Saturday, May 31, 2014

Solar Core - Density


Let's keep learning about the sun's solar core. We've learned about it's size and heat.

Remember before we learned about mass and how a marble and marshmallow may be the same size but one of them is thicker and heavier? That is called density.

The density of the sun is 150 times thicker than water.

marbles
(from: wikipedia - water)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Constellations - Gemini

Friday, May 30, 2014

Spanish - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday


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

Monday - Lunes - sounds like loo-nay-ss /?/

Tuesday - Martes - sounds like mah-d-tay-ss /?/

Wednesday - Miercoles - sounds like me-ay-d-coh-lay-ss /?/


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

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Graphite


Graphite is a dark shiny black rock.
One interesting thing about graphite is that if you look at what it's made of, it's the exact same as a diamond.

Both are made from the chemical element called Carbon.

The difference is that the diamond was squished and heated up for a long long time.

graphite
(from: wikipedia - graphite)

Graphite also comes off if you rub the rock on something.
The dark part of the pencils that you write with is graphite.
graphite pencil
(from: wikipedia - graphite)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Molecules

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Wolf Spider


Wolf spiders are furry little spiders that live mostly on the ground by themselves in the woods.

They might look a little scary, but they are very helpful as they eat lots of bugs like flies and mosquitos.
They are very good at hiding, and they hunt at night because of their good eyesight, so you really almost never will see them.

They have two big eyes, right above four smaller eyes.
wolf spider eyes
(from: wikipedia - wolf spider)

When wolf spiders lay eggs, they are very small and fragile. The mother wolf spider will user her spider silk to wrap all the eggs up in a sac, and carry them around to keep them safe.
wolf spider egg sac
(from: wikipedia - wolf spider)

Once the spider eggs hatch, the spider babies are still very tiny and fragile, so they climb up onto their mother's back, and the mother keeps them safe there while they are growing.
wolf spider babies
(from: wikipedia - wolf spider)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vultures

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Stomach - Cardia


The esophagus opens into the stomach, and the first part of the stomach is the cardia.

At the top of the cardia is a place that opens and closes, that keeps the food and drink in the stomach from coming back up into the esophagus.

stomach cardia
(from: wikipedia - stomach)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Palatine Bones

Monday, May 26, 2014

Morocco


We just learned about the country of Sudan.

Morocco is a country in Africa on the Northwest part of the continent, right on the Atlantic Ocean.
morocco
(from: wikipedia - morocco)

To eat in Morocco you might have couscous, which is a type of steamed wheat with meat and vegetables.
couscous
(from: wikipedia - moroccan cuisine)

A famous author named Leo Africanus was from Morocco. He wrote an important book about the geography of Northern Africa.
leo africanus
(from: wikipedia - leo africanus)

On the North part of Morocco, there is an area of land that comes very close to the South part of the country of Spain.
It is so close that on a clear day you can see across the water to the other country on the continent of Europe.
This water passage is called the Strait of Gibraltar, and it connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
strait of gibraltar
(from: wikipedia - strait of gibraltar)

The highest mountain peak in North Africa is Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains.

(from: wikipedia - toubkal)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spain

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Solar Core - Heat


Let's keep learning about the sun's Solar Core.

The temperature at the core is over 28 million degrees fahrenheit.
A hot summer day on earth is only about 80 degrees, so that's pretty hot!

solar core
(from: wikipedia - heat)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Constellations - Taurus

Friday, May 23, 2014

Spanish - His face is rough


We've learned that in Spanish:
I am happy is Estoy feliz,
You are sad is Estás triste,
He is angry is Él está enojado,
They are excited is Ellos estan emocionados,
We are surprised is Estamos sorprendido,
This house is big is Esta casa es grande,
The chair is small is La silla es pequeña,
My drink is cold is Mi bebida es fría,
Your food is hot is Tu comida está caliente,
Their car is tall is Su coche es alto,
Our table is short is Nuestra mesa es bajo and
Her hands are soft is Sus manos son suaves

Let's learn more about the things we see every day.

