Incorporating the Presidential Election Into Our Homeschool Curriculum

This week we asked the bloggers here at Growing Your Homeschool,

February 20th is President's Day. We elect a new president this year. We are hearing about it on the news. There are debates going on. Will you include this historic occasion in your homeschool curriculum? If so, how?

Marla-Since Abigail is only three, I am not sure that she is old enough to really understand the concept of electing a president. She does know that Obama is our current president and that George Washington was our first president. For now, that is all that I am planning to teach her.

Aurie-We have talked about the concept of President and what he does for our country. Sophie knows that Obama is our current president. I don't think she will really understand elections, so for now we're focusing on what a President's job is and why that is important.

Dorie-Yes, we will include the presidental election in our homeschool. This year we are studying the exploration, colonization, and formation of our country. We will also include lessons on the government and elections. During the election, we will probably do a color coded map of the country to see representation and popular voting in action.

Ralene- We don't plan to. The girls aren't quite to that level yet. If they were a few years older, I would definitely want to include them.

Delena-I have a five year-old who refers to our President as "Jobama." I've got a feeling he might not understand the whole process. :-) I still plan on talking to him about our President, why we elect a new President, and how it's important to elect a President who doesn't support things that are intrinsically evil.

Jessica-We frequently discuss politics right now, especially because we are studying early American History. The children are learning (depending on their age level) how our government was formed and how officials are elected. We are reading books (like "VOTE" by DK readers) and watching School House Rock "I'm gonna send your vote to college" to learn about the way our electoral system works. My husband and I will be voting, and our children will come along to watch us participate.


Will you incorporate this year's election into your homeschool curriculum?  If so, how?