Month of the Military Child Ideas
Let’s Celebrate our Youngest Heroes
For more information on how to support our youngest heroes – please reach out to your closest School Liaison. They are
your “boots on the ground” for connecting to the military! A worldwide listing of these professionals can be found at
https://dodea.edu/partnership They offer a variety of services to assist schools and community partners.
In 1986, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger designated April as Month of the Military Child. Military bases, cities and
school districts around the world will honor these young American heroes with special events just for them. As part of
this month-long celebration, local communities are invited to take part in PurpleUp Day! established by your state and
wear or display purple to recognize our military children.
Here are a few suggestions on how your school can celebrate the Month of the Military Child. Plan now for how you can
show your support for military children in your schools. Work with your students, staff, PTA or Boosters to do
recognition.
1. Kick off the Month of the Military Child with a breakfast, or lunch for Military Connected Youth (MCY) in the
school. Include their parents or other family members associated with the military. Don’t forget to invite staff who
were once military kids, too, or who may have a close family member serving our country. Ask everyone to wear
purple and invite all military members to wear their uniform. PTO/PAB could pick up the tab.
2. Identify one day each week in April to highlight military families. Ideas include: favorite service logo day,
patriotic day, Purple day, etc. Dress-up throughout the month of April. Decorate the school with purple, purple
camo, military insignias, etc.
3. Highlight April as Month of the Military Child on the school’s marquee, and in staff and parent newsletters.
4. Have a daily or weekly announcement with military-connected student facts. Start with the national facts and
move into school facts. (i.e. Military Monday …Did you know?) Followed by a public “thank you” for their
service to our country.
5. Throughout the month, ask military connected kids or family members to do the announcements, or share an
interesting fact about their life as a military child on the morning news show.
6. Decorate display cases and bulletin boards throughout April with military focused memorabilia, or items brought
by military kids reflecting their experiences (where they have live or traveled, family members’ service
memorabilia, parts of a uniform, patches, coins, models of planes etc.)
7. Create a world map and pinpoint where students and staff have lived because of their military lifestyle. This is a
fantastic way to connect military kids with their peers. It’s total conversation starter when their peers say to them,
“Wow! You lived in Japan?”
8. Take pics and decorate using flag as a backdrop and unique to their branch of service.
9. Decorate the school in flags, purple, and posters! Have a group of kids design posters thanking their families for
their service. Have military kids make posters reflecting their experiences. Decorate with purple balloons. Have
staff and students wear purple ribbons or carnations on the designated Purple UP day!
10. “Wall of Honor” Recognition: Schools are encouraged to display a “Wall of Honor” as a visual depiction of the
school’s military student population. These bulletin boards typically display pictures of military-connected
students, or different color graphics (based on military branch) representing the number of military students in the
school.
11. “Share Your Story” Project: Whether a military dependent yourself, classmate, friend, or neighbor of a military
student, we are all impacted by the military community in Texas. Teachers are encourage to incorporate Month of
the Military Child recognition in their instruction by having students share their military-connection story through
the visual arts, creative writing, musical composition, poetry, etc.
12. Adopt a deployed service member or unit. Create Care Packages for deployed troops. As a service project collect
items from a class, grade, school group, or whole school. Packages can be sent to a student’s family member or
another unit identified through the school or community. Don’t forget notes, card, pictures etc. For ideas of what
to send contact a family member, local installation, or Red Cross.
13. As a service project adopt a deployed family. Find out what a family with a deployed service member needs help
with. A class or school group can help with yard work, in home technology, childcare, tutoring, homework help, a
Month of the Military Child Ideas
Let’s Celebrate our Youngest Heroes
For more information on how to support our youngest heroes – please reach out to your closest School Liaison. They are
your “boots on the ground” for connecting to the military! A worldwide listing of these professionals can be found at
https://dodea.edu/partnership They offer a variety of services to assist schools and community partners.
weekend buddy, care package for the kids in the family and/or deployed member. This can be Tricky for some
families with deployed member because of confidentiality, but it might be able to be done if handled correctly.
14. Create an atmosphere in individual classrooms to bring an awareness of MCY’s lifestyle to their peers through
conservations – ask questions, share experiences and point out the relatable experiences that all children have like:
Talk about what it may feel like going to new school or on the first day of school, having parents leave on
business trip, struggling making new friends or having to say goodbye to friends.
15. Ask a military member (a parent or sibling of someone in the class) to be a guest speaker and share their
perspective on life in the military as well as their profession.
16. Time Zone Wall: A series of clocks on a wall identifying different time zones from around the world, with a focus
on where a deployed family may be, where a MCY lived in the past, or where a MCY might be moving to.
17. Story time using books about military kids’ experience, the military lifestyle, being the new kid in school, or
appreciating differences in one another.
18. Show-n-Tell – Have students in something military related. Examples: memorabilia from an installation or service
branch, favorite airplane, book, military character, items or pictures from prior living locations, pictures or
anything related to being a mil kid.
19. Have a tshirt drawing contest for the Month of the Military Child and make tshirts for the school to show their
support.
20. Write letters or draw pictures and send to deployed family members. They “serve too” and would benefit from a
class pick me up.
