Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), marked annually on 8th May, commemorates the end of World War Two in Europe in 1945. In 2025, VE Day holds particular significance as it marks the eightieth anniversary of this historic event. It’s a meaningful moment in British history and a fantastic opportunity for primary children to explore and reflect on the past through the foundation subject curriculum. Below are creative and practical VE Day activities, some of which link to Kapow Primary lesson plans. They can be used across the primary phases, from EYFS to key stage 2.

History

VE Day is a natural link to learning about life in Britain during World War Two (1939–1945). Children can explore the experiences of evacuees, the Blitz, wartime roles for women, and how migration shaped communities. Kapow Primary’s History scheme of work covers these topics in depth in the Year 6 unit on World War Two, encouraging pupils to think critically about how war affected everyday people.

Use VE Day to research local history using maps and photographs. Explore war-related places, such as air raid shelters, war memorials or bombed buildings. Check out your local museums for World War Two artefacts and displays.

Music

Music played a vital role in lifting spirits during the war. Pupils can listen to and sing wartime songs such as The White Cliffs of Dover, which features in Kapow Primary’s Year 6 unit Songs of World War Two from the Music scheme of work. Use this song and others to re-create a wartime sing-along to connect music with emotion, morale, and memory.

Art & Design

Get creative with VE Day crafts. Children can design bunting, posters, or commemorative medals. Try a ‘Make Do and Mend’ session where pupils learn basic sewing techniques or upcycle old clothing, linking to wartime values and sustainability. These VE Day art activities support both fine motor skills and historical understanding.

You could also explore silhouette art using wartime imagery – such as searchlights, planes, and rooftops during the blackout – or create poppy-inspired collage work using recycled materials. Find more suggestions in our Remembrance Day Arts & Crafts blog. Pupils might enjoy making model Anderson shelters from card and tin foil, or designing propaganda-style posters encouraging wartime efforts, for example, growing food or saving energy.

To help children learn to sew, Kapow Primary’s Design & technology scheme of work includes progressive pupil videos, such as the video on running stitch in this Year 2 textiles lesson plan. Older pupils can take on more complex sewing projects, like making their own clothes using the Year 6 Textiles unit, where they design and create waistcoats.

Food Technology

Bring the rationing experience to life through VE Day food lessons. Pupils can adapt recipes based on available wartime ingredients. Try simple VE Day recipes, for example, carrot cookies or eggless sponge cake, as part of a food and nutrition project. This makes an engaging VE Day lesson that’s both practical and memorable.

Watch our food skills videos for guidance on teaching children food preparation skills.

This video demonstrates juicing skills.

Science

The wartime campaign to ‘Grow Your Own’ can inspire children to explore food origins and sustainability. Start a mini garden in your school grounds or in containers. The Kapow Primary Science scheme of work includes an in-depth unit on plants for pupils in each year group from Reception to Year 3, in line with national curriculum guidance:

• EYFS (Reception): Our beautiful planet 
• Year 1: Introduction to plants 
• Year 2: Plant growth 
• Year 3: Plant reproduction 

In these lessons, pupils plant seeds; identify common plants, trees, leaves, and seeds; learn about plant life cycles and what plants need to grow; and investigate how plants function, transport water, and disperse seeds.

Geography

Use VE Day as a starting point to explore where our food comes from and how this has changed over time. During World War Two, food shortages and rationing meant people had to rely heavily on local, seasonal produce. In Geography lessons, children can consider these wartime challenges and compare them with issues around food security today.

Link this topic to your local area by looking at how food is grown nearby or how it is transported to shops. Kapow Primary’s Year 4 Geography unit, Where does our food come from? supports this learning by helping pupils trace the journey of different foods and understand the importance of sustainable choices.

Plan a wartime allotment

Challenge pupils to design their own 1940s-style allotment. Ask them to research which crops were commonly grown during the war (such as potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and onions) and plan how they would use the space to feed a family. They can draw a layout, label the crops, and consider what would grow well in different seasons. This activity links well with Science and supports understanding of nutrition, sustainability, and self-sufficiency. 

Extend learning around sustainability with Kapow Primary’s Sustainability Collection, which includes lessons on gardening and reducing waste and a free Year 5 activity exploring the impact of fast fashion.

PE and Games

Celebrate VE Day with traditional old-fashioned games played by children in the 1940s. Games such as hopscotch, skipping, marbles, and ludo are simple, inclusive, and fun. Use these during a themed PE lesson or playground session to show how play has changed.

PSHE and Local History

Link PSHE with local history by exploring remembrance, community, and resilience themes. This Year 6 Health and Wellbeing lesson from the RSE & PSHE scheme of work helps children develop resilience strategies. Visit a local war memorial or invite a local historian to explain how your area was affected by the war. Encourage discussion about wartime roles and the community spirit of pulling together. Connect learning about VE Day to today – how have communities changed, and what does resilience look like now?

Street Party Celebration

Hold a school VE Day street party to bring it all together. Children can dress up, share their wartime recipes, display artwork, sing wartime songs, and play 1940s games. It’s a joyful way to wrap up the learning and build a sense of community in school.

Whether you’re planning for VE Day in EYFS, key stage 1, or key stage 2, marking the day with creative foundation-subject-based activities is a powerful way to help children understand and reflect on this key moment in British history.