Cowpokes of the Week

This is sort of our way of having "show and tell" or "student of the week". Our classroom has a western theme. So, we decided to have Cowpokes of the Week. We draw names on Thursdays and send home the poster (which the students fill out and decorate) and a letter explaining that the student has been chosen as a "cowpoke" and what that means. In the letter, we suggest that the student bring in 5-10 family photos, a favorite book, an award they have won (soccer trophy, any kind of participant's certificate, etc.), an item from when they were babies, etc. In the letter, we also suggest to parents that it would be super fun if their little cowpoke had a guest for lunch sometime during their special week. The cowpokes bring to school all their special loot on Mondays in a drawstring bag that is made from fabric that looks like bandanas. We display all the special items, poster, and photos for the whole week. On Fridays, we read all about the cowpokes, talk about the things they brought in to share, and let them tell us about the family photos. The anticipation and excitement of the weekly drawing of names is almost as fun as when we present all the cowpoke's stuff. I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to be a Cowpoke of the Week??? We start the school year off with posters, photos, etc. all about Mrs. Hutter and Mrs. Wildman to show our new kinders how it is done.