Veterans Day Lesson Ideas for Elementary and Middle School

Armistice Day or Veterans Day Lesson Ideas

When is Veterans Day? In the United States, we celebrate Veterans Day (also known as Armistice Day) on November 11. You probably know a war veteran:  a school teacher, a principal, a grandparent, a cousin, or a member of your church. Just ask! Often, when we think of Veterans, we think of historical wars and senior citizens, but there are many young war veterans these days. We hope you'll try some of these Veterans Day lesson ideas and then go out into your community and thank a war veteran.

Scroll down for Veterans Day Videos for Middle School and a fun song for preschoolers!

What can you do to teach about and help celebrate Veterans Day? Educate and engage with a history lesson or simply thank a Veteran. You can do both, when you combine a Veterans Day history lesson with a letter writing campaign. We found some awesome, editable letter to soldiers and thank you card templates for elementary at TeacherSherpa.com.

Hop over to TeacherSherpa to find printable Veterans Day games and activities to add to your lesson plans.

Get more Veterans Day Printables or printable Letters to Soldiers that will work for Middle Schoolers too.

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Hey kids, did you know War Veterans are men and women who served in any branch of the military including the National Guard? You may know a veteran who served in one of these wars:

World War 1
World War 2
Vietnam
Korean
Iraq
Afghanistan

Called Armistice Day in 1919 to commemorate the end of World War I, it was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to include American veterans of all wars. On November 11, we honor the wartime service of men and women in all branches of the armed forces.

Here's a quick video that gives a great explanation on the history of Veterans Day.

Brainpop has a nice video about the armed forces.

Check out PBS for Veterans Day Lesson Plans for all ages.

Veterans Day activities for middle school (grade 6-8.)

Veterans Day Videos for Middle School

Middle School Veterans Day video from Scholastics.


War Videos from Crash Course in US HISTORY:

World War 2



Korea and Vietnam



Iraq



Here's another video and activities about Vietnam from Brainpop.


This cute song from Kiboomers is fun for preschoolers.




Fun Fact:

Veterans Day is not Veteran's Day because it is not a day owned by Veterans. If it were a day owned by all Vets, it would be called Veterans' Day. Veterans Day is a day to celebrate Veterans. Yep, I've been messing that up for years, and I know the rule. Childrens' not Children's -  Child's not Childs' - Kids' not Kid's.

In fact, this blog was originally titled 'A Kid's Creative Chaos' then I dropped the 'A' and kept the logo, 'Kid's Creative Chaos.' It took me years to realize my error. Humiliating. In my head, it was still one kid's creative chaos (my son's.) Now, I just incorrectly call it 'Kids Creative Chaos' because it looks better.  Sigh. The more you know, the more you realize you don't know.


Recommended:

Veterans Day Crafts and Decor

Community Service Projects


Follow us on Pinterest for more lesson ideas for homeschoolers and elementary.

June Calendar Special Days Holidays

Planning your Calendar for June? Celebrate these Special Holidays

We've got a fun holidays printable calendar for June, is summer in the states. People are outside, children are frolicking in the park, birds are happily tweeting. How do we celebrate? With picnics, of course. In the states, there are two well-known June holidays: Flag Day and Father's Day. Enjoy!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience.

June Calendar 2021 Printable

Flag Day 14 - Make a felt Flag, Make a colored rice flag! For Flag Day, you could dress up like the Statue of Liberty.

Juneteenth 19 - What is Juneteenth? It recognizes the emancipation of African Americans and is a national holiday for celebrating the end of slavery. Celebrate Juneteenth with a Barack Obama Paperbag Puppet.

Father's Day in U.S. - 19 (third Sunday) Father's Day Crafts to Make and Origami with Money for Dad.

Origami Money Art from Powerful Mothering.

Summer Solstice - 21 Sunshine Crafts and Activities for Preschool from Inner Child Fun. Tie Dye Suns from Creative Family Fun.

National Doughnut Day - (First Friday in June) Make homemade doughnuts.

Go Fishing Day 18 - Here is a super cute fishing activity and song. Math Fishing Activity for Toddlers. Buddy and Buggy also has a Fish Theme Birthday Party post! 

