Saturday, April 4, 2015

The Thinker - Auguste Rodin


We just learned about the famous painting Charles IV of Spain and His Family by Spanish painter Francisco Goya.

Another famous work of art is The Thinker sculpture by French artist François-Auguste-René Rodin in 1904.

It is a bronze sculpture, usually on a stone pedestal.
About 28 copies of the sculpture were made, some in plaster and some in bronze.

The artwork was first called The Poet, and it was made as part of a bigger group of sculptures that were all characters from a book called The Divine Comedy.
Many people think the Thinker statue was the author and main character named Dante.


(from: wikipedia - the thinker)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Waxing Gibbous Moon

Friday, April 3, 2015

German - Your food is hot


We just learned in German:
this chair is small is Der Stuhl ist klein,
and my drink is cold is Mein Getränk ist kalt.

Let's learn about more things we see every day.

To say your food is hot you would say Ihr Essen ist heiß..
We can break it up into four words:
ear essen ist ha-ees Your - Ihr - sounds like Ee-uh /?/
food - Essen - sounds like ess-en /?/
is - ist - Sounds like isst /?/
hot - heiß - Sounds like hah-eess /?/


So all together Ihr Essen ist heißs sounds like mine Ee-uh ess-en isst hah-eess.

Goethe Institute
(from: wikipedia - Goethe Institute)

Do you remember how to say it in Spanish?
Tu comida está caliente

Do you remember how to say it in French?
Votre nourriture est chaud

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Roll Clouds


We just learned about Shelf Clouds.

Another type of storm cloud is called a Roll Cloud.

It is a low tube shaped cloud that is usually all by itself and not connected to any other clouds.
They look like they are rolling along the sky, like a long tube.

(from: wikipedia - arcus cloud)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pumice

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Saluki


We just learned about the Shiba Inu.

Another type of dog is the Saluki.

The salukis have been known by lots of different names!
The Slougui, Arabian Greyhound, Arabischer Windhund, Sloughi Moghrebi, Arabian Sighthound, Levrier Marocain, Royal Dog of Egypt or Persian Greyhound.

They are a type of dog known as a sighthound, which means they hunt using their eyes, instead of like other dogs that use their noses more.

They are a very old type of dog, with cave paintings of them going back over 10,000 years!

(from: wikipedia - saluki)

Long ago they were used in the Middle East as hunting dogs for gazelles and hare.
Sometimes when they were hunting the gazelles, the dog owners would ride along on a camel holding the dog, and when they got close to their prey they would throw the dog out so they got a head start running to catch the prey!

They are one of the fastest dogs in the world, and are even faster than a greyhound over longer distances.

(from: wikipedia - saluki)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Peregrine Falcon

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Descending Aorta


We've learned how the oxygenated blood leaves the heart at the ascending aorta, then at the aortic arch it branches off to the carotid artery and subclavian artery.

After the aortic arch, the aorta turns downward and that is called the descending aorta.

(from: wikipedia - descending aorta)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Larynx

Monday, March 30, 2015

Missouri


We just learned about the US state of Mississippi.

Missouri is in the midwest part of the US.
It's nickname is The Show Me State, and it's motto is Salus populi suprema lex esto which is Latin for The health of the people should be the supreme law.


(from: wikipedia - missouri)

The flag of Missouri has red white and blue stripes.
The red is for valor, white for purity, blue for justice.
The red white and blue are also because there were a lot of French people in Missouri long ago, and the French flag is red white and blue.
The state seal is in the middle, and it has a bear for bravery, a crescent moon for the new and growing state and two grizzly bears.
There is a helmet above the seal with 1 big star and 23 small stars because Missouri was the 24th state.


(from: wikipedia - flag of missouri)

The gateway arch is in St. Louis Missouri.
It is the tallest arch in the world and was built to honor Missouri.

(from: wikipedia - gateway arch)

The Pony Express was a way for people to deliver mail all across the country by people riding horses really fast.
The trail started in Missouri, and went all the way over to Sacramento, California.
It took about 10 days for a package to get all the way across the country on the Pony Express.

(from: wikipedia - pony express)

The 33rd president of the United States Harry S. Truman was born in Missouri.

(from: wikipedia - harry s. truman)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Asia - Many Countries

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Jesus Crucificion - Why have you forsaken me?


We just learned about Jesus telling Mary and John to take care of each other.

When Jesus had been on the cross a long time, he was almost ready to die.

He cried out My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