Friday, May 31, 2013

French - Saturday, Sunday


Let's keep learning the days of the week in French.

We already learned that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday is Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi, and Thursday, Friday is Jeudi, Vendredi.

Last is Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, - Samedi - sounds like sahm-dee /?/

Sunday - Dimanche - sounds like dee-mah-sh /?/

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Molecules


Remember we learned that ions are atoms with a mismatched number of protons and electrons.

When these mismatched atoms meet up with other mismatched atoms,
they can stick together to become a bunch of atoms, called a molecule.

(from: wikipedia - properties of water)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Vultures


We just learned about Wasps and Bees.

Vultures can look pretty gross and scary sometimes, mostly because of their head with no feathers on it.

They don't have feathers because vultures eat carrion which means dead animals.
Since the meat they're eating may be old and kind of nasty,
they don't have feathers on their head so they don't get all messy and covered in old meat.
turkey vulture
(from: wikipedia - turkey vulture)

Even though vultures look scary, they only eat animals that are already dead,
so you don't have to worry about them attacking you.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Palatine bones



Let's learn the other parts of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible, maxilla, nasal bone and vomer.
Next up is the palatine bone. If you feel in the roof of your mouth toward the back, that's it! It is part of the roof of your mouth and is below your nose.
palatine
(from: wikipedia - palatine bone)


Monday, May 27, 2013

Spain


Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

We've already learned about France.

Next up is Spain.

In Spain they speak Spanish, and to say hello you would say Hola!.
The people there call their country EspaƱa (like Ess-pahn-yah)
spain
(from: wikipedia - spain)


Spain is home to a special type of dancing called Flemenco
flemenco
(from: wikipedia - flamenco)

And there is an old tradition of a running race where people are chased by wild bulls!
It's called the running of the bulls
running of the bulls
(from: wikipedia - running of the bulls)

Sunday, May 26, 2013

King David



Let's keep learning about the kings from the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.
We already learned about the prophet Samuel and King Saul.

Next up is King David.

David was a small boy, but he had great faith.

When the Israelits were fighting a giant named Goliath none of the soldiers would meet him in battle,
but David went up against him using only a sling to throw rocks.
He hit Goliath right in the head and killed him, because he believed in God's power.

David was also a musician, and met with King Saul because his music helped make the king's bad headaches go away.

Eventually David became king after Saul died.
He is such a popular king that some people called Jesus a son of David because Jesus was from David's family.

David was a great king until one day when he saw a woman that was not his wife,
and stole her away from her husband.

God was angry because David could have had anything he wanted, but he stole something that wasn't his.
David loved the Lord and so he begged for forgiveness.
God forgave him, but because David had done something bad, he had many other problems with his family.

Eventually David died as an old man in his bed after making his son Solomon the next king.

(from: wikipedia - david)

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Constellations - Taurus


We've now learned about the constellations the Big Dipper and Orion.

Next up is Taurus.
This one is supposed to be a giant bull in the sky.
The best way to find it is to first find Orion, then look to the left of Orion's belt and you should see a bunch of stars that make up a V shape.
That's Taurus!

Follow the points of the V and you should find two stars that make up the points of the bull's horns.

taurus
(from: wikipedia - taurus constellation)


Friday, May 24, 2013

French - Thursday, Friday


Let's keep learning the days of the week in French.

We already learned that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was Lundi, Mardi and Mercredi

Next up is Thursday and Friday.

Thursday - Jeudi - sounds like zhuh-dee /?/

Friday - Vendredi - sounds like vahn-duh-ah-dee /?/

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Ions


We just learned a little about Mass.

A while back we learned about atoms,
and the parts inside of them protons, neutrons and electrons

Electrons have a negative charge, and Protons have a positive charge.

If an atom has more electrons than protons or more protons than electrons,
then we call it an ion.

If we know the number of electrons and protons, we can figure out whether it is more negative or more positive.

