Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Sweat glands


We just learned about the Hair - Sebaceous Gland.

Another part of the integumentary system is the sweat gland.

Sweat glands are used to help cool your body down, and for your body to get rid of some waste like salt.

There are two types of sweat glands, the eccrine and apocrine.
The eccrine glands are the ones that are all over your body, and let out the watery sweat when you are hot and sweating.
The apocrine glands are only in a few places, like your armpits.
These apocrine glands also let out some smelly oils, which is part of what makes your body smell if you don't shower.


(from: wikipedia - eccrine sweat gland)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pons

Monday, June 12, 2017

British Columbia


We just learned about the Quebec.

Another of the provinces in Canada is British Columbia.

This province is on the west coast of Canada, right above the state of Seattle.
Sometimes it is just called BC.


(from: wikipedia - british columbia)

The province flag has a higher part that is just like the Britain's Union flag, but with a crown in the middle.
The lower part has wavy blue and white lines which are because BC is between the Pacific ocean and the Rocky mountains.
There is a sun with rays on the bottom half of the flag, and this is because the sun sets in the west, and BC is the province farthest to the west.


(from: wikipedia - british columbia)

The coat of arms of BC is the Queen's royal crest on it, and a shield that looks like the province flag.
There is an elk on one side and a sheep on the other.
The motto of BC is "Splendor Sine Occasu" which is Latin and means the sun will never set on the British Empire.


(from: wikipedia - british columbia)

The largest city in BC is Vancouver. It is right on the water on the west coast.

(from: wikipedia - vancouver)

Vancouver Island is the largest island on the west coast of North America.


(from: wikipedia - vancouver island)

The Rocky Mountains go through BC, and there are beautiful places like Banff National Park.


(from: wikipedia - banff national park)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cho Oyu

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Proverbs


We just learned about the Psalm 119 and some other famous Psalms.

Another book that is poetry in the Bible is the book of Proverbs.

This book is full of the wisdom of people from the Bible like King Solomon.
It talks about many of the things you should do and should not do in life, and gives good advice.

The book of Proverbs is split up into 8 sections.
The Bible says that three of the sections were written by Solomon, and the other 6 were written or shared by other people.


(from: wikipedia - book of proverbs)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cross

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Gates of Paradise - Ghiberti


We just learned about the famous sculpture Judith and Holofernes by Donatello.

Another Renaissance art sculpture is the Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti in Florence Italy in 1401 AD.

These doors are at the Florence Baptistry, and have ten different panels, each one of them carved to show a story from the Old Testament in the Bible: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac with Esau and Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

When Michelangelo saw these doors with golden carvings on them, he called them the "Gates of Paradise", and everyone always called the doors by that name.

Ghiberti also made another set of doors for this church that showed scenes from the New Testament.


(from: wikipedia - florence baptistery)


(from: wikipedia - lorenzo Ghiberti)


(from: wikipedia - florence baptistery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Moschophoros

Friday, June 9, 2017

ASL - May, June


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

We just learned how to say January, February, March, April

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

May - M-A-Y



June - J-U-N



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


ASL
(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: Maggio, Giugno

German: Mai Juni

Spanish: Mayo, Junio

French: Mai, Juin

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Burr


We just learned about Grinding.

Another part of metal working is a Burr.

Many times when metal is cut, the sharp edge where it was cut has little rough pieces of metal left over that are called burrs.
When someone works to remove those little burrs to make the metal nice and smooth, that is called deburring.


(from: wikipedia - burr (edge))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forging

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Tomato Frog


We just learned about the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog.

Another type of frog is the Tomato Frog.

These frogs get their name because they look like a big red tomato.
They live mostly in Madagascar, and their bright color is to warn off predators because they are poisonous.


(from: wikipedia - dyscophus antongilii)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pacific Gopher Snake

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Hair sebaceous gland


We just learned about the Hair - Muscle.

Another part of the hair is the sebaceous gland.

The sebaceous gland for the hair is what makes your hair get greasy and oily after a while.
This might seem like a bad thing because you have to shower to get the oils off, but without the oil in your hair it would dry up, crack to pieces and fall off of your head.


