November 2, 2004
Today the kids and I had our own election. Although we don't watch TV the kids have picked up that "something" is going on, inspite the fact we haven't talked about it too much because as non-citizens we we can't vote. But the kids have seen all the posters on the side of the road and we've had a couple candidates campaigning at our door over the past couple weeks.
So, today Celine was asking all kinds of questions. What does election mean? What does voting mean? Who would we vote for? Which leads to questions like: How does the president get our money (in reference to taxes)? Complicated questions. I tried my best and then thought we'd have our own little vote. We set up the cardboard ballot box on the table. Wrote out 3 ballots with the presidential candidates. I showed the kids how to mark their ballot with an X and then we all went to our own secret spot to vote. Laurent kept referring to John Kerry as John Arable (we just finished reading Charlotte's Web).
We all secretly voted and then opened up the box and counted the ballots. George Bush won with 2 votes, John Kerry lost with one vote. I won't say who voted for which candidate except to say that the ballot for John Kerry with marked with a Q, I guess the voter didn't quite know how to write an X!
You can subscribe to comments on this article using this form.
If you have already commented on this article, you do not need to do this, as you were automatically subscribed.
renee on Nov. 3, 2004, 3:08 a.m.
Renee, I must say that I love your methods of teaching your kids something educational, but in a very interesting way that is fun for the kids. You make learning fun! And I especially appreciate your blogs which fill us in on these cute stories and antics of the kids. Thanks.(:wink:)
renee on Nov. 4, 2004, 1:29 a.m.
Melanie,
It is fun! I am having a really fun time with my kids at this age. "Teaching" them is very rewarding. I don't sit down and teach them things; everything we learn comes out of our daily living. The games we play, the questions they ask, the places we go. It's a great way to educate children. I talk about this more in the [Unschooling|unschooling] section of the website.