Monday, March 31, 2014

Asia - Many Countries


Even though we've covered 22 different countries in Asia, we're not even half way through all of them!

There are some very small countries that are just the size of a city!

Here is a list of 49 countries in Asia!

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste/East Timor, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

Asia is the largest continent, so it's no surprise it has so many countries!
asia
(from: wikipedia - list of sovereign states and dependent territories in asia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Columbia

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Jesus' Miracles - Catching Fish


We've learned about Jesus' Miracles healing lepers, healing the blind, healing the paralyzed, healing women, healing on the sabbath, healing in a synagogue, healing a deaf and mute person, healing the centurion's servant, healing just by touching his cloak, raising the dead and turning water to wine.
Another miracle Jesus performed was when some of his apostles were fishing for a long time and could not catch any fish.

He told them to try again, and when they did they brought up so many fish they couldn't carry them in one boat!

jesus catch fish
(from: wikipedia - miracle of draught of fishes)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Leviticus

Saturday, March 29, 2014

First Quarter Moon


We've learned now about the moon's lunar phases: full moon, new moon and waxing crescent moon.

The next phase after waxing crescent is called first quarter.
When you look up in the night sky and you see the right half of it, that is a first quarter moon.

A quarter is when you divide something up into four equal parts, a quarter is one of those parts.
So if you divide the moon into four parts: 1 back left (dark), 2 back right (dark), 3 front left (dark), 4 front right (light)
You can see that only one of the four parts of the moon has sun light on it.

quarter moon
(from: wikipedia - category:lunar phases)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Kuiper Belt

Friday, March 28, 2014

Spanish - We are surprised


We just learned that in Spanish:
I am happy is Estoy feliz,
You are sad is Estás triste,
He is angry is Él está enojado
and They are excited is Ellos estan emocionados.

Now let's learn how to say We are surprised.
We can break it up into two words:
We are - Estamos - sounds like ay-stah-moh-ss /?/
surprised - sorprendido - sounds like soh-d-pden-dee-doh /?/

All together Estamos sorprendido sounds like ay-stah-moh-ss soh-d-pden-dee-doh.

association of spanish language academies
(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - We are surprised - Nous sommes surpris

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Slate


We've learned now about sandstone, marble, basalt and limestone rock.

Another type of metamorphic rock is slate.

Slate is made up of volcanic ash and clay that has been squished together over many years, until they become hard and flat.
slate
(from: wikipedia - slate)

Since slate is so hard and flat, it was used to build many things like roof tiles.
slate roof
(from: wikipedia - slate)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Solid, Liquid, Gas

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Emu


We just learned about the Nayala.

The Emu is the second largest bird in the world, right after the ostrich.

Emus don't chirp like a small bird, they make booming, drumming, grunting and hissing sounds that can be heard from a mile away!

emu
(from: wikipedia - emu)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wolverine

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Blood Air Barrier


We've learned that air comes down your trachea into your bronchi, then to bronchioles and finally to your alveoli where the oxygen you need goes into your blood.

The place in your alveoli where the oxygen in the air goes into your blood is called the blood-air barrier.

The air you breathe in has oxygen (sometimes called O2) that your body takes into your blood and sends all over your body.
Your body uses up the oxygen and sends back carbon dioxide (sometimes called CO2) in your blood to get rid of when you breathe out.

The blood-air barrier is where the oxygen goes in the blood, and the carbon dioxide comes out of the blood.
You can think of it like your body dumping out the old garbage CO2, and pickup up the new fresh O2 you need.
blood-air barrier
(from: wikipedia - blood-air barrier)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Parietal Bones

Monday, March 24, 2014

Sri Lanka


We just learned about the country of Lebanon.

Sri Lanka is a small country in Asia, just South of India.
sri lanka
(from: wikipedia - sri lanka)

To eat in Sri Lanka, you might have kiribath, which is a kind of rice pudding made with coconut milk.
kiribath
(from: wikipedia - kiribath)

Cyril Ponnamperuma was a famous scientist from Sri Lanka that came to the United States to work on the space program at NASA.
cryil ponnamperuma
(from: wikipedia - cryil ponnamperuma)

Hundreds of years ago, a king built a palace inside a giant stone mountain, called Sigiriya.
sigiriya
(from: wikipedia - sigiriya)

The most popular sport in Sri Lanka is called cricket. It is a little like baseball, but the bat is much larger like a paddle.
cricket
(from: wikipedia - cricket)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Brazil

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Jesus' Miracles - Turning water to wine


We've learned about Jesus' Miracles healing lepers, healing the blind, healing the paralyzed, healing women, healing on the sabbath, healing in a synagogue, healing a deaf and mute person, healing the centurion's servant, healing just by touching his cloak and raising the dead.

Jesus also turned water into wine!

At a wedding that Jesus and his mother were invited to, they ran out of wine and only had water left.
Jesus had some people bring him large containers of water, and he turned it to wine.
turning water to wine
(from: wikipedia - marriage at cana)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Exodus

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Waxing Crescent


We know that a full moon is when the sun is on the other side of us, shining right on the moon, and a new moon is when the moon is totally dark because it is in between the earth and the sun.


