Dolphin

Dolphins are very smart animals, but they are not fish!

They are mammals, and they breathe air just like us, but they breathe through the hole in the top of their head called a blowhole.

Some dolphins have learned that when they are looking for food on the ocean floor using their nose, they can put a sponge on the end of their nose and it will protect it from getting scratched up!


(from: wikipedia - dolphin)

Dophins have been known to sometimes save humans from shark attacks, and even to help out other animals like whales.

A bunch of dolphins is called either a school or a pod.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider Monkey

Pharynx

At the very back of your throat and above your larynx is something called the pharynx.

It is the area that connects your mouth and nose to your throat.

(from: wikipedia - pharynx)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Temporal Bone

Egypt

Let's keep learning about the countries in the continent of Africa.
Last time we learned about Ethiopia.

Now let's learn about Egypt.
Egypt is on the Northeast part of the continent, and it is the only country in Africa that is connected to the continent of Asia, where it borders Israel.


(from: wikipedia - egypt)

To eat in Egypt you might have a dish called Kushari, which is rice, macaroni, lentils, tomato sauce, spaghetti, chickpeas and fried onions.

(from: wikipedia - kushari)

A very famous actor from Egypt was Omar Sharif. He won several awards for his movies.

(from: wikipedia - omar sharif)

The sphinx and pyramids are ancient stone buildings that people made over 4,000 years ago for the Pharaohs who were like kings long ago.

(from: wikipedia - great sphinx of giza)

Ancient Egyptians used pictures to write their words, and we call these heiroglyphics which means something like sacred carvings. They would very often carve these pictures into walls of buildings for their writing.

(from: wikipedia - egyptian hieroglyphs)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Chile and Bolivia

Jesus' Miracles - Calming the storm

We've learned about Jesus' Miracles healing lepers, healing the blind, healing the paralyzed, healing women, healing on the sabbath, healing in a synagogue, healing a deaf and mute person, healing the centurion's servant, healing just by touching his cloak, raising the dead, turning water to wine, catching fish, feeding the multitude and walking on water.

Another miracle Jesus performed was when the apostles were in a boat in the water, Jesus was asleep in the boat.

While he was sleeping, a wild storm came along and was so big that there were waves crashing over the boat and the Apostles were afraid they might drown.

They woke Jesus up to see if he could help, and he got up and calmed the storm.
After the storm was calm, he told them that they should not have been afraid since he was in the boat, even though he was sleeping.

(from: wikipedia - calming the storm)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Joshua

Last quarter moon

We've learned now about the moon's lunar phases: new moon, waxing crescent moon, first quarter moon, waxing gibbous, full moon and waning gibbous.

After waning gibbous, the moon continues to get darker on the right side.
Once it is about half dark, that is called the last quarter moon.

Remember that when the left side is dark, that is the first quarter moon.

(from: wikipedia - category:lunar phases)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Meteoroid

Spanish - My drink is cold

We've learned that in Spanish:
I am happy is Estoy feliz,
You are sad is Estás triste,
He is angry is Él está enojado,
They are excited is Ellos estan emocionados,
We are surprised is Estamos sorprendido,
This house is big is Esta casa es grande and
The chair is small is La silla es pequeña
Let's learn more about the things we see every day.

To say My drink is cold you would say Mi bebida es fría

We can break it up into four words:
My Mi - sounds like Me /?/
drink - bebida - sounds like bay-bee-dah /?/
is - es - sounds like ay-ss /?/
cold - fría - sounds like f-dee-yah /?/

All together Mi bebida es fría sounds like Me bay-bee-dah ay-ss f-dee-yah.



(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - My drink is cold - Ma boisson est froide

Petoskey Stone

We just learned about the rock Mudstone.

Sometimes when sedimentary rocks are being formed, the small tiny pieces of rock fall on top of dead animals, and they can turn into rocks called fossils.

The bones of the dead animals get slowly squished by all the small tiny rock pieces, and they get hardened to the point that they turn into rocks.

One type of fossil is a petoskey stone.

