An election year gives us a great opportunity to talk with our children about fairness and making decisions as a group. Try taking a family vote on what movie to watch, book to read, or what to have for dinner. Explain that everyone in the family gets one vote. Then, the book, movie, or meal with the most votes wins. Have your child count up the votes and announce the winner! It’s a perfect example of using math in real life. Keep exploring elections by reading picture books about civic responsibility, watching a video about how communities come together to vote, and using the activities, crafts, and games below to explore important counting and sorting skills.
Questions to Ask Your Child
- Voting can help us make a fair decision about what to do when we don’t agree. Ask your child to think of a time when taking a vote might help. What could you vote on with your friends? What could we vote on as a family? How do we make sure the vote is fair?
- Talk about having a tie-breaker. When an even number of people vote (2, 4, 6...etc) sometimes there will be a tie. Two of us want to eat spaghetti for dinner and two of us want to eat veggies and rice. How should we decide what to do?
Play and Learn Together With Children 2 to 5
Picture books are a great place to start when talking to young children about elections. Talk about the process of voting, then have your family bring the process to life by voting for your favorite color or what to have for dinner. Make tally marks on a piece of paper to help your child count the votes and announce a winner.
Learn Along Bingo for Ages 2-5: Let's Vote
Play and learn with this activity packet all about voting!
Patriotic Paper Flags
Whether you're inspiring your kids to learn about the election or celebrating an American holiday, making these cute and patriotic flags is a fun activity to do with your kids.
Practice Counting With Your Hands
Help your child learn how to count forward and backward by 1’s, 5’s, and 10’s with their hands.
Sort It Out
15 min activityUse these simple activities to help your child sort items into groups based on common characteristics.
Counting Practice
Hop around from square to square with your child to help them practice counting from one to 20.
I Voted: Fruits
Host an election and ask members of your family to vote for their favorite fruit.
Play and Learn Together With Children 6 to 8
Older children might have a better understanding about what an election is, why we have elections, and how we vote. Try taking the conversation a step further by reading books about civic engagement and talking about why it’s important for everyone to vote. Create a sorting box and have your child organize an election at home. (The vote could mimic a political election, or you could vote on what to have for dessert or what to do this weekend.) Have your child report the results of your family election — they could even write a news story about it like a journalist!
Learn Along Bingo for Ages 6-8: Let's Vote
Play and learn with this activity packet all about voting!
Picture Books About Presidents and Voting
Read about the history of voting, presidential trivia, or a duck who thinks he should be in charge, in this list of recommended books.
Popsicle Stick American Flag
Make these mini American flags at home for a great Fourth of July craft that kids will enjoy.
Letter to the President
What would you like the President to know? Write a letter to the President of the United States of America.
Collecting and Sorting
Collect and inspect! Go on an object hunt to collect items and then make a sorting box to help your child practice close observation and sorting skills.
I Voted: Hobbies
You, your family members, and your friends have different interests and hobbies. Host an election and ask members of your family to vote for their favorite.
Play and Learn By Myself
Sorta-ma-gogo
Nick and Sally are sorting items by type and color. Your child can help them by gathering items based on attribute and then sorting them into their proper bins.
Count With Allie
Your child can read and count along with Curious George and Allie in this online guided storybook.
Fair Shares
Curious George wants to share an equal number of treats between dogs. Your child can practice counting and comparison skills while helping George distribute the treats.
All Star Sorting
Put the dinosaurs in order by height. When you’ve got them in the right order, drag them to the house they belong to!
Sorting Box
May needs help sorting her gem collection. Your child can practice sorting by color by placing rocks into the correct color columns.
Read More
9 Picture Books About Voting and Elections
Participating in elections and practicing the right to vote is important. Here are nine books to start conversations around not only voting, but democracy, citizenship, and equality.
How to Talk to Children About Politics
Talking with children about voting, politics, and civic engagement can feel overwhelming. Here are tips on how to help kids understand how to be participants in creating positive change.
Instill a Love of Math
Encouraging your child to develop their mental muscle for math can help build solid foundations for later learning in critical thinking and creativity.
Every Child Is a Journalist
If you think it’s crazy to say your tiny tyke is ready to take on a reporter job right now, consider the two key skills all newspeople need: investigating and storytelling.
How to Raise a Good Citizen
For your child to truly develop a lifelong care and compassion for others, it has to be nurtured and practiced like any other skill.
How to Raise a Leader
Children's leadership skills grow over time as they develop independent thinking skills and learn from challenges. See ideas for how you can support your future leader.