How one preschool uses PAW Patrol to teach democracy

ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) — As lawmakers voted on a budget deal at the U.S. Capitol, a different kind of balloting was taking place a dozen miles away in a sun-filled Virginia preschool classroom. At stake: which animated dog was the best character on the cartoon “PAW Patrol.”

In a heated primary, the 3-and-4-year-old students in room 14 at the ACCA Child Development Center had narrowed it down to two finalists: Chase, a German shepherd who wears a police uniform, and Skye, who wears a pink “pup pack” and is a favorite among girls in the class. The children cast votes by scrawling their names in crayon beneath pictures of the two characters. By mid-morning, it was a dead heat: five votes to five.

Benejas Abeselome, 4, put his name down for Chase.

“Police take bad guys,” Benejas said. “I wanted police because I like policing.”

It will be years before these youngsters vote in a real election, but ACCA is one of many preschools around the country that have been starting students early on civics education. The goal is nothing short of raising good citizens and strengthening democracy.

At this age, children are not learning about the three branches of government or how a bill becomes a law. Teachers are working with them on how to solve problems with classmates, how to deal with anger or disappointment without being hurtful and how to think about others’ needs. These are lessons, teachers say, that can be difficult to draw from grown-up politicians — especially during a vitriolic campaign season.

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