11 ways kids can take part in the presidential inauguration

If kids were actually going to school, they’d likely be watching Wednesday’s inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on television and getting a civic lesson or two.

But in the pandemic, most of them are learning remotely. What’s a parent to do?

Here are some fun and educational ways to get your kids involved in this important American government ritual that only happens every four years. Most of these options go beyond watching the star-studded inauguration festivities on TV.

• Write a letter to the Veep. Ask your kids to tell Vice President-elect Kamala Harris what her historic election means to them. They can email the letters, along with their name and hometown, to letters@bideninaugural.org or post them online with the hashtag #LetterstoKamala.

• Watch a livestream curated just for youths. “Our White House: An Inaugural Celebration for Young Americans,” livestreams at 10 a.m. ET Wednesday and will feature segments from the Library of Congress, trivia and fun facts.

• Share your story. Watch videos kids have posted in which they voice their vision for the country or explain why giving back is important. Or create your own.

• Make a cameo. Share your vision for America using 8 words or less, upload the video and you could show up in the inauguration festivities.

• Write your own inaugural address. This guide from Scholastic can help.

• Design your own Oval Office. If you want to get really art-and-crafty, Crayola has directions on how you and your kids can design the most important office in the land.

• Test your knowledge of presidential pets. This quiz has different questions for different grade levels.

• Play inauguration bingo. Check out options for inauguration bingo here or create your own bingo cards.
• Design an inauguration parade float. This guide has ideas on how to build mini-floats from boxes and other materials or just draw a picture of your float.
• Play inauguration trivia. For example, who gave the shortest inaugural address? That’d be George Washington in 1793, who spoke only 135 words.

• Read about how government works. These children’s books help explain our political process and democratic system. They include “When you Grow up to Vote,” by Eleanor Roosevelt.