I grew up taking part in a special service followed by a parade and a picnic on Memorial Day. We always listened to the words of the Gettysburg address and other words about freedom.

It’s also called Decoration Day because people place flowers and flags on the graves of soldiers.  It honors people who gave their lives serving our country in the military. It started after the Civil War and began with placing flowers on graves of soldiers. Th Civil War had more American deaths (620,000) than any other war. In WW2, the second highest number of deaths, we lost 415,000 Americans.

During WW1 Moina Michael read a poem called In Flander’s Fields  and it caused her to write a poem too. They both honor soldiers and speak of red poppies for the blood they shed. Moina wrote:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

She wore red poppies and sold them to raise money to help families of fallen heroes. Years later the VFW started selling poppies.

The National Moment of Remembrance, signed by President Clinton in 2000, occurs on this day at 3PM. People are asked to pause for a moment and remember those who have served and died.

Talk with children about what the words in the poem mean. It will increase their vocabulary. Talk about the brave men and women who serve our country. Also pray for peace.

If there’s a parade in your two try to watch it. If there’s a concert in your town go and listen to the music. It’s also a great day to listen to patriotic music at home, hang a flag, and wear red, white, and blue. Look up some famous speeches, like the Gettysburg Address, and talk about the words and the importance of freedom. Read about famous patriots like John Paul Jones, Abraham Lincoln, and Generals Grant and Lee.

You can find out about lots of activities that take place in our nation’s capitol on this day at http://dc.about.com/od/hoildaysseasonalevents/a/MemorialDay.htm

Discuss these vocabulary words associated with the day:

• Armistice
• Flag
• Infantry
• Grave
• Honor
• Warrior
• Soldier
• Taps
• Base
• POW
• Defend
• Freedom
• Vietnam
• Iraq
• Korea
• World War 1 and 2
• Parade

Blessings,
Karen  

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