New Beginnings

Everyone remembers where they were during certain times in their lives: President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Martin Luther King’s assassination, September 11, 2001, and quite possibly, the inauguration of the United States’ first African American President Barack Obama. On January 20, Barack Obama will be sworn in as our new president. This is such a significant event in our lives, but how does it impact our kids, how can they become involved and what activities are there that they can participate in? So I thought it would be relevant to offer resources to parents and teachers that are useful to use to engage kids about the inauguration and to make this a more memorable experience for them.

For example, the C-Span Student Cam Contest: A Message to the New President is open to middle and high school students who create a five- to eight- minute video exploring an issue for the new president to address. Seventy-five student prizes and 11 teacher prizes totaling $50,000. will be awarded. The entry deadline is 1/20/09. Log onto www.studentcam.org for more information.

Children across the country can participate in the Legacy Project's Web of Dreams. They’ll deliver the students messages to President-Elect Barack Obama for his inauguration on January 20, 2009. The Legacy Project is using the power of the Web to bring all young people together to share their dreams. You can learn more at http://www.legacyproject.org/programs/webofdreams.html Your voices can also be heard at http://change.gov/

Nickelodeon TV, the children’s network, is going to cover its first presidential inauguration. Young reporters Lily Collins, rocker Phil Collins’ daughter, and J.J. (Nickelodeon would not release his last name) will be in Washington on Jan. 20 to show Barack Obama’s inauguration from a pint-sized perspective. Throughout the presidential campaign, Nickelodeon found that interest among its young viewers matched that of the adults. Nick’s own online “election” had 2.2 million children voting, with kids supporting Obama over John McCain (51 percent to 49 percent) in a closer margin than the real election.

There are also several sites that offer art activities, lesson activities, activities in which students write letters to the president, create presidential portraits, complete an inauguration trivia hunt, and much more. There are activities to do in class, as well as at home with your children. You can go to: http://holidays.kaboose.com/inauguration-day.html and to http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson219.shtml

In case anyone with children is attending the inauguration, there is a Children’s Inaugural Ball that is designed as a celebration to welcome America's 44th President, as well as the 111th Congress, and an opportunity to highlight the needs of our children and families in the midst of a very special moment in history. There will be live music, magic and entertainment, interactive exhibits, including the National Air & Space Museum, the National Aquarium, the National Children’s Museum, National Geographic Kids, the National Zoo and more. To learn more about this, go to http://www.everychildmatters.org/National/Campaigns/Ball-FAQ.html

I hope you can celebrate this special moment in time with your students/children. I welcome your suggestions and opinions, and I wish you all a very Happy New Year!