By: Matt Thoman (K3 Teacher)
On Tuesday November 6th, our junior kindergarten students in K3 got to experience a cornerstone of our democracy; voting! The week before election day the class began talking about voting. Class discussions focused on why we vote, the importance of voting, the different things that people vote for, and how we may feel after a vote is cast and a winner is declared. The class also enjoyed reading stories about voting in library class as well as in the classroom. In particular,
One, Vote Two Votes, I Vote, You Vote by Bonnie Worth was a class favorite! After the students learned a bit about voting it was revealed that on election day they would be voting for the theme for the dramatic play area in the classroom. The two choices were a doctor’s office, or a space station. Children then helped make a ballot box and covered it with messages urging everyone to vote. Finally the big day arrived! On Tuesday morning the students cast their ballot for their choice of drama area. After voting each student received an “I voted” sticker. Later that day the children, teachers, and Kait Souza our building math coach, counted the ballots! Students counted orally, practiced writing the numbers, and represented the votes using ten frames, unifix cubes, and counting bears. Space station was declared the winner of the election!