My children are relatively clueless as to what is going on around our country and the world, apart from what we choose to tell them (which is how it should be at their ages, in my opinion). Since we rarely have the TV on when they’re awake (except for an adult-approved kid’s show), they haven’t been exposed to talk of the upcoming election. Even though they’re still too young to understand the entire process, I figured we would combine a little pretend play with some basic government fundamentals and create ourselves an Angry Bird Election.
We have accumulated a ridiculous amount of plush Angry Birds. In my defense, I have not purchased a single one (thank you grandparents, aunts, uncles, and residents at the Nursing Home Prince Charming runs). Nevertheless, they came in handy today for this little mock election.
1. I created a map of the United States on our living room carpet using masking tape. Not entirely accurate…but close enough. And please excuse our giant, glaring sun spot.
2. The boys brought all of their Angry Birds and placed them inside the map.
We talked about how all the Angry Birds were different: Different shapes, sizes, and colors that made them each unique (except for the two sets of duplicate Angry Birds that we have, that is).
Through a series of elections, eventually two Angry Birds ran against each other to become the President, the Leader of all the other Angry Birds (the two candidates are each displayed on their respective platforms). These candidates tried to get the other Angry Birds to vote for them by giving speeches, meeting them, and talking on TV.
Big Brother decided he liked the Outer Space Blue Square Angry Bird best.
And Little Brother decided he wanted the Outer Space Green Angry Bird to be President.
Then it was time for the Angry Birds to Vote. They could either go to a building on a special day and choose who they wanted to be President…
…or they could send their vote through the mail ahead of time (which is what I did).
After all the votes are counted, the one who gets the most votes wins!
Perhaps your children aren’t “into” Angry Birds, no problem! You could always use stuffed animals, dolls, or action figures to illustrate this point as well!
*I fully realize that this doesn’t address the issue of the Electoral College. However, since I can’t even understand that myself, I figured I would just leave that out of the conversation altogether. Maybe next election we’ll tackle that issue…or the next…or the next.
Have you talked to your child about the election? What creative ways have you introduced this concept?
