In the United States, Memorial Day is a holiday set aside for remembering those who have died while serving in the US Armed Forces. First observed on May 30, 1868, and originally called “Decoration Day”, many families celebrate Memorial Day with traditional annual observances. In case you don’t have anything planned for your children this holiday, here are a few kid-friendly ways to teach them the importance of honoring our fallen heroes.
1. Visit a United States National Cemetery – There are 146 national cemeteries in the United States. Some cemeteries will hold “decoration days” on Sunday before Memorial Day where volunteers place an American flag on each grave. Even more personally meaningful is to visit and decorate the grave of a family member who died while serving our country.
2. Fly the American Flag – If you have an American flag, fly it at half mast (also known as half-staff). According to tradition, the American flag is to be “raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.”
3. Search Pinterest for Memorial Day Activities – Pinterest has a seemingly endless slew of ideas for Memorial Day, including FREE print-outs for word searches and crosswords, coloring sheets, crafts, and recipes (I’m salivating over this particular sandwich as I write.).
4. Pause in Memory – The National Moment of Remembrance established by Congress in 2000 asks all Americans to pause for 1 minute at 3 PM (local time) “as an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died in service to the United States.” Read President Clinton’s statement on signing the act.
5. Celebrate with Music – Many communities have festivals, parades, and various ways to participate in, or listen to, traditional Memorial Day music. Songs like “America the Beautiful” (Ray Charles is my favorite), “Anchors Aweigh”, “My Country ’tis of Thee”, “You’re a Grand Old Flag”, and of course, “The Star-Spangled Banner”. Extend your music selections to include some not-so-traditional tunes like John Mellencamp’s “R.O.C.K. in the USA” and James Brown’s “Living in America” to name a couple.
If you know of a place you can wrap up the day with a bugler playing Taps, I can’t recommend it enough. While there are no official words to the music, the Taps Bugler has some of the song’s more popular verses.
6. Watch a Video or Documentary – The History Channel offers a number of videos fitting for Memorial Day. Watch and discuss some of the famous battles in our nation’s history. Also, check The Military Channel’s guide for shows playing over the weekend.
7. Military Workout – Perhaps you have an older son or daughter who would like to experience what it’d be like to train like our military men and women? US Marine and Iraq War veteran Chris Goehner is offering a military inspired Ruck on Roosevelt Island. The course is designed to “simulate the rigors of battle.”
Think you know the details behind Memorial Day? Take this Memorial Day Quiz to test your knowledge. I was surprised at how little I knew of the history of this day of remembrance.
Our kids are out of the state and will celebrate Memorial Day with their grandparents this year. Jeff and I haven’t yet decided how we will celebrate ours, but believe it is an important and significant day to commemorate.
What are your Memorial Day plans? Do you have any traditions to remember and honor our country’s fallen soldiers?
Heather Sanders is a leading homeschooling journalist who inspires homeschooling families across the nation. Married to Jeff, Heather lives in the East Texas Piney Woods and homeschools her three children, Emelie, Meredith and Kenny.