Your child will enjoy these beautiful patchwork illustrations of life on the farm. The peek–a-boo window will give your child a clue of which animal is waking up to the cock-a-doodle-doo. Use your best animal voice as you read this fun rhyming book. There are lots of details in the pictures for building vocabulary and encouraging conversations.
Before, During and After Reading
Use the title to help your child make a prediction as to what the story might be about.
You might say: “The title of this book is Who’s in the Farmyard? A farmyard is where farm animals live. What animals do you think we will see in the farmyard?”
Introduce the front cover of the book and talk about what you see. You might say: “ Look at the front cover of this book. I see a sheep. What does a sheep say? “Baa!” I see a cow. What does a cow say? “Moo!” What animal do you see?”
Provide opportunities for your child to interact with the story. As you read, ask your child questions about the illustrations and to make a prediction about who the next animal might be. Look through the peek-a-boo window to give a clue. Encourage your child to turn the page.
Teach new vocabulary. Demonstrate the descriptive words for the sounds and actions that the farm animals make such as cheeping chicks, bleating goats, frisky kids, and squealy piglets. Make the sounds and do the actions together.
Create a farmyard picture. Draw a barn on a large sheet of paper. Make the sound of one of the animals from the book and see if your child can find the animal in the book. Both you and your child can draw the animal in your farmyard. Hang the picture on the wall and add more details to it each day. Acknowledge all attempts at drawing.
Connect the book to real life. Visit a farm, a local feed store, or a county fair to see animals that live on a farm.