So if an atom has 4 electrons and 2 protons, then there are 2 more electrons.
This would give the atom a negative charge of 2.
An ion with a negative charge is called an anion.

If an atom has 6 protons and 2 electrons, then there are 4 more protons.
This would give the atom a positive charge of 4.
An ion with a positive charge is called a cation.


(from: wikipedia - ion)

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Wasps and Bees


We just learned about the Flying Squirrel.

Let's learn about Wasps and Bees.

When striped yellow bugs are flying in the air, it can be hard to tell sometimes if it is a bee or a wasp.
Maybe because there are over 100,000 types of wasps, and 20,000 types of bees!

The biggest difference you can notice is that most bees have some hair on them, and wasps have no hair.
Bees eat nectar from flowers, and wasps eat other bugs.
Most bees die when they sting you, and most wasps don't die and can keep stinging.

Even though we might be scared of bee and wasp stings, they do help us out!
Bees help make flowers grow, and wasps eat small bugs that can hurt plants and crops.

Here is a honey bee:
honey bee
And a bumble bee:
bumble bee

Here is a yellow jacket (wasp):
yellow jacket
Here is a hornet:
hornet
(from: wikipedia - characteristics of common wasps and bees)


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Vomer


Let's learn the other parts of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible, maxilla and nasal bone.
Next up is the vomer. You can't really see where it is but it's a bone below your nose and above the roof of your mouth.
vomer
(from: wikipedia - vomer)

Monday, May 20, 2013

France


We just learned about the South American Islands.

Let's learn about the countries in Europe!

First up is France.

In France they speak French, and to say hello you would say Bonjour!.
More people go on vacation to France than any other place in the world.
france
(from: wikipedia - france)

The most famous city in France is Paris.

There you will find things like the eiffel tower:
eiffel tower
and the Louvre museum:
louvre

Sunday, May 19, 2013

King Saul


Let's keep learning about the kings from the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.
We already learned about the prophet Samuel.

Next up is King Saul.

Saul was a very handsome man, and led God's people to win battles with other people.

He later had problems because he was impatient.
When he didn't listen to some instructions God gave him through Samuel, God was angry.

Saul was also jealous of David, because people were talking about how great a warrior he was.
So he planned to kill David, but Saul's son Jonathan was David's best friend and he saved him.

Saul was eventually killed in a battle.

king saul
(from: wikipedia - saul)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Constellations - Orion


We learned before about the constellation the Big Dipper.

Let's learn about some more constellations!

The constellation of Orion looks like a person, and if you connect the dots
and use your imagination you might be able to see someone who is hunting with a bow and arrow.

In old Greek stories (called mythology) Orion was a great hunter.
orion
(from: wikipedia - orion constellation)

The best way to find Orion in the sky is to look for three stars together, these are part of Orion's belt.

Friday, May 17, 2013

French - Monday, Tuesday, Wedesday


Let's learn the days of the week in French!

Monday - Lundi - sounds like lah-n-dee /?/

Tuesday - Mardi - sounds like mah-uh-dee /?/

Wednesday - Mercredi - sounds like meh-uh-k-uh-dee /?/


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Mass


We learned before about Earth's gravity and how it pulls you to the ground.

The reason it does that is because of something called mass.

Mass is sort of like how heavy something is, but also how big it is.

So a marshmallow as big as a house may be heavy enough to squash you,
but if you had a marshmallow as big as a bowling ball, the bowling ball is heavier.

A bowling ball is pretty heavy, but a bowling ball the size of a penny would be pretty light.

The two things that work together for mass are size and something called density.
Density is another big word that means something like how thick a thing is for it's size.

If something has really big size and density (like Earth) then it has really big mass.
If it is big but fluffy like a cloud, it has small mass.
If it is small but really thick density like a marble, it has small mass.
And if it is small and fluffy like a marshmallow then it has really small mass.
earth
(from: wikipedia - earth)

marshmallows
(from: wikipedia - marshmallow)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Flying squirrel


We just learned a little about Earthworms.

