Welcome to the World War II Morning Time Session!
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Schedule
Recommended Books
Prayer & Scripture Memorization
For Bible reading, we will make suggestions for your morning time reading. However, if you’d prefer a more in depth schedule, we recommend checking out various plans that will help you read the Bible through.
For a one-year plan, we recommend YouVersion’s One Year Bible: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/60. You can also listen to it being read aloud on the app.
Download a two-year reading plan from the Gospel Coalition here: https://media.thegospelcoalition.org/static-blogs/tgc/files/2010/12/TGC-Two-Year-Bible-Reading-Plan1.pdf
If you prefer to go even slower, Ambleside Online offers three, four, and five-year Bible reading plans: https://www.amblesideonline.org/L/Lbiblesch.html
For the World War II session you will read through David’s story in the book of 1 & 2 Samuel.
Your students will memorize Romans 12:17-21, Disturb Us, Lord and Brave Hearts
Artist Study
This session’s featured artist is Marc Chagall. We’ve included four art selections for your kids and teens to use for picture study. They are:
- I and the Village
- The Circus Horse
- Bella with White Collar
- The Fiddler
Composer Study
Our featured composer is Glen Miller. We’ve included four of his pieces (with links to each) to listen to. They are:
- In the Mood
- Chattanooga Choo Choo
- Moonlight Serenade
- Sunrise Serenade
Listen to each piece below:
In the Mood
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Moonlight Serenade
Sunrise Serenade
Hymn/Folk Song
Hymn
On a hot summer Sunday morning in 1865, Mrs. Elvina Hall (1820-1889) was found in her accustomed place in the church choir loft. But as the pious words of the Reverend Schrick’s prayer droned on and on, her thoughts drifted to other things. She pondered the meaning of the cross, and the storied scene flashed before her mind’s eye.
High upon a rocky crag, three crosses scarred the afternoon sky. On the outer gibbets hung two notorious thieves. Below, Roman soldiers drank and gambled, waiting for death to overtake the poor wretches suspended above them. It was a public execution, but far more significant than they imagined at the time. Suddenly, the air grew dense and an eerie darkness invaded the scene.
As the soldiers gazed about them in superstitious dread, a triumphant cry pierced the gloom. It came from the figure on the centre cross. One word, in the Greek tongue: “Tetelestai!” Then He was dead. That shout of victory Christ uttered as He died is usually translated “It is finished!” (Jn. 19:30). But it had another meaning back then. It was an accounting term. When a bill was paid, it was commonly stamped with the word “Tetelestai,” meaning Paid in Full.
And that is precisely what the death of Christ accomplished.
“[He] bore our sins in His own body on the tree,” says Peter (I Pet. 2:24). “He Himself is the propitiation [the full satisfaction of God’s justice] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world,” (I Jn. 2:2). The groaning weight of all the world’s sin was laid on Christ at Calvary. He bore it in our place.
As the pastor’s prayer continued, Mrs. Hall took up her hymn book and, turning to a blank page inside the cover, she began to write. Afterward, she presented the pastor with some simple lines of poetry.
Glancing at them, the pastor was reminded of something that had happened just that week. The church organist, John Grape (1835-1915) had composed a new hymn tune, with no words in mind. He passed it on to Pastor Schrick, suggesting they might find a use for it in future.
Stepping into his study, the pastor laid Mrs. Hall’s poem next to the lines of music. In surprise, he saw they fit one another like hand in glove. The words and tune have been partners ever since, in the hymn, “Jesus Paid It All.”
Listen to the music and sing along with it below:
Folk Song
The White Cliffs of Dover was written by Walter Kent and Nat Burton during the height of World War II, when German raiders and the British Airforce were fighting over Britain. The song was first recorded by Vera Lynn in 1942 and was inspired by the view of the white cliffs from the English coast.
The song tells the story of a young woman who is waiting for her lover to return from sea. She is looking out over the white cliffs of Dover, hoping to see his ship come into view.
The song became popular thanks to Vera Lynn and became one of the most popular songs during World War II. It has been covered by many artists over the years, including Glenn Miller, The Beatles, and Rod Stewart.
