Epiphany - Transfiguration

We just learned about the time in Epiphany celebrating the baptism of Jesus.

The last part of the Epiphany season is Transfiguration.

This is the time that churches remember when Jesus went up on a mountain with his apostles, and a bright light came on him. Moses and Elijah appeared by him, and God told them that Jesus was his son.

Matthew 17:

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”


(from: wikipedia - feast of the transfiguration)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Crucifixion - Nailed to the cross

Ram in a Thicket

We just learned about the ancient sculpture the Trundholm Sun Chariot.

Another ancient sculpture is called Ram in a Thicket.

This is a sculpture of a ram that is caught in some sort of a bush. There were two of these sculptures found, and they seem to be a pair that stood across from each other.

The person that found them named them ram in a thicket after the story of Abraham where God provided a ram for him to sacrifice.

Since it was very old and had been buried under a lot of dirt, some parts of the statue were rotten and had to be remade to try and make it look like it did long ago.

This sculpture has a wooden middle, that was carved for the face and legs.
The head and legs are covered in gold leaf hammered to the wood and stuck there with a sticky black gooey oil called bitumen or asphalt.
The ears are made of copper which has turned green.
The ram's horns and fleece on it's shoulders are made of lapis lazuli.
The fleece on the body is made of shells stuck to bituman.
It's belly is made of silver plate.
The tree or bush is covered in gold leaf and gold flowers.
It is standing on a small rectangle covered in shells, red limestone and lapis lazuli.
There used to be small silver chains around the ram and trees, but those were too old to recover.



(from: wikipedia - ram in a thicket)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Relativity - M.C. Escher

Italian - They are excited

We just learned that I am happy in Italian is Sono felice, you are sad is Sei triste and he is angry is Lui è arrabbiato.

Let's learn how to say they are excited.
Sono eccitati

They are - Sono - sounds like soh-no /?/
excited - eccitati - Sounds like eh-chee-tah-tee /?/


So all together Sono eccitati sounds like Soh-no eh-chee-tah-tee.


(from: wikipedia - accademia della crusca)

In German:
Sie sind aufgeregt

In Spanish:
Ellos estan emocionados

In French:
Ils sont excité

F3 Tornado

We just learned that the F2 Tornado on the Fujita Scale is roofs torn off, mobile homes destroyed and trees uprooted.

The next level of damage is the F3 tornado - Severe damage.
This is when roofs and walls have been torn off of houses, trains are overturned, most of the trees in a forest are uprooted, and heavy cars are lifted up and thrown.


(from: wikipedia - fujita scale)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cirrocumulus Cloud

Striped House Snake

We just learned about the type of snake the Massasauga.

Another type of snake is the striped house snake, also known as boaedon lineatus.

This snake is found in Africa, and is found inside or near houses a lot where it eats up mice and rats that carry diseases and destroy food.
These snakes are not poisonous, so they are not harmful to humans and can be very helpful.
Lots of people keep these snakes as pets.

The word lineatus in the snakes name comes from the white line that goes down the snakes body.
They come in different colors too, black, red-brown or green.


(from: wikipedia - boaedon lineatus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Australian Cattle Dog

Heart Wall - Epicardium

We just learned that the heart wall's soft inner most layer is the endocardium, and the second layer of muscle is the myocardium.

The next layer is called the epicardium.
This layer is a barrier to protect the heart.


(from: wikipedia - pericardium)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Axillary Artery

Lake Vostok

We just learned about the lake Lake Balkhash.

Another lake is called Lake Vostok.

This is the largest lake on the continent of Antarctica, and it is actually 13,000 feet under the ice.

Scientists used lasers to find the lake, and then drilled down through the ice to try and get some water.
They want to test that water to see if it is different, because it has been trapped under the ice for a very long time.


(from: wikipedia - lake vostok)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maryland

Epiphany - Baptism of Our Lord

We just learned about the church season of Epiphany, celebrating the wise men coming to meet Jesus.

The next part of Epiphany is sometimes used to remember when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.