Paul Bunyan Day - 28  You could go see a Lumberjack show. We did that one year in Northern Michigan. How about a Lumberjack Birthday Party? Little Treats blog has some amazing ideas, like the little tree party favors pictured below.

Lumberjack Birthday Party or Paul Bunyan Celebration Party Favors
from Little Treats blog.

Here is a fun game to play straight from elementary pe class, but play it with teenagers at a birthday party for a real hoot!

Lumberjacks and Farmers

You will need orange cones, if you have a cut up log, that's even better! These are your logs for the lumberjacks to "chop down."

Divide into a team of lumberjacks and a team of farmers. Spread the cones or small stumps around the yard, half sitting up, half lying on their side. 

The farmers have to set up all of the "logs." The lumberjacks have to knock them all over! Players can only use their hands. No kicking over the logs! After a few minutes, call time. The team with the most upright or knocked over wins!


Recommended Reading:

Paul Bunyan Swings His Axe

Paul Bunyan (Reading rainbow book)

Black History Month Videos for Kids

Videos, Lessons, and Printables for Black History Month

Now, more than ever, the importance of Black History Month should be celebrated. Learn the origin of dedicating the month of February to Black History and the history behind the month long holiday. These Black History Month videos for kids and African American resources that help celebrate the black lives matter movement are the perfect classroom curriculum.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience.

Black History Month Videos for Kids

History of Black History Month from History.com

Black History Month Video from PBS Kids

More on the History of Black History Month

Black History Month Video from National Geographic Kids

Celebrate Black History Month with Ted Talks

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Black History Month

Video Interviews with African American Authors and Illustrators from Reading Rockets

15 Movies to watch with the family to teach about Black History from USA Today

Resources for Black History Month from Teach Mama

  

Fresh ways to celebrate Black History from We Are Teacher

Books on Black History from Amazon

Activities for Black History Month from Education.com

African American Biographies with Lessons from Brainpop

Lesson Plans and Printable Worksheet Activities for Black History Month from TeacherVision

Recommended:

The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman

Black History Month Activities with Online Lessons from Kids Creative Chaos

Articles with Keyword African American from Kids Creative Chaos

KCC Kids Make Native American Art and Crafts in honor of the Wampanoag Indians contribution to Thanksgiving

Studying Native American Art and Crafts? 

Get crafty with Alex Toys and celebrate the Wampanoag Indians.  Without them, we'd have nothing to celebrate. Here are companion activities for your lessons on Native American History.

Native American Footprint Headband Craft

Mayhem wanted to go outside and collect stones and leaves in her pouch like a real  hunter-gather. "Indian Dress" paper grocery bag tutorial.

What a fun word, Wampanoag. Here is a site with fun facts about the Wampanoag. We learned some Wampanoags are from Natick, Massachusetts where the Daddy was born.


Wampanoags today  See the real Mayflower here. See our version here.  Daddy is not Native American, but Mommy is related to Pocahontas about five different ways- her Indians are known as the Powhatan or Virginia Algonquian. One day, we'll write a post about this relationship.

Tie Dye Fashion Groovy Tote Kit from Alex Toys ~ Fun way to learn about dyeing clothing.

Alex Toys has great products for your Thanksgiving celebration or to help teach Native American ways and honor their contribution to our country in the classroom.

I wanted to teach dyeing with the Tie Dye Fashion Groovy Kit and teach weaving with their Native American Loom, but the projects seemed a bit daunting for a six year old, eight year old, and an OCD Mom. So, I kept  putting it off. 

We'll do that post next week. We can do it tomorrow. It just has to be done by Thanksgiving...

The Tie Dye kit by Alex Toys is awesome, super easy, and nearly mess free ~ we did most of it in a tub in the kitchen sink.

Soaking items to dye before tying off with rubber bands and twist ties.

Knotting off patterns with bands included in the kit and recycled bread bag twist ties.

Projects ready to dye. The included, Groovy Tote and some of our old, stained t-shirts.

