Yesterday, I spent the morning in Isaiah's classroom.
We talked about Veterans and I told them the story of the Poppy.
The poppy is a symbol of remembrance. It was a flower that grew plentiful in the fields of Belgium and France, often where casualties were buried. During World War 1, soldiers started wearing the flowers as a way to remember the fallen. Since then, the poppy has been turned into a source of income for Veterans. They are paid for each poppy that they make. The poppies are never sold, but a donation is always appreciated. Any money that is collected for poppy distribution goes back to the Veterans.
There is a famous poem by a surgeon and Canadian soldier, John McCrae.
The poem is titled,
In Flanders Fields.
In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
That poem just touches me. I didn't share the entire poem with the class. I felt like it would be a little too much for 6 and 7 year olds, but we discussed it and the poppy. It was a great time. The kids really took it to heart and expressed their deep appreciation to our soldiers.
They colored some fantastic poppy pictures that I am going to take back to our next meeting and have the ladies judge.
The winner will receive a ribbon and $5!
After the poppy discussion, we made some great Thank You medals for the Veteran's.
My Granny took them with her this morning to our annual Veteran's Day Pancake Breakfast and she is going to pass them out to some of the men and women who attend the breakfast.
I'm having SO much fun being Classroom Mom in Mrs. Lord's class this year!
Times like this gives me a chance to put on my teaching hat for a day and I LOVE IT!
Be sure to find some way to thank a Vet today!
var linkwithin_site_id = 2596;
(function () {
var elem = document.createElement('script');
elem.type = 'text/javascript';
elem.src = 'http://www.linkwithin.com/widget.js?rand=' + Math.random();
document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(elem);
})();
8 comments...I love comments:
how beautiful:) and how sweet to be able to be in his class for the day:) awesomeness
I love this post! How sweet! I didn't know about the poppy. Is that sad? And the funny faces pic is hi-larious!
I thought about doing a Veterns Day post but I'm pretty sure I would just mess it up and do a complete injustice to all those brave and honorable men and women so I didn't. I did a kissing one instead. I'm so ashamed.
I love this post! How sweet! I didn't know about the poppy. Is that sad? And the funny faces pic is hi-larious!
I thought about doing a Veterns Day post but I'm pretty sure I would just mess it up and do a complete injustice to all those brave and honorable men and women so I didn't. I did a kissing one instead. I'm so ashamed.
This is so sweet, friend. My son's teacher is a HUGE veteran fan, and does all kinds of stuff for the vets, year round. And my son and his fellow students get to do so many fun things because of it.
What irritates me is that they send home a thing that if you DON'T want your kids subjected to it, you have to sign it. As in, SOME PEOPLE won't let their kids learn about that stuff?! Crazy.
They hand out the poppies around here and I so LOVE it. What a great thing to take into the classroom. You rock, JK! (As if you didn't know that already.)
Love that poem! What a great project!
Great post! Thanks for stopping by my blog and following!
That is so sweet! I have heard that poem before but didn't know the significance of the poppy!
Post a Comment