That concept is not developmentally appropriate for young children, so I wouldn’t really bring that part up. (Did I ever tell you about the time I was observing a classroom and the teacher began telling the children about Patriot Day, without knowing what it was about?  The teacher proceeded to pull up information about Patriot Day on the screen in the front of the class only to discover that it is the day that memorializes those who died in the 9/11 attacks.  Not a good idea.  The teacher had no idea what to do or say, so instead said, “Why don’t you go home and ask your parents about it.”  Yeesh!)

However, the word memorial comes from the Latin word for memory and memories are definitely something you can talk about with children.  Why don’t you create a memory board for the classroom and the children can either dictate their 3 favorite memories from this school year or draw their 3 favorite memories.  You can then talk about them when you reconvene on Tuesday.  That way, you recognize that they will hear the words Memorial Day this weekend, and they will have the concept that it is a day for remembering stuff.  Have them enumerate their memories as an opportunity to use number and to put their ideas in order!