Circulatory System

We just learned about the Large Intestine that helps digest food.

We've learned a lot about the human body already!

We've learned about all of the bones called the skeletal system, all of the muscles called the muscular system, the way we breathe air, called the respiratory system, and the way our bodies use up our food, called the digestive system.

Another system in our body is the one that pumps all the blood through our bodies.
That is called the circulatory system or cardiovascular system.

The word circulate means to move things around, like the blood going to all the places in your body.
The word cardio means the heart, and the word vascular means the veins and arteries that pump the blood.

Next time we'll start learning about the heart, the veins and how all the parts of the cardiovascular system work.

(from: wikipedia - circulatory system)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Palmar Interossei Hand Muscles

California

We just learned about the US state of Arkansas.

California is a state on the west coast of the US, right on the Pacific Ocean.
The state nickname is The Golden State and the motto is Eureka.
38 million people live in California, which is more than any other state.


(from: wikipedia - california)

The flag of California has a grizzly bear and a red star.
Long ago California was a part of Mexico, and in the years they were fighting to be free they made flags with a red star, and flags with a bear.
The bear on the flag is to show that they were strong and would fight for their freedom.


(from: wikipedia - flag of california)

The seal of California has a goddess of wisdom and war, a grizzly bear, grapes because California makes a lot of wine.
It shows some grain for the farmers and a miner for the people that came to California looking for gold, and the miners.
It has sailing ships and the word Eureka on it, which is a greek word meaning I have found it!

(from: wikipedia - seal of california)

Since California is very long and goes almost all the way from the bottom of the US to the top, it has many different things like snowy mountains, deserts and forests depending on where you are in the state.

The lowest spot in North America in a place called Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park.
It is 282 feet below sea level.


(from: wikipedia - badwater basin)

The highest spot in North American is a mountain peak called Mount Whitney at around 14,500 feet.
Mount Whitney and Badwater Basin are only about 85 miles away from each other!

(from: wikipedia - mount whitney)

There is a forest in California called the Redwood Forest.
The coast redwood tree is the tallest tree on the whole earth.

(from: wikipedia - redwood national and state parks)

Disneyland is an amusement park in California created by Walt Disney.

(from: wikipedia - disneyland)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: China

Jesus tells the Apostles that he is the Messiah

We've learned that Jesus taught people by speaking to large crowds like the Sermon on the Mount, taught people using parables, performed many miracles and had chosen his 12 Apostles to follow him wherever he went.

When Jesus was going around doing miracles and speaking to people, they did not know he was the son of God.
Most people thought he was a prophet, or just someone that taught God's word and did miracles for God.
Even his own Apostles didn't really know for a while that he was God's son!

One day Jesus was talking to his apostles and he asked them who the people in all the towns thought was the Son of Man.
By Son of Man he meant God's son who was born as a person.

They answered that some people thought it was John the Baptist, the person who had come before Jesus to tell people that Jesus was coming soon.
Some other people from the towns thought it was Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets that lived long ago and were written about in the books of the Old Testament.

Jesus then asked his apostles who they thought Jesus was.
His apostle Peter said that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

Jesus said that because Peter was the one who came forward to say that Jesus was the Messiah, he would be the one that Jesus would use to help build his church.
He called Peter a rock meaning he was a very strong foundation for the church, and said that he would give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus then told all of his apostles not to tell anyone else that he was the Messiah.

(from: wikipedia - confession of peter)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Apostles - Andrew and Simon Peter

The Last Supper - Da Vinci

We just learned about Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.

Another very famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci was The Last Supper.

It was a painting of the last supper that Jesus had with his disciples before he died on the cross, right when Jesus said that one of them would betray him.

Each disciple's body and face shows a different reaction to the news like anger or surprise.
Jesus is set at the middle of the painting to show that he is the most important.

The number 3 is important for Christians because of what is called the Holy Trinity.
The Father (God), Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit are three separate but also one complete person.

So in this painting you can see that the disciples are all in groups of three, there are three windows in the back, and even the shape of Jesus is like a triangle, which has three sides.

This painting wasn't done on a canvas like you would hang on a wall, it was done right on a wall in a room.
Because it wasn't done on a painting canvas, the paint on the wall started to look worse year after year.
It was painted over 500 years ago, and many artists have worked very hard to fix up the paint and keep it looking good, which is called restoration.


(from: wikipedia - the last supper (leonardo da vinci))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cat's Eye Nebula

German - How are you?

We just learned some greetings in German, like hallo, auf wiedersehen and Guten tag.

If you want to say How are you? in German, you would say:

Wie geht es Ihnen? - sounds like vee gate us ee-nen /?/

To respond and say Very good thanks, you would say

Sehr gut, danke. - sounds like zair goot dahn kuh /?/


(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

In Spanish:
¿Cómo estás?

In French:
Comment allez-vous?

Sublimation

We've learned now that the water vapor that makes up clouds can come from evaporation which means liquid water molecules floating away into the air.

Sometimes it's really cold out, and the liquid water turns solid and becomes snow and ice.

Remember that things like water can be three different types: Solid - ice, Liquid - water, Gas - steam/vapor

When the water is solid ice or snow, the excited water molecules are still going to shoot off into the air and become water vapor.
But because the water vapor came from a solid like ice instead of a liquid like water, it is called submlimation.

To put it a little simpler:

When water vapor is made from liquid water it is called evaporation.
When water vapor is made from solid water it is called sublimation.


(from: wikipedia - snow)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tephra

Spider Chelicerae

We just learned a little about Spider Eyes.

Another part of the spider's cephalothorax is called the chelicerae.
(sounds like kell iss er ee)

Some spiders chelicerae are very easy to see, like the bright green color of the jumping spider Phidippus audax.


(from: wikipedia - chelicerae)

The cheliserae is the part where spiders have their fangs.
The fangs are connected to venom glands. Venom is the poison in a spider's bite.

If you look up close, a spider's fangs look like a needle. They have a very sharp end that has a tiny hole in it.
They poke their prey like a fly or mosquito with their fangs, then inject them with venom just like a needle giving a shot.

Spiders can bite with their fangs and choose how much venom to use. They can just do a dry bite with no venom, or a little venom, or a whole shot of venom.

(from: wikipedia - chelicerae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Flamingo