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EYFS & KS1 Remembrance Day crafts

Blog
Georgia Fisher
05 Nov 2025

What is Remembrance Day?

Remembrance Day is a Memorial Day observed on 11 November to honour members of the armed forces who have died in conflicts since World War I, initially marking the end of World War I in 1918. The day is commemorated with a two-minute silence at 11 am, the laying of poppy wreaths, and ceremonies at war memorials across the country.
Poppies are a symbol of Remembrance Day, as it was one of the few plants that grew on the battlefields of World War I in Flanders, Belgium. Today, wearing a poppy is a way to show remembrance for fallen soldiers and a symbol of hope for peace.
Schools across the UK commemorate Remembrance Day by observing a two-minute silence alongside the rest of the country. It's also common for schools to hold dedicated assemblies, lessons, and activities to encourage students to reflect on the sacrifices made by those who served in World Wars.

Top products for Remembrance Day Lessons:

Remembrance Day Poppies (530492)
World War Remembrance Artefact Pack (D70447)
Yarn Pom Poms 20mm Red and Green - 80 Pack (301582)
Re-Recycled Counters – Red (309066)
Coloured Play Sand 5kg – Red (811521)

Remembrance Day Activities

Remembrance Day Activities EYFS

Sand tuff tray

Poppy Tuff Tray created with red and green sand

A poppy tuff tray with red and green sand offers a visually striking and highly engaging activity for young children, particularly those in early years settings. By arranging the coloured sand in sections and swirls to mimic the appearance of a poppy, educators can create a sensory-rich environment that encourages children to explore concepts such as colour recognition, pattern formation, and symbolic representation.

Children can use a variety of tools, such as scoops, small rakes, or even their fingers, to carefully shape the poppy and experiment with textures, supporting the development of fine motor skills and hand–eye coordination. This collaborative approach invites children to work together and share ideas. Teachers can further enrich the lesson by integrating age-appropriate stories about Remembrance Day, helping to establish emotional connections and deepen understanding of the day's significance.

By incorporating this versatile poppy tuff tray into your lesson plans, you promote engagement, understanding, and a meaningful connection to key themes surrounding Remembrance Day, demonstrating a thoughtful, age-appropriate strategy for commemorating this significant occasion together as a learning community.

Sorting tuff tray

Colour sorting poppy tuff tray

Begin by outlining a large poppy on a tuff tray or a suitable surface using a chalk pen, ensuring the shape is recognisable. Once the outline is clearly visible, gather a variety of small items in the traditional colours of Remembrance Day: red, green, and black. Examples include buttons, pom-poms, counters, felt pieces, or coloured blocks—materials that are safe, easy to handle, and suitable for sorting.

Place these small items in accessible containers to encourage children's choice and decision-making. Invite children to sort the items by colour, identifying whether red pieces should form the petals, black items for the central seed head, and green pieces for the leaves or background. This collaborative activity supports children's development of colour recognition, pattern making, and early mathematical skills such as categorisation and counting. As the children sort and place the related coloured items within the outlined sections, they will enhance their fine motor coordination and spatial awareness.

This approach not only makes learning interactive and enjoyable but also encourages teamwork and communication among the children as they make decisions together. The sorting poppy tray becomes a focal point for reflecting on and discussing important topics, such as remembrance, respect, and community, thereby embedding these values through a hands-on, creative process. Consequently, this engaging activity serves as both a memorable craft and a thoughtful introduction to commemorating Remembrance Day within the classroom or nursery setting.

Handprint poppy wreath

Remembrance Day Wreath made from children's handprints

What you'll need:

Paint (Black, Red, Green) (734528)
Paint brush (744093)
Scissors (313327)
Glue (716472)
White card (137030)
Paper plate (307123)

Instructions:

Paint the palm of a child's hand red and the fingers in green.
Create 5-10 handprints on white paper/card.
Once dried, paint a circle in the centre of the handprint in black.
Cut out once dried.
Arrange in a circle with the green on the outside for a handprint poppy wreath.
Glue together once you're happy with the design.

Remembrance Day Activities KS1

Clay poppies

Red poppy made from air dry clay

What you’ll need:

Crayola Modelling Clay - Assorted Colours (307083)
Clay modelling tools (744646)
Rolling pin (307865)

Instructions:

Roll out your red clay to be around 0.5cm thick.
Using a circle stencil, cut out four circles.
Hold these two pieces together so they overlap and rub the joints together, so they become one shape. Use a small bit of water on your finger to melt the pieces together.
Roll out a small ball of black clay and flatten it to create the centre of the poppy.
Roll out the green clay to be around 0.5cm thick and carve out two small leaves, adding detail to the leaves.
Gently press these parts together to the back of your poppy and use water to join the pieces.
Add in some thin lines using a thin tool to create dimension to the petals.
Let air dry and display the poppy ornament.

For a simpler version, simply use two red circles for the petals.

Poppy wreath: tissue paper poppies

Poppy wreath made from green and red tissue paper

What you'll need:

Tissue paper Squares (Black, Red and Green) (119512)
Glue (716472)
Card (137030)
Paper plate (307123)

Instructions:

Take two red squares of tissue paper and scrunch them together in the middle to create a flower, twisting the middle to keep them together.
Repeat step one with a single piece of green tissue.
Once you have a range of poppies in different sizes, start sticking them to the paper plate.
Add extra green tissue in sparse areas.

Colouring resources with Twinkl

Colouring in poppy wreath for Remembrance Day
Twinkl has a wide range of resources available to help you teach your students about Remembrance Day, including colouring sheets, numeracy and literacy worksheets, and quizzes.

For more seasonal craft ideas and resources, check out our seasonal crafts hub!

Georgia Fisher

Author

Georgia Fisher

Supplier Marketing Officer

YPO

[email protected]

Georgia is a Supplier Marketing Officer who helps deliver a wide range of multi-channel campaigns across both digital and traditional channels. Before stepping into this role, she worked as a marketing apprentice in YPO’s Early Years team, where she focused on researching and creating relevant and engaging content for blogs and social media, as well as supporting Early Years events and key campaigns.