Rowing Week 9: If I Ran for President Part 1

After a long search of the internet I could not find one election unit study that was right for my five year old. After a leisurely afternoon in Barnes and Nobles I came across this wonderful book by Catherine Stier and illustrated by Lynne Avril.

An Amazon.com reviewer sums up why I love this title:
"This book takes a very complex subject about our election process (which itself is confusing, even to adults) in the United States and breaks it down in to easily understood concepts that run from the beginning stages of announcing your candidacy through actually winning the election and being sworn in to office. Kids learn about the two party system, the electoral college, primaries, campaigning, and campaign promises. I loved that the author chose not to dumb down the information, but instead used words that kids understand to explain how elections work. It is an excellent factual book, and the story is engaging enough for children that it will keep their attention while they learn about serious, important subject matter. FIVE BIG STARS to Catherine Stier for tackling a complex, complicated subject and making it enjoyable for children to learn."

Science
In the book the potential candidate travels around the country participating in various activities to drum up support for their campaign, which leaves them tired and in need of a nap. Our science discussion will be about the importance of sleep.

Read-Along:Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science Books: Sleep is for Everyone.

Experiment: Chart daily emotions and sleep duration for one week.

• Where you cranky with less sleep?
  
• How was school with more sleep?

Math

Election Unit Study Math (HSS)

How old do I have to be to vote?

What year will I be able to vote? (Subtraction)

What year will I vote for president for the first time? (Skip counting by 4's)

Tie in To Math General Math

• What president's are on what coin?
  

Social Studies-Geography

Where does the president live?

• Make a story Disc and place on Washington DC.
  
• Learned about the White House from Target's Places Around the World Cards.
  
• A map of Washington D.C. with famous sites from Enchanted Learning
  

In the book the author does an excellent job describing the election process from the decision to run, through the primaries, conventions and elections. It also describes the political parties.

Define the two major political parties and match the candidates to the party.

Language Arts

After reading the book complete the Vocabulary Flap Book with Cover from (HSS).

Music/Art

Watch party conventions and candidate elections videos at NickJr.com. These videos are each less than 4 minutes and give a kids summary of the conventions as well as the major points about the candidates.

Discuss the colors used in the book on posters, buttons and banners.

• What are the main colors in the book?
  
• Why do they use those colors?
  
• What do those colors make you feel? Discuss how color help convey feelings and emotions.
  
• Define patriotic
  
• Make your own campaign poster on Scholastic.com
  
• Why did you choose the colors, theme and symbols for your poster?
  

Bible/Character

Continue Discussion on Fruits of the Spirit: Self-Control

Fieldtrip

TS accompanied us to our local polling location to participate in early voting process.

Fine Motor Activity

We shall attempt to build the White House with Lego's.

Social Skills Activity

The candidates are required to shake lots of hands on the campaign trail. How did this tradition start? What's the proper way to shake hands?

Lapbook Resources

Homeschool Share

Enchanted Learning