Losing is Democratic: How to Talk to Kids About January 6th - Part One

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries

January 6th is the three year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. More than a thousand people have been arrested, trials continue around the country, and the events of that day still echo during the upcoming election season.

So how do we talk to kids about January 6th? Let Fina help.

MY NAME IS FINA MENDOZA. My Papa works in the U.S. Capitol. He’s a congressman. Me? I solve mysteries. I had a new case: trying to find out who stole the class pizza.

But everything changed on January 6th.

While Papa was voting to certify the presidential election, a bunch of angry people broke into the Capitol. They believed that someone had stolen the election. They were really, really mad. I was really, really scared. My Papa was in that building. So were the parents of a lot of my classmates. Would the angry people hurt them? Why did this happen? Would it happen again?

We talked about it in class, about how angry John Adams was when he lost the election to Thomas Jefferson and what happened next. We learned how important losing is in baseball and class competitions and elections. And how to be a gracious winner and never a sore loser.

Oh, and I did solve the mystery of the missing pizza.

FREE curriculum for this episode available HERE.

A paperback version of this episode is available as a novella HERE.

“Our democracy is still very much in danger, and if elections are only considered valid if your side wins, our future is indeed dim. Kitty Felde helps us convey to children that our democracy depends on all sides of an election putting their allegiance to country above party, and her book helps open the door to a discussion about the perilous events on January 6th, how to find common ground, rebuild trust, and reach across the aisle, er, playground.”

— Congressman Adam Schiff