Planes, Tanks, and Trenches. . .Oh My!
Our kids just emerged from World War I and from the first shot in Austria-Hungary in 1914 to the Treaty of Versailles signed on 11/11/1918 our excitement never grew stale! One of our favorite activities was drawing a map of France, Belgium, Germany, and Russia on the table and using our army men to re-enact the proposed Schlieffen Plan and the costly adjustments that were made.
We also enjoyed learning about several new advancements that were introduced during The Great War, such as trench warfare. Soldiers would be in these deep trenches for so long during the stalemate, that some of the trenches would even be furnished with carpet, electricity, and other conveniences.
Here are our Kindergarteners learning about the tactics of war (trenches, tanks, planes)
Another advancement that we learned about was tanks. Some tanks moved faster and were strong enough to drive over barbed wire in No Man’s Land, while other tanks were designed to drive over trenches, allowing them to cover more distance.
Perhaps the most exciting advancement that we learned about was the constantly developing planes that were used. Planes were new on the scene with the Wright brothers’ discoveries barely a decade old, and initially planes served as an aerial lookout for the Central and Allied Powers. However, soon planes were armed with firepower to use in defense, and quickly thereafter mounted with machine guns to use to fight in the air. Learning how engineers worked to discover the optimal location of the guns as to not hit the blades of the plane, yet still be easily accessible by the pilot was very interesting. This aviation progress paved the way for icons such as the Sopwith Camel plane and the Red Baron flying ace.
We learned so much about “the war to end all wars”, as WWI was termed by President Woodrow Wilson, and we wanted to share our favorite video with you (we think it is the bomb!)
