poppy.jpgI deliberately never mentioned the subject of Remembrance over the weekend as it was my topic for Rainbows and Brownies tonight.


I was so tempted yesterday when I read a comment on Sally’s blog that was related. I agreed with her 100% and you can read the comments I am referring too in this journal entry.


Tonight the girls were issued with tags which they had to write their names and address on then tie them around their necks. They were then paired with a ’sister’ and promptly split up and set to the four corners of the hall where a ‘House Mother’ waited for them. Here they discussed the many issues & emotions surrounding displaced/evacuated children during the wars. It never ceases to amaze how intuitive children can be and how easily some can put themselves into the shoes of others. They children were interested, engaged and it was just one of those evenings where you felt you got the message home. There are always exceptions to the rule and it is was no different tonight but in the main, they were all on the journey and I hope they all learned something of what life was like for some children of their age group during some of the hardest times.


To help reinforce the message I had a couple of fab little helpers cut up chocolate fingers (and eat a few too)  into quarters and issue the ‘rations’, that was a laugh! We studied photographs of evacuated children and read accounts of school days, a far cry from the school days this lot have. We read a diary entry from a soldier, narrowly escaping death and his fears for his children.


We rounded off by playing some war time school playground games, versions of games we still play today. It was a mixture of seriousness and fun, a good balance and everyone played along beautifully. Even the little 5 and 6 year old Rainbows took something from their part in tonight proceedings.


I finished by reading the following:



Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.


Whilst I firmly believe that the present is thee most important time deserving of my attention, I strive to ensure that history is recorded within my own family as well as my passion for historical events. Our children carry a responsibility into the future, one of remembering and understanding, not just about wars and famine but of their story, their personal history. For my children this is a very important matter and one that I record not only through the life story books I keep for them but through my scrapbook pages and journaling.  We cannot always understand the past but knowing which keys unlock which doors help us all balance out our lives as we grow. Sometimes it takes faith to deal with historical matters, at other times it is just knowing the facts.