South Africa

We just learned about the country of Democratic Republic of Congo.

South Africa is a country on the south part of the continent of Africa on the Pacific and Indian oceans.

(from: wikipedia - south africa)

To eat in South Africa you might have chakalaka, which is a kind of vegetable stew.

(from: wikipedia - chakalaka)

Nelson Mandela was a very famous person from Africa who helped lead the African people toward peace and equality.

(from: wikipedia - nelson mandela)

Cape Town is a famous city in South Africa, with many natural wonders to see.

(from: wikipedia - cape town)

There many wild animals in South Africa, and people often go on trips there just to see the animals like the giraffes.

(from: wikipedia - south african giraffe)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana

Blessed are the poor

We just learned that Jesus gave a special talk called the Sermon on the Mount.

One of the things he talked about is called Beautitudes.

These are a list of blessed people that Jesus talked about, and the heavenly rewards they would receive.

The first one is:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

To be poor in spirit or in wealth means that we make God more important in our lives than saving up money and things on the earth.


(from: wikipedia - matthew 5:3)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ruth

Harvest Moon

We've learned about all of the phases of the moon, and the blue moon.

Another special type of moon is called the Harvest Moon or Hunter's Moon.
The harvest moon is special because it looks red!

Remember a long time ago we learned about the different colors of light, ROY G BIV?

When the moon doesn't look high up in the sky, but instead low down towards the ground, we call that on the horizon. And when you're not looking up in the sky but out on the horizon, you're looking through the sky (the atmosphere) into space at a different direction, and the color Red (from ROY G BIV) stands out more, which makes the moon look red!

It's called a harvest moon because it shows up in the fall when farmers are harvesting their crops.


(from: wikipedia - full moon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Atmosphere

Spanish - Their car is tall

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,
The chair is small is La silla es pequeña,
My drink is cold is Mi bebida es fría and
My food is hot is Tu comida está caliente

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

To say Their car is tall you would say Su coche es alto

We can break it up into four words:
Their - Su - sounds like soo /?/
car - coche - sounds like coh-chay /?/
is - es - sounds like ay-ss /?/
tall - alto - sounds like all-toh /?/

All together Su coche es alto sounds like Soo coh-chay ay-ss all-toh.



(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - Their car is tall - Leur voiture est haut

Pyrite

We just learned that rocks are made up of minerals, and that minerals are the building blocks of the world.

One type of mineral is called pyrite.
It is a shiny metal that looks so much like gold that people called it fool's gold because people would discover it and think they had real gold and were rich.

The metal pyrite is actually made up of iron and sulfur combined together.


(from: wikipedia - pyrite)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Acceleration

Okapi

We just learned about the Dolphi.

The okapi is an animal closely related to the giraffe, but looking at it you'd think it was almost a zebra because it has white and black stripes on it's legs.


(from: wikipedia - okapi)

The okapi's tongue is bluish gray, and is so long that it can lick it's own eyes and ears clean!

(from: wikipedia - okapi)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Kangaroos

Epiglottis

When you breathe, your mouth takes in air.

When you eat or drink, your mouth takes in solids and liquids.

The epiglottis helps keep your air going into your lungs, and keeps the food and drink out of your lungs.

The epiglottis is a small piece of skin below your pharynx that usually stays pointed up and out of the way so you can breathe.

When you swallow, a bone in your throat called the hyoid bone pulls it down flat and blocks your trachea, so the food doesn't go into your lungs.

(from: wikipedia - epiglottis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mandible