The Yellow Ribbon Program:
http://www.yellowribbon.mil/
Specifically for members of the National Guard and Reserves, this program provides information on benefits and referrals before, during and after deployments. Its Center for Excellence provides “lessons learned” on a variety of issues, including a “Children’s Curriculum” area that includes activities for children during deployment periods and reunions.
Deployment:
http://fhp.osd.mil/deploymentTips.jsp#service
This site from the Military Health System lists contacts for programs to support families from all branches during deployment.
Surviving Deployment.com
http://www.survivingdeployment.com.articleshtml
This site provides ideas for activities, links to other resources, and helpful articles such as “Helping Children Handle Deployments
Operation Home Front
http://www.operationhomefront.net/
Military Child Education Coalition
http://www.militarychild.org
Military Parent Technical Assistance Program
https://branchta.org
by Geri Timperley and Nikki Arro (for ages 4-8)
A book for young children in military families whose loved ones leave for “a very long time”. Written to “help children grasp the meaning of time and generate the tools they need to deal with the separation that might otherwise seem to never end”.
by Carmen R. Hoyt
An hour is a long time to a small child. How do you describe the length of a military war deployment to a preschooler? When attempting to tell her son that his Daddy was not going to be gone for just a week or seven wake-ups, but for several months, Carmen Hoyt longed for a better way to lay it out for him. I wished there was a way to help him “get his little arms around” the situation.” Written after the author’s own husband returned safely from Iraq, this story is for pre-school children who have a hard time coping with a parent’s military deployment. “I felt a need for this story to be written when my three year old, Jack, became very insecure upon his father’s deployment to the War in Iraq.”
by Audrey Penn (for ages 4-8)
Published by the Child Welfare League of America, this book is just the right book for any young child confronting a difficult situation or who is temporarily separated from home or loved ones.
by Ron Madison (for elementary aged children)
A book of stories written in rhyme and based on real children affected by deployment. A copy of the book, of Ned and the General, was sent to each school district, IU, elementary school and elementary level charter school in Pennsylvania. For quantity orders of paperback editions, call the author, Ron Madison, at 814-255-6646.
by Brenda Ehrmantraut (Author) and Vicki Wehrman (Illustrator)
When a soldier’s work takes him half-way around the world, he enlists the help of the North Star for a nightly game of catch with his son. Night Catch is a timeless story that connects families while they are apart and offers comforting hope for their reunion.