I've done some tie-dyeing in the past, but this was so much easier. Although, the kit was for one tote bag we had enough dye to dye several things. I wish we had prepped more items. We decided to use some of the dye to make super messy, water color paintings in the sink.

Leave lots of white space for better contrast and to keep colors from bleeding together.

This is our only mess! How great is that?

Squirting dye on paper and blending with plastic spoon.

Secure your items in plastic bags for 24 hours.

Patience is a virtue. Enclose in plastic bags for 24 hours to set the dye, remove bands, lay flat to dry for another 24 hours, and then wash and dry.

The bag was included in the kit and we did three shirts and several paintings.
All bottles are still half full! This would be great for a birthday party or classroom. 

Tie Dye Paper Art  ~ Less Squeeze is Best

Tie Dye Paper Art ~ Learning Phase

The loom? Oh my the loom, it was far too daunting for this post. See our weaving experiences in Jake's Journey in Art ~  Home-school Weaving. 

Native American Fruit - Persimmons

Weaving is tedious work that takes time. Imagine if you were a Native American making clothing to keep warm.

Popsicle Stick Indian Craft for Preschoolers

Next month, celebrate the spirit of giving with Santa's Elves of Indy as we collect, wrap, and donate gifts for those needing a little extra help this Christmas season.

AlexToys.com donated these toys for our unbiased review.
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50 Things to do for St. Patrick's Day

50 Saint Patrick's Day Activities for Kids and Seniors

Are you in charge of the Saint Patrick's Day festivities? Maybe you plan group activities for a church group, after-school program, nursing home, or a retirement home. If you are planning things to do for a St. Patrick's Day event, you've come to the right place. Whether you need nifty refreshments or fun food to make with the group, we've got a recipe. Play Leprechaun games, make a rainbow craft, or decorate with shamrocks- no matter what you choose be sure to make it fun with these 50 fun things to do. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

50 Things to do for St. Patrick's Day.

Activities for Martin Luther King Day

MLK Activities to Celebrate Martin Luther King Day

When is Martin Luther King Day? It is celebrated on the third Monday of January. In the United States, many schools and businesses have the day off to celebrate. What do you do to remember MLK? We have many Martin Luther King Day Activities on the blog. In this post, we're sharing free printable signs for a Martin Luther King rally or impromptu parade and a book review for "I am Martin Luther King".  Enjoy!

Martin Luther King Accomplishments

Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Print these signs and then glue a large craft stick between two printed rally signs so that you can flip it over for a different message. Reduce the size of the image to 5 x 7, and it becomes a sign for classroom desks. Just use a popsicle stick, make a clay base, and display on your desks! Keep scrolling for book review and chance to win.

I have a dream free printable sign.

Download I Have a Dream Free Printable

Peace sign free printable.

Print Image for Peace Sign Poster

"I am a man" rally image photograph.

I am a man downloadble sign.

Printable for I am a Man Poster

I am a woman printable sign for MLK Day.

Free Printable for I am a Woman Sign

"We shall overcome" photograph for MLK Day Rally.

We shall overcome free printable sign.

Free We shall Overcome Poster

"Equal opportunity and human dignity" rally photograph.

Equal opportunity and human dignity printable sign activity.

Free Printable Equal Opportunity for Human Dignity

"I am Martin Luther King" by Brad Meltzer.

It might seem strange to imagine Martin Luther King, Jr. as a child, but just like you, he was once a kid too. Even then, he knew things weren't right. He dreamed of change. Learn how he made a difference with his rallys and marches when you read the latest book from the "I am" series. "I am Martin Luther King", by Brad Meltzer, tells the story of this great historical figure. It is told from the point of view of a child.

We love the "I am" books and use them in our history lessons for homeschoolers. You might like this lesson on Ameila Earhart.

Recommended:

I am Martin Luther King Biography Book for Kids

Free Martin Luther King Classroom Skit

Handprint Dream Catcher Craft

Community Service Ideas

September Calendar of Special Days Holidays: Free Printable Calendar

September Calendar of Holidays and Special Days Printable 2018

September is a special month with Special Days caught between summer and fall. The weather is pleasant. The children are back to school. Kitchens are cooking wonderful food from the fall harvest. The smell of autumn is in the air. Find a September Calendar Printable 2018 and a September calendar song, to help preschoolers, kindergartners, and kids of all ages learn about this very special month. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.