Squirrels are fuzzy little crazy creatures that can scramble up and down trees almost faster than you can see.
Just think how crazy it would be if squirrels could fly!

There really is such a thing as a flying squirrel, but it doesn't really fly as much as it glides, kind of like a paper airplane.

The flying squirrel has skin between it's arms and legs, called patagium, just like a bat's wings.

flying squirrel
(from: wikipedia - flying squirrel)

When it jumps from one tree to the next, it spreads out its arms and legs to glide through the air.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Nasal bone


Let's learn the other parts of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible and the maxilla.

Next up is the nasal bone which is what we call the bridge of your nose.
nasal bone
(from: wikipedia - nasal bone)



Monday, May 13, 2013

South American Islands


We just learned about the countries of Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana.

We've now learned about all of the mainland countries in South America, but let's not forget that there are islands too!

Some island countries are at the Southern part of South America,
like South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the Falkland Islands
south georgia and south sandwich islands
(from: wikipedia - south georgia and the south sandwich islands)

There are also islands at the Northern part of South America,
like Trinidad and Tobago and the ABC Islands Aruba, Bonaire and CuraƧao.

trinidad and tobago
(from: wikipedia - trinidad and tobago)

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Samuel, Kings & Chronicles


Let's keep learning about the other Books of History in the Old Testament.
We already learned about Joshua, Judges and Ruth.

Next up are the books of 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles..
For the numbered books we say first or second, like First Samuel and Second Samuel.

These six books all talk about some prophets and very famous kings that ruled over Israel for some time.

The first person is Samuel. He was a prophet of the Lord, which means he talked to God, and got instructions from God that he told to other people.
Samuel also anointed Kings, which means he declared to all the people that God had chosen that person as King.

Samuel was a very faithful man, and anointed both King Saul and King David.



(from: wikipedia - samuel)

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Asteroid belt


We just learned about the Atmosphere.

We've learned about asteroids and we've learned about the kuiper belt which is full of asteroids.

It turns out there is an even larger bunch of asteroids in our solar system
called the asteroid belt.
asteroid belt
(from: wikipedia - asteroid belt)

There are over a million asteroids in the asteroid belt!

Friday, May 10, 2013

French - His face is rough


We've now learned that This house is big is Cette maison est grande
The chair is small is La chaise est petit,
My drink is cold is Ma boisson est froide,
Your food is hot is Votre nourriture est chaud,
Their car is tall is Leur voiture est haut,
and Our table is short is Notre table est courte,
and Her hands are soft, is Ses mains sont douces.

To say His face is rough, you would say Son visage est rude.

His - Son - sounds like sawn /?/
face - visage - sounds like vee-zazh /?/
is - est - sounds like ay /?/
rough - rude - sounds like uh-oo-d /?/

All together it sounds like sawn vee-zazh ay uh-oo-d /?/

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Earth's Gravity


When you drop a ball to the ground, what makes it fall?

Gravity! Our gravity comes from our planet Earth always pulling us back toward the ground.
Gravity is a type of acceleration, and the longer we fall toward the Earth the faster we'll go.

So if you fall from an airplane, you'll start out falling slow,
then you'll go faster and faster until you pull your parachute and slow yourself down.

If you drop a ball from the sky, it will fall slow at first, then faster and faster.
gravity
(from: wikipedia - gravitation)

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Earthworms


We just learned about Kangaroos.

How do earthworms move through the ground without feet or hands?
They use tiny claws that are like hairs called setae and then squish their bodies along to get through the ground.


(from: wikipedia - earthworm)


Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Maxilla


Let's learn the other parts of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible.

Next up is the maxilla, which is your upper jaw and behind your nose.

maxilla
(from: wikipedia - maxilla)


Monday, May 6, 2013

Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana


We just learned about the countries of Peru and Ecuador.

