Ireland

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

Last time we learned about England.

Next up is Ireland.

Ireland is an island right next to England,
and even though it it one island, it is split into two countries:
The Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland.



(from: wikipedia - ireland)

Ireland is known for some of it's wonderful castles like Killkenny castle


Many people believe that a stone called the Blarney Stone gives anyone who kisses it
great skill in talking with people, so many people travel to kiss the blarney stone.


One symbol for good luck of the Irish people is the Shamrock.

Other Kings

From the time of the prophets Samuel and Elija and Kings Saul, David and Solomon, there were over 40 different Kings over Israel!

Some of them were good, but most of them were very very bad.

The people asked God for a person to be king over them to be a ruler in place of Him,
but all of these kings showed that people can not be trusted in the way we can always trust in God.

(from: wikipedia - kingdom of judah)

Alpha Centauri

We already learned about how Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to our solar system.

The next closest star is Alpha Centauri.
The neat thing about that star is that it's actually two stars!
Alpha Centauri A, and Alpha Centauri B.

They're so close that they actually look like one star.

(from: wikipedia - alpha centauri)

French - March, April

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

We already learned that January is Janvier and February is Février.

Next up is March and April.
March, - Mars - sounds like ma-uh-ss /?/

April - Avril - sounds like ah-vuh-eel /?/

Atomic number

We already know that atoms are super small things,
and that they have even smaller protons, neutrons and electrons in them.

We also know that chemical elements and molecules make up all the things in the world,
from the air to the water to the earth.

Each one of those chemical elements is different, because of the number of protons it has.

And the number of protons an atom or element has, we call that the atomic number.
It's different for every chemical element in the world!

(from: wikipedia - atomic number)

For example, oxygen has 8 protons, and gold has 79.

Cat tongue

We just learned about the Northern Pike.

Have you ever been licked by a cat?

You'd know if you had, because their tongue is very rough!
It's rough like that to help when they're grooming, and if you look up close
you can see that their tongue has little spikes on it, almost like a hair brush!

(from: wikipedia - cat)

The spikes on the cat's tongue are made of keratin.
The same thing your hair and fingernails are made of,
and also rhino horns, turtle shells, and whale teeth!

Lacrimal bones

Let's learn the other parts of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible, maxilla, nasal bone, vomer, palatine bones and zygomatic bones.

Next up are the lacrimal bones, right behind your nose and on the inside part of your eyes.

(from: wikipedia - lacrimal bone)

England

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

We've already learned about France, Spain and Germany.

Next up is England.

(from: wikipedia - england)

One of the oldest buildings ever found is in England, called Stonehenge built over 4,000 years ago!

(from: wikipedia - stonehenge)

England has a royal family with a Queen, princes and princesses!
The home of the royal family is Westminster Palace

(from: wikipedia - palace of westminster)

And a very famous scientist Isaac Newton was from England too!

(from: wikipedia - isaac newton)

Elijah

After the death of Solomon there were other kings and rulers.
One bad king was Ahab and God sent his prophet Elijah to fight against him.

Elijah was a very powerful prophet.
He declared a drought from God because of the bad king,
and helped fight against people believing in things that weren't true.

In the end Elijah was such a great servant that God took him straight up into heaven!

(from: wikipedia - elijah)

Proxima Centauri

We just learned about a bunch of constellations like Gemini.

The nearest star to our solar system is Proxima Centauri.
It is 4.24 light years away from us.


(from: wikipedia - proxima centauri)

Remember that a light year is how long it takes to get somewhere,
traveling at the speed of light!

French - January, February

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

We'll start with January and February.

January, - Janvier - sounds like zh-on-vee-ay /?/

February - Février - sounds like fev-uh-ee-ay /?/

Chemical Elements

We just learned how Molecules are a bunch of atoms stuck together.

Another fun thing to learn about is Chemical Elements.
These are the very simple types of atoms that make up all of the molecules that make up everything in the world.

So for example, Oxygen is a chemical element, and so is Hydrogen.
They're both types of gases,
and they both are atoms all by themselves.

But when these atoms get stuck together, they become a molecule and turn into water!

Every type of thing on the planet is made up of these chemical elements,
from the dirt under your feet to the clouds in the sky.

