Guest blogger Ronda Kaysen: Before you close the books on campaign 2008, give your kids a lesson in American civics. Elections can be confusing and scary for kids. Here are some tips on how to help your kids make sense of the endless array of blue and red maps that have been parading across the TV for the past 20 months.

Take your kids to the polls. Bring your kids with you when you vote. You'll be preparing them for a lifetime of political engagement. It will also make the process very real for them and remind them that they are today's citizens and tomorrow's voters. "A healthy democracy depends on the participation of citizens, and that participation is learned behavior; it doesn't just happen," said retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Watch the outcome together. Watch some of the election coverage with your kids so they can see how the votes are tallied. It's a good opportunity to discuss important elections are and how the process works. Scholastic.com has a great election news site for kids.

Stick to the basics. Use simple terms to explain the electoral process to your kids. Explain what voting means, what the parties are and what the president does. Our electoral college system can be confusing to adults, let alone kids. Use the election as an opportunity to tell them that there are more races than just the presidential one. Voters are choosing new representatives for Congress and that will affect the election, too. PBS.org offers a great tip sheet for parents.

Calm the scaries. This election has been a particularly nasty one, and kids pick up on some of the darker elements (Obama is linked to terrorists and will "take away our freedoms," calls at rallies to "kill him," McCain is unstable.) Try to calm your kids' fears. Let them know that tempers flare during elections because people are very passionate for their candidate. But reassure them that they will still be safe if either candidate is elected. After all, both candidates already work in government.

Prepare your kids for any outcome. If you've had all your fingers and toes crossed for one candidate, your kids probably know about it. If you find yourself on the losing side of the race tomorrow, that can be a blow for kids. Let them know that sometimes the team they're rooting for loses and sometimes their team wins (that's a good lesson for us grownups, too!) It's all part of the democratic process. Remember, Republicans won the last two presidential elections and the Democrats won the two before that. In two years, voters will get to choose new representatives in Congress and in four years there will be another presidential election. Remind them that government changes hands sometimes. It's part of the democratic process. After all, it's why we vote.