Monday, June 30, 2014

Mozambique


We just learned about the country of Ghana.

Mozambique is a country in Africa on the Southeast part of the continent, right on the Indian Ocean.
mozambique map
(from: wikipedia - mozambique)

The flag of Mozambique has stripes of green, white, black, white, yellow.
The green stands for the riches of the land, the white is peace, the black is the African continent and the yellow is the country's minerals.

There is a red triangle that stands for the country's fight for freedom, a gun that stands for defense, a book that stands for learning, a garden hoe that stands for farming, and a star that stands for their government.
flag of mozambique
(from: wikipedia - flag of mozambique)

There are many fruit farms in Mozambique, so a big part of every meal is fresh fruit like mangoes.
mango
(from: wikipedia - mango)

Since Mozambique is on the ocean, it has some beautiful beaches like Ponta Do Ouro which means Point of Gold.
ponta do ouro
(from: wikipedia - ponta do ouro)

Some of the people in Mozambique have dances they do to scare away evil spirits, and they paint their faces like a scary mask.
mozambique mask
(from: wikipedia - mozambique)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Italy

Sunday, June 29, 2014

The Light of the World


We just learned that in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount he called his followers the Salt of the Earth.

In the next part of his sermon, he calls his followers the Light of the World.

You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.


Jesus is saying that people look to his followers to show them God's love,
so make sure to show God's love so we are like a bright light shining for everyone.
light of the world
(from: wikipedia - light of the world)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Return from Exile

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Solar - Photosphere


After the Sun's core, radiation zone and convection Zone comes the last part of the sun on the outside.

The photosphere is the outside shell of the sun, the part that we see that gives light to our planet from space.

The photosphere is super hot, at over 10,000 degrees F.

It is mostly made up of things called granules which are huge bubbles of plasma over 600 miles wide!

The granules rise up from the convection zone, then after about 8 minutes they cool off and go back down to a smaller size.
solar granules
(from: wikipedia - granule (solar physics))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sirius

Friday, June 27, 2014

Spanish - March, April


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

We've learned that January and February are Enero and Febrero.

March - Marzo - sounds like mah-d-zoh /?/

April - Abril - sounds like ah-b-deel /?/

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

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - Mars, Avril

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Lead


We just learned about the element sodium that is part of what we call salt.

Another chemical element is Lead, called "Pb" for short (from the latin word "plumbum") on the Periodic Table.

Lead is another type of metal found in the earth.

Just like graphite lead can be used to write on things.
It is also easy to work with and make into things like pipes, so for a very long time many water pipes were made out of lead.
Lead was also used to make paint for a long time.

People have now learned that lead can be poisonous to people, so we have stopped using lead for pipes or paint.

lead
(from: wikipedia - lead)

Lead is still used today to help protect us from radiation. When you get an X-Ray at the dentist's office or a doctor's office, they sometimes put a big heavy apron on you. Inside the apron is lead, protecting you from the X-Rays.

Lead is a very heavy atom, so it can stop any bad radiation from getting to your body.
lead shielding
(from: wikipedia - lead)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Circuit Board

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Loon


We just learned about the Sea Anemone

Another type of animal is the Loon.

Loons are black and white birds that spend most of their life on water.
The name loon comes from old words that meant awkward or clumsy, because they do not walk very well on land.

Loons catch their food by swimming along and then diving head first into the water to catch fish, frogs, crayfish, snails and other small things in the water.
They are very good divers and they can hold their breath for up to 90 seconds while looking for food.

Loons don't have teeth, so sometimes they will swallow small rocks that will stay in their stomach, so if they swallow something with a hard shell like a crayfish the rocks will help slowly break the crayfish's outer shells and they can digest them.
loon
(from: wikipedia - loon)

The loon is such a famous bird that in Canada it is on their one dollar coin.

canadian dollar loonie
(from: wikipedia - coins of the canadian dollar)

They nicknamed their coin the Loonie.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Horse Withers

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Stomach - Hydrochloric Acid


While the food that is in your stomach is getting mushed up by the peristalsis, it is also getting turned to mush by a chemical called hydrochloric acid.

This acid is so strong that if you had a glass of just hydrochloric acid and you touched it with your hands, it would burn your skin.

Luckily your stomach has this gooey slimy stuff in it called mucus all along the walls of your stomach that protect it from the acid.
stomach
(from: wikipedia - stomach)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ear Bones - Hammer Anvil Stirrup

Monday, June 23, 2014

Ghana


We just learned about the country of Uganda.

