Sudan

We just learned about the country of Tanzania.

Sudan is a country on the Northeast part of Africa, just South of Egypt.


(from: wikipedia - sudan)

To eat in Sudan you might have some type of meat stew with lots of spices.

(from: wikipedia - sudanese cuisine)

Manute Bol was a basketball player from Sudan who was 7 feet 7 inches tall, one of the tallest basketball players ever.

(from: wikipedia - manute bol)

In the city of Kerma, there are some ancient towers called deffufa that were built by people thousands of years ago.

(from: wikipedia - kerma)

A group of people known as the Dervish have a dance that they do where they spin around a lot. Because of this they are sometimes called a whirling dervish.

(from: wikipedia - dervish)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: France

Blessed are the meek

Let's keep learning about the Sermon on the Mount.

We've learned about the first of the Beautitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

The third one is:

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Meek means mild or gentle or humble.


(from: wikipedia - matthew 5:5)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: King Saul

Solar Core - Size

Let's keep learning about the Sun!

We know the sun gives us light and heat, but what's inside of it?

The very center of the sun is called the Solar Core.
Even though it's just the center, it's over 172,000 miles wide, which is over 20 times wider than the Earth!


(from: wikipedia - solar core)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Constellations - Orion

Spanish - Her hands are soft

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,
Your food is hot is Tu comida está caliente,
Their car is tall is Su coche es alto and
Our table is short is Nuestra mesa es bajo.

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

To say Her hands are soft you would say Sus manos son suaves

We can break it up into four words:
Her - Sus - sounds like soo-s /?/
hands - manos - sounds like mah-noh-ss /?/
are - son - sounds like soh-n /?/
soft - suaves - sounds like soo-ah-vay-ss /?/

All together Her hands are soft sounds like soo-s mah-no-ss soh-n soo-ah-vay-ss.



(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Ses mains sont douces

Quartz

We just learned that the most common mineral on the earth is feldspar.

The second most common type of mineral on the earth is called quartz.
It is not a chemical element by itself, it is made up of the elements of Silicon and Oxygen combined together.

Quartz is a very shiny type of crystal, and the different colors of quartz are used in jewelry a lot.

Another special thing about quartz is that if you squeeze it very hard, it will release electricity,
and if you zap it with electricity it will change shape.

Because of this special ability, scientists figured out a way to use quartz to make clocks that are very good at telling time.
They could zap a quartz crystal, look at how long it took to turn back to it's shape, then use that measurement of time to make sure the clock was correct.

(from: wikipedia - quartz)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mass

Stork

We just learned about the type of bird called the Robin.

Storks are large birds with long legs and big wings and a long beak.

Unlike most other birds, they can not make a bird call because they don't have a syrinx, which are like our vochal chords.
The only noise they can make is when they clap their beak together.

Storks have very large nests, some over 6 feet wide!

(from: wikipedia - stork)

The Marabou Stork is tied with the Andean Condor for the longest wingspan, at over 10 feet

That's taller than any person!

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Flying Squirrel

Uvula

The uvula is part of the digestive system that helps close up the back area of your throat when you are swallowing.

It works along with the epiglottis to make sure food goes where it is supposed to, and not up into your nose or down into your lungs.

(from: wikipedia - palatine uvula)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nasal Bone