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Month of the Military Child

Military members and military-connected families make many sacrifices for the security and safety of our nation, specifically military-connected children during their K-12 careers. April is designated as the Month of the Military Child or Purple Up! For Military Kids. Across the nation, states and school districts will celebrate the important role military children play while their service member parents serve our country through special events and wearing the color purple.

Please join the MIC3 and the New York State Education Department in celebrating military children throughout the month of April.

Special Programs

April is Month of the Military Child, a time to honor the resilience, strength, and sacrifices of children in Military and Veteran Families. To celebrate, the New York State Department of Veterans’ Services has organized an exciting lineup of free events across the state for Military Children and their families.

These incredible experiences range from behind-the-scenes tours of Madison Square Garden and Highmark Stadium, to hands-on adventures at zoo encounters, firefighting museums, aquariums, and even a naval ship tour with lunch aboard!

All events are completely free, but space is limited! RSVPs are required, so please sign up as soon as possible to benjamin.pomerance@veterans.ny.gov. When RSVPing, be sure to include:

  • The event(s) you’d like to attend
  • The number of attendees (children and adults)

Highlighted Events Include:

  • April 5, 10 a.m.: VIA Aquarium Visit! Enjoy a morning immersed in the underwater realms of this extraordinary facility. From stingrays to sharks, starfish to sand dollars, more than 2,000 aquatic creatures call this aquarium their home, and seeing them up close is the perfect family activity. A walk-through under-the-sea tunnel is just one of the many exciting experiences in store! Generously co-sponsored by Military Family Foundation and the Joseph P. Dwyer Program of Albany County.   
  • April 5, 2 p.m.: Museum of Firefighting Experience! An afternoon of incredible fun awaits at the Museum of Firefighting in Hudson, N.Y. — the world’s largest museum dedicated the history, culture, and science of firefighting! Plenty of opportunities for kids to climb aboard real fire engines, to put on firefighting gear, to take part in a bucket brigade, to try out genuine firefighting equipment, and more!
  • April 6, first tour at 1 p.m.: Madison Square Garden Behind the Scenes! The world’s most famous arena awaits — in a way that you have never experienced it before! Exclusive behind-the-scenes tours for Military Children (and their grown-up guests, too) will go to the areas of Madison Square Garden that spectators are not able to experience during a game or concert. Gain a unique perspective on the home of the Knicks, the home of the Rangers, and the home of some of the most famous concerts in history.     
  • April 12, first tour at 11:30 a.m.: Zoo New York Private Tours — With an Animal Encounter! Zoo New York in Watertown’s Thompson Park is home to incredible animals: wolves, bears, mountain lions, bobcats, and more. On this special day, learn all about these remarkable critters on private tours just for Military Children (and their parents and guardians) led by the Zoo’s team of guides. Each tour ends with an animal encounter, bringing your group up close and personal with one of the Zoo’s animals! An experience guaranteed to be memorable in wonderful ways.   
  • April 13, 10 a.m.: The Buffalo Bills Ballpark Behind the Scenes! Highmark Stadium welcomes Military Children for a behind-the-scenes offseason visit to the home of the Buffalo Bills! Step onto the field where so many epic football games have taken place during his storied ballpark’s history. Enter the press box where your favorite sportswriters hold court. Check out the premium spaces where certain lucky fans get to watch the games in splendor. And more! Plenty of photo op moments guaranteed for Bills fans of all ages (yes, kids can invite their parents and guardians to tag along, too).    
  • April 13, Noon: Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park — With Lunch Aboard Ship! An incredible array of adventures awaits Military Children aboard the historic vessels that comprise the Naval & Military Park. Not just private tours, but also fun hands-on activities as well, are on the plan of day for these junior Sailors! And for a special treat, a pizza lunch will be served aboard the USS Little Rock so the Military Children in your family can enjoy some chow, too! Lunch generously provided through the sponsorship of Western New York Heroes!   
  • April 13, 2 p.m.: Herschel Carrousel Factory Museum — Rides & More! Ever seen the inside of a carousel factory? This place in North Tonawanda is an artist’s paradise. On a private tour, learn how carousel horses have been carved and created through the ages, how band organs have been designed and built, and more! Then, once you learn how all of these things are made, climb aboard the museum’s historic carousels and enjoy a few spins for yourself!
  • April 19, beginning at 11 a.m.: Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science — And ExploraDome Show! Do the Military Kids in your family want to make their own slime? Stroll through the Dino Zone and the Discovery Cave? Play with bubbles? All of this — and more! — will be available for Military Children to experience during this full day of activities at this incredible museum in Syracuse. Cap off the day with a private viewing in the massive ExploraDome of Space: The Last Frontier! (And, of course, popcorn for all in attendance to enjoy during the show, too!)
  • April 26, 2 p.m.: National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum Experience! For any baseball fan, the Hall of Fame is a “must do.” Enjoy a kid-friendly guided tour of the Hall of Fame provided solely to Military Children (and their parents and guardians), along with a special children-focused educational program that will delve deeper into the history of the Great American Game in ways that are not always available to the general public. Wear your favorite team’s cap or jersey and get ready to have a fantastic time!         
  • April 27, starting at 10 a.m.: Fenimore Farm & Fenimore Art Museum Combo Day! Why not make it a full weekend in Cooperstown? On this day, visit two world-class sites that are filled with experiences that are guaranteed to delight children of all ages. Multiple hands-on, interactive experiences will make this day to remember, from great works of art to cuddly farm animals to up-close looks at nineteenth-century trades from printing to blacksmithing. Bring the camera — lots of opportunities at both sites to take some special pictures of your kids having a wonderful time.      

