Last week we concluded our study of World War I.  I did not think I would enjoy studying this war, yet I admit it was extremely interesting.  TOG notes and recommended books did an excellent job of clearly explaining the intricate web of alliances that led to the Great War.  In fact, our history lessons have been foreboding the impending gloom in Europe for many weeks (from all the way back in Year 3 Unit 4). The children have sat at the dinner table, explaining the complexities of the beginning of the war with their dad, by their own initiative.  They also explained the uniqueness of the war due to changing technology from trenchwarfare to the use  of chemical warfare.  When my husband was in the military, he used to bring his gas mask home to clean inbetween exercises. (There is nothing like walking into the powder room and finding this eerie "face" staring up at you from the sink.)  We continue to make connections from the past to the present.

     One of the most fascinating aspects of the war that we studied was the continued development of the airplane.  Initially, enemies in the air would shoot guns at each other. That led to technology to attach the gun to the plane, yet there was the problem of the bullets deflecting off the propellers back into the plane.  That led to more technology to synchronize everything so that the bullets fire inbetween rotations of the propellers.  We also learned about the WWI flying aces, most notably the Red Baron. At last, the Red Baron is more than a Snoopy cartoon and a man on a pizza box.

     My children have not seen a Peanuts cartoon in years, so they do not remember Snoopy and his imaginative exploits in the air with his doghouse. Those scenes used to be my absolute favorites in the Peanuts cartoons. I guess I have a thing for dogs who like costumes and have an overactive imagination. It was funny in that during our weekly Socratic Discussion on WWI and the airplanes, I kept trying to link Snoopy to the Red Baron but my kids couldn't remember those scenes.  I finally thought to google and I found an old Snoopy scene from Peanuts.  We watched several, including some newer ones. After watching a few, my kids agreed with me, the classic Snoopy flying through the air on his doghouse from a clip from Peanuts was the best! It's from YouTube and titled, "Baron versus Beagle: The Original 'Dogfight'."

     It was especially nice to do something lighthearted after reading about all the heaviness of this war, which used completely different battle techniques resulting in hopeless stalemates and death. Unlike previous wars where the men got out and met face to face, did the job of combat and the survivors moved on, for the first time men sat and waited in trenches with stalemate battles, hoping the fog of chemicals would not appear on the horizon.  We also watched All Quiet on the Western Front, which is heavy with everything we had read about in our history books about dismal, dreary disgusting unsantitary life in the trenches, chemical warfare, flamethrowers, rats, disease, hunger...It was real, it really happened, and the peace talks only kept the pot simmering until it boiled over into the Second World War.  After all that dreariness and reality, it was nice to take a step back and be a little lighthearted for a bit.  This is extremely important to remember, in this era where kids have to grow up fast in an ever changing society and while learning difficult dark history, to allow kids opportunities to just be kids.   

     I always figured there was more to the story of the Red Baron.  It was interesting to learn how the airplane was further developed during the war and how the Red Baron became classic.  The excellence of the Red Baron made history and is classic to this day, even influencing a dog with an overactive imagination!