(from: wikipedia - al-maghtas)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus Crucifixion - Calvary

Trundholm Sun Chariot

We just learned about the ancient sculpture the Gundestrup Cauldron.

Another ancient sculpture is called the Trundholm Sun Chariot.

This sculpture was made out of bronze, with some gold parts on one side, which is called gilding.

It was made using something called lost wax casting.
This means someone started off with a sculpture made of wax, made a shell of sand, and used hot ovens to pour melted metal into the shell to make the sculpture.

The horse is pulling a circle that looks like the sun.
Long ago people did not know about how the planets and stars worked, so some people believed stories about the sun being pulled across the sky by a magical horse.


(from: wikipedia - trundholm sun chariot)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The Night Watch - Rembrandt

Italian - He is angry

We just learned that I am happy in Italian is sono felice, and you are sad is Sei triste.

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

Lui è arrabbiato

We can break it up into three words:
He - Lui - sounds like loo-ee /?/
is - è - sounds like ay /?/
angry - arrabbiato - Sounds like ah-dah-bee-ah-toh /?/


So all together Lui è arrabbiato sounds like loo-ee ay ah-dah-bee-ah-toh.


(from: wikipedia - accademia della crusca)

In German:
Er ist wütend

In Spanish:
Él está enojado

In French:
Il est en colère

F2 Tornado

We just learned that the F1 Tornado on the Fujita Scale is roofs peeled off, and cars are pushed off of roads.

The next level of damage is the F2 tornado - Significant damage.
This is when roofs have been torn off of houses, mobile homes have been destroyed, train boxcars have been turned over, or large trees have been snapped or uprooted.


(from: wikipedia - parameters)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Altostratus Cloud

Massasauga

We just learned about the Schnauzer and a whole lot of other types of dogs!

Now let's learn about snakes!
They can be scary and look slimy, but snakes are very important in nature, just like spiders, sharks, alligators and other scary animals.
Snakes help by eating things like mice and rats that carry diseases and eat crops.
They are also food for other larger animals like hawks and eagles!

One type of snake is the Massasauga, which is a venomous rattle snake.

These snakes can grow to be about 2 feet long, and they are grey with dark brown or black spots on their body.

They are venomous, which means their teeth let out venom to kill their prey when they bite.
Even though the venom can hurt humans, it won't kill them as long as they go to the doctor after getting bitten.

These snakes are shy and try to stay away from humans.
They would only bite a human if they were stepped on or if someone tried to pick them up.

Mostly these snakes eat mice, rats, lizards, frogs, centipedes and even smaller snakes.
Since they do not have arms to hold their prey or big teeth to chew it up, they have to bite something like a lizard, wait for it to stop moving, and then swallow it whole!


(from: wikipedia - massasauga)

The rattle on the snake's tail is made up of a bunch of little hollow hard pieces of keratin that are hooked together. When the rattle snake is feeling threatened it will shake it's tail to make a rattling sound to warn people to stay away.
Every time that the rattle snake sheds it's skin, it grows another piece for it's rattle.


(from: wikipedia - rattlesnake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider Sheet Webs

Heart Wall - Myocardium

We just learned about the first inside part of the heart wall called the endocardium.

The next part of heart wall is the Myocardium.

This part of the heart wall has the muscles in it that squeeze together to make the heart pump the blood through the body.


(from: wikipedia - cardiac muscle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dorsal Scapular Artery

Lake Balkhash

We just learned about Lake Ladoga.

The next biggest lake is Lake Balkhash in the country of Kazakhstan.

This lake has 43 islands, but the water level keeps getting lower, so there are more islands that are forming, and the other islands are getting bigger.

(from: wikipedia - lake balkhash)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maine

Epiphany

We just learned about the 3 weeks of the Christmas season on the church calendar.

The third week of that season is known as Epiphany meaning Appearance, or Vision of God.

This is the week churches celebrate things like the wise men coming to visit Jesus in the manger.
Some people during this season make a cake called a king cake, which is a round cake that has a small doll of baby Jesus inside.
People each take a piece of cake, and whoever finds the small doll has to make the cake next year.

This was a way to remember the kings and wise men coming to find the baby Jesus.


