Farmland Math

30 Jun 2022

When our stuff was in storage, a close friend of mine loaned us some of her kids’ toys. One of them was called Farmland Math. It came with animals, a farm mat, and a parent’s guide. The set helps kids with math (counting, adding, subtracting) and separating or sorting (by color and/or by animal). Our 3-year-old enjoyed playing with the animals on their own as well as with Farmland Math, so we wanted to buy one as well. However, with a baby coming and trying to make the switch to a non-toxic home as much as possible, I wanted natural materials (not plastic).

A quick note about Farmland Math:
It’s created to be a 36-week math activity starting with counting. They have stories (or word problems) that you read to your toddler. For example, for the first problem in week 1, the goal is to practice counting from one to three:
“Byron had apple trees growing next to his pasture, and on them were the most delicious red apples. First Bonnie the cow came and started to eat the apples on the lower branches. How many animals are eating apples?”

“Next, roly-poly Taffy the pig came and started to eat the apples on the ground. Now how many animals are eating apples?”

“Do you think they will eat all of the apples, or will they leave some for Byron?”

They also include tips like: “If your preschooler is new to this, pick up and set down, or touch each animal as you count and ask him to mimic you.”

They also provide a “personalize it” section where they give you the same word problem without the name or animal so you can fill in the blanks.

Here’s an example of what they teach in the first few weeks:
• Weeks 1 & 2: Counting to 3
• Week 3: Counting to 6
• Week 4: Colors and patterns
• Week 5: Count to 4 and count by groups
• Week 6: Count to 5 and practice the concept more
Etc.

They provide you a mat to place the animals on it. As you progress in the weeks, animals of certain colors are placed in certain areas of the mat, such as the pasture, barn, corn field, apple orchard, and front yard.

Our Version:

After working through the 36 weeks of the parent guide, we felt we could create math problems ourselves. We needed to find a mat and some animals.

I started looking for wooden animals on Etsy to support small businesses during the 2020 lockdown. I was looking for:

• unpainted wood

• smooth, rounded corners

• variety of animals

• family of animals (mom, dad, 3 offspring)

• design that would allow me to tie ribbons on the animals

Separating and sorting was part of the fun of Farmland Math, so I needed to figure out a way to add color without it being on the wood itself. I decided to buy some thread and tie it on the animals.

After looking through various Etsy businesses, we decided on Tiny Fox Hole (edit June 2022: you can now shop directly on their websiteSnikyFox has similar products).
We ordered 6 different animals—deer, rabbit, dog, duck, sheep, and pig—in a group of 5. They took very long in corresponding with us, but they were kind to create a design that they did not have at the time. Their products are great and my kids have loved playing with them.

For the mat, I found SilkforPassion, who uses natural dyes from plants in her garden. She hand dyes silks and they are beautiful. She had 4 silks—one for each season—and it would have been amazing to have all four, but we chose to customize one large play-silk instead. We made sure there were 6 areas that our toddler could place his different animals: garden, meadow, river, road, pebbles, and forest.

For the thread, I went to a craft store and purchased some embroidery thread with colors my toddler chose. I tied them on the wooden animals, and we use them for Farmland Math, but also for free play!

Farmland Math

30 Jun 2022

When our stuff was in storage, a close friend of mine loaned us some of her kids’ toys. One of them was called Farmland Math. It came with animals, a farm mat, and a parent’s guide. The set helps kids with math (counting, adding, subtracting) and separating or sorting (by color and/or by animal). Our 3-year-old enjoyed playing with the animals on their own as well as with Farmland Math, so we wanted to buy one as well. However, with a baby coming and trying to make the switch to a non-toxic home as much as possible, I wanted natural materials (not plastic).

A quick note about Farmland Math:
It’s created to be a 36-week math activity starting with counting. They have stories (or word problems) that you read to your toddler. For example, for the first problem in week 1, the goal is to practice counting from one to three:
“Byron had apple trees growing next to his pasture, and on them were the most delicious red apples. First Bonnie the cow came and started to eat the apples on the lower branches. How many animals are eating apples?”

“Next, roly-poly Taffy the pig came and started to eat the apples on the ground. Now how many animals are eating apples?”

“Do you think they will eat all of the apples, or will they leave some for Byron?”

They also include tips like: “If your preschooler is new to this, pick up and set down, or touch each animal as you count and ask him to mimic you.”

They also provide a “personalize it” section where they give you the same word problem without the name or animal so you can fill in the blanks.

Here’s an example of what they teach in the first few weeks:
• Weeks 1 & 2: Counting to 3
• Week 3: Counting to 6
• Week 4: Colors and patterns
• Week 5: Count to 4 and count by groups
• Week 6: Count to 5 and practice the concept more
Etc.

They provide you a mat to place the animals on it. As you progress in the weeks, animals of certain colors are placed in certain areas of the mat, such as the pasture, barn, corn field, apple orchard, and front yard.

Our Version:

After working through the 36 weeks of the parent guide, we felt we could create math problems ourselves. We needed to find a mat and some animals.

I started looking for wooden animals on Etsy to support small businesses during the 2020 lockdown. I was looking for:

• unpainted wood

• smooth, rounded corners

• variety of animals

• family of animals (mom, dad, 3 offspring)

• design that would allow me to tie ribbons on the animals

Separating and sorting was part of the fun of Farmland Math, so I needed to figure out a way to add color without it being on the wood itself. I decided to buy some thread and tie it on the animals.

After looking through various Etsy businesses, we decided on Tiny Fox Hole (edit June 2022: you can now shop directly on their websiteSnikyFox has similar products).
We ordered 6 different animals—deer, rabbit, dog, duck, sheep, and pig—in a group of 5. They took very long in corresponding with us, but they were kind to create a design that they did not have at the time. Their products are great and my kids have loved playing with them.

For the mat, I found SilkforPassion, who uses natural dyes from plants in her garden. She hand dyes silks and they are beautiful. She had 4 silks—one for each season—and it would have been amazing to have all four, but we chose to customize one large play-silk instead. We made sure there were 6 areas that our toddler could place his different animals: garden, meadow, river, road, pebbles, and forest.

For the thread, I went to a craft store and purchased some embroidery thread with colors my toddler chose. I tied them on the wooden animals, and we use them for Farmland Math, but also for free play!