Memorial Day Craft

Today I’m linking up with my Wednesday Link-Up friends to share some fun things were on our blogs!

Can you believe Memorial Day is this Monday?! Where did the time go? I feel like with all the social distancing time has really taken a different turn. All the days seem to run together and the weekends seem to all look similar.

But here we are at the end of May celebrating Memorial Day! And I wanted to share with you a fun craft that Caroline and I made.

When I started to think of Memorial Day crafts I thought of all the red, white, and blue crafts I could make with Caroline but I quickly remembered back when John was in Law School they would all make it a point to wear a red poppy on Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day to symbolize the soldiers who have gone before us.

So I decided to make poppies with Caroline and teach her about those who have sacrificed their lives for us.

I read some poems where the symbol of the poppy came from. Here is a link if you’re interested in learning more. And I will share the poems with you below.

The first poem In Flanders Field was written by John McCrae, May 1915 inspired when he saw the poppies during burials around his artillery position.

The poppy was one of the first flowers to grow in war torn fields and so the poem goes…

But the origin of the poppy as a modern-day symbol of Memorial Day was the idea of an American woman, Moina Michael. She read McCrae’s poem and was deeply struck by the last line and she vowed to always wear a poppy in remembrance of those who lost their lives. She later wrote this poem.

We Shall Keep the Faith

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.

-Moina Michael, November 1918

So that’s a little history lesson for you today! lol!

I love to know why we celebrate something or why we all have the day off and I want Caroline to know the meaning behind holidays too. Because while we’re all enjoying the pool, hotdogs, and fun I want to also be thankful for the reason we get to do these things!

So thank you to those who have served our country and thank you to those who have lost their lives for us. We’ve made these poppies for you.

Materials

• 3-4 coffee filters or more if you want to make more poppies
• red markers
• spray bottle with water
• black construction paper for the dot
• green pipe cleaning or popsicle stick painted green

Directions

1. Color the coffee filters red.
2. Spray the filters with water and let them dry.
3. When the filter is dry begin to fold like the pictures below
4. Cut out a black circle from the black construction paper.
5. Glue the dot onto the middle of the poppy.
6. Attach your pipe cleaner or green stick to the flower.
7. And there you go, now you have poppies for Memorial Day!

WELCOME TO THE WEDNESDAY LINK PARTY! MEET YOUR HOSTS:

Jaclyn from Coffee, Pancakes, and Dreams

Brittany from Dreams and Coffee

Mary Leigh from Live Well Play Together

Tiffany from Lake Life State of Mind

Lindsay from Lindsay’s Sweet World

Keri from Cultivate an Intentional Life

Holley from Bee Simply Organized