2026 Month of the Military Child
With just six weeks to go, we’re excited to announce our plans for the 2026 Month of the Military Child. We have some gorgeous resources for use at home and school, and our headline event will be a family fun run and celebration day in Portsmouth.
Louise, Founder of our charity, said, “April is the international Month of the Military Child and each year we love taking this time to celebrate all the amazing little troopers out there. This year we are looking forward to seeing lots of your little troopers online and in-person at our special events.”
Celebrating All Together
The month will kick off on the 1st April with a special online workshop with ZooLab. A Ranger will introduce you to a menagerie of mammals, insects, amphibians and arachnids! You can book your place right now. Later in the month ArtBase are going to guide our little troopers through drawing a cute bunny eating a dandelion! Booking for this workshop is also open, click here.
Dandelion Dash and Celebration Day
The highlight of the month will be the Dandelion Dash. We are so excited to bring our annual fun run to HMS Temeraire, Portsmouth. There will be 1k and 3k distance options for your little ones and both will be started by some truly special guests – our Iconic Chelsea Pensioners. The event will also be a celebration day where you can learn circus skills, make some lovely crafts and more. You can find out about the event and sign up for the fun runs here.
Dandelion Day
Whether you are in the military community or not, you can support little troopers. On 15th April we’re inviting everyone to show little troopers how special they are by wearing something yellow in support. The colour yellow is inspired by the Dandelion, which is the official flower of the military child. Just like military children, dandelion seeds are blown far and wide by the wind – yet they are strong, adaptable and able to put down roots and blossom wherever they land.
To help add colour we have a yellow dandelion T-shirt and brand-new dandelion socks for sale in our online shop.
Intergenerational event at Royal Hospital Chelsea
On Saturday 25th April 2026, we’re joining up with the Royal Hospital Chelsea to host a special intergenerational event. On this day, a small group of military children along with a parent will get to meet some of the iconic Chelsea Pensioners. The event will include a guided tour of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, lunch and a dandelion-themed arts and crafts session. To register your interest in attending please complete this form.
In School
We would love your child’s school to join us in our celebrations. We have developed some dedicated educational resources including a Month of the Military Child School Pack. The pack, which is available for download, features Assembly planners, classroom activities and “Lingo Bingo” to engage both service and civilian children.
At home activities
Most children will be at home for a couple of weeks in April for the Easter Holidays. We have some fantastic dandelion-themed activities to help keep them busy and celebrate the special month at home. You can make a dandelion painting, masks, dandelion biscuits and more. All our special Dandelion themed crafts can be found here.
Giveaways!
Finally, throughout the month we’ll be giving away 200 dandelion poem magnets for our special little troopers and have weekly giveaways. To make sure you don’t miss out sign-up to our newsletter.
