Something You Might Be Surprised to Learn About World War 1

Let’s be honest with one another. It was a world-wide war. Volumes could be written (and have been) about the important things we need to know about World War 1.

We could dig in and look at the who, what, when, where, and even why. But my goal here today is to intrigue you!

I want to create a leaping off point. One that entices you to discover more on your own and leaves your students asking for more.

(Do you recall how we used The Story of the World for our history spine? Well, this is what I'm talking about. Sometimes my children would want to learn MORE based on what we had discovered in our history studies.)

A Good Yarn

Not one to give in to a boring list, we are going to use the power of a good story. This is how we learn best. We’re going to start at the beginning. So here is how it goes…

Horses, Providentially Speaking

Horses are special creatures. The history of the horse is a history of God’s Providence. Horses have contributed greatly to the works of man throughout history. Where would we be without the strength of the horse?

Today we tend to think of the Kentucky Derby when we think of horses. We might even see them as a very expensive pet. But there’s more to the story of horses than that.

God certainly used horses to move man across His created world.

Think of the Pony Express, the westward movement of people across our nation, and how the Native American used and depended on the horse.

Farming, covered wagons, the delivery of goods, the movement of cattle—all dependent upon the noble horse.

They were often like family to the individuals who owned them. This makes “the rest of the story” a somewhat sad tale.

Donkeys, Horses, and Mules

When you think of a world war, you may envision tanks.

But, did you know that at the beginning of World War 1 all of the major players started with a cavalry?

By and large, donkeys, horses, and mules were being taken to carry ammunition and supplies to the Front. The animals were uniquely designed to handle the muddy conditions and difficult terrain.

As the war progressed, horses continued to be used by the Russian army. This was mainly due to their lack of technology. But they did have horses.

If you’ve spent time around horses, you already know that they are creatures that require special care. Many died in the war due to poor conditions and terrible weather.

Though horses on the warfront improved morale (a rider loves his mount), the use of horses in the war came at a great cost. One quarter of all equine deaths during the war years were related to battle casualties. It is said that by the end of WW1, Britain had lost one horse for every two men.

Farmers During World War I

But as the different nations acquired these animals from the farmers, there was little thought given to the their outcome. Nor did they think about the outcome for the farmers and people who relied upon them to produce crops.

Unfortunately, the only people guaranteed to return home with horses were the officers. And these were the mounts which they personally owned. When your farm horse was acquired, it was likely the last you would ever see of him.

At a time when horse powered farms exist, the ability to manage the farm was greatly impacted.

Farms still needed to produce food for the nations they served. Can you imagine what the farmer felt when he saw his best horses and work ponies carted off to the Front?

The Livestock Stars of the Story

As sad and disheartening as it is, high numbers of horses died. What else would we expect? How could we expect the animals to overcome machinery?

War technology was advanced-- machine guns, barbed wire, and concrete reinforced trenches. Not to mention the toll that tanks and airplanes had on cavalry.

It’s not long before horses were no longer used on the Western Front and were primarily used on the Eastern Front. Russia’s inability to keep up with technology made them heavily reliant on horses for support.

Naturally, not every horse fell to its death.

Those that came back from the Front were divided into two different classes: 1. the healthiest and youngest of were sold back to the farmers ; 2. the remaining, least healthy and strong in the next class down, were sold at a lesser price.

Some donkeys, horses, and mules were older and weaker. As difficult as this may be to understand, they went to the knacker's yard for meat to feed the population.

It may be surprising, but it was seen as a necessity because of the severe food shortage that hit Europe at the end of the war.

Ode to the Horse

Each nation felt the loss of so many of these special creatures. It wasn’t long before memorials, books, poetry, and even movies showed up to honor them. Memorials such as: Animals in War Memorial, St. Jude’s Church-Hampstead, and the Australian Light Horse.

The special relationship between man and horse is seen far beyond the contributions the horse has made to history.

We can tell the tales from one generation to the next, creating place markers by way of memorials, but literature is the handmaid to history.

And those who tell stories best have left us wonderful resources to consult.

Horses in World War I - the Literature

While on the Front, many soldiers actually wrote poetry about their horses. Have you ever read The War Horse or The Australian Memorial verse?

And you might be familiar with the movie War Horse, but did you know that before it was a movie, it was a book? War Horse is a children’s novel by author Michael Morpurgo. It tells the war story of a horse named Joey during WW1.

The Rest of the Story

Like all of history and the tales that go with it, there are more stories. The story of the horse and the impact it made on history is just the beginning.

You can continue to read about World War 1 through the lens of stories with these book suggestions. Let me know which ones you find yourself calling a “favorite”.

