Sunday, June 30, 2013

Return from Exile


Many years after God's people were exiled from their land by Nebuchadnezzar,
a new king came along named Cyrus who allowed everyone to come home,
and even gave back their treasures.

Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther were leaders that God chose
to help rebuild his people after they went back to their homes.

(from: wikipedia - esther)

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Sirius


We just learned about the Planet Alpha Centauri Bb

The brightest star in the night sky is called Sirius.

sirius
(from: wikipedia - sirius)

It can be found near the constellation of Orion.

Friday, June 28, 2013

French - July, August


Let's keep learning the months of the year in French!

We already learned that January is Janvier, February is Février, March is Mars, April is Avril, May is Mai and June is Juin.

Next up is July and August.
July, - Juillet - sounds like zhoo-ee-ay /?/

August- Août - sounds like oot /?/

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Circuit board


We learned before about electrical circuits.

If you take apart something electronic like an alarm clock, computer or a radio,
you will see a colored board with a bunch of metal and plastic things sticking out of it.

This called a circuit board.
circuit board
(from: wikipedia - printed circuit board)

The lines that you see on the circuit board are made of metal that are like wires in a circuit,
laid out on the board as small as possible to save space and make electronics really tiny!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Horse withers


We just learned about Cow Stomachs

Let's learn a little about Horses

Horses are big wonderful animals, with the largest eyes of any land animal.

When people want to measure a horse, they measure from the ground to the horse's withers.
The withers is the spot on the horse where the neck meets the back.

Horses are measured in hands, which is the same as 4 inches.
So if a horse is 15 hands high, then it is 15 * 4 = 60 inches tall at the withers.
horses
(from: wikipedia - horse)


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Ear bones - Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup


We just learned about the Inferior Nasal Concha.

Inside your ear are three little bones that your body uses to help make the sounds you hear.

The hammer, anvil and stirrup bones vibrate in your ear so you can hear.

middle ear
(from: wikipedia - middle ear)

Sometimes people call these by their names in Latin language:
malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), stapes (stirrup)

Monday, June 24, 2013

Scotland


Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

Last time we learneda bout Ireland.

Next up is Scotland.
Scotland is on the North part of the same island where England is.

scotland
(from: wikipedia - scotland)

In Scotland there were many families, also called clans and each clan had their symbols (called crests) and colors (tartans).

wallace crest wallace tartan
(from: wikipedia - clan wallace)

Scottish mean wear something called a kilt, which is like a skirt but worn by men!
kilt
(from: wikipedia - kilt)

They play a special instrument called a bagpipe,
which is a big full of air and a bunch of horns attached to it.
bagpipe
(from: wikipedia - bagpipe)


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Nebuchadnezzar


We just learned about some of the Other Kings in the Bible.

In the books about Kings, the Kings that ruled Israel turned away from God.

Becaus they stopped listening to him, God let a king named Nebuchadnezzar come in and rule over his people.

Nebuchadnezzar was not a nice guy!
He took away all of the special treasures that God had given his people,
and sent them away (exiled them) to a place called Babylon

They were exiled from their land for 60 years!


(from: wikipedia - nebuchadnezzar ii)

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Planet Alpha Centauri Bb


We've learned about the star system for Alpha Centauri,
and scientists now think they've found a planet in that star system!

The planet is called Alpha Centauri Bb.

It's not much like earth though, because it is so hot people think the whole planet is made of lava!

alpha centauri bb
(from: wikipedia - alpha centauri bb)


Friday, June 21, 2013

French - May, June


Let's keep learning the months of the year in French!

We already learned that January is Janvier, February is Février, March is Mars and April is Avril.

Next up is May and June.
May, - Mai - sounds just like May /?/

June - Juin - sounds like zhoo-ah /?/

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Periodic Table


We've learned about chemical elements and atomic numbers now,
but with all these different elements and atoms, how can anyone remember it all??

