Farms Storytime

Louella Mae, she's run away! by Karen Beaumont Alarcón ; illustrations by Rosanne Litzinger.
New York : Holt, 1997.
A growing crowd searches all around the family farm for the missing Louella Mae.

In the spring by Craig Brown.
New York: Greenwillow Books, c1994.
Spring signals the arrival of many babies, both animal and human, on the farm.

Big red barn by Margaret Wise Brown; pictures by Felicia Bond.
HarperCollins, c1989.
Rhymed text and illustrations introduce the many different animals that live in the big red barn.

The big sneeze by Ruth Brown.
New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1985.
A farmer sneezes a fly off his nose and causes havoc in the barnyard.

A is for Amos by Deborah Chandra; pictures by Keiko Narahashi.
Farrar Straus Giroux, c1999.
A rider on Amos goes around the farm and back home to the barn finding all the letters of the alphabet.

Click, clack, moo: cows that type by Doreen Cronin; pictures by Betsy Lewin.
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c2000.
When Farmer Brown's cows find a typewriter in the barn they start making demands, and go on strike when the farmer refuses to give them what they want.

Farmer Nat by Chris Demarest.
Harcourt Brace & Company, c1998.
A lift-the-flap book. Guess which animals are hidden under the flaps as you help Farmer Nat with his morning chores.

Barnyard banter by Denise Fleming.
New York: Holt, c1994.
All the farm animals are where they should be, clucking and mucking, mewing and cooing, except for the missing goose.

My cousin Katie by Michael Garland.
T.Y. Crowell, c1989.
Katie's cousin looks forward to all the wonderful things she will do when she visits Katie on the farm.

Barnyard song by Rhonda Gowler Greene; illustrated by Robert Bender.
New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c1997.
When the barnyard animals catch the flu, the farmer takes care of them until their usual voices return.

Spot goes to the farm written & illustrated by Eric Hill.
Putnam, c1987.
Spot searches for new babies among the farm animals, each of which greets him with its own distinctive noise. Movable flaps conceal portions of the illustrations.

Little chicks' mothers and all the others by Mildred Lüton; pictures by Mary Maki Rae.
New York: Viking Press, c1983.
Verses briefly describe several farm animals and their young.

No, no, Titus! by Claire Masurel; illustrated by Shari Halpern.
New York: North-South Books, c1997.
At first Titus the dog has trouble discovering exactly what his job is on the farm, but then a fox's approach to the chicken coop helps him understand how valuable he is.

Picnic farm by Christine Morton and Sarah Barringer.
Holiday House, 1998.
Children visiting a farm enjoy a picnic made up of all the foods the farm produces.

Z-Z-Zoink! by Bernard Most.
Harcourt Brace, c1999.
A pig has trouble finding a place to sleep because she snores so loudly and wakes up the entire barnyard.

And the cow said moo! by Mildred Phillips; pictures by Sonja New York: Greenwillow, c2000.
A cow questions why the other animals make their own sounds, instead of saying, MOO! as she does.

Who's in my bed? by Helen Piers; illustrated by Dave Saunders.
New York: Marshall Cavendish, c1999.
A donkey tries to find out why the various animals on the farm are not sleeping in their proper places--and discovers that it is his fault.

Pigs in the mud in the middle of the rud by Lynn Plourde; illustrated by John Schoenherr.
New York: Blue Sky Press, c1997.
A feisty grandmother and her family struggle to get an assortment of farm animals out of the road so the family can pass in their T-Model Ford.

On Grandpa's farm by Vivian Sathre; illustrated by Anne Hunter.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
Simple text describes a day spent helping Grandpa with chores on the farm.

The barn party by Nancy Tafuri.
Greenwillow Books, c1995.
Cristina's birthday is celebrated with a party in the barn attended by all the animals.

Early morning in the barn by Nancy Tafuri.
New York: Greenwillow Books, c1983.
All the barnyard animals wake up when the rooster crows.

Spots, feathers, and curly tails by Nancy Tafuri.
Greenwillow Books, c1988.
Questions and answers highlight some outstanding characteristics of farm animals, such as a chicken's feathers and a horse's mane.

