I previously posted some links about and information on my
rodeo theme for summer school. Since then I've been sorting through activities and finding ideas and skills that will be best for my group of students. I found one idea about having a field day/rodeo day on one of the websites. Great idea! Time to call on my friend...she's a pre-k teacher who just happened to be a physical education teacher for 17 years. Here's what we (and when I say "we" I really mean "she") came up with:
Rodeo DayRodeo day is organized on a center rotation with a teacher, assistant or parent volunteer assisting at each center. Each center rotation will last 12-15 minutes, so the whole rodeo day / field day will be over in an hour or so. Just in time for lunch afterwards and singing around the campfire before!
There will be three or four children in a group. (If we add another class or more students, we will increase the centers accordingly. I want a maximum of five children at a center, three or four would be best.) Activities are designed to encourage oral language develpoment, social/emotional development, gross motor development and fine motor development. We we will ask the children to come in jean shorts or overalls. At school they will put on hats and vests they have made.
Key component: You want to have as many children as possible actively participating in centers at any given time. It is important to practice waiting for your turn, but more active participation at any given time equals less discipline problems. Makes sense...the students are involved in the task rather than getting in trouble.
Morning Circle: Sing Around the Campfire, review "Rodeo Rules"1) Safety comes first! (hands and feet to self...this includes horseshoes, lassos and hobby horses)
2) Stay in your center until the whistle blows
3) Listen to the "cowhands" (staff and volunteers)
Rodeo Lasso the cows:Set up:~Tie a jump rope to a hula hoop to make a "lasso." (You need two of these.)
~Place a big picture of a cow on a sawhorse or a playground cone to make a "cow." (You need two of these.)
~Get four carpet squares. Each child sits/stands on a carpet square. We place two in front of one "cow" and two in front of the other "cow." It visually cues the children on where they need to be. (Make sure to place them a "lasso" apart. You don't want a child accidentally getting hit by a flying hula hoop. If you have five children in a group, you need five carpet squares. Every child should have a spot.)
Play:~The child sitting on the carpet square closest to the "cow" tries to throw the "lasso" around the "cow." We usually give 2 or 3 chances.
~After the turn is completed, the child who was on the "waiting square" moves up to the "lasso square" for his/her turn. The child who was throwing moves to the "waiting square" to wait for another turn. This step is important because it teaches children how to wait, but they don't have to wait for very long. When you have two lines at each center like this you have at least 50% of the class actively participating at any given time. Remember: more children actively participating in the lesson equals less discipline problems.
~Repeat until the whistle blows. The first whistle blow is the cue to "clean up". After the clean up whistle, we have children point to their next center. The second repetetive whistle blow is "move to the next center". Since today is rodeo day, we will "gallop like a horse" to our new centers.
Benefits:Practice social/emotional skill of taking turns. Throwing movement naturally requires students to cross their midline. Great opportunities for oral langauge. 50% of the children are actively engaged at any time.
Panning for gold:Setup:~Paint rocks with gold spray paint to create your gold.
~Fill water table (if you don't have a water table, Home Depot or Lowes have mixing tubs in the concrete/masonry area that would work. They look similar to
this, but I have seen others for $6 or $8.) with sand at the bottom and just enough water to cover the sand, so that it resembles a stream.
~Gather 4 or more sifting tools.
Play:~Let students "pan for gold" with the sifters.
~Move gold to a "safe spot" with tongs or "cheater chopsticks."
~Repeat until the whistle bows. Clean up and get ready to gallop to a new center.
Benefits:Great sensory activity. The practice with the tongs and cheater chopsticks exercise the muscles needed for writing and cutting. Lots of opportunities for oral language. 100% of the children are actively engaged the whole time.
Rodeo Clowns:Set up:Set up any obstacle course of your choosing. You may want to use tunnels, rocking boards, hurdles, etc. Rodeo clowns help rodeo riders stay safe when they get thrown from a horse. They have to be able to duck and move quickly.
Play:~Set up "waiting carpet squares" similar to Lasso the Cows. This keeps a familair structure/routine.
~Students crawl through the tunnels, balance on the rocking boards and go over and under the hurdles.
~Repeat until the whistle blows.
Benefits:Students practice taking turns. The practice following multi-step visual/oral directions. 50% of the students are engaged at any time. This is a great activity to practice action words (crawling, balancing, stepping, galloping, jumping, etc.)
Trail MixSetup:~Gather mix items: for example Cheerios, raisins, M&Ms, & pretzles. Also get juice boxes (not authentic, but gets the students a drink!)
~Create a picture recipe.
~Gather a bowl, a spoon, small cups or bowls and a box of baby wipes.
Play:~Have students clean their hands with baby wipes since soap and water won't be available.
~Have students "read" the recipe with you.
~Have students add ingredients and stir the mix.
~Eat the trail mix and drink a juice box.
~Enjoy until the whistle blows.
Benefits:Students practice early literacy skills when reading the recipe. Students follow a sequence of directions. Students get a chance to cool off and have a less active center. 100% of the children are actively engaged the whole time.
Horse Race:Setup:~In previous class lessons, have students make a hobby horse. (I plan on using a wooden dowel and a white sock. PreK students will choose what color they want their mane and the eyes. We will stuff the sock and then invite an older class to help us "thread and sew" the mane. The older students will use yarn needles to push a pre-cut length of yarn through the sock. The older students will help the PreK students tie the yearn in a knot.)
~Set up waiting carpet squares.
~Set up a "corral" for horses that are "resting."
~Set up a playground cone at a distance away from the carpet squares.
Play:~Children will take turns "riding their horses" around the playground cone and back.
~Repeat until the whistle blows.
Benefits:Gross motor parctice galloping. Practice waiting their turns. 50% of the children are actively engaged at any time.
Cook-OutNot really...don't want an open flame near children on school property. We will probably just eat a hot dog lunch (cooked in a crock pot) with baked beans (warmed in a crock pot) and potato chips.
Rest!All of the cowhands, cowboys and cowboys are tuckered out! Cool down and rest...perhaps with the video
Fievel Goes West.
The very cool thing about Rodeo Day is that it is fun and different but it is organized according to a basic classroom routine. We just moved the routine outside. You can use this routine and structure for almost any special event just by changing the centers to fit the skills and theme you want to practice. We use it for Fall Festival and Water Day, too.
