CELEBRATE ‘VE DAY’ AND ENTER #OURCHILDFRIENDLYLEEDS COMPETITION
#OURCHILDFRIENDLYLEEDS Competition
Here at Child Friendly Leeds, we have been setting fortnightly challenges for you to enjoy during lockdown. The theme for this fortnight is #HavingFun growing up – with a special focus on VE DAY (Victory in Europe Day).
The competition will run from Monday 27 April and it will close on Saturday 9 May, the day after VE day 2020.
We want to see photos, videos, artwork, recipes, games – anything that shows you are having fun at home – in ‘VE day’ style!
Just share your entry on social media and use the hashtag #OurChildFriendlyLeeds. There are prizes to be won for the best entry.
What is VE Day?
VE Day – or ‘Victory in Europe Day‘ – marks the day towards the end of World War Two (WW2) when fighting against Nazi Germany in Europe came to an end.
On 8 May 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made an announcement on the radio at 3pm that the war in Europe had come to an end, following Germany’s surrender the day before.
This year, the first bank holiday in May has been moved from Monday 4 May to Friday 8 May to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
How can I get involved?
VE DAY TOOLKIT
Check out this special VE Day website for ideas of how you get involved with VE Day from home. It includes a dedicated toolkit for branding for your activity – think bunting, posters, and pictures to colour in.
READ AND LEARN!
My Learning is a free learning resource run by Leeds Museums and Galleries. It has lots of information about World War II including how women took over ‘men’s work’ in the war and what it was like to be a child during the war. There are also lots of photographs from World War II to look at.
On VE Day, look out for @EmilyDoodles / @LeedsMuseums on Twitter who will be sharing some of the Leeds Discovery Centre artefacts from WWII via video.
If you’re a keen reader, check out these special VE Day reading lists from World Book Day and Leeds Libraries.
Leeds Libraries are also offering a Life in Leeds during the Second World War guided tour created by their Local and Family History department, which shows some images of VE day celebrations in 1945. In addition to this The Secret Library will be posting a special VE Day blog on Friday!
Finally, if you are home-schooling at the moment, you might find these VE Day learning resources useful!
PUT ON YOUR APRON
Being stuck indoors is the perfect time to practice your cooking skills. Check out this page for traditional wartime recipes including spam hash, homity pie, and eggless fruitcake!
If those don’t sound too appealing, click here for recipes for refreshing wartime drinks, cheese and marmite swirls, and carrot scones – sounds delicious… right?
MAKE A SONG & DANCE OF IT
During VE Day, dance halls stayed open until midnight. Why not turn your living room into the venue for a 40s dance. Hold dance lessons at the event to get everyone waltzing and jiving away.
What about trying a wartime singalong? Teach your family the songs beforehand or hand out lyric sheets for everyone to follow. 1940s and wartime compilation playlists are available on Spotify and YouTube.
Click here to find lyrics to popular war songs, and for a step-by-step guide to the ‘Lindy Hop Swing’! You could even ask your guests to dress in 1940s attire!
GAMES & ACTIVITIES
During WW2 children played many different games; Hopscotch, Four Square, Jump Rope, Marbles, Red Rover Red Rover, Hide and Seek, Statues, Red Light Green Light.
Although we can’t go out at the moment, we can recreate some of these games at home. Get the family involved in a game of hide-and-seek and find new hiding places around the house! You could go out into the garden to practice using a skipping rope, draw a Hopscotch on the concrete using chalk – or – learn how to play four square following these simple steps!
In the evening children did not have video games as they do now, so children played cards, Chutes and Ladders (which is similar to Snakes and Ladders) and Checkers.
Spend some time playing traditional board games such as Scrabble, Monopoly, Chess or Snakes and Ladders, or any other board games you have. Alternatively, grab a pack of cards and try one of these 15 simple card games for kids.
DAN SNOW’S VE DAY CHALLENGE
Historian and broadcaster Dan Snow will host special VE Day history lessons from Monday 4 May. At 4pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Dan will host a History Hit live on YouTube’s Timeline channel that will focus on a different aspect of the Second World War and aim to teach you about the importance of VE Day!
Then, you are challenged to think about how you would tell the story of VE Day today. There are lots of ways you could bring the story of VE Day to life such as writing a short news report, designing a newspaper front page, or writing a poem! Find out more about the creative challenge here.
QUEEN’S ADDRESS TO THE NATION
Her Majesty The Queen will address the nation with a special message at 9pm on BBC One on VE Day. This will be followed by a national singalong of Dame Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’. The public are encouraged to open their doors and join in with this national moment of celebration!
NATION’S TOAST TO THE HEROES OF WW2
Take part in the ‘Nation’s Toast to the Heroes of WW2’ at 3pm on the 8th May, from the safety of your own home, by standing up and raising a glass of refreshment of your choice.
Whatever you decide to do to celebrate VE DAY 2020 – don’t forget to share it with us on social media, using the hashtag #OURCHILDFRIENDLYLEEDS to be in with a chance of winning a prize! We can’t wait to see your entries!
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[…] or if you would like to share them with your families, you may be interested in the following: Child Friendly Leeds blog post all about VE Day. They have suggested activities, links to other websites and are even running a […]
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