Remembrance Day/Veterans Day - Lest We Forget

Remembrance Day/Veterans Day is a special day that is dedicated to our veterans and their service for our country. It is a time to show respect and appreciation for what they have done for us. This is an important time for sharing with children as they do not understand that the freedom we have today was because of sacrifices of others. Many adults do not know either.
I usually spend several days focusing on this because I believe that children can still make a difference and that we have a responsibility to share ways to spread peace and kindness in our world.
I don't have my own class this year, so I would like to share with you some special moments from my previous classes.

After sharing the importance of the poppy and why we wear them, a couple of my students went home and made these with their lego pieces. One made a poppy and the other made the poppies growing between the crosses of Flanders Fields.

Writing is a great way for kids to express what they know and understand about peace and remembering our veterans. Here are some different ways that they shared. Notice the big PEACE poster. This was a group activity done by the students. One year I had parents and students do it together for student-led conferences. Talk about making connections. It was wonderful to see them sharing stories and feelings with each other.

Here are a couple of samples of the writing they did.

Here are a couple of pictures from my Remembrance Day/Veterans Day activities package.

I also played several videos for my students. It was interesting how they would ask to see them over and over. They lead to some very thoughtful conversations.

Well, there you have a snapshot of how I worked with Remembrance Day/Veterans Day with my students. I hope this gives you some ideas for sharing this important time with your students. If you want to check out some of the other products that I use, they are available in my TeachersPayTeachers Store.