Rodeo Themed Easy Crafts for the Preschooler

Some of the best crafts, especially for those in the 3-6 age group, include creative play. Since it is time for the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show in our hometown, everything from schools to businesses are "all about" the rodeo. You will see everything from 2 year olds sporting cowboy hats to men wearing cowboy hats and spurs. Some of our most popular creative play crafts are based on this family friendly event.

Corral those critters craft for 3-year-olds.

Keep those animals corralled with this easy-to-make fence. All you need is air dry clay, craft sticks, brown paint, paint sponges and a selection of rodeo, ranch and farm animals.

Spread newspaper down on the table and using paint sponges (which are easier for little hands to use), paint your craft sticks brown. After they dry completely then assemble the sticks into a fence with two sticks horizontal and two vertical. Glue these pieces together. Insert the "fence posts" into air dry clay and flatten the clay on the bottom so that it will stand up.

Let dry completely and set up your creative play area complete with your own corral for the entire little farm animals in your play set. Best of all, preschoolers get introduced to a craft that includes creative play that they can keep using again and again.

Creative cowgirl hat craft.

Get 3-year-old cowgirl dressed to impress at the rodeo. If you have more than one child, you may want to purchase your hats online, if not many party stores carry white, pink, blue and straw cowboy hats. But a cute little pink hat wasn't enough for my 3-year-old daughter; it must shine! Jewels purchased from the dollar store and craft glue let her create her own "bedazzled" creation while my older daughter chose to simply add a felt and jeweled purple butterfly.

Inventive vest.

There's a new sheriff in town, and his name is "Woody." You will need a brown paper sack, gold star, white paper (card stock or felt works well too), black paper and glitter.

First, cut off the square top of the bag to make an opening, then down the middle of the front piece, arm holes at the side. This is similar to the Indian vests many classes make for Thanksgiving.

Now that the main cuts are made, let your 3-year-old have the scissors and give them the white paper. They can cut out designs from the white paper or felt and black paper to resemble the markings of white and brown on a cow.

You may want to cut one out in a "squiggly" design to give them the general idea.

Glue the pieces down to create a "leather" vest. Top it off with a sheriff's star cut from yellow paper or felt and decorated with glitter to really "shine."

Prickly cactus craft.

If you like to keep it short, sweet and to the "point," simply print out on green construction paper the outline of a cactus, or you can draw it. Glue wiggly eyes down to start the face, top with a cowboy hat (your color choice) cut from construction paper and then decorate with broken toothpicks glued down.

A variation on this prickly cactus is to cut out the design of the cactus, glue down broken toothpicks for prickly edges and add red or blue tissue paper balled up to resemble the cactus flowers. This craft is also great for a bulletin board idea at home or school.

Now your 3-year-old has created his or her own crafts, costumes and play for a rip, roaring good time at the rodeo.

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