Monday, September 29, 2014

Explore The Wild West - Davy Crockett and Conestoga Wagons

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We had tons of fun with the Poppins Book Nook blog series last year and we will be continuing that fun all throughout 2014. This month's theme was, "The Wild West!" Keep reading to learn more about the books we read and crafts we made. There is also a giveaway is at the end of the post! To check out all of our past Poppins Book Nook posts click here.

Books:
As I was racking my brain trying to think of which book we could read for this months theme, I couldn't stop humming the Davy Crockett theme song.  You know the one I am talking about right? If not check it out below...


So guess which book we chose? Davy Crockett: Ever Westward of course. This book is one of the many books in the YWAM Heroes of History series which our family absolutely loves. You can read our review on the George Washington book and study guide here.

Davy Crockett was a fabulous read aloud for our entire family...including me. The book is very engaging and kept us on the edge of our seats the entire time.

Davy Crockett is one of America's best-known folk heroes. He served as a frontiersman, a scout, a soldier, and a politician in the U.S. Congress. He died defending the Alamo, a steadfast citizen and heroic leader to the very end.

Davy Crockett grew up in Greene County TN and his education came from the toil of hard labor. He worked as a farm hand and wagon driver, he learned about the people and the land of the West -- and he was captivated. His destiny was the untamed wilderness, the sound of wild animals, and the roar of the river!

As I read the book many questions began to be asked. Isn't that awesome? I love that questions arise when we are reading literary works. The first question to come up was, "Mom, Tennessee is not a western state!" After getting over my excitement for such a great question being asked, we did some research. We learned that the Old West, often referred to as the Wild West encompasses the period after the Civil War...the late 1800's and early part of the 20th century. During this time period, thousands of pioneers pushed westward in search of land, better lives, gold and silver and to escape the law. Geographically the "Old West" was any state west of the Mississippi River, even though that is no longer the case today.

Craft Project: 
Here is the fun project we did to go along with this months theme.

Conestoga Wagon:




Materials:
-Kraft Paper
-Popsicle Sticks
-Popsicle Sticks Cut To 1 1/4 in. (you will need 8)
-Cardboard
-Hot Glue
-Scissors



What to do:
1. Create a frame by gluing 4 popsicle sticks together at the corners. Next glue 9 more popsicle sticks across the middle to form a solid platform.
2. You will need 4 sides to create the bed of the wagon. Do this by gluing 3 popsicle sticks onto 2- 1 1/4 in. pieces (on on each side). 
3. Attach the 4 completed side pieces onto the frame. You will end up forming a small box. 
4. Attached 4 popsicle sticks inside each corner of the box to create the posts for the canopy. 
5. Cut a rectangle piece of kraft paper for the bonnet and glue it onto the posts.
6. Cut 4 circles out of cardboard for the wheels.
7. Insert a popsicle stick into each of the wheels. Glue the Popsicle sticks together to make the axle. Glue the axles to the bottom of the wagon.
8. Now fill the wagon up with pioneer supplies, like quilts, boxes, pots and people.

My kids decided to expand on the project and made yoke out of popsicle sticks so they could hitch up a horse.

H
ere is a list of the wonderful bloggers participating in the Poppins Book Nook be sure to visit them for more fun ideas:

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ 3 Dinosaurs ~ To the Moon and Back ~ Planet Smarty Pants ~ Farm Fresh Adventures ~ Growing in God's Grace ~ Chestnut Grove Academy ~ Learning and Growing the Piwi Way ~ The Usual MayhemPreschool Powol Packets ~ Monsters Ed Homeschool Academy ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ Teach Beside Me ~ Life with Moore Babies Kathy's Cluttered Mind ~ Are We There Yet? ~ Our Crafts N Things ~ Hopkins Homeschool ~ ABC Creative Learning ~ Joy Focused Learning ~ P is for Preschooler ~ Laugh and Learn ~ A Mommy's Adventures ~ Inspiring 2 New Hampshire Children ~ World for Learning ~ Ever After in the Woods ~ Golden Grasses ~ A glimpse of our life ~ Journey to Excellence ~ Happy Little Homemaker ~ Little Homeschool Blessings ~ Raventhreads ~ Tots and Me As We Walk Along The Road ~ Stir the Wonder ~ For This Season ~ Where Imagination Grows ~ Lextin Academy ~ The Canadian Homeschooler ~ School Time Snippets ~ Peakle Pie ~ A Moment in our World ~ Every Bed of Roses ~ Finchnwren ~ At Home Where Life Happens ~ The Library Adventure ~ Embracing Destiny ~ Day by Day in our World ~ Our Homeschool Studio ~ A "Peace" of Mind ~ Thou Shall Not Whine ~ SAHM I am ~ eLeMeNo-P Kids ~ Simple Living Mama









Wild West Learning Bundle Giveaway!
Every month the Poppins Book Nook group will be offering readers a chance to win a brand new storybook or product that ties in with our theme for the month. This month one lucky cowpoke will strike gold and win a bundle of fun for the theme of the Wild West.  This bundle will include a copy of the storybook Westward Ho!: An Activity Guide to the Wild West (Hands-On History) and one Wild West Toob. So mozzy down to the corral for your chance to win today!

Entrants must be 18 years or older and reside in a country that receives U.S. Postal mail. This giveaway is brought to you by the company Enchanted Homeschooling Mom who is owner and founder of the Poppins Book Nook. By entering this giveaway you are also acknowledging that you have read and agree to all of the Rafflecopter terms & conditions as well as Enchanted Homeschooling Mom's disclosures found here.  Just enter the Rafflecopter below to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway



5 comments:

Becky said...

Full as a tick. (Funny thing, I was just looking through a list of wild west phrases - I thought it meant full from eating too much, but it means very drunk!!) Ha!

chile_chicken said...

As a New Zealander, I learnt so much from your blog post! I have that song in my head now too. Thank you so much for sharing these activities!

Emma Craig said...

I love your covered wagon! How creative that the kids thought to add a yoke so they could attach the horse too!

leahrc said...

This is great, Kathy! I didn't know that YWAM had a Davy Crockett biography. And I love the covered wagon.

Jill said...

I love the wagon! What a great activity for a fascinating subject!


Thank you for helping to bring a spoonful of reading fun to the Poppins Book Nook this month!

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