Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Frog breathing


We just learned that the red thing on a rooster's head is called the Comb

Let's learn more fun stuff!

How can frogs stay so long underwater?
Because they can breathe air right through their skin!

When they are in the water, the oxygen they need to breathe
can go right into their body through their skin.

Their skin is permeable which means it allows things like water to get through it.
frog
(from: wikipedia - frog)

When they are above water, they don't have very strong lungs to breathe with,
so they do something called buccal pumping. Buccal means cheeks or mouth.

This means they use their mouth to suck air in and out of their lungs.
If you watch underneath a frog's mouth, you can usually see their throat area puffing out and sucking in.
That's them breathing using buccal pumping!

buccal pumping
(from: wikipedia - buccal pumping)


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Deltoids


Let's keep learning about the muscles in the human body!

Last time we learned about the triceps

Next up is the deltoid.

The deltoid is the muscle on the corner of your shoulder, right above where your arm is.
deltoid muscle
(from: wikipedia - deltoid muscle)

You are using your deltoid when you move your arm around at the shoulder.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Norway


Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

Last time we learned about Greece.

Next up is Norway.

Norway is part of what is called the Scandinavian countries,
along with Denmark and Sweden
It makes up part of the Scandinavian Peninsula.

norway
(from: wikipedia - norway)

Vikings played a very strong part in Norwegian history,
sailing their large ships in the seas and attacking the villages.
viking ship

The icy northern coast of Norway has over 50,000 small islands!

norway islands

Norway also has fjords, (sounds like fee-or-ds)
which are long thin areas of water with high cliffs on either side.
norway fjords
(from: wikipedia - fjord)

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Isaiah


We just learned about the Bible Books of Poetry

Isaiah was a prophet who lived 700 years before the birth of Jesus.

A prophet is someone who speaks to God and then tells other people what God said.

Isaiah told God's people that they were in trouble for not listening to him,
and that they were going to be taken over by some other people that would not treat them nicely.

He also talked about a savior that would come one day to save everyone,
and this was 700 years before Jesus was born!

isaiah
(from: wikipedia - isaiah)

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Canopus


We've learned about the stars Alpha Centauri, Sirius and Betelguese.

The second brightest star in the sky is called Canopus

It can be seen in the Southern part of the night sky.
canopus
(from: wikipedia - canopus)


Friday, July 19, 2013

French - Counting to Fifteen


We counted to 10 in French, now let's learn some bigger numbers!
11 onze - sounds like owns /?/
12 douze - sounds like dooze /?/
13 treize - sounds like tuh-ayz /?/
14 quatorze - sounds like kay-toh-z /?/
15 quinze - sounds like kay-uh-nz /?/

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Electrical Conductivity


We just learned about what Capacitors are!

Let's learn about Electrical conductivity.

Electrical conductivity sounds like a couple of big words,
but really it's not all that hard to understand.

We know about electricity from things like lightning, batteries or plugs.

Conductivity just means how easy or hard it is for electricity to go through something.

Things like metals are very conductive, but things like rubber or plastic are not very conductive.
This is why plugs and wires for your electronics are all made out of metal,
and the metal wires are usually wrapped in rubber because then the electricity can't get out!

electrical wiring
(from: wikipedia - electrical wiring)

Things like rubber that are not very conductive, can also be called resistive.