Hey Friends!
It's that time of year again, and every time I head off to a vote, I get a little flutter of excitement...or is that awkwardness? Maybe a little anxiety, too. Because I always feel just a smidge uncertain as I head to the polling place...am I where I'm supposed to be? Did I do that right? Am I coloring in that little bubble enough, or not enough? Does it matter that it bled through to the back? Is it ok to bring in my practice ballot so I get all the names and amendments right? And am I allowed to bring my kids with me?
This is one of those examples of how I don't feel my early public school education really did a good job preparing me for life.
So this year, since I had time to gather my wits, we used the opportunity to teach the kids a little civics lesson!
We've had civics lessons before describing the three branches of government in America, so my kids had context for why we have elections, so now we went into the election process. We described the difference between a democracy and a republic (and showed how America was designed to be a democratic republic) and we discussed the difference between a popular vote and the electoral college process (Check out the Schoolhouse Rock Electoral College song, or for older kids, here's a great article from Hillsdale college.) we discussed etiquette and rules at the polls (be VERY quiet and respectful; absolutely NO talking about the candidates; if you have a question, put your hand on mom or dad's arm and when we indicate it, WHISPER your question) and off we went.
The workers at the polls were fantastic. I went to sign in at one desk with my daughter, while my husband took the boys to another desk, and the gentleman who took my information was thrilled to show my daughter a practice ballot, how to fill in the circles properly (we learned they are carefully designed so the ink bleeding through does NOT matter, by the way!) , and explain that they asked for our information to prevent voter fraud. After I filled out my ballot, he showed her how to feed the ballot into the machine and wait for the ding and she got her "future voter" sticker!
While I'm sure we'll need to cover all these things again (my kids are 8, 6, and 4) it was a fun and memorable field trip. I've been delighted to see that they are followed this election with avid interest and a fair amount of understanding, and also some personal ownership of the selection process for our representation in government. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend bringing your kids along with you to vote, and explain (or ask the poll worker to explain--they are a fount of fascinating information!) what is going on. Even if you can't bring them along for some reason, this time of year is the perfect time to explain the electoral process to your kids.
Either way, be sure to get out there and vote, and include your kids somehow! Not only will you be preparing them to uphold their civic duty in future years, but you can also get a cool sticker!
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