How To Watch the Inguration With Kids: Biden-Harris Creates Child-Friendly "Our White House"

On January 20th, at 12 p.m. EST, Joe Biden will be sworn-in as the 46th President of the United States of America. After a historic election and violent division in the country, families everywhere are holding their breath, hoping for a moment of peace and, at the very least, the perception of calm. After a once-in-a-lifetime year of pain, suffering, and financial strain, many in the country is looking toward the future with some modicum of hope. And, as corny as it sounds, there’s really only one group of people who all of this inauguration hullabaloo is for — kids! This year, the incoming Biden administration has created an online streaming event called “Our White House.” (Watch the video at the top of this post)

Beginning at 10 a.m. EST on January 20th, the streaming program will aim to put the Inauguration in perspective for school-aged children. The event will be hosted by Keke Palmer, and will also feature Jill Biden. Also — and we cannot stress this enough — this special will feature a parade of the Presidential Pets.

Here’s the official description:

“Join us for the first-ever livestream for young Americans before and during the Inaugural Ceremonies. The livestream, hosted by award-winning entertainer and advocate Keke Palmer, will feature a special message from Dr. Jill Biden; commentary from historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Erica Armstrong Dunbar; a segment on presidential pets produced by Nickelodeon; excerpts of student voices from PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs “We the Young People” programming; trivia questions, including some asked by Doug Emhoff; segments produced by the Library of Congress; and other special features.”

On January 19, Discovery Education debuted the 20-minute kids’ video called “I Do Solemnly Swear,” a guided virtual “field trip,” to give kids an idea of what this is all about. Here are some kid-questions that “I Do Solemnly Swear,” aimed to answer:

• What is it like at a Presidential Inauguration?
• Why do we have inaugurations?
• Why do they happen on January 20?
• Why is the inauguration held at the Capitol?
• What is it like to move into the White House?

Like the kids-focused livestream, this video also features a ton of contributions from longtime educator, and incoming First Lady, Jill Biden. You can watch it here. And, if you want to actually learn some things yourself, maybe watch this before the Inauguration, so you can answer your kids’ questions like a pro. Seriously, do you actually know all this stuff? This video is awesome!

Finally, Discovery Education has a ton of other resources for the Inaguration including a brief, and very visual K-5 curriculum detailing everything that goes on.

You can check out all those resources here, which include Inauguration Trading Cards and a coloring book!

There’s also a really great set of prompts called “Family Discussion Starters.” These are helpful and thoughtful and even get into questions about how the different families feel when they move in — or out — of the White House.

Here’s everything else Discovery Education has on the Inauguration. Take a look at it ahead of time. You won’t regret it.