(from: wikipedia - sebaceous gland)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cerebellum

Monday, June 5, 2017

Quebec


We just learned about the Canadian province of Ontario.

Quebec is in the Northeast part of Canada, east of Ontario, and north of New York.
It is the second most populated province in Canada, and it was originally settled by people from France, so in this Province they speak both French and English.


(from: wikipedia - quebec)

The flag of Quebec has a blue background, a white cross, and four white fluers-de-lis, which is French for lily flower.
This flower picture was on the French royal flags, so the Quebec flag is to honor their French history.

(from: wikipedia - flag of quebec)

The coat of arms for Quebec are a crown above a shield with three parts.
The top is the fluers-de-lis for France, the middle is a lion for England, and the bottom is three green maple leaves for Canada.
The words je me souveins is French for I remember.

(from: wikipedia - coat of arms of quebec)

Lake Ontario is part of the five Great Lakes, and it is connected to a water way called the Saint Lawrence Seaway that eventually makes its way out to the ocean.


(from: wikipedia - saint lawrence seaway)

Montreal is the largest city in Quebec, and it has a very old cathedral built in the late 1800s, called Notre-Dame Basilica

(from: wikipedia - notre-dame basilica (montreal))

The official bird of Quebec is the Snowy owl

(from: wikipedia - snowy owl)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Makalu

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Psalm 119 - Longest Psalm


We just learned about Psalm 137 - By the waters of Babylon .

Another famous chapter in this book is Psalm 119.

This Psalm is the longest chapter in the whole Bible, and has 176 verses.
These 176 verses are split up into 22 parts, and each of those 22 parts, one for each letter of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Each of those 22 parts has eight verses, and each of those eight verses begins with the Hebrew letter they are listed under.

For example, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is "אַ", called "Aleph".

The first eight chapters of Psalm 119 in Hebrew are:


אַשְׁרֵ֥י תְמִֽימֵי־דָ֑רֶךְ הַֽ֝הֹלְכִ֗ים בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָֽה׃
אַ֭שְׁרֵי נֹצְרֵ֥י עֵדֹתָ֗יו בְּכָל־לֵ֥ב יִדְרְשֽׁוּהוּ׃
אַ֭ף לֹֽא־פָעֲל֣וּ עַוְלָ֑ה בִּדְרָכָ֥יו הָלָֽכוּ׃
אַ֭תָּה צִוִּ֥יתָה פִקֻּדֶ֗יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֥ר מְאֹֽד׃
אַ֭חֲלַי יִכֹּ֥נוּ דְרָכָ֗י לִשְׁמֹ֥ר חֻקֶּֽיךָ׃
אָ֥ז לֹא־אֵב֑וֹשׁ בְּ֝הַבִּיטִ֗י אֶל־כָּל־מִצְוֺתֶֽיךָ׃
א֭וֹדְךָ בְּיֹ֣שֶׁר לֵבָ֑ב בְּ֝לָמְדִ֗י מִשְׁפְּטֵ֥י צִדְקֶֽךָ׃

Hebrew is backwards from English, and is read from right to left.
So if you look at the character on the right of each line, you can see it is the "Aleph".

When the Psalm is translated to English, the letters don't match up anymore:

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.
I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!


(from: wikipedia - psalm 119)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Feast of Christ the King

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Judith and Holofernes - Donatello


We just learned about the Renaissance sculpture of David by Michelangelo.

Another famous sculpture from this time is Judith and Holofernes by Donatello in 1464 in Italy.

This sculpture was different because it was meant to be looked at from all sides, not just the front.
It is a sculpture of a woman named Judith.
In the story of Judith, there was a man named Holofernes who was the leader of an army that wanted to kill her people.
She tricked him into thinking that she liked him, and then when he was sleeping she killed him to save her people and stop the war.

Some people from the town of Florence look at this story as an example of a humble servant winning the battle against a wicked person full of pride.

(from: wikipedia - judith and holofernes (donatello))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Winged Victory of Samothrace

Friday, June 2, 2017

ASL - March, April


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

We just learned how to say January, February

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

March - M-A-R



April - A-P-R



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


ASL
(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: Marzo, Aprile

German: März, April

Spanish: Marzo, Abril

French: Mars, Avril

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Grinding


We just learned about the Hole Saw.

