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(This post is part of my 50 Thrifty Fun Things To Do post series. Click here for more.)
I love Hilary and think we are so fortunate to have two fantastic candidates to put forward for the presidency. If Hilary is elected I’ll be tearing up (well, let’s be honest: sobbing) along with others for our first woman president. As much as I love her, I agree with Bernie on more issues, and how to go about creating that change both candidates want to see. I’ve been a democratic socialist for a long time now, and every political test I take that matches me up with a candidate depending on how I feel about the issues says I’m just that much more in Bernie’s camp than I am in Hilary’s. This isn’t a zero sum game. I can love both and support one candidate more than the other. My best friend is voting for Hilary, and many of my friends are undecided, and it’s not an issue for us. We can be different and still love each other to death.
That said, this post isn’t about persuading you, the reader, in any particular direction. I’m not campaigning. I’m sharing a craft that my kids really enjoyed and how we used it as a spring board to talk about president’s weekend, our country, the electoral process, and how our vote and opinion matter. This is a craft that we did to get them excited about being a national and global citizen. Though clearly, the artwork is pro-Bernie, you can do this for the candidate of your choice, and should get your kids involved in the political process and how that relates to your personal value system.
Anthony has been active in campaigning for Bernie, and though I can’t get out there and do as many things as Anthony, physically, I’m doing my part in helping to host the phone banks, and keep the kids happy and entertained while the volunteers are manning the phones. Supporting Anthony is my way of supporting Bernie–each gives in their own way.
Isobel has been channeling her desire to help into making lots of patriotic and pro-Bernie crafts, as that’s what she knows. She’s upset that kids aren’t allowed to vote so this is how she makes her voice heard. She’s made a lot of political decorations for our house for the phone bank, and told me she really wanted to make a Bernie t-shirt, since Anthony has one.
She chose to use her red vintage shirt from Bethany, since red is a very patriotic color, and the fabric markers I bought for making craft gifts at Christmas time. Those markers were about seven dollars for the whole package and we’ve gotten our money’s worth several times over. If you have a five or six year old, I can’t recommend them enough!
Brother, of course, wanted to do whatever sister is doing, so I pulled out one of his older play tee shirts and let him have at with with washable markers. I can’t trust him with fabric markers yet, but the washable markers are great because they washed out of the shirt and all the other places he managed to get it when I wasn’t looking. Like his face.
One of the friendly volunteers brought a package of buttons, and she copied his name and the slogan onto her shirt. She also drew a pretty awesome picture of Bernie himself.
Before I was born, my mother was an elementary school teacher, and she still has vintage school decorations tucked away in the vast reaches of her closet. Recently she came over with large paper busts of George Washington and Abe Lincoln. They were given to her by an aunt who retired from teaching about the same time my mom started in the 70s. So now we have vintage presidential busts overlooking our phone bank process.
Isobel didn’t feel like posing for the camera in her new shirt (“Another time, Mama.”), but Elias was happy to show off his shirt. He’s voting dinosaur.
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