On the Campaign Trail

Louisa is running for treasurer on her student council. She participated in the student council last year by being a class representative, but this year she's actually running for a position. We chose "Treasurer" because we were told that last year only one person ran for that position. We thought it would be easy! This year there are 4 candidates for treasurer, so Louisa will actually have to work at it. And really, it doesn't matter what position she runs for, it's the experience she gets from it that matters.

In her school, 4th graders can run for President and Treasurer, and 3rd graders can run for Vice President and Secretary. We figured President would be too hard to run for because so many kids do each year. They also have primary elections, so if more than 4 kids run for a position, they can narrow it down to the top 4.

We spent all day yesterday making 3 big poster board signs to hang in her school. We got as creative as we could, but I also wanted her to do most of the work. Several of the other kids in school had their parents make all of their signs. It's so obvious that the kids didn't make them. I always believe in having the kids put forth most of the effort for their school projects. Even if the project looks like a 4th grader did it, it's her campaign so she needs to do the work. I helped out and fixed some mistakes and added a few things, but she was proud to say she worked hard on her posters. I drove her to school this morning a little early so that she could hang them up. We talked about good "high-traffic" areas like right next to the 4th grade bathrooms, on the wall that leads to the stairs that all 4th graders use every day, and in the cafeteria.

Tonight we have to write a 2 minute speech that she will give to her 4th grade class tomorrow. We have a few ideas of what we want to say. Louisa is not afraid to get up in front of people. She has the skills to make a good speech while adding her sunshine personality to it. Honestly, I have no idea who's kid she is! I could never ever stand up in front of people without bursting into a hysterical, embarrassed laughter. I still get giggly sometimes when I talk in front of people.

Louisa has a good attitude about the election. She knows that if she doesn't win, she can still campaign in her classroom for class representative. And even if she doesn't get that, she's involved in so many other activities that she will be fine. This is a good experience for her and she's learning a lot about the election process as she goes.

Voting is on Wednesday, so keep your fingers crossed for us!