Veterans Day offers one of the best opportunities to teach kids about the concepts of hope, sacrifice and courage. Originating in 1919, as Armistice Day — a day to celebrate the end of World War I — the name was later changed to Veterans Day in 1954 to honor veterans of all wars. This November 11th, teach your kids to do something special for the women and men who have bravely served this country and the many more who still continue to do so.
Here are several Veterans Day activities for kids that will help teach them why this day is so important.
1. Write and send thank-you letters to veterans
Kids can spend Veterans Day writing and sending thank-you letters to veterans and active military. There are websites, such as Operation Gratitude and A Million Thanks, which make it easy for kids to send letters to deployed troops, wounded warriors and veterans. Sending a thank-you letter may seem like a small thing to do, but a simple letter can truly brighten the day of veterans and those on active duty.
2. Coordinate and send care packages
Everyone loves receiving care packages, and veterans and active military are no exception. Veterans Day can be a great day to assemble different items to include in a group care package.
Better yet, host a care package party. Have families bring items like beef jerky or hard candy, laundry pods, AA or AAA batteries, personal hygiene items, movies and music on thumb drives or Visa or Mastercard gift cards for communications home that can be shipped to active duty military.
3. Invite local veterans to speak
Bringing in a veteran to speak to kids and their families — even via Zoom session — can be one of the richest and most rewarding activities, says Tom Aiello, a disabled military veteran and founder of MARCH, an agency designed to help organizations work with the military and veteran community. Having parents identify veterans they know within their community makes the experience all the more personal.
The veterans generally speak for 30 minutes on what they did in the military and why they joined, says Aiello. Speakers should always leave time for Q&A and give the children the final assignment of going home that day and contacting one veteran — a parent, aunt, uncle or grandfather — and saying thank you. This action helps reinforce the lessons learned by the child and can make the day of the veteran they call.
4. Write stories about veterans
After visiting a veterans home or hearing veterans speak about their lives, kids can follow up these experiences by writing stories on what they’ve learned.
“When I speak at schools to share stories of my veteran heroes, I encourage children to find veteran heroes in their lives and write those stories,” says Valerie Pfundstein, author of “Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood.” “I stress to children that personal stories about veterans in their lives are truly stories that will touch the hearts of readers.”
5. Raise money to donate to a local VA
Use Veterans Day as an opportunity to organize a kid-friendly fundraiser, and contribute all the proceeds to your local VA. To promote this worthy cause, they can make posters, pass out flyers and post on local social media sites like Nextdoor before the big day. While promoting the event, kids should also encourage everyone they meet to donate directly to the local VA.
6. Visit a local Veterans Affairs Hospital or veterans home
Sometimes the best way to show appreciation for a veteran’s sacrifice is to visit them at a VA Hospital or home for retired and disabled veterans and tell them in person. Kids can really begin to understand what it means to be a veteran by making these visits to thank veterans face-to-face for their service. Many veterans don’t have friends or family who regularly visit, so making the trip will be a rewarding experience for both kids and veterans.
