Michigan

We just learned about the US State of Massachusetts.

Michigan is a state in the midwest of the US, bordering Canada to the north.

The state of Michigan is split up into two pieces of land, the Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula.
A peninsula is a piece of land that is surrounded by water on 3 sides.
The two peninsulas are connected by a long bridge called the Mackinac Bridge.
People that live in the Upper Peninsula are sometimes called yoopers because when you say the letters U and P it sounds kind of like Yoop.

The state nicknames are: The Great Lake State, The Wolverine State, The Mitten State, Water (Winter) Wonderland
The state mottos are: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice, which means If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.


(from: wikipedia - michigan)

The Michigan flag is dark blue, and has the words E Pluribus Unum which means Out of many, one.
it says Tuebor, which means I will defend, and it also says Si Quæris Peninsulam Amœnam Circumspice, which means If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.
There is a moose an elk and an eagle on the state crest, and in the middle is a man standing on the edge of water holding a rifle, meaning that he will defend Michigan from invaders.

(from: wikipedia - flag of michigan)

Michigan has the largest bunch of fresh water lakes in the world, with the 4 lakes that it borders: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Erie. There is one more lake called Lake Ontario that Michigan does not border, and these lakes are called The Great Lakes.

(from: wikipedia - great lakes)

The Mackinac Bridge is a five mile long bridge that goes from the Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula.


(from: wikipedia - mackinac bridge)

There are many islands in the great lakes, but the biggest one is Isle Royale.
It is 45 miles long of natural beauty, and has moose and wolves living on the island.


(from: wikipedia - isle royale national park)

Another big island in Michigan is Mackinac Island.
It used to be a military base for ships to go to long ago, and now on the island they don't allow cars so people have to go everywhere by hiking and biking.

(from: wikipedia - fort mackinac)

In the city of Sault Ste Marie (sounds like soo saint marie) the St. Mary's River connects Lake Huron to Lake Superior.
The rapids on the St. Maries river fall down 21 feet, so it was very tough for boats to go from one lake to another,
so someone built a machine where the boats can go into something called a lock, wait for the water to lower them slowly down 21 feet, then go to the lower lake.


(from: wikipedia - soo locks)

On the coast of lake Michigan, there are many nice beaches, and some very large sand dunes.
One of the biggest is called Warren Dunes, where there is a beach, campground and large sand dunes to climb.

(from: wikipedia - warren dunes)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Syria

Jesus Crucifixion - With criminals

When Jesus was nailed to the cross he was put between two criminals.

Crucifixion was one of the worst punishments for anyone, so even though Jesus was a good person he was punished with bad people.

One of the criminals was not nice to him, said nasty things to him and said that if Jesus was really the Messiah he should save himself.
The other criminal told the nasty one that he was wrong, and that while both the criminals were being punished for things they did wrong, Jesus hadn't done anything wrong.
He asked Jesus to remember him in his kingdom.

Because this man had faith in Jesus, even though he was a criminal Jesus said that the nice criminal would be with him in paradise that day.


(from: wikipedia - crucifixion of jesus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Miracles - Healing in the land of Gennesaret

The Snail - Henri Matisse

We just learned about the painting Relativity by M. C. Escher.

Another famous work of art was called The Snail by French artist Henri Matisse.

Matisse was very famous for many of the paintings that he did through his life, but one day he got sick and could not paint the same way anymore.
He still wanted to make art, so instead of using a paintbrush he did something called decoupage which is like colored paper cut outs pasted together to make a picture.

Matisse drew a picture of the snail, then took the colored paper and set them together to look kind of like a colorful snail.

(from: wikipedia - the snail)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Full Moon

German - We are surprised

We just learned that I am happy in German is Ich bin glücklich,
you are sad is Sie traurig sind,
he is angry is er ist wütend,
and they are excited is sie sind aufgeregt.

Let's learn how to say We are surprised.

Wir sind begeistert.

We can break it up into three words:
We - Wir - sounds like veer /?/
are - sind - sounds like zint /?/
surprised - begeistert - Sounds like buh-gah-ee-stah-t /?/


So all together Sie sind aufgeregt sounds like Zee zint ow-f-guh-raykt.


