Cardinal Directions

We just learned a little about the North America Continent.

On a map, if you see the letters N, E, S, W they stand for North, East, South, West.
Those are called the cardinal directions, and they are used to tell where something is at on a map.

(From: Wikipedia - cardinal direction)

So if you are in Michigan, you might say that it's very cold up North and very warm down South.
New York is to the East, and California is to the West.

A fun way to remember the letters is the sentence: Never Eat Soggy Waffles!



(From: Wikipedia - world map)

You can use a special tool called a compass to figure out which way is North, no matter where you are!


(From: Wikipedia - compass)

Fifth Commandment

We just learned the Fourth Commandment about honoring your father and mother.

The fifth commandment that God gave to Moses is:

Thou shalt not kill.

This means not to kill another person.

(from: wikisource - Luther's Small Catechism)


(from: wikipedia - thou shalt not kill)

Earth's Seasons

The earth's seasons, spring, summer, fall and winter, are all different temperatures because of the way the earth is tilted and how the sunlight shines on it.

When the top of the earth (where North America is) is tilted at the sun, that's when it is summer, the hottest time of the year.

When the top of the earth is tilted away from the sun, that's winter, the coldest time of the year.


(from: wikipedia - season)

French - How are you?

In French, to say How are you? you say Comment allez-vous?.

The way you say it is different than the way it looks though, it sounds more like como tah lay voo.

So the next time you see your Mom or Grandma, you could say:
Bonjour Madame, comment allez-vous?

And it sounds like:
Bohzhoor mahdahm, como tah lay voo?

Spark Plug

We just learned about a car's Muffler

Inside a car engine, when the pistons go up to push on the gas and make it ready to explode, the spark plug is the thing that lets out a little spark like a match lighting a fire, and BOOM the gas explodes and pushes the piston back down.


(From: Wikipedia - spark plug)

The spark plug gets it's electricity from the car's battery, which looks like a big square block.


(From: Wikipedia - lead acid battery)

Humpback Whale - Baleen Plates

We just learned about the Lion's Mane

Let's learn about Humpback Whales!

Humpback whales don't have regular teeth like humans or other animals, they have something called baleen plates.

Baleen plates are kind of like the bristles on a brush. They grow down from the top of the whale's mouth, and are very close together.

(From: Wikipedia - baleen)

When a whale wants to eat, it gets a huge mouthful of water that is filled with things like krill, which look like very small bugs that live in the water.

(From: Wikipedia - humpback whale)

Then the whale closes it's mouth and pushes the water out through it's baleen plates.
The krill are too big to get pushed out, so the whale gets to eat them. Yum!


(From: Wikipedia - krill)

Clavicle and Scapula

We just learned about the Esophagus

The bones on the upper part of your shoulder are called the clavicle (or collarbone) and the scapula (or wingbone).

The clavicle is the bone in the front that goes from your neck to your shoulder.
It is connected to your sternum (middle of your chest) and your scapula.

The scapula is the bone in the back that sticks out like a wing, and connects up to the back of your shoulder.
It is connected to your clavicle and your upper arm bone.


(From: Wikipedia - Clavicle)