Last year, I wrote this post about why kids should learn about Memorial Day, and I gave readers some ideas on how to involve kids in commemorating the holiday. We've been talking about it again this week, and we've done a few other activities that have helped my kids understand, ask questions, and discuss why we celebrate Memorial Day.
1.) National Cemetery Diorama
My daughter and I have had a LOT of free time this week, as her school year is over and my part-time job / volunteering commitments are finished for the summer. So, feeling crafty, we made a national cemetery diorama. My daughter enjoyed placing the flags next to each grave (and she can do it over and over again.)
1.) National Cemetery Diorama
My daughter and I have had a LOT of free time this week, as her school year is over and my part-time job / volunteering commitments are finished for the summer. So, feeling crafty, we made a national cemetery diorama. My daughter enjoyed placing the flags next to each grave (and she can do it over and over again.)
National Cemetery Diorama
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National Cemetery Diorama
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We used a 12"x12" Styrofoam square for the base and covered it in grass-print scrapbook paper. along with scrapbook paper, cardstock, round-pointed toothpicks, and a wooden food skewer for the large flag pole.
I created a simple gravestone template (below) to use as a stencil on the white cardstock. You could also print the image directly onto cardstock, but our archaic home printer won't do that. I printed out one big flag and a bunch of tiny ones using this public-domain American flag graphic from Wikipedia. Then, all you need are some scissors, some glue, and some patience!
2.) Read The Wall by Eve Bunting
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Told from the perspective of a young boy, this book takes place at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. The boy is looking for his grandfather's name on the wall. The boy comes to learn why all these names are on the wall. Then, he and his father do a rubbing of the name and they leave a photo of the boy at the memorial "for Grandpa."
Of course, it is not a happy book, but I think it does a good job of appropriately explaining the ultimate sacrifice given by so many members of our military. Not only that, but it shows how those sacrifices emotionally affect future generations.
3.) Memorial Day Word Search
My kids enjoy doing word puzzles, so I went on the Lakeshore Learning website and used their free word search generator to make a Memorial Day-themed word search. Feel free to download the one I made at the links below, or go back to the website to create your own!
Of course, it is not a happy book, but I think it does a good job of appropriately explaining the ultimate sacrifice given by so many members of our military. Not only that, but it shows how those sacrifices emotionally affect future generations.
3.) Memorial Day Word Search
My kids enjoy doing word puzzles, so I went on the Lakeshore Learning website and used their free word search generator to make a Memorial Day-themed word search. Feel free to download the one I made at the links below, or go back to the website to create your own!
| memorial_day_word_search.pdf |
| memorial_day_word_search_key.pdf |
