Saturday, January 31, 2015

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - Georges Seurat


We just learned about the famous work of art Impression, Sunrise by artist Claude Monet.

Another famous work of art is the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by artist Georges Seurat.

Just like Claude Monet, Georges Seurat was part of the impressionist movement.

He also used something called pointillism, which means his painting is made up of tiny little dots of color.
If you look closely you can see bright colors up next to darker colors, and if you look from farther away the two colors mix together to make a medium color.

Seurat used this method to mix colors together, and make areas where the sun was shining look bright and the shady areas look darker.
The Island of La Grande Jatte is an island near Paris, and Seurat spent two years studying the park on this island.
He sat in the park and made many sketches of the figures there and how the light and colors looked on them in the sunlight.


(from: wikipedia - a sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Moon Tides

Friday, January 30, 2015

German - Horse, Sheep, Duck


We know that in German, dog is hunt, cat is cat-suh, cow is Kuh, chicken is Huhn and pig is Schwein.
Let's learn more animals!

horse - Pferd - sounds like pfay-ah-t /?/

sheep - Schaf - sounds like shah-f /?/

duck - Ente - sounds like en-tuh /?/

Also in German horses say huii, sheeps say wäh wäh, and ducks say quaak quaak!

Goethe Institute
(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
caballo, oveja, pato

Do you remember how to say it in French?
French - cheval, mouton, canard

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Stratus Clouds


We just learned that cumulonimbus clouds are tall mushroom shaped clouds that are sometimes seen during thunderstorms, lightning and tornadoes.

Another type of cloud is called a stratus cloud.

Stratus clouds are low in the sky, and look flat and hazy like a fog.
These clouds may cause a light drizzle of rain or snow flurries.


(from: wikipedia - stratus cloud)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lava Fountain

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Spider Cobwebs


We just learned about the spiders named orb weavers that build the big spiral webs.

Some spiders spin other types of webs called tangle webs or cobwebs.

Usually when we think of cobwebs they're messy dirty webs that are not well taken care of.
Sometimes cobweb spiders make them like that, but others have many different types.


(from: wikipedia - latrodectus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gazelle

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Subclavian Artery


We just learned about the External Carotid Artery.

We've learned that the aorta carries oxygenated blood from the heart, up to the aortic arch and then to the carotid arteries to bring blood to the neck and head.

The aortic arch also has two other arteries called the left and right subclavian arteries.

They carry the oxygenated blood to your left and right arms.

(from: wikipedia - subclavian artery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Nose Muscles

Monday, January 26, 2015

Kansas


We just learned about the US state of Iowa.

Kansas is a state in the US, right in the middle of the 48 states that are all connected.

It's nicknames are The Sunflower State and The Wheat State.
It's motto is Ad astra per aspera which means Through Hardships to the Stars.

It was named after the Native American tribes that lived there.

(from: wikipedia - kansas)

The flag of Kansas is dark blue, and has the state seal in the middle of it, with a sunflower above the seal.

In the seal are many things that were part of Kansas history, like a river and steamboat, a wagon train, some Native Americans hunting bison, a cabin and a man plowing a field.

There are 34 stars on the seal because Kansas was the 34th state to be added to the US.

(from: wikipedia - flag of kansas)

In the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the little girl Dorothy's home was in Kansas.
One of the little girl's most famous sayings in the movie was "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
(from: wikipedia - the wizard of oz (1939 film))

Every year the town of Liberal Kansas has a race called the International Pancake Day race, where they invite people from Olney England to come run a race carrying a skillet with a pancake in it.


(from: wikipedia - shrove tuesday)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Malaysia

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Jesus Trial - Sanhedrin


We just learned about when Jesus was arrested, and he told his apostles not to fight after they got out their swords.

After Jesus was arrested by the people who didn't like him, they took him to the leaders of the Hebrews at that time, a group of people called the Sanhedrin that were in charge of making sure people were following God's laws.

Most of them did not like Jesus and thought he was causing problems with the people, and they did not believe he was the son of God.

They made fun of him, beat him, and asked him many questions.
When they asked him if he was Christ the son of God, he said that he was.

For the Hebrews, it was against the law for a person to say that, and they did not believe that Jesus really was the son of God.
So they said that he was guilty of blasphemy, which means saying things against God.


(from: wikipedia - sanhedrin trial of jesus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Miracles - Healing the Paralyzed