With the federal and state governments requesting people stay at home due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Anzac Day in 2020 is going to look a little bit different for everyone. Traditionally serving as a day of commemoration and remembrance, every April 25th community members all over Australia and New Zealand attend their local Dawn Service as a mark of respect to those who served in our armed forces during past wars and conflicts. This year everything had to be cancelled to keep the public safe. So instead, a grassroots movement has been started on Facebook [1], by Jay Scott – the son of a Vietnam Veteran, asking that every household in Australia go outside at 6am on the morning of the 25th April and hold a private service at the end of their driveways a mark of respect to these very same people who we would normally commemorate in public services across both nations.
Another wonderful thing that has come out of this movement is that people have been creating and posting pictures of them decorating their yards with homemade poppies, silhouettes of soldiers standing in a “catafalque party [2] (guarding a cenotaph with weapons pointed in reverse), and making rosemary wreaths to display on the front of their houses or letterboxes; sort of like a Christmas wreath but made up of decorations to signify remembrance.
Creating these decorations with children is a perfect way to talk to and explain to them the significance of this important day in Australian and New Zealand cultures. Below we have collated a few different craft ideas that are fun and pretty east to make with your child to help you with taking part in Anzac Day 2020.We will also include links to the app developed by the Facebook page “Aussies & Kiwis for ANZACs [3] to provide more information for the day.
Paper Poppies [4]:
You’ll need:
- thin cardboard
- red crepe paper
- green pipe cleaner
- black paper
- scissors
- pencil
- glue
What to do:
- Use scissors to cut out a poppy shape (see image) on cardboard to make a template.
- Place the poppy template on the red crepe paper and trace around it with a pencil.
- Cut out the poppy shape with scissors.
- To make the stalk, take a pipe cleaner and bend the end over twice at 1cm lengths (see image).
- Push the straight end of the pipe cleaner through the middle of the red poppy shape and continue to thread it through until the bent end sits against the middle of the poppy.
- Cut a small circle out of the black paper and glue it onto the centre of the poppy. The centre will secure the green pipe cleaner to the red crepe paper poppy.
- Bend and shape the pipe cleaner and poppy petals.
IDEA: Combine many poppies in a circle to make a wreath.
Templates:
Egg Carton Poppies [5]:
Parental supervision and help may be needed for smaller children to help with the cutting out
You,ll Need:
- Paper plate
- Black sharpie
- Red and black paint
- Scissors
- Glue
- Egg carton
What to do:
- Use a ruler and draw two lines horizontally across the middle of the plate.
- Cut out both (in)sides.
- Cut individual cups out of the egg carton and paint red.
- Let dry then paint the middle black.
- Paint the plate green.
- Glue on the poppy flowers and write “remember” in the middle.
Pattie Cake Poppies[6]:
You,ll Need:
- Red patty cake liners in various sizes
- Glue
- Large black buttons
- Green paper straws
- Sticking tape
What to do:
- Start my cutting a wavy edge on the largest size of your cupcake liner. Then do the same on the smaller one (or cut a larger wavy edge if you only have ones of the same size). This is a great way to reinforce your child’s scissor skills, even the younger ones as there is no right or wrong wavy line. In fact, the more random the better.
- Then stick your two cake cases together with the smaller one on the inside before gluing your large black button on. Use this as an opportunity to discuss large and smaller sizes with your kids.We talked about how all the poppies we see are different and not
- Once the glue has dried, turn over and apply the paper straw with sticking tape.
- Make as many as you want!
Finger Paint Poppies[7]:
You,ll need:
- Red paint
- Green paint
- Black paint
- Yellow paint
- White paper
- 2 paintbrushes
What to do:
- Start by having your kids dip their thumbs into red paint and making a circle shape with their prints. Doing 4-5 thumbprints per poppy looks best!
- After the red paint has dried some, have them dip their pointer finger in black paint and dab the middle of each flower.
- Take a small paintbrush and put a dot of yellow paint in the middle of each flower. Then have them paint skinny green stems.
- The last step is to take a bigger paintbrush and have them make a bunch of “X’s” at the bottom to make grass!
- Hang in your windows to show off your child’s art to the local neighbourhood!
The entire idea of this grassroots movement to commemorate at home, is to get everyone involved and show that even if we can’t attend a public event to show our support, we can show it from home by getting the whole family involved. It’s a great opportunity to give parents and children a fun activity to shar together.
We hope that you have as much fun doing some of these activities as we did learning about them!
At Angel’s Paradise we promote fun learning activities.
References:
[1] https://www.facebook.com/groups/anzacday2020/
[2] https://www.army.gov.au/our-history/traditions/catafalque-party
[3] https://www.facebook.com/groups/anzacday2020/
[4] https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/commemoration/event-planning/poppies
[5] https://www.craftymorning.com/egg-carton-memorial-day-poppy-wreath/
[6] https://pintsizedtreasures.com/easy-cupcake-liner-poppy-craft/
[7] https://www.craftymorning.com/fingerprint-poppy-flower-craft-kids/