Memorial / Veteran’s Day – Learning With My Boys

Memorial Day 3: American Flag

J is fascinated with the American flag so we decided to take this last day and learn some more about it. We had a yummy flag breakfast, reviewed the symbols of the flag, made a flag craft, and learned how to show respect to our flag.

American Flag

Discuss: The American Flag is red, white and blue and has 13 stripes and 50 stars.

Its Symbols-

The stripes represent the 13 original colonies.
The 50 stars represent the number of states there are now.
The colors of the flag have meaning as well:

Red symbolizes Hardiness and Valor (the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger; especially in battle)
White symbolizes Purity and Innocence (the state of being free from sin or moral wrong; lacking a knowledge of evil)
Blue represents Perseverance and Justice (the administration of law; the act of determining rights and assigning rewards or punishments)

Proper Display-

The flag should be displayed from sunrise to sunset.
If the flag is displayed at night it should be illuminated.
Never allow the flag to touch the ground or the floor.
When displayed on a wall or window the blue field should be in the upper left corner.
The flag should be raised quickly and lowered carefully.
The flag is often flown at half-staff to show respect for someone who has died. When flown at half-staff, the flag should be raised to the top for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should also be raised to the top before it is lowered at the end of the day.

Read: The American Flag by Tristan Boyer Binns

Comprehension Questions:

What colors are on the American Flag? Red, white and blue
What does each color stand for? Red for Valor, White for Purity, and Blue for Justice
What do the 13 stripes and 50 stars stand for? 13 stripes for the 13 original colonies and 50 stars for the 50 states.

The Pledge of Allegiance

We used this page to talk more about The Pledge of Allegiance.

Edible Celebration Flag

INGREDIENTS:

1 jar marshmallow cream
8 ounce cream cheese
Strawberry Pop Tart (unfrosted)
Fresh red raspberries or Fresh strawberries
Fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl stir together cream cheese, and marshmallow cream until smooth.
Spread on top of the Pop Tart..
Arrange 9 blueberries on top left corner of each toaster pastry to make “stars” on flags.
Lengthwise quarter raspberries or halve strawberries and thinly slice.
Arrange raspberries or strawberries on top of toaster pastries to make “red stripes” on flags.

The Flag of the United States of America

We used this page to review what we have learned about The Flag of the United States of America.

Popsicle Stick Flag

Materials:

Red, Blue and White Paint
Paintbrush
8 Popsicle Sticks
Cardstock
Strips of Rhinestones
Craft Magnet

Directions:

Paint the sticks white and red (paint half of 3 sticks blue)
Once they dried glue them onto cardstock. (Blue goes in the top left)
Stick the rhinestones on the blue to use as the “stars”.
Stick a magnet on the back.

Check out the other day that we spent learning about Memorial Day:

Memorial Day 2: Memorial Stone

For the second day of our Memorial Day unit study we studied a Bible story of memorial. We read about and made our own memorial stones like Joshua and the Israelites did after crossing the Jordan River. We also made another Memorial Day art project.

Memorial Stone

Discuss: In the Old Testament of our Bibles God’s people also had a time of memorial to remember what God had done for them. Open your Bibles to Joshua 4. Before we read let’s talk about what happened before Joshua 4. Remember God’s people had been in slavery in Egypt and God used Moses to lead his people out of slavery and across the Red Sea. Then, God led them to wander through the wilderness for forty years, but every day He was faithful to give them the quail and manna they needed. Then God finally led the Israelites to the land He had promised them when He led them out of Egypt. That brings us to today’s story. This is the story of how God led His people across the Jordan River on dry ground and into the Promised Land. God wanted a man from each of the twelve tribes to pick up a stone as they crossed the Jordan River.

Read: Joshua 4:1-20

Comprehension Questions:

“Why were these twelve stones important?” The Israelites were to keep the twelve stones as a way to remember how God led them safely across the Jordan River.
What are some good things God has done for you that you want to remember? Let the children answer, The mose important thing that God had done for us is given us His Son Jesus.

The Hand of God

I had J trace his hand on paper and cut it out. Then he wrote “Joshua 4:23-24” on the palm of it.

Joshua Crossing the Jordan Coloring Page

I used the Joshua Crossing the Jordan Coloring Page that I found here for J to color.

Memorial Stones

Discuss: Just like God wanted a man from each of the twelve tribes to pick up a stone as they crossed the Jordan. Today you are going to paint your own memorial stone as a reminder to you of how God gave us Jesus. When you look at your stone you can remember how Jesus died on the cross for your sins and you can thank God sending His Son Jesus to die in your place

Materials:

One clean, dry stone for each child
One paintbrush for each child
One paper plate or pie tin for each child to use as a paint palette
One color acrylic paint. The amount of paint needed depends upon the number of children.
Masking tape
Sharpie marker

Procedure:

The stones must be scrubbed clean and be completely dry for the paint to stick to the surface. I recommend you wash the stones a few days in advance and set them outside to dry.
Pass out one stone, one paintbrush, and one empty paint palette to each child.
Show a stone which is already completed.
The children will choose which side of their stone will be the top.
Squeeze a small amount of paint onto each child’s palette.
The children will paint a cross on the top of their stone.
The adult helpers will write each child’s name on a piece of masking tape and stick it to the bottom of the stone.
Set the stones aside and allow to dry.

