westward expansion

Rocky Mountains Oregon Trail Fun Large Diorama Craft for Kids

January 26, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Trekking through the Rocky Mountains Oregon Trail was an arduous journey. Too, I have more ideas and activities on my Westward Ho Unit Study and Lapbook.

The Rocky Mountain National Park was established in Colorado on January 26th, 1915.

In honor of this amazing National Park, I thought we would take a virtual trip by creating a miniature section of the Rocky Mountains with a diorama.

And to be more specific, we’re creating it as it might have looked along the Rocky Mountains Oregon Trail section.

Rocky Mountains Oregon Trail Fun Large Diorama Craft for Kids

How exciting and scary a time it must have been.

The Rocky Mountains are distinctive and easily identifiable just by their silhouette but are unique depending on where you are along the western mountain chain.

We were inspired by this amazing drawing of the Cherokee Pass through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It is by Daniel Jenks from 1859.

And we created this fun and large diorama with just a few different simple items.

But first look at these facts about the Rocky Mountains.

Rocky Mountain Facts

The Rocky Mountains stretch through more than 3000 miles and over 6 states which are New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
Rocky Mountain is one of the nation’s highest national parks.
There are many indigenous people living in the Rocky Mountains like Bannock, Sioux, Blackfoot, Cow People, Apache, Kutenai, and more.
There is a super volcano in the Rocky Mountains called Yellowstone Caldera. It’s located in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
The Rocky Mountain National Park is open all year.
In 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition became the first scientific reconnaissance of the Rocky Mountains; they gathered a lot of important information as well as specimens.
There are over 250 different bird species which live in the Rocky Mountain National Park.
The Rocky Mountains are rich with natural resources like gold, silver, copper, tungsten, zinc, molybdenum, and lead.
The Rockies have over 100 separate ranges.
Bighorn sheep are the symbol of Rocky Mountain National Park and there are over 400 residing in the park.

Westward Expansion Resources

Also, add some of these fun books.

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 (The Way It Was)

Your Life as a Pioneer on The Oregon Trail, has some funny illustrations and great information for this unit study.

Little House on the Prairie Series 7 Books Collection

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.

Westward Expansion (A True Book: Westward Expansion)

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.

The Oregon Trail 4-Book Paperback Box Set Plus Poster Map

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.

The Oregon Trail: Journey to Willamette Valley Boardgame

It's a race to Willamette Valley as you join the wagon train and seek your fortune in the West!

Apples to Oregon:

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.

Locomotive

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

The California Gold Rush and the '49ers

Try your luck, and search for your fortune in California! Follow the joy and heartbreak of the '49ers during the California Gold Rush.

Daily Life in a Covered Wagon

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.

Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails

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.

Additionally, learn about some of the animals which lives in the Rocky Mountains.

Rocky Mountain Animals and Birds

If you were a pioneer heading west through the Rocky Mountain Oregon Trail, what type of wildlife would you see?

This is the perfect next step to create a mini study from this project.

Let your child choose one of the animals that are common to the Rocky Mountains and create a report, write a story, paint a picture, or create a presentation on their chosen animal.

Brown Bears
Coyote
BigHorn Sheep
Black Bear
Mule Deer
Mountain Lion
Gray Wolf
Elk

Also, look at some of the birds.

Yellowthroat
Red Crossbill
Nuthatch
Dipper
Meadowlark
Towhee
Song Sparrow

Additionally, here are more hands-on Westward Expansion Activities.

Hands-on Westward Expansion Activities

Finally, look at how to make this Rocky Mountains Oregon Trail diorama.

Besides the little Safari Ltd. Toob animals you can get everything used in this diorama from Dollar Tree with plenty of supplies left over for future projects.

How to Make a Rocky Mountain Oregon Trail Diorama

You will need:

A foam board
Paper bags
Newspaper
Aluminum foil
Craft paint
Paintbrushes
Blue and green cardstock
Hot glue gun/sticks

Put puddles of brown, gray, and green paints on a paper plate.

Wad up a small piece of newspaper up and dip it in your paints.

Press the newspaper around the foam board as if you were sponge painting.

Cover the foam board with a light coat of the mixed colors to represent the rocks, grass, and earth.

Use a beige paint to create a trail going through the mountains. Set aside to dry while you begin working on the mountains.

Open 3-4 paper bags.

Slip them over your hand/arm one at a time and take the same paints and newspaper and cover all sides and the top of the bag.

Rocky Mountain Oregon Trail Diorama

You can leave some spots bare as the brown from the bag will blend in as earth.

Slip over a jar or something and allow it to dry completely.