(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Estamos sorprendido

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Nous sommes surpris

Altocumulus Clouds

We've now learned that cirrus clouds are thin wispy stringy clouds way up high in the sky,
cumulus clouds are big and puffy, almost like cotton balls,
cumulonimbus clouds are tall mushroom shaped clouds that are seen during storms,
stratus clouds are flat hazy foggy clouds that sometimes have light rain,
nimbostratus clouds are big, hazy and dark and are a sign of rain,
cirrostratus clouds are very high up in the sky and flat and hazy,
altostratus clouds are flat and hazy and in the middle of the sky,
and cirrocumulus clouds are up like small spread out cotton balls.

Another type of cloud is called an altocumulus cloud, which looks puffy just like the other cumulus clouds, but it is larger and darker than the cirrocumulus clouds.

Just like the altostratus cloud, the altocumulus is in the middle of the sky, not very high and not very low.

(from: wikipedia - altocumulus cloud)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Marble

Basset Hound

We just learned about the Australian Cattle Dog.

Another type of dog is the Basset Hound, sometimes also called a Hush Puppy.

Long ago people used Basset Hounds as rabbit hunters.
They have a great sense of smell and are one of the best smellers of any dog!

Bassets are long heavy dogs with very short legs.
They have long ears that hang down from their heads.
Their ears are so long that basset hound puppies sometimes trip over their ears, and when the dogs are eating sometimes their ears get into their food.
Because their ears hang down, they can help bring smells right to their nose so they can find things better.

Most bassets have a white tip on their tail, which hunters would use to help find their dogs while the dogs were out looking for rabbits.


(from: wikipedia - basset hound)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Springbok

Brachial Artery

We know that the subclavian artery brings oxygenated blood from the heart toward the arm, and then continues on to turn into the axillary artery.

After that it goes down the arm between your biceps and triceps and is called the brachial artery.



(from: wikipedia - brachial artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bronchi

Massachusetts

We just learned about the US state of Maryland.

Massachusetts is a state on the east coast of the US, right on the Atlantic Ocean.

It's nicknames are: The Bay State, The Old Colony State and The Codfish State.

It's mottos are: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem which means by the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.


(from: wikipedia - massachusetts)

The flag of Massachusetts is mostly white, with the blue state seal in the middle.
The state seal has a Native American on it, holding a spear pointed downward meaning peace.
There is an arm holding a sword above the seal, to remind people that we had to fight for our country's freedom.


(from: wikipedia - flag of massachusetts)

Two of the best universities in the world are in Boston, Harvard and MIT.


(from: wikipedia - harvard university)

Massachusetts was one of the first places the travelers to America landed to build their homes, after sailing on ships like the Mayflower.

(from: wikipedia - mayflower)

A famous writer named Henry David Thoreau went to live in a cabin on a pond called Walden Pond, where he wrote a famous book called Walden about simple living in simple surroundings.

(from: wikipedia - walden pond)

There have been 4 presidents who were born in Massachusetts.
John Adams, the 2nd president from 1789 to 1797

(from: wikipedia - john adams)

John Quincy Adams, the 6th president from 1825 to 1829

(from: wikipedia - john quincy adams)

John F. Kennedy, the 35th president from 1953 to 1960

(from: wikipedia - john f. kennedy)

George H. W. Bush, the 41st president from 1989 to 1993

(from: wikipedia - george h. w. bush)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jordan

Jesus Crucifixion - Nailed to the cross

We learned that the hill where Jesus was crucified was called Calvary.

When they put him on the cross, they put nails through his hands and feet to hold him to the cross.


(from: wikipedia - crucifixion of jesus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Miracles - Healing the centurion's servant

Relativity - M.C. Escher

We just learned about the painting The Night Watch by Rembrandt.

Another famous painting was called Relativity by Dutch painter Maurits Cornelis Escher, also known as M. C. Escher, painted in 1953.
Escher was known for making his paintings very detailed and sometimes using math ideas to make his pictures interesting.

