3 Beautiful Handcrafted Poppies for Remembrance Day

In Flanders fields the poppies blow,
Between the crosses, row on row...

I still remember the first time I heard someone recite In Flanders Fields.

I was sitting on a crowded gymnasium floor in a small Ontario elementary school. I don't recall the name of the special guest who spoke at the assembly that day, but I do remember this - within seconds of him opening his mouth, the gym grew silent as all in attendance fixed their eyes on the stranger delivering some of the most powerful words ever written.

After we returned to our classrooms, our teacher wrote In Flanders Fields on the chalkboard and had us surround the words with dozens of handmade paper poppies we crafted out of construction paper and paste. Poppies - we would later discover - have been a visual symbol of  Remembrance in Canada since 1921, mostly due to Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae's now-famous poem.

It is so important that children learn about the importance and relevance of remembrance and creating poppies is one way to make that happen. So, here for you now are three ways kids can craft poppies which can be used to make window decorations, necklaces or wreaths.

EGG CARTON POPPIES

What you need:

• an egg carton
• scissors
• red paint
• a paintbrush
• buttons (or construction paper)
• glue

What you do:

1. First, cut a cup from the egg carton.
2. Then, cut it so it is rounded.
3. Next, cut little points to make four distinct "petals".
4. Round the petals off.
5. Paint the poppies red.
6. Embellish with black and yellow buttons (or construction paper) centers.

MUFFIN LINER POPPIES

What you need:

• muffin liners
• scissors
• red paint
• paintbrushes
• buttons (or construction paper)
• glue

What you do:

1. To ensure you have one large and one small liner per poppy, make some of the liners smaller by cutting the top edge off with scissors.
2. Paint the muffin liners and let them dry.
3. Place the smaller muffin liner inside the larger and crinkle into shape.
4. Glue buttons or construction paper into the center.

PAPER POPPIES

What you need:

• construction paper (red, black and yellow)
• scissors
• glue
• black and yellow buttons (optional)

What you do:

1. Fold a piece of red construction paper in half, three times.
2. Cut a half heart shape out of the folded paper, making sure to cut at the folded edge.
3. Open up the hearts and arrange them into a poppy shape.
4. Glue together with a black and yellow center.

Poppy made with construction paper:

Poppy made with Valentine's Day heart cut-out shapes from the craft store:

If you are looking for resources to help you talk to kids about Remembrance Day, here are some great places to start:

Veteran's Affairs Canada has some wonderful teaching materials for kids of all ages. Take Time to Remember is created for students from kindergarten to grade 2. The Tales of Animals in War newspaper is for ages 5 to 11 and The Canada Remembers Times newspaper is for ages 12 to 18.

The Royal Canadian legion has created a teaching guide to assist primary and secondary schools in imparting valuable information to their students.

YMC's Annabel Fitzsimmons shares a story of when she talked to her six year old about Remembrance Day.

More Remembrance Day stories and resources from the Yummy Mummy Club (including a cute preschool poppy craft) can be found here.