Ghana is a country in Africa on the West side of the continent, on the Atlantic Ocean.
Ghana's motto is Freedom and Justice
ghana map
(from: wikipedia - ghana)

The flag of Ghana has horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green, with a black star in the middle.
The red, yellow and green colors are also on many other flags of countries in Africa.
The red is for the blood of the people who died fighting for freedom, the yellow is for the gold and other minerals that make a lot of money for the country, and the green is for the forests and nature of the country.
The black star is for the freedom of the African people.
The Ghana soccer team is nicknamed the black stars because of their flag.
flag of ghana
(from: wikipedia - flag of ghana)

To eat in Ghana you might have koobi, which is salted dry tilapia fish.
koobi
(from: wikipedia - ghanaian cuisine)

The Kintampo Waterfalls are a popular place for tourists to go visit.
kintampo waterfalls
(from: wikipedia - kintampo waterfalls)

A special type of dance and music in Ghana is called kpanlogo, and uses a special type of drum.
It was created by young people who liked American rock and roll, and wanted to create their own type of music.
kpanlogo
(from: wikipedia - kpanlogo (drum))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Scotland

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Salt of the Earth


We just learned about the Beautitudes that Jesus talked about on his famous Sermon on the Mount.

Another thing that Jesus told his followers in his sermon is that we are the salt of the earth.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

In the time Jesus was speaking, salt was very important. It was used to help food stay fresh, to help make candles last longer, to help plants grow and to make food taste better.

Since it was so important, when Jesus told his followers they were the salt of the earth, he was saying they were very important, and that they needed to be the helpful flavor of the world and helped save people.
salt of the earth
(from: wikipedia - matthew 5:13)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nebuchadnezzar

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Solar - Convection Zone


After the Sun's core and the radiation zone comes the Convection Zone.

The convection zone is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium gases and plasma

When the stuff in the convection zone gets heated up from the radiation zone, it moves toward the outside of the sun.

The way that the cooler gases and plasma get heated and move away from the heat is called convection.
convection
(from: wikipedia - convection)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Planet Alpha Centauri Bb

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Sodium


We just learned about the metal element called Aluminum

Another important element is Sodium.

The salt that we put in our food is sometimes called sodium.

Sodium is one of the main chemical elements, the building blocks that make up our world.
It is on the Periodic Table under the name "Cl".

But the salt we eat is actually sodium mixed up with chlorine.

Sodium by itself is a solid shiny metal.
sodium
(from: wikipedia - sodium)

And chlorine by itself is a yellow gas.
chlorine
(from: wikipedia - chlorine)

When they are combined together, they make sodium chloride the salt we eat.
sodium chloride
(from: wikipedia - sodium chloride)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Periodic Table

Spanish - January, February


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

We'll start with January and February.

January - Enero - sounds like ay-nay-doh /?/

February - Febrero - sounds like fay-bday-doh /?/

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

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - Janvier, Février

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Sea Anemone


We just learned about the Rosy maple moth.

A sea anemone is a type of animal that lives in the ocean, and looks like a plant.
It is really an animal, and eats animals like small fish and shrimp.

They look like plants, with long flowing stems that wave in the water, but if a small fish bumps into them they will release a sting that will kill the fish.

Sometimes a type of plant called algea will grow on the anemone, and it will help give oxygen and food to the anemone, while the algea is protected from getting eaten by fish.
striped colonial anemone
(from: wikipedia - sea anemone)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cow stomachs

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Stomach - Peristalsis


In the stomach body where digestion happens, your food is rolled around, squished and smushed.

This is done by something called peristalsis.

The outside parts of your stomach are called the walls, and the walls of your stomach squeeze and push the food around your stomach so that it gets smushed up into smaller pieces.


(from: wikipedia - stomach)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Inferior Nasal Concha

Monday, June 16, 2014

Uganda


We just learned about the African country of Algeria.

Uganda is a small country in the middle of Southern Africa, just West of Kenya.
uganda
(from: wikipedia - uganda)

The Ugandan country motto is For God and My Country.

Uganda's flag is has six stripes, in a black yellow red pattern.
The black color represents the African people, the yellow is Africa's sunshine, and the red is the blood through which all Africans are connected.
In the middle of the flag is the grey crowned crane, which is a bird famous for its gentle nature.
uganda flag
(from: wikipedia - flag of uganda)

To eat in Uganda you might have Nsenene, which is cooked fried katydids, or maybe Nswaa which is fried termites!
nsenene
(from: wikipedia - tettigoniidae)
termites
(from: wikipedia - termite)


The Rwenzori Mountain range in Uganda is the highest mountain range in Africa.
rwenzori mountains
(from: wikipedia - rwenzori mountains)

One type of music in Uganda is called Kadongo Kamu, which means little guitar.
kadongo kamu
(from: wikipedia - barnard kabanda)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ireland

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Solar - Radiation Zone


We've just learned about the solar core's energy, and how it's the source for the sun's light and heat.

The next part of the sun going out from the core is the radiation zone.

In this part of the sun, the energy is passed between atoms in particles called photons, over and over and it takes around 170,000 years to leave this zone!

When the sun's energy enters the radiation zone it is about 27 million degrees,
and when it leaves the zone it is about 3 thousand degrees.
solar radiation zone
(from: wikipedia - radiation zone)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Alpha Centauri

Friday, June 13, 2014

Spanish - Saturday, Sunday


Let's keep learning the days of the week in Spanish!

