Great War truck Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 My daughters school is having a WW2 History day on Friday, and she volunteered me to take the Jeep into school. I agreed to this with a little trepidation and have taken a day off work. Speaking to the teacher today, he plans for me to park up in the play ground and receive 4 groups of school kids each for an hour long session. Now i know a fair bit about Jeeps and military history but am now a little concerned that i will have difficulty filling an hour long slot. Any ideas on what i can do to pass the time. The best suggestion i have so far is to take a pile of WW2 kit, split the kids up in to groups and see if they can identify any of it. Sweets for the winning team. Anybody else got any ideas or thoughts on how to pass the time? The kids are all 7 and 8 year olds so i cant get too technical. Thanks Tim (too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodge Deep Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I've been doing this for a few years with one of our local primary schools... don't worry they'll not be short of stuff to say even if you are lol! Stuff to try on always works... helmets, caps etc... gear... belts, webbing... pick the smallest kid and load him up..! Stuff to show that would've appealed to them had they been that age during war time... shrapnel, tin toys (wot no wii !!!), wooden toys, "got any gum, Chum? etc etc... Take a wide range of stuff and you'll be fightin' the little monkeys off!! Watch out for knives n deacts though... sounds obvious but i had stuff tied on that i hadnt considered as being dangerous till the truck was surrounded in a schoolyard by little hands!! One of my highlights last year was... Whats that? Its a typewriter Cooooooool... wassit for? You do get a feeling of 'passing on enthusiasm' which is nice. You also get to make someones day/week/month I did one last year where one little lad was so over excited at the prospect of seeing a real army truck the teacher said he'd been sick! He was stood at the back looking sheepish and green so i told him to 'sit in the drivers seat, put on that helmet on and guard the truck whilst i natter to the rest'... It was worth the lost day for the look of sheer delight on his face... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 These things are the best things to do in this hobby, teach kids history! Take heaps of stuff with you (why keep it WWII, take some WWI stuff too) and tell what's it for. They usually never seen anything like it before and are amazed by, well, everything! The kids will probably have questions for 2 hours so I don't think it will be a problem to fill one hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Last Friday I took the Dodge to collect my brothers kids from school. Alyssa was allready walking home but Ryan got in. A lot of remarks from the other kids. "Cool truck, is that your Daddy?No hes my uncle.. Are you a soldier? No its my truck...WOW." A few months back I took my brothers Jeep for a lecture about it by Alyssa (11 years). On the school square she explained which impressed the kids. However the teacher agreed I could drive the kids around the square... The kids shouted to give Alyssa a perfect grade...she got it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 You'll find it's one of the most rewarding things you've ever done. I was asked to take the jeep and jimmy once,the kids weren't that fussed about the jeep, all they wanted to do was sit in the back of the jimmy 'like the soldiers did'. The teachers then asked me to stay for lunch and give the kids a talk, never done it before and totally unprepared but whatever I said went down well and it was a brilliant experience, you have the knowledge, pass it on.:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 It's a good experience, kid's have a tendency to ask questions adult's wouldn't dare to. Gives the brain a work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papav66 Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 To ensure they are listening & remembering some info. how about doing a short quiz like: Name a manufacturer of Jeeps Which cartoon character were children's gas masks named after? Who used to drive this Jeep? etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Burley Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I cant believe it.A school that actually wants to give a lesson on ww2 history.When i was at school,it was anything but!!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 You were all right. One of the most rewarding things that i have done all year. Some excellent questions and everyone was very interested in what i brought in. I spent nearly 5 hours in total with 4 groups of kids and the time flew by. They were all enthralled by what i had brought in and loved climbing over the Jeep. Seeing my eldest in her evacuee's cloths with a borrowed US beanie cap reminded me of a WW2 picture i have of something very similar. It kind of froze me for just a second. A good day. Tim (too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martylee Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I think what you're doing is a good thing! You're not only making a special day for those you visit/ speak with, you're also making sure that the MV interest stays healthy. We gotta make sure that we recruit new members. This is also keeping history alive. Thumbs up! Marty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Good to hear you enjoyed it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willyslancs Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Glad it went well, all 3 of my daughters have had ww2 topic at school,there mates think Jeeps are cool ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightweight Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I've done this with a local Beaver Scout group - 6 and 7yr olds. We completely ran out of time but I had them cammed up, we emptied a set of webbing to see 'what soldiers have to carry' and I showed them how to cook on a hexi-burner and made them eat rat packs. My gear isn't ww2 but they still had a great time. If you've been bitten by the bug, had you considered offering your services to a local Scout group? They are always grateful and the kids love visitors (especially ones in uniform) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.