This is a big "Hooray!" for TOG -

I had my 3 middle kids do display boards as a wrap-up for WW II. 11 yo ds did the War in the Pacific, 9 yo dd is finishing the War in Europe, and 7 yo dd is working on the Homefront.

Here's the neat part -

When I was 14, I interviewed my grandparents about the war. By some miracle I still have the transcript. I remembered that my grandfather fought in Germany and was wounded - that was all I remembered.

And then -

It all came together for me! I found his regiment (28th Infantry) online, and - WOW! I never realized that he landed after D-Day, fought in St. Lo, paraded through Paris after Patton, saw French women with shaved heads as retaliation for "fraternizing with the enemy", pushed through the Ziegfried Line, and was wounded in the forest near Vossenack. This is all AMAZING stuff to me. My kids are SO excited to realize the part one of their very own family members played.

My 9 yo, reading "Angels of Mercy" said - "Mom, do you think one of the Angels of Mercy took care of Grandpa George when he got shot?"

Talk about history coming alive -

Gotta love a happy homeschool moment

How neat, Heather! It's especially nice to know with such detail where he went and what he did.

I have some interest in genealogy, and I've found that it really adds to our experience of history study. It's wonderful to be able to say, "When this happened, we had family members living down the road in the next town," or whatever. Even though we usually don't know specifically what our family was doing at the time, just thinking about the fact that this is a story that involved our personal family does help bring this to life.

And of course, the few times that we know specifically what our family was doing, it's even more fun. (For example, I have three separate lines of my family who had personal contact with Sam Houston - in three separate states! And the fact that my mom now owns a home where a historic Sam Houston campaign speech took place, and where he once slept (all documented!), is icing on the cake. It all makes Texas history more fun!)

I always thought genealogy was boring as a child, but my kids really like the results.

The more we know, the more fun it is to learn a little more!

SO true - I was up late last night researching! I think it's a good example for our kids to see us learning -

And just for what it's worth -

I took some quotes from my interview with my Grandpa, typed them in a simple document, and pasted in pictures related to what he was talking about. Most of the times, I found pictures right on the PBS website (thank you, Ken Burns!). Even more amazing - I found a picture of my grandfather's regiment (28th Infantry) marching down the Champs d'Elysees - enjoy! (That's my grandfather - he's in the fourth row, about the 200th back - only kidding!!!!! )


28th Infantry - Champs d'Elysees