All the events you need to celebrate Oklahoma’s heritage — horses and sheep and goats and sack races and horseshoe games — were available at Learning Tree Academy’s Oklahoma Day in May.
And don’t forget pony rides, perhaps the most popular attraction of all.
Oklahoma Day is Learning Tree’s annual celebration of all things Oklahoma, and is the conclusion of a unit of study on the Sooner State at the center for 4-year-olds. Events include nine stations where students can get hands-on experience roping a steer, panning for gold, participating in sack races and petting a goat or sheep.
Or riding a pony for the first time.
“The pony rides are always the best,” said Sarah Blasengame, Learning Tree teacher who helps organize the event. “That is their absolute favorite. Who doesn’t like a pony.”
Blasengame said the event is the culmination of a week-long unit of study on the state of Oklahoma, including the state flower, and state symbols such as the bison.
“They learn about Oklahoma and where they live, things they see every day,” Blasengame said. “They get up close, hands-on activities that represent where they live. They interact with all things Oklahoma. It’s fun to see the things we’ve talked about all week come together in hands-on activities.”
Last year rain forced the event inside, but this year the schoolyard was full of farm animals to pet (a sheep and a goat) and games to play such as sack and stick horse races. Volunteers also brought a full-size horse and gave demonstrations on how to back up and saddle a horse. A “mountain man” from the Museum of the Great Plains taught students about life on the Plains a hundred years ago and let them touch animal pelts. A retired teacher read several books to the students, including one about animals who get scrambled in a tornado.
For many students, it was their first time to pet a sheep or a goat. One student said the sheep, who was a baby itself, felt like stuffing while another said it felt like a teddy bear.
The gold panning station gave students the opportunity to run water over rocks and down a sluice.
“We are going to be rich!” one youngster was heard to say.
Members of the MacArthur High School boys and girls soccer teams assisted with the event, guiding the youngsters from station to station and helping with the games, such as the roping station where students “roped” a steer.
“Local people gave up their morning to share with the kids,” Blasengame said of the volunteers. “It’s a busy day and kind of chaotic, but it’s worth it. It’s a fun way to end the week.”