Learning about history and your community, keeping up with current events, respecting others, lending a hand: These are things all good citizens do. This summer, kids in grades K-8 can practice doing them, too, by taking the Good Citizen Challenge. This summer civics project, launched in 2018 by Se ven Days and Kids VT — with support from the Vermont Community Foundation — consists of 25 activities of various levels of difficulty. Some can be done in a few minutes; others require planning.  Complete them in whatever order you choose: Start with No. 1, start with the easiest and work your way through, or pick and choose the ones that appeal to you. Once you’re finished with each entry, upload it, along with evidence of your work, at goodcitizenvt.com to earn stars. Don’t wait until you’re done to send us your submissions! Every star is a chance to win prizes, and we’ll have weekly prize drawings all summer long, every Thursday on WCAX-TV’s “Channel 3 This Morning” at 6 a.m. Young people who take the Challenge as a team — with a total of three or more team members — can also win the opportunity to direct a Vermont Humanities grant of $500 to the nonpartisan nonprofit of their choice. Past winners have given their grants to groups such as Franklin County Animal Rescue and New Farms for New Americans. 2025 grand prize winner Susannah Rye posing near the Washington Monument Credit: Courtesy Participants who complete all 25 activities will be honored as Distinguished Citizens and recognized at a special Statehouse event in March 2027, during the next legislative session. Last year’s Distinguished Citizens met Lt. Gov. John Rodgers and Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas and were introduced before the Vermont House of Representatives — to a round of applause from the reps. This July 4, the country will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which announced the English colonies’ intent to break away from the king of Great Britain. The colonists eventually formed their own sovereign nation — now the United States of America. The 2026 Challenge leans into the semiquincentennial; several activities tie into the 250th. It’s an opportunity to learn more about the nation’s founding chapter and about life in Vermont in the 18th century.  We got help compiling this year’s slate of activities from our Good Citizen partners and Professor Ben t. Matchstick, founder of the Cardboard Teck Instantute and cocreator of the award-winning PinBox 3000 cardboard tabletop pinball machine kit. Ben offered suggestions and PinBox 3000 prizes! We hope you have as much fun doing the Challenge as we had designing it. The deadline to submit activities is Labor Day, September 7. Take the Challenge! Please note: You do not have to be an American citizen to be a Good Citizen. The post The 2026 Good Citizen Challenge Makes Learning Civics Fun appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less