A guide for Month of the Military Child
Month of the Military Child is a time of celebration for the Armed Forces community.
Held annually in April, it’s a chance to shine a spotlight on Forces families, sharing awareness about the positives and challenges of life in and around the Armed Forces.
Being a child or young person from a Forces family can be lonely, with regular relocations making it hard to keep in touch with close friends and extended family, as well as the absence of parents or carers during deployment. However, there are also many wonderful and unique aspects that should be celebrated.
Ahead of this year’s Month of the Military Child, we have compiled a short informative guide to help educators and families discover ways to engage children and young people in the classroom, at home and in the wider community.
Please ensure that you tailor all events, information and discussions within the classroom, home and community sessions to the age, skillset and setting of the children and young people.
Discussions
Engage and listen to learn about Military family life by organising talks with members of the Armed Forces community. Ask pupils connected to Serving, ex-Service, Veteran and Reservists to speak about their experiences. Why not invite one of your local families to take centre stage and share their personal experiences?
Poetry and art
The dandelion is the official flower for Military children – its seeds are blown far and wide by the wind, and will blossom wherever it lands.
Incorporate the dandelion into art projects, drawing posters or put pen to paper – or get typing – to create your very own poem about life as a Military child.
Keep an eye out for the charity Never Such Innocence which hosts an annual poetry and art contest for all Military children and young people, aged six to 18 years old to celebrate Month of the Military Child.
Newsletter
Share information in your community about Month of the Military Child and what your class or community group are doing during April. These newsletters can be printed and distributed digitally.
Highlight that April is Month of the Military Child on your school or community website, social media group or noticeboard.
Purple Up Day
Wear purple on Friday 25 April by dressing in a purple item of clothing at home or to school and join ‘Purple Up!’ day to celebrate and raise awareness for Armed Forces children and young people.
The colour purple has been chosen as it represents all Services.
Remember to check with your school/educators ahead of the date and get them involved, especially if uniforms are normally required!
Explore other resources
A number of organisations have Month of the Military Child resources, including:
- Never Such Innocence is a charity which began as a World War 1 commemorative project for children and young people and provides resources and activities.
- Little Troopers is a charity which provides tools to improve the wellbeing of Military children. It has several resources for families and education professionals.
- Education Scotland provides resources which can be used to develop appropriate learning and training experiences around conflict and war.
- RAF Families Federation provides an independent voice for all personnel and their families.
Forces Children’s Education
Our website has resources for families and educators to support children and young people. This includes files to download, view and watch online. We also have information on additional support needs.
For more inspiration, check out the Dandelion Project in Moray’s Month of the Military Child round up video from 2024.
Let us know
We would love to see what you do and how the children and young people in your community get involved in Month of the Military Child. Please tag Forces Children’s Education across our social media channels – Facebook, X and LinkedIn.
Look out for more events and information as we get closer to Month of the Military Child 2025!
All information included above has been provided in good faith and may be subject to later revision. Where links are provided to external content, Forces Children’s Education and ADES cannot accept any responsibility for content or accuracy.