I realize that my children are young, but I decided we needed to learn about his grandparents and great-grandparents who served in the armed forces today. Understanding the service given by veterans helps us understand the freedom we truly enjoy came at a cost.
BrainPop has a movie about the armed forces so we started with that. Then I reviewed with my children the difference between the army, navy, and air force.
We also tune in to the Music in Our Homeschool (affiliate link) course called Music for Holidays and Special Occasions. The FREE 15-minute Veterans Day music lesson teaches patriotic music related to the armed forces and information for Veterans Day, as well as a worksheet about the day. The lessons also link to more learning suggestions.
After that, we talked about some Veterans from our family history. My son's great-grandpa Orvil was stationed in Alaska during WWII. His camp was attacked by Japanese bombers, and there were 7 casualties. He volunteered to head up the team that sought for the downed Japanese plane.
Great Grandpa Bill was aboard a ship in the South Pacific for the last two years of World War II. He transported the dead bodies of American servicemen. He never spoke of his time in the South Pacific.
My father and father-in-law also served our country in the army during the Vietnam War. Since they are still alive, we are able to talk to them and keep track of their experiences using the Family History Interview set. Someday my children appreciate even more all the things these great people have done for our country.
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