It is made from very old coral that was in the lakes in Northeastern part of Michigan's lower peninsula.

(from: wikipedia - petoskey stone)


(from: wikipedia - petoskey stone)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Velocity

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers are great hoppers!
Compared to a human, if a grasshopper were our size they could jump over a whole basketball court!

Grasshoppers don't have ears like ours, they have their ears on the sides of their bellies, and they are just flat, not like our ears that stick out.

(from: wikipedia - grasshopper)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dung Beetle

Adam's Apple

Inside the trachea where the Larynx and Vochal Cords are, there is something called Thyroid Cartilage, which is padding for the larynx.

This padding sticks out in your throat area as a lump you can see and feel.
The lump is nicknamed the Adam's apple, also called the laryngeal prominence.

The Adam's apple is bigger in boys than in girls.


(from: wikipedia - adam's apple)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sphenoid Bone

Ethiopia

Let's keep learning about the countries in the continent of Africa. Last time we learned about Nigeria.
The second largest country in Africa is Ethiopia. It is on the Northeast part of Africa, near the Indian Ocean.

(from: wikipedia - ethiopia)

To eat in Ethiopia you might have Injera, which is a type of bread usually served with some dipping sauces.

(from: wikipedia - injera)

There are many old instruments made throughout different parts of Ethiopia, like the masinko or kirar, which are string instruments like a guitar.

(from: wikipedia - music of ethiopia)

In a town called Lalibela, there are some large churches that were carved out of the rock.

(from: wikipedia - lalibela)

One of the things Ethopia is known for is making coffee.

(from: wikipedia - coffee production in ethiopia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Uruguay and Paraguay

Jesus' Miracles - Walking on water

We've learned about Jesus' Miracles healing lepers, healing the blind, healing the paralyzed, healing women, healing on the sabbath, healing in a synagogue, healing a deaf and mute person, healing the centurion's servant, healing just by touching his cloak, raising the dead, turning water to wine, catching fish and feeding the multitude.

Another miracle Jesus performed was when the apostles were in a boat in the water, and Jesus was on land.

He walked out on top of the water and walked to the boat!

(from: wikipedia - jesus walks on water)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Deutoronomy

Waning Gibbous

We've learned now about the moon's lunar phases: new moon, waxing crescent moon, first quarter moon, waxing gibbous and full moon.

After the moon is full and bright, it starts to get dark again.
The next phase after full moon is called Waning Gibbous.

Waning sort of means going away, so the moon is almost full and getting less full every day.
The waxing gibbous moon was a little dark on the left side.
The waning gibbous moon is a little dark on the right side.


(from: wikipedia - category:lunar phases)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Comets

Spanish - The chair is small

We've learned that in Spanish:
I am happy is Estoy feliz,
You are sad is Estás triste,
He is angry is Él está enojado,
They are excited is Ellos estan emocionados,
We are surprised is Estamos sorprendido
and This house is big is Esta casa es grande.

Let's learn more about the things we see every day.

To say The chair is small you would say La silla es pequeña

We can break it up into four words:
The - La - sounds like lahh /?/
chair - silla - sounds like see-yah /?/
is - es - sounds like ay-ss /?/
small - pequeña - sounds like pay-kay-n-yah /?/

All together La silla es pequeña sounds like lah see-yah ay-ss pay-kay-n-yah.


(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - The chair is small - La chaise est petit

Mudstone

We just learned about the igneous rock pumice.

Another type of sedimentary rock is called Mudstone.

Just like the name sounds, mud stone is made from mud and clay that has collected over time, dried up and hardened to rock. It usually even still looks like mud that is dried, but it is a hard rock.

(from: wikipedia - mudstone)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Time

Grouse

We just learned about the Peregrine Falcon.

The Grouse is a bird from the same family as a chicken, but it doesn't look like a chicken!

It has a big white collar, and a fancy black tail.

Grouse live in very cold areas of the world, and because of this their feet actually grow feathers to stay warm.

(from: wikipedia - grouse)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Red Panda

Vocal Cords

We just learned about our larynx that is sometimes called our voice box.