To say His face is rough you would say Su cara es áspera

We can break it up into four words:
His - Su - sounds like soo /?/
face - cara - sounds like kah-dah /?/
is - es - sounds like ay-ss /?/
rough - áspera - sounds like ah-spay-dah /?/

All together His face is rough sounds like soo kah-dah ay-ss ah-spay-dah.


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

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - His face is rough - Son visage est rude

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Diamond


We just learned about Quartz.

A Diamond is the hardest natural mineral in the world.

It is made from the chemical element called Carbon.

Diamonds are usually formed deep down in the earth about 100 miles, where it is super hot and the chemicals are squeezed very hard until they form the diamond.
diamond
(from: wikipedia - diamond)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ions

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Grey crowned crane


We just learned about the Stork.

The grey crowned crane is a very nice looking bird with big feathers around it's neck, a colorful face, and yellow feathers sticking up from its head like a crown.

The grey crowned crane is special because it is one of the few types of crane that can live in trees. It has one toe pointed backward that it can use to help hold on to branches.

To hunt for food, these cranes stomp their feet on the ground, then bugs come running out of the grass and they eat them up!
grey crowned crane
(from: wikipedia - grey crowned crane)

The grey crowned crane is the national bird of the country of Uganda.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wasps and Bees

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Esophagus


When you swallow food and drinks, first the food or drink goes to the back of your throat into your pharynx.
Next the uvula makes sure the food goes down toward your throat instead of up to your nose.
The epiglottis blocks your trachea so the food and drink don't go into your lungs.

The food goes into your esophagus. That is a long tube that goes behind your trachea and all the way down to your stomach.

When you swallow, the top of the esophagus opens up a little to let food in, then the tube squeezes several times to help your food and drink make it down to your stomach.

esophagus
(from: wikipedia - esophagus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vomer

Monday, May 19, 2014

Sudan


We just learned about the country of Tanzania.

Sudan is a country on the Northeast part of Africa, just South of Egypt.

sudan
(from: wikipedia - sudan)

To eat in Sudan you might have some type of meat stew with lots of spices.
sudan cuisine
(from: wikipedia - sudanese cuisine)

Manute Bol was a basketball player from Sudan who was 7 feet 7 inches tall, one of the tallest basketball players ever.
manute bol
(from: wikipedia - manute bol)

In the city of Kerma, there are some ancient towers called deffufa that were built by people thousands of years ago.
deffufa
(from: wikipedia - kerma)

A group of people known as the Dervish have a dance that they do where they spin around a lot. Because of this they are sometimes called a whirling dervish.
whirling dervish
(from: wikipedia - dervish)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: France

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Blessed are the meek


Let's keep learning about the Sermon on the Mount.

We've learned about the first of the Beautitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

The third one is:

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Meek means mild or gentle or humble.

blessed are the meek
(from: wikipedia - matthew 5:5)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: King Saul

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Solar Core - Size


Let's keep learning about the Sun!

We know the sun gives us light and heat, but what's inside of it?

The very center of the sun is called the Solar Core.
Even though it's just the center, it's over 172,000 miles wide, which is over 20 times wider than the Earth!

solar core
(from: wikipedia - solar core)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Constellations - Orion

Friday, May 16, 2014

Spanish - Her hands are soft


We've learned that in Spanish:
I am happy is Estoy feliz,
You are sad is Estás triste,
He is angry is Él está enojado,
They are excited is Ellos estan emocionados,
We are surprised is Estamos sorprendido,
This house is big is Esta casa es grande,
The chair is small is La silla es pequeña,
My drink is cold is Mi bebida es fría,
Your food is hot is Tu comida está caliente,
Their car is tall is Su coche es alto and
Our table is short is Nuestra mesa es bajo.

Let's learn more about the things we see every day.

To say Her hands are soft you would say Sus manos son suaves

We can break it up into four words:
Her - Sus - sounds like soo-s /?/
hands - manos - sounds like mah-noh-ss /?/
are - son - sounds like soh-n /?/
soft - suaves - sounds like soo-ah-vay-ss /?/

All together Her hands are soft sounds like soo-s mah-no-ss soh-n soo-ah-vay-ss.


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

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Ses mains sont douces

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Quartz


We just learned that the most common mineral on the earth is feldspar.

