This Monday is Memorial Day. We get the day off so we can honor all those who protect our country. I teach the kids about the 5 branches of the military; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. Most of them know a few branches but not all or what they guard and protect. HERE is some Vocabulary to go over with the kids. I had them copy the word. Fast finishers copy a few times.
I love this book called H Is for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet by Devin Scillian and Victor Jushasz. It is a look at military life for the entire family. What boot camp is like, why soldiers make sacrifices, and how much letters from home mean to those serving far away.
I read this to the kids and we talk about some of the sacrifices that military
families must make so their loved ones can serve us as Army and Navy and Air Force men and women.
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| This eagle painting is out of handprints in brown for the fingers and palm, and the thumbs are either red or blue. The white tailfeather is just a pointer finger in white paint. I added red and blue and silver glitter to the red and blue and white painted thumbs. The kids added the white heads, and beaks. Then when they were dried we added a wiggly eye. |
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| This was something my nephew Tyler put up on his Facebook page one day. I typed it up and added it to a poster I keep up in my room during our study of what Memorial Day is all about. |
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| Here are pictures of all the branches of the military I found online for free. The kids chose their favorites and colored them and we make a cool mural of all the symbols and uniforms of the 5 branches. |
I make a big brainstorm of all the kids’ ideas on the board. Then we write a few more as sentences beginners; such as….I am proud of our military because they….or….Thanks to the military men and women of the …..or…On Memorial Day we remember all the military men and women for…..
Some coloring pages I leave out for fast finishers and some stationery sets I got on TPT. HERE are some Cute Ones. Some of them I added the words Memorial Day or a flag to. A cute math coloring page I found HERE too that I just changed a few of the harder equations. I also cut out “Presidential” and put “Memorial Day” instead.
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| My cute entry table all decorated for the holidays coming up….. |
I have a few bins in my storage room for Patriotic holidays. I usually put it up end of May and leave it up through the summertime. I add red and white flowers to my greenery baskets around the house too. Silk geraniums work well.
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| I love this Uncle Sam and red, white and blue quilt I have in my living room. So Patriotic! |
For Fast finishers I had a few coloring pages kids could choose from before going to centers. One of them is HERE. A cute minibook to copy, color and read is HERE. We only did 4 pages.
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| Memorial Day Table Decor
Now I just need to finish decorating the house for all the Patriotic holidays coming up. I leave the decor up from Memorial Day through 4th of July. It is fun to change it up around the house. And I got some new white couches, so it is fun to switch up the pillows. I have a few navy and red ones that work great! |