Memorial Day Word Search

I found a Memorial Day Word Search that J and I worked together.

Memorial Day Mixed Media

Materials:

Red and Blue Paint
Paintbrush
White Paper
Scissors
Glue
Black Construction Paper

Directions:

Paint white paper and used the bottom of the brush to get some designs. Let it dry.
Cut up the paper and collage it onto a big square white paper.
Flip the paper over and draw a star on the back (blank side), and cut it out.
Glue the star onto black paper.
Use oil pastels to write patriotic images, words, phrases, songs, etc.

Check out the other day that we spent learning about Memorial Day:

Memorial Day 1: Order

J has been asking me for the last few years why we celebrate Memorial Day so for day one of our Memorial Day Unit Study we learned some of the history of Memorial Day. We also learned with our toy army men, Venn Diagrams, art projects, geography and some math.

Memorial Day Order

Discuss: Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. It is celebrated on the last Monday in May.

Read: Memorial Day by Trudi Strains Trueit and the Order for recognizing Memorial Day as a national holiday.

Comprehension Questions:

Why do we celebrate Memorial Day? Because we are remembering and honoring the people who serve in our military. They work to keep us safe and give us our freedom.
Write the word Memorial on the front board. See how the word memorial is like the word memory. On Memorial Day, we remember and thank the people in our military.

All About Memorial Day

We used the All About Memorial Day handout to learn more.

Army Men Math

Materials:

Army Men
Hoola Hoops

Directions:

First count them to see how many there are. You can put them in piles of 10 and then count by 10’s.
Sort and arrange into patterns by color first then by the soldier’s position. Try and AB pattern first then try something harder like AABCC.
Create a Venn diagram with hoola hoops. Compare standing soldiers to laying soldiers, with kneeling soldiers in the middle.
Remove any extra pieces so that you have a number divisible by 10 (say they were injured and went to the hospital).
Set up 10 men as generals, how many soldiers could each general command, if all the men were divided equally among the 10 generals?

Army Men Math

How many army men do you have? (count by tens)______________

How many of each color do you have?

Light Green?_________________

Dark Green?_________________

Gray?______________________

How many in each position?

Standing?___________________

Kneeling?___________________

Laying?_____________________

Remove any extra pieces so that you have a number divisible by 10 (say they were injured and went to the hospital). If 10 were generals how many could each general command?_____________________

Drawing Army Men

Discuss: Show the children how to make the army man body after examining a few different army men together. Observe how the arms and legs bend because of knees and elbows. Here is a step by step guide for the child. Look at all the details of their little man.

Materials:

Army Men
Pencil
Green Marker
Water Colors

Directions:

Use the diagram above to draw an outline of your army man with a green marker,
paint the army man with green water colors,
for the back ground draw camouflage or an American flag.

American Casualty Locations

Discuss: Many American soldiers have died protecting our countries freedom. Here is a list of all the wars that Americans have fought in. It also tells how many American’s died in each war. We are so thankful for each and every soldier for giving their life for our freedom.

Directions: Study the list and display a large world map, and ask students to point out the places where Americans have fought and died.

Memorial Day Poppy

Discuss: On Memorial Day you will often see veterans selling poppies in memory of those people who died for our country.

Materials:

Red tissue paper
White paper
Green pipe cleaner
Glue
Green seed beads
Aluminum foil
Scissors
Ruler
Pen

Directions:

Cut a 3 inch square of aluminum foil and red tissue paper.
Glue the red tissue square over the aluminum foil square, and let it dry.
Cut a 2 inch circle from the tissue covered foil to make the poppy.
Poke a 6 inch piece of green pipe cleaner through the center of the poppy for the stem. Bend the end of the stem to one side and glue it to the center of the flower.
Cover the center of the poppy with glue and sprinkle the glue with green seed beads for the center of the poppy.
Cut a thin 4 inch strip from the white paper. Fold the strip of paper in half and glue it around the stem of the poppy.
Use a pen to write “Memorial Day” and the date on the paper strip.\
Stick the stem of the poppy through a buttonhole on your shirt to wear it on Memorial Day.

Check out the other day that we spent learning about Memorial Day:

Memorial Day Unit Study

In this unit study we learned more about Memorial Day and the American Flag. This unit study has 3 days of lessons. I did this study with my 1st grader and would recommend it for Kindergarten through 3rd grade.

Memorial Day Book List

Book can be read by the child or by the parent to the child, depending on the child’s reading level.

Books I used in the lessons…

Memorial Day by Trudi Strains Trueit

The American Flag by Tristan Boyer Binns

Other age appropriate books…

Memorial Day Surprise by Theresa Martin Golding

The Impossible Patriotism Project by Linda Skeers

The Wall by Eve Bunting

The American Flag by Debbie L. Yanuck

The American Flag by Elaine Landau

Memorial Day by Sheri Dean

Memorial Day by Lynn Hamilton

Memorial Day Parade

We went to the parade in town for a little field trip today.

Here are some of our other Elementary Unit Studies: