Bruno of Cologne

We just learned about Benedict of Nursia who wrote The Rule of Saint Benedict.

Another famous monk is Bruno of Cologne.

Bruno started off as a leader in the church, but then decided that he wanted to live like a hermit, or a heremitic monk.


(from: wikipedia - bruno of cologne)

He started a monastery in the Chartreuse mountains in France with a couple of other monks living separately in log cabins.


(from: wikipedia - grande chartreuse)

His monastery became very famous and lasted a long time, and the monks there started a group called the Carthusian Order, with rules for how everyone should live, and a motto "The Cross is steady while the world is turning"


(from: wikipedia - carthusians)

Hundreds of years later, the Chartreuse monastery made a special type of drink called Chartreuse, that is green and yellow.
This drink was so well known for its green-yellow color, that the word chartreuse is now the name for a green-yellow color.

(from: wikipedia - chartreuse (liqueur))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rebekah

Tomb of the countess of Celles - Kessels

We just learned about the sculpture The Prinzessinengruppe by Johann Gottfried Schadow.

Another famous neoclassical sculpture is the Tomb of the countess of Celles by Dutch artist Mathieu Kessels, in Rome 1828.

Kessels was born in the Netherlands, and traveled to Paris France and St. Petersburg Russia to learn how to be a sculptor.

Later he moved to Rome Italy, and met the famous artist Bertel Thorwaldsen, who became his teacher and helped him become a very good and famous artist.

This sculpture was made for a tomb of a famous Countess, showing her lying down as an angel comes to take her to heaven.


(from: wikipedia - mathieu kessels)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Muiredach's High Cross

Greek - Do you speak Greek?

Remember that to say please or you're welcome in Greek, you say Παρακαλώ (Parakaló).

To ask if someone speaks Greek, you say Μιλατε ελληνικα? (Milate ellinika?).

It sounds like mee-lah-tay ay-lee-nee-kah  

In the Greek language, the word for Greek comes from the story of Helen, the father of all of the famous rulers of Greece.
Other languages like English call it Greek, because of some other tribes of people that have lived in the area, that called themselves Greek.


To say yes you would say Ναί (Naí) which sounds like nay  

or to say no you would say Οχι (ochi) which sounds like oh-xhee  

Yes and no can be tough for English speakers to remember, because Ναί (Yes) sounds like no, and Οχι (No) sounds kind of like OK.


The letters for these new words are:

Μ (Mu) ι (iota) λ (lambda) α (alpha) τ (tau) ε (epsilon) ε (epsilon) λ (lambda) λ (lambda) η (eta) ν (nu) ι (iota) κ (kappa) α (alpha)?
Ν (Nu) α (alpha) ί (iota)
Ο (Omicron) χ (Chi) ι (iota)


(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: Do you speak ASL?

Italian: Parli italiano?

German: Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Spanish: ¿Hablas español?

French: parlez-vous français?

Intraplate Earthquake

We just learned about the Interplate Earthquake where two plates bump into each other and cause an earthquake.

Another type of earthquake is an Intraplate Earthquake.

This is when an earthquake happens in the middle of a tectonic plate, not near the edges.
Because this isn't by a fault line or border of the plate, scientists are not really sure why these happen, and they do a lot of research to see if there is a hidden fault line somewhere they did not know about.


(from: wikipedia - intraplate earthquake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sponge Iron

Japanese Tree Frog

We just learned about the African Dwarf Frog.

Another type of frog is the Japanese Tree Frog.

This frog lives in Japan, Korea, China and Russia.
They sometimes live in rice paddies and on rice leaves.

When the Japanese person Toyohiro Akiyama went to a space station called Mir in 1990, he took some of these frogs into outer space with him.

These frogs have figured out a special way to call out to each other without interrupting other frogs.
Scientists have used this to come up with better ways to use wifi networks.


(from: wikipedia - japanese tree frog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Snakes Forked Tongue

Costoxiphoid Ligaments

We just learned about the Superior Costotransverse Ligament that connects your spine to your ribs.

Another piece of connective tissue in the body is the Costoxiphoid Ligaments.

These are ligaments that connect the rib, sometimes named the "costo" to the xiphoid process in the middle of the chest.


(from: wikipedia - costoxiphoid ligaments)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lumbar Plexus

Guerrero

We just learned about the Mexico State of Chihuahua, the biggest state in Mexico.

Another Mexico State is Guerrero.

This state was named after the second president of Mexico, Vicente Guerrero, and is the only state named after a Mexican president.

It is on the southwest part of Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean.

(from: wikipedia - geurrero)

The coat of arms of Guerrero is a blue shield with a tiger knight on it, who is wearing a battle suit with a jaguar skin.
In his left hand he has a Mexica shield, and his right hand a weapon called a Maccahuitl, which is a piece of wood with sharp edged stones on it.

(from: wikipedia - geurrero)

The largest city is Acapulco. It is a famous place for people to go to on vacation for it's beaches and sunshine.


(from: wikipedia - acapulco)

There are famous cliff divers in Guerrero, called the La Quebrada cliff divers.
These divers dive into water from cliffs that are 135 feet tall, that's like a 13 story building!


(from: wikipedia - la quebrada cliff divers)

There are large caves called the Grutas de Cacahuamilpa, some of the largest caves in the world, with tunnels and rivers.


(from: wikipedia - grutas de cacahuamilpa national park)

Some of the oldest cave paintings ever found are in Juxtlahuaca. People believe they are about 3,000 years old.

(from: wikipedia - juxtlahuaca)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chugach Mountains

Benedict of Nursia

We just learned about the Mar Saba, the monastery in Bethlehem.

Another monk from history is Benedict of Nursia.

Saint Benedict helped set up 12 different monasteries throughout Italy.

He also wrote a very famous book called The Rule of Saint Benedict.

This was a long book that gave instructions for how monks should live together.
It has everything from what they should eat, how they should work, where they should sleep, and how they should act toward each other and the people in the community.

One of the most important rules for monks was to be humble, and they had 12 rules for how to be humble:

"(1) Fear God, (2) Subordinate one's will to the will of God; (3) Be obedient to one's superior; (4) Be patient amid hardships; (5) Confess one's sins; (6) Accept the meanest of tasks, and hold oneself as a "worthless workman"; (7) Consider oneself "inferior to all"; (8) Follow examples set by superiors; (9) Do not speak until spoken to; (10) Do not readily laugh; (11) Speak simply and modestly; and (12) Express one's inward humility through bodily posture."


(from: wikipedia - benedict of nursia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Isaac

The Prinzessinengruppe - Schadow

We just learned about the Axel Oxenstierna and History by Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel in 1772 in Stockholm Sweden.

Another famous sculpture is The Prinzessinengruppe, a statue of the famous Princess Friederica and her sister Louise, sculpted by German artist Johann Gottfried Schadow, in Berlin, 1797.

These two sisters were very beautiful and charming, and they went on to marry brothers that were Frederick and Louis.
Frederica married Louis, and Louise married Frederick.
The sculpture is called Prinzessinengruppe, which means princess group.

Their children went on to be kings, queens, emperors and empresses of many countries like Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Poland.

Louise was also the Great, Great, Great, Great Grandmother of the famous Anastasia from the stories from Russia.


(from: wikipedia - johann gottfried schadow)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Aberlemno Sculptured Stones

Greek - Please, You're Welcome

Remember that to say thank you in Greek, you say ευχαριστώ.

To say please in Greek is Παρακαλώ (Parakaló) - pah-dah-kah-loh.

And to say you're welcome, you say the same thing as please, Παρακαλώ (Parakaló) - pah-dah-kah-loh.


The letters for this new word are:

Π (pi) α (alpha) ρ (rho) α (alpha) κ (kappa) α (alpha) λ (lambda) ώ (omega)


(from: wikipedia - center for the greek language)

ASL: Please, You're Welcome

German: bitte, bitte schön

Spanish: Por favor, de nada

French: s'il vous plait, de rien

Interplate Earthquake

We just learned about the Doublet Earthquake.

Another type of earthquake is the Interplate Earthquake.

This is an earthquake that happens where two tectonic plates meet.
These are the types of earthquakes that happen more than any other.


(from: wikipedia - chuetsu earthquake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bloomery