A Lesson on the Wild West

Kyler has always been a big fan of cowboys. . .and Indians (yes, I know the pc term is Native American but to a 4 year old, the term is Indian). When other kids were watching Barney or Bob the Builder or Power Rangers, Kyler was watching John Wayne, Bonanza, and Roy Rogers. He also loves Rawhide. Somewhere, however, his western education failed him.



Last night, Kady spent the night with my mom, so it was just shoulder-high-kiddo and myself. He has been explaining the term "ancestor" to me. We had been discussing where his ancestors came from. My dad's grandmother was Native American. This thrilled my son. Somehow this segued into cowboys and trail drives.



Did you know that cowboys used to stay in motels when they took the cows to market? No, seriously, he saw it on Bonanza.



Used to, they ate in bars. There were no restaurants. Cowboys ate in bars, because that's where the food was served. (That's why there are so many bars on those old westerns. . .)



There were no [gulp] McDonald's restaurants. They didn't have them. (Yea, we got one right!)



These are the lessons I remembered. Now, how do I convince him that Clint Eastwood, Michael Landon, and John Wayne were not, um, always accurate in their portrayals of the wild west. . .Any suggestions? And, make sure you sign up for giveaways!