Osprey

We just learned about the type of bird the Loon.

The osprey is a large bird that lives near the water, and is such a great fishing bird it has nicknames like sea hawk, fish eagle, river hawk and fish hawk.

To catch fish, the osprey flies over the water, sometimes up to 130 feet above the water. When it sees a fish in the water, it dives down feet first and grabs the fish in the water with it's claws (sometimes called talons).
The osprey is very good at holding on to the slippery fish because it has two talons pointing forward and two pointing backward, so it can really grab the fish.
It also has sharp scales (called spicules) on the bottom of its feet, that are like spikes that keep the fish from getting away.


(from: wikipedia - osprey)

The osprey's eggs are whitish with red-brown splotches on them. The bird call is a high pitched whistle, that people call cheep cheep or yewk yewk.

(from: wikipedia - osprey)

The osprey can grow to be two feet long, and almost six feet wide.
They are found in almost every part of the world, from the United States to Australia.

(from: wikipedia - osprey)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dragonflies and Damselflies

Stomach - Protease

We just learned that the stomach has hydrochloric acid in it to help break down your food.

It also has things called proteases that are special chemical molecules that also help break the food down for your body.


(from: wikipedia - protease)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hyoid Bone

Mozambique

We just learned about the country of Ghana.

Mozambique is a country in Africa on the Southeast part of the continent, right on the Indian Ocean.

(from: wikipedia - mozambique)

The flag of Mozambique has stripes of green, white, black, white, yellow.
The green stands for the riches of the land, the white is peace, the black is the African continent and the yellow is the country's minerals.

There is a red triangle that stands for the country's fight for freedom, a gun that stands for defense, a book that stands for learning, a garden hoe that stands for farming, and a star that stands for their government.

(from: wikipedia - flag of mozambique)

There are many fruit farms in Mozambique, so a big part of every meal is fresh fruit like mangoes.

(from: wikipedia - mango)

Since Mozambique is on the ocean, it has some beautiful beaches like Ponta Do Ouro which means Point of Gold.

(from: wikipedia - ponta do ouro)

Some of the people in Mozambique have dances they do to scare away evil spirits, and they paint their faces like a scary mask.

(from: wikipedia - mozambique)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Italy

The Light of the World

We just learned that in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount he called his followers the Salt of the Earth.

In the next part of his sermon, he calls his followers the Light of the World.

You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Jesus is saying that people look to his followers to show them God's love,
so make sure to show God's love so we are like a bright light shining for everyone.

(from: wikipedia - light of the world)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Return from Exile

Solar - Photosphere

After the Sun's core, radiation zone and convection Zone comes the last part of the sun on the outside.

The photosphere is the outside shell of the sun, the part that we see that gives light to our planet from space.

The photosphere is super hot, at over 10,000 degrees F.

It is mostly made up of things called granules which are huge bubbles of plasma over 600 miles wide!

The granules rise up from the convection zone, then after about 8 minutes they cool off and go back down to a smaller size.

(from: wikipedia - granule (solar physics))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sirius

Spanish - March, April

Let's keep learning the months of the year in Spanish!

We've learned that January and February are Enero and Febrero.

March - Marzo - sounds like mah-d-zoh /?/

April - Abril - sounds like ah-b-deel /?/


(from: wikipedia - Association of Spanish Language Academies)

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - Mars, Avril

Lead

We just learned about the element sodium that is part of what we call salt.

Another chemical element is Lead, called "Pb" for short (from the latin word "plumbum") on the Periodic Table.

Lead is another type of metal found in the earth.

Just like graphite lead can be used to write on things.
It is also easy to work with and make into things like pipes, so for a very long time many water pipes were made out of lead.
Lead was also used to make paint for a long time.

People have now learned that lead can be poisonous to people, so we have stopped using lead for pipes or paint.


(from: wikipedia - lead)

Lead is still used today to help protect us from radiation. When you get an X-Ray at the dentist's office or a doctor's office, they sometimes put a big heavy apron on you. Inside the apron is lead, protecting you from the X-Rays.

Lead is a very heavy atom, so it can stop any bad radiation from getting to your body.

(from: wikipedia - lead)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Circuit Board