Simply the Best of the Wild, Wild West

Howdy friends! Texas Public Schools week just finished up, so I thought I’d share some of the books and activities we’ve enjoyed as we learn about Texas and the Old West!

I was excited to discover a Wild West story time kit at my local public library.  Have you checked to see what kind of resources are available in yours?  This kit included 7 picture books, a felt story for Click Clack Moo, and a horse puppet.   

My kiddos LOVED the felt story and the puppet the best!  Here are some of the highlights, including library books and my own personal collection:

Cowboy Camp, by Tammi Sauer.  In this story the unlikely hero, Avery, doesn’t like eating beans, is allergic to horses, and gets rope burn from holding a lasso.  Fortunately for everyone, Avery is able to outsmart the villain, and saves the day.  I LOVED putting on my best western accent… plus jeans, hat, vest and boots… to read this story!  The children really got into it too.

 

Since cowboys aren’t only boys, I wanted to include I Want To Be A Cowgirl, by Jeanne Willis.  It’s a quick read, perfect for kindergarten and preschool children, and so important for including girls!  

If you’re teaching in Texas you’re sure to teach your students about armadillos.  In the past I’ve read Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett, and It’s an Armadillo! By Bianca Lavies. 

 While I’ll probably still read those sometimes, I discovered another fun book to teach facts about armadillos: Don’t Ever Cross That Road!, by Conrad J. Storad.  It’s told by an armadillo teacher to his class of young armadillos, and includes lots of facts about them.  It’s the not crossing the road part that anyone who’s driven much in Texas can relate to. (When they’re scared armadillos jump straight up, which doesn’t end well when they’re scared by an oncoming vehicle.)

 

The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires is a variation on the Gingerbread Man, with a Southwest feel.  The gingerbread cowboy is made by the rancher’s wife, and is chased by desert and ranch animals: a horned lizard, roadrunner, javelinas, longhorns, and cowboys – before being ultimately tricked by a coyote. This was a fun way to review those animals while anticipating the familiar story in a new setting!

Waynetta and the Cornstalk  by Helen Ketteman is another fairy tale variation your students are sure to love! It’s close enough to Jack and the Beanstalk to compare and contrast with your students, with plenty of Texan tidbits thrown in: chicken-fried steak, a magic lasso, a giant’s wife who declares Waynetta is “purty as a bluebonnet” and a tiny longhorn cow that makes solid gold cowpats.  If that’s not a recipe for student engagement, I don’t know what is!

Of course we also learned about Texas symbols with this reading center:

…and with this Texas Bingo game and posters.  

This Texas State Symbols booklet was lovely on our desks for Open House night, and includes 3 versions, so it was easy to make sure every child had one at an appropriate reading level.

I also found this adorable cowboy poem and felt board, which makes a great introduction to any cowboy activity:

I hope you’ll check out some of these books, and I’d love to hear what new Texan / Wild West books you’ve discovered too!   Let me know in the comments below!

Happy spring y’all!

Texas Flag Craft Tutorial

Texas public schools week is fast approaching - and if you're a Texas teacher that probably means it's time to learn some state history, and to get your classroom ready for open house.  It's spring, and time seems to slip away quickly, between testing, field days, assemblies, and planning end of year activities (Yikes! Already?).  You need some quick, easy, and amazing looking activities that can double as open house displays!

Here's one super simple, absolutely adorable activity that your students can probably even complete on their own during centers or for morning work!

To make this Texas flag craft, you'll need the following materials for each student:

 - 1 piece of white 9" x 12" construction paper

- 1 blue 4" x 9" rectangle

- 1 red 8" x 4.5" rectangle

- 1 white five pointed star (die cut, or print these and have each student cut one out)

- glue stick

Step by step directions:

- Lay your white paper landscape style on your work surface.

- Glue on the red rectangle landscape style in the lower right hand corner of the white paper. 

- Glue on the blue rectangle portrait style along the left side of your paper.

- Center the white star on the blue rectangle, and glue to the flag.

- Ta-da!

These look beautiful on a wall, or hanging from the ceiling above student desks (paper clip 2 flags back to back so there is always a front side facing out).  If you make a blue bonnet craft like this one, mix the flags and blue bonnets in a display.

If you're looking for some Texas learning that's ready to print and go, I have some fun Texas resources in my TeachersPayTeachers store,

including my most recent addition: 

Next time I'll share a tutorial on making a US flag!

