Remembrance Day is a wonderful opportunity to teach children about remembering, honouring, and appreciating the people who have served our country and those who sacrificed so much for our freedom. While little ones might not fully understand the history behind November 11th, simple crafts and age-appropriate conversations are a great way to introduce the meaning of this important day.
This year, we made a beautiful and easy Remembrance Day paper plate craft with my little daycare students, and it turned out absolutely adorable!
Using just a few inexpensive craft supplies, we created a little scene featuring a hill, a cross, and beautiful red tissue paper poppies arranged around the outside like a wreath.
The best part? This craft is simple enough for preschoolers and toddlers to participate in, with a little help from an adult. My students are all five and under, so we kept things nice and simple, allowing everyone to colour and decorate their own creations.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive, meaningful, and fun November craft to do with your daycare children, preschoolers, or little ones at home, this is a great one to try!
Supplies You Will Need
One of my favourite things about this project is that you probably already have most of these supplies in your craft cupboard!
- Paper plates
- Red tissue paper
- Markers or crayons
- Child-friendly scissors
- Glue or glue sticks
- Pencil for drawing your outline
- Optional decorations such as glitter, stickers, or additional coloured paper
How to Make Your Remembrance Day Paper Plate Craft
Step 1: Prepare Your Paper Plate
Start with a regular paper plate. Using a pencil or marker, draw a large hump or curved hill shape across the bottom portion of the centre of the plate.
Above the hill, draw a simple cross. This will represent the cross standing on the hill and create the centrepiece of your Remembrance Day craft.
Don’t worry about making everything perfect! This is a children’s craft, and the goal is to have fun while creating something meaningful.
Step 2: Cut Out the Centre
Once you have drawn your hill and cross, carefully cut out the centre portion of the paper plate, following the outline of your design.
You want to leave the outside rim of the paper plate intact because this will become the wreath where you attach your poppies.
Adult tip: This part is best handled by an adult, especially when working with toddlers and preschoolers. You can prepare the plates ahead of time so the children can jump straight into decorating.
Step 3: Colour the Hill and Cross
Now comes the fun part!
Give the children their markers or crayons and let them colour the grass, hill, and cross however they like.
We let our little ones choose their own colours and decorate their pictures independently. Some might want green grass, brown hills, or a colourful cross. There is no right or wrong way to decorate their creations.
I always love seeing how differently each child approaches the same project. Their little imaginations make every craft unique!
Step 4: Make Your Tissue Paper Poppies
Next, it’s time to make the poppies!
Take your red tissue paper and cut out several small poppy shapes. You can make simple flower shapes or even little red circles if you’re working with younger children.
For my daycare group, I kept the flowers simple so everyone could participate without getting frustrated.
You can also prepare the poppies ahead of time if your little ones aren’t quite ready for scissors.
Step 5: Glue the Poppies Around the Plate
Once your poppies are ready, it’s time to assemble your wreath!
Have the children apply small amounts of glue around the outside rim of their paper plates and attach the red tissue paper poppies.
Arrange them all around the plate to create a beautiful red poppy wreath.
You can overlap some of the flowers, add extra petals, or leave little spaces between them. Let the children decide how they want their wreath to look.
Step 6: Add Your Own Special Details
This is where you can get creative!
If you have older children, you can add extra details to make the craft more elaborate.
Some ideas include:
- Adding black centres to the red poppies.
- Decorating the hill with green tissue paper.
- Adding little green leaves around the wreath.
- Writing “Lest We Forget” along the bottom.
- Adding glitter or small decorative stickers.
- Using cotton balls to create clouds in the background.
There are so many ways to customize this project depending on the children’s ages and abilities.
With my students being five and under, we decided to keep things simple. I find that sometimes the simplest crafts are the most enjoyable because little ones can actually participate in making them instead of having an adult do most of the work!
Why I Love Simple Crafts Like This for Daycare
As someone who has spent many years working with young children, I have learned that crafts don’t need to be complicated or expensive to be meaningful.
Sometimes all you need is a paper plate, some glue, a few markers, and a little imagination!
This Remembrance Day activity is a great way to work on several important early childhood skills, including:
- Fine motor development: Picking up tissue paper, applying glue, and placing flowers helps develop hand coordination.
- Creativity: Children get to choose their own colours and decorate their crafts independently.
- Following instructions: Little ones practise listening and completing simple steps.
- Learning about important occasions: Crafts provide an opportunity to introduce special holidays and traditions in an age-appropriate way.
- Building patience: Waiting for glue to dry and carefully placing decorations encourages patience and concentration.
Most importantly, it gives us an opportunity to talk about Remembrance Day in a gentle and simple way.
Teaching Little Ones About Remembrance Day
When working with children under five, I believe it’s important to keep conversations about Remembrance Day simple, gentle, and appropriate for their developmental stage.
You can explain that November 11th is a special day when we remember and thank the people who served our country and helped protect others. We wear red poppies to show that we remember and care.
You don’t need to overwhelm little ones with complicated history. Even a small conversation while making a poppy craft can help introduce the importance of kindness, gratitude, and remembering others.
Final Thoughts: A Simple Craft with an Important Meaning
I absolutely love how this little Remembrance Day craft turned out! It’s inexpensive, easy to prepare, and perfect for little hands.
You don’t need fancy supplies or hours of preparation to create something special with your daycare group or children at home. A simple paper plate, some red tissue paper, markers, and glue are all you need to make a beautiful poppy wreath that celebrates the meaning of November 11th.
Whether you’re a daycare provider, preschool teacher, parent, or grandparent looking for a meaningful activity, I hope you give this one a try!
Remember, the goal isn’t perfection. It’s about spending time together, encouraging creativity, and helping our little ones understand why we take a moment every year to remember.
Lest We Forget.