Right after a new moon, the moon will start to get some sunlight on it's right side. This makes a crescent shape, so we call it a crescent moon. Since the moon is going to get more full as the days go on, we use the word waxing to say that it is going to get fuller. So we can say the moon is waxing crescent.
waxing crescent moon
(from: wikipedia - category:photographs of the waxing crescent moon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pluto

Friday, March 21, 2014

Spanish - They are excited


We just learned that in Spanish I am happy is Estoy feliz, You are sad is Estás triste and He is angry is Él está enojado.

Now let's learn how to say They are excited.
We can break it up into the three words:
They - Ellos - sounds like ay-oh-ss /?/
are - estan - sounds like ay-stah-n /?/
excited - emocionados - sounds like ay-moh-see-oh-nah-doh-s /?/

All together Ellos estan emocionados sounds like ay-oh-ss ay-stah-n ay-moh-see-oh-nah-doh-s.

association of spanish language academies
(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - Ils sont excité

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Limestone


We've learned now about sandstone, marble and basalt rock.

There are so many types of rocks!

Another very common rock is limestone, which is a sedimentary rock, mostly made up of types of crystals or small pieces of coral.
limestone
(from: wikipedia - limestone)

Most of the caves in the world are made up of limestone, because the stone can be washed away and formed by water flowing against it.

carlsbad caverns
carlsbad caverns national park.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Light Bulbs

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Nayala


We just learned about the Suni.

Another one of the many types of antelopes is called the nayala.

One special thing about the nayala is that the males are much larger than the females. Most types of antelopes are the same between males and females, but the nayala females look very different than the males.
male nayala
female nayala
(from: wikipedia - nayala)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Arctic Fox

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Alveoli


After the air you breathe in travels down your trachea, into your bronchi and into your bronchioles, it will finally end up in your alveoli. These look like little balls attached to the end of the bronchioles.

When the oxygen in the air you breathe in gets all the way down to your alveoli, it gets sucked right through the walls of the alveoli and goes into your blood, because your body needs blood filled with oxygen to survive.

It might seem strange that the oxygen goes right through the wall, but you can think of it like a very thin bed sheet. If someone blew air from a fan at you, you'd probably feel it. If they dumped a glass of water on you, you would definitely feel it! The walls of the alveoli are just like that, they are very very thin, so they let oxygen get through to your blood, but they don't let the blood come through into your lungs.

alveoli
(from: wikipedia - alveolus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Frontal Bone

Monday, March 17, 2014

Lebanon


Lebanon is a small country in the Middle East in Asia, West of Syria.
lebanon
(from: wikipedia - lebanon)

To eat in Lebanon you might have kibbeh nayyeh, which is uncooked lamb meat with spices.
kibbeh nayyeh
(from: wikipedia - kibbeh nayyeh)

A famous poet from Lebanon was Khalil Gibran. He was the third best selling poet of all time.
khalil gibran
(from: wikipedia - khalil gibran)

One of the largest ancient buildings is in the city of Baalbeck, a place called the Temple of Bacchus.
temple of bacchus
(from: wikipedia - temple of bacchus)

Through history, the cedar trees that grew in Lebanon were very important for making buildings, ships and even medicine. The cedar trees in Lebanon are still a symbol of the nation today.
cedar trees
(from: wikipedia - cedrus libani)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Caribean Islands

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Jesus' Miracles - Raising the dead


We've learned about Jesus' Miracles healing lepers, healing the blind, healing the paralyzed, healing women, healing on the sabbath, healing in a synagogue, healing a deaf and mute person, healing the centurion's servant and healing just by touching his cloak.

Jesus also raised people from the dead!

He did this three times.
Once he healed a man's sick daughter, saying "Little girl, I say to you get up!".
raising of jairus daughter
(from: wikipedia - daughter of jairus)

Another time was during a funeral for a widow's son. He went to the coffin and said "Young man I say to thee arise!" and the boy got right up and was alive.
healing the widow's son
(from: wikipedia - the young man from nain)

He also raised a man named Lazarus who had been dead for four days. He was buried in a tomb. Jesus had the stone rolled away and said "Lazarus, come out!" and Lazarus came out and was alive.
lazarus
(from: wikipedia - raising of lazarus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Genesis

Saturday, March 15, 2014

New Moon


We know that a full moon is when the sun is on the other side of us, shining right on the moon.

A new moon is the opposite of a full moon. It is when the moon is in between the earth and the sun. When it is there, we can't see the moon in the night sky.
new moon
(from: wikipedia - new moon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Neptune

Friday, March 14, 2014

Spanish - He is angry


We just learned that in Spanish I am happy is Estoy feliz and you are sad is Estás triste in Spanish.

Now let's learn how to say He is angry. (Or she)

We can break it up into the three words:
He - Él - sounds like ay-l /?/
She - Ella - sounds like ay-ah/?/
is - está - sounds like ay-ss-tah /?/
angry - enojado - Sounds like ay-no-ha-doh /?/


All together Él está enojado sounds like ay-l ay-ss-tah ay-no-ha-doh.

association of spanish language academies
(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - He is angry - Il est en colère

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Basalt


We just learned that marble is a type of metamorphic rock.