The second most common type of mineral on the earth is called quartz.
It is not a chemical element by itself, it is made up of the elements of Silicon and Oxygen combined together.

Quartz is a very shiny type of crystal, and the different colors of quartz are used in jewelry a lot.

Another special thing about quartz is that if you squeeze it very hard, it will release electricity,
and if you zap it with electricity it will change shape.

Because of this special ability, scientists figured out a way to use quartz to make clocks that are very good at telling time.
They could zap a quartz crystal, look at how long it took to turn back to it's shape, then use that measurement of time to make sure the clock was correct.
quartz
(from: wikipedia - quartz)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mass

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Stork


We just learned about the type of bird called the Robin.

Storks are large birds with long legs and big wings and a long beak.

Unlike most other birds, they can not make a bird call because they don't have a syrinx, which are like our vochal chords.
The only noise they can make is when they clap their beak together.

Storks have very large nests, some over 6 feet wide!
stork
(from: wikipedia - stork)

The Marabou Stork is tied with the Andean Condor for the longest wingspan, at over 10 feet

That's taller than any person!

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Flying Squirrel

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Uvula


The uvula is part of the digestive system that helps close up the back area of your throat when you are swallowing.

It works along with the epiglottis to make sure food goes where it is supposed to, and not up into your nose or down into your lungs.
uvula
(from: wikipedia - palatine uvula)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nasal Bone

Monday, May 12, 2014

Tanzania


We just learned about the African country of South Africa.

Tanzania is a country in Africa on the eastern border of the continent, right on the Indian Ocean.
tanzania
(from: wikipedia - tanzania)

To eat in Tanzania you might have ugali which is corn flower mixed with water and cooked to be like a dough.
ugali
(from: wikipedia - ugali)

Freddie Mercury, who was the lead singer from the band Queen was born in Tanzania, his name when he was born was Farrokh Bulsara.
freddie mercury
(from: wikipedia - freddie mercury)

The Ngorongo Crater is the largest crater in the world. It was formed when a large volcano collapsed.
ngorongoro crater
(from: wikipedia - ngorongoro crater)

Tingatinga is a painting style from Tanzania of small bright paintings on hard wood, usually made to sell to tourists.
tingatinga
(from: wikipedia - tingatinga (painting))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: South American Islands

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Blessed are those who mourn


Let's keep learning about the Sermon on the Mount.

We've learned about the first of the Beautitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The second one is:

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Mourning means you are sad about losing something, usually because someone died.

Jesus is saying that if you are sad, he will always be there to comfort you.
blessed are those who mourn
(from: wikipedia - matthew 5:4)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Samuel, Kings & Chronicles

Saturday, May 10, 2014

The Sun


We just learned about the Harvest Moon.

We've already learned a lot of things about the Sun.

We know it's in the center of our solar system and the earth orbits around it.

We know it is a GV type of star called a Yellow Dwarf, and we know when the moon gets in front of the sun and we can't see the light that is called a solar eclipse.

The sun is an amazing thing floating out in space, and without it there would be no life on earth.

Even though our summers get really hot and the sun seems very bright, it is 93 million miles away.

That's like driving all the way around the earth almost 4,000 times!
sun
(from: wikipedia - sun)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Asteroid Belt

Friday, May 9, 2014

Spanish - Our table is short


We've learned that in Spanish:
I am happy is Estoy feliz,
You are sad is Estás triste,
He is angry is Él está enojado,
They are excited is Ellos estan emocionados,
We are surprised is Estamos sorprendido,
This house is big is Esta casa es grande,
The chair is small is La silla es pequeña,
My drink is cold is Mi bebida es fría,
Your food is hot is Tu comida está caliente and
Their car is tall is Su coche es alto.

Let's learn more about the things we see every day.

To say Our table is short you would say Nuestra mesa es bajo

We can break it up into four words:
Our - Nuestra - sounds like noo-ay-ss-trah /?/
table - coche - sounds like may-sah /?/
is - es - sounds like ay-ss /?/
short - bajo - sounds like bah-h-oh /?/

All together Our table is short sounds like noo-ay-ss-trah may-sah ay-ss bah-h-oh.


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

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Notre table est courte.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Feldspar


We just learned about Pyrite.

