Yesterday, we had the privilege of visiting Spencer County’s campaign headquarters to learn about how laws are made in Kentucky.
The field trip was lead by Ms. Kim King, candidate for Kentucky State Representative, 55th District.
Class began with the pledge of allegiance to the American Flag…
Ms. King then presented a “Senate” bill (pizza would be served for lunch every day). The Senate discussed the bill, passed it and sent it to the “House.” The House then debated the bill (eating too much pizza is unhealthy, some people might be allergic, children might get bored with eating just pizza), but eventually passed it. It then went to the “Governor” to be signed into law.
A “House” bill was then presented (no school work, just recess all day!), debated (kids wouldn’t be smart if they never did school, maybe math can be done during recess games), and voted on.
The kids learned three new vocabulary words: commonwealth (Kentucky is one of 4), debate,
and tradition. To learn more about Kentucky tradition, we had a mock Kentucky Derby parade.
Some of the girls wore fancy hats…
while some of the boys wore handsome ties.
A few of the children got to be jockeys or trainers…
The jockeys and trainers paraded around to a recording of My Old Kentucky Home, while the spectators in pretty hats and fancy ties cheered…
Each student was given a booklet entitled, Kentucky Facts, in which they recorded who the state senator and state representative were for their districts. The booklet also has other coloring pages for state symbols, as well as Kentucky history.
Ben wasn’t sure he learned anything new today, but it was still an enjoyable field trip. And it’s always fun to get together with homeschool friends! Here’s a picture of the entire group…
I think it was a good jumping off point for a Kentucky state unit study. I’m writing one throughout the year for us to use next summer. I’ll keep you posted on that 🙂