Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten

Milk a Cow

Jo LeBlanc, kindergarten teacher at the Port Allen Elementary School in Port Allen, Louisiana, added even more fun to her farming unit when students had a chance to try their hands at milking a classroom cow.

Materials
• Large, laminated picture of a cow
• Pegboard stand*
• Cream-colored, disposable, latex-free glove
• Small stool
• Bucket

What To Do
1. Post a large, laminated picture of a dairy cow on a wooden pegboard stand.

2. Fill glove with a thin mixture of white tempera paint and water. Tie the glove closed at the top using twist ties or a flexible piece of wire.

3. Attach it to the pegboard stand where the cow's udder is. Secure it by twisting the wire or twist-tie on the backside of the pegboard.

4. Poke tiny holes in the fingertips of the glove with a pin.

5. Place the stool and the bucket next to the cow.

6. Let children take turns milking the cow.

*Note: A wooden sawhorse also works. For fun, add black spots and fashion a head out of recyclable materials. Tie the glove tightly at the top with lightweight rope that you can undo easily to refill the glove. Leave enough length to tie the glove to the sawhorse as an udder. For large groups, use several gloves.

"This activity is the next best thing to visiting a farm and milking a real cow. All the kids loved it!"
- Jo LeBlanc, Port Allen Elementary School, Port Allen, Louisiana.