Tuesday, 21 June, 2022
It’s winter solstice today; Police warning for kids online; baby aardvark makes its debut; and a canoeing Fox makes her mark.
LINKS
‘Have A Go’ Month – Australian Olympic Committee: https://www.olympics.com.au/have-a-go/
Winter solstice explained: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-06-13/winter-solstice-when-is-it-why-does-it-happen/101141706
Baby aardvark photos and video: https://apnews.com/article/san-diego-wildlife-climate-and-environment-ade7a8ab117074c8b7a892c3013a1c59
Aardvark fun facts: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/aardvark
“Bad” Animal Parents book: https://www.booktopia.com.au/there-are-moms-way-worse-than-you-glenn-boozan/book/9781523515646.html
Squiz Kids for Schools – Free 30 Day Trial: https://www.squizkids.com.au/squiz-kids-for-schools/
Squiz Kids Apple Subscriber Content – Free 7 Day Trial: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/squiz-kids/id1494238283
Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Does everything feel a little bit wonky today? Like the planet is tipped at an extraordinary angle and we’re all walking a little bit uphill? Or maybe you’ll notice today that the sun takes an unusually long time to rise but then disappears over the horizon and sets earlier than usual.
That’s because today is what’s called the winter solstice – and it marks the day in which we’ve hit peak winter in Australia … which is to say – we’re halfway through winter. (CHEER)
To get all planetary for a moment – what it actually means is that today is the day on the Earth’s annual spin around the Sun where the southern hemisphere – that’s the one we live in – is tilted at its furthest point away from the Sun.
That tilt of the Earth’s axis is why we have seasons. When the southern hemisphere is titled towards the sun – which is it in summer – that’s when things start heating up.
I’ve stuck a link to an explainer in today’s episode notes.
The upshot? I know it’s been a cold winter so far – and there’s plenty more of winter to come – but if you’re a glass half full sort of person, you can take heart that we’re officially on the downhill run to summer. Though maybe don’t put on your togs and jump into the pool just yet..
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A new warning was issued by the Australian Federal Police yesterday for kids spending time online these school holidays to be careful who they communicate with.
Police have warned that boys are increasingly being targeted while they are online – with strangers getting in touch on social media apps, pretending to be young girls and tricking the boys into sending inappropriate photos – then using those photos to demand money from their families.
Bottom line: if you are online, don’t communicate with anyone you don’t know. And if you do find you’ve been tricked by someone online – tell an adult straight away. There’s nothing to be ashamed of and you might help police catch a baddie.
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops – and today we’ve landed in San Diego zoo, in California – where the world is finding out just how cute a baby aardvark can be.
An aardvark is a distant relative of the mole. It’s name comes from a South African word meaning ‘earth pig’ – because it spends a lot of time digging for insects.
And as the visitors of San Diego zoo are discovering, when they are babies, they are seriously cute.
An aardvark cub has just been revealed to the public at the zoo .. the obscenely cute critter was born last month – and is the first aardvark cub to be born at the zoo in 35 years. It hasn’t yet been given a name but its mum, Zola is said to be smitten… which is a fancy word for being head over heels in love.
I’ve stuck a link in today’s episode notes to photos and video of the cute fest. Because it’s a Tuesday and we all need a little hit of cute to get through the week.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Kids of Australia, I have to let you in on a little secret. Sometimes, your parents worry that they’re not doing a great job. Maybe they feel guilty that they got extra cross with you for not washing the dishes… or that they let you eat pizza out of the box and ice cream out of the container, so they didn’t have to worry about dishes.
If you want to make them feel better, let them know that there are plenty of examples in the animal kingdom of truly terrifying parents. They’re included in a book by comedian Glenn Boozan called “There are Mums Way Worse Than You”… although there are plenty of bad dads, too. I’ve put a link in your episode notes, but here are just a few of his short poems—all based on scientific research:
“Whenever you feel guilty that you haven’t cleaned the house,
Sexton beetles raise their kids in a decomposing mouse.”
Yeuch. Or…
“You won’t be worse than hamster moms, no matter how you try,
Sometimes they eat their newborn pups.
We still don’t yet know why.”
And …
“It’s not just moms, some dads suck too! They’re not all warm and snuggly.
A pipefish dad will eat his kids if he thinks that they’re ugly.”
Rosie, Flynn… consider yourselves lucky. Neither of you look nearly appetising enough for me to eat …
SPORT TIME
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Remember at the Tokyo Olympics last year when all of Australia stopped what they were doing to watch Jess Fox win gold in the canoe slalom? Trust me, it was a thing.
Now it seems sporting skill on the water runs in the family, with news yesterday that Jess’s sister Noemie won a silver medal in the World Cup, smashing out a winning time in the extreme slalom event.
Slalom is when you zig-zag your way down a course marked out by flags – extreme slalom is next level hard.
It means Noemie will now be in a good position to secure a spot on the Australian team heading to the Paris Olympics in 2024 … Go you good Foxes!
AD – OLYMPICS – SURFING
(sound of clock ticking) … Hear that? That’s the clock counting down to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games – which if you can believe it, are only 10 years away…. to celebrate we are bringing you a super sporty segment from the Australian Olympic Committee…
This month is ‘Have A Go Month’ so it’s the perfect time for you to pick an Olympic sport to have a go at – have fun with friends and challenge yourself, who knows where it will take you because great things happen when you have a go.
With almost 50 sports to choose from, there is an Olympic sport that is perfect for you. Today’s Olympic sport in the Squiz Kids spotlight is surfing … not least because Aussie Owen Wright took out our first ever surfing medal in Tokyo. Which is amazing, because six years before that, after being wiped out in a surf comp and suffering a head injury, Owen spent months in hospital and had to learn to walk again. Amazing.
That’s the spirit of having a go.
To discover the right sport for you and to find out more about ‘Have A Go Month’ go to haveago.olympics.com.au – there’s a link to it in our episode notes.
THE SQUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- What event did Aussie Noemie Fox win a silver medal in during a World Cup meet this week?
- What sort of animal cub has just gone on display in San Diego zoo?
- What’s the name given to the day where the Earth’s axis tilts a hemisphere as far away the sun as possible?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s June 21 … as well as being the winter solstice, it’s also World Music Day and World Yoga Day … so maybe get out there and do some yoga to music ..
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …
Evelyn from Forest Lake, Lucy from Woongarrah, Daniel from Lake Macquarie, Kohen from Yarrawonga, Anton from Hill End, Joshua from Paddington and Naveah from Dakabin.
And a belated shoutout goes to Olivia from Tarago.
Classroom shoutouts are going to…Year 6 and Miss Walsh at Hammond Park Primary School, class 6B and Miss Bishop at Eumundi State School,
class 5F with Mrs Fotakopoulos and Mrs Hall at Claremont Meadows Public School and to class 5MU and Mrs Murray at Scots All Saints College in Bathurst.
And it’s a very big welcome to Skye Fraser, another home educator who has just signed up to a Squiz Kids for Schools Membership. We are delighted to have you aboard Skye!
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Extreme Slalom
- Aardvark
- Winter solstice