Our family is proud to have had so many members serve our country. One of husband's brothers is currently enlisted in the USMC and we have countless family members who have served in various branches of the military over the years.
I am glad that our government reserves certain days for thanking our military each year. However, thanking our servicemen and women only on Veteran's Day and Memorial Day is pretty slack if you ask me! I am thankful everyday for those brave souls who put their lives on the line to protect my freedoms. As my kids get older, I hope to teach them to appreciate how much our military and their families do for us.
Below is a collection of resources that I found helpful. I hope that you find them useful.
Remember, WE are raising the next generation of Americans!
Teach the basics: 10 Ways to Teach you Kids to Love America from Parents.com
Be active in your community: Serve in Your Community from The Corporation for National and Community Service
Make patriotism fun and age appropriate: Perfect Patriotic Activities for Kids from B-Inspired Mama
Display more than the flag: Pledge Printable from Today's Creative Blog
Take care of our colors: Flag Etiquette 101 from Let it Fly!
Show the troops you care: Sending Care Packages to U.S. Military from Operation Gratitude
Want to see all of these in one place?
What makes you proud of your country?
We have twin boys that are officers in the Navy! My husband's dad was in the Navy as was his brother and his twins are in the Navy and Air Force also. I love that my girls get to see their family, esp their brothers as heroes of this wonderful country. I need to talk to them more in detail as to why America is so great! I do love that their school is strong in speaking of America and its greatness but they def need to hear about it at home.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great list of resources! We have a lot of veterans in our family and we are trying to teach our kids the same.
ReplyDeleteMy brother is in the Coast Guard, Cousins husband is in the Navy and a cousin in the Air Force. So I have a ton of respect for everyone that does for America! !
ReplyDeleteWhat a great roundup. We don't have anybody in the family to really help teach the lessons to the girls first hand, so thank you for getting it all together for us.
ReplyDeleteThese are easy reminders for families to implement. It is so important to share the message of this country. Those resources are great.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't have any family members serving active military duty, I still believe in the importance of teaching our kids about the arms of the US military. Thanks for these links!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a flag in a while, but I think I'd like to get one again. I'll need those etiquette tips!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing,I think it is great to teach our kids about what men and women in the armed forces do for us.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is a retired vet, so I think it was a little easier for us to teach our kids about it since they would see him in uniform all the time and knew that he was a "soldier".
ReplyDeletei always thank service men and women in uniform. i try to explain to my kids why i am thanking them, and remind them to do the same. we have a lot of open discussions. my cousin has served, and they are close with her, and a cub scout dad just returned in january from an 18 month tour- so we've used that to explain and help them see. it is important to do!
ReplyDeleteWe should always appreciate out men and women in the military. Awesome you are teaching that.
ReplyDeleteI love this resource round up! It's also important to understand what each holiday is for.
ReplyDeleteWe have family members enlisted or who used to be as well. It's an important day to remember.
ReplyDeleteGreat resources! I live in a military town so there's more awareness here all year long.
ReplyDeleteGreat ways to be appreciative towards our soldiers. Your message is spot on.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like home is the place to teach them since they have taken a lot of things out of school. It saddens me that it is this way now. We used to do the pledge of allegiance everyday when school started.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this useful article. I think it's important for our kids to know how important service men and women are to our country.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I agree, it's so important to teach our children about patriotism and what it means. Thank you to your brother who are currently serving and for the others in your family who have served. I truly appreciate their service.
ReplyDeleteThese are great tips! It's sad that there are so many young people that have no respect for what it means to be American - or even the sacrifices that have been made to ensure our future. I'm glad that you are sharing this to help inspire parents to raise proud children! We certainly do live in a wonderful country.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! We send letters and coloring pages to the troops.
ReplyDeletegreat tips and reminder. i know i could do better in this department.
ReplyDeleteI think sending packages to the troops is a fantastic idea. This is such important stuff to teach kids from an early age!
ReplyDeleteThis is so important! Thank you so much for sharing all of your tips.
