Just because the legal voting age is eighteen, doesn’t mean our youngest citizens don’t have something to learn or say about the election.  On November 6, Norwood-Fontbonne Academy students carried out timely discussions about the current election, held classroom mock elections, and discovered more about voting and the electoral process. In a pre-school learning circle, children learned about the freedom to vote and how someday they will also get to help choose the President. Kindergartners read “Max for President”, a simple story portraying how the election process works and how opposing parties can work together. “I’m voting for Kelly instead of Max because I think she’s nice and will help kids be nice to each other,” declared NFA kindergartner, Kate Hassanally.  (In the book, Kelly does win the presidency).  In the second grade, students engaged in a relevant exercise based on the 3 books, “My Teacher for President”, “Grace for President”, and “Duck for President”.  Brainstorming attributes that make each character qualified for the job, the students then wrote presidential platforms and created campaign posters for one of the three characters.  Voter registration cards and ballots being placed in the ballot box culminated with the results being tallied, using mathematical skills to compare the data.  The electoral votes were then added up to see which character won.  All in all, the students discovered why voting counts!  

In the picture, 2nd grade students cast their ballots by voting for for "Teacher", "Grace", or "Duck".