(from: wikipedia - king cake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus - Carrying his cross

Gundestrup Cauldron

We just learned about the sculpture Guennol Lioness.

Another sculpture is the Gundestrup Cauldron.

This is a large metal bowl that was made thousands of years ago, and has many carvings on the side of people and animals.

In order to make this bowl, they had to find some rocks that had silver in them, and put them in a hot fire where everything burned away except the silver.
This is called cupellation.

Then they took the silver bars and pounded them flat, then heated them up again so they could pound some shapes and pictures into the silver.
This is called annealing and repoussé.

Next they used some hard tools called punches and tracers to poked holes, make dents and lines on the metal for pictures.
They added some other metals on the outside like gold and silver to make it look nice.
This is called gilding.

Last they put some pieces of glass into the carvings on the bowl.
This is called inlay.


(from: wikipedia - gundestrup cauldron)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Campbell's Soup Cans

Italian - You are sad

We just learned that in Italian I am happy is sono felice.

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

Sei triste

We can break it up into two words:
You are - Sei - sounds like say-ee /?/
sad - triste - Sounds like t-dee-stay /?/


So all together Sei trista sounds like say-ee t-dee-stay.


(from: wikipedia - accademia della crusca)

In German:
Sie sind traurig

In Spanish:
Estas triste

In French:
Vous êtes triste

F1 Tornado

We just learned that the F0 Tornado on the Fujita Scale is light damage to trees and buildings.

The next level of damage is an F1 Tornado - Moderate damage.
This is when roofs can be peeled off of houses, mobile homes are overturned, cars are pushed off of roads, and some garages can be destroyed.


(from: wikipedia - fujita scale)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cirrostratus Cloud

Schnauzer

We just learned about the type of dog the Pekingese.

Another type of dog is the Schnauzer.

This type of dog came from Germany, and comes from the word for snout, or mustache.
The schnauzer comes in three sizes, giant, standard and miniature.
They grow long hair that is sometimes shaved to make them look like they have a mustache.

They were originally used to kill rats that carried diseases, and they have also been used as guard dogs, police dogs and message carriers.


(from: wikipedia - schnauzer)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider Tubular Webs

Heart Wall - Endocardium

We just learned about the pulmonary valve in the heart that opens for blood to go to the lungs for oxygen.

The walls of the heart are made up of different types of layers.

The inside wall of the heart is called the endocardium.
This is a thin layer that keeps the inside of the heart soft, smooth and wet, and also helps the heart send it's electrical signals all over that are part of what keeps it beating at the right time.


(from: wikipedia - endocardium)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Internal Thoracic Artery

Lake Ladoga

We just learned about Lake Ontario.

The next biggest lake is Lake Ladoga.

This lake is in Russia, and is just south of Finland.
It is the largest lake in Europe.


(from: wikipedia - lake ladoga)

There is a fortress called Oreshek Castle on the island of Orekhovets.

(from: wikipedia - lake ladoga)

And there is a large cathedral on the island of Valaam.

(from: wikipedia - lake ladoga)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Louisiana

Christmas Season

We just learned about the 4 weeks in the church season of Advent.

The next part of the calendar is Christmas time.
There are three weeks in this season, the week of Christmas, the first Sunday after Christmas and the second Sunday after Christmas.
Churches usually use the color white for this season, and there are lots of Christmas celebrations!


(from: wikipedia - christmas)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus Trial - Crown of Thorns

Guennol Lioness

We just learned about the swimming reindeer prehistoric art.

Some ancient art from an area known as Mesopotamia is called the Guennol Lioness.

It is a sculpture of a woman mixed with a lion.

(from: wikipedia - guennol lioness)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Guernica

Italian - I am happy

Last time we learned that the Italian words for horse, sheep and duck are cavallo, pecora and anatra.

Let's learn how to say I am happy in Italian!

We can break it up into two words:
I am - sono - sounds like so-no /?/
happy - felice - Sounds like fay-lee-chay /?/

Together Sono felice sounds like so-no fay-lee-chay


(from: wikipedia - accademia della crusca)

In German:
Ich bin glücklich

In Spanish:
Estoy feliz

In French:
Je suis heureux

F0 Tornado

We just learned that the fujita scale is used to measure how much damage a tornado does, and it goes from F0 to F5.