(from: wikipedia - chemical element)

Northern Pike

We just learned a little about Vultures.

Another fun type of animal is the Northern Pike

This is a type of fish that is found across the northern parts of North America, Europe and Russia.

It is a predatory fish, which means it eats other fish!
Pike are such aggressive hunters that there are laws against letting pike fish get into some waters,
because they might eat up all the small fish.

(from: wikipedia - northern pike)

Zygomatic bones

Let's learn the other parts of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible, maxilla, nasal bone, vomer and palatine bones.

Next up is the zygomatic bones, also known as your cheekbones.

(from: wikipedia - zygomatic bone)

Germany

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

We've already learned about France and Spain.

Next up is Germany.

In Germany they speak German, and to say hello you would say guten Tag
The people there call their country Deutschland.


(from: wikipedia - germany)

Many famous people came from Germany, like Martin Luther who helped start the Lutheran religion

(from: wikipedia - martin luther)

Ludwig Van Beethoven, one of the most famous musicians ever

(from: wikipedia - ludwig van beethoven)

And the famous scientist Albert Einstein

(from: wikipedia - albert einstein)

King Solomon

Let's keep learning about the kings from the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.
We already learned about the prophet Samuel, King Saul and King David.

Solomon was the son of King David and when David died he became the next King of Israel.

When Solomon was young, the Lord appeared to him and asked him what he wanted.
Solomon asked for wisdom, which made God happy because he could have wished for anything in the world!

Solomon was known as one of the wisest men who ever lived,
and he wrote a book of the bible called Proverbs which is full of wisdom he was given by God.


(from: wikipedia - solomon)

Constellations - Gemini

We've now learned about the constellations the Big Dipper, Orion and Taurus.

Next up is Gemini.

This one is supposed to be two people that are twins standing next to each other.
The best way to find Gemini is to first find Orion and look to the right of Orion's belt and up a little.

(from: wikipedia - gemini constellation)

French - Saturday, Sunday

Let's keep learning the days of the week in French.

We already learned that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday is Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi, and Thursday, Friday is Jeudi, Vendredi.

Last is Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, - Samedi - sounds like sahm-dee /?/

Sunday - Dimanche - sounds like dee-mah-sh /?/

Molecules

Remember we learned that ions are atoms with a mismatched number of protons and electrons.

When these mismatched atoms meet up with other mismatched atoms,
they can stick together to become a bunch of atoms, called a molecule.

(from: wikipedia - properties of water)

Vultures

We just learned about Wasps and Bees.

Vultures can look pretty gross and scary sometimes, mostly because of their head with no feathers on it.

They don't have feathers because vultures eat carrion which means dead animals.
Since the meat they're eating may be old and kind of nasty,
they don't have feathers on their head so they don't get all messy and covered in old meat.

(from: wikipedia - turkey vulture)

Even though vultures look scary, they only eat animals that are already dead,
so you don't have to worry about them attacking you.

Palatine bones

Let's learn the other parts of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible, maxilla, nasal bone and vomer.
Next up is the palatine bone. If you feel in the roof of your mouth toward the back, that's it! It is part of the roof of your mouth and is below your nose.

(from: wikipedia - palatine bone)

Spain

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

We've already learned about France.

Next up is Spain.

In Spain they speak Spanish, and to say hello you would say Hola!.
The people there call their country España (like Ess-pahn-yah)

(from: wikipedia - spain)


Spain is home to a special type of dancing called Flemenco

(from: wikipedia - flamenco)

And there is an old tradition of a running race where people are chased by wild bulls!
It's called the running of the bulls

(from: wikipedia - running of the bulls)

King David

Let's keep learning about the kings from the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.
We already learned about the prophet Samuel and King Saul.

Next up is King David.

David was a small boy, but he had great faith.

When the Israelits were fighting a giant named Goliath none of the soldiers would meet him in battle,
but David went up against him using only a sling to throw rocks.
He hit Goliath right in the head and killed him, because he believed in God's power.

David was also a musician, and met with King Saul because his music helped make the king's bad headaches go away.

Eventually David became king after Saul died.
He is such a popular king that some people called Jesus a son of David because Jesus was from David's family.

