“In Flanders Field the poppies grow
Between the crosses row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below…”
The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the moment that we stop everything and remember. It is the moment when 100 years ago the peace treaty that ended the First World War was signed.
When I was a child, the above excerpt from the famous poem In Flanders Field by John McRae sparked remembrance. In school, we would review, dissect, memorize and recite this poem. It felt like a small thing we could do to show we remember and appreciate our veterans.

We always recited it as a school during our Remembrance Day assembly. This is also when we would honour any local veterans, my uncle Romeo Mousseau included. I truly appreciated this act of remembrance and it has always carried weight in my heart.
One hundred years later, we continue to remember and honour our war veterans. Some schools continue to have Remembrance Day assemblies while others do not. Usually you can find a ceremony in your town, or a neighbouring one. Check THE EQUITY for information on where the ceremonies will be.
It is up to us, as parents to teach our children the importance of remembering. We want to ensure that the sacrifices of the men and women who have served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace – especially those who did not return are never forgotten. (https://canadiannanny.ca/how-to-explain-remembrance-day-to-children).
How do we teach our children the meaning of Remembrance Day so that it can continue to live on through generations to come? Here are some tips.
1. Choose the content you discuss wisely. Teaching children about why we remember and honour our soldiers is important and must be age appropriate. The most important message is highlighting how brave men and women who choose to protect and defend our country are. Older children may be interested in the history of war in our country. There is so much to teach our children.
2. Focus on honouring people. Remembrance Day is a way to say thank you to those who had to leave their families to help protect us and ours. This is an aspect that all children can understand.
3. Talk about your family history. Tell stories of those in your family (grandparents, great-grandparents, great-uncles) who have fought in great wars. You can also talk about friends, neighbours and people from your town. You can tell the stories you know, show the pictures you may have, talk about where they’ve travelled or how long they’ve had to be away.
Pull up a map to show children how far away these places are. All of these stories are bound to be very intriguing to our children who may have had little contact with people in the army.
4. Poppies. Poppies grew on the battlefields that veterans fought on in WWI. Wearing them is a way to remember those that fought for us as well as the lives that were lost. They are everywhere in our community in the few weeks leading up to Remembrance Day. Make sure to find one for you and your children to wear in support of our troops.
5. Things to do to help children remember.On Remembrance Day wear a poppy, attend a ceremony, watch a documentary or the news coverage of large city ceremonies, have a discussion, read children’s books, look at photos or attend a speaking engagement.
This year Remembrance Day falls on a Sunday. The ceremony in Shawville will be celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 10.
Whatever you choose to do, try and take a bit of time to discuss the importance of Remembrance Day with your family to help these memories live on.