We love any reason to teach our kids to express gratitude. Veterans Day is a great way to impress upon our kids the honor and sacrifice of the men and women who have served in our armed forces, and the resulting freedom we enjoy each and every day.

We're sharing a few of our favorite ways to honor Veterans Day in our homes. If you have your own traditions, please share below in comments! 

1 \ Have a dinner conversation about family members and friends that have served our country. Sometimes we take for granted the rich history and stories of veterans we know. Be sure to share these with your kids! You can often find ties into what kids are learning about history in school.

2 \ Interview a veteran. Our kids have done this at school and it is SO special. It can be a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, or a neighbor. They can ask about their branch of service, their rank and role, what made them want to serve, and the lessons they take with them for a lifetime.  

3 \ Volunteer. There are great opportunities to serve our veteran population. Draw cards and drop off at a VA hospital, pack personal care kits for homeless veterans, or help set out flags at memorial cemeteries.

4 \ Red, White and Blue. It can be fun to let kids dig back into the red, white and blue decorations and have them make a small place in the house to honor veterans. We love to set out old photos of our family members in uniform and place a flag outside our home.

5 \ Get online together. There are some great resources to tour War Memorials virtually. And for slightly older kids, there are wonderful documentaries you can watch together online. We like to choose ones that have a connection to when/where our family members have served.

To all of the veterans in our Wanderwild family and beyond, thank you for your service! We are endlessly grateful.