Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Peacock Spider


We just learned about the Wolf Spider that carries around its babies.

Spiders come in all shapes and sizes. Some are really colorful!

One type of fancy looking spider is nicknamed the peacock spider.
It's real science name is maratus volans.

When the male spider is looking for a wife, he will flap around the colorful parts of his body, wave his arms, and do a dance to get her attention.

peacock spider
(from: wikipedia - maratus volans)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Northern Pike

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Stomach - Fundus


Let's keep learning about the parts of the stomach in the digestive system.

Last time we learned about the cardia.

Next up is the fundus.

That is the part at the top, that helps hold extra food, stores gas build up from the stomach, and helps the stomach stretch to get bigger if it is full.

stomach fundus
(from: wikipedia - stomach)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Zygomatic Bones

Monday, June 2, 2014

Kenya


We just learned about the African country of Morocco.

Kenya is a country in Africa on the Eastern border, right on the Indian Ocean.

(from: wikipedia - kenya)

The motto of Kenya is "Harambee" which means ""Let us all pull together".
The flag's colors are black for the people of the Republic of Kenya, red for the blood shed by the people who fought for their independence, green for the plants and the land, white for peace and honesty, and the shield for the defense of all things peace and honesty.
kenyan flag
(from: wikipedia - flag of kenya)

A very common food in Kenya is sukuma wiki. It looks a lot like lettuce, and is often called collard greens.
sukuma wiki
(from: wikipedia - sukuma wiki)

President Barack Obama's father was originally from Kenya, before he moved to Hawaii for college.

barack obama sr
(from: wikipedia - barack obama, sr.)

The second largest lake in the world is Lake Victoria, in Kenya.
lake victoria
(from: wikipedia - lake victoria)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Germany

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Blessed are the merciful


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

We've learned about these 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 and
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth and
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, for they will be filled..

The fifth one is:

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

matthew 5:7
(from: wikipedia - matthew 5:7)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: King Solomon

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Solar Core - Density


Let's keep learning about the sun's solar core. We've learned about it's size and heat.

Remember before we learned about mass and how a marble and marshmallow may be the same size but one of them is thicker and heavier? That is called density.

The density of the sun is 150 times thicker than water.

marbles
(from: wikipedia - water)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Constellations - Gemini

Friday, May 30, 2014

Spanish - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday


Let's learn the days of the week in Spanish!

Monday - Lunes - sounds like loo-nay-ss /?/

Tuesday - Martes - sounds like mah-d-tay-ss /?/

Wednesday - Miercoles - sounds like me-ay-d-coh-lay-ss /?/


association of spanish language academies
(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Graphite


Graphite is a dark shiny black rock.
One interesting thing about graphite is that if you look at what it's made of, it's the exact same as a diamond.

Both are made from the chemical element called Carbon.

The difference is that the diamond was squished and heated up for a long long time.

graphite
(from: wikipedia - graphite)

Graphite also comes off if you rub the rock on something.
The dark part of the pencils that you write with is graphite.
graphite pencil
(from: wikipedia - graphite)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Molecules