Farrar Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 I have trouble bragging on my own work, but I can totally share this one because it's the work of dh, who wrote this little ebook about the upcoming presidential election for our kids for a mini-unit that he's teaching them. He said I could put it up on my blog. It's really good, you guys. I was so impressed. Though, he's worked in politics and political journalism for a long time so I shouldn't have been a bit surprised that he could knock this off so fast. If you're worried about the slant, fear not - it's not about political issues so much (they're mentioned, of course, but in a very neutral way) but more about the process and our political system. There are questions to think about and extra resources at the end. It's specific to the upcoming election and meant to be read now. https://farrarwilliams.wordpress.com/2015/09/14/elections-for-young-people-free-download/ 37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Mousie Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 That looks terrific! Thank you, and thanks to your DH! :) While I was there I also snagged your "numberless problems" - looks like fun! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 That's nice of you to share. :001_smile: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Thank you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Thanks to both of you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 LOVE!!! Thanks so much, and thank your DH too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjand6more Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks. Thais is great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jessica* Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 It looks fantastic; I can't wait to use it with the boys! Thanks for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks to your DH. I have a printed copy on the desk ready to use! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 My oldest dc are itching for the debates to start. They recently read The Art of Argument and they want to listen to the debates so they can point out all the fallacies they learned about. :) The guide your husband wrote will be helpful. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaMere Academy Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Just downloaded it as well, thank you. I've been looking for resources for the election. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 The only part I disliked was the small paragraph concerning social issues. The rest of the book is appropriate for even my littlest of littles. Maybe we'll do it as a lunch read-aloud. (We do stealth learning during lunch. ;) ) I especially like the timeline aspect of the book, starting with "why do they start so early". That was excellent! I know a lot of people get frustrated that the election process starts so early, but I was a journalism minor in college and I'm still very much a news junkie. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 This looks very interesting. Thank you so much for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 To clarify for anyone wondering about the "social issues" - the only thing it does is list some of the social issues candidates talk about. That includes things like gay marriage and abortion. But it doesn't discuss them - just says they exist and candidates talk about them. But if that's going to raise questions in a family, it's easy to skip. I'm glad lots of people can make use of it. Dh was so cute and happy writing it. He kept sending me the final draft and then sending it again and then again... and (seriously) then again, saying, every time, this is it, the really final final one. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Sorry, Farrar. I realized after the fact that I shouldn't have said anything about the social issues in my post. To everyone else, it really is only one sentence and super easy to skip or mark out. I tend to avoid having these conversations far longer than most people (and probably longer than I should). This fault is mine, and not the author's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Farrar, is your dh sending this out in hopes of getting it published? That would be excellent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Farrar, is your dh sending this out in hopes of getting it published? That would be excellent. No, it was just a pet project. But he'd be flattered to know anyone thought it was good enough. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 No, it was just a pet project. But he'd be flattered to know anyone thought it was good enough. :) Definitely good enough!! I don't know that it would work as a book, because of publishing deadlines -- it would take a while to get published -- but I think that it would make an excellent tabloid-sized newspaper insert. Your husband should try to get some of the major papers to pick this up!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Well, he can't do that, unfortunately. This is okay because small scale and all, but his job prohibits him from writing about politics most of the time - definitely for newspapers. That's part of why it was fun for him though. Even writing for kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Well, he can't do that, unfortunately. This is okay because small scale and all, but his job prohibits him from writing about politics most of the time - definitely for newspapers. That's part of why it was fun for him though. Even writing for kids. I'm glad that he had so much fun with it! Definitely good enough to be published, imo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Color me impressed--thanks for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed.cleaner Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 A big thank-you to your husband! This is the perfect resource for us to get our head around American politics and will enable us to discuss how the US system differs from our system in Australia. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm919 Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Thanks for sharing! I'm going to print and bind it for my older daughter! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 A big thank-you to your husband! This is the perfect resource for us to get our head around American politics and will enable us to discuss how the US system differs from our system in Australia. That's a really cool use for it!. Dh told me he wanted this book to be like one semester in college when his apartment included a foreign exchange student who was like, what in the world is going on with your presidential race, it makes no sense! So he sat down with him and went through the whole process. He said the foreign student was rightfully appalled. But it's probably actually a really good book for non-American adults who are interested but confused by American elections. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 As soon as I get home I plan to download it. Thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Looks great, thanks for sharing this! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 I printed it and we are working our way through it now.....thanks :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Thank you for sharing! :thumbup1: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Bumping this to the top for anyone who missed it. This is a great resource for explaining the long presidential election process. My high school dc are really enjoying the election process this year. They've watched most of the debates so far and they're interested in the different positions on policies. It's hard to believe that they'll be old enough to vote in the presidential election after this one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 This is terrific. Thank you 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 My DD10 and I will finish it today. It was my intention to use it when originally posted back in the fall, but it got bumped by a hectic schedule. In retrospect, I'm glad we waited. Yesterday, my husband overheard us reading it aloud and discussing the questions posed at the end of each section. He got hooked and joined us at the table for a bit. Our family is funny in that we are a house-divided when it comes to politics; I think he just didn't want me to put a liberal spin on anything without having a chance to offer his very different (more conservative) perspective on things! Good times... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 Oh, it should have occurred to me to bump this now that Iowa is fast approaching. The numbers of candidates is now outdated, but nearly everything else is still good. I'm glad people are still finding it useful. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Wow. This looks great. I love the topics it covers - the primaries, polling, media, etc. I wanted to do something like this with my kids, but everything I find is about the constitution, balance of powers, # of congress people, etc. Fine stuff, but not where I wanted to focus. This is going to be a great starting off point for what I wanted to do. YAY! I love this and I'm super excited... if you can't tell. :tongue_smilie: Thank you to both of you!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropymama Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Awesome! Thanks for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpskowski Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 I'm glad this was bumped. The resources I am using lack the immediacy and the actual 2016 reality of elections. Thank your husband for sharing with us all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastforward Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I was searching for something and came across this post, and subsequently this great resource. Thank you and your husband for sharing and creating this. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anneofalamo Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 thank you so much, I haven't homeschooled in a while, and am back at it...lol I came here today, in search of something just like this! again WTM comes to the rescue! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 (edited) Dh was laughing the other day because when he wrote this he put in something about how contested conventions work, just like half a sentence or something, but basically saying but that never happens nowadays... Except... surprise. A real possibility this go around! I'm glad it's still useful though, even if the candidates are now a little outdated. It's certainly an interesting one to be following and teaching from. Edited March 17, 2016 by Farrar 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanchy Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Thanks for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Thanks, Farrar. It looks great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Thank your husband for making it available Farrar. There is precious little out American gov/election stuff out there for younger kids.Off to download. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Thank you so much for this download. My 12 yo is very interested in the process. Your ebook is a great addition to a read aloud we are doing from the library that I recommend "See How They Run - Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes and the Race to the White House by Susan E. Good and and Elwood H. Smith. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoose Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Very nice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairy4tmama Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 (edited) Thank you so much for sharing this! This is just what I have been looking for as a spine for discussing the elections in a more cohesive (dare I say well-rounded) way than our dinner time debates. We talk a lot about politics and current events so the election is getting a lot of dinner press in our house right now. I was impressed by this and thrilled to see pictures and discussion of third party candidates; Kudos to your DH! Thanks again for sharing, your blog has become one of the few that I follow. Edited March 23, 2016 by fairy4tmama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEGway Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Still really helpful! Thanks so much to your dh for writing it and being willing to share it, Farrar! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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