Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer for many children, but what does it really represent? Memorial Day is a day for remembering or memorializing those who have served, fought for, and died for our country. It became a holiday in May of 1868 as a way to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War. Memorial Day is now celebrated on the last Monday in May. It is important for children to understand that this day is about more than just a day off from school, the beginning of summer, parades, and barbecues. Here are some ideas for ways to teach children about Memorial Day and respect what it stands for.
Our flag stands for freedom. Freedom we have because of our soldiers. Consider making one of the following representations of the American flag:
For toddlers, tear pieces of red and blue construction paper. Draw a flag on a large piece of white paper and have the toddler glue red pieces on every other line and blue pieces in the upper left corner. Use silver star stickers to represent the states.
For lower elementary school aged children make a ribbon streamer. Wrap a paper towel tube with construction paper and glue in place. Once the glue dries, punch 9 holes as the end of the tube. Cut 3, 46 inch long strips each of red, white, and blue ribbon. Tie a large knot at the top of each strip of ribbon and thread through the holes so the knot is on the interior or the paper towel tube.
For toddlers and young children obtain a CD or download patriotic songs (including the songs of each branch of service) and play musical chairs using those songs. Children may enjoy waving their streamers while doing so.
For older children make a game of Patriotic Concentration. Print out clipart of patriotic symbols, 2 copies of each one, and paste onto index cards that have been cut in half. Once the glue has dried, place all cards face down on a table. The first player turns over two cards. If they match they keep them and go again, if not turn them back over and the next player goes. Once all of the cards have been matched up, the player with the most pairs wins.
Another great game for older children is an online picture scrambler of war memorials, which can be found at http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/memorial-day/scramblers/index.html. The player chooses which war memorial they would like to see, observe the picture, and then click start, which scrambles the picture. The player then has 4 minutes to unscramble the pieces and rearrange the picture using their mouse. Facts and information is also provided about each memorial, so hopefully children have fun doing this while learning something also.
Learn how to show respect for and fold the American Flag at this website: http://www.usflag.org/foldflag.html.
There are many veterans in VA hospitals that would love to see the smiling faces of children. Call a local Veterans Administration Hospital ahead of time and ask if you could bring your child or children in for a Memorial Day visit. You may also want to have your child write a thank you note or draw a thank you picture for the veterans. Possibly consider making a CD or DVD of your child and his or her friends singing patriotic songs that you could leave with the veteran. You might also print out and take the veterans some patriotic crossword puzzles or word searches, which can be found easily through an online search.
Finally, Memorial Day is not just about remembering those who have fought for and died for out country in the past, but also about those who are currently serving. Those men and women who are deployed and away from their families, fighting for our freedoms enjoy receiving communication and care packages. Log onto http://anysoldier.com/ and you will be provided with the contact information of a deployed soldier along with his or her needs for a care package. You could also have your child create a flyer to pass out to classmates and neighbors informing them he or she is collecting items for care packages for our troops. Make sure your child specifies a drop off or pickup location and time along with listing appropriate items for donations which can be found at http://www.equipped.org/deployed_military_suggestions.htm. Additionally, let people know you will be collecting old cell phones for Cell Phone for Troops, which recycles them and uses the money received for purchasing calling cards for our soldiers. For more details visit http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/.
