April is the international month of the military child and charity Little Troopers wants military families and schools to join in the celebrations!
Head to the Little Troopers website to download and take part in fun activities with military children of all ages, helping them to reflect on how special it is to grow up with a parent in British Armed Forces. All the activities are dandelion-themed, the official flower of the military child – a plant that is strong and resilient and blooms anywhere the wind carries it.
At School
Little Troopers has created a special Military Child school pack with activities suitable for both primary and secondary schools. Help children reflect on their journey so far as a military child, make dandelion and lemon biscuits in class, read the dandelion poem together, do some mindful colouring or get the children to run their own assembly all about military life and the Month of the Military Child.
At Home
Families can choose to get involved in dandelion-themed art, recipes, colouring-in sheets and dandelion playdough. As a special gift, Little Troopers will be giving away a free seeded postcard featuring the Dandelion poem.
Little Troopers has organised three free live online events aimed at younger little troopers (under 10) during the month. Places for each event are limited, so families are encouraged to book early:
- 4th April: Rainforest Discovery with ZooLab
- 8th April: Creative art base
- 22nd April: Bake-a-long with Cookstars
There will social media giveaways throughout the month and Little Troopers will also be launching a special new book for pre-schoolers - watch this space!
Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, comments: “April the Month of the Military Child is our favourite time of year. It’s a chance for us all to reflect on all the amazing little troopers
out there. We hope that lots of schools and families take the time in April to tell military children just how special and that taking part in the activities helps children feel part of our growing Little Troopers community.”
The next edition of the Little Troopers Gazette will also launch in April. The free newspaper, which is printed twice a year, is packed with stories written by military children along with news, fun facts and other activities. Families and schools can now order free copies.
For more information and to get involved visit www.littletroopers.net/month-of-the-military-child
Little Troopers is a registered charity supporting service children who have parent(s) serving in our British Armed Forces, regular or reserve. These children often face unique challenges including frequent house and school moves, as well as regular periods of separation from their serving parent(s) for varying lengths of time due to exercises, training, operations and other service commitments.
As a charity, Little Troopers ensures our British Armed Forces children and their families have access to child-focused support wherever they are in the world and whatever community they live in. We provide fundamental resources and initiatives to help ease repeated separation periods and keep parent and child connected even when miles apart. We are the only charity in the UK dedicated to celebrating just how special all our Little Troopers out there really are.
For more information visit www.littletroopers.net