The last 4 countries that make up the northern part of South America are Venezuela, Surinam, Guyana and French Guiana

Venezuela got it's name from traveler Amerigo Vespucci, who thought the many houses on water reminded him of Venice, Italy.

It is the site of Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world.
angel falls

venezuela
(from: wikipedia - venezuela)

Suriname was originally a Dutch colony, and is the only country in North and South America where Dutch is the official language.
suriname
(from: wikipedia - suriname)

Guyana is the only South American country where the official language is English.
The original land called Guiana was much larger and included Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and parts of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil.
Guyana
(from: wikipedia - guyana)

French Guiana is a territory controlled by France, and it has the Guiana Space Centre there, the place that Europe usually uses to launch rockets into outer space.
french guiana
(from: wikipedia - french guiana)


Sunday, May 5, 2013

Ruth


Let's keep learning about the other Books of History in the Old Testament.

We already learned about Joshua and Judges.

Next up is Ruth.

During the days from the book of Judges, an Israelite woman named Naomi had a husband and two sons.
Both of the sons married women that were from the land of Moab, where they didn't know about God's laws and his people.

Then Naomi's husbands and her two sons both died!
She was alone, and only her one daughter in law Ruth stayed with her.

Naomi and Ruth both returned to Bethlehem, and there Ruth worked very hard to help gather leftover crops, and because of her hard work a man named Boaz noticed her and ended up marrying her!

Ruth was a very important mother, because her great grandson was David who went on to be king of Israel.


(from: wikipedia - ruth (biblical figure))

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Atmosphere


We just learned about how meteoroids become meteors or shooting stars when they get close to a planet.

They burn up because of a planet's atmosphere.
The atmosphere is the air up in our sky!

Just think about how a strong wind feels blowing on your face.
That wind is maybe blowing at 20 miles per hour.

Now imagine that wind blowing at 100,000 miles per hour!
That's how fast some meteors travel when they enter Earth's atmosphere,
and they burn up because they're going so fast they can't handle that kind of wind.

atmosphere
(from: wikipedia - atmosphere)


Friday, May 3, 2013

French - Her hands are soft


We've now learned that This house is big is Cette maison est grande
The chair is small is La chaise est petit,
My drink is cold is Ma boisson est froide,
Your food is hot is Votre nourriture est chaud,
Their car is tall is Leur voiture est haut,
and Our table is short is Notre table est courte.

To say Her hands are soft, you would say Ses mains sont douces.

Her - Ses - sounds like say /?/
hands - mains - sounds like mahnz /?/
are - sont - sounds like soh-n /?/
soft - douces - sounds like doose /?/

All together it sounds like say mahnz soh-n doose /?/

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Acceleration


Last time we learned how kinematics is the study of measuring how things move.
We learned about distance, time and velocity.

There's another fun thing we can measure, called acceleration.

Imagine you are in a race car at the starting line.
As soon as the race starts you are going to speed up to go as fast as you can, until you cross the finish line.

How fast were you going right before the race started?
Your velocity was zero, (0 mph) because you weren't moving.

And by the time you crossed the finish line maybe you were going super fast,
so your velocity was 100 mph.

When we want to measure how fast you sped up, that's called acceleration.
We usually use the letter a for acceleration.

We're measuring how much velocity (v) changes over time (t).
Velocity is in miles per hour (mph) or meters per second (m/s).
Time is in hours (h) or seconds (s).

So m/s / s = m/s^2, meters per second per second or meters per second squared.

It might sound funny, but that's how we measure how fast we changed from one speed to another.


(from: wikipedia - acceleration)

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Kangaroos


We just learned about the Spider Monkey.

Kangaroos are a type of animal known as a marsupial.

Marsupials carry their babies in a pouch. Baby kangaroos are known as joeys.
kangaroo
(from: wikipedia - kangaroo)