We already learned that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday is Lunes, Martes, Miercoles
and Thursday, Friday is Jueves, Viernes.

Saturday - Sabado - sounds like sah-bah-doh /?/

Sunday - Domingo - sounds like doh-mee-n-goh /?/


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

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Samedi, Dimanche

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Aluminum


Another type of metal like iron is aluminum.

Even though aluminum looks like a strong metal, it is very light and easy to bend.

Aluminum is one of the main chemical elements, the building blocks that make up our world.
It is on the Periodic Table under the name "Al".

aluminum
(from: wikipedia - aluminum)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Atomic Number

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Rosy Maple Moth


We just learned about the Peacock Spider.

The rosy maple moth is a very colorful and pretty insect.

It is called a maple moth because it feeds on maple trees.

dryocampa rubicunda
(from: wikipedia - dryocampa rubicunda)

These moths lay eggs on the bottom of maple leaves, where the baby caterpillars hatch and eat the leaves.
Once they are big enough, they climb to the ground, dig themselves a little cave in the dirt, then wrap themselves in their silk cocoon.
In their cocoon they transform, and climb out as a beautiful pink and yellow moth.
dryocampa rubicunda
(from: wikipedia - dryocampa rubicunda)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cat Tongue

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Stomach - Body


Let's keep learning about the parts of the stomach in the digestive system.

We've learned about the cardia and the fundus.

The largest part of the stomach is called the body.
That's where the food stays until it is all broken down to smaller soft mushy pieces.
That is called digestion.
stomach
(from: wikipedia - stomach)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lacrimal Bones

Monday, June 9, 2014

Algeria


We just learned about the country of Kenya
Algeria is a country in Africa on the North of the continent just east of Morocco, and on the Mediterranean sea.
algeria map
(from: wikipedia - algeria)

The flag of Algeria is green and white, with a red crescent and star in the middle.
The green stands for the beauty of nature, the white for peace, the red for the blood of those who died fighting for the country, and the star and crescent represent the muslim people of Algeria.
flag of algeria
(from: wikipedia - flag of algeria)

To eat in Algeria you might have chakhchoukha, which is small pieces of flatbread mixed with a meat and vegetable stew.
chakhchoukha
(from: wikipedia - chakhchoukha)


Claude Cohen Tannoudji is a famous scientist who was born in Algeria.
He won a nobel prize for his scientific work with lasers and atoms.

claude cohen tannoudji
(from: wikipedia - claude cohen tannoudji)

There is an ancient Roman theater in Algeria, in a town called Djémila.

djemila roman theater
(from: wikipedia - djemila)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: England

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Solar Core - Energy


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

The heat that is made at the solar core is because of the energy the core makes using something called fusion.

Remember we learned that atoms are very very tiny things, smaller than the tiniest grain of sand. So small that we can't see them without special super microscopes.
And hydrogen is a type of gas, kind of like the oxygen we breathe.

When hydrogen atoms are smashed together really really hard and fast, fusion can happen, and the hydrogen turns into helium.
When that happens it releases a HUGE amount of energy.

Compared to an explosion from a stick of dynamite, it is over a quintillion times bigger!
A quintillion is a 1 with 18 zeroes after it: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000

That much energy from fusion is created every single second of every day,
and it's what creates the heat and light that keep the sun going.

Just think of it as a whole bunch of tiny little things making huge explosions every second
so that we can stay warm and have sunshine every day.
solar core energy
(from: wikipedia - fusion power)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Proxima Centauri

Friday, June 6, 2014

Spanish - Thursday, Friday


Let's keep learning the days of the week in Spanish!

We already learned that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday is Lunes, Martes, Miercoles

Thursday - Jueves - sounds like hoo-ay-bay-ss /?/

Friday - Viernes - sounds like bee-ay-d-nay-ss /?/


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

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - Thursday, Friday - Jeudi Vendredi

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Iron


We just learned about the shiny black rock Graphite

Another cool type of element is Iron.

Iron is a very common mineral found throughout the earth, and it is used in many types of metal things.

Because it is such a useful metal, it is mined throughout the world.
iron
(from: wikipedia - iron)

Iron is one of the main chemical elements, the building blocks that make up our world.
It is on the Periodic Table under the name "Fe" which comes from the latin word for iron: "ferrum".

When combined with other types of minerals like carbon, it can become stronger.
When two minerals are combined like that it is called an alloy.
With the right type of carbon and iron, you can make the super strong metal steel.

steel wire
(from: wikipedia - steel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chemical Elements

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Peacock Spider


We just learned about the Wolf Spider that carries around its babies.

Spiders come in all shapes and sizes. Some are really colorful!

One type of fancy looking spider is nicknamed the peacock spider.
It's real science name is maratus volans.

When the male spider is looking for a wife, he will flap around the colorful parts of his body, wave his arms, and do a dance to get her attention.

peacock spider
(from: wikipedia - maratus volans)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Northern Pike