Yeah for Election Day!

Can I say how glad I am that all the election hoopla will soon be a thing of the past? It seems that every time I turn on the television there's yet another political ad accusing someone or another of doing less than savory things. Here locally, my least favorite is one that talks about subjects such as abortions and mistresses. Not something I want to explain to my young children! I'm just glad it will soon be behind us.

My husband and I were lucky enough to have an afternoon off on October 31st. We took advantage of it to head downtown and do the early voting. We were able to walk right in and vote. No waiting required. How awesome is that? Because I live in such a small town and the fact that they weren't busy at all, I kept my kids with me. They were able to actually come into the booth with me and read the screens, follow the instructions, etc. We discussed how it all works and they even took turns touching the screen to vote for the various candidates. I really think that allowing my kids to see the process first hand, and teaching them the importance of voting is very important. I'm hoping that even though I really dislike politics in general, I've made it more approachable for my kids.

Tonight as the votes are tallied, we'll color the states either red or blue and follow along until our new president is announced. During our school day we'll be talking about elections and the presidency. Earlier this week we were able to watch a really interesting program called "Flipping the White House". It showed what goes on behind the scenes at the White House when a new first family is on the way. It was amazing! It was also filled with history and photos of presidents from the past. We all learned so much! Lastly, I purchased a unit study from CurrClick called All About the Presidential Election to help them understand the process.

Do you do anything special with your kids during an election year?