Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they can do this is by not voting.
~Franklin D. Roosevelt~
It is the Summer of 2020, the year has been a bit crazy, to say the least. We have upcoming elections for our local and state representatives, as well as, the presidency. Regardless of the political party you affiliate yourself with, I think we can all agree that it is important to be involved with what is happening in our country. Yet, how do we do that?
I also believe it is extremely important for parents to involve their families in the election process, to teach their children what it means to vote, and to show them how to do just that. This is an education your child will not receive in a traditional public school classroom. They might learn the very basics of what an election is and how to cast a vote in a pretend mock election, but they are missing out on how the process takes place in the real world. They miss the opportunity to volunteer and actively participate as an American citizen. They don’t have the opportunity to see citizens working together. They don’t get the opportunity to learn about patriotism and why it is important. There is so much your family can learn when you become involved.
So this year, and in the years to come, I challenge you to become involved and to teach your children how the system in our country is supposed to work. If you are looking for ideas to teach children (of all ages) within your home, click on the image below to visit my previous post. That post is filled with many questions for you to consider.
Below you will find ideas for how you can be actively involved within your community. They are real-world, hands-on ways to involve your family and to teach them at the same time. Your children learn so much more when they are actively participating in what they are learning. Review the list and find ideas that are appropriate for your family this year. Then next year, add even more. This is not a one and done process; instead, this is a continual process that you will hopefully participate in for the rest of your life.
Research candidates running for office.
Attend speeches or rallies for candidates who interest you.
Contact a candidate’s campaign to learn how you can help.
Volunteer with your local party affiliation group.
Pass out stickers, decals, pamphlets, etc for candidates.
Wear campaign shirts for your favorite candidates.
Put campaign signs in your yard or at your business.
Volunteer to wave signs for your favorite candidates.
Take a trip to the Supervisor of Elections office to learn about their jobs and how they organize our elections.
Take your children to vote with you on election day!
Interview with one of our local candidates
We had the opportunity to interview one of our local candidates, Mr. Jimmy Cowan. He is running for a property appraiser seat in Florida. He was nice enough to sit down with us to answer some of our questions. This was our very first time doing an interview, so Ava and I prepared questions ahead of time to ask him. Ultimately, the goal was to learn about him as a candidate, the job he will perform, and to introduce her to one of the people we would vote for on election day. She has voted with me ever since she was born, so I was hoping she would be able to put a face with a name on the ballot.
In the actual interview, she was pretty nervous and wouldn’t look at him until the cameras were off. Once the cameras were off, she warmed right up! He showed her an aerial map and taught her how he uses those maps to help homeowners in our area. She also learned that he would be helping her mommy and daddy because they are homeowners too.
We are so thankful for this experience and we all learned a ton! Each year we have done more and more as a family and can’t wait to participate in even more as the girls grow older.
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