Books for Youngers

Lord of the Nutcracker
Truce
After the Dancing Days
Archie’s War
Private Peaceful
War Game
In Flanders Field
Five Children on the Western Front

Books for Middles

The War to End All Wars
Remembrance
War Horse
Where Poppies Grow

Books for Olders

Rilla of Ingleside
The Guns of August: The Outbreak of WW1

Rilla of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, No. 8)Lord of the Nutcracker Men Truce After the Dancing Days Archie's War Private Peaceful by Morpurgo, Michael [02 August 2012]War Game: Village Green to No-Man's-Land In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae In Flanders Fields Five Children on the Western Front The War to End All Wars: World War I War Horse Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion The Guns of August: The Outbreak of World War I; Barbara W. Tuchman's Great War Series (Modern Library 100 Best Nonfiction Books)

Sometimes (ok, maybe a lot of the time) when you're in the homeschool trenches the last thing you are thinking is, "Gosh, are my kids having fun with their schoolwork today?"

I'm just being honest.

There were MANY a day when I just wanted to get through. We needed to do that math lesson, complete the history lesson, and check off the almighty boxes.

Who's with me?

Every now and then, however, I was reminded of this precious, important fact: homeschool is about the relationships. It is about wonder. It is about discovery. It is about FUN.

As I compiled this list I noticed each activity had something in common: none of them were part of a set "curriculum" we had been using. They were all interest led tangents (maybe related to something in our curriculum) where I simply followed my children's lead. If you give a child something to sink their teeth into I believe they will naturally want MORE.

It is in those moments that the real learning occurs, and in our homeschool it was where sweet memories were made.

As I asked my teens about this the other day, I asked them to tell me their FAVORITE things we'd done in our homeschool. Not only did this exercise do my heart good, but it motivated me to KEEP making those memories - and not to lose the wonder just because they are now teens.

I hope you can use a few of these in your own homeschool!

THUMBPRINT ART

All of the Ed Emberley art books have been a hit in our homeschool.

For some reason, however, the thumbprint drawing book was the favorite. (My kids STILL get this one out to use!)

Maybe it was the HUGE stamp pad I let them get, or maybe it was the fact that I could just leave them alone for several HOURS and they were completely happy. Whatever the case, I recommend having this activity on hand for a rainy day or when your day is going south and you just want to SALVAGE what's left of it!

(I'm so glad I've blogged through most of our homeschool journey because I have tons of cute pictures like this one!)

MAGNETIC SLIME

This activity had A LOT of educational value, plus it was just super fun.

When were studying the Periodic Table this was one of those things that was sitting on my Pinterest board to try... I RARELY try things from Pinterest, but this time I wanted to be the FUN MOM.

(I also think the Periodic Table Tiles I purchased were a HUGE hit - which my oldest is even using in Chemistry right now - a great investment.)

What I love about this was that we learned all about the Periodic Table first, and then used this as our culmination activity.

(And then of course we went down the magnet rabbit trail, which led to another rabbit trail, etc..., etc... You get the point!)

Science seems to lend itself to so many hands on activities, doesn't it?

CANDY SHOP MATH

We literally opened a candy shop for one afternoon. I invited a few of our neighbor kids to come over after school and told them they didn't have to bring any money (we handed out play money at the door).

It was a fabulous exercise in customer service, counting money, making change, and so much more!

Use these simple candy money cards and have fun!

We followed up with some books about money and more activities making change, etc... There is so much you can do with a play cash register and play money!

THE STORY ABOUT PING

Every book we read with Five in a Row proved to be a treasured memory. One of the selections that most stuck out to my children was The Story About Ping.

Looking back, I think it was the special time we took to GET OUTSIDE and learn that stuck with my kids.

During one of our days rowing the book we went to a local lake and read The Story About Ping, along with some other books about ducks. We fed the ducks, watched them PREEN themselves (preen was one of the vocabulary words from that unit which my kids will never forget the meaning of!), and drew pictures of the ducks.

We had a picnic lunch, played on the playground by the lake and just enjoyed learning.

I just remember the sweetness that went along with this particular day - singing "5 Little Ducks" and all of the giggles. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Homeschool at its very finest, yes?

UNIFIX CUBES

I consider it a huge success that a math activity made it into the top five of my children's homeschool memories!

God bless my sweet friend who dropped off a huge bag of Unifix Cubes she had picked up at a garage sale!

I began to research what we could do with these things (I had no idea at first) - and then I let my very creative third grader take it from there. Pretty soon she was teaching her 5 year old brother addition and subtraction. He was learning math facts and she was making her math facts more automatic by "quizzing" her little brother.

Perfect.

I cannot tell you how much we used those Unifix Cubes over the years - or how many hours my kids spent "playing math" with them and our various sets of flashcards.

Sometimes you just need to leave your children alone and they come up with the very best activities.

(Don't even get me going on the world of Unifix Cubes and activities - we could get lost in it for days!)