An F0 tornado does Light damage.
Some damage is done to chimneys, branches are broken off trees, and shallow rooted trees may be pushed over.

(from: wikipedia - fujita scale)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nimbostratus Cloud

Pekingese

We just learned about the type of dog the Fox Terrier.

Another type of dog is the Pekingese, also sometimes called the Lion Dog.

This dog is from China, and is part of an old legend about a lion that fell in love with a butterfly, or a lion and a monkey.


(from: wikipedia - pekingese)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider Funnel Webs

Pulmonary Valve

We've now learned about three of the four heart valves:
The tricuspid valve between the right atrium and ventricle,
the mitral valve between the left atrium and ventricle,
and the Aortic Valve between the left ventricle and aorta.

The fourth valve is the pulmonary valve, between the right ventricle and pulmonary artery.
When the right ventricle pushes the pulmonary valve open, the blood goes from the heart to the lungs for oxygen.


(from: wikipedia - pulmonary valve)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vertebral Artery

Lake Ontario

We just learned about the lake Lake Winnipeg

The next biggest lake is Lake Ontario.

It is the smallest of the five Great Lakes, and it is bordered by Ontario Canada, and New York.

The word Ontario comes from the Native American Huron language for "Lake of Shining Waters."

It gets water from the Niagara River which comes from Lake Erie, and water goes out from Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence River.


(from: wikipedia - lake Ontario)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Kentucky

Advent Season

Let's keep learning about the Church Calendar.

The first season in the church calendar is called Advent.
It is the 4 weeks that come before Christmas.

Some churches use the color purple for that season, and others use the color blue.

Some Advent traditions are:
An Advent Wreath, which is a green wreath with 4 candles on it. One candle is lit each Sunday until Christmas.
In some countries long ago they used to have wreaths with 24 candles, lighting a big one on Sundays and 6 small ones the other days of the week.


(from: wikipedia - advent wreath)


In Italy they celebrate Advent by having people play bagpipes before shrines of Mary the mother of Jesus, to remember the shepherds that came to the manger to visit Jesus.

Advent Calendars for each day of Advent, and a door is opened each day of the calendar.


(from: wikipedia - advent calendar)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Trial - Pontius Pilate

Swimming Reindeer

We just learned about the prehistoric art Lion Man
.
Another work of prehistoric art is the sculpture Swimming Reindeer.

This is a carving of two reindeer swimming, made out of mammoth tusk.
It was found in France in 1866 buried 23 feet underground.

It was very interesting because reindeer don't live in France anymore, and it was carved from the mammoth which is now extinct.


(from: wikipedia - swimming reindeer)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - Georges Seurat

Italian - Horse, Sheep, Duck

We know that in Italian, dog is cane, cat is gatto, cow is mucca, chicken is pollo and pig is maiale.
Let's learn more animals!

horse - cavallo - sounds like kah-vah-loh /?/

sheep - pecora - sounds like pay-koh-dah /?/

duck - anatra - sounds like ah-nah-t-dah /?/

Also in Italian horses say hii (hee), sheeps say bee (bay), and ducks say qua (koo-ah)!


(from: wikipedia - accademia della crusca)

In German:
Pferd, Schaf, Ente

In Spanish:
caballo, oveja, pato

In French:
French - cheval, mouton, canard

Fujita Scale

We just learned about what a Wall Cloud is.

Tornadoes are measured in science using something called the Fujita Scale which goes from F0 to F5, and stands for how much damage a tornado does.

(from: wikipedia - fujita scale)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Stratus Clouds

Fox Terrier

We just learned about the type of dog the Boston Terrier.

Another type of dog is the Fox Terrier.
There are two types of Fox Terrier, the Wire Fox Terrier and the Smooth Fox Terrier.

The Fox Terriers were used long ago for hunting foxes. They were very good at chasing the fox and making them run out of their fox den so the hunters could chase them.


