E is for Election

I decided to try a little experiment with the kinders today. I always have a question of the day posted outside my room. As they enter, the kids choose their names and place them under their chosen answer.

Most of the time the questions are something like, "Are you wearing anything blue today?" or "Do you have a dog?" The answers can almost always be answered with a "yes" or a "no". In the spirit of Election Day I decided to dig a little deeper. 

I put up two pictures. One of Barack Obama and one of John McCain. Both were nice pictures. I didn't want to be accused of bias, and I didn't vote because I didn't want to influence the voting in any way. I wanted them to decide based solely on looks alone. 

The question was, "Who do you predict will be the next president." 

Here are the results...

Barack Obama 11

John McCain 6

Then I asked a few why they voted the way they did. 

One said, "Barack has a big smile."

Another said, "McCain is hot." (I kid you not)

One said "I voted for Obama because John McRain (not a typo) lies and will switch around our money."

One said, "I voted for Barack because he has hair like me."

A funny little microcosm don't you agree?

Then I wanted them to think about the issues. I wasn't going to ask them about the economy, or the war in Iraq. I was tempted to ask them about No Child Left Behind, but I know I would have influenced them too much on that issue!! I wanted them to learn to weed out the lies, and look deeper!

I told them the story of The Three Little Pigs. I am a really good story teller (If I do say so myself) and I had them entranced. I explained that the story I told was from the perspective of The Pigs, where they are the heroes and the wolf is the bad guy.

After that, I read The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf as told to Jon Scieszka. 

This version is told from the wolf's perspective. If you've never read this story, you should. It's hilarious.

After telling both stories we talked about what was the same in both versions and what was different. Then we talked about who was telling the truth. The pigs, or The wolf?!

Time for another election. 

I handed them each a ballot, and instructed them to vote for either The Wolf or The Pigs. 

Then I taught them how to fold their ballot so no one would see it. I explained that voting is very private and it's no one's business how you vote. I showed them how to fold it and slip it into the ballot box.

After lunch we tallied our votes. 

The pigs won by a very wide margin. 15 to 1 with one abstention. (He was in the nurses office) 

A landslide victory for swine everywhere!!