Mar. 18, 2008
Civil War Co-op class 3

Whew, I am so behind in updating!  Sorry about that.  Life has been happening all around me!  I will endeaver to catch up over the next few days before the busy Easter weekend.

OK, co-op classes from last Friday were about the Underground Railroad, dolls, quilts, and uniforms.  That's a lot to cover in one morning!

The kids learned about what the underground railroad was and how it was used.  They learned that lanterns were used a signal to runaway slaves.  If the lantern outside the house was lit, it was safe to come inside.  If it was not lit, that meant there was danger and the slaves needed to move on.  Then of course the kids got to make lanterns.

Next we learned about dolls that were popular during that time period.  Mrs. Charity demonstrated why the rag dolls were also called church dolls.  They could be dropped without making a lot of noise!  Did you know that the moms would sometimes stuff the head of the doll with sugar to be used as a type of pacifier?  The K-2 girls were going to make rag dolls, but it was going to be too difficult for them to sew in the alloted time.  So we made a hybrid doll.  It was made like a corn husk doll (also popular in that time) but made with rags instead of husks.  They actually turned out VERY cute and the girls loved them.

The boys K-5 all made forager caps.  The teen gys were supposed to make actual uniforms but we couldn't find jackets at Goodwill being this close to Easter.  So instead they learned about signal flags and Wig-Wag.

The girls 3rd grade and up made quilt squares.  This was also a difficult task for such a short time frame and they had to use every minute.  Quilts were used during the Civil War to raise money for families who were having a tough time financially.  All the women would work together to make the quilt, sell it, and give the proceeds away.  Isn't that great!  Making a quilt is tough work.  What a great model of a servant's heart!

Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the finished products but my camera batteries went dead and my back up batteries died also.  Sigh.  Thank you Jill for taking pics for me while I was helping the girls!

*****Edited to add*****

A friend read my blog and sent me some missing pictures.  Here you go!

( Say Howdy!)

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