If you have any questions regarding any of these programs, please feel free to contact benjamin.pomerance@veterans.ny.gov.

Purple Up! Celebration Ideas

The following list provides suggestions to celebrate the Month of the Military Child and Purple Up! Day. 

  • Purple Up Day
    • Observe Purple Up Day. Challenge students, faculty, and staff to wear purple. The class with the most purple wins a prize. Share photos on social media! 
  • Social Media
    • ​Utilize the Social Media Hashtag: #MIC3Compact and #purpleup4militarykids when posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Web Site Feature. Promote the Month of the Military Child on the school web site. List activities that will take place on different days during the month.
  • Special Announcements
    • ​Have a military child do the announcements and share an interesting fact about their life as a military child.
  • Daily Factoids
    • Have a daily or weekly announcement with military-connected student facts. Start with the national facts and move into school facts.
  • Light it Up!
    • Get a local landmark, district office or school building lit up purple.
  • Dress Up Theme Day
    • Have a dress-up theme for each week in April. Ideas include favorite service logo day, patriotic day, etc.
  • Military Memorabilia
    • Decorate display cases and bulletin boards throughout April with military focused memorabilia, or items brought by military children reflecting their experiences (where they have lived or traveled, family members’ service memorabilia, parts of a uniform, patches, coins, etc.)
  • Where in the World?
    • Create a world map and pinpoint where students and staff have lived because of their military lifestyle.
  • Adopt a Service Member
    • Adopt a deployed service member or unit. Send cards, letters, and care packages to deployed troops. Adopt a Family. Adopt a family whose military member is deployed. Find out what the family needs help with - yard work, in-home technology, childcare, tutoring, homework help, etc. – and have a class or club step in to help out.
  • Guest Speaker
    • Ask a military member (a parent or sibling of someone in the class) to be a guest speaker and share their perspective on life in the military as well as their profession.
  • Wall of Heroes
    • Create a Hero Wall to honor members. They could be family members of students or historical figures. Time Zone Wall. In a main hallway set up a series of clocks showing the time in different countries where military children’s family members are deployed.
  • Poster Contest
    • Decorate the school or virtual learning environment. Have a group of kids design posters thanking military children and their parents for their service. Have military children make posters reflecting their experiences. Have a contest for students to choose their favorite poster.
  • Chalk Art
    • Ask families and students to decorate the sidewalk at school, at home, or at a park and share through social media.
  • Share Stories
    • Invite a deployed service family member in the classroom or at an assembly. Or through a virtual meeting, podcast, webinar.
  • Ribbons
    • ​Tie purple ribbons, one per military child in the school, on a tree outside the school or attach on the walls of the lunchroom or main hallway. 

Reference Month of the Military Child: Let's Celebrate! for additional ideas to celebrate the Month of the Military Child and Purple Up! Day.

Share Your Stories

The New York State Education Department wishes to highlight local Month of the Military Child and Purple Up! Day celebrations.  Please observe the following parameters to share a local celebration of New York's military children.  

  1. Typed stories should no more than one page in length and submitted as an attached document to an email sent to P12StandardsInstruction@nysed.gov.  Please use the subject line "Month of the Military Child". Documents must be submitted in an editable word processor file format (Word, Pages). 
  2. It is the responsibility of the entity submitting the story to ensure that there is compliance with all relevant copyright and privacy laws.  Responsibility for obtaining any third-party permission(s) if necessary, rests with the entity submitting the story.
  3. By submitting a story to NYSED, you understand and acknowledge:
    • That you have the right to submit the story (you are the author or you have the author’s permission and/or any other necessary third-party permissions);
    • That you have permission from school/district/BOCES administration to submit a story to NYSED for publication; and
    • That you permit NYSED to publish the story in various formats.  
  4. NYSED retains the right to edit submitted stories for grammar, mechanics, and spelling. If significant editing of content is required, NYSED may correspond to submitter with a request for edits.
  5. NYSED encourages the inclusion of pictures. Links to videos may be embedded in the story or submitted as the story. The school or district is responsible for obtaining and maintaining the appropriate release forms. 
    • Release forms must be signed and retained by the school or district for all visual and audio content that features people, both children and adults. The release form for children must be signed by a parent or guardian.
    • Release forms must also be signed by the owners of the visual and audio content (photographers, videographers, etc.) verifying that the content may be posted on the website.
  6. If you would like to share files related to your story, please provide a link to your website or a person to contact for more information in the body of the submission email. NYSED cannot post files on its website.
  7. Publication is not guaranteed. If your story is published, you will receive notification via email.
Additional Resources

Questions pertaining to the Month of the Military Child or the Interstate Compact can be directed to P12StandardsInstruction@nysed.gov.