Happy Monday friends!

 

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  It was 60 degrees here Sunday and I really enjoyed being outside for a bit with no cold, no snow, and no ice.   Last week I started sharing some books from author Jan Brett.  She is one of my favorite children's book authors.  Today I am going to share a book about an armadillo named Bo.  If I was introducing this book to my student's when I was teaching we would start by talking about what an armadillo is and what they look like.  When I lived in Texas I saw quite a few of them.  So if you are sharing this book with a child you might want to talk about armadillos and what they look like before you read the book.  I also have some activities to share after that to use with the book.  I hope you enjoy Armadillo Rodeo.

 

 

 

Armadillo Rodeo

by

Jan Brett

 

Bo, his mother and three brothers are headed out to do some digging in the Texas countryside when Bo spies a lizard.  Off he goes chasing the lizard down to the creek.  All of a sudden he hears whoopin and hollerin coming from the creek.  Bo looks up and sees what he determines is a red armadillo(which are really red cowboy boots on a cute young girl).  Then the excitement begins as Bo follows the red "armadillo" to the rodeo.  Harmony Jean jumps on her pony Spotlight and Bo jumps on to.  Spotlight of course bucks Bo off and he ends up in the dust.  Bo thinks this is really fun so he continues to follow the red "armadillo." As Harmony Jean heads to the chuck wagon to have a bbq sandwich where Bo finds a green  jalapeno pepper and eats it thinking the red armadillo ate one too.  His mouth on fire Bo runs out and douses his head in the lemonade to stop the burn.  He yells, "Delicious", and "what's next?"  Then Harmony Jean joins in the two-steppin with the other cowgirls and cowboys.  Bo finally finds the red "armadillo" in the midst of all the other boots.  All this time Ma Armadillo and Bo's brothers have been looking for Bo.  Ma hears Bo hollerin so they head to the barn.  Finally, Harmony Jean takes off her new boots and Bo crawls in one and finds ........  You will have to read the book to find out the ending.

This is a really cute book and it helps if the kids know that armadillos can't really see very well then they will understand why Bo thinks Harmony Jean's red cowgirl boots are a red "armadillo."  Check it out at your closest library or bookstore.

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This was made from paper plates. 

 

 

Rodeo Day

Fun activities from Teaching Activities from Jan Brett's books.

 

Horse Races-Make a course of a figure 8 in the gym or outdoors.  Challenge students to race from start to finish while riding a "hobbyhorse."

 

Fancy boots-Let each child design and decorate a boot. ( Provide a cowboy boot for them to trace).

 

Rodeo talk-using a dictionary, let teams of students race to be the first to define these rodeo words:brand,chaps,earmark, and stampede.

Rope tricks-Cut a length of rope into several different sized pieces .  Place the rope in a bag and let each child choose a piece. Ask students to measure their rope.

 

Check out the book Teaching with Favorite Jan Brett Books

by

Scholastic

It has some great ideas to use with children reading the Jan Brett books.

 

See you Wednesday!!!!