We are doing our military unit, and enjoying it. I have a list of things here that we’ve done, that we plan to do, and that we wish we could do, but finances or time are not going to permit. We’ve got a lot of things to cram into the next few days. I better get out of here and get busy! Have a super week! This time next week I’ll be lonesome for Texas!There are some cute photos from my children’s little field trip to the Army Surplus store last week included here. Enjoy!
Some Fun Things We’ve Done:
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Visit the Army Surplus Store locally and try on heavy helmets and bomber jackets and such (check out the gear).
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Buy a camouflage shirt and hat.
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Get real dog tags with the kid’s birthdays, religion, & names on them (you can also include blood type, but I would suggest not putting social security numbers).
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Read “The U.S. Army” by Henry I. Kurtz.
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Pretend to have a boot camp and let the kids crawl over beds, go up and down the stairs, jump on the mini trampoline, drop and give you push-ups, and retrieve items on a mission – demote and promote them in rank according to merit.
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Look at all the ranks for the different divisions of the military and see their corresponding badges.
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Draw your favorite war machine.
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Go on the Army Band website and listen to the bugle calls (including taps), the Army Song, and the National Anthem. Discuss the history behind Taps and the Army Song.
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Discuss the draft.
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Discuss what the Military would be like if the soldiers did not follow orders.
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Do a Bible Drill to see how fast you can find verses in the Bible (time yourself).
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Read about the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8:5-10 and how he believed Jesus had the authority to command as well. Discuss how Jesus said there was not as much faith in all of Israel as his.
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Write and recite 2 Timothy 2:3 – “Like a good soldier of Christ Jesus, share in the hard times with us.”
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Sing “I’m in the Lord’s Army” (and sing the Texas version).
Things we Plan to Do (But Haven’t Yet):
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Visit a Recruiting Office.
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Eat an MRE.
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Interview a Vietnam Veteran (family member) and take notes/Write a report or Journal Entry.
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Write to a Soldier and send a package.
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Watch Sgt. York (the old black and white movie).
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Read “Sergeant York: Last of the Long Hunters” by Tom Skeyhill.
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Make your own first aid kit (we’re actually going to fill a “emergency bag” that I keep in my vehicle to make sure we have all the things we might need for our trip out of state).
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Write the Konos vocabulary words and orally use them in a sentence (look them up and read the definitions in a dictionary).
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Stop along the road at military points of interest (museums/tanks/convoys/etc.) if there are any and take photos.
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Make a map of your state and pinpoint all the military bases and name them.
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Visit a port – take a free guided tour on a Coast Guard boat (identify ships by their flags).
Things we Can’t Do This Time, but Would be Fun:
- Visit a War Memorial – San Jacinto Monument
- Visit a Battleship (take a hard-hat tour given by a war veteran) – Battleship Texas
- Visit a Submarine – Sea Wolf Park
- Visit a Military Museum
- Go to a Gun Show
- Visit a VFW (take home baked cookies)
- Stage a Fake Battle – Set up a Military Hospital and let the girls be Nurses for the wounded.
- Visit a base.
- Get inside an Army/Air Force/Navy vehicle.
- Take a ride in an old war plane.
- Go to a war reenactment.
- Take a fire-arm safety course/Learn to shoot a gun.
Both the San Jacinto Monument and Battleship Texas are well worth seeing.
..what is the Texas version of I’m in the Lord’s Army? I grew up there so I’m not sure if that’s what I know or not?
You do it with a twang, and you do different motions for the different branches of military (ie: march infantry is gunslinger mode – imagine walking with spurred boots – with legs spread, ride in the calvery is legs spread and horse rider, shoot the artillery is gunslinger pulling your guns from your belt, and fly ‘or the enemy is a chicken wing motion)… words are the same, accent is different! It is really funny, and the kids love it.
Yes, I agree that those two field trips are A+!!! We just can’t afford the gas and entry fees right now to do either of them. We have been there before, though… when the kids were younger. I am sure we’ll be back when they are a bit older. The hard hat tour is 4 hours (on the Battleship TX), and they only allow kids older than 14. 🙁
Hey Sprittibee,
Again, you amaze me with the amount of stuff you get done and so close to a move to another state! You’re an inspiration!
Travel safe and give the kids hugs from us.
Peace,
Cindy.
what a fun time it looks like you are having…
sorry, but i don’t do subs unless it’s a sandwich 😉
if you are in NYC, go to the Intrepid…it’s a retired aircraft carrier, and it is HUGE! (they have a sub there too)
I’m not sure my kids would agree that it is all that fun. We opted to skip the Coast Gaurd trip since we have done it before (it was very fun)… and we plan on visiting another place once we move instead. We did make a map of Texas today and list all of the Texas military bases. I was sad to see that so many were closed which I knew of. We also interviewed my father-in-law about his tour in Vietnam.
Oh, I remember MREs. The peanut butter and cheese were okay on the crackers, even though the crackers have no salt on them. I never did eat the main food package. My dh did, piling on lots of tabaso before eating it, no matter what it was. They started adding candy bars and M&Ms; and they got better after that. My dad said the new MREs were a lot better than the c-rations (food in cans) he’d had in the Army 🙂
We’ve visited the museum close to us at Ft. Benning. My son likes to see the helicopters and tanks up close.
This is really awesome. Thanks for sharing!
Peace,
Leah
ramfaminnova at gmail dot com
Your kids are so adorable. I love your field trip ideas and learning activities.
We sing aa astronaut version and a cowboy version which is very similar to your Texas version. Too cute!!
Thanks for sharing!