When a parent is deployed with the military it can be very traumatic for the children left behind. Having things for them to do, that makes them feel a part of the family and helping the parent who is gone, is really important. Here is a list of things you can plan that should help ease the pain of having mom or dad gone.
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My parent's going to war
Get a map and place it on the wall and show the kids where mom or dad has gone. They can stick a pin in it or place a small flag on the map. They might get a sheet of stickers and put them where the parent is, where they are, where the grandparents are, etc.
Get the kids a tablet with lined paper and show them how to write letters to the parent. Here they can also use stickers and draw pictures.
Make a list of things that kids can do to cheer the family up like: do some chores, write letters, sing a song they wrote, tell their best joke and add your ideas to the list.
You might want to take a calendar and mark special days and holidays that will be happening while the parent is gone.
If the child (children) are old enough to write, suggest they keep a journal (see journals below in Amazon). Then when the parent comes home they can share the journal with the parent. That gets the parent caught up on events and thoughts the kids had while they were gone. Another thing you could do is tear out the page and send it to the parent each week.
You might have a cookout and invite other friends whose mom or dad is also deployed. You could also invite a new family that just moved into the neighborhood.
If you have a major holiday, i.e., Thanksgiving, while the parent is gone, turn on the tape recorder during the dinner so mom or dad can hear the conversations. Have the kids make a list of all the food that you had to eat. Take lots of pictures to send. Have everyone say a special message to the parent.
Have the kids write a poem and send it. To add even more fun have them make a secret code, write a message in the code and send both to the parent. Another neat letter to send would be made of words cut from the newspaper or magazines.
Take pictures of important events: new haircuts, birthdays, parties, etc. Let the kids take pictures. Have them take pictures of the family pets and tell a story to go along with the pictures.
Always remind the child that whether it is mom or dad that is at home or away....they are always a family.
Books for kids whose parents deploy
A Yellow Ribbon for Daddy
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Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/21/2009) 
Usually ships in 24 hours
Daddy's in Iraq, but I Want him Back
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Amazon Price: $13.05 (as of 12/21/2009)
Usually ships in 24 hours
Daddy Is a Soldier
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Amazon Price: $9.00 (as of 12/21/2009)
Usually ships in 24 hours
More books on deployment
365 Deployment Days: A Wife's Survival Story
Amazon Price: $9.32 (as of 12/21/2009)
Surviving Deployment: A Guide for Military Families
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 12/21/2009)
Life After Deployment: Military families share reunion stories and advice
Amazon Price: $11.21 (as of 12/21/2009)
I Miss You!: A Military Kid's Book About Deployment
Amazon Price: $9.34 (as of 12/21/2009)
Night Catch
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 12/21/2009)
Check out these books
A Paper Hug
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 12/21/2009)
A Year Without Dad
Amazon Price: (as of 12/21/2009)
When Dad's at Sea
Amazon Price: $13.25 (as of 12/21/2009)
Married to the Military: A Survival Guide for Military Wives, Girlfriends, and Women in Uniform
Amazon Price: (as of 12/21/2009)
Homefront Club: The Hardheaded Woman's Guide to Raising a Military Family
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 12/21/2009)
Even more great books
The Magic Box: When Parents Can't Be There to Tuck You in
Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 12/21/2009)
Mommy, You're My Hero
Amazon Price: $11.10 (as of 12/21/2009)
Love, Lizzie: Letters to a Military Mom
Amazon Price: $13.25 (as of 12/21/2009)
Uncle Sam¿s Kids: Moving Again Mom
Amazon Price: $16.95 (as of 12/21/2009)
H Is for Honor: A Millitary Family Alphabet (Sleeping Bear Alphabets)
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 12/21/2009)
Wow I found you some more books
Daddy, You're My Hero!