David was a great king until one day when he saw a woman that was not his wife,
and stole her away from her husband.

God was angry because David could have had anything he wanted, but he stole something that wasn't his.
David loved the Lord and so he begged for forgiveness.
God forgave him, but because David had done something bad, he had many other problems with his family.

Eventually David died as an old man in his bed after making his son Solomon the next king.

(from: wikipedia - david)

Constellations - Taurus

We've now learned about the constellations the Big Dipper and Orion.

Next up is Taurus.
This one is supposed to be a giant bull in the sky.
The best way to find it is to first find Orion, then look to the left of Orion's belt and you should see a bunch of stars that make up a V shape.
That's Taurus!

Follow the points of the V and you should find two stars that make up the points of the bull's horns.


(from: wikipedia - taurus constellation)

French - Thursday, Friday

Let's keep learning the days of the week in French.

We already learned that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was Lundi, Mardi and Mercredi

Next up is Thursday and Friday.

Thursday - Jeudi - sounds like zhuh-dee /?/

Friday - Vendredi - sounds like vahn-duh-ah-dee /?/

Ions

We just learned a little about Mass.

A while back we learned about atoms,
and the parts inside of them protons, neutrons and electrons

Electrons have a negative charge, and Protons have a positive charge.

If an atom has more electrons than protons or more protons than electrons,
then we call it an ion.

If we know the number of electrons and protons, we can figure out whether it is more negative or more positive.

So if an atom has 4 electrons and 2 protons, then there are 2 more electrons.
This would give the atom a negative charge of 2.
An ion with a negative charge is called an anion.

If an atom has 6 protons and 2 electrons, then there are 4 more protons.
This would give the atom a positive charge of 4.
An ion with a positive charge is called a cation.


(from: wikipedia - ion)

Wasps and Bees

We just learned about the Flying Squirrel.

Let's learn about Wasps and Bees.

When striped yellow bugs are flying in the air, it can be hard to tell sometimes if it is a bee or a wasp.
Maybe because there are over 100,000 types of wasps, and 20,000 types of bees!

The biggest difference you can notice is that most bees have some hair on them, and wasps have no hair.
Bees eat nectar from flowers, and wasps eat other bugs.
Most bees die when they sting you, and most wasps don't die and can keep stinging.

Even though we might be scared of bee and wasp stings, they do help us out!
Bees help make flowers grow, and wasps eat small bugs that can hurt plants and crops.

Here is a honey bee:

And a bumble bee:


Here is a yellow jacket (wasp):

Here is a hornet:

(from: wikipedia - characteristics of common wasps and bees)

Vomer

Let's learn the other parts of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible, maxilla and nasal bone.
Next up is the vomer. You can't really see where it is but it's a bone below your nose and above the roof of your mouth.

(from: wikipedia - vomer)

France

We just learned about the South American Islands.

Let's learn about the countries in Europe!

First up is France.

In France they speak French, and to say hello you would say Bonjour!.
More people go on vacation to France than any other place in the world.

(from: wikipedia - france)

The most famous city in France is Paris.

There you will find things like the eiffel tower:

and the Louvre museum:

King Saul

Let's keep learning about the kings from the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.
We already learned about the prophet Samuel.

Next up is King Saul.

Saul was a very handsome man, and led God's people to win battles with other people.

He later had problems because he was impatient.
When he didn't listen to some instructions God gave him through Samuel, God was angry.

Saul was also jealous of David, because people were talking about how great a warrior he was.
So he planned to kill David, but Saul's son Jonathan was David's best friend and he saved him.

Saul was eventually killed in a battle.


(from: wikipedia - saul)

Constellations - Orion

We learned before about the constellation the Big Dipper.

Let's learn about some more constellations!

The constellation of Orion looks like a person, and if you connect the dots
and use your imagination you might be able to see someone who is hunting with a bow and arrow.

In old Greek stories (called mythology) Orion was a great hunter.

(from: wikipedia - orion constellation)

The best way to find Orion in the sky is to look for three stars together, these are part of Orion's belt.

French - Monday, Tuesday, Wedesday

Let's learn the days of the week in French!

Monday - Lundi - sounds like lah-n-dee /?/

Tuesday - Mardi - sounds like mah-uh-dee /?/

Wednesday - Mercredi - sounds like meh-uh-k-uh-dee /?/

Mass

We learned before about Earth's gravity and how it pulls you to the ground.

The reason it does that is because of something called mass.

Mass is sort of like how heavy something is, but also how big it is.

So a marshmallow as big as a house may be heavy enough to squash you,
but if you had a marshmallow as big as a bowling ball, the bowling ball is heavier.

A bowling ball is pretty heavy, but a bowling ball the size of a penny would be pretty light.

The two things that work together for mass are size and something called density.
Density is another big word that means something like how thick a thing is for it's size.

If something has really big size and density (like Earth) then it has really big mass.
If it is big but fluffy like a cloud, it has small mass.
If it is small but really thick density like a marble, it has small mass.
And if it is small and fluffy like a marshmallow then it has really small mass.

(from: wikipedia - earth)


(from: wikipedia - marshmallow)

Flying squirrel

We just learned a little about Earthworms.

Squirrels are fuzzy little crazy creatures that can scramble up and down trees almost faster than you can see.
Just think how crazy it would be if squirrels could fly!

There really is such a thing as a flying squirrel, but it doesn't really fly as much as it glides, kind of like a paper airplane.

The flying squirrel has skin between it's arms and legs, called patagium, just like a bat's wings.


(from: wikipedia - flying squirrel)

When it jumps from one tree to the next, it spreads out its arms and legs to glide through the air.

Nasal bone

Let's learn the other parts of the facial skeleton!

We've already learned about the mandible and the maxilla.

Next up is the nasal bone which is what we call the bridge of your nose.

(from: wikipedia - nasal bone)

South American Islands

We just learned about the countries of Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana.

We've now learned about all of the mainland countries in South America, but let's not forget that there are islands too!

Some island countries are at the Southern part of South America,
like South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the Falkland Islands

(from: wikipedia - south georgia and the south sandwich islands)

There are also islands at the Northern part of South America,
like Trinidad and Tobago and the ABC Islands Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.


(from: wikipedia - trinidad and tobago)

Samuel, Kings & Chronicles

Let's keep learning about the other Books of History in the Old Testament.
We already learned about Joshua, Judges and Ruth.

Next up are the books of 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles..
For the numbered books we say first or second, like First Samuel and Second Samuel.

These six books all talk about some prophets and very famous kings that ruled over Israel for some time.

The first person is Samuel. He was a prophet of the Lord, which means he talked to God, and got instructions from God that he told to other people.
Samuel also anointed Kings, which means he declared to all the people that God had chosen that person as King.

Samuel was a very faithful man, and anointed both King Saul and King David.



(from: wikipedia - samuel)

Asteroid belt

We just learned about the Atmosphere.

We've learned about asteroids and we've learned about the kuiper belt which is full of asteroids.

It turns out there is an even larger bunch of asteroids in our solar system
called the asteroid belt.

(from: wikipedia - asteroid belt)

There are over a million asteroids in the asteroid belt!

French - His face is rough

We've now learned that This house is big is Cette maison est grande
The chair is small is La chaise est petit,
My drink is cold is Ma boisson est froide,
Your food is hot is Votre nourriture est chaud,
Their car is tall is Leur voiture est haut,
and Our table is short is Notre table est courte,
and Her hands are soft, is Ses mains sont douces.

To say His face is rough, you would say Son visage est rude.

His - Son - sounds like sawn /?/
face - visage - sounds like vee-zazh /?/
is - est - sounds like ay /?/
rough - rude - sounds like uh-oo-d /?/

All together it sounds like sawn vee-zazh ay uh-oo-d /?/

Earth's Gravity

When you drop a ball to the ground, what makes it fall?

Gravity! Our gravity comes from our planet Earth always pulling us back toward the ground.
Gravity is a type of acceleration, and the longer we fall toward the Earth the faster we'll go.

So if you fall from an airplane, you'll start out falling slow,
then you'll go faster and faster until you pull your parachute and slow yourself down.

If you drop a ball from the sky, it will fall slow at first, then faster and faster.

(from: wikipedia - gravitation)