“Lest we forget…” Many Europeans do the most wonderful thing on their Remembrance Day (which is our Memorial Day). They wear a red Poppy to show that they are honoring the fallen soldiers from every war since WW1. I love this tradition and wanted to create this same thing for my students. 6 years ago I had a family in my classroom who had a fallen soldier, and I will never forget the note the mother wrote me. It was simple. “I want to thank you for the poppy. You are thoughtful to help the children remember.”
In first grade I feel like I am often the one to expose them the great big magical world and sometimes show them a just a little of the harsher side of humanity. I talk honestly about MLK, Abe Lincoln, and war, but do so with a very light touch. When I talk about Memorial Day and why we celebrate it I find this book very helpful. I got it from Amazon {here}.
I love these Rookie Readers. I have purchased every single holiday! Though the Halloween one gets a little spooky, this one simply talks about how wars are often fought to protect people and land. When a war is fought both sides usually lose soldiers. We remember them on Memorial Day/ Remembrance Day.
I wrote this passage to briefly explain “why” we celebrate and spend a great deal of time on “how” we can celebrate and show honor! I wrote it in all kinds of formats, so that my other teacher pals could pick the one that best suits their class. The Thinking Maps and writing pages give us a our weekly Step Up to Writing paragraph practice. This unit is on sale for 30% off Memorial Day Week.
It’s a special day, and “Lest we forget” let us gather together and remember! Today’s family gathering involved making my feather-light sugar cookies. I will have to share my uber-easy recipe with you very soon!
In the meantime, I leave you with a fun little behavior gimmick. Use multi colored magnets to show the student’s filling your bucket. Once all the magnets are up, its time for a reward of some kind. This is quick and easy which is JUST what the doctor ordered at the end of the year!
