Our Week in Review

We continued our study of the Civil War this week.  Over the weekend we watched Gone With the Wind.  It had been YEARS (decades actually!) since I had seen this movie, but it is such a classic movie depicting life in the south.  I'm afraid I falsely advertised it to my boys, telling them it had both romance and war in it.... turns out the war was almost all referenced but not actually shown.  Oh well!  Surprisingly they enjoyed it anyway.  We all hated Scarlet's devious behavior, and that brought us together. :-D

I gave a creative assignment to the children which is proving to be lots of fun.  I divided the 6 children into 3 groups of 2, and each group is designing their own regimental flag on posterboard.  Regimental flags were proudly carried into battle, with men actually clamoring to be the one to carry it.  It was not unusual for 10 or 12 different men to be killed from under the flag during a single battle, and it was always quickly picked up to be carried by another soldier.  The children have all chosen their regiment's name and are working on their insignia.  These "flags" will be displayed at our unit celebration next month.

We focused our efforts last week on the major battles of the second half of the war ~ what actions helped lead the war to its end.  So many stories within the story ~ such a fascinating time!!

During our virtual history co-op sons G and L presented mini reports/powerpoints on the battle of Gettysburg and on General James Longstreet, respectively.  Daughter H worked hard on her presentation of General Sherman, to be given this week.  They each did a fantastic job!  Our virtual co-op, which meets once a week for online history discussion, is such a blessing to our family, and such a great educational experience for our children to have as they prepare for college.  I am thankful for it!