In his Relativity painting, there are many stairways that connect in strange ways, and people that look like they must be standing on the ceiling or on the walls.


(from: wikipedia - m. c. escher)

The way he made his painting was using something called a lithograph on limestone.

For a lithograph, first the artists take a large slab of limestone, and scrape it clean so there a nice flat surface to draw on.
Then they use something like a greasy oily crayon to draw the painting.
When the painting is done, they pour a type of acid and gooey sticky thing called gum arabic on the painting and spread it around and let it dry.
The acid and gum arabic sticks only to the parts that don't have oily crayon, and works like a clear cover for those areas.
After it is dry, they use something called a solvent, which washes away the oils from the crayon.
Then they pour liquid ink onto the limestone and rub it in, and that ink sticks only to where the oily crayon was.
They wash the limestone with water, and that washes off the liquid ink from the areas that didn't have crayon, because they are protected by that clear cover from the acid and gum arabic.
After all of that, the stone has oily ink only on the parts where the drawing is. They lay a sheet of paper on top of it, and press it down onto the stone, and when they remove the paper it has a copy of the painting the artist did.
They can make many copies from the same lithograph limestone, kind of like a copy machine before the copy machines were invented.



(from: wikipedia - lithography)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lunar Eclipse

German - They are excited

We just learned that I am happy in German is Ich bin glücklich, you are sad is Sie traurig sind,
and he is angry is er ist wütend.

Let's learn how to say they are excited.
Sie sind aufgeregt

We can break it up into three words:
They - Sie - sounds like Zee /?/
are - sind - sounds like zint /?/
excited - aufgeregt - Sounds like ow-f-guh-ray-kt /?/


So all together Sie sind aufgeregt sounds like Zee zint ow-f-guh-raykt.


(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Ellos estan emocionados

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Ils sont excité

Cirrocumulus cloud

We've now learned that cirrus clouds are thin wispy stringy clouds way up high in the sky,
cumulus clouds are big and puffy, almost like cotton balls,
cumulonimbus clouds are tall mushroom shaped clouds that are seen during storms,
stratus clouds are flat hazy foggy clouds that sometimes have light rain,
nimbostratus clouds are big, hazy and dark and are a sign of rain,
cirrostratus clouds are very high up in the sky and flat and hazy,
and altostratus clouds are flat and hazy and in the middle of the sky.

Another type of cloud is called a cirrocumulus cloud.
Just like cirrus clouds they are up high and spread out, and like cumulus clouds they are puffy looking, but a lot smaller cotton balls spread apart.


(from: wikipedia - cirrocumulus cloud)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sandstone

Australian Cattle Dog

We just learned about Spider Sheet Webs.

We've learned a lot about spiders, now let's learn about dogs!

There are many different types of dogs in the world, and each one of them is a little different.
Each dog has a different type of job and is good at a different type of thing!
The Australian Cattle Dog is a very smart, very strong with lots of energy.

This dog's job was to help herd cattle over long distances and rough land.
When it herds cattle, it nips at their heels to get them to go the right way.

The dog's colors can be red or blue. The blue color comes from the black and brown hairs mixing with gray hairs.

They have what looks like a mask over their face, with dark coloring over their eyes.


(from: wikipedia - australian cattle dog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bongo

Axillary artery

We know that the subclavian artery brings oxygenated blood from the heart toward the arm, and splits into some other arteries like the vertebral artery, internal thoracic artery and the dorsal scapular artery.

After those other arteries split off from the subclavian artery, it keeps going and turns into the axillary artery.
This brings blood to parts of the chest, the armpit and the upper arm.


(from: wikipedia - axillary artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Trachea

Maryland

We just learned about the US State of Maine.

Maryland is a state on the east coast of the US, right on the Atlantic Ocean.
It was named after Henrietta Maria of France who was the wife of King Charles I of England.

It's nicknames are: Old Line State, Free State, Little America and America in Miniature.
It's mottos are: Fatti maschii, parole femine which means strong deeds gentle words.