(from: wikipedia - wire fox terrier)



(from: wikipedia - smooth fox terrier)

There is a famous dog show called the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, and the Wire Fox Terrier has won the top prize more than any other type of dog, with 14 wins.
The smooth fox terrier has won 4 times.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider Cobwebs

Aortic Valve

We've learned about the tricuspid valve between the right atrium and ventricle, and the mitral valve between the left atrium and ventricle.

Another valve is called the aortic valve which is between the left ventricle and the aorta.

This valve opens for the heart to pump blood out to all the parts of the body, and then closes so the blood doesn't leak back into the heart.



(from: wikipedia - aortic valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Subclavian Artery

Lake Winnipeg

We just learned about Lake Erie
.
Another large lake is Lake Winnipeg.

Its name comes from the Native Cree word for muddy waters.

This lake is very popular for fishing.

(from: wikipedia - lake winnipeg)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Kansas

Church Calendar

We just learned about the Book of Acts in the bible.

Let's learn about the calendar for the church.

There are a few different church calendars out there, and they are used to try and organize celebrations, colors, times of worship and even subjects to talk about between churches all across the world.

These calendars are called Liturgical calendars.

(from: wikipedia - liturgical calendar (lutheran))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus Trial Sanhedrin

Lion man of the Hohlenstein Stadel

We just learned about the famous work of art the Metz & Co showroom by Bart van der Leck.

One of the oldest sculptures ever found in history goes all the way back to prehistoric times.
It was a statue of a person with a lion's head, carved out of ivory.


(from: wikipedia - lion-man)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Impression, Sunrise

Italian - Cow, Chicken, Pig

We already know that in Italian, dog is cane and cat is gatto.

Now let's learn about some farm animals!

cow - mucca - sounds like moo-kah /?/

chicken - pollo - sounds like poh-loh /?/

pig - maiale - sounds like mah-ee-ah-lay /?/

Also in Italian cows say muu, chickens say coccodè, and pigs say grugnire!


(from: wikipedia - accademia della crusca)

In German:
Kuh, Huhn, Schwein

In Spanish:
vaca, pollo, cerdo

In French:
vache, poulet, porc

Wall Cloud

We just learned that a Tornado Family is multiple tornadoes in one storm.

Another type of weather is a Wall Cloud.

We learned a while back that a shelf cloud is a big cloud that is at the edge of a thunderstorm moving out.

A wall cloud looks a lot like a shelf cloud, but it is on the inside of the thunderstorm, not on the outside edge.


(from: wikipedia - wall cloud)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cumulonimbus Clouds

Boston Terrier

We just learned about the Jack Russel Terrier.

Another type of dog is the Boston Terrier.

It has a black and white coat, and because it looks like it is wearing a suit it has the nickname of the American Gentleman.

Long ago people raised these dogs to fight other dogs for fun, or to hunt rats, but now they just keep them as pets.

(from: wikipedia - boston terrier)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spider Spiral Orb Webs

Mitral Valve

We just learned about the tricuspid valve between the right atrium and ventricle.

Another valve is called the mitral valve and it is between the left atrium and left ventricle.

It opens to let blood flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle, and then closes so the blood doesn't flow back into the left atrium.


(from: wikipedia - mitral valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: External Carotid Artery

Lake Erie

We just learned about the Great Slave Lake.

Another lake is Lake Erie, which borders Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Ontario.

This is the smallest of the Great Lakes in North America.

The lake got it's name from the Native American Iroquoi tribe, who thought since the lake was so wild and unpredictable they called it a cat.
The Iroquoi word for cat is Erige.

The Detroit river runs into Erie, and the water from Erie flows out to Niagara Falls.


(from: wikipedia - lake erie)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Iowa

Acts

We just learned about the last book of the bible called Revelation.

Let's learn about the book of Acts.

Right after the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John comes the book of Acts.

This book talks about many of the things that happened right after Jesus was crucified, like the Holy Spirit coming down on the Apostles, and when the Apostle Paul was brought to be a believer in Jesus.


(from: wikipedia - acts of the apostles)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Arrest of Jesus - Sword