Inside the layrnx are your vocal cords also called your vocal folds or voice reeds.

Your vocal chords are two pieces of skin that stay open when you breathe, but when you want to talk they move close together and vibrate, kind of like when you put your lips together and blow air out to make a buzzing sound.

(from: wikipedia - vocal folds)



(from: wikipedia - vocal folds)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ethmoid Bone

Nigeria

We've learned about countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

Let's move on to the continent of Africa!

The country with the most people in Africa is called Nigeria.


(from: wikipedia - nigeria)

To eat in Nigeria you might have suya, which is a spicy barbecued meat on a stick.

(from: wikipedia - suya)

Hakeem Olajuwon was a basketball player from Nigeria, that came to the US to play basketball. He was 7 feet tall, and had the most blocked shots of any basketball player ever with 3,830!

(from: wikipedia - hakeem olajuwon)

There are many wild animals in Nigeria, like the elephants in the Yankari National Park.

(from: wikipedia - yankari national park)

A special musical instrument in Nigeria is called the Ekwe, it is like a hollowed out log that is used as a drum.

(from: wikipedia - ekwe)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Argentina

Jesus' Miracles - Feeding the multitude

We've learned about Jesus' Miracles healing lepers, healing the blind, healing the paralyzed, healing women, healing on the sabbath, healing in a synagogue, healing a deaf and mute person, healing the centurion's servant, healing just by touching his cloak, raising the dead, turning water to wine and catching fish.

Another miracle Jesus performed was when a crowd of people had followed him to be healed and hear him speak.
It got very late and the crowd was very hungry, so his apostles looked to see how much food they had.

They only had a few loaves of bread and a few fish, and there were thousands of people to feed!

Jesus told the apostles just to pass out the bread and fish to the people, and they were amazed when there was somehow enough food for everyone, and even some left over.

(from: wikipedia - feeding the multitude)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Numbers

Waxing Gibbous Moon

We've learned now about the moon's lunar phases: full moon, new moon, waxing crescent moon and first quarter moon.

The next phase after first quarter is called waxing gibbous.

When the moon is almost full, but only a small crescent on the left side is dark, that is called waxing gibbous.



(from: wikipedia - category:lunar phases)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Asteroids

Spanish - This house is big

We've learned that in Spanish:
I am happy is Estoy feliz,
You are sad is Estás triste,
He is angry is Él está enojado,
They are excited is Ellos estan emocionados and
We are surprised is Estamos sorprendido.

Now let's learn how to say This house is big.

We can break it up into four words:
This - Esta - sounds like ay-stah /?/
house - casa - sounds like cah-sah /?/
is - es - sounds like ay-ss /?/
big - grande - sounds like gdahn-day /?/

All together Esta casa es grande sounds like ay-stah cah-sah ay-ss gdahn-day.


(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - This house is big - Cette maison est grande

Pumice

We just learned about the metamorphic rock Slate.

Another type of igneous rock is called Pumice.
Pumice is made up mostly of volcanic glass, and it has tiny holes all through it like bubbles.
Because there are so many holes in it, pumice is very light and sometimes can even float on top of water!

Pumice is very rough to touch, so sometimes it is used to scrub the bottoms of people's feet to help scrub away old skin and make their feet soft again like a baby's feet.

(from: wikipedia - pumice)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Distance

Peregrine Falcon

We just learned about the Emu.

The Peregrine Falcon is a medium sized bird that is a hunter.
Birds that hunt are called birds of prey.

When the pregrine falcon is going to attack, it flies up very high, then dives down through the sky to attack it's prey from above.

When the falcon is diving, it can get as fast as 200 miles per hour.
That's faster than any animal in the whole world!

(from: wikipedia - peregrine falcon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Turtle Scutes

Larynx

Up above your Trachea is your Larynx.

The larynx is also known as your voice box.
It is the place in your throat where your voice comes from.


(from: wikipedia - larynx)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Occipital Bone

Asia - Many Countries

Even though we've covered 22 different countries in Asia, we're not even half way through all of them!

