I know this time of year everyone’s excited for (and sometimes overwhelmed by) Halloween. But we have another holiday coming which I sometimes fear stands the risk of being forgotten. Do you remember what it is?
Bestselling children’s author Linda Granfield certainly does. When she asked a room of grade 5 students “who knows what a veteran is?” She says a lot of hands went up, and “their reply was “someone who works with animals.””
That was a turning point for her and she’s just completed her 10th book “that is entirely or partially about Canada and the wars. It’s about the war in Afghanistan. Those who have served there will be the veterans visiting Canada’s classrooms in the future”.
I’ve been reading her books to my children pretty much since they were born. I think we often take for granted the freedoms we have here in Canada. We owe it to those men and women to remember what they did, because they did fight for us.
Last year I took my then 7-year-old daughter to London for Remembrance Day. It was an incredible experience. Our first day, we were waiting in a tube station and my daughter said “mom? Did people really sleep here?” It brought the realities home and it suddenly wasn’t just a story anymore. As we climbed to the very top of St Paul’s Cathedral, she kept asking how the fire watch got all the buckets of water to the roofs. “The same way we are, step by step.”
As Linda says “We can never argue that war is good–there is so much tragic and terrible about it. But when we teach young people about war we should be focusing of more than the tales of battles and bloodshed. There is lots to learn by reading about what families did while their sons/daughters were away. “At home,” boys learned to knit, girls learned to build, Victory Gardens provided shared food, medicines were invented, community service grew. Children’s books and games reflected world events more than ever. During times of war people also learn a lot more about the geography of the world–example: how many people could locate Afghanistan on a map before 2001 when Canada sent troops there?
“There’s a fear that if we teach about past wars we will want to continue fighting them. I’ve been taken to task for writing about our past wars; I’ve been asked why I don’t write books about peace. My response? The best way to learn about peace is to know about war, not to avoid it.”
In 1915 John McCrea wrote “If ye break faith with those who die, we shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields.”
Do you talk about it with your kids? Do you celebrate? And if so, how? Scholastic Canada has given me 3 prize packs to give away, which include Linda’s books Remembering John McCrea and The Unknown Soldier. Winners will be randomly chosen from comments left below.
Contest closes November 2nd.
Click here for Contest Rules and Regulations.
UrbanMoms.ca members are eligible to win so don’t forget to sign-in. Not a member yet? Click here to join.
I want to thank everyone who posted comments here. It’s been amazing to read through them and see how you’re introducing such an important holiday to the next generation.
Racheal
I do discuss events of the past with my daughter. I believe the past helps us to understand our ancestors and the motivations behind historical events. It’s a great topic to introduce compassion and self-sacrifice.
Each year since my kids were born, we take them to the Soldiers Tower ceremony at UofT. They are still quite young (3 and 5) but we explain to them in an age-appropriate way what the ceremony means and what veterans are. We believe that the veterans in attendance are especially pleased that we are passing this important tradition on the the next generation.
One of the ways I have shared the importance of Remembrance Day is by attending our local parade. Kids are eager to know about the red poppy and you can also use this as a starting point.
I have an uncle who fought in WWII, he is 92. My kids are pretty young, but they still understand what their Great, Great Uncle did in the war, and how he and many other men fought for our freedom.
Poppies and always a time of silence
We always make sure we do the moment of silence at 11:00 on the 11th.
Every year we purchase poppies for everyone in our family (including DKs 2 & 5) and explain to them the importance of the poppy and what it stands for.
I have a great uncle (90) that served along with his twin brother (deceased) in WWII and they have heard some of their stories. It’s important that we remember that they fought for the freedom of not only our country but other countries.
We buy a new poppy every year for everyone in our family (including DKs 2 & 5) no matter how old and explain the significance of the poppy and what it stands for.
I have an uncle (90) that served in WW2 along with his twin brother (deceased) so they have heard stories from him. My older daughter also learns about it in school as part of their rememberance day ceremonies.
It’s so important. Lest we forget the mistakes of the past.
My 94 year old grandfather who served overseas in WWII is a living, breathing historian who shares stories with my family.
I have no children, but my nephews and niece reside with me and I am one of their primary caregivers. Even though they are still little, I make sure they understand what a soldier is, what a veterans is and how they have defended our sovereignty and our way of life including our values, beliefs and ethics/morals. I try to instill in them everything that is Canadian; my family are refugees (I am first generation immigrant, my nephews and niece second generation) so I never want to let them forget what this country means to us, has given us and where we have come from.
In addition to the above, I have taken them to military Air Shows, the Canadian Military Museums in Canada, to the local base to help pack, point out and ephasize the armed forces on parade at the Stampede, visited the various memorials around the city, etc. This is done year round. This is what makes Canada; all of the above in our history and we cannot forget…
Right before Remembrance Day, I take to the crosses on display in Prince’s Island Park in Calgary (set up along Memorial Drive which is full of the original trees planted for all the local soldiers who were killed in WWI). We walk among the crosses, playing small pebbles or flower on each one; each cross symbolizing a local soldier who has died in the various wars and peacekeeping missions that Canada has partaken in. One of them was a High School friend of mine…
Lest we forget…
Both me and my husband were part of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and we have both participated in numerous Rememberance Day parades. We have also tried to attend as many parades as possible since then. Once we had children we also started taking our children to the parades. My brother-in-law is in the military and one of my favourite pictures was taken the year he visited and joined us at a parade in his uniform. I have a picture of him holding my daughter before the cenotaph. That’s what I’ll show her when I explain why it’s important to remember!
