Happy Month of the Military Child! With Spring comes flowers, rain showers, warmer weather, and, of course, the chance to give some extra-special attention to the military-connected children and exceptional learners in our lives.
Why Celebrate the Month of the Military Child?
According to Military OneSource, there are over 1.4 million military-connected children across the total force. We all know that being a military-connected student is hard. Frequent moves and deployments often mean starting over again and again. Learning new routines, making new friends, and adjusting to new schools can all add to the stress military-connected children experience. Throw in some exceptional challenges on top, and it is a lot to navigate! It’s important to recognize the challenges and triumphs of our amazing children. We should celebrate them as often as we can!
5 Ways to Celebrate Exceptional Learners
What’s the best way to celebrate your incredible, exceptional learner? For each child, this will look different depending on their personality, areas of need, what motivates them, any sensory differences, and their personal preferences. Some children like big over-the-top celebrations complete with balloons and party hats. For some children, this would increase stress and have the opposite effect of what
is intended! Here at Partners in PROMISE, we know that parents know their children best. So, this list is meant as a jumping-off point to help get you going. No matter what you do, take the time this month to celebrate your exceptional learner!
Celebration Ideas
- Create a “Celebrating You” bulletin board or area in your living room, kitchen, or best gathering place in your home. Fill it with pictures of your exceptional earner, notes of how proud you are of them, and other items that motivate and make them happy.
- Make a video celebrating your exceptional learner. You can have friends, grandparents, and siblings all record a short message of how proud they are of your exceptional learner. Celebrate something they have been working hard on, whether it is learning to read, practicing techniques for managing behavior, building friendship skills, or improving organizational skills. Whatever it is that your child has been working on, this is the time to celebrate all that effort! You can also make a one-minute-a-day video for the month, focusing on your exceptional learner. At the end of the month, all those little moments add up! You can set it to music and share it with them. Students love to watch videos where they are the stars!
- Create achievement certificates each week during April, for example, “3 cheers to you for working so hard on your multiplication facts!”
- Set up an April reward calendar- throughout the month, as your exceptional learner succeeds at whatever their personal goal is, provide small rewards or personal ways to champion their achievements and recognize their efforts and hard work.
- Create a special Parent/Child Journal for the month- You can take one minute a day to write, or illustrate, or audio record if writing is not accessible, all the ways you are proud of them. This is a unique way to let them know you recognize their efforts and achievements.
Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Your Child
You can take them to something meaningful, like a baseball or soccer game, a bike ride, or an art class. Plan a special movie night, visit a museum, or create a day filled with a few of their favorite activities. You know your child best and what will make them feel special. It could be making a silly song, baking a cake together, having a tea party, or playing a favorite game. Whatever you choose, take time to celebrate your child and all of their accomplishments.
Recognizing Their Strength and Effort
Your exceptional learner has shown perseverance, and what they do each day matters! Celebrating them lets them know that they are supported, you see their hard work and effort, and you believe in them! Happy Month of the Military Child, and three cheers to all the exceptional learners in our lives!
About the Author – Barbara Bratton
Barbara Bratton is a Certified Academic Language Therapist. She has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Special Education and a Master of Education in Special Education with a concentration in Multisensory Structured Language Education. Barbara is the author of Maggie with a G, a story of a young military-connected student overcoming a speech disability. She is a Special Education Mentor for Partners in PROMISE.
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