21. As a class service project to send thank you cards to a local military installation, a local veteran home or get well
cards to service members in a local military hospital. Blue Skies of Texas (formerly Air Force Village) Debbie
Zazeela, Life Enrichment Manager, BST East: (210) 568-5200, BST West: (210) 568-3296 Cell: (210) 725-
8162 debbiezazeela@blueskiestx.org ; Wounded Warriors; Have a Drive to make a donation to Operation
Homefront; Have a drive for a Cup of Joe for Joe
22. Salute to Military Children at Sporting Events - Have the announcer make a special announcement before, during
or after sporting events recognizing all military children. Have them raise the flag, sing the National Anthem or
recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
23. Work with your School Liaison Office and bring in Senior Leadership (Male & Female) as guest speakers in High
School Classes
24. During the daily morning announcements acknowledging military such as:
a. Thanking military parents/faculty
b. Play music such as I’m Proud to be an American
c. Read a military poem
25. Do guidance lesson H is for Honor
26. Create Bulletin Board “What does HONOR mean to you…”
27. Designate a spirit week and have activities every day such as: Monday: Flag ceremony, Tuesday: wear red, white,
and blue, Wednesday: Write a letter to thank a military person, etc…(Mon- Service Branch t-shirt, Tuesday
Purple, Wed Orange for Unity …..
28. Invite neighboring JROTC to your campus for demonstration
29. Encourage leadership by military students in the planning and implementation of the activities.
30. Create a postcard with the banner design on one side; write your thanks and give to a military family, individually
or in an assembly
31. At an assembly or recognition tea, give a certificate of thanks to each military child. Invite military leader-ship or
principal or military parents to hand out the certificates to each child.
32. Invite military parents to visit in their children’s classrooms or at an assembly.
33. Have students create “thank you” cards for class-room or main hall bulletin boards to support military children.
Month of the Military Child Ideas
Let’s Celebrate our Youngest Heroes
For more information on how to support our youngest heroes – please reach out to your closest School Liaison. They are
your “boots on the ground” for connecting to the military! A worldwide listing of these professionals can be found at
https://dodea.edu/partnership They offer a variety of services to assist schools and community partners.
34. Tie yellow or purple ribbons, one per military child in the school, on a tree outside the school or attach on the
walls of the lunchroom or main hallway
35. Create a Transition Center with flyers and other district, school, SLO resources, and community resources for
parents and staff.
36. Recognize Month of Military Child in your community via district and/or school webpages, school newsletters,
school, social media and community readerboards, encouraging the local paper to do an article.
37. Have students create a banner each year to hang at the school entrance, on the fence, in the commons or gym for
the month.
38. Create and share your school’s activities with parents, children, and community members! Tag us on social media
Twitter: @jbsa_slo Facebook: JBSA School Liaison Office use hashtags #momc #milkids #PurpleUpTexas
39. Cafeteria serves Purple Foods during MOMC
40. Military Parade All students dress up in patriotic outfits and parade through the school; ending in the courtyard.
Each grade level performs a song and the Principal delivers a short speech thanking the children and families for
their service.
41. Invite students to participate in an Essay Contest to describe how they do or can better support this nation and its
military community; winners could be recognized by installation leadership.
42. Bootcamp challenge – invited Active Duty volunteers to conduct various games with advisory classes (i.e., relay
games, sit up challenges, etc.)
43. Door Decorating Contest – Theme – The Military Child – One winner per grade level – class would receive
popcorn, or some kind of treat from PTSO.
44. “Purple Ball”: It's an evening that is all about the military child. The children dress up in their nicest clothes and
The Active duty parent wear the dress uniform. There's music and food and fun. A photographer donated time
and an 8x10 photo of the family. We had the Disney princesses and princes lead the procession in to the place
where it was being held. If the parent was deployed we had volunteers in dress Uniform available to escort the
child as they were announced.
45. Host a Military Art Fair: have students provide images of military life or experiences; winners could be
acknowledged by installation leadership or Adopt-a-School partners
46. Host a military luncheon for active duty parents to have lunch with their children
47. Web Site Feature - Schools can promote the Month of the Military Child on their web sites. Provide links to sites
that offer resources for military families.
48. Publicize Installation/Community Events - Use the school newsletter to publicize Month of the Military Child
events and activities hosted by the installation/community. Look for ways schools can contribute to these
celebrations (setting up an information or activity booth, having teachers volunteer at events and activities, etc.).
49. Host an Assembly for Month of the Military Child - Hold a school assembly honoring military children. Include a
performance by the band. Have students write a poem about what it means to be a military child and select several
student volunteers to read their poems.
50. Teachers Salute Military Children - Ask teachers at your school make a special project with their classes such as a
picture frame, bookmark, journal, etc., that ties into the Month of the Military Child.
51.
Stay in contact with your school liaison to join in on the celebrations within your state and local communities!
Month of the Military Child Ideas
Let’s Celebrate our Youngest Heroes
For more information on how to support our youngest heroes – please reach out to your closest School Liaison. They are
your “boots on the ground” for connecting to the military! A worldwide listing of these professionals can be found at
https://dodea.edu/partnership They offer a variety of services to assist schools and community partners.
