Veteran's Day

As a homeschooler we get to go into topics pretty deeply, covering not only the history and individuals involved with an event but the geography and weather at the time.

Originally Veteran's Day marked the end of the first world war...and holds common the following days of observance in kind world wide.

• Anzac Day
• Memorial Day
• Remembrance Day
• Volkstrauertag

All these days are held in observance of those who served and passed in times of war and oppression. Yes, it's a heavy lesson for a first grade child, but one that can be used to impress on them how important it is to support the present soldiers serving somewhere in the name of defending the principles of our country.

In our family, last spring, my brother returned from Afghanistan. We use this day as a day to learn about the armed services, the places they deploy to, and what their jobs might be.

Observance of this day isn't limited to the heavy hard aspects of the day though. We will listen to music from the U.S. Marine Band and eat ravioli – which was served in the White House by President Wilson to 2,000 returning soldiers, having recently become a huge fad at home due to commercial canning. Ok – maybe the kids will eat it, Mom will stick with the freshly made stuff.