To help remember all of these different things, a scientist came up with something called the periodic table.
It takes all of the different chemical elements and puts them into a picture, organized by their atomic number.
Each element has it's own short name, like Oxygen is O, Hydrogen is H, Neon is Ne.

periodic table
(from: wikipedia - periodic table)

Not all of the names match exactly like you would guess!
Like Gold is Au, Sodium is Na, and Lead is Pb.
There are some really crazy named elements too, like Darmstadtium (Ds) and Ununpentium (Uup)!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Cow Stomachs


We just learned about the Cat's Tongue.

Have you ever heard that cows have 4 stomachs?
Well that's sort of true!

Cows really only have one big stomach, but it has four parts.
Each part of the stomach has a different job, like using up the food or water.

Cows also sometimes burp their food back up, chew it again and swallow it back down!
Yuck!
That's called chewing their cud.
cow
(from: wikipedia - cattle)

Cows can be known by many names, depending on if they are male, female, young, old and lots of other things.

These are all names for cows: bull, calf, cow, heifer, cattle, feeders, yearlings, stirks, steer, ox, springer, bullocks, stag, rig, freemartin, neat, beefing, pollard, milker, bovine

The word cow really means a grownup female cattle, but a lot of people just use the word cow.
Maybe it's just a fun word to say!


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Inferior nasal concha


Let's learn the last part of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible, maxilla, nasal bone, vomer, palatine bones, zygomatic bones and lacrimal bones.

The last one is the inferior nasal concha.

It's another one of the small hidden bones behind your nose area.
inferior nasal concha
(from: wikipedia - inferior nasal concha)

Monday, June 17, 2013

Ireland


Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

Last time we learned about England.

Next up is Ireland.

Ireland is an island right next to England,
and even though it it one island, it is split into two countries:
The Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland.

ireland

(from: wikipedia - ireland)

Ireland is known for some of it's wonderful castles like Killkenny castle
killkenny castle

Many people believe that a stone called the Blarney Stone gives anyone who kisses it
great skill in talking with people, so many people travel to kiss the blarney stone.
blarney stone

One symbol for good luck of the Irish people is the Shamrock.
clover

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Other Kings


From the time of the prophets Samuel and Elija and Kings Saul, David and Solomon, there were over 40 different Kings over Israel!

Some of them were good, but most of them were very very bad.

The people asked God for a person to be king over them to be a ruler in place of Him,
but all of these kings showed that people can not be trusted in the way we can always trust in God.
king of israel
(from: wikipedia - kingdom of judah)

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Alpha Centauri


We already learned about how Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to our solar system.

The next closest star is Alpha Centauri.
The neat thing about that star is that it's actually two stars!
Alpha Centauri A, and Alpha Centauri B.

They're so close that they actually look like one star.
alpha centauri
(from: wikipedia - alpha centauri)

Friday, June 14, 2013

French - March, April


Let's keep learning the months of the year in French!

We already learned that January is Janvier and February is Février.

Next up is March and April.
March, - Mars - sounds like ma-uh-ss /?/

April - Avril - sounds like ah-vuh-eel /?/

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Atomic number


We already know that atoms are super small things,
and that they have even smaller protons, neutrons and electrons in them.

We also know that chemical elements and molecules make up all the things in the world,
from the air to the water to the earth.

Each one of those chemical elements is different, because of the number of protons it has.

And the number of protons an atom or element has, we call that the atomic number.
It's different for every chemical element in the world!
atomic number
(from: wikipedia - atomic number)

For example, oxygen has 8 protons, and gold has 79.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Cat tongue


We just learned about the Northern Pike.

Have you ever been licked by a cat?

You'd know if you had, because their tongue is very rough!
It's rough like that to help when they're grooming, and if you look up close
you can see that their tongue has little spikes on it, almost like a hair brush!
cat tongue
(from: wikipedia - cat)

The spikes on the cat's tongue are made of keratin.
The same thing your hair and fingernails are made of,
and also rhino horns, turtle shells, and whale teeth!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Lacrimal bones


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

We've already learned about the mandible, maxilla, nasal bone, vomer, palatine bones and zygomatic bones.