A touch of Texas

During our recent move, I found all kinds of things that had been tucked away safely, only to be forgotten.  If you have ever moved, you know what I'm talking about!  If you haven't ever moved, you're in for all kinds of surprises when you eventually do!

While many of the things I found were junk, I came across this little treasure too, and wanted to share.

I can't take credit for the idea, it's something my first grade team did during spring time almost 20 years ago.  I can't credit the right person either, I simply don't remember who suggested it, or where they got the idea.  What I can tell you for sure, is that it was a sweet little project, and that the parents loved it!

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but it is actually a quilted rectangle with several layers to it.  It will take some adult preparation, plus 2 days of student work to complete.

To make it, you need:
  -plain white cotton fabric
  -plain blue cotton fabric
  -iron-on 2-sided adhesive
  -a layer of batting
  -white, green, and blue fabric paint
  -fine brush
  -pretty scraps of a contrasting color
  -embroidery thread
  -a needle.

Cut the white cotton fabric, blue cotton fabric, and batting into equal sized pieces.  Ours were 8.5 x 11".  Set aside.

The next step needs to be completed for ALL the copies you will make at once.  If you're going to make one project, only do it once.  If you plan to make a class set of 22, you need to prep them all before you cut!  Follow the directions for your iron on adhesive, attaching it to another piece of white cotton fabric - not the one you already set aside, another piece.  After it is fused, cut a smaller rectangle.  Ours was 5 x 8".  This will be the part that gets painted.  You want this piece to look perfect, so trim very carefully!  When you are satisfied, center it on the plain blue cotton rectangle, and fuse it in place.  You will now have all the pieces shown above, ready for your student artists.

On the first student work day for this project, the children will paint their bluebonnets.  They'll paint some small leaves, and a long stem with the green paint and the brush.  Then it's finger print time!  If you can show your students real bluebonnets, or at least closeup photos of them, you'll see that the color isn't consistent over the whole flower.

There are usually more white petals towards the top, and more blue ones toward the bottom.  We had the children paint the blue fingerprints first, then added white ones in another layer.  Our children were delighted with the results!

The second student work day is for sewing.  I strongly recommend having a bunch of prethreaded needles ready, or you will spend the entire time rethreading while the students wait!  Young children can usually "get" the idea of the needle going down on one stitch, then up on the next, it's a pattern, so you're incorporating some mathematical thinking as well as a lot of fine motor skills as you do this.  Keep the threads no more than 18" long to start, it isn't enough to go all the way around, but it seems to be as much as little hands can manage without tangling.  Layer your pieces: white backing, batting, blue painted piece, and safety pin in place so it isn't going to slip while the children work.

Students sew the embroidery thread around the edge.  It won't look picture perfect, but they and their families will think it is beautiful!  Finish it off by hot gluing a small bow or some buttons in one corner.  (Our bows were tied in fabric scraps 1" x 12".)

If you've read this far, you are a brave teacher/parent, bravo!  Yes, this project does take a lot of adult supervision and guidance.  If you can get some volunteers to help you do this, take all the help that is offered.  The reason we did this, even with all the time and effort involved, is that it is a beautiful memento of those little hands working.  Children are proud of the results, mommies hung them up to display, and everyone remembered what bluebonnets look like, and that they are the state flower of Texas.  These make fantastic Mother's Day gifts a few weeks after the bluebonnets are finished blooming!

Some of you are thinking about all the pretty fabrics you could use instead of the plain blue one behind the painting.  I know I thought it would look fantastic with a nice gingham.  Here's why we used a solid color: the background shows through and distracts from the painting.

I know posting this in July is absolutely the wrong time of year for bluebonnets, but if I wait until late March, this project will have found its way back into a cupboard, only to be forgotten all over again.

Here's another Texas learning activity I want to share too.

This is my Texas bingo game, for reviewing 12 different symbols of Texas: armadillo, the Lone Star, pecans, the Texas Flag, longhorn cattle, cowboys, The Alamo, the Seal of the State of Texas, prickly pear cactus, bluebonnets, Texas, and mockingbirds.  Children love to make games out of everything - it's just more fun that way - so I put this social studies learning into a bingo format.  There are 24 game boards with the colorful outlines, and 24 in a printer friendly format.  I used some cool star buttons as playing pieces, but you could use any kind of small manipulative that's handy.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, bye y'all!