Old MacDonald had a farm is a favourite song at my kindergarten. Children naturally love animals, so I organised a farm excursion, which unexpectedly raised some interesting questions about gender. Specifically, can a farmer be a woman?
Young children benefit from being around animals. A farm visit gives children the opportunity to observe, interact with and learn about animals. In the days leading up to the excursion, we often sang Old Macdonald had a farm.
Old MacDonald had a farm is a song about a farm and animals on the farm. There’re many versions and I use the CD of Children Love to Sing. This version lists five different animals, including cows, chickens, pigs, sheep and horses. Here’s a video:
To enrich the experience before the excursion, I put out a variety of books on farms and animals in the kindergarten’s reading corner. One day, I noticed a child sang her version of Old Macdonald had a farm, while flipping through a picture book on zoo animals. She sang loud and passionately until she got stuck, “ old MacDonald had a farm, ee i ee i o, and on his farm he had some giraffes, ee i ee i o...” “what sound does a giraffe make?”
I thought that presented a great teaching moment! We did research on the computer and found out giraffes make a distinct sound, and they hum. We then talked about unique animals sounds, such as baas, moos, oinks and neighs, and we googled sounds of animals which we don’t know. We identified what are farm animals and what sound different animals make. Through discussion and online research, children are encouraged to think and to develop knowledge about animals.
I’m delighted that the farm visit was a huge success. Children loved playing where there’re animals, trees and grass. They were happy. When we were watching a lady milking the cow, one little kid observed that a woman can be a farmer, but her friend suggested that the lady is the farmer’s wife. That’s interesting! The lady may be the farmer’s wife, but she is also a farmer in her own right.
I think we need to challenge stereotypes of farming. The word farmer is for both gender, either man or woman. Women can be farmers too. I googled with children and we saw lots of images and videos of women farmers around the world. We also came across a piece of news in Australia. It’s about a little girl who thought she couldn’t be a farmer, because she is a girl. It’s unbelievable, as this girl lives on a farmer herself! Click this link for a read.
Hope my post will inspire you to organise a farm visit! Happy singing! Ee i ee i o!
Young children benefit from being around animals. A farm visit gives children the opportunity to observe, interact with and learn about animals. In the days leading up to the excursion, we often sang Old Macdonald had a farm.
Old MacDonald had a farm is a song about a farm and animals on the farm. There’re many versions and I use the CD of Children Love to Sing. This version lists five different animals, including cows, chickens, pigs, sheep and horses. Here’s a video:
To enrich the experience before the excursion, I put out a variety of books on farms and animals in the kindergarten’s reading corner. One day, I noticed a child sang her version of Old Macdonald had a farm, while flipping through a picture book on zoo animals. She sang loud and passionately until she got stuck, “ old MacDonald had a farm, ee i ee i o, and on his farm he had some giraffes, ee i ee i o...” “what sound does a giraffe make?”
I thought that presented a great teaching moment! We did research on the computer and found out giraffes make a distinct sound, and they hum. We then talked about unique animals sounds, such as baas, moos, oinks and neighs, and we googled sounds of animals which we don’t know. We identified what are farm animals and what sound different animals make. Through discussion and online research, children are encouraged to think and to develop knowledge about animals.
I’m delighted that the farm visit was a huge success. Children loved playing where there’re animals, trees and grass. They were happy. When we were watching a lady milking the cow, one little kid observed that a woman can be a farmer, but her friend suggested that the lady is the farmer’s wife. That’s interesting! The lady may be the farmer’s wife, but she is also a farmer in her own right.
I think we need to challenge stereotypes of farming. The word farmer is for both gender, either man or woman. Women can be farmers too. I googled with children and we saw lots of images and videos of women farmers around the world. We also came across a piece of news in Australia. It’s about a little girl who thought she couldn’t be a farmer, because she is a girl. It’s unbelievable, as this girl lives on a farmer herself! Click this link for a read.
Hope my post will inspire you to organise a farm visit! Happy singing! Ee i ee i o!
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