Next up are the lacrimal bones, right behind your nose and on the inside part of your eyes.
lacrimal bones
(from: wikipedia - lacrimal bone)

Monday, June 10, 2013

England


Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

We've already learned about France, Spain and Germany.

Next up is England.
england
(from: wikipedia - england)

One of the oldest buildings ever found is in England, called Stonehenge built over 4,000 years ago!
stonehenge
(from: wikipedia - stonehenge)

England has a royal family with a Queen, princes and princesses!
The home of the royal family is Westminster Palace
westminster
(from: wikipedia - palace of westminster)

And a very famous scientist Isaac Newton was from England too!
isaac newton
(from: wikipedia - isaac newton)

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Elijah


After the death of Solomon there were other kings and rulers.
One bad king was Ahab and God sent his prophet Elijah to fight against him.

Elijah was a very powerful prophet.
He declared a drought from God because of the bad king,
and helped fight against people believing in things that weren't true.

In the end Elijah was such a great servant that God took him straight up into heaven!

(from: wikipedia - elijah)

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Proxima Centauri


We just learned about a bunch of constellations like Gemini.

The nearest star to our solar system is Proxima Centauri.
It is 4.24 light years away from us.

proxima centauri
(from: wikipedia - proxima centauri)

Remember that a light year is how long it takes to get somewhere,
traveling at the speed of light!

Friday, June 7, 2013

French - January, February


Let's learn the months of the year in French!

We'll start with January and February.

January, - Janvier - sounds like zh-on-vee-ay /?/

February - Février - sounds like fev-uh-ee-ay /?/

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Chemical Elements


We just learned how Molecules are a bunch of atoms stuck together.

Another fun thing to learn about is Chemical Elements.
These are the very simple types of atoms that make up all of the molecules that make up everything in the world.

So for example, Oxygen is a chemical element, and so is Hydrogen.
They're both types of gases,
and they both are atoms all by themselves.

But when these atoms get stuck together, they become a molecule and turn into water!

Every type of thing on the planet is made up of these chemical elements,
from the dirt under your feet to the clouds in the sky.
chemical elements
(from: wikipedia - chemical element)

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Northern Pike


We just learned a little about Vultures.

Another fun type of animal is the Northern Pike

This is a type of fish that is found across the northern parts of North America, Europe and Russia.

It is a predatory fish, which means it eats other fish!
Pike are such aggressive hunters that there are laws against letting pike fish get into some waters,
because they might eat up all the small fish.
pike
(from: wikipedia - northern pike)



Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Zygomatic bones


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

We've already learned about the mandible, maxilla, nasal bone, vomer and palatine bones.

Next up is the zygomatic bones, also known as your cheekbones.
zygomatic bone
(from: wikipedia - zygomatic bone)

Monday, June 3, 2013

Germany


Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

We've already learned about France and Spain.

Next up is Germany.

In Germany they speak German, and to say hello you would say guten Tag
The people there call their country Deutschland.

germany
(from: wikipedia - germany)

Many famous people came from Germany, like Martin Luther who helped start the Lutheran religion
martin luther
(from: wikipedia - martin luther)

Ludwig Van Beethoven, one of the most famous musicians ever
beethoven
(from: wikipedia - ludwig van beethoven)

And the famous scientist Albert Einstein
einstein
(from: wikipedia - albert einstein)

Sunday, June 2, 2013

King Solomon


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

Solomon was the son of King David and when David died he became the next King of Israel.

When Solomon was young, the Lord appeared to him and asked him what he wanted.
Solomon asked for wisdom, which made God happy because he could have wished for anything in the world!

Solomon was known as one of the wisest men who ever lived,
and he wrote a book of the bible called Proverbs which is full of wisdom he was given by God.


(from: wikipedia - solomon)

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Constellations - Gemini


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

Next up is Gemini.

This one is supposed to be two people that are twins standing next to each other.
The best way to find Gemini is to first find Orion and look to the right of Orion's belt and up a little.
gemini
(from: wikipedia - gemini constellation)