The Battle of Britain, Alan Turing and VE day

More often than not, memorable activities are the best way to introduce new themes, ideas and concepts, or facts.  It becomes a discussion point for later and can push their interest in pursuing the subject at a deeper level.  It's something I try to do often in our work to keep the kiddies excited about learning and it also engages my youngest in our school work.

So on Monday we made Britain out of wooden blocks.  We talked about the Luftwaffe and the German plan to destroy British air bases, coastal convoys and shipping bases.  But the British decoded the messages sent to Luftwaffe Command and prepared their defence:  The Battle of Britain.

Mummy's lovely cousin arrived from Australia for the week and so we engaged him in making a timeline of the World War II (with a crown on, of course).

The Boy finished his book.

On Wednesday we celebrated VE day with a party.  

Monkey Girl made biscuits and the others made cheese and cucumber sandwiches, jam sandwiches and egg sandwiches, as instructed by our neighbour who was 11 on VE day and remembers it well.

Panda Girl used the sewing machine to ake her own bunting.  She did a smashing job.

Nanny M came to visit and shared her stories of post-war rations.

Our neighbour shared this magazine front cover with us.  She is in this photo!

Bletchley Park  

Home of the Code Breakers

The Enigma Machines used by the code breakers at Bletchley Park.  Their work was said to have shortened the war by two years.

Alan Turing, a brilliant mind.

The recent movie, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch about Alan Turing and Bletchley Park was partly filmed in this room.

Code breaking

 

Hut 6 is where, amongst others, the code breakers deciphered German encryptions about the invasion of Britain by air.

 

 Alan Turing's office.  A sobering room.  How indebted we are to these men.

Button it up!

World War II propaganda.  For better or for worse, the British government used propaganda for many reasons and we took a look at some of their slogans and adverts they used.

Make do and Mend

We had a brainstorming session to create new slogans. 

The Boy drew a great picture of an evacuee at the beach.  

After lunch the children worked on Spanish, English and Maths.

And in our History of Britain book we read about Charles II re-taking the throne following his 11 years of exile, during the rule of Oliver Cromwell.

We finish the week with two Ballet Classes and some chocolate for Mummy!

Sweet Rations and Tap Dancing

1940s sweet rations.  

What better way to understand this than head to a nearby traditional sweetshop and order 4oz of sweets each, which was a child's weekly sweet ration during WWII.

A fun way to start the morning!

We burned off the sugar at the park under a beautiful January sky.

The Boy had an injection at the doctor's just before lunch which upset him a fair amount, so we set up a sweet shop for an extra bit of fun this afternoon.

The children used their ration books to order their sweets.

Paper bags made out of tissue paper.

Science and Spanish happened later this afternoon before two lessons of Tap and Modern dancing for this gorgeous girl.

Monkey Girl made her speciality shortbread.

And Sea Cadets for the two eldest.

G'night!

Tales from World War II

Our elderly neighbour spent a while with us this morning, drinking tea and recounting stories from when she was a young girl in World War II.  Wow.  Just wow.

We heard how she unintentionally picked up and then dropped a shell that was still warm. After an inspection by the local warden it was found to be still active and had to be detonated.

She is still moved by the sight of Lancaster Bombers after seeing them battered and low in the skies, trying to make it back to base after a night flight over Germany.

She pointed out some local fields where two aeroplanes tragically crashed after not making the flight home, mortally wounding all the crew.

And the stories about rationing: Queueing one day outside the local shop for an orange, which was such a rare treat that they ate the peel too; Her mother had an allotment for all their fruit and vegetables to supplement their weekly rations; Breeding and eating rabbits; Craving sweet food; Deciding how to spread the food allowance: use the sugar for jam or for cake?  

Baking was done on Sundays in batches, ready for the week.

Her father was away for four years as a solider in Belgium and her mother took in washing from around the village to have a steady, albeit small income, as the government pay was not always reliable.

She hid under the table with her dog after hearing a guided Doodlebug and she remembers the blackouts and search lights in the sky, looking for enemy planes. How unbelievably terrifying.

It was an informative and moving morning for us all.

Later, we made carrot biscuits using a wartime ration recipe:

1 tablespoon margarine

2 tablespoons sugar + a little extra

A few drops vanilla flavouring

4 tablespoons grated raw carrot

6 tablespoons Self Raising flour (or plain flour + a half teaspoon of baking powder).

 Method: Cream the fat and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in the flavouring and carrot.

Fold in the flour.

Form mixture into about 12 or 15 small balls.

Place each ball on a baking tray and flatten.

Sprinkle with sugar and bake in a brisk oven for 20 minutes.

After lunch the children enjoyed their outside play so much that I let them play out there for over two hours in the freezing cold after which they got ready for three Gym classes and Tap and Modern Dancing.