The WW1 Armistice went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month on November 11, 1918.

The armistice ended the actual fighting but it took another 6 months of negotiations at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference before the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were completed and signed on June 28, 1919. Armistice Day in the United States became a national holiday in 1926. Then in 1954, to honor the veterans of World War II and the Korean War Armistice Day was re-named as Veterans Day.

What Events prompted the WW1 Armistice?
The events leading up to the signing of the WW1 Armistice were:

Following the 1917 Russian Revolution Bolshevik leaders decided to continue to fight against Germany and the Central Powers

A revolution engulfed Austria-Hungary

The Ottoman Empire collapsed on 31 October, 1918

The Kiel sailors mutiny erupted on 3 November, 1918 triggering the German revolution

President Wilson received a request from the German government on October 4, 1918 asking for armistice discussions

The people of Berlin rebelled on November 9, 1918 and forced the German Kaiser to step down.

WW1 Armistice for kids: Definition of Armistice
What does Armistice mean? The definition of the word Armistice is a truce agreeing to a temporary cessation of fighting and the use of arms. The word Armistice derives from the French-Latin words 'arma' meaning ‘arms’ and 'stitium' meaning "stoppage" and was a temporary suspension of hostilities while an attempt was made to negotiate a lasting peace.

WW1 Armistice: Preparing to Sign the Armistice
The signing of the WW1 Armistice with Germany began as an official German delegation arrived from Berlin to the Western Front at 10.30pm on Thursday November 7, 1918. The delegation made their way across the sector held by General Debeney and were recived bt Marshal Foch at the Allied General Headquarters on Saturday November 9, 1918. The German delegation were given the terms of the armistice and allowed 72 hours to accept or reject them. There was no negotiation process. On Sunday 10 November, they were shown newspapers from Paris to inform them that the Kaiser had abdicated. The terms of the armistice were accepted.

The Terms of the WW1 Armistice for kids
The terms of the WW1 Armistice stipulated that the cessation of hostilities would be in force for 36 days and that it could be denounced, by either side, on 48 hours notice. (The armistice would be prolonged 3 times before peace was finally ratified). The Armistice consisted of 35 terms. The most important terms are summarized as follows:

Termination of military hostilities on land, or in air, within 6 hours of the signing of the Armistice

Internment of the German fleet and surrender of all German submarines

Surrender of armaments and railroads

Information to be provided regarding the location of all mines or delayed action fuses

Immediate release of all French, British and Italian prisoners of war (German POWs only would be released after a peace treaty)

Removal of all German troops from France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Alsace-Lorraine within 14 days

Removal of all German troops from territory on the west side of the Rhine and occupation by Allied and US troops.

Removal of all German troops on the eastern front

Renunciation of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Russia and of the Treaty of Bucharest with Romania.

WW1 Armistice for kids: Signing the Armistice in Foch's Railway Carriage
The WW1 Armistice with Germany was signed between 5:12 am and 5:20 am, Paris time on 11th November 1918. It was signed by representatives from Britain, France and Germany and brought 52 months of fighting in the First World War to a conclusion. The signing of the Armistice took place in the private railway carriage of Marshal Ferdinand Foch, Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies,  in the Forest of Compiegne, about 37 miles (60 km) north of Paris.

WW1 Armistice for kids: News of the Armistice
News of the armistice, signed by Marshal Ferdinand Foch the Commander-in-Chief, was officially announced via the Radio from Paris at 6:01 A.M., November 11, 1918 as follows:
1. Hostilities will be stopped on the entire front beginning at 11 o'clock, November 11th (French hour).
2. The Allied troops will not go beyond the line reached at that hour on that date until further orders.

WW1 Armistice for kids: American Troops at the Front
Fighting in many sections of the front, including Americans fighting in the Battle of the Argonne Forest in the Meuse Campaign continued right until the appointed hour of the armistice.

WW1 Armistice for kids: The Fourteen Points
After the Armistice was agreed every effort was made to complete terms for a 'lasting peace'. President Woodrow Wilson gave the Fourteen Points speech to Congress on January 8, 1918, declaring that WW1 was being fought for a moral cause and calling for peace in Europe. The 14 points of his speech covered Military and Territory changes and the creation of the League of Nations. The Fourteen Points essentially established the conditions for the armistices that had brought an end to World War I.

WW1 Armistice: The 1919 Paris Peace Conference
The 1919 Paris Peace Conference consisted of 145 meetings over a six-month period to agree the peace terms. The top Allied leaders, the "Big Four", who met at the Paris Peace Conference were of President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, David Lloyd George of Britain, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, and Georges Clemenceau of France.

WW1 Armistice: The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was finally signed at the Palace of Versailles in France on June 28, 1919.

WW1 Armistice for kids: Armistice Day
Armistice Day in the United States of America became a national holiday in 1926, its purpose was to remember all those who had fought during the Great War. Then in 1954, to honor the veterans of World War II and the Korean War Armistice Day was re-named as Veterans Day. A monument to those who had fallen during WW1 was dedicated in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

WW1 Armistice for kids: The End of WW1 and the start of the Roaring Twenties
The end of the horrors of WW1 ushered in a new era in which people wanted to enjoy themselves - it was called The Roaring Twenties.