ReplyDeleteGreat roundup! My Dad has always been involved with servicemen and vets, he taught us very young to always respect our military.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! Everyone should know this info, it'd be great if more parents took the time to teach their children about patriotism.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome post! My son has learned the Pledge of Allegiance, and it does my heart good to hear him say it. My brother and dad (who are both Marines) were over the moon with chests puffed out, proud to hear him say it too.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome post! My son has learned the Pledge of Allegiance, and it does my heart good to hear him say it. My brother and dad (who are both Marines) were over the moon with chests puffed out, proud to hear him say it too.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful responsibility we have as parents to teach our kids the significance of memorial day and why we recognize the sacrifices of our fallen soldiers. Teaching love of God, family and country are the important lessons we pass on to our kids and should take seriously
ReplyDeleteI think it is so important to teach patriotism. My 5yo and 6yo can recite the Pledge of Allegiance, know the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America. We're working on flag etiquette, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a privilege to teach our kids about patriotism. Thanks for sharing your tips
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. This is so important. We had a long discussion with the kids over the weekend about our military and many related topics
ReplyDeleteGreat info - my hubby is a veteran. We have always taken the time to teach our children patriotism. So important to who we are as Americans.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! My brother serves in the Army. I really admire the selflessness that our military members and families have.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! As children, I don't expect them to understand the full abstract concept of patriotism, but at least that they know more than "a parade and a BBQ."
ReplyDeleteI love this! My grandfather and uncle were in the Navy. It's super important to honor them everyday, not just on special holidays!
ReplyDeleteWe make sure that all the kids in our family realize that Memorial Day isn't about the BBQ and Fireworks but celebrating the sacrifices made so that we can enjoy the freedom to participate in those two things and more. Unfortunately, not all families or schools are doing this. My niece came home from preschool yesterday and they were all talking about their Memorial Day activities, everyone talked about picnics and pools but when she went to talk about how she learned about what the day was really about and soldiers the teacher told her they don't talk about that stuff and moved to the next student!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list of resource! So often we get wrapped up in the "holiday" and forget what it's all about!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of sending care packages to the troops. That's something I want to start with our kids.
ReplyDeleteMy husband just joined the Navy and I am both afraid and hopeful of what that means for our family, patriotism is important.
ReplyDeleteWhat great tips to remember as we celebrate Memorial day and July 4th. I think it's so important to teach our kids patriotism
ReplyDeleteWhat a great round up. It is such an important thing to teach kids.
ReplyDeleteI think getting the kidlets involved in activities is a great way to learn. Whether it's printables or a craft project - they are all educational.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas - very good post. The kids enjoy ways to learn that are fun. Thanks for sharing. Have a Very Safe & Fun 4th of July holiday
ReplyDeleteWhat a great round up to teach kids.
ReplyDeleteThese are certainly good tips. It's important to start the education about this holiday young!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post, full of awesome and useful tips. It is important to teach patriotism!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great subject. I never went out of my way to teach patriotism to my son, but he has a love of America ingrained in him from our every day life, so we must be doing something right!
ReplyDeletethanks,
Mitch
Love sending care packages to the troops! You have some great ideas uo there.
ReplyDeleteThese are great posts to refer to. I love the hair bow too - so cute and patriotic!
ReplyDeleteGreat list and great post! This is very important, and I don't think any of us really think of it every single day! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSeveral members of my family have served in the military (including myself). Thanks for recognizing what the military and veterans do for our country.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful every day too. Having first hand perspective (veteran hubby and actively enlisted oldest son), I am even more appreciative of all our servicemen and women give.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! We need to get back to basics and one of them is teaching children to respect our country and what are ancestors had to go through for us to have one we now do.
ReplyDeleteIt is so important to teach our kids to respect and understand what military personnel do for us. I grew up in a military family and know the sacrifices they make.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. Our children need to know how to be patriotic and respectful of our country.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. Independence day shouldn't be just a one day thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great round up. learning while having fun is important.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great article. Thank you so much for sharing. We used to send packages to our military troops and actually had one soldier we sent goodies to. I think we'll do that again as a family. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI was out with a group for the 4th and one of the older children asked what are we celebrating independence from?
ReplyDelete