Amazon Price: $9.35 (as of 12/21/2009)
While You Are Away
Amazon Price: (as of 12/21/2009)
The Soldier's Tree
Amazon Price: $15.95 (as of 12/21/2009)
Separated By Duty, United In Love
Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 12/21/2009)
Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul: Stories to Touch the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit (Chicken Soup for the Soul)
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/21/2009)
Let's see what else I found
While They're At War: The True Story of American Families on the Homefront
Amazon Price: $11.21 (as of 12/21/2009)
Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for Troops Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/21/2009)
Life After Deployment: Military families share reunion stories and advice
Amazon Price: $11.21 (as of 12/21/2009)
Help! I'm a Military Spouse--I Get a Life Too!: How to Craft a Life for You As You Move With the Military, Second Edition
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 12/21/2009)
That Military House: Move it, Organize it & Decorate it
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 12/21/2009)
Journals for the kids
All About Me, Revised Edition: A Keepsake Journal for Kids
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Amazon Price: $9.32 (as of 12/21/2009)
Usually ships in 24 hours
All About Me Teenage Edition: The Story of Your Life
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Amazon Price: $9.32 (as of 12/21/2009)
Usually ships in 24 hours
Writing Down the Days: 365 Creative Journaling Ideas for Young People (Revised and Updated)
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Amazon Price: (as of 12/21/2009)
Create! A Sketchbook and Journal
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Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/21/2009)
Usually ships in 24 hours
Doing the Days: A Year's Worth of Creative Journaling, Drawing, Listening, Reading, Thinking, Arts & Crafts Activities for Children Ages 8-12 (Free)
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: (as of 12/21/2009)
For Grins
- Ann Tucker Blog - The Blogging Granny
- That Garage Saleing, Internet Blogging, Googling Granny.
- Memoirs Of A Sneaker Wearing Daddy Blogger
- That Sneaker Wearing Entrepreneurial Cartoonist Internet Guy's Daddy Blog
- Talk, Listen, Connect Deployments, Homecomings, Changes
- In recognition of the contributions made by the United States Armed Forces, Sesame Workshop presents this bilingual educational outreach initiative designed for military families and their young children to share.
We are proud to offer support to help military families as they face challenging transitions.
Del.icio.us bookmarks
Some of our Great Stuff on CafePress
Great Stuff on Amazon
Rediform A8004 Hardbound Da Vinci Notebook, College Rule, 11 x 8-1/2, 150 Pages, Saddle-Color
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/21/2009)
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Black n' Red Twinwire Hardcover Notebook, Legal Rule, 5.87 x 8.25 Inches, White, 70 Sheets (L67000)
Amazon Price: $8.49 (as of 12/21/2009)
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Pentech Color Workshop Colored Pencils 24ct (91268)
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Are our ideas helping?
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Reply
- johanna johanna Nov 9, 2009 @ 11:02 pm
- thank you for the great info -- 364 days to go -- i needed it.
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Reply
- jascotwo293 jascotwo293 Oct 18, 2008 @ 4:26 pm
- Hi 'grannyann' :-) My name is Louise AKA: jascotwo293 and very new to blogging and squiddo. Your writing on children of deployed parents hit home with me. First of, I am the daughter of a D-Day veteran and now volunteer my time with Soldiers Angels. I have 'adopted' 3 soldiers in Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan. We send care packages, phone cards, e-mails and, sadly enough, condolence cards to soldiers and their families. I wish I could tell you that I send more care packages than condolence cards but that is not the case at the moment. I wanted to commend you on a wonderful way to help our young ones dealing with the separation of their moms or dads in today's world. I recently finished sending cards out to a soldiers family who almost...almost completed 8..that's right.. 8 tours of duty in Iraq. He was 2 weeks shy of returning home to his family. It's a cruel, hard, sad world out there at times :-( Don't be a stranger and take care~ And.. THANK YOU!
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Reply
- auberginecouch auberginecouch Aug 24, 2008 @ 8:32 pm
- Great lens, though a little heartbreaking... I don't envy army families, I know a couple of military fmailies and it's always so difficult when either mum or dad gets deployed.
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Reply
- CourageCommunity CourageCommunity Aug 13, 2008 @ 9:20 pm
- Please help spread the word about a new online veteran support network, The Courage Community. It's a free, non-profit, non-partisan, apolitical online social network and resource portal for veterans, their friends, families and supporters. Visit www.CourageCommunity.org to join... Always confidential, always free.
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Reply
- Dariana Dariana Oct 21, 2007 @ 6:24 am
- I am a Military Mom. My son and his wife are currently in the Army. Thanks for this info.
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by grannyann
I am a retired civil servant, mother of two and grandmother of five. I am an assistant webmaster for family websites:
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