Losing is Democratic: Explaining January 6th to Kids

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries

How do you explain the events of January 6th to children?

This special Fina Mendoza Mysteries episode is designed to help parents and teachers talk to young people about the attack on the U.S. Capitol two years ago and what larger lessons can be learned.

FREE curriculum for this episode can be downloaded here.

There is a NEW e-book version of Losing is Democratic available for 99 cents on Amazon.

The episode takes place on January 6th, 2021, in a zoom classroom, meeting remotely because of the pandemic. Our 10-year-old detective Fina Mendoza, the daughter of a congressman, has a new mystery to solve: who stole the 5th grade's pizza, a prize for the winner of a reading competition with the 4th grade?

Fina and her classmates have parents who work in the U.S. Capitol and they learn of the attack during class. Their teacher, Miss Greenwood, helps them understand the events in a larger context. They discuss the electoral process, George Washington's decision not to run for a third term, traditional post-game high fives in baseball, and how John Adams and Thomas Jefferson found a way to reconciliation after a particularly nasty election.

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are based on a series of novels by Kitty Felde, including Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza and State of the Union, published by Chesapeake Press and can be ordered at your local library, Amazon, or your favorite indie bookstore.

KItty Felde covered Capitol Hill for public radio for nearly a decade. She used to explain how Congress works to grownups. Now, she explains it to children.