Written by Mason Farr, NVMM Education & Outreach Manager

At the NVMM, we seek to honor and positively impact the lives of Veterans, their families and our communities through sharing the Veteran experience. An important part of that experience is the effect that military service has not just on the individual who serves, but their family members, especially children. In 1986, April was designated as the Month of the Military Child, giving our country a monthlong opportunity to recognize and celebrate the service of children of Veterans and active-duty service members.

On average, military children move every two to three years, which could mean enrolling in a new school several times from kindergarten through high school. With each move, military children must make new friends, learn from new teachers, and become part of a community that may be very different from the last. The one thing that can be the same throughout all these moves is the welcoming environment created by the students and citizens of that community.  

In support of that goal, the state of Ohio, in addition to 42 other states, recognizes military families with children through the Purple Star School designation program. Purple Star Schools go above and beyond to support students who have a parent who is serving active duty at home or overseas.

How Can We Support Military Children?

The NVMM believes an important way to support military children, and their families, is by amplifying their voices on a national level. It is with this mission in mind that we recently partnered with StoryCorps to create the NVMM Story Collection. All those touched by military service, including active service members, Veterans, spouses, children, friends, and community members are invited to participate. Contributing to the NVMM Story Collection offers the opportunity to:

• Elevate the voice of military children
• Help others better understand the experience of military children
• Shape history by contributing to the digital collection of a national museum

All April long we encourage you to connect with military children, or adults who grew up in a military family, to help them share their story. To get started, go to archive.storycorps.org to create your free account. After that, check out the NVMM Story Collection page where you’ll find more tips and questions to help guide your conversations. Once your conversation is added to the collection, people from all over the country and the world can listen and reflect on the experiences shared.

For Educators

April is a great time to recognize and salute military children in your classrooms by encouraging conversations among your students about what it’s like to be a military child. We worked closely with teachers from Olentangy Berlin High School and Olentangy Shanahan Middle School to create an Educator Toolkit that provides teachers with a step-by-step plan for how to incorporate student conversations with Veterans, or in this case, military children into the classroom. We encourage you to check this resource out and customize it to fit the needs and interests of your students.

Additional Resources

We encourage you to check out the following organizations for more information on how we all can support military children and their families:

Military Child Education Coalition – Month of the Military Child Toolkit

Department of Defense Education Activity

Ohio Purple Star Designation