Veterans Day Activities for Kindergarten
Every year on or around November 11th, we take time to honor the brave men and women who’ve served our country. For kindergarten teachers, that means finding meaningful, hands-on ways to introduce the concepts of service and gratitude to our youngest learners. You may even have some students who have a veteran in their family! If you’re searching for Veterans Day activities that are developmentally appropriate, engaging, and classroom-ready, you’re in the right place. In this post, I’ll walk you through simple teaching tools, writing prompts, and themed skill pages tailored for kindergarteners!
Oh, and be sure to grab your free activity toward the bottom of this post!
Why Should We Celebrate Veterans Day in Kindergarten?
Teaching about Veterans Day offers a powerful opportunity to help young children develop respect, gratitude, and connection to community. Kindergarteners can grasp “thank you for serving” even if the details are simplified. I find that pairing Veterans Day discussions with read alouds and age-friendly videos works great.
Here are just a few things that even kindergarteners are able to do to celebrate Veterans Day:
- Identify and name a veteran or branch of the service
- Practice writing and expressing thanks
- Engage in class discussions following a read aloud
Veterans Day Read Alouds
In kindergarten, the concept of Veterans Day and “What is a veteran?” can be tricky to explain. Like with any topic, I love to tie in some good-quality read alouds with our activities. Here are a few of my favorite read alouds for Veterans Day:
Veterans Day Activities for Kindergarten
There are several activities you can do to accompany read-alouds and discussions, including thank you cards, crowns, and skill practice activities with a Veterans Day theme. I’m going to share some sneak peeks of my Veterans Day activities pack. It’s full of activities that can be used all week to supplement your discussion about Veterans Day!
Veterans Day Mini Posters:
These half-page posters are great visual aids for your discussions about Veterans Day.
Veterans Day Crown:
This simple crown or hat activity comes with a color and black and white version.
Veterans Day Thank You Cards:
There are multiple options for this card template. The template shown below is the simplest, where students trace and sign their name. There is also a tracing version where students can fill in the name of a veteran they know. There is also a version with blank lines for writing a note.
Veterans Day Writing Activities:
These pages have lots of options! You can use the can/have/are page as an individual activity for more advanced writers, or you can project the page onto your white board and complete it as a class. There are blank writing pages to use with this, as well as a page with a word bank. I intentionally left the writing pages open-ended because I know you probably have some great ideas of your own, too!
Veterans Day Printables and Skill Practice Pages:
Here’s a look at a few of the other activities in this pack.
- Coloring Page: This is a page that I usually have at my students’ tables when they arrive to school the day after we begin talking about Veterans Day. You can use it in any way you like!
- Math Skill Practice: Ten frames, missing numbers to 10 and 20, addition within 5
- ELA Skill Practice: Rhyming, CVC practice, vowel practice, and word building
Veterans Day Roll and Color:
Here’s a fun partner activity! Students will roll two dice and add the numbers. They will locate the sum on the page and color it. They’ll take turns until one player has colored all the numbers on their page.
As a thank you for stopping by my blog, you can grab this page for free on Dropbox by clicking here!
Bring These Veterans Day Activities to Your Classroom!
Veterans Day offers a meaningful opportunity to help our youngest learners show gratitude and respect. With these Veterans Day activities, you can create a classroom experience that’s both purposeful and fun. From writing heartfelt thank-you cards to completing themed math and literacy pages, every activity helps your students understand what it means to honor those who have served at a level that’s just right for kindergarten!
Whether you spend one day or an entire week learning about Veterans Day, I hope my Veterans Day Pack makes your life a little easier! I know it has helped me out!
