Baskets
Plastic Fruits and Vegetables
Cornucopia
Books about hunters and gathers
Animal Stamps
Animal Cookie Cutters
Fruit and Vegetable Stamps
Pretend Play Gardening Tools
Gardening Gloves
Real-life Stuffed Animals
Pictures of Foods that are gathered
Multicultural Pictures of People Gathering Foods
Pretend play fishing pole, net, fish, buckets
Empty seed packets
Water Table: blue water, pretend play fishing pole w/fish, child appropriate fishing net, small buckets, plastic animals, etc.
Sensory Table: dirt, empty seed packets, plastic fruit and vegetables, small baskets, shovel, rake, plastic buckets, fall leaves, etc.
1. Look at pictures and talk about what kinds of animals gather food. (squirrels, beavers, mice, etc.)
2. Look at pictures or have plastic foods to show and talk about what types of foods are hunted and gathered.
3. Talk about how/purpose animals hunt and gather food to eat, look at pictures of animals
4. What animals live at the farm? Pigs, sheep, goats, cows, horses, etc.
5. Where does milk come from? Show pictures.
6. What do sheep give us?
7. What do chickens give us?
8. Name animals that live on the farm. Make a graph.
9. What does a baler do? Collects the wheat straw from the ground and forms it into blocks. This straw will be used for animal bedding during winter.
Teaching Concepts for Small Groups
1.Glue pictures of the fruits and vegetables in a basket
2. Stamp art with animal and/or fruit/vegetable stamps
3. Using baskets and pretend food, gather food into baskets
4. Sort Fruit counters by color/type
5. Leaf Sort
1. Have children hunt and gather what they can find on the playground or you can place plastic fruit and vegetables around playground and have children gather those in a basket.
2. Ring Around the Corn Field (like Ring Around the Rosie)
3. This Is the Way the Hunters Ride
This is the way the ladies ride (This knee ride gets faster and faster. End with a sudden
Nim, nim, nim lift!)
This is the way the gentlemen ride,
Trim, trim, trim
This is the way the farmers ride,
T-rot, t-rot, t-rot,
And this is the way the hunters ride,
Galop-a, galop-a, galop-a, galop-a, galop-a galop-a,
galop!
4. Soil search- have children examine all sorts of soil (clay, potting soil, sand, top soil) Use magnifying glasses to observe and see how they are different, feel them as well to see the different textures of each.
1. Frisky Squirrel (tune: The Grand Old Duke of York)
Oh, the frisky little squirrel
He gathers nuts and seeds.
He hides them for the winter months
So he’ll have all he needs.
Oh, up-up-up he goes
And down-down-down he comes.
He runs around – goes up and down.
His work is never done. (repeat)
2. A Hunting We Will Go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go!
We’ll catch a fox and put him in a box,
And then we’ll let him go.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go!
We’ll catch a mouse and put him in a house,
And then we’ll let him go.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go!
We’ll catch a frog and put him on a log,
And then we’ll let him go.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go!
We’ll catch a goat and put him in a boat,
And then we’ll let him go.
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go!
We’ll catch a bear and put him in a chair,
And then we’ll let him go.
3. Bear Hunt
1. A Squirrel Song (tune: She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain)
I’ll be gathering all the acorns till they’re gone.
I’ll be gathering all the acorns till they’re gone.
I’ll be gathering all the acorns, gathering all the acorns.
Gathering all the acorns till they’re gone. (make collecting motion with their hands)
And I’ll put them all inside my little home.
I will put them all inside my little home.
I will put them all inside, put them all inside.
Put them all inside my little home. (pretend to place nuts in tree house)
And I’ll eat the nuts until the winter’s gone.
I will eat the nuts until the winter’s gone.
I will eat the nuts until, eat the nuts until,
Eat the nuts until the winter’s gone. (pretend to eat acorns)
Then I’ll do it all again come next fall.
I will do it all again come next fall.
I will do it all again, do it all again,
Do it all again come next fall. (make gathering motion with hands and arms again.)
2. A Fishing We Will Go
A fishing we will go, a fishing we will go! (cast your fishing line)
To catch a fish, and put him in a dish (hands around a fat fish, then two hands shaped like a dish)
Before we let him go. (Wriggle hand like a fish’s tale swimming away)
A fishing we will go, a fishing we will go! (cast your fishing line)
To catch a trout, and kiss him on the snout (hands around a trout, then pretend to kiss him)
Before we let him go. (Wriggle hand like a fish’s tale swimming away).
A fishing we will go, a fishing we will go! (cast your fishing line)
To catch a whale, and ride his tale (hands around a big whale, then pretend to ride his tale )
Before we let him go. (Wriggle hand like a fish’s tale swimming away)
3. Plant a Little Seed
Plant a little seed (one hand makes a loose fist for pot, other hand moves down through pot)
Watch it grow (hand comes back through pot)
Soon we will have a vegetable (move fist over fist upward)
Plant a little seed, watch it root,
Soon we will have a piece of fruit.
Plant a little seed, watch it sprout.
Let’s all try to figure it out.
4. My Garden
My garden has green beans, (hands waist high and fingers pointing down)
Tomatoes so round, (form a circle with hands)
Corn reaches high, (reach high)
Carrots grow underground. (pat floor)
I’ve watered and watered, (pretend to water)
And picked all the weeds. (pretend to pull weeds)
Tonight we’ll eat supper, (rub stomach)
I planted as seeds! (thumb point to chest proudly)