Making these pioneer peg dolls for kids westward expansion hands on activities for your BEST Westward Ho Unit Study and Lapbook are just too fun.
What better way to learn about pioneers and heading west.
Create an entire family or many families to travel on your wagon train.
They are a great size to go with popsicle stick wagons.
And log cabins make a great edition to a pioneer themed diorama.
Too, preschoolers to highschoolers can create their own versions at whatever level they are at; and have fun doing it.
In addition, this project is a great hands-on activity to do while reading aloud or watching a movie.
If you have a documentary on the subject this project will keep hands busy while they take in and process all the information.
First, learn about the history of peg dolls and learn why they are called peg dolls.
At the Wales Museum of History, it says “The tradition of making peg dolls out of wooden clothes pegs comes from a time when people had little money to spend on toys.”
Westward Expansion for Kids
This makes for great conversation discussing how kids made their own toys from what they had.
Your kids will love making their own from what they have. Use my idea here or let them create their own peg dolls.
Next learn about the Oregon Trail. The Oregon trail was the path of a great migration of people from the east to the west.
The pioneers were a hearty bunch who traveled across the country to find more freedoms, land, opportunity, better hunting, and adventure!
Would you enjoy setting off on this challenging adventure with your family?
When families packed up to head west, they had to pack carefully.
But remember they couldn’t really just walk down the street to a store to get what they needed once on the trail.
So, they needed to take all their supplies with them like food, tools, seeds, for planting, clothing, and animals.
Do you think you could pack enough to survive off of it for months and still fit your family into your car today?
Another awesome point is that this craft is inexpensive to make.
For example, if you have paint and fabric scraps on hand you can get a bag of 8 unfinished peg dolls at hobby lobby for less than $3.
It makes this a very affordable project for even big families.
Best Books About Westward Expansion
10 Westward Expansion Resources
Add in a few books and resources to bring the study of the Oregon Trail to life during the United States expansion of the west.
Your Life as a Pioneer on The Oregon Trail, has some funny illustrations and great information for this unit study.
Of course ALL the Little House Books are some of the best about pioneer life.
The Ingalls are the most famous pioneers and westward moving families.
A True Book: Westward Expansion takes readers on an amazing journey to a fascinating time in U.S. history when the country was experiencing dynamic change and expanding westward.
In this boxed set, choose your own trail and complete the journey to Oregon City with all four paperbacks in this exciting series! It's 1850 and your first goal is to get your family, covered wagon full of supplies, and oxen to Chimney Rock on time.
- It's a race to Willamette Valley as you join the wagon train and seek your fortune in the West!
Apples, ho! When Papa decides to pull up roots and move from Iowa to Oregon, he can’t bear to leave his precious apple trees behind. Or his peaches, plums, grapes, cherries, and pears. Oh, and he takes his family along too.
It is the summer of 1869, and trains, crews, and family are traveling together, riding America’s brand-new transcontinental railroad. These pages come alive with the details of the trip and the sounds, speed, and strength of the mighty locomotives; the work that keeps them moving; and the thrill of travel from plains to mountain to
ocean
Try your luck, and search for your fortune in California! Follow the joy and heartbreak of the '49ers during the California Gold Rush.
In 1853, the Larkin family loaded up their wagons and headed west in search of a new life. But how did they do it? What did they eat? How did they survive sickness, and attacks from cattle thieves? Drawing on diaries and letters, and illustrated with photographs of actual object from the past, Daily Life in a Covered Wagon explored what life was really like on the wagon trail.
Illustrations and simple rhyming text follow Mother, Father, and Baby John as they make the difficult journey by wagon to a new home across the Rocky Mountains in the fertile Sacramento Valley of California. By the creators of Gold Fever.
Western Expansion Project Ideas
I order online too when I need to, and it still costs less. Look at the easy list below:
- Unfinished Wood Peg Dolls
- Craft Paint/ Paint Pen
- Small Paint Brushes
- Fabric Scraps
- Craft Glue
Next, dive into making these fun pioneer dolls:
Begin by painting the head of your peg doll any skin shade you choose.
We usually just leave ours unfinished wood color so we can get on to the next step in painting.
Start by painting the largest part of the clothing.
You can paint the entire body a solid color for the dresses or half and half to create the boys tops and pants.
Allow paint to dry to the touch. Then move on to the next section.
We like to do the hair next.
You can paint the hair on smooth and leave it as is. Or make a layer of thick blobs of paint to create a texture and dimension.
While the hair is drying, take your tiniest brush and add some details to the face. Add eyes and a mouth.
To the clothes, add a pretty gingham or calico pattern, some suspenders, buttons, and whatever else you like.
Then, let the paint dry completely.
We find that paint pens are also good for adding details and can give you a bit more control over your design.
Finally, to add a little more fun and make them look like true pioneers use some scrap fabric to create a sun bonnet and a “straw hat”.
You can do this for all your dolls or mix it up.
For a bonnet you want to trace a circle on your fabric using something like the bottom of a small paint bottle 1 ½” to 2” in diameter then cut the circle in half.
Try it on your doll’s head and trim it down as needed to make it a good fit.
Once you are happy with the size “paint” your fabric with craft glue and press into place on the head.
Doing this not only adheres it to the doll but also makes it stiffer and a little more durable which is especially helpful if your child will actually be playing with their dolls.
To create the straw hat, you will follow the same step of tracing a small circle onto scrap fabric and “painting” the fabric with glue.
Westward Ho Activities
Press the fabric all around the head to create the crown of the hat, smoothing it as much as you can.
To make the brim just keep shaping it into place so that it stays up, the glue gives it some body so you are able to mold it as you work with it.
When you are happy with the shape let it dry and trim off the excess brim with scissors.
Your pioneer family is finally ready to set off on their adventure together, who knows what they will find as they explore the west!
Finally, here are a few more ideas to make your unit study come alive!
- Make a diorama together to show a still life section of the trail.
- Create a wagon from popsicle sticks and fabric.
- Play classic Oregon Trail on the computer.
- Add Little House on The Prairie Art Lessons
- Make an edible Louisiana Purchase Map , yum!
- Sew your own Prairie Bonnet
You’ll love these other westward expansion hands on activities for your study:
