Lunula

We just learned about the Nail Plate.

Another part of the nail is the Lunula which means "little moon".

This is the small white crescent shape at the base of your nail, right where it touches the skin and your nail starts.
The lunula is connected to the matrix and the plate, and is the starting point where your nail grows out from the matrix.


(from: wikipedia - lunula (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forebrain

Nova Scotia

We just learned about the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

Another Canadian province is Nova Scotia which means "New Scotland".

This is an island province on the east coast of Canada, right on the ocean.


(from: wikipedia - nova scotia)

The flag of Nova Scotia is a white flag with a blue cross on it.
This is supposed to look like the flag of Scotland, which is a blue flag with a white cross on it.
In the middle of the Nova Scotia flag is a gold shield with a red lion, which is the royal arms of Scotland.

(from: wikipedia - flag of nova scotia)

The coat of arms of Nova Scotia has two hands on it that are shaking hands, one of the hands has a metal gauntlet.
Part of Nova Scotia's history was making peace with the Native Mi'Kmaq people that lived there.
By the hands are leaves from a thistle and a laurel, meaning strong defense but also peace.

The coat of arms also has the province flag, a unicorn for Scotland, and a Mi'kmaq First Nation native.
The motto is "Munit haec et altera vincit" which means "One hand defends and the other conquers"

(from: wikipedia - coat of arms of nova scotia)

Because it is an island province, fishing is one of the most important jobs there, and they are one of the largest catcher of lobsters in the world.

(from: wikipedia - halifax, nova scotia)

Cape Breton is a small island that is part of Nova Scotia.

(from: wikipedia - cape breton island)

Sable Island is nother very small island in Nova Scotia, and it is only 150 miles long!
On this island are about 500 wild horses, that just run free on the island where nobody lives.

(from: wikipedia - sable island)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Annapurna Massif

Proverbs 16 - Wisdom better than Gold

We just learned about Proverbs 4 - The Path of the Righteous.

Another famous Proverb is Proverbs 16.

This chapter goes on to tell about the value of wisdom and listening to God for instructions.

"How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver."


(from: wikipedia - book of proverbs)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Staurogram

Leonardo's Horse

We just learned about the Equestrian Statue of Bartolomeo.

Another famous Renaissance sculpture is Leonardo's Horse in Milan in 1482.
Leonardo Da Vinci was working on a large sculpture of a horse, and he built a model out of clay but it was destroyed in a war before it could be made into a metal statue.

His notes and drawings for how to make the horse were saved, so a few people have made real copies of the sculpture.


(from: wikipedia - leonardo's horse)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Poseidon of Melos

ASL - Fifteen

We counted to 10 in ASL, now let's learn some bigger numbers!

To make the number 12-15 in ASL, you do the same hand shapes you did for 1-5, but your hand is turned around so your palm is facing you, and you move your fingers by bending them a little.

11 - Palm facing you, index finger pointing up, then bend your finger once or twice.
12 - Palm facing you, index and tall finger pointing up, then bend your fingers once or twice.
13 - Palm facing you, index and tall fingers pointing up and thumb out, then bend your index and tall fingers once or twice.
14 - Palm facing you, thumb held in and the other 4 fingers pointing up, bend your fingers once or twice.
15 - Palm facing you, open hand all fingers up, then bend your fingers once or twice, but not your thumb.

Here is a helpful video to show how these signs are done.


ASL Numbers 11-20 in Sign Language | Learn how to Sign Numbers



(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: undici, dodici, tredici, quattordici, quindici

German: elf, zwölf, dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn

Spanish: once, doce, trese, catorce, quince

French: onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze

Water jet cutting

We just learned about Electrical Discharge Machining.

Another way to work with metal is water jet cutting.

A water jet cutting tool takes water and squirts it at super high speeds at a piece of metal, and the water is going so fast that it actually cuts the metal.

The tool that makes the water go fast actually uses a jewel like a sapphire, ruby or diamond to make a really small hole for the water to go through.
Water jets can be used to cut anything from glass, to rubber to wood or metal.

Sometimes if the water needs to cut something really hard the water gets mixed up with small pieces of hard crystals like garnet or aluminum oxide, and it gets rougher.
You can think of that like if someone mixed sand up in a squirtgun and shot it at you, it might sting more than just water in a squirtgun.


(from: wikipedia - water jet cutter)


(from: wikipedia - water jet cutter)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Anvil - Table

Central Coast stubfoot toad

We just learned about the Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad.

Another frog is the Central Coast stubfoot toad.

This is a true toad in the family Bufonidae.
Their vocal sac that fills up with air is not like other frogs, it is very quiet so they can only make calls to other frogs in small distances.
Because of this they have to live very close to other frogs.


(from: wikipedia - atelopus franciscus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Colorado Desert Sidwinder

Nail Plate

We just learned about the nail matrix.

Another part of the nail is the nail plate.

This is the big flat part of your nail.
When new cells are being made in the matrix, they are pushed forward to the plate, where they eventually end up at the tip of your fingernail.

(from: wikipedia - nail (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Diancephalon

Saskatchewan

We just learned about the Canadian province of Manitoba.

The next most populated Canadian province is Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan is in the southern middle part of Canada, just west of Manitoba.
The name comes from an old cree name for the river, meaning "swift flowing river".
This province gets more sunshine than any other province, and has the record for the hottest temperature in all of Canada, at 113 degrees F.


(from: wikipedia - saskatchewan)

The flag of Saskatchewan has the coat of arms in the upper left, and the province flower of the western red lily in the bottom right.
The upper green half is for the forests, and the bottom gold half is for the prairie wheat fields.

(from: wikipedia - flag of saskatchewan)

The coat of arms for Saskatchewan has a lion for England, some wheat for the farms, Canada's national animal the beaver, a western red lily for the province, a white tailed deer, and a maple leaf.

The province motto is "Multis e gentibus vires" which means "from many peoples, strength"

(from: wikipedia - coat of arms of saskatchewan)

A famous Native American named Sitting Bull moved to Saskatchewan after the famous Battle of Little Bighorn, and had a family there for a while.

(from: wikipedia - sitting bull)

Hockey is the most popular sport in Saskatchewan, and many famous hockey players came from there, including Gordie Howe.

(from: wikipedia - gordie howe)

Moose Jaw is one of the largest cities in Saskatchewan, where they have a giant statue of Mac the Moose.

(from: wikipedia - mac the moose)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nanga Parbat

Proverbs 4 - The Path of the Righteous

We just learned about Proverbs 31 - A wife of noble character.

Another good lesson from the book of Proverbs is Proverbs 4.

This chapter is advice from a father, telling his children to seek out wisdom, and to listen to the wisdom given to them by their father.

the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.


(from: wikipedia - book of proverbs)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Alpha and Omega

Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni - Verrocchio

We just learned about the statue of Christ and St. Thomas, by Andrea del Verrocchio.

Another famous sculpture by Andrea del Verrocchio is the Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni made in Venice, Italy in 1488 AD.

When the noble person Bartolomeo Colleoni died, he had left some money for a statue to be made of him.
There was a competition between three sculptors who had to make samples of what they wanted to put up, and Andrea del Verrocchio won the competition.

He made the statue to be like the famous Donatello statue The Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata.

The statue is made to look like a very strong and powerful military commander.


(from: wikipedia - equestrian statue of bartolomeo colleoni)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Statue of Zeus at Olympia

ASL - November, December

Let's keep learning about the months of the year in ASL!

We just learned how to say January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October.


Remember, to say a month, you just have to spell out the first three letters of the month.

November - N-O-V



December - D-E-C



wiktionary - appendix:sign language handshapes


Here is a helpful video to show how these signs are done.


ASL HANGOUT: HOW TO SIGN MONTHS OF THE YEAR! - Sign Duo



(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: Novembre, Dicembre

German: November, Dezember

Spanish: Noviembre, Diciembre

French: Novembre, Décembre

Electrical Discharge Machining

We just learned about the type of metal working called Stamping.

Another way to work with metal is called Electrical Discharge Machining or EDM for short.
It is also sometimes called spark machining, spark eroding, burning, die sinking, wire burning or wire erosion.

This is a way to cut some parts out of a piece of metal using electricity.
A special tool zaps a piece of metal with some electricity, and the power of the electricity is so strong it cuts into the metal.



(from: wikipedia - electrical discharge machining)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Anvil - Horn

Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad

We just learned about the Yellow Bellied Toad.

Another frog is the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad.

Just like a lot of toads, this is not a "True Toad".
They get their name because they have a small mouth, and kind of a short fat body shape.

These frogs also do not have any eardrums!


(from: wikipedia - gastrophryne carolinensis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Aruba Island Rattlesnake

Nail - Matrix

Let's learn a little more about nails.

One part of the nail is the matrix.
This is the skin underneath the very bottom part of the nail, below where the nail meets the skin.

The matrix has nerves and blood vessels, and it is the part that makes new cells that turn into the nails.


(from: wikipedia - nail (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hindbrain

Manitoba

We just learned about the province of Alberta.

The next biggest province in Canada is Manitoba.

It is in the southern part, right in the middle, above North Dakota and Minnesota.


(from: wikipedia - manitoba)

The flag for the province is the flag called the red ensign, with the coat of arms also on it.
The red ensign is a flag used by the United Kingdom, and has the flag of Great Britain in the corner on top of a red background.

Long ago the flag for all of Canada looked like the Red Ensign, but then in 1965 Canada changed their national flag to be the maple leaf.
The people of Manitoba wanted to keep the red ensign as a flag to show that they still liked the United Kingdom, so they made it the flag of their province.


(from: wikipedia - flag of manitoba)

The seal of the province shows that many people came from Britain, and also some things from local Canada.
At the top is the cross of St. George for England, and the bottom has the bison on a rock with a green background for the nature of Canada.


(from: wikipedia - coat of arms of manitoba)

The arctic temperatures in Manitoba are perfect for many polar bears to live there.

(from: wikipedia - polar bear)

Winnipeg the capital of Manitoba, has a museum called the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.


(from: wikipedia - canadian museum for human rights)

There is an old fort in Churchill called the Prince of Wales Fort

(from: wikipedia - prince of wales fort)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Manaslu

Proverbs 31 - A wife of noble character

We just learned about Proverbs 3 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Another famous proverb is Proverbs 31.

This chapter tells of the wisdom of having a good wife, and how valuable she is.

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.


(from: wikipedia - proverbs 31)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ichthys

Christ and St. Thomas - Verrocchio

We just learned about the Cantoria bu Luca Della Robbia.

Another famous Renaissance sculpture is the bronze statue of Christ and St. Thomas, sculpted by Andrea del Verrocchio in 1483 in Florence.

These statues tell the story of Christ when the Apostle Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead, and said he would only believe if he saw him with his own eyes.

The statue shows Christ standing confident and strong, and Thomas looking very nervous and embarrassed.

When it was sculpted it was made to be seen only from the front side, so the back is not sculpted.
This helped make it easier to do, and also saved on using up bronze.

(from: wikipedia - christ and st. thomas (verrocchio))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Elgin Marbles

ASL - September, October

Let's keep learning about the months of the year in ASL!

We just learned how to say January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August.


Remember, to say a month, you just have to spell out the first three letters of the month.

September - S-E-P



October - O-C-T



wiktionary - appendix:sign language handshapes


Here is a helpful video to show how these signs are done.


ASL HANGOUT: HOW TO SIGN MONTHS OF THE YEAR! - Sign Duo



(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: Settembre, Ottobre

German: September, Oktober

Spanish: Septiembre, Octubre

French: Septembre, Octobre

Stamping

We just learned about Bending.

Another part of metalworking is stamping.

Stamping is when you take a large piece of flat metal and you want to shape it and cut it.


(from: wikipedia - stamping (metalworking))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Anvil Face

Yellow Bellied Toad

We just learned about the African Clawed Frog.

Another frog is the Yellow Bellied Toad.

This type of frog has a yellow body with black swirls all over it's body, and heart shaped pupils.


(from: wikipedia - yellow bellied toad)



(from: wikipedia - yellow bellied toad)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mexican Lance Headed Rattlesnake