More than a Blip in History

Co-ops are great opportunities to teach in a more visual manner. Rather than dryly reading from a textbook, hands-on activities help to cement the facts into their brains.

In our study of Russia, we of course read about the Cuban Missile Crisis. We had one of the children draw a map (Rachel, because she's fast and draws well) and then used pieces from the Battleship Game to place the missiles where they would be directed toward American soil, a scant 90 miles away!





Next, under the direction of JFK, the US set up the naval blockade. (Battleships from Battleship!)



Then, the Russians began to steam toward Cuba, and we began to face them. The time was extremely tense for the entire world . . . WWII had shown the power of nuclear weapons. Would fingers get itchy to push the button of destruction?




(See the Russians headed to Cuba?) Hey, how did McDonald's get in on this? No endorsements allowed!


That's much better.


Fortunately, the Russians halted still some distance from Cuba.

"We're eyeball to eyeball with the enemy, and I think the other fella just blinked!"

(Who said the above quote?)