glass with the “milk.” This is bound to be lots of fun so please don't forget to share your giggles and videos with us.  CHICK CHICK CHICKENNo farm would be complete without a flock of Chickens. Here is a super quick and easy craft idea to create your own flow of little baby spring chickens. You will need: Paper plates Paint (or paint sticks for a quicker, less messy activity) Paintbrush Scissors Glue stick Printable template Head over to The Craft Train & print out their chick printable template. https://www.thecrafttrain.com/paper-plate-chick-printable-template/ Then cut out the beak and legs from orange card, the wing shape from yellow card and get a googly eye or sticker eye ready. Next paint your plate yellow. Once it’s dry, cut in half then you’re ready to start assembling.  TWINKL GAMES AND ACTIVITY SHEETSWhy not see if your little ones can point out the babies and match them to their babies cow=calf sheep=lamb horse=calf These activities encourage language and understanding of our world by explaining where our food comes from at the farm...milk from cows, honey from bees, which animals lays eggs to eat? They may be too young to fully grasp this right now but it's never too early to start and the children love that conversation and interaction with you. You'll probably have a, much needed, giggle with some of their answers! The Twinkl free access code during lockdown is: PARENTSTWINKLHELPS LINK: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/home-early-years  READ ABOUT THE FARM Here are some of our favourite books about the farm to read with little ones. Great for encouraging language development and understanding. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0230766803/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_kmwUEbY6QYBM8 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1409566188/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_HmwUEbJDMYBP4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1509866949/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_VmwUEbHA2CD14 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857632450/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_9mwUEb3CR0310  DEAN CITY FARMOf course when it's safe to venture back outdoor, why not visit our lovely, local Dean city farm, which is just perfect for little ones. We’re so lucky to have this on our doorstep, it's a hidden gem in the middle of Merton SW19.
They offer meet & greets with the animals, pony rides, pig feeding and even have a wonderful riding school for adventurous older children. It's a perfect local day out with a cafe too for ice-creams. We hope you've had as much fun as us learning about all the fun at the farm. It's a huge hit with the kiddies as well as educational. Dean City Farm is a registered charity (no. 1008028), supported by Merton Council, but rely heavily upon donations from visitors and the local community to help us carry out the work and look after the animals. With the closures due to COVID-19 they are really struggling at the moment, if you are able to support them in anyway, they would be hugely grateful. Here’s their donation link: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/savedeencityfarm Let’s hope we can keep this amazing rural oasis on our doorstep for many years to come and enjoy. Don't forget to share your animal stories and pictures with us. Have a great weekend and stay happy
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 As we reach the end of another lockdown week at home who's up for fun garden scavenger hunt to carry on our week of playful learning about "who lives in the garden". Scavenger hunts are lovely little activities to do, especially with this glorious weather we're enjoying. To carry on with this week's theme, we have created a downloadable spotters checklist for you to print off (https://bit.ly/2YGFafb), grab a little magnifying glass or toy binoculars if you have them and send your little ones off to explore in the garden. It's a great way to encourage children to observe living things, teach them to be patient (it's not always easy!) develop their language and social skills. Great for asking lots of questions...is it furry, slimy, how many legs can you see....does it jump, run or fly? So we have some interesting facts about what you might find in your garden... DID YOU KNOW: Bees have 5 eyes and 6 legs🐝 A worm has no eyes, legs or arms Spiders have 8 legs whilst insects have 6🕷 Ladybirds are a type of beetle🐞 Butterflies attach their eggs on leaves with special glue 🦋 Blackbirds eat insects, grain and fruit 🐦 Squirrels eat mostly nuts, fruits and seeds🐿 Robin's eggs are a light blue colour 🥚 These scavenger hunts are always a huge hit in our house as the children are always amazed at what lives in their garden. Happy hunting 🐛  |
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