(from: wikipedia - maryland)

The flag of Maryland is from the flag of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore.
He was from England and had come to America to live in Maryland.

He was 1st Baron Baltimore, which meant he was like the mayor of some land in Ireland called Baltimore, which meant town of the big house.

(from: wikipedia - flag of maryland)

The seal of Maryland is different than many other states because it has two sides, like a coin.
One side of the seal shows Lord Baltimore in armor carrying a sword and riding a horse.
The other side shows a farmer and a fisherman standing next to the state flag.



(from: wikipedia - seal of maryland)

One of the most famous athletes of all time was Babe Ruth who was born in Maryland.

(from: wikipedia - babe ruth)

The city of Baltimore has a very busy port where ships come and go all day.

(from: wikipedia - port of baltimore)

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is a large river that connects between Maryland and Delaware, that many ships pass through for business.

(from: wikipedia - chesapeake and delaware canal)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Iraq

Jesus Crucifixion - Calvary

We learned that Jesus had to carry the wooden cross to the place he would be crucified.
The hill where he was crucified was a place called Gol'Gotha, also known as Calvary.
Sometimes the cross Jesus was nailed to is called the Cross of Calvary, because of the name of the hill.

(from: wikipedia - crucifixion of jesus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Miracles - Healing a deaf and mute person

The Night Watch - Rembrandt

We just learned about the famous work of art Campbell's Soup Cans by artist Andy Warhol.

Another famous work of art was called The Night Watch by Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn.

It is also called Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, or The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch.

This painting is very big, at almst 15 feet wide and 12 feet high!

After many years the painting had faded and become so dark that people thought it was a picture of soldiers marching at night.
When some people went to fix up the painting and help make it look like it did when it was first painted, they saw that it was a painting during the daytime, the people are just coming out of a dark place into the sunlight.

Rembrandt was very good at painting people in a way that made them look like they were in the middle of moving, and not just standing still.

(from: wikipedia - the night watch)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blue Moon

German - He is angry

We just learned that I am happy in German is Ich bin glücklich, and I am sad is Sie traurig sind.

Now let's learn how to say He is angry.

Er ist wütend

We can break it up into three words:
He - Er - sounds like Err /?/
is - ist - sounds like ih-st /?/
angry - wütend - Sounds like voo-tent /?/


So all together Er ist wütend sounds like err ih-st voo-tent.


(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Él está enojado

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Il est en colère

Altostratus cloud

We've now learned that cirrus clouds are thin wispy stringy clouds way up high in the sky,
cumulus clouds are big and puffy, almost like cotton balls,
cumulonimbus clouds are tall mushroom shaped clouds that are seen during storms,
stratus clouds are flat hazy foggy clouds that sometimes have light rain,
nimbostratus clouds are big, hazy and dark and are a sign of rain,
and cirrostratus clouds are very high up in the sky and flat and hazy.

Another type of cloud is called an altostratus cloud.
Just like stratus clouds they are flat and hazy, but they are not as high as cirrostratus clouds and not as low as stratus clouds.
They are in the middle of where stratus and cirrostratus clouds are.

(from: wikipedia - altostratus cloud)

Sometimes altostratus clouds have something called virga which is like rain or snow that never reaches the ground.
It leaves the cloud like rain, but evaporates or sublimates back to water vapor before it gets to the ground.


(from: wikipedia - virga)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Metamorphic Rock

Spider Sheet Webs

We've now learned that orb weaver spiders that build big spiral webs,
some spiders build cobwebs or tangle webs,
some build funnel webs, and others build tubular webs.

Another type of web is called a sheet web.

Sheet webs are large webs that can cover very large areas, up to a meter wide!


(from: wikipedia - linyphiidae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Oryx

Dorsal Scapular Artery

We've learned about the oxygenated blood in the Subclavian Artery,
and how it branches into the Vertebral Artery to give blood to your brain,
and the Internal Thoracic Artery to give blood to your chest.

Another branch of the subclavian artery is called the Dorsal Scapular Artery.
This artery brings blood to the muscles in your back.


