Children want to be included in ALL conversations (especially my 6 year old), but sometimes it is just too difficult to explain such an abstract concept to them such at the Presidential election process: voting, the electoral college, etc.
Here is what I did for my very curious daughter who wanted to learn more of the election process and why mommy and daddy are glued to the tv watching the polls change.
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Why we held a mock-election
My 6 year old had a deep interest about the Presidential election, she has heard myself and my husband talking about it a lot recently, and now she is watching us constantly check our phones to look at the electoral college map.
So, that made me think “why not have our own ‘kid-friendly’ mock election?” because the best way young children learn is through play-based activities. I asked my daughter her thoughts on the “mock-election” and she was totally down.
That was the green light I need to start working on some printables with her.
Instead of having just a mock election play area in our home, we decided to have our own mock election for our little tight-knit neighborhood. My daughter and I collaborated on what to have created on all the printables and then my daughter had a blast coloring them. After she finished coloring in all the little details, we laminated it and hung everything outside.
How to start your own mock-election
First, decide what you want your child to know and what they are capable of processing, do you want them to know about registering/ voting, the electoral college, etc. What is age-appropriate for them and can they digest it?
Ideals for your mock election
If you are a parent, you can get real creative and set up a play area like a polling precinct to get your littles inspired. For elementary teachers, feel free to use this in your classrooms after a small unit on for preschool aged kid created a play area complete with a ballot box, after reading a book about voting during story time.
Tools we used:
All you need to create your mock election is a printer! But, if you want to get real fancy and hang them outside, or keep grime off of them you can use a laminator to make these printables more durable, don’t forget to pick up the laminating sheets Once we printed out the printables, we needed to use our laminator, a hand held hole puncher, and some duct-tape to tape the signs up and to prevent the ballots and ballot box from blowing away.
I also used some left over ribbon I had to make the “vote” banner.
More ideas for teaching the election process to your child.
Whether you are a homeschooling parent, virtual schooling, or a classroom teacher its great to expand your child knowledge with age-appropriate information about the election process. I recommend these activities for children between the ages of 4-8 years old or grades prek-2nd grade or ages
Read books
Reading books can help children learn about the election process in a more concrete way and it can help reinforce their new found knowledge. We’ve read two of the books below using our “Kindle Unlimited”, it’s a subscription that allows us to download as many “kindle unlimited” books to my phone via the kindle app. Its $10 a month, but if you’re curious you can grab it through the link below for a huge discount! You can get it for 2 months for only $0.99 cents!
Have a debate
This can be as simple as your child debating with their siblings or with you on a kid-friendly subject matter. You can begin this lesson by explaining what a debate is and have them listen to the podcast “Boom Smash Best”. My daughter and I started listening to kid-friendly podcasts on our way to her school last year and this one is great for young children! It is a debate show for kids! episode titles include: Snakes vs Spiders, Unicorns vs Dragons, Flowers vs Rainbows, and so much more. Smash Boom best teaches young listeners how to defend their own opinions along the way.
Preview the Free Printable Mock-Election Ballot Template
The buttons below will link you to the printables so that you can hold your own mock elections.
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