There are some very small countries that are just the size of a city!

Here is a list of 49 countries in Asia!

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste/East Timor, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

Asia is the largest continent, so it's no surprise it has so many countries!

(from: wikipedia - list of sovereign states and dependent territories in asia)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Columbia

Jesus' Miracles - Catching Fish

We've learned about Jesus' Miracles healing lepers, healing the blind, healing the paralyzed, healing women, healing on the sabbath, healing in a synagogue, healing a deaf and mute person, healing the centurion's servant, healing just by touching his cloak, raising the dead and turning water to wine.
Another miracle Jesus performed was when some of his apostles were fishing for a long time and could not catch any fish.

He told them to try again, and when they did they brought up so many fish they couldn't carry them in one boat!


(from: wikipedia - miracle of draught of fishes)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Leviticus

First Quarter Moon

We've learned now about the moon's lunar phases: full moon, new moon and waxing crescent moon.

The next phase after waxing crescent is called first quarter.
When you look up in the night sky and you see the right half of it, that is a first quarter moon.

A quarter is when you divide something up into four equal parts, a quarter is one of those parts.
So if you divide the moon into four parts: 1 back left (dark), 2 back right (dark), 3 front left (dark), 4 front right (light)
You can see that only one of the four parts of the moon has sun light on it.


(from: wikipedia - category:lunar phases)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Kuiper Belt

Spanish - We are surprised

We just learned that in Spanish:
I am happy is Estoy feliz,
You are sad is Estás triste,
He is angry is Él está enojado
and They are excited is Ellos estan emocionados.

Now let's learn how to say We are surprised.
We can break it up into two words:
We are - Estamos - sounds like ay-stah-moh-ss /?/
surprised - sorprendido - sounds like soh-d-pden-dee-doh /?/

All together Estamos sorprendido sounds like ay-stah-moh-ss soh-d-pden-dee-doh.


(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - We are surprised - Nous sommes surpris

Slate

We've learned now about sandstone, marble, basalt and limestone rock.

Another type of metamorphic rock is slate.

Slate is made up of volcanic ash and clay that has been squished together over many years, until they become hard and flat.

(from: wikipedia - slate)

Since slate is so hard and flat, it was used to build many things like roof tiles.

(from: wikipedia - slate)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Solid, Liquid, Gas

Emu

We just learned about the Nayala.

The Emu is the second largest bird in the world, right after the ostrich.

Emus don't chirp like a small bird, they make booming, drumming, grunting and hissing sounds that can be heard from a mile away!


(from: wikipedia - emu)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wolverine

Blood Air Barrier

We've learned that air comes down your trachea into your bronchi, then to bronchioles and finally to your alveoli where the oxygen you need goes into your blood.

The place in your alveoli where the oxygen in the air goes into your blood is called the blood-air barrier.

The air you breathe in has oxygen (sometimes called O2) that your body takes into your blood and sends all over your body.
Your body uses up the oxygen and sends back carbon dioxide (sometimes called CO2) in your blood to get rid of when you breathe out.

The blood-air barrier is where the oxygen goes in the blood, and the carbon dioxide comes out of the blood.
You can think of it like your body dumping out the old garbage CO2, and pickup up the new fresh O2 you need.

(from: wikipedia - blood-air barrier)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Parietal Bones

Sri Lanka

We just learned about the country of Lebanon.

Sri Lanka is a small country in Asia, just South of India.

(from: wikipedia - sri lanka)

To eat in Sri Lanka, you might have kiribath, which is a kind of rice pudding made with coconut milk.

(from: wikipedia - kiribath)

Cyril Ponnamperuma was a famous scientist from Sri Lanka that came to the United States to work on the space program at NASA.

(from: wikipedia - cryil ponnamperuma)

Hundreds of years ago, a king built a palace inside a giant stone mountain, called Sigiriya.

(from: wikipedia - sigiriya)

The most popular sport in Sri Lanka is called cricket. It is a little like baseball, but the bat is much larger like a paddle.

(from: wikipedia - cricket)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Brazil