Why is Veterans Day so far from all the other patriotic holidays?

Halloween = check

Day Light Savings = check

Election Day = check

Realizing that Thanksgiving is in 3 weeks!!! = Oh CRAP!

I don't know about ya'll, but November just slapped me in the face!

"Well hello again, remember me? Yep, I'm back...and you have 

20 days until Thanksgiving

48 days until Christmas

55 days until 2016

You may want to pick up the pace, sister"

Time to put on my boots and get to work!

Speaking of boots...

I see these dirty, smelly things on a daily basis

and that's quite alright with me because they represent someone 

and something 

VERY important to me. 

Veterans Day is next Tuesday (November 11th) and while most schools recognize this national holiday by taking the day off, I do know some schools do not. And that's sad to me. Not because I want a day to myself or catch up on my errands. But because Veterans Day is a day to honor all those men and women who serve our country day in and day out so we can enjoy the freedoms we have. 

Now, I'll be REAL HONEST here, people. 

For a loooonnngg time, I thought Veterans Day was a day to remember those military members who had scarified their lives for our country. Not until I met and married my military man (almost 10 years ago) did I learn the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. 

So I was informed of the difference, but took that information at face value and understood WHO Veterans Day was for 

and WHAT Veterans Day was about.

Not until I started teaching my students about Veterans Day did I start researching WHY we even have Veterans Day. 

And that led me to my Veterans Day: History of Heroes activities

{Click on image to purchase}

 I designed it with middle to upper elementary aged 

students (2nd-4th) in mind. 

Mostly because there are so many wonderfully, amazing Veterans Day crafts and activities/ideas, geared towards ECE grade levels, all over Pinterest and offered on TPT. I love them all and have used them for the past several years. 

And while those products are beyond superb, I know it's really important to me that older students continue to learn about historical events, national holidays, and show appreciation for those that protect them. 

With that as my focus, I took students' desire to create and paired 

it with non-fiction text and voila...

here is what came to be. 

A comprehensive reading passage provides details about the history of Veterans Day and an easy-to-assemble craft gives students the opportunity to check their reading comprehension while creating a token of their learning.

  Additionally, fun fact sheets about each branch of military service give interesting details about soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines, and guardians. 

And you can’t forget the reason for this day of gratitude…students are able to describe ways they could show appreciation to our military through illustration and writing, plus detail something they’ve learned about the 5 military branches, in a cute foldable book.

I'm even going to attempt this cute little book with my preschooler and 

modify it so he can give it to his daddy. 

Happy Veterans Day to all those who serve(d) our Nation!

THANK YOU!