Wild West

We headed out on the range to the Wild West.


There were horses to ride and cows to wrangle.

As we rode, we sang:

Giddy up horsie

Goin’ to town

Careful cowpoke

Don’t fall down!

We wore cowpoke hats, boots and bandannas.

We cooked over the campfire,

We played our guitars

and laid our sleepy heads on our bedrolls as we looked up at the nighttime sky.

We sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and

"Home on the Range".

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
And the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day.
Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

We read Cowpokes by Caroline Stutson. We each picked the cowpoke we would want to be...

We chanted this fingerplay:
Ten galloping horses came to town
(Hold ten fingers up)
Five were black
(Hold five fingers up on one hand)
Five were brown
(Hold five fingers up on the other hand)
They galloped up
(gallop fingers up)
They galloped down
(gallop fingers down)
And then they galloped out of town!
(gallop fingers behind back)

Reading Matthew the Cowboy by Ruth Hooker,

we learned about brands. We used branding irons (potatoes on a stick) each with our own brands (the first letter of our name and our handprints) and decorated bandannas or kerchiefs to wear out on the range, to keep the dust out of our noses and mouths.

We also learned about lassos, so we practiced using our own lassos to rope some strays.

A barrel in the middle of our circle gave us the opportunity to practice barrel racing. As we galloped around the barrel we sang,

We’ll be comin’ around the mountain when we come.
We’ll be comin’ around the mountain when we come.
We’ll be comin’ around the mountain,
We’ll be comin’ around the mountain,
We’ll be comin’ around the mountain when we come!
Yee Haw!

Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett became one of our favorite books of the week.

Harmony Jean's fancy cowboy boots gave us some good ideas; we designed our own cowboy boots and hats using pastels.

Wanted posters were made with us in our "cowpoke garb".  Who wouldn't "want" these adorable cowpokes?

On a particularly nice day, we took our horses out on a trail ride. They loved being able to break free and run!

Spending the week riding the range provided us a special bond with our horses.

My horse's name is Lasso.
It likes to eat hay and eat carrots and sleep.
He likes to put on four boots.
He has four boots.
He can jump in big puddles.
He likes to read books and ride on a gorilla.
He can build a horse snowman.
He can do horse puzzles.
He jumps up on the shelf and grabs the coins!

My horse's name is Milk.
She like to play a Minnie puzzle.
She likes to go in the house.
She eats candy.
She likes to wear a purple shirt.
She like to turn back into a dog.
She likes to play with a dolly.
She lives in a horse home.
She likes to go on a walk.

My horse's name is LaRaeLynn.
She likes to live down in a forest.
Bears are her friends.
Pooh likes to come over to her house.
She likes bandannas.
She likes to draw.
She likes to play with flashlights.  

 Our week in the "wild west" gave us a feel for what the wild west was really like.