So far we have learned about cutting metal using a lathe or a mill, putting holes in the metal by threading, boring or drilling.

Another type of way to work with metal is called Grinding.
This is a way to use one rough piece of metal or even diamond to scrape off metal, almost like using sandpaper on wood.
Usually a grinder is a metal disc called a grinding wheel, that spins around very fast.

There are different types of grinders like angle grinders or bench grinders that you might use depending on what you want to do with the metal.


(from: wikipedia - angle grinder)


(from: wikipedia - bench grinder)



(from: wikipedia - grinding wheel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blacksmith

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Waxy Monkey Tree Frog


We just learned about the Pouched Frog.

Another type of frog is the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog.

This frog gets the monkey part of it's name because it only ever walks through the trees, never hopping, so sometimes they look like monkeys.

These frogs never come down from living in the trees.
They lay eggs on leaves, and then fold the leaf over like a sandwich.
When the eggs hatch, they fall out of the leaf and drop into the water to live as tadpoles, until they become frogs and climb up into the trees.

These frogs have chemicals on their skin that have been used to create medicines as painkillers.


(from: wikipedia - phyllomedusa sauvagii)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ring Necked Snake

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Hair - Muscle


We just learned about the Hair - Root Sheath.

Another interesting part of human hair is the Hair Muscle.
The fancy name for this muscle is the Arrector pili.

This muscle gets used when your skin gets cold and you get goosebumps on your skin as the hair is shoved out a little.


(from: wikipedia - arrector pili muscle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Subthalamus

Monday, May 29, 2017

Ontario


Let's learn more about the Canadian Provinces.

The province of Ontario has more people living there than any other province. About 1/3 of all the people in Canada live in southeast Ontario.
This province also has the nation's capital of Ottowa, and the nation's most populated city of Toronto.
Ontario has a border along the US of about 1,678 miles.
Almost all of that border is made up of rivers or lakes, and only less than one mile is actually connected by land.

Ontario is in east-central Canada, right above Michigan.
To the north are Hudson Bay and James Bay, and to the south it borders four of the five Great Lakes, Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario.


(from: wikipedia - ontario)

The flag of Ontario is red, with the flag of the United Kingdom and the state shield on it.
Just like the USA, Canada was once a part of the United Kingdom.

(from: wikipedia - flag of ontario)

The coat of arms of Ontario has a black bear standing on an armored helmet which is above a red and white cross flag which is the flag of England.
Below the flag is a green shield with three golden maple leafs on it.
On the left is a Moose, and on the right is a deer. These are animals that live in Canada.
Below the animals are the Latin words "Ut incepit Fidelis sic permanet" which means "Loyal she began, loyal she remains"
This means that the people of Ontario were loyal to England, even after the American Revolution.

(from: wikipedia - coat of arms of ontario)

Niagara Falls is shared between the state of New York and the province of Ontario.

(from: wikipedia - niagara falls)

The largest nuclear power plant in the world is in Ontario, at a place called Bruce Nuclear Generating Station.

(from: wikipedia - bruce nuclear generating station)

The largest city in all of Canada is Toronto.
There are many things to see there, like the CN tower.

(from: wikipedia - toronto)

Ottawa, the capital city of Canada is in Ontario.
It is where the prime minister and parliament work for the government.

(from: wikipedia - ottawa)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lhotse

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Psalm 137 - By the waters of Babylon


We just learned about Psalm 103 - Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Another famous chapter from the book of Psalms is Psalm 137.

This Psalm has been made into music and paintings many times, especially the beginning which starts off:

"By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept,"

This Psalm was written about the time when the Israelites were forced to leave their home of Jerusalem, and they were very sad.


(from: wikipedia - psalm 137)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: All Saint's Day

Saturday, May 27, 2017

David - Michelangelo


We just learned about the Tomb of Pope Julius II.

Another Renaissance Art sculpture is David by Michelangelo in Florence, in 1504 AD.

This is a sculpture of David from the Bible, and the eyes of David are looking toward Rome, as a way to defend the city of Florence from other stronger cities.

The sculpture is 17 feet tall and made of marble.


(from: wikipedia - david (michelangelo))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Peplos Kore