Activity

Red Poppy Wreath

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This Veterans Day, teach your child about ways that other countries remember their soldiers. This paper project will have your kid create a wreath of red poppies to honor the brave soldiers who have gone into battle and died serving their countries. The use of the red poppy to pay tribute to fallen soldiers was inspired by the poem, "In Flanders Fields" by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. The poem describes how poppies bloomed across battlefields after World War I and suggests that the poppy's deep red color was a stark reminder of the tragic bloodshed of war. Although the red poppy is primarily used in the remembrance rituals of Commonwealth countries like Great Britain and Canada, Americans also use the beautiful symbol of the red poppy flower to commemorate the loss of so many heroic soldiers during war.

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Grade

First Grade

Subject

Arts & Crafts

Paper & Glue Crafts

Holidays & Seasons

Veterans Day

What You Need:

Construction paper (red, black, white)
Pencil
Scissors
Glue stick
Chalk

What You Do:

Ask your child to fold a sheet of red paper in half three times and draw a poppy on the outside surface of the folded-up paper. Once she cuts out the poppy she drew she'll have 8 poppies. She can repeat this process to create as many poppy flowers as she likes for her wreath.
Have her fold a sheet of black paper in half 3 times and draw a small circle, the size of a quarter, on the top fold. Cut along the lines to reveal the black centers for the poppy flowers.
Encourage her to glue the black circles in the center of the red flowers to create paper poppies.
Help her layer the poppy flowers into a circle, overlapping the poopies slightly to help them fit together properly. Glue the poppies in place.
Using a pencil, help her roll the edges of the poppy petals so they curl slightly to create an interesting 3-D effect.
Cut a rectangle from the black paper that's large enough to create sign in the center of the wreath.
Have her write with the chalk, "In Loving Memory" or "In Remembrance." If she happens to have someone specific in mind she can also write that person's name: "Remembering ....". Glue the remembrance message in the center of the wreath.
Hang the wreath where others can see and remember their loved ones, along with all of the other brave members of armed forces who died serving their countries.