The sacrifices of men and women who have served our country in time of war, conflict and peace should never be forgotten or taken for granted.  Those who have served our nation, both in the past and present, deserve to be honoured for their dedication and allegiance to our country and our welfare as a nation .  It is our duty to not only take time to pay our respects, but to teach our youth about the history of our nation and our military.

Taking part in Remembrance Day services, in one way or another, has been something I have done my entire life and it is something my children participate in as well.  When they were quite young, we wore our poppies, made crafts, observed the 2 minutes of silence every November 11th and we shared simple stories to help them understand, on their level, what this day was all about.  As they grew and could grasp more, we did more. We now share stories of our family and friends who have fought in wars and who have taken part in peace keeping missions.

Most recently my boys took an online course about WWII which covered the strategies and politics of the war as it unfolded. They came away from that course with a deeper appreciation of those who stood up for our country and fought to preserve our freedoms.

By taking opportunities to be involved in Remembrance Day ceremonies, history courses, family discussions and online activities, I am proud to say my children have a deep respect and appreciation for our veterans.

Here are some resources I have found to help you learn more about Remembrance Day…

Remembrance Day Resources

Links and Resources:

Education/Lesson Plans/Support Materials:

• Veterans Affairs –

  • Remembrance Day (main page)

  • List of Events – grouped according to Province

  •  Veterans’ Week Learning Resources

  • Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae – includes his poem “In Flanders Fields”

• The Royal Canadian Legion

  • Youth Contests – Plan ahead and research your local deadlines for entry

• Canadian War Museum

• Donna Ward from Northwoods Press – Remembrance Day Resources/Links

  • WWII Secret Agents in France – Remembrance Day Lesson 1:1

• Activity Village 

• CBC News – Canada – Type “Remembrance Day” into search box for articles and look for a link to a Live Stream on November 11th to watch the ceremonies.

Arts and Crafts:

• Painted Coffee Filter Poppy Craft for Remembrance Day from Happy Hooligans

• Colouring Pages and other resources from Activity Village

• Poppy Crafts from Hodge Podge Craft

• Worksheets, Colouring Pages and Crafts  from DLTK Kids

Books and References:

• A Poppy Is to Remember

• In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae

• Remembering John McCrae: Soldier – Doctor – Poet

• Canada’s Wars: An Illustrated History

• The World Wars

• Animals at War

• The Second World War (high school level reading)

On social media, you can look up #RememberThem to find more links or to express your gratitude to our Veterans.

~Lest We Forget~