September 11 th will forever be plastered in our minds. The images we saw that day will forever scar our lives. As individuals, it is easy for us to remember what we were doing the moment we realized what was happening.
I was a new mom who was watching Teletubbies, taking my time to go into work that morning. I remember holding my baby and putting on his shoes when the phone rang. It was my mom of course.
“What are you doing?" she asked.
“Watching Teletubbies," I said.
“Where is your mind, do you not realize we are being attacked?"
It was at that moment I learned the hard truth that even if war was to breakout, Teletubbies would not be interrupted. I changed the station in time to see the second plane hit the World Trade Center. I will not go into the rest of the events of that day or how scared as a new mom I was for the future of my own family, though thousands of miles away from New York.
As a parent and teacher, I believe it is important that our kids are knowledgeable about historical events. I struggled, however, with this event, because it was such a gruesome, horrific event. How do you teach September 11 th ?
It was at that moment that it dawned on me. September 11 th is the epitome of America - who it was and what it has become. It was a time when American came together in mourning, went back to church, saved lives, cleaned up and climbed out of the rubble to fight once again. So why not remember September 11 th by celebrating America? Here are a few crafts and activities to allow you to remember the day.
Plant Red, White and Blue
Do a science center with the main focus being planting. Historically, trees are planted in honor of someone’s passing. Why not plant flowers instead? Give each child a terra pot and some red, white and blue acrylic paint to decorate the pot. Let the kids be creative. You can write the word “remember" or the date if you think they would want them to be on the pot. You can also buy seeds of red, white and blue plants or any type of plant. Or plant a tree on campus to commemorate the date.
Do a Community Helpers Lesson
Have some community leaders come to speak to your class. This is great with the lower levels. They love meeting policemen, touring fire trucks or ambulances. Since it is getting closer to Halloween, you can have a community helper dress-up day in which the kids dress up like their favorite community helper. Be sure to relay how valuable these individuals are to our society and have been in the past as well.
Safety Lessons
Tragedies tend to make us as parents realize how unsafe our world actually is. I remember after September 11 th , our extended family actually sat down and thought out a plan in case something like that occurred locally. This is a great time as a class to talk about fire drills, tornado/hurricane drills, etc. It is also a great time at the preschool and kindergarten level to discuss how and when to call 911.
America the Beautiful
This is a great opportunity to discuss the founding of America. The values that our country was founded on, who founded the country, historical places and events are all lessons that can be talked about during this time. Learn national landmarks, states, etc in geography. At the younger levels in Music, you can recycle those July 4 th lessons and put on a recital or production.
Take up a Collection
Allow the children to take part in the community. Have a food drive for a local shelter. Have a diaper drive for an adoption agency. Do any activity that lets your kids see the importance of giving back and being part of a community. Meet on the weekend and clean up a local park or block of the street. Or take up class time and clean your school: help the cafeteria ladies clean lunch tables, clean up the playground, etc.
Cook red, white and blue
At the younger levels, allow children to decorate cupcakes, cookies, whatever you can think of with blue, red, white decorations such as icing, sprinkles, etc. Have a jell-o snack or yogurt painting.
Get your creative juices flowing. This was an important event in our nation and I think it is important to not just gloss over the day. Kids are smart creatures and they know when something is going on with adults. So make the day not so somber and celebrate the good things that came out of that day.
