Manual Main Page | Celebrations

End of Summer Celebration: Rodeo Roundup

Books to Share

• Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett.
• Cowboys by Glen Rounds.
• The Cowboy Trade by Glen Rounds.
• The Horned Toad Prince by Jackie Hopkins.
• Pecos Bill: A Tall Tale by Steven Kellogg.

Books to Show and Booktalk

• Bandanas, Chaps, and Ten-Gallon Hats by Bobbie Kalman.
• On the Trail with Miss Pace by Sharon Phillips Denslow.
• The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog by John Erickson.
• Steer Wrestling by Joseph Sherman.

Bulletin Board

Enlarge the clipart picture found here of the steer reading a book. Color it and display it on your bulletin board.

Decorations

Wild, Wild West

Decorate your library or programming room like an old western town. Draw and label the bank, saloon, jail, outhouse, and corral with horses on butcher paper and hang them on the walls. Or, enlarge some of the clip art found here.

Snacks

Place a red checkered tablecloth on the table and simulate a campfire in the middle using twigs and red, orange, and yellow cellophane. Serve apple cider, beanie weenies, beef jerky, or hotdogs, cornbread muffins, and apple pie with ice cream.

Songs

Start your celebration with a cowboy sing-along! You'll find a variety of favorite Texas lyrics and melodies at Lone Star Junction at www.lsjunction.com/.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

(Music by Don Swander and words by June Hershey circa 1941)

The stars at night, are big and bright, (clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the heart of Texas,
The prairie sky is wide and high, (clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the heart of Texas.
The sage in bloom is like perfume, (clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the heart of Texas,
Reminds me of, the one I love, (clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the heart of Texas.
The coyotes wail, along the trail, (clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the heart of Texas,
The rabbits rush, around the brush, (clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the heart of Texas
The cowboys cry, "Ki-yip-pee-yi," (clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the heart of Texas.
The doggies bawl, and bawl and bawl, (clap, clap, clap, clap)
Deep in the heart of Texas.

return to top

Home on the Range

(Written by Brewster Higley, composed by Daniel Kelley)

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

Chorus:
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.

Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free,
The breezes so balmy and light,
That I would not exchange my home on the range
For all the cities so bright.

Chorus.

Oh, give me a land where the bright diamond sand
Flows leisurely down the stream;
Where the graceful white swan goes gliding along
Like a maid in a heavenly dream.

Chorus.

The red man was pressed from this part of the West,
He's likely no more to return
To the banks of Red River where seldom if ever
Their flickering campfires burn.

Chorus.

How often at night when the heavens are bright
With the light of the glittering stars,
Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed
If their glory exceeds that of ours.

Chorus.

Oh, I love these wild flowers in this dear land of ours;
The curlew I love to hear scream;
And I love the white rocks and the antelope flocks
That graze on the mountain-tops green.

Chorus.

Then I would not exchange my 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.

Stories

Tell The Horned Toad Prince by Jackie Hopkins, a humorous retelling of the "Frog Prince" with a Southwestern twist.

Puppet Show

Perform "The Ballad of Ginger Fella."

return to top

Crafts

Bandana Brands

Materials

• Wood or rubber, 4" wide and 2" thick
• Red, white, and/or blue cloths cut into triangles for bandanas
• Various colors of paint
• Paint brushes Carving Tool

Directions

In advance, design or select brands and carve them into the wood or rubber to make stamps. The children will lay the cloth flat, dip the paintbrush into the paint, brush the paint over the brand, and place the brand face down on the cloth. They may repeat this as many times as they choose with various brands and colors of paint. When the paint dries, the children can tie their bandannas around their heads or necks.

Sponge Printing Shapes

Materials

• Marker
• Animal sponge shapes such as a cow, horse, and dog
• Film canisters
• Hot glue gun
• Three colors of paint
• Three trays
• Large sheets of butcher paper
• Tape

Directions

This may be a project that the children do together on a large sheet of butcher paper or individually on small sheets of paper. Sponges may be purchased at a craft store. You may want to make smocks for children to wear. (Many can be cut from one vinyl tablecloth.) In preparation for this craft, glue the lids onto the film canisters and glue the sponges to one end. The canister will serve as a handle. Place a small amount of one color of paint into each tray. The children dip the sponges into the paint and press them onto the paper to make animal shapes. If the children are making a mural, draw a corral or western town on the butcher paper when they finish and display it in your library.

return to top

Games and Activities

Pin the Hat on the Cowboy

Follow the same rules as pin the tail on the donkey. Enlarge a copy of the patterns of the cowboy and cowboy hat and hang the cowboy on the wall. Blindfold the children, blindfold turn them around, and see how close they can place the hat to the cowboy's head. Give each child a small prize for playing.

Rope the Longhorn

Let the children toss a ring, such as a jelly jar ring, onto the horns of a stuffed cow or longhorn. Let young children toss a hoop. Animal stickers make great prizes.

Barrel Racing

Set out stools, baskets, or other objects and have the children race around them. Time them to see how fast they complete the "barrel" course and give them small prizes for participating. You may wish to let them ride stick horses.

Horseshoes

Copy the horseshoe pattern, cut five or more from cardboard, and cover them with aluminum foil. Set up a small pole. The children stand about two feet away and toss five of the horseshoes and see who can toss the most onto the pole.

Lasso a Steer

This game is like fishing. Paint a rodeo or western scene on a large piece of cardboard or the side of a large cardboard box. A child stands on one side of the screen and hangs a rope tied into a lasso with a paper clip attached over the screen. A volunteer attaches a prize to the paper clip and the child lifts the rope to retrieve the prize. Prizes might be sheriff badges, stickers, plastic animals, etc.

Cowboy Hat and Leather Gloves Relay

Bring two pairs of gloves and two cowboy hats. Divide the children into teams of three or four. Two teams play at a time. Place two pieces of masking tape on the floor on one side of the room and two tables or chairs on the opposite side of the room. Place a hat and a pair of gloves on each table or chair. The children on each team line up behind one of the pieces of tape. When the librarian calls out, "On your mark, get set, go!" the first child in each line runs to the opposite side of the room puts on a hat and a pair of gloves, takes them off, and runs back across the room to the back of the line. Each team member then takes a turn. The first team to finish wins.

Guest Speakers

Invite a storyteller to tell stories about life in the old west or invite a cowboy poet to entertain the children. Invite a cowboy to visit to the library in western wear and show the children how to use a lasso, brand cattle, shoe horses, and other activities.

Audio Recording

Sourdough Cowboy by Don Sanders.

Videos

• Home on the Range. (25 minutes)
• Texas Festivals. (15 minutes)

Web Sites

Campfire Songs

www.backyardgardener.com/looit/song/song82.html

Lone Star Junction

www.lsjunction.com/midi/songs.htm

Table of Contents | Stories, Puppet Plays, and Reader's Theater Scripts

return to top