Patriotic Poppies For Memorial Day

A fun way to celebrate the upcoming holiday of Memorial Day is by making crepe paper poppies, or Patriotic Poppies.  This tradition began after World War I when the American Legion began making these poppies to sell to raise money for veterans.

A Canadian physician and soldier wrote this poem during WWI referring to the battlefield of Flanders.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
  In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

So this Memorial Day my family has decided to help celebrate by making these Patriotic Poppies to help us to remember all the soldiers that have given their lives for our freedoms.  You can wear them in your hair or lapel or you can use them to decorate with, it’s up to you.

First start with several layers of red crepe paper. You will need a round template( we used different size bowls) and a pencil:

Trace around the bowl onto the crepe paper.

Once you have your circle cut out you need to make two small holes in the center through all the layers.

Next you take a green chenille pipe cleaner and insert through first hole.

Then feed through second hole like this. You can twist the pipe cleaner behind the flower to make it stay. This will be your stem.

Next separate    each layer and swirl forward to make the petals.

 

Aren’t they pretty?  And so simple to do!  We had great fun with these.  If you’d like you could add leaves to the stems with names of family or friends who were killed in battle.  We are going to wear our Patriotic Poppies with pride on Memorial Day!

Kids Getting Creative In The Kitchen

So the other night my oldest daughter made Bibimbap, a Korean dish. She got the recipe from Sara Moulton’s new cookbook Everyday Family Dinners.

First she made some Kim chi, which is basically a pickled cabbage mixture. Next she made a Sesame Miso sauce, sautéed some carrots and spinach, and browned some tofu. The dish also contained shitake mushrooms, scallions and brown rice. It was topped with a fried egg and chili sauce.

I was really proud of Em for picking this dish to make. She’s more a meat and potatoes gal. But, one thing about my kids is that they are willing to try new things. They love to experience new tastes and learn about other cultures. We had fun discovering what Miso was, a type of fermented soybean paste, and that it comes in white or red.

I enjoyed all the different flavors that fused together to make this dish. Em was a little disappointed. It was a little too much different for her. But that is okay, because they would never know if they liked it if they didn’t try it. This is a favorite saying of Soph’s.

And speaking of Soph she contributed to the meal as well. She created these fruit bites as appetizers or dessert.

They were strawberries, blackberries, lemon and mint. Each one of us got a spoon and we slurped them down!

I love being at home and in the kitchen with my girls. It is always an adventure.