Basalt is a type of igneous rock, that means it comes from lava.

If you look at a basalt rock, sometimes you can see lines on the rock and that is the direction that the lava was flowing before it cooled down and turned into rock.
basalt
(from: wikipedia - igneous rock)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Electrical Circuit

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Suni


We just learned about the Springbok type of antelope.
Not all types of antelopes are large, some are very small.

The Suni is only about 12 inches tall, and weighs about 10 pounds.
That's about the size of a house cat!

Because they are so small, they only eat plants, and they have to watch out for bigger animals like lions that might eat them!
suni
(from: wikipedia - suni)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chameleon

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Bronchioles


Let's keep learning about the respiratory system!

We now that the lungs are where you store air you breathe in, the trachea is the big tube in your throat that carries air down toward your lungs, and the bronchi are the tubes that go left and right to each of your lungs.

When the air gets to the end of your bronchi, it gets to your bronchioles.

You can almost think of it like a tree. The trachea is the trunk, the bronchi are two big branches, and the bronchioles are a whole bunch of smaller branches.
bronchioles
(from: wikipedia - bronchiole)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Facial Skeleton

Monday, March 10, 2014

Syria


We just learned about the country of Jordan.

Syria is a country in the Middle East in Asia, in between Turkey and Iraq.
syria
(from: wikipedia - syria)

To eat in Syria, you might have some hummus which is a kind of dip people usually eat with pita bread.
hummus
(from: wikipedia - hummus)

The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court was Rosemary Barkett. Her parents were from Syria, and they migrated to the US when she was young.
rosemary barkett
(from: wikipedia - rosemary barkett)

In the city of Bosra there is an ancient arena called a coliseum where people could speak to large groups of people.
bosra coliseum
(from: wikipedia - bosra)

In the city of Hama there are giant waterwheels call norias, that were used to bring water from the river into the town.
hama norias
(from: wikipedia - norias of hama)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Greenland

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Jesus' Miracles - Healing in the land of Gennesaret


We've learned about Jesus' Miracles healing lepers, healing the blind, healing the paralyzed, healing women, healing on the sabbath, healing in a synagogue, healing a deaf and mute person and healing the centurion's servant.
One time Jesus was walking through a land called Gennesaret. People heard he was coming, and brought all their sick people to be near him. Just by touching his cloak people were healed.
jesus healing in the land of the gennesaret
(from: wikipedia - jesus healing in the land of gennesaret)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Old Testament

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Full Moon


We just learned a little about the Lunar Eclipse.

A full moon happens about once every 29 days.
Since there are 28, 30 or 31 days in each month we usually see a full moon once every month.

The full moon happens because the sun is shining right on the part of the moon that we can see.
Sometimes the sun is shining on a different side of the moon that is not facing us, and we would not see the full moon.

full moon
(from: wikipedia - full moon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Uranus

Friday, March 7, 2014

Spanish - You are sad


We just learned that I am happy in Spanish is Estoy feliz.

Now let's learn how to say You are sad.

We can break it up into two words:
You are - Estás - sounds like ess-tah-ss /?/
sad - triste - Sounds like tuh-dee-ss-tay /?/


So all together Estás triste sounds like ess-tah-ss tuh-dee-ss-tay.

association of spanish language academies
(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - You are sad - Vous êtes triste

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Marble


We just learned that sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock.

Marble is a type of metamorphic rock. It's name comes from the Greek word for shining stone.
Because it's so shiny, it's used to carve things like sculptures and buildings.

The little round marble balls you use for playing games are usually made of glass, but there are some marbles made out of marble, and they're sometimes called Alley or real marbles.
marble
(from: wikipedia - marble)

marble
(from: wikipedia - marble)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Resistance

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Springbok


We just learned about the Bongo type of antelope.

Another kind of antelope is the springbok.

The male springbok has a flap of skin like a pocket on it's back by its tail.
When he wants to show that he is big and strong, he will jump up in the air and flip that flap of skin up, to show how tough he is!

springbok
(from: wikipedia - springbok)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Alligators and Crocodiles

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Bronchi


Let's keep learning about the respiratory system!

We know now that the lungs are where you store air you breathe in, and the trachea is the big tube in your throat that carries air down toward your lungs.

Your trachea comes down your neck, then splits into two parts called your bronchi.
One goes to the left lung, and one goes to the right lung.

bronchi
(from: wikipedia - right main bronchus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Human Skull

Monday, March 3, 2014

Jordan


Jordan is a country in the Middle East in Asia, in between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
jordan
(from: wikipedia - jordan)

For a meal in Jordan you might have mansaf, which is lamb with yogurt and rice.

(from: wikipedia - mansaf)

Daoud Hanania is a famous surgeon in Jordan, and was the first to perform heart surgery in the country.
(from: wikipedia - daoud hanania)

A very famous tomb was carved out of a mountain in a place called Petra.
petra
(from: wikipedia - al khazneh)

There is an ancient place in Jordan called Bethabara that people believe is the place where John the Baptist brought people to be baptized.
bethabara
(from: wikipedia - bethabara)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Central American Countries