Click the link to get the FREE DOWNLOAD: September Printable Calendar  2018

September Calendar of Special Days Holidays with Calendar Song.

Unique Days and Holidays in September

Labor Day - When is it? It is an American holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the Labor Movement. Everyone gets a day off of laboring to appreciate laboring! That's work. Whistle while you work.

Sept. 6 - Read a Book Day

Sept. 7 - Grandparent's Day or the first Sunday in September.

Sept. 12 - Chocolate MilkShake Day

We don't have any chocolate milkshake recipes, but here's a yummy yogurt smoothie recipe instead!

Sept. 15 - Make a Hat Day

Sept. 16 - National Play-Doh Day!

Celebrate National Play-Doh Day in the U.S.

Sept. 18 - Rice Krispies Treats Day

Sept. 19 - Talk like a Pirate Day

While you're talking like a pirate why don't you dress like one too! Here's a diy pirate costume for kids.

Sept. 22 - Elephant Appreciation Day

Recommended Reading:

Melissa and Doug Jumbo Coloring Pad - Animals

October Calendar Special Days

How to Babysit a Grandpa

April Calendar of Special Days and Holidays for Curriculum Planning

2017 April Holidays and Special Days are the Best for Planning your Classroom or Homeschool Curriculum

April, 2017! It's Spring in the states. We look forward to Spring Activities outdoors and bringing flowers indoors. Easter generally occurs in April, but sometimes March. When is Easter? The first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. Say what? Easter is tricky, it can occur March 22 - April 25. Check here for dates.

We've found some fun, unique, April Holidays that will keep your curriculum exciting and new. Enjoy!

2017 Calendar of April Holidays and Special Days.

2017 April Holidays and Special Days Printable Calendar

1 April Fool’s Day Play

Play April Fool's Jokes for Kids on your Family!
Make a Fake Cake to fool your friend for a birthday party.

8 Draw a Picture of a Bird Day

Want to know how to draw a picture of a bird?

9 Name Yourself Day

Choose the name you always wanted and tell all of your friends to refer to you as your favorite name. Just call me Yoda.

11 National Cheese Fondue Day

What can you dip in Cheese? Do you have a special recipe for fondue? We'd love for you to leave a link in the comments.

12 National Grilled Cheese Day

Grilled Cheese Day? Make some Grilled Cheese for the Kids or maybe Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly.

14 Look Up at the Sky Day

A Day where you go outside and look up at the sky and enjoy it.

15 Rubber Eraser Day

Rubber Eraser Day? Do you have a cool eraser? I remember having a teddy bear eraser in all the colors of the rainbow.

16 Day of the Mushroom

Celebrate Mushrooms! Make a mushroom craft in honor of Alice in Wonderland, yeah, a Toadstool is a mushroom.

Easter Sunday (March 25 - April 22)

Christians believe this is the day Jesus rose from the dead. Everyone else can enjoy the pagan celebration with the Easter Bunny, Coloring Eggs and Decorating Eggs, and having an Easter egg hunt! How to make an Easter basket from a milk jug.

22 National Jelly Bean Day

Looking for things to do with Jelly Beans? Hop around our blog, we've got lots of edible art.

24 National Pig in Blanket Day

Hotdogs in croissants, sausage in a pancake? Celebrate with a cute pig craft for kids! Make a clay pig.

27 National Pretzel Day

Hooray! It is National Pretzel Day! We've got lots of way to learn how to make pretzels at home. Heart Pretzels are fun to make. Things to do with pretzels.

Recommended Reading:

Peanut Butter And Jellyfishes Book for Kids

Books for April Fool's Day

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Family Movie Night Ideas

School's Out! Celebrate with a Family Movie Nigh in the Backyard

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DataAndAMovie #CollectiveBias

Do you still have a landline? We don't. Teens have a phone, but what about tweens? I'm just not ready to let my tweens have their own phone. Since we homeschool, they aren't influenced by other kids with phones. Neither of them want one. They have tablets. I figure they can "call me" in an emergency via G+, but now that they are getting older, it would be plausible to leave at least one of them home while I run errands or go to the dreaded grocery. Remember those days? The days when your kids fit in the cart and you were embarrassed by their squeals and crying fits, but they were stored neatly in the cart? Ahh... perspective, but what does that have to do with family movie night? I'll tell you...

