We arrived and fortunately there was no wait at all. I signed in and was given my card to put into the machine, so I handed it to Monkeyman and let him do it. Then I pointed out each of my choices and let him select them on the screen. Finally, I had him click "Submit Ballot".
He then returned the card to the poll worker, and received his "I <3 Voting" sticker** from her.
His reaction? He thought the voting computers were really cool, and I know he felt special to be a kid participating in this exclusively grownup event. I think that actually taking him to the voting booth with me and physically involving him in the process is a much more effective way of helping him learn about Election Day and how our government works than simply reading about it from a textbook. Just another example of how real life is a simple and powerful teaching tool. Tomorrow we will be looking up the results together to see how my choices fared. When he's a little older, I'll involve him in the process of researching the candidates/issues and helping me choose who/what to vote for too. What better critical-thinking exercise is there?
So - anyone else take your kids to the polls with you? I'd love to hear about it and what the kiddos thought of the experience.
**Side note: I personally helped choose that sticker that Monkeyman is wearing too! After being alerted by The Friendly Atheist to the online poll that was being held at the Ohio Secretary of State's website earlier this year, I did my part in voting for this one and helping defeat the stickers with religious messages on them (how the heck is that Constitutional anyway?!?), and helped keep up that precious wall of separation between Church and State. Made me smile to see those stickers on the table today.
