Veterans Day is the perfect opportunity to teach your kids about honoring and giving thanks to those currently serving in the military or who have served in the past. Between the excitement of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, it’s easy for this important holiday to slip under the radar.
As a military wife myself, I like to do something special to help teach kids about Veterans Day and help teach my students about the significance of this day as more than a day off school. If you are looking for some easy and age-appropriate ways to incorporate Veterans Day into the classroom, and use this as an opportunity to teach your kids, here are some great ideas!
What is Veterans Day, and why is it important?
Veterans Day is a day to honor those who have served our country, whether active or inactive. It’s a time to thank the living veterans for all that they have given for our country, and remember those who have died serving our country. This holiday started back at the end of World War I and was called Armistice Day.
This holiday is so important to military families and those who have served, as it acknowledges their service and honors them for it. It’s a day to celebrate America’s veterans and their willingness to serve, love their country, and remember their patriotism.
Using Veterans Day as a teaching opportunity
Veterans Day is an excellent opportunity to teach your kids about the military’s different branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. It’s also essential for them to learn why they are so important, what they mean, and what each brand does. It’s also important that your students know how to identify veterans and learn about them through examples and stories.
Using Veterans Day to understand symbolism
There is a lot of symbolism surrounding Veterans Day celebrations, which can be an excellent opportunity to explore symbolism and veterans at the same time! POW-MIA tables are a great way to share a Veteran’s Day tradition with your students, and it is helpful to use this table to understand symbolism.
POW-MIA
POW-MIA tables are a way to symbolize members of the armed forces who are missing. They are typically called POWS or MIAs, and are set out for those who cannot join but want to be remembered. This table is set as a single table with a meal but will never be used.
When you pass the table, it gives a chance for those to reflect and remember that the POW-MIA who would love nothing more than to join with their families for a meal.
You will find many symbols on this table, including:
- A small table set for one to symbolize the frailty of the one prisoner or soldier.
- The round table to show the ongoing concern for the POW-MIAs.
- The white tablecloth symbolizes the purity of the men and women’s motives when they answered the call of duty.
- A single red rose to remind us of the lives of those men and women and their loved ones and friends, who continue to seek faith and answers.
- A red ribbon to symbol our determination to account for them.
- A slice of lemon serves as a reminder of the bitter fate of those who have been held as prisoners in foreign lands, missing, or captured.
- A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears from the missing, and their families who long for answers and still miss their loved ones.
- A bible to represent the strength through faith to sustain those who are lost.
- A candle to represent the light of hope that lives in our hearts and will help light their way home.
- A glass inverted to symbolize their inability to share the toast this evening.
- An empty chair to symbolize that they are missing and remember their service and their sacrifice for us.
Use this Veterans Day to not only give real-life examples of symbols to your students, but help remind them about the importance of Veterans Day. While they may not have any veterans to talk with on this special day, they can still remember, honor, and celebrate.
