Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Fibular Vein


We just learned about the tibial vein that brings deoxygenated blood back to the heart.

Another vein in the lower leg right next to the tibial vein is the fibular vein, sometimes called the peroneal vein.

(from: wikipedia - fibular artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Small Intestine

Monday, August 31, 2015

Washington


We just learned about the US State of Virginia.

Washington is a state in the north west part of the US, bordering Canada to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

It was named after President George Washington, and is the only state named after a president.
Its nickname is The Evergreen State because of the number of evergreen trees.
Its motto is Al-ki or Alki, which means bye and bye in the Chinook language.


(from: wikipedia - washington (state))

The seal of the state of Washington has a green background and a picture of George Washington.
It is the only state with a green background on it's flag, and the only state flag with a picture of a president on it.


(from: wikipedia - flag of washington)

The North Cascades mountain range is in Washington

(from: wikipedia - north cascades national park)

In the city of Seattle there is a tower called the Space Needle that is 600 feet high, and has 25 lightning rods on it.
When it was built in 1962, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

(from: wikipedia - space needle)

There are seven volcanoes in Washington, including Mount St. Helens which erupted in 1980.

(from: wikipedia - mount st. helens)

The first starbucks coffee shop was started in Seattle Washington, in Pike Place Market

(from: wikipedia - starbucks)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Zimbabwe

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians


We just learned about Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians.

Paul wrote two letters to the church in Corinth, so there is a Second Letter to the Corinthians.

This second letter mostly gives instructions to the church about how to collect money for the poor.
There is a common saying of: You reap what you sow.
That is a farming saying that means if you plant a lot of seeds then you will get a lot of crops, but if you don't plant many seeds you won't get many crops.

It's a way to tell people that if they helped poor people by giving to them, then they would be rewarded with many gifts by God.


(from: wikipedia - harvest)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Parable of the Weeds

Saturday, August 29, 2015

The Tower of Blue Horses - Franz Marc


We just learned about the famous work of art When Will You Marry? by French artist Paul Gauguin in 1892.

Another famous work of art is the The Tower of Blue Horses by German artist Franz Marc in 1913.
This picture is very large, over 6 feet tall and over 4 feet wide.

It is painted with very bright bold colors, and not the real colors of horses, but it is supposed to show how strong and beautiful they are.

The different lines and circles and other shapes are used to make it look like parts of the picture are in motion, and the colors of the picture go from darker at the bottom to lighter at the top to show how light shines down on the horses and their strong colors.

(from: wikipedia - the tower of blue horses)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mars - Mars 1, Mariner 4, 6, 7 & 9

Friday, August 28, 2015

German - counting to seventy nine


We counted to 69 in German, let's keep going!

70 siebzig - sounds like zeep-tsig /?/
71 einundsiebzig - sounds like ah-een-oon-zeep-tsig /?/
72 zweiundsiebzig - sounds like svai-oon-zeep-tsig /?/
73 dreiundsiebzig - sounds like duh-ai-oon-zeep-tsig /?/
74 vierundsiebzig - sounds like fee-ah-oon-zeep-tsig /?/
75 fünfundsiebzig - sounds like foo-nf-oon-zeep-tsig /?/
76 sechsundsiebzig - sounds like zeks-oon-zeep-tsig /?/
77 siebenundsiebzig - sounds like zee-bm-oon-zeep-tsig /?/
78 achtundsiebzig - sounds like ah-kt-oon-zeep-tsig /?/
79 neunundsiebzig - sounds like no-een-oon-zeep-tsig /?/

Goethe Institute
(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
setenta, setenta y uno, setenta y dos, setenta y tres, setenta y cuatro, setenta y cinco, setenta y seis, setenta y siete, setenta y ocho, setenta y nueve

Do you remember how to say it in French?
soixante-dix, soixante et onze, soixante-douze, soixante-treize, soixante-quatorze, soixante-quinze, soixante-seize, soixante dix sept, soixante dix huit, soixante dix neuf

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Freezing Rain


We just learned about heat lightning.

Another type of weather is called freezing rain.

We know that snow is when ice crystals form in clouds, hail is when drops of water freeze in clouds, sleet is when snow falls down and melts and re-freezes.

Freezing rain is when water droplets fall down from the cloud when it is really cold out, but the water doesn't freeze until right when it hits the ground.

This can be really dangerous because unlike snow you can't really see it, but the ground can be totally covered in a sheet of thin slippery ice.
It can coat trees and plants in ice too which can cause them to fall over or lose branches.
The ice made by freezing rain is called glaze.

(from: wikipedia - freezing rain)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Corundum

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Dalmatian


We just learned about the type of dog the Rough Collie.

Another type of dog is the dalmatian.

Dalmatians are white dogs with black spots. Puppy dalmatians are born all white, and the spots show up a few weeks after they are born.
Some dalmatians have brown or grey-blue spots.

They have a long history of being dogs for fire stations, because in the old days fire engines were pulled by horses.
Dalmatians get along very well with horses, so they could run in front of the engine barking for everyone to clear the way without being scared.
Also they are very good guard dogs, so they helped keep the fire station safe.

(from: wikipedia - dalmatian (dog))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Starfish