Celebrating Veterans Day With Young Children

Hi! I'm Ayn and I am a Ga. Pre-K teacher, serving 4 and 5 year olds in an inclusive setting. I share my classroom adventures on my blog, little illuminations.

Every month, our Pre-K class visits our local VA hospital for a program called "Musical Bridges".  We sing, dance, play games and interact with our local veterans, who are permanent residents there. (For more info on this wonderful program, please read my post on little illuminations, "Musical Bridges: Building A Bridge Between Generations".) As Veteran's Day is fast approaching (November 11), we took the time today to learn a little more about what Veteran's Day really means. On our visit today, we talked about the various branches of our military.

We sang a song, danced a version of the Chicken Dance, 

had a little snack of cookies and juice, played a parachute game, 

and learned how to salute to show respect. 

Then, we paraded and marched waving flags!

I think the best part for the GrandFriends is just having visitors. We come every month and I know many of them really look forward to our visits. 

Here are some ways you can help children celebrate Veterans Day in a way that will be meaningful, for both the children and our Vets:

1. Make a card thanking a Vet for their service. Take them to someone you know, to a local VA hospital, VFW chapter or even a nursing home (there's bound to be a couple of folks there who served and are in need of a little cheer!).

2. Offer to help a Vet in some simple way. Helping to rake leaves, bake them cookies, share a meal or even to read to them can be such a great comfort!

3. Say "thank you"! Take the time to say a quick word of thanks when you see service men/women. 

4. Invite a Veteran to come read a story. (And if a Veteran reads a story, they're bound to want a snack....;) 

5. Make some simple poppies and share them with local Vets. These are really simple take only a minute to put together and are made of pipe cleaners a button and red tissue paper. I cut out top part of a heart shape on the fold of the tissue paper. Slip the pipe cleaner ends through the eyes of a button and stick through the middle of a few of the tissue shapes. Just simply twist the pipe cleaner to secure and they are ready to slip in a button hole or pin on a shirt!

It is important for our children to realize we value the service of our citizens. Fort Gordon Army base is located in our town, so many of the children's parents and grandparents either are currently serving or have served in the past. Many of the children have already experienced deployment in their families. 

I would love to hear some of the ways others are giving back and helping children honor our heroes. Please share your Veterans Day activities in the comments!

Stop by and visit me anytime at littleilluminations.blogspot.com or visit the little illuminations fanpage on facebook! And be sure to check out PreK+K Sharing EEE!