Sunday, November 15, 2015

Veteran's Day - Thank You to All Veterans!

My brother, Ken, was a veteran and served in the US Army.  Going through the experiences of taking him to the airport to go overseas to Iraq and not hearing from him for days/weeks is something that I will never forget.  His dedication, as well as others whom we met through him, is something I admire and honor him for.  Thus, it only made sense to show our appreciation to our vets in my classroom by setting up a white table.

If you have not heard the story of America's White Table, it is one that is worth reading.  It is a super picture book about a girl who's uncle is a veteran and her family sets up a white table every year on this day.  The girl learns why and builds an emotional connection with her uncle as well as an understanding about Veterans Day.

To go with the story, a table was set up in our classroom with items to help us remember those who have served and those who never returned. Items on the table are:
* A small table for one's lonely battle against many
* A white cloth to honor a soldier's pure heart
* A lemon slice and grains of sale to show a captive soldier's bitter fate and tears from family
* An empty chair for missing soldier
* A black napkin for sorrow captivity
* A white candle for peace
* A red rose in a vase tied with a red ribbon for hope
* Hero written in the salt


Students were then encouraged to bring in items from relatives or friends who are veterans so that we can show an appreciation for them and thank them!  The table was set all week and students brought in objects, medals, clothing, etc. to share with the class.

We also took some time to write thank you cards that will be mailed to a service woman from Cresco.  Her name is Bre Balk and she was recently deployed.  I will mail the cards this week to her.  

Veterans were also invited to have lunch with the students for free to show our appreciation to them.  It was great to see so many family members and friends have lunch in our cafeteria.  






And again, thank you to every Veteran for your service.  We can never thank you enough!

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