The most common type of mineral on the earth is called feldspar.

The word feldspar comes from the German language and means "field rock that does not have ore".
Ore is something in rocks that can be used to make metal.

Over half of the earth's crust is made up of feldspar.
The crust is the outer part of the planet earth.

Feldspar is made from elements like potassium, sodium, or calcium combined with other elements like aluminum, silicon, and oxygen.
feldspar
(from: wikipedia - feldspar)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Earth's Gravity

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Robin


We just learned about the Okapi.

The American robin is a small bird with a bright red chest that lives in North America.

The robin's song is a happy sounding whistle that sounds like they are saying "cheerily, cheer up, cheerio".
Robins like to get up very early to hunt for food, so you might hear them early in the morning. You're trying to sleep, but they're looking for worms to eat!

The robin is so well liked that it is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Like many other birds, the robin flies south for the winter to stay warm, and comes back to the north when it is spring. Some people look at robins as one of the first signs of spring.

Robin eggs are a light blue color, so if you see light blue eggs in a nest or shells on the ground, you know they belonged to a robin!
robin
(from: wikipedia - american robin)

robin's nest
(from: wikipedia - american robin)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Earthworms

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Digestive System


We've learned the parts of the respiratory system from the pharynx all the way down to the alveoli.

Now let's learn about the other part of your throat, the digestive system.

That is the part of your body that takes the food down to your stomach to turn it into energy for you.
digestive system
(from: wikipedia - digestive system)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maxilla

Monday, May 5, 2014

South Africa


We just learned about the country of Democratic Republic of Congo.

South Africa is a country on the south part of the continent of Africa on the Pacific and Indian oceans.
south africa
(from: wikipedia - south africa)

To eat in South Africa you might have chakalaka, which is a kind of vegetable stew.
chakalaka
(from: wikipedia - chakalaka)

Nelson Mandela was a very famous person from Africa who helped lead the African people toward peace and equality.
nelson mandela
(from: wikipedia - nelson mandela)

Cape Town is a famous city in South Africa, with many natural wonders to see.
cape town
(from: wikipedia - cape town)

There many wild animals in South Africa, and people often go on trips there just to see the animals like the giraffes.
south african giraffe
(from: wikipedia - south african giraffe)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Blessed are the poor


We just learned that Jesus gave a special talk called the Sermon on the Mount.

One of the things he talked about is called Beautitudes.

These are a list of blessed people that Jesus talked about, and the heavenly rewards they would receive.

The first one is:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

To be poor in spirit or in wealth means that we make God more important in our lives than saving up money and things on the earth.

blessed are the poor in spirit
(from: wikipedia - matthew 5:3)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ruth

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Harvest Moon


We've learned about all of the phases of the moon, and the blue moon.

Another special type of moon is called the Harvest Moon or Hunter's Moon.
The harvest moon is special because it looks red!

Remember a long time ago we learned about the different colors of light, ROY G BIV?

When the moon doesn't look high up in the sky, but instead low down towards the ground, we call that on the horizon. And when you're not looking up in the sky but out on the horizon, you're looking through the sky (the atmosphere) into space at a different direction, and the color Red (from ROY G BIV) stands out more, which makes the moon look red!

It's called a harvest moon because it shows up in the fall when farmers are harvesting their crops.

harvest moon
(from: wikipedia - full moon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Atmosphere

Friday, May 2, 2014

Spanish - Their car is tall


We've learned that in Spanish:
I am happy is Estoy feliz,
You are sad is Estás triste,
He is angry is Él está enojado,
They are excited is Ellos estan emocionados,
We are surprised is Estamos sorprendido,
This house is big is Esta casa es grande,
The chair is small is La silla es pequeña,
My drink is cold is Mi bebida es fría and
My food is hot is Tu comida está caliente

Let's learn more about the things we see every day.

To say Their car is tall you would say Su coche es alto

We can break it up into four words:
Their - Su - sounds like soo /?/
car - coche - sounds like coh-chay /?/
is - es - sounds like ay-ss /?/
tall - alto - sounds like all-toh /?/

All together Su coche es alto sounds like Soo coh-chay ay-ss all-toh.


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

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - Their car is tall - Leur voiture est haut