(from: wikipedia - dorsal scapular artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lungs

Maine

We just learned about the state of Louisiana.

Maine is a state in the north east part of the US, with the Atlantic Ocean on it's east side, and Canada to the north.

It's nicknames are: The Pine Tree State and Vacationland because it has so many nice forests and natural beauty.

It's motto is: Dirigo, which means I lead.

(from: wikipedia - maine)

The flag of Maine has the state seal on it, which shows a farmer, a sailor, a moose, a pine tree, the ocean and the north star.

(from: wikipedia - flag of maine)

Maine is famous for the lobsters that people catch in the ocean.

(from: wikipedia - american lobster)

Maine has close to 70 lighthouses because it is on the coast of the Atlantic and has so many ships coming and going.

(from: wikipedia - burnt island light)

Most of Maine is covered in forests. Of the 35,000 square miles in the state, about 30,000 is forests!

(from: wikipedia - acadian forests)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Saudi Arabia

Jesus - Carrying his cross

After Pontius Pilate sent Jesus to be crucified,
Jesus had to carry the wooden cross to the place he would be crucified.


(from: wikipedia - christ carrying the cross)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Miracles - Healing in the synagogue

Campbell's Soup Cans - Andy Warhol

We just learned about the famous work of art Guernica by artist Pablo Picasso.

Another famous work of art was called Campbell's Soup Cans by artist Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol started off working in advertising where he would use something called silk screening.
Silk screening is like using a stencil to fill in colors, and the open parts of the stencil have a screen over them with holes in it, just like a screen you might find in a window.
Using this silk screening it was easy to make the same picture over and over again.

Warhol made paintings of 32 different Campbell's soup cans.
When he showed them to people at an art gallery, some people were very upset and didn't think he was a good artist.
Other people thought it was very interesting, showing art using something you'd find at a grocery store.

Warhol was very famous for something called Pop Art.
This type of art was of famous people or things you might see in TV commercials.
Pop was short for popular, so anything that was really popular might end up in a painting.


(from: wikipedia - campbell's soup cans)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lunar Phase

German - You are sad

We just learned that I am happy in German is Ich bin glücklich.

Now let's learn how to say You are sad.

Sie sind traurig

We can break it up into three words:
You - Sie - sounds like zee /?/
are - sind - sounds like zin /?/
sad - traurig - Sounds like tuh-ow-uh-ee-hh /?/


So all together Sie sind traurig sounds like zee zin tuh-ow-uh-ee-hh.


(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Estas triste

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Vous êtes triste

Cirrostratus cloud

We've now learned that cirrus clouds are thin wispy stringy clouds way up high in the sky,
cumulus clouds are big and puffy, almost like cotton balls,
cumulonimbus clouds are tall mushroom shaped clouds that are seen during storms,
stratus clouds are flat hazy foggy clouds that sometimes have light rain,
and nimbostratus clouds are big, hazy and dark and are a sign of rain.

Another type of cloud is called a cirrostratus cloud.
Just like cirrus clouds, they are very high up in the sky, and just like stratus clouds they are flat and hazy.

Since they are so high up in the sky they are usually made up of tiny ice crystals, and because of this sometimes at night they can make a halo around the moon in the night sky.

(from: wikipedia - cirrostratus cloud)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sedimentary Rock

Spider Tubular Webs

We've now learned that orb weaver spiders that build big spiral webs,
other spiders build cobwebs or tangle webs,
and others build funnel webs.

Another type of web is called a tubular web.

These types of webs are built in cracks in walls, or trees.
The spiders put their web out from the cracks so they can feel when an insect walks over it,
and when they feel their web move they jump out and bite their prey.


(from: wikipedia - segestria florentina)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wildebeest

Internal Thoracic Artery

We've learned about the oxygenated blood in the subclavian artery,
and how it branches into the vertebral artery in your neck to give blood to your brain.

Another branch of the subclavian artery is called the internal thoracic artery.

This artery brings blood to your chest.

(from: wikipedia - internal thoracic artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Respiratory System