Wake up, farm! by Alvin Tresselt; pictures by Carolyn Ewing.
New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, c1991.
Relates the morning activities and sounds of a variety of farm animals.

Busy farm by Sian Tucker.
Little Simon, c1995.
Brief text and illustrations with movable parts present a simple picture of life on a farm.

Farmer duck by Martin Waddell; illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 1992.
When a kind and hardworking duck nearly collapses from overwork, while taking care of a farm because the owner is too lazy to do so, the rest of the animals get together and chase the farmer out of town.

Let's go visiting written by Sue Williams; illustrated by Julie Vivas.
San Diego: Harcourt Brace, c1998.
A counting story in which a boy visits his farmyard friends, from one brown foal to six yellow puppies.

In the Farmyard

In the farmyard at the end of the day,
Listen to what the animals say.
The cow says, "Moo,"
The pigeon, "Coo."
The sheep says, "Baa,"
The lamb says, "Maa."
The hen, "Cluck, cluck,"
"Quack," says the duck.
The dog, "Bow-wow,"
The cat, "Meow."
The horse, "Neigh,"
The pig grunts, "Oink."
The the barn is closed up tight,
And the farmer says, "Goodnight."
(adapted Traditional)

The rooster crows each morning
To say the day is new.
We all know just what he'll say,
It's "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
~Judy Hall~

Clippity, clippity, clop,
The horses go clip, clop.
They gallop and gallop,
They start and they stop.
Clippity, clippity clop.
~Sue Brown~

Trot, trot, my little horse,
Trot, trot, on the course.

Canter, canter, nice and slow,
Canter, canter, off we go.

Gallop, gallop, speed along,
Gallop, gallop, all day long.
~Carla Cotter Skjong~

All around the barnyard
The animals are fast asleep
Sleeping cows and horses
Sleeping pigs and sheep.

Here comes the cocky rooster
To sound his daily alarm.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Wake up, sleepy farm!
~Pat Beck~

Down on the farm we love to play
In the mud all through the day.

That is why we love to spy
Great big rain clouds in the sky

Down in the mud we make a hole
Where we like to roll and roll.

That is why we shout "Hurray!"
Every time it rains today.
~Jean Warren~

A Farmer's Dozen Click HERE for pattern and text. The same pieces may be used to do a flannelboard with Old MacDonald Had a Farm!

Five Little Cows

This Little Cow
This little cow eats grass
This little cow eats hay.
This little cow drinks water.
This little cow runs away.
This little cow does nothin' at all
But lie around all day

Make five cows out of felt for this one.
To do as a fingerplay, extend fingers, then push them down in succession.

Here is the piggy snout;	Hold up thumb
He'd better stop eating, or his tail will pop out!
Here is busy Mother Hen;	Hold up pointer finger
She likes to scratch for her chickens ten.
Here is patient, friendly cow;	Hold up middle finger
She's eating hay from a big haymow.
Here is Baa-Baa, a wooly sheep;	Hold up ring finger
Her wool keeps me warm while I am asleep.
Here is funny, fuzzy cat;	Hold up little finger
She likes to chase a mouse or rat.	Move fingers to imitate a running cat

FARMER IN THE DELL

The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The farmer in the dell

The farmer takes a wife
The farmer takes a wife
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The farmer takes a wife

The wife takes a child
The wife takes a child
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The wife takes a child

The child takes a nurse
The child takes a nurse
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The child takes a nurse

The nurse takes a cow
The nurse takes a cow
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The nurse takes a cow

The cow takes a dog
The cow takes a dog
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The cow takes a dog

The dog takes a cat
The dog takes a cat
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The dog takes a cat

The cat takes a rat
The cat takes a rat
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The cat takes a rat

The rat takes the cheese
The rat takes the cheese
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The rat takes the cheese

The cheese stands alone
The cheese stands alone
Hi-ho,The derry-o
The cheese stands alone

Circle Game:

Ten children (or more) join hands and dance around the FARMER, who stands in the center of the circle as they sing. At the end of the first verse,the FARMER chooses his WIFE, who joins him inside the circle. At the end of the next verse, the WIFE takes a CHILD, and so on, until the last verse when everyone is in the circle except the CHEESE, who stands alone. Whoever ends up being the CHEESE becomes the FARMER for the next round.

OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I, E-I, O.
And on his farm he had a cow, E-I, E-I, O.
With a moo, moo here, and a moo, moo, there,
Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo, moo.
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I, E-I, O.

Verse 2: dog ... bow wow
Verse 3: cat ... meow meow
Verse 4: duck ... quack quack
Verse 5: pig ... oink oink etc.

EENY, MEENY, MINY MO
(Toe/Foot Rhyme)

Eeny, meeny, miny mo
Catch a piggy by his toe.
If he hollers let him go
Eeny, meeny, miny mo.

On first line, starting with little toe, wiggle one toe at a time until you have wiggled all four toes. On the second and third lines, wiggle the big toe. On the last line, wiggle your way back down to the little toe again.

TO MARKET, TO MARKET
(Bounce/Lift Rhyme)

To market, to market,
To buy a fat pig;
Home again, home again,
Jiggety jig.
To market, to market,
To buy a fat hog;
Home again, home again
Jiggety jog.

Bounce baby gently on your knees. You can also swing the baby while bouncing. On last line of each verse, lift baby up.

THIS LITTLE PIG
(Toe/Foot Rhyme)

This little pig had a rub-a-dub-dub
(Start with little toe)
This little pig had a scrub-a-dub-dub
This little pig ran upstairs
This little pig had no cares
Down came a jar with a loud crash, bam! (Clap hands)
And this fat piggy ate up the jam!

BINGO

There was a farmer had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-o!
There was a farmer had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
(clap)-i-n-g-o!
(clap)-i-n-g-o!
(clap)-i-n-g-o!
And Bingo was his name-o! etc.

HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE

Hey diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such a sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

LITTLE BO-PEEP

Little Bo-Peep
Has lost her sheep,
And doesn't know
Where to find them.
Leave them alone,
And they'll come home,
Bringing their tails
Behind them.

THREE BLIND MICE

Three blind mice, three blind mice.
See how they run! See how they run!
They all ran after a farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.
Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
As three blind mice?

LITTLE BOY BLUE

Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn.
Where is the boy
Who looks after the sheep?
He's under a haystack,
Fast asleep.
Will you wake him?
No, not I,
For if I do,
He's sure to cry.

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB

Mary had a little lamb,
Little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow.

Everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
Everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.

THE BOY IN THE BARN

A little boy went, into a barn,
And lay down on some hay.
An owl came out, and flew about,
And the little boy ran away.

BAA, BAA, BLACK SHEEP

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes! Sir. Yes! Sir.
Three bags full;

One for my master,
One for my dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

THE DONKEY

Donkey, donkey, old and gray,
Open your mouth and gently bray;
Lift your ears and blow your horn,
To wake the world this sleepy morn.

BELL HORSES

Bell horses, bell horses, what time of day?
One o'clock, two o'clock, three and away.

I WENT TO VISIT A FARM ONE DAY

I went to visit a farm one day,
I saw a pig along the way,
And what do you think I heard it say?
Oink oink oink!

Verse 2: horse ... neigh neigh neigh
Verse 3: cat ... meow meow meow
Verse 4: duck ... quack quack quack
Verse 5: sheep ... Baa baa baa
Verse 6: dog....bow wow wow etc.

Coloring Project: Give each child a picture of Little Boy Blue. Have them color the boy with blue crayons or markers. Then let them glue straw, or pieces of yellow yarn onto the picture to make the haystack.

Painting Project: Give each child a picture of pig printed on pink paper. Have them cut out the pig, and glue it onto a piece of green paper. Now comes the fun part: Set out small bowls of chocolate pudding, and let them finger paint "mud" onto the pictures. When they're done, they can lick their fingers clean. (Make sure you have no chocolate allergies!)