Farm animal sounds are one of the first ways that little kids learn about animals. Maybe that is why every year when we get to the farm theme, that my preschoolers cannot get enough of our learning activities all about farm animals. Our alphabet cow clip cards easily fit in with a farm theme and offer uppercase and lowercase letter recognition and matching, as well as fine motor practice. This free printable learning game is a great addition to your literacy centers!
Alphabet Cow Clip Cards
Farm themed activities always go over so well with my preschoolers! This alphabet slow clip cards free printable literacy center includes 26 cards with uppercase letters printed on the cows. Below the cow are 3 lowercase letters.
To prep the alphabet cow clip cards, print the file from the pink button below. After printing the cards, cut them apart on the gray dotted lines. Do not cut across the black lines!
Laminate the cards for extra durability. If you’re working with younger preschoolers, the cards will get bent for sure when they are trying to get the clothespin on to the card. So I always laminate my printables.
To set up this activity in my classroom, I always introduce centers at the end of circle time. Because we do the farm theme in the fall, a lot of the centers that I have going on in the classroom are new to a lot of my preschoolers. So in this case, I would introduce the alphabet cow clip cards during circle time. This would allow me to show the kids how to open and close the clothespins and add them to the card. And it gives the preschoolers an opportunity to practice this skill too before adding letter matching to the activity.
Add clothespins to a cup and the alphabet cow clip cards to a tray. I split the set up into 4 trays when using it as a table top literacy center.
The preschoolers will choose one card and identify the uppercase letter on the cow. Then they will look at the 3 lowercase letters at the bottom of the card and find the matching lowercase letter.
Using clothespins and hole punches in preschool is tricky at first. Actually, both manipulatives are tough for little fingers to work properly without a lot of practice.
Sometimes I will partner up my preschoolers to use clip cards. One preschooler holds the card and one preschooler does the clothespin. We do the same thing with hole punching. It helps to have someone around to hold the card still. Taking turns holding the card and using the clothespin allows both preschoolers to be actively learning.
Our other favorite farm themed activities and printables include:
Clean the Muddy Pigs Alphabet Cards
We really love the farm in my classroom! When I taught prekindergarten in the public school system my very first year of teaching, I painted a cow on a huge thinner piece of flat wood. Then my brother-in-law cut out the space under its belly, in between it’s front and back legs. I attached a rubber glove to the back of the board as an udder. And then let my students milk the cow. It was so much fun! I kept that cow for years, until we were finally cleaning out the garage one summer and agreed to trash it. I totally regret that decision still today!
Don’t forget to grab your copy of the alphabet cow clip cards!
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