I explain Remembrance Day to them and the reason we see people wearing poppies.
We go to listen to the pipers and the service at Sunnybrook hospital and I tell the kids the story of their Great Grandmother’s favourite Uncle and how he never came home and how every Remembrance Day during the moments of silence the tears would quietly pour down her cheeks.
I grew up listening to my aunts and uncles talk about the war and my grandfather – who fought in WW1. It means a lot to me personally to remember both ANZAC day (NZ/Aus) and Remembrance day in Canada. My family go every year to the ceremony. I have a number os children’s books some fiction – some non-fiction about the war that we have read and explored together over time.
I did not know about Rememberance Day before I moved to Canada recently. We as a family value our freedom and appreciate all that has been done to ensure it. My son who attends Grade 2 knows the significance of this day and we talk about this day`s significate and especially so in the month of November.
I think it’s very important to let your kids know what Rememberance Day is all about. They always want to know why we wear a Poppy and that’s a great place to start. Telling them about why Canada is a wonderful place to live because of the sacrifices others made for them to live a good life and honouring the men and women who made those sacrifices is so important.
My son is four and he knows about the poppy and it reminds us to be thankful of all the things we have because others have protected us.
My kids, husband and I all take time out of the day to talk about the wars our country has been in. Also, we talk about members of the family that have served.
Our son is in Scouts Canada so we have always participated in Remembrance Day activities. It is important for children to hear stories about veterans and be involved when they are young.
We usually go to our local Remembrance Day Service to honor our veterans and buy poppies.
I always share the stories of my great grand father, and working in a school I have lots of access to information that I do share with my kids and family, it is very traditional to set Nov. 11 aside for the memorial and the ceremony
First it starts with a poppy. I tell them the purpose of it, and why it’s so important. Then I tell them how many people have fought and died for this. They are always in disbelief. Then I pin a poppy on them.
We make sure we respect Remberance Day. The soldiers have all touched our lives and it is important that my Children learn about what their sacrifices have meant to us, so that we can continue to enjoy the freedom that we do.
My daughter is only 5 she doesn’t really understand quite yet what Rememberance day means, but she has 2 great grandfathers who served in World War II so we will probably explain a bit to her this year and tell about her great grandfathers.
My son is only 3 so he hasn’t understood why we go to the ceremony but we try explain little bits to him.
my wife wrote a book ‘mark’s first poppy’ that we read to our son. plus we tell him about his grandpa who was in the war
spynaert@hotmail.com
I don’t have any children but I firmly believe that Remembrance Day is very important. My father-in-law served in Europe for the entire period during WWII. Men like him should be honored by a day of remembrance.
My children were in scouts and always took part in the services. Both my and my husband have had family members who took part in past wars and my children are aware of these relatives. While recognizing the important part played by those who served in those wars one of the most important things Iève wanted my children to remember was that this day represented peace and the end of those wars.
I wish that I did more with my DD when it comes to Rememberance Day. I know that they talk about it at her school. I try to remind her that her Godparents are both in the Canadian Arm Forces, and that connection helps her relate. But I do plan on talking more about it with her starting this year.
We go to a local service on Nov.11, and explain to the kids what we are there for, why we want to remember, and what these people have given for us. I think it’s important to talk about this with my kids.
My brother-in-law’s in the military and has served overseas, so it’s very easy for our family to recognize the importance of Remembrance Day, but thanks for the reminder to remember!!
I talk about it with my kids a bit – more now that my son is older. November 11th is also an anniversary of a loss of someone very close to our family – this November will mark 3 years since his passing… so it’s natural that we’re discussing loss(es). I always talk about the importance of soldiers, and what they do for us. It’s hard for him to get a grip on how long ago the World Wars were, so I explain the meaning of the poppy, and keep things “current” by talking about the soldiers we see in our neighbourhood (there’s an armoury near by) and I always remind him that freedom is not free.
Ah! I wish I could win. What a great reminder to REMEMBER!
As the daughter of a veteran, it is particularly important to me that my children recognize the importance of Remembrance Day. We talk about it each year, sometimes we attend a ceremony and if not, we watch one on TV, and observe the moment of silence at 11:00.
i do observe it and talk to my girls about it. i don’t do anything until after hallowe’en, tho’, as i think having a poppy on with my witch hat or something goofy like that is disrespectful.
i’ll never forget our old custodian at our school in grade 3 was speaking to us in an assembly about the war (WWII) and he looked at us and his exact words were “it was (pause as he looked at the teachers) HELL” and then he looked at us. that got our attention. there was not a peep from anyone as he continued on with some stories and it still chills me.