Memorial Day Celebrations For Your Kids in Connecticut

Customarily, the official kick-off for summer every year is the Memorial Day weekend. Here's your chance to teach the kids what Memorial Day is all about.

Sure, we'll be stuffing down brats, cheeseburgers, and dogs along with cases of natty ice while the kids suck down unlimited six packs of Mountain Dew. If you choose to take an hour or two and spend some quality time with the kids, here's some great stuff to teach them about what Memorial Day is really all about it.

Memorial Day Parades - This is an excellent opportunity for the kids to see actual service vets in their military uniforms along with other service organizations in your town. Danbury's parade will start up at 9:30 am on Monday at the intersection of Rose and Main Streets. The parade will wrap up at Rogers Park where parachutists will descend from the skies onto the ball field behind the review stand. Parades will also be held in Fairfield, Norwalk, Southbury, and New Milford.

Thanks to military.com, some other ways to get the kids involved in the true meaning of Memorial Day is to actually visit a Veterans cemetery. Many of them have war memorials. Visiting a Veteran's hospital with books, movies, or homemade cookies will brighten a vet's day.

Teaching the kids about Medals of Honor and what they stand for, or checking out age appropriate documentaries are also some excellent ways to teach kids about this historical holiday.

A great way to honor a serviceman or woman currently serving in the military is to create a card or drawing and send it to a deployed soldier. The website operationwearehear.com. has all the details.