To All of Our Veterans

Thank you for fighting for our country and our freedoms! 

I taught one of my favorite lessons yesterday for Veteran's Day - a lesson I learned from my mentor teacher, Lisa!  We read "America's White Table" by Margot Theis Raven as a review for symbolism.  I even set up the little white table in my classroom:

Here are all of the symbols of the white table:
Small table: Lonely soldier's battle against many
White tablecloth: A soldier's pure heart
Single empty chair: For our missing soldiers
White candle: Peace
Red rose tied with a red ribbon: the Hope that our soldiers will return
Lemon: bitter fate of our wounded soldiers
Salt: families' tears over their loved ones
Black napkin: sorrow of captivity
Glass overturned: for a meal that will not be eaten

We have a fairly large military presence down here and many of my students had veterans in their family.  It was great to see the kids realize that Veteran's Day is not just a day off from school.  Veteran's Day became much more important to me after I married Justin, since his Dad is a Vietnam veteran.  This is a great book for any family that has members in the military!

And to all of our POW/MIA: You are not forgotten so long as there is one left in whom your memory remains.