Listen and sing along with it below:
Want to listen to more wartime tunes? Here are a couple of fun ones:
Poetry
This session’s featured poet is Dylan Thomas. We’ve included four poetry selections for your kids and teens to read, listen to, memorize, and recite. They are:
- Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
- Fern Hill
For copywork, we have included Zaner-Bloser style handwriting sheets for primary, elementary, and cursive, as well as college ruled for older students. The poems we have chosen are:
- Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
- Fern Hill
Copywork
Tea Times
Wartime was unthinkable on the battlefront for the soldiers, but also extremely difficult for their families back home who were trying to carry on with their day-to-day lives as normally as possible. Food shortages, rationing, and a lack of consumer goods made it difficult for everyone to survive the war, but some groups were hit harder than others.
In Great Britain, ration books were given to everyone. They had a limited amount of food that they could consume within a typical week.
For our tea times, we are including recipes that might not be the best tasting, but would have been typical of the creativity of women during this time.
For further study on this perspective of war, we are linking you to an Oxford University resource on rationing during wartime, plus, we want you to be able to download a couple of pamphlets from that time, “ABC of Cookery,” and “Make Do and Mend,” which were issued by the British government:
In this session we have four recipes: Eggless Tea Sponge, Wartime Loaf, Berry Shortbread, and Glory Rolls.
We will have a Fairy Tale teatime, a Mythology teatime, and a Fable teatime:
Fairy Tale Tea: Snow White and Rose Red, by The Brother’s Grimm
Mythology Teatime: A Wonder Book, “The Dragon’s Teeth” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Fable Teatime: Aesop’s Fables, “The Crow and the Pitcher”
We also recommend having a “Big Band Jazz” teatime, which you could listen to while baking or eating. We have included a link on our website to listen to a collection of music pieces by Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and many more!
Shakespeare
For our Shakespeare selection, we have chosen the Bard’s comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew.”
Read it from E. Nesbit’s Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare in the following pages. But we also recommend reading the actual play together as a family if you can.
Your older kids and teens may enjoy watching a movie adaptation (please pre-screen these first). And if you can take in a live performance, your family will never forget it!
We are including a link on our website to watch a pre-recorded stage performance of “The Taming of the Shrew” by the American Conservatory Theater.
Watch a performance of The Taming of the Shrew by the American Conservatory Theater below:
Nature Study
Each Friday morning, you will go through two of our nature cards. They are labeled in the upper right corner with the corresponding week. These are short, factual cards with images to help your child become familiar with objects in the natural world.
As you progress through our sessions, you may find it handy to keep your past nature cards in a binder for easy reference when your children come across a familiar object. These seeds you are planting will grow into a wonderful garden of knowledge for your children in years to come.
As you explore nature outside your home, watch and listen for newly discovered delights.
Handicraft
For our handicraft lesson, we will be creating Clothespin Planes, modeled after the WWII American Aircraft. This is a simple activity that all ages can enjoy — from your younger children (with a bit of help with the glue), to teens who can add decorations and embellishments to their satisfaction.
Art Lesson
In this lesson we create an old American WWII Aircraft.
Supplies needed:
- Watercolor paper
- Acrylic paints (Light blue, light green, dark gray, white)
- Paint pens (red, blue white)
- Black watercolor (optional)
- Paintbrush
- Cotton balls (optional)
History & Geography
For history and geography, you can read through the major battles of WWII that we have included below. We have also included various videos under the History & Geography section. We have also included two line drawn maps of Europe for map drills.
Additional History Links
National Archives D-Day Lessons for Educators
National Archives ‘A Date Which Will Live in Infamy’ Lessons for Educators
Patton’s Speech to the Third Army
{Lara’s Note:} Please be aware that this famous (or perhaps infamous) speech is not appropriate for young ears at all. Patton was a very rough man in actions and words. Your upper high school students and you, yourself, might be interested and so we included a link below to the transcript of the speech.
Solfa
Charlotte Mason incorporated solfa lessons twice a week for about 10 minutes each. These lessons are intended to be repeated and you can stay on any lesson for as long as you like. Here is the YouTube channel Lara and her boys enjoy and recommends for practicing solfa, Children of the Open Air:
Brush Drawing
Brush drawing builds motor and observation skills. We have included a link to videos by Bestowing the Brush below which are great for all ages to learn together:
