Today it's another special Story Corner with some blogging friends, this month with an animal theme. I had high ambitions: a mother and baby farm animals matching game, and more. But our activity ended up much more simple and delightfully fun.
My daughter loves farm animals right now, so this was a perfect subject for us! She adores the Farm Animals chunky books: they are predictable, small, and work as blocks to make stacking towers when you are down reading them!
She also loves the Farmyard Tales about the Boot family. We decided to focus on these stories. After we read them (and listened to the audio CD) and read them some more, I asked her if she wanted to make Apple Tree Farm. I simply drew a hillside and a pond on a piece of paper and she went to town adding the animals! Farmyard sticker stories was simple but plenty fun!
I bought a small bag of farm animals foam stickers at the Dollar Store during our excursion the other day. You can also older more colorful and detailed animal stickers from Amazon (affiliate link). Then after my rudimentary drawing on the paper, Strawberry went to town adding the animals to the scene!
We had to add a fence for the sheep pen, a chicken coop, and a barn for the larger animals. After she'd played with the animals for a time, she asked where Ted (the farm helper) was, so we added him, as well as Mrs. Boot, Poppy, and Sam. Then, after we drew the old steam train, she wanted Mr. Boot in the picture too.
She had the animals talk to each other. Ted and the other stationary people joined conversations too. But then the best part of her play came in: she asked if we could put the fire in the picture so they could call the fire engine. You see, in one of the stories in the complete Farmyard Tales collection, the children and Ted smell smoke and see it coming from the hay barn. I won't tell you have that particular story ends, but let's just say Strawberry loves that the family must call the fire engine. She had to go get her "fire engine," which in this particular moment was the puzzle she enjoys doing.
Notice the Boot family, Ted, and the fire by the brown barn (i.e., the scribbles in upper right corner)! She loved re-living the book in this scene with her "fire engine"
In all, despite (or maybe because of) the simplicity of our activity, Strawberry loved it! She loved remembering and acting out some of the silly stories we had read together. She loves Poppy and Sam's adventures, and this just made it all the more fun for her.
She wanted to sleep with her picture under her pillow so the animals could hear the stories as she listened to them before bed!
Get The Complete Book of Farmyard Talesat my Usborne Books & More shop! Some of the stories are available in smaller volumes as well.
Check out these other activities from Story Corner bloggers!
Mix and Match Animal Game | Itsy Bitsy Spider Craft | Dogs, Dogs! Memory Match Game | Reading with George | Shark Sight Words | Activity Basket for Kids | Panda Bear Play Dough Fun | Sea Animal Paper Plate Aquariums | How to Draw a Parrot for Kids
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