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Parents Making the Most of Obama Inauguration

Are you keeping your kids home from school tomorrow?

TV journalist Linda Ellerbee, along with a handful or other renown child psychologists, are encouraging parents around the nation to keep their kids home from school tomorrow in order to make Inauguration Day a family affair.

Regardless of your party affiliation, these childhood “experts” say President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing in as our country’s first African-American president is a historic moment that should be witnessed and discussed as a family. Basically, Ellerbee and crew maintain that learning should begin at home and parents should make the most of tomorrow’s historic events.

So how can you make Inauguration Day a learning event for your children should you decide to keep them home from school?

First, consider the ages of your children. Obviously, kids under three are going to be much more interested in watching Dora or Diego than live televised coverage of Inauguration Day events. For the preschool set consider making fun Inauguration Day-related crafts. The activities make for wonderful hands-on lessons about presidents and democracy.

For elementary school-age children, experts warn parents not to bore their kids to death with facts and lectures. Rather, they suggest using Inauguration Day as a celebration of our nation’s political system. Ellerbee recommends treating the event like the Fourth of July complete with festive decorations, food and lively discussions about key moments of the swearing-in ceremony.

For older children, experts recommend that parents use tomorrow’s festivities to initiate discussions about race. For the first time, Americans have elected an African-American to be their leader. Consider using this fact as a discussion point with your children and have them voice questions or verbal observations about the subject as well. In addition, Obama’s impending presidency comes just days before the beginning of Black History Month. You might consider using tomorrow’s events to get the conversation going on other race issues as well.

How will you be celebrating Inauguration Day with your children?

Related Articles:

Schools Using Obama Inauguration as Teaching Tool

Hosting an Inauguration Day Party

Grandma in the White House

The Love Between Grandmother and Grandson

This entry was posted in Parents' Role in Education (See Also Education Blog) and tagged , , by Michele Cheplic. Bookmark the permalink.

About Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. She spent the next ten years as a television anchor and reporter at various stations throughout the country (from the CBS affiliate in Honolulu to the NBC affiliate in Green Bay). She has won numerous honors including an Emmy Award and multiple Edward R. Murrow awards honoring outstanding achievements in broadcast journalism. In addition, she has received awards from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association for her reports on air travel and the Wisconsin Education Association Council for her stories on education. Michele has since left television to concentrate on being a mom and freelance writer.