Just Call Us the Gideons

I mentioned in an earlier post that Brayden's class is studying the Oregon Trail. It's pretty much a 4th grade subject statewide. The three 4th grade teachers at Brayden's school have adopted a curriculum that includes taking on the role of an imaginary character that could have made the journey, writing journal entries for this person and making decisions with other members of your wagon party that could make or break the success of your trip.

In addition, each student has been asked to bring a shoebox in that will be transformed into what will look like a covered wagon (I'm supposed to help with that on Monday), as well as creating 35 miniatures of an item that could have been included within the wagon. The students will then pass an item out to everyone else in class so each student will end up with a miniature wagon full of miniature items that could have taken the journey out west. (They also get to write an essay about these items and give a speech about them).

Needless to say, when we received all of the information about this project, I felt quite overwhelmed. It was made clear that the majority of this project would be done at home and making miniature shovels or oxen-yokes seemed just a little daunting. I read through some of the examples, zeroed in on "Bibles" being among the list and immediately made the decision for Brayden. I signed the sheet, shoved it in Brayden's backpack and told him to give it to his teacher FIRST THING, so he would be able to have that item and not opt for a second choice. It worked. I had some ideas on how we might put them together, but then, after helping in the classroom and having the opportunity to see some of the efforts from classes of the past, I realized they could be made even easier.

So, here are our final products (or almost, many still needed the stickers) . It was very much a family affair. Brayden and I shopped for the materials, Daddy cut the foam board and black paper in the right size strips, Brayden painted the edges gold on the styrofoam, Mikayla laid out the materials for me to use the glue gun to compile the pieces together, and then Brayden applied the stickers. I'm pleased with the results, and even more pleased that it's done. All that's left is the speech portion...