The Star of Texas Rodeo

On Tuesday, along with the other three 1st grade classes, we went to the rodeo! Wow, it was so much fun!
On our tour we visited the Southwest Dairy Farmer's exhibit and we watched as a cow was milked with a machine. Next, we stopped at the Chuck Wagon Cook-Out and learned a lot about how cowboys lived when they were helping move cattle along the trails. We also visited with some Buffalo Soldiers who taught us about life as a solider on the plains. Before lunch we met two young longhorns who impressed us with their tricks--they could give kisses, ring cow bells, and even bow at the end of their performance. Our last guided stop was a lasso demonstration that included lots of roping tricks. We watched as the two cowboys jumped through their ropes, spun single and double circles, and even lassoed some first graders! After watching their demonstration all of the students had a chance to throw a rope on a metal longhorn. A few of our students succeeded in landing the rope right on the horns! After lunch the class broke up into small groups and had a chance to further explore the rodeo grounds. Many of the students tasted free samples of ice cream from Borden, petted Elsie the cow (Borden's mascot), rode on a pony, explored the stock yards where show animals were being pampered, and visited the petting zoo. Overall the students had a great time and learned a lot about what a rodeo is all about! There are some coupons coming home in Thursday folders this week that they gave us to distribute.