Alvin York: Courage and Leadership Under Fire

 We started up our class again for the summer.  

The routine will be the same- start with some free play, do our workout and then begin class with the pledge and class rules and affirmations.

We then did a review of some of the heroes we covered in previous semesters before introducing our next hero and era: Alvin York and World War I.

We used a PowerPoint to introduce the war.  After watching selected scenes from the film 1917 we talked about Medal of Honor recipient Alvin York.

A man of great Christian faith, it took York time to overcome his reluctance to take any lives.  In the heat of battle, countless men fell around him, making him the highest ranking soldier present.  Rather than let nearby machine guns mow down his man he showed incredible courage and leadership by initiating an attack on a German machine gun nest.

I also recommend reading the book about World War I titled Where the Poppies Grow.  We didn't have time to do so in class but it has been such a treat to read with my boys- especially my 6-year-old.

We ended by reenacting trench warfare upstairs with balls.

Jesus Went About Doing Good

 This was our last day of class.  We were short on time so we let the boys play and then we had each of them present about his favorite hero that we have discussed and why.  

We then talked about how our Savior, Jesus Christ, was the greatest hero.  Of his heroism, one simple statement says that he "went about doing good."  We then went to a friend in our ward and tried to do some good.

Afterward, I gave each of them a Mr. Goodbar with the following attached:

Jim Thorpe: Sportsmanship

 We held class as usual, beginning with rough housing on the trampoline.

After our workout and recitations of the pledge and the class rules, we introduced our final hero of the semester: Jim Thorpe.

We read a book about Thorpe called The Power of Sportsmanship: Featuring the Story of Jim Thorpe.

Thorpe was an incredible athlete.  He won the decathlon and many other events at the Olympics and played professional baseball and football.  We watched a video about how to throw a football and practiced throwing.  I had wanted to play some two hand touch but realized the boys weren't ready.  Instead, we had a contest to see who could throw the ball the furthest.

Next week we will have the boys present on their favorite hero and then do a service project.

Bell, Edison & The Wright Brothers: Never Give Up

We began with roughousing for twenty minutes or so.  Then we began the class with our workout and recitations of both the Pledge and the class rules.

We then reviewed last week's hero, Joshua Chamberlain, and summarized the war's end and the challenges of reuniting the North and South afterward.

Then we switched gears to discuss the major technological changes that took place at the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th Century.

We focused on Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.  Here are three great videos that describe their contributions.  These men were so innovative and patient.  Thomas Edison, in particular, has wonderful quotes about patience and never giving up.

After quickly summarizing the stories of each inventor we read The Value of Patience: The Story of the Wright Brothers.  

Then we watched Season 3, Episode 1 of Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum.

Here are more great links for these three inventors:  XavierRiddle, Season 3 Episode 5 (Bell), Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell.

Robert Gould Shaw: Respect and Courage

We began the class with twenty minutes of free play, after which we did our workout and recitations.

Then we reviewed last week's lesson about Gettysburg, primarily that the battle was won by the North who had the high ground.  We then had the boys share what they remembered about Joshua Chamberlain and watched this clip from the wonderful movie, Gettysburg, that shows his daring move on Little Round Top.

Then we introduced our last hero of the Civil War, Robert Gould Shaw.  The trailer for Glory is a wonderful, brief recap of the role he played with the Massachusetts 54th Regiment.  They were the second regiment composed of African American troops and their courage at the Battle of Fort Wagner (roughly 40% were lost) has become legendary.

We then let the boys play before playing "Telephone."  We'll be discussing Alexander Graham Bell next week so we'll refer to the game again then.

Gettysburg and Joshua Chamberlain

Today we began with 20 minutes of rough housing. Then we had our workout and recited the Pledge and our class rules and affirmations.

We then reviewed a bit from last week and introduced our hero- Joshua Chamberlain. 

We read the book Voices of Gettysburg which I highly recommend.  After reviewing the battle’s highlights and Robert E Lee’s mistake (hubris or too much pride), we went over Chamberlain’s heroism. He was a college professor who cared so much about abolitionism that he joined the Union Army, even though he didn’t have to (rare- most of the men were drafted and fought reluctantly once the emancipation proclamation was written.). 

He had only read about war but read everything he could find and so, when faced with what seemed an impossible situation he thought outside of the box and saved his men.  His heroics saved the battle for the Union Army by preventing them from being flanked.

Then we re-enacted Gettysburg with an uphill nerf battle, letting the boys take turns being the North and the South. We finished with an all out nerf battle.

Abraham Lincoln the Champion Wrestler

 For this lesson we began having the boys play on the trampoline.  Then we got started with our class.  We did our workout and recited the Pledge of Allegiance as well as our class rules and affirmations.

We then reviewed Frederick Douglass, Slavery and Abraham Lincoln's upbringing.  Then we talked more about the Civil War, showing the boys a scene from this Animated Heroes Classic video about Lincoln.  The scene showed some of the wounded after the first Battle of Bull Run.  

Then we told the boys the story of Abraham Lincoln beating Jack Armstrong, a town bully who was part of a gang.  You can read about the story here.  

The boys loved the story and afterward we had them take turns wrestling, one on one.  We only had them wrestle for 30 seconds at a time and didn't really call points or declare a winner this time.  Hopefully in the future we'll have more time to do this and make it more competitive.

Next week we'll talk about the Battle of Gettysburg and have a nerf battle!  We're asking the boys to come with eye protection so they will be safe while they shoot.