It’s democracy sausage time people. Or at least, it has been the weekend just gone here in Queensland, where we’ve just had a state election.

Of course, our little exercise in democracy in the Sunshine State will be dwarfed by the main event that’s about to play out in the United States.

Next Tuesday, Americans head to the polls to elect a new US President.

I’ve done a lot of classroom visits these past few months and am always struck by how engaged primary school kids are in the US election, and how (relatively) sophisticated is their understanding of the candidates and issues at play.

Here at Squiz Kids, we’re big believers in the importance of civics education. Which is to say: educating kids about the political system in which they live and will grow up to take part in.

To our mind there’s a lot of cross-over between civics education and media literacy. The two go hand-in-glove when it comes to protecting our democracy.

Which is the perfect excuse for me to recommend to a four-part podcast series we produced a while back with our friends from the Museum of Australian Democracy.

It’s called The Sensational World of Civics – and across four podcast episodes, introduces kids to the history of Australian democracy, why Canberra was chosen as the capital, how elections work and what happens in our Parliament.

Because you can’t value what you don’t understand.

Get your freak on this Halloween 

Ghost and ghouls, phantoms and freaks. And no, I’m not just talking about the US Presidential Election. Boom-tish!

If the neighbourhood suddenly becoming coated in fake cobwebs or the shelves at Woolies being stacked with half-price Snickers 12-packs hadn’t already given it away: this Thursday is Halloween. And kids all over Australia will be dressing up and getting ready to trick or treat.

And yes: there are still those who complain it’s an American holiday that we’ve adopted over here for no apparent reason. And those who point out that the real winners are the retailers who have another holiday with which to separate us from our hard-earned.

But I choose to focus on the positive: and the fact that it brings communities together. Neighbours speak to neighbours they’ve never met before, suburban streets are full of families having fun.

And so this year we’re leaning into the Halloween spirit with the release on Thursday night of Squiz Kids’ inaugural Spooky Halloween Bedtime Story.

It will drop around 6pm AEDT. The idea being you can dim the lights and spark up the jack-o-lantern and have a listen as a family when you get back from trick or treating.

What happens when Squiz-E the Newshound hears a knock at his door late at night? And exactly what is that strange glow hovering down the street?

Tune in … if you dare!

This week on Squiz Kids …

This week’s Squiz Kids Shortcut is on Halloween …  an excellent, ten-minute, kid-friendly deep dive into the history of this holiday – looking at where Halloween comes from, why people dress up, and what the traditions of pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, and haunted houses are all about.

On Thursday night, as we’ve already discussed, to mark the big ol’ spooky day itself, we’re punching out a Squiz Kids Spooky Halloween Bedtime Story. It will drop around 6pm AEDT.

And of course, on Friday you can test to see who’s been paying the most attention to the week that just was in our celebrated Kids v Adult Weekly News S’Quiz.

ZOWN – a safe online space for tweens

So – in another lifetime, I had the distinct pleasure of walking the Kokoda Track with a bunch of excellent humans – one of whom was a clever mum-of-four by the name of Lauren Adlam.

Lauren has loads of corporate and life experience and has parlayed that into the creation of a new online safe space for tweens, called ZOWN – pronounced ‘zone’.

She decided to build the app after witnessing first-hand just how different it is for kids growing up in this digital generation – and how challenging it is for parents trying to navigate these years alongside their kids.

ZOWN has been created to be a safe space online for kids – their own zone… somewhere to feel good about the world and their place in it.

From positivity posts, good news stories and relevant resources for tweens and teens (puberty, school, friendship and so much more) to goal setting, daily mood check-ins, fun trivia and riddles and even creating your own content to share in the ZOWN community, in a safe, and moderated way – ZOWN is about helping kids to thrive.

One of ZOWN’s coolest features is Zed (pictured below), a digital buddy who is always available to listen.

Want to check it out? ZOWN is available in the app stores – or find out more at www.zown.app.

It’s free and there’s a premium option for more features.

And as a special Squiz Kids offer: use the code SQUIZ24 for free premium access for 3 months! Woo-hoo! 

On our radar …

We’re up to our eyeballs all day, everyday in all things kids and parenting. So when we see an article or come across a topic we think you might be interested in, we’ll post it here.

Family gap year … have you ever dreamed of chucking in your job for a year, bundling the kids into the car and heading off with the camper-trailer? This ABC article reports on when is the best age to take kids out of school for a year.

AI in the classroom … the extent to which school kids are using generative AI in the classroom, to complete assignments or perform mundane tasks, is more pronounced than you might think, according to this article. But how to limit screen-time in an age when connectivity is crucial to learning?

Smile on your dial … 

One of my favourite stories for the podcast this week has been the Bat Beauty Contest that’s currently unfurling on Instagram.

Taking their inspiration from Fat Bear Week, lovers of the winged mammal have launched an online competition to find the most attractive bat. With a Halloween twist, of course.

As an honorary Queenslander, I’d like to vote the fruit bat for last position. Because scraping their pooh off the duco has become one of my least favourite past-times since moving to this otherwise fair corner of our country.

Have yourselves a most excellent week …