Home of the Brave
While the holiday may bring plans for of barbeques, beach days, parades, and beginning of the summer season, let’s remember the heroes — people of service to our country — that sacrificed so much to make our freedoms and festivities possible. That includes the families of active military members and veterans. Who do you honor on Memorial Day?
Special Resources: Tragic events in the news require heroic acts of assistance and resilience, too. Scroll down for some ways to help you and your little ones work through your emotions and feel secure during scary times.
FOR KIDS: MEET ARTHUR'S CLASSMATE LADONNA
Arthur and D.W.’s new classmates, Ladonna and Bud Compson, are used to traveling around. When they moved from Louisiana to Elwood City, Arthur and his friends welcomed them into their crew. Their father, Rufus, is a Captain in the Army Corps of Engineers. This week, we honor our military families. Watch some of our favorite episodes of Arthur featuring Ladonna and Bud:
Arthur’s New Classmate- Ladonna
When Duty Call
Ladonna and Bud
Bud and D.W.’s Adventures
FOR PARENTS: RESOURCES FOR MILITARY FAMILIES
On Memorial Day, we honor military personnel and their families. This day may be difficult for military families, especially those with young children. This article explains ways to promote emotional intelligence for children in military families. Sesame Streetfor Military Families offers resources to help families with concepts of deployment, routines and self-expression.
FOR EDUCATORS: SUPPORTING STUDENTS FROM MILITARY FAMILIES
Educators encounter every possible type of family within their classrooms. Supporting military families is necessary to ensure children feel comfortable and safe in school. These videos from Sesame Street for Military Families explains grief, temporary duty, and deployment and may help students connect to what their peers are feeling. Downloadable resources and activities are also available for you to use in your classroom to help students with emotions, self-regulation, and empathy.
SPECIAL RESOURCES: DEALING WITH TRAGIC EVENTS
In times of crisis, it's easy to assume that young children don't know what's going on. But one thing's for sure -- children are very sensitive to how their parents feel. It's easy to allow ourselves to get drawn into watching televised news of a crisis for hours and hours; however, exposing ourselves to so many tragedies can make us feel hopeless, insecure, and even depressed. Our children need us to spend time with them – away from the frightening images on the screen. Here is some information about helping our children, and ourselves, to deal with upsetting events in the news.
Name Those Feelings – And Talk About Them.
Young children experience a wide range of emotions that they might not be able to name yet. Help your children explore emotions, in this activity from Arthur. And once a child can describe how they feel, encourage them to talk about those feelings with grown-ups who can listen, understand and help.
Helping Kids Find Their Inner Heroes
Children, like all of us, can feel especially powerless in the face of terrible news. While they may admire the fictional superheroes that vanquish the bad guys, there are other ways to be heroic every single day – through bravery, kindness and helping others. Read how this mom uses stories of real-life historical heroes to demonstrate how everyday people can be a super force for good.
Supporting Little Children During Scary Times
When upsetting things happen around them, children may have tough questions—and it’s hard to know the “right” answers. But there are age-appropriate ways to respond, and to focus on the “helping hands” in our communities