Veterans Day Activities

Veterans Day Bulletin Board on 11-11-11

This week is Veterans Day. We will celebrate the day by honoring soldiers who have died in the line of duty, protecting Americans in the U.S.A.  I will teach the kids all 5 branches of the military; Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Marines. We will also share that they all have their own song (with lyrics) and their own cool uniforms. We listened to them and watched them march out with the flag on utube.

Then we wrote  about what Veterans Day is For. We wrote about soldiers who are always protecting America around the world. I want the students to really remember how each branch of the military protects us in different ways; the Air Force with planes and helicopters, the Navy with ships and aircraft carriers and submarines, the Coast Guard with boats and divers,  and the Army and Marines on the front lines of battle. We will talk about the elite Navy Seals and Special Forces and how tough and brave they are.

A cute ABC Book with a Military Theme I bought and read with the class is H is for Honor

After writing, as a fast finisher, kids will do a Veterans Day crossword puzzle.  We will discuss some of the vocabulary in the puzzle too.  The link is at homeschooling for Veterans Day Crossword.

Veterans Day Crossword

Then I found a few neat handprint art projects I wanted  to try. Both look very patriotic! Also I found a fun wordsearch for fast finishers I will put on the back of the crossword puzzle. It is HERE at Family Fun Shop.   

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Veterans Day Art Project – we decided to do a variation of the American Eagle below…saving the flag for Memorial Day!!!

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/veteranprint_3.htm   I also found a neat way to make free WRITING stationery.  I put an eagle and stars on the borders to make a cute page for our writing project.  Make your own stationery is found here at DLTK Kids. Just look on the left side for Veterans Day.

We did a mural of all of the 5 branches of the military for Veterans Day after the kids were done with their writing. I read and edit every “sloppy copy” and then they rewrite on the cute paper. It is time consuming but I can help them correct their individual mistakes that way.

Our Veterans Day Writing and American Eagle Handprint Art Projects….and our mural.

And to honor the memory of all our departed soldiers in the military we will be doing an art project using  the American Eagle …..symbol of the U.S.A.  I like the colorful tail feathers on the bottom of the American Eagle, so I would change those white ones to red, white and blue  just for a more colorful bird. Then of course some red, gold and blue glitter on those tail feathers will add a lot. The tutorial for Painting an American Eagle is HERE. This kit for a Handprint Eagle is HERE at Oriental Trading. We didn’t do this one, but it’s really cute too.

Lastly I will show the kids a video song from Tim McGraw honoring fallen soldiers in the line of duty called “If You’re Reading This”.  It shows my students the sad part of the job of protecting people, and how some give the ultimate sacrifice, their lives in defense of America. That’s why we honor them at Veteran’s Day.

We brainstormed all we knew about what Veterans in the Military do….

 After watching the Utube videos we talked about what a Veteran is. We talked about how they protect the president, bridges, dams, airports and tall buildings as well as doing Toys for Tots at Christmas, marching in parades, flying on helicopters, jets, and manning boats, aircraft carriers and submarines. Most of the kids had gone to air shows and seen the military tanks, weapons and men there. We talked about places where there is war in the world and how our military helps protect us overseas.

Here is our finished bulletin board on Veterans Day 11-11-11

We made American Eagle Handprints…

While the kids started their writing I helped 2 at a time handprint paint. First we painted our left hand brown with a blue thumb. Then we painted our right hand brown with a red thumb, washing hands in between these steps. The prints overlap in the middle a bit. Then we painted our pointer finger white and did the middle tail feather. While they washed hands, I glittered with red, then blue glitter, then the white feather with gold glitter. Then the kids painted a head and beak after I lightly traced the shape with pencil on each bird. Lastly we added a wiggly eye with glue and 2 stars. They turned out great.

I told the kids about my dad, Mr. Russell, who was a marine in 2 wars. He is burried in a military cemetery in Southern California. He was a great soldier and marine for the U.S.A. I’m very proud of him.

We wrote about Veterans we know….

 I told the kids about my kids’ other grandpa, Mr. Moss’s dad, and how he was a flying navigator in the U.S. Air Force. He flew bombing missions in several wars.  He is still alive and retired. I will also share a picture of my nephew Garrett, who was in the army and shares my birthday with me.

We wrote about the Air Force, the Marines, and all the other branches of the Military for Veterans Day 11-11-11….

We wrote about being Americans….

I always send home a note asking for military memorabilia or a grandpa or dad or mom who wants to come and share with us. I was surprised how many of them had grandparents and dads in the military. They sent all kinds of things for us to share; dog tags, helmets, army blankets, aircraft jumpsuits, cloth maps for directions on the ground, photographs of men in uniform, lots of military memorabilia. It was very patriotic to me.

We are proud of our Veterans on this 11-11-11 Veterans Day

Lots of kids brought in military gear and photos for us to share!

Some kids wrote about their grandparents…..

My kids’ grandpa was a navigator in the Air Force…Thanks Grandpa!

 HERE at Military Coloring Pages  I found the neatest pictures of the 5 military branches’ seals in blackline master and some other cool coloring pages. I copied them, and then put 2 on a page and copied each of the 5 seals (Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines) for the kids to choose one and color as a fast finisher during our writing time.

The Bulletin Board looks great…so patriotic!

Cool Eagle Handprint Art Project

This was a fast finisher Coast Guard Seal coloring page…we had all 5 to choose from when they were done with their writing and centers…

We wrote about Veterans Day

I did not know the Marines are part of the Navy….did you?

 I’m very proud to be the daughter of an American Veteran. He’s gone now and I miss him. But I honor him and all who served and still sacrifice for me and my family this very special Veterans Day 11-11-11. Thanks for sharing all your military memorabilia and precious photographs of men and women in uniform. Happy Veterans Day from our class to you!