What's your plan for Veteran's Day?

Honor our veterans.

No matter where you stand on issues or politics, the people who serve our country deserve to be recognized and honored. They have made sacrifices, both large and small, so we might live in a free country.

I have dedicated several items in my store to a Patriotic theme. I feel strongly that our children should learn these songs. There are others, of course, and I'm working on including these in this collection also. But I started with these five songs because the melodies are within the child's singing voice range, they can be played on the recorder, and the lyrics are strong.

Veteran's Day Program. Think about asking students to invite a family member or friend who is a veteran to visit your classroom or school. Use one or all of these songs in a program. Your younger students will enjoy singing "This Land" and "You're a Grand Old Flag." Your older students can sing and/or play the recorder versions of "America" and "America the Beautiful." They come with amazing accompaniment tracks composed by Jared DePasquale, a Seneca award-winning composer.

Use the Lesson Plans and stunning Powerpoint presentations to not only teach music standards but also make connections with their Social Studies classes as students learn how and why these songs were composed. They have powerful and interesting background stories. The Powerpoint presentations are available as separate items and can be used to teach the songs as well as in a multi-media program.

Narration is included that ties the songs together. Involve the classroom teachers in working together to create a program. They will love it because you will give them the materials they need to prepare the students.

In between each song, ask several veterans to stand and tell when and were they served and who invited them to come. Have them sit together on stage. Provide refreshments for them after the program.

Your students will be proud and the veterans will be honored. What a wonderful way to celebrate Veteran's Day!