Family Movie Night Ideas.

Anyway, 911 doesn't have a Gmail account. So, I decided to get a "house phone." To celebrate the last day of school, and the purchase of our new Walmart Family Mobile PLUS plan, we decided to have a friends and family movie night. Check out our family movie night ideas below. Enjoy!

Your phone is capable of so many things, but did you know it can project movies onto a big screen? I don't mean with an app. Learn how to make your phone into a movie projector, so you can watch movies in the backyard... on a sheet! Now, that is fun! Get the details here: Turn your phone into a movie projector. This is a fun homeschool science project. Translation: have the kids build it for you!

So, I was lazy. Sure, I could have poked holes in the corners of my sheet, looped a rope through, and then strung it from two trees in the backyard. That would have been beautiful. But, all of my trees were too far apart, and I didn't have any rope. A backyard swing made the perfect "stand" for my outdoor movie screen. Think outside the box. You could even drape it over a privacy fence. Whatever works, right?

Family movie night ideas: make an outdoor movie theater with an old sheet and a mobile phone!

Before you invite your guests, you'll need to decide on a movie to stream. Whether you stream inside on a large screen television or outside, Walmart Family Mobile Plus is here for you. The plan features Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data which includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE data PLUS a free movie on VUDU (new release rental $7 value) every month per line for $49.88. Translation: Every month you can stream a movie on the television with your family! This makes family time a no-brainer. With VUDU movies, you can stream on your television with your Roku or even an old sheet in the backyard!

Watch a free, family movie on your tv every month with VUDU and Walmart Family Mobile.

Movie and snacks. Movie and outdoors on the big screen. Movie and indoors on the television. All for a less than $50 bucks a month. With the extra data from the PLUS plan, you can do more with your phone. Watch your free movie from VUDU and then stream as much of YOUTUBE as you want, play mindless games to de-stress, text your Mom. Text your Dad. Text Santa Claus. You can do it because you have plenty of data.

My favorite thing about VUDU? They also offer some movies prior or in conjunction with the theatrical release. That's right, you can watch a box office hit from the comfort of home.

Walmart Family Mobile Starter Kit is on rollback!

I've got more good news, the Starter Kit is on rollback! Get started for only $19.88 and since Family Mobile bills you later, you only have  to pay the $19.88 when you sign up. That's right, the $49.88 is build at the END of the month not the beginning. Woo hoo!

Walmart Family Mobile pricing options.

So, we researched all of the Family Mobile compatible phones. Based on the reviews, our top three choices were the LG G Stylo - $179.00 (Rollback from $199.00), Samsung Galaxy Core Prime - $79.92 (Rollback from $99.92), and the Cool Pad Rogue- $19.88 (Rollback from $39.83). Something for every price point. The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime -$129 (Rollback from $149.00) is good too. Based on the price points and the reviews, we decided to go with the middle range Samsung Galaxy Core Prime.

Walmart Family Mobile phones.

Walmart Family Mobile Samsung Galaxy Core Prime phone.

What will you choose? Since we are celebrating the last day of "school" with our homeschool friends, we decided to kick off the summer with a fun, educational movie. Well, sort of, we chose, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from 2005. Based on the best-selling book of the same name. The book is on many high school's reading lists.


For out next indoor family movie nights, we have plans to watch, Norm of the North, Ninja Turtles, and all of the Kung Fu Panda movies on our big screen tv. What about you? What fun ideas do you have for family movie night?  Now that we have all of these movies at our fingertips, we need movie ideas! In the comments, tell us your family movie night picks.

Recommended:

Sleepover Games

Disclaimer: All prices for phones and Walmart Family Mobile plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/3edbv or your local Walmart for current pricing.


ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.  *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on!