A few Fridays ago Sophie, Haleigh and I dropped Mackenzie off at her buddy's house, way too early, and headed down the road to Columbia for an adventure. We arrived at TeenPact excited for our day, but really not too sure what was ahead of us.
We were proud of ourselves for finding our way to the exact spot in the Capitol complex and being on time!! At the start of the day we were introduced to the staff and given the overview of the schedule ahead. It was a privilege to kick it all off with praise and worship. After learning a bit about the branches of government and their purposes we headed out on a prayer walk.
What a blessing to hear the sweet voices of children 8 - 12 years old praying for service men and women, their representatives and our governor.
After a quick lunch we headed out on a scavenger hunt. We gathered so much information about our state and its capitol. One of the most fun facts we learned was why there are six stars placed randomly on the capitol building .
Each star marks a spot where a Union cannon struck the capitol building during the Civil War.
As we reconvened from lunch and the scavenger hunt there was a great lecture on public speaking and an interactive discussion about speaking distractions.
Next were some great skits to demonstrate how bills are passed backed and forth between the House and Senate then failed or made into a bill. Prior to this fun day each of the girls had written their own "bill." Each student was given a "first read" and their bills were sent to committees for further discussion.
We broke up into committees and discussed the bill just as they would in the house committees. Having the kids fully participate really cemented in the process. After passing some bills in committee we again convened as the "full house." Then closed the day after great discussion and demonstration of all the kids learned.
It was a great day!!! Already planning to go back next year.
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