Grey crowned crane

We just learned about the Stork.

The grey crowned crane is a very nice looking bird with big feathers around it's neck, a colorful face, and yellow feathers sticking up from its head like a crown.

The grey crowned crane is special because it is one of the few types of crane that can live in trees. It has one toe pointed backward that it can use to help hold on to branches.

To hunt for food, these cranes stomp their feet on the ground, then bugs come running out of the grass and they eat them up!

(from: wikipedia - grey crowned crane)

The grey crowned crane is the national bird of the country of Uganda.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Wasps and Bees

Esophagus

When you swallow food and drinks, first the food or drink goes to the back of your throat into your pharynx.
Next the uvula makes sure the food goes down toward your throat instead of up to your nose.
The epiglottis blocks your trachea so the food and drink don't go into your lungs.

The food goes into your esophagus. That is a long tube that goes behind your trachea and all the way down to your stomach.

When you swallow, the top of the esophagus opens up a little to let food in, then the tube squeezes several times to help your food and drink make it down to your stomach.


(from: wikipedia - esophagus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vomer

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