Irresistible Ideas for play based learning

A visit to Tinternwood Farm at Tintern Girls Grammar School was a highlight for our pre-kindergarten children recently.

Tinternwood is a lovely farm nestled on twenty two acres, not too far from our kinder.  Its location is really convenient for our families so we were able to meet the parents and children in the car park at an arranged time, and stroll down to the farm together to meet up with Farmer Gavin.

We are very fortunate to have wonderful families who always support our program and make themselves available to accompany their children on our excursions, as we wouldn’t be able to do it without them.

The children and parents all came well prepared for the cold with coats and gumboots but as the weather was absolutely perfect, umbrellas were left in the car…woohoo!

We had discussed with the children the kinds of things we would see and experience at the farm, such as sheep … mud and poop.  Cows … mud and poop. Chickens … mud and poop …  and of course … mud and poop! So, although the ground was relatively free of mud those gumboots definitely came in handy!

The children were so exited as this was the first time many of them had experienced farm life.  The farm is really hands-on and the children were all encouraged by Farmer Gavin, with the help of the Tintern students to get up close and pat the animals and ask lots of questions.

We patted and cuddled day old lambs …

… rubbed the belly of a friendly brown cow …

… handled freshly laid eggs and stroked the silkiest feathers of some of the most unusual chicken we have ever seen.

Spring was certainly in the air on the farm and we were very lucky to witness a ewe giving birth to a set of twins while we were strolling through the paddocks.

It was wonderful and amazing and definitely a highlight for the parents and children…. that and seeking out fresh sheep poop to squish beneath little people’s feet …well naturally… I mean, why else would you wear gumboots to the farm… after all there wasn’t a rain cloud in sight!

The hour and a half we spent at the farm was the perfect length of time for the children to explore the animals, have a bit of a run around and enjoy morning/afternoon tea with Mum or Dad.

We have been visiting Tinterwood Farm for a number of years and as always Farmer Gavin and the students were very patient and attentive with the children, which ensured we all had a wonderful day.

Our visit to ‘Tinternwood Farm’ at Tintern Girls Grammar School has lead to a lot of discussion recently about…

cows and milk …

… chickens and eggs …

… sheep and wool…

… and of course farm machines!

So naturally the children’s interests have revolved around the farm and the animals we encounted.

We’ve read the books Little pink pig, by Pat Hutchins, Old Macdonald had a farm, illustrated by Pam Adams and The chicken book, by Garth Williams.

We’ve sung Old Macdonald had a farm, Five little duck’s, Baa baa black sheep, and I went to visit a farm one day.

We’ve danced to the Scarecrow song and The farmer in the dell as well as stamp, paint, draw, paste, play and puzzle our way through a variety of great farm activities.

Our bush box is currently home to our large farm animals, with plenty of natural materials like tanbark, grasses, logs, rocks, branches and wooden blocks provided for the children to use as props.

The children love the bush box as it is a very social area and they can climb right inside it and become totally involved in their play. If you don’t have a bush box like ours a child’s clam shell style pool would be ideal for this kind of play.

It’s great to be able to bring the outside in, on a hot or rainy day.