Exploring America… Texas

Pull on your boots and saddle up the horse… today we are visiting Texas. Yeehaw! Did you catch our first Exploring America dinner? We had a blast learning about Hawaii. Texas night was even more fun… we increased the guest list and made it a Texas sized party! Big M was in charge of picking the state  this time. (Although Daddy may have been in on the decision… those boys are always looking for a reason to barbecue. ;))

The kids made some really great decorations… and I only ended up with a picture of the state flag. (Rookie blogger mistake… it won’t happen again!) If your little one is looking for inspiration; we had tumbleweed made from crumpled paper, a paper cactus with pipe cleaner spines, boots, horses and a doll’s cowgirl hat.

Dressing up was all about getting creative. We only have one official cowgirl outfit, but with a little imagination we created 5 festive characters ready to grab a lasso and head out on the range. (PS …This is quite possibly my favorite picture ever!)

With the help of our local library I was able to round up a few awesome books about Texas. These three were my favorite.

Bubba, The Cowboy Prince
by Helen Ketteman

Bubba, The Cowboy Prince is the Texas (and male) version of Cinderella. It’s a fun tale that had the kids giggling and guessing what would come next.

Today Is Monday in Texas
by Johnette Downing and Deborah Kadiar

We learned a lot about Texas food from Today is Monday in Texas. Each day celebrates a different Texas favorite… and it even includes a recipe at the end.

I love, love, love the pictures. Each of the kids tried to guess how the illustrator created the scenes. This would be a great book to use in an artist inspired lesson… hmmmm.

Round Up: A Texas Number Book
by Carol Crane and Alan Stacy

This one was my favorite of the three. An easy poetic story line is paired with an in depth description of each Texas item being counted. We read the short version through and then went back. For the pages that caught someone’s attention (like the Mustangs of Las Colinas) we were able to read more. This book made me want start booking our next vacation… in Texas.

Daddy prepared a yummy barbecue dinner for all of our little cowboys and cowgirls.

A delicious Peanut Butter Pie was the perfect ending to an awesome night of fun and learning.

I already know what our next stop is going to be… but maybe I’ll keep it a surprise for now.

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