• Use farm life as inspiration for kids' craftsThe Farm image by bonjo from Fotolia.com
  
  Whether you live in a rural or urban area, kids enjoy learning about farm life. Farm crafts give kids the chance to explore the animals that live on the farm as well as the way of life. Farm crafts work well for preschool and elementary students when learning about farms in school. They also make a great rainy day craft project at home.
  
  

Hand Print Chickens

• These paper chickens incorporate basic shapes and the child's hand prints to create the animal. A large egg shape cut from paper creates the body of the chicken. Glue wiggly eyes near the top of the egg shape. Let the kids cut out the beak and other facial features for the paper chickens. To create the wings, trace the kids' hands with their fingers spread apart to create the look of feathers. Cut out the hand prints and glue them to either side of the egg.
  
  

Pompom Farm Animals

• Craft pompoms create the bodies for these farm animals. Choose large pompoms in colors that match the animals. For example, yellow works well for a chick while pink works well for pigs. The kids can use one large pompom to create the body, or glue together several pompoms. Wiggly eyes work well to create the faces for each pompom animal. Felt makes a good material for creating other facial features such as the beak of a chick or the nose of a horse.
  
  

Grain Collages

• Bringing in actual grains and seeds exposes kids to the items typically found on a farm. Straw, barley, wheat, oats, dried corn and dried beans, for example, work well for the collages. Place each type of grain or seed in a different bowl. The kids apply glue to a piece of paper and place the grains on top of it. Have them shake off the excess before adding the next item.
  
  

Stick Horse

• The kids can make their own stick horses in this farm craft. Each child needs two identical horse-head shapes cut from brown butcher paper. Staple along the edges of the horse shapes to hold them together, leaving the bottom unstapled. The kids stuff the horse head with tissue paper or crumpled newspaper to give it dimension. Place a thick wooden dowel or an empty wrapping paper tube into the neck opening of the horse. Staple the bottom shut, and glue the stick in place if necessary. Pieces of yarn glued along the horse's head create the mane.