MEMORIAL DAY
We give no special suggestions for the celebration of Memorial or Decoration Day. The ideas given under the headings of the other patriotic holidays, as Washington's Birthday and Fourth of July, may be used also for this holiday, but it is not a day for mere play.
If the parents plan to go to the cemetery let the child accompany them and carry flowers, preferably those of his own raising or plucking.
Reading
It would be well also on this day to read some great piece of patriotic literature, either prose or poetry, which will help the older children to realize the great debt which we owe to the preservers of our country, to whom we dedicate this day. Lincoln's Gettysburg address should be read. Also Lowell's "The Present Crisis." "Bugle Echoes," compiled by Francis F. Browne, contains 150 poems of the Civil War, both Northern and Southern.
Badge (Sheets of red, white, and blue paper, scissors, paste)
A simple badge may be made for the children to wear in this fashion:
1. Cut a circle ¾ inches in diameter out of the red paper. Cut also from the red, white and blue sheets strips of 2 × 5 inches. Paste the three strips together at the upper end like ribbons, letting them spread a little apart at the lower end. Paste the circle at the upper end to finish off.
2. Another style may be made by placing the three colors so that one lies directly above the other. In this case the blue is 5 inches long, the white four inches, and the red three inches. Fasten to dress or coat with a safety pin.