Stuff the bags loosely with newspaper and foil as you like but not so full that you can’t “mold” it.

You just want them to give your bag some structure.

Twist and mold the bags to create the sharper angles and peaks of the Rocky Mountains silhouette.

Hot glue the base of the mountain along the back of your base board to secure into place.

Pinch and shape the mountains as needed to fix them up.

To create a water feature at the base of the mountain, tear up some blue paper in whatever shape you like and glue down.

Cut a bunch of green triangles of different sizes then make little cuts on each side to make pine trees.

Fold ⅛” piece of the bottom over and then glue them onto the board with the largest in front and the smallest closest to the mountains.

This creates some perspective.

Create the snow peaked caps by drizzling paint on the top and brush lightly just a little down the sides.

Finally, add some of the wildlife you would see traveling through the Rocky Mountains.

This North American Wildlife Safari Toob provided the bulk of the animals used here.

Fun No Sew Pioneer Rag Doll For Kids Westward Expansion Activity

July 10, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Add this pioneer rag doll westward expansion activity to the BEST Westward Ho Unit Study and Lapbook. It’s just too cute.

And if you love the Little House on the Prairie series, or just pioneers in general making a no sew pioneer rag doll is a perfect hands-on activity to learn a little about the culture back then.

Your child will be creating art, doing a little math, learning history and geography.

Also, your child will be working those fine motor skills, learning basic skills, and having fun while doing it.

Fun No Sew Pioneer Rag Doll For Kids Westward Expansion Activity

While kids today have technology at their fingertips, during pioneer times toys were simpler and less expensive.

For instance, one favorite of little girls was rag dolls.

Too, they were sometimes sewn and more elaborate. And a simple one could even be made from a square handkerchief.

With all the bells and whistles of today’s toys, your children will certainly enjoy making and playing with a simple pioneer rag doll.

Besides it can be made with just a few dollars or free if you already have the scrap fabric on hand.

Further, if you were a reader as a child the chances are you remember Laura Ingalls little corn cob doll wrapped in a handkerchief named Susan.

Westward Expansion Activity

Oh how Laura loved and cherished her!

Similarly, small children who set out with their family to cross the Oregon Trail must have clutched their little simple ragdolls to their chest.

They drew comfort from them over every bump, sickness, broken axle, and excitement of wild new lands

And as they slept in snug beds in fresh new pine cabins that whispered “home” they drew their dolls closer.

Let’s try to capture a little of that innocent, but rugged childhood spirit of the pioneer child with this easy no sew rag doll craft.

Also, what a sweet memory you will make with your little one while you create one of these dolls and teach them basic life skills.

Encourage your child to do as much of this project as possible – cutting, measuring, tying, and folding so they can get the most from this project.

Next, to get started look at this easy supply list.

14” x 10” square of muslin or other light fabric
3- 1”x12” muslin strips
2- ¼”x6” muslin strips
Scrap patterned fabric
Cotton batting or cotton balls
Scissors
Ruler/measuring tape

Then look at these directions.

First, lay the light muslin fabric out flat and place a small handful of cotton batting or about 4-5 cotton balls directly in the center.

Pinch fabric around the cotton and give it a half twist, tie off tightly just below the cotton with one of your muslin strips, cut off the excess.

Then, line your 3 12” muslin strips up evenly, knot off one end, and then braid all the way to the other end. Finish it off with a knot.

After that, open your doll skirt and place these braided strips centered up against the underside of the head.

Westward Expansion Unit

In addition, fold the skirting back down and knot it just below the arms to separate the bodice from the skirt and also this will help to hold the arms in place.

Then, move on to make the sun bonnet.

Begin by cutting a triangle that is roughly 10” at the widest end, and wrap around the head making the point stick out over the face. Knot it under the chin.

Lastly, finish off your doll by cutting a rectangle out of scrap fabric 10”- 12” long, and 6” tall.

Cut into the fabric ¼” down and 4 ½” in on each side to create an apron shape like this.

Don’t worry about being exact, this is a rag doll after all!

Finally, tie the apron around the waist with the strings that you made.

Your doll is ready to cuddle and enjoy.

Further, if you want to extend the learning, have your child research other toys that children used in pioneer times.

For instance, ask a question like which of these toys do you think they would have taken along on long journeys during westward expansion?

Additionally, have your children research various fabrics and patterns that were popular in those days like gingham and broadcloth.

Older children can delve into learning about how those fabrics were made.

Too, they can learn the cost of making a doll or a dress in that period.

Westward Expansion Activity Ideas

Another great thing about this activity is that it works just as easily for a one on one project at home as it does as an activity for a large co-op.

Finally, try these other hands-on activity to create a fun unit study.

Fun Pioneer Peg Dolls For Kids Westward Expansion Hands On Activities

July 7, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

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.

Fun Pioneer Peg Dolls For Kids Westward Expansion Hands On Activities

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 (The Way It Was)

Your Life as a Pioneer on The Oregon Trail, has some funny illustrations and great information for this unit study.

Little House on the Prairie Series 7 Books Collection

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.

Westward Expansion (A True Book: Westward Expansion)

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.

The Oregon Trail 4-Book Paperback Box Set Plus Poster Map

The Oregon Trail: Journey to Willamette Valley Boardgame

It's a race to Willamette Valley as you join the wagon train and seek your fortune in the West!

Apples to Oregon:

Locomotive

The California Gold Rush and the '49ers

Try your luck, and search for your fortune in California! Follow the joy and heartbreak of the '49ers during the California Gold Rush.

Daily Life in a Covered Wagon

Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails

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:

10 Westward Expansion Hands-on History Activities

10 Westward Expansion History Fun Coloring Pages

November 16, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have 10 Westward Expansion coloring pages that enhance all the free unit studies here or ones that you’re planning. Also, you love my page BEST Westward Ho Unit Study and Lapbook!

Sometimes the boys want to create their own covers for the lapbooks or notebooks from coloring pages.

10 Westward Expansion History Fun Coloring Pages. If you're studying about The Oregon Trail, Lewis and Clark or Westward Ho, your kids will love these pages. Click here to grab them!

I know with younger children, it can be hard to find history coloring pages based on everyday life.

But these coloring pages work well with middle and high school too if your kid still loves to color.

WESTWARD HO HISTORY FUN COLORING PAGES

I made sure they have no baby-ish looking clip art.

I have always tried to use museum quality coloring pages when the coloring mood did strike with my boys.

Also, instead of me adding titles on pages or naming the pages, this allows you to use the clip art/coloring pages any way you want to.

Whether it is a cover page, notebooking page, journal page or just to enrich a topic. You have the flexibility.

HOW TO EASILY BRING HISTORY ALIVE

Here is what the 10 page download contains. I put a few key words to explain each picture on the page. This way you can use the coloring pages as title pages too.

Page 3: Native American on horseback,
Page 4: Lewis and Clark Trek,
Page 5: Lewis and Clark and The Piegan,
Page 6: Lewis and Clark Exploring Rivers,
Page 7: The Plains Indians,
Page 8: Pioneer Life,
Page 9: Moving West,
Page 10: Westward Ho,
Page 11: Settlers, and
Page 12: Fur Trappers and Mountainmen

Grab your fun copy below!

Westward Expansion History Fun 10 Coloring Pages
$1.75 Add to cart

Also, these coloring pages go well with these free unit studies and lapbooks:

Hugs and love ya,

6 Unit Study Resources: Mountain Men – Explorers of the West

September 16, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Whether you’re studying about the American Frontier, fur trade or mountain living, you’ll bring history alive through studying the tough life of mountain men.

Today, I rounded up six unit study resources to grab for a mountain men unit study. Besides explorers and fur traders, they were some of America’s first trail blazers.

Mountain Men Trailblazers

This 3 page teacher’s guide has vocabulary words like ploo and rendezvous along with teaching skills of self-sufficiency and hardiness. I also like that it incorporates learning about the importance of rivers to mountain men. So, you can add a bit of geography, history, and science.

Next, this super helpful free teacher’s guide and lessons about the beaver is chock full of information.

It has a unit on fur trade, mountain men lifestyle, and legends of the mountain men.

And even though it mentions items in a trunk, it’s really helpful in understanding artifacts and every day items used by mountain men.

Read about the items they used and a few them look like they could be easily made.

This next fun guide talks about the importance of being able to identify animal tracks along with the animal tracks labeled. Click here for Tracking” Down the Secret Code / North American Animal “Who am I”

It has a handwritten letter which is a primary source and a lesson about beavers.

Hands-on History and Geography

More units like the Language of a Trapper, Rendezvous, Mountain Man Tales, and Indian Wives of the Mountain Men are a few of the fun and interesting units in this expansive unit.

This is an interesting read for your middle or high school kid. While it doesn’t have pictures, it’s the diary of Jedediah Strong Smith, a mountain men. It describes the perils he faced each day.

Lastly, this website Mountain Men: Pathfinders of the West has a lot of background information about the fur trade and the ways of the mountain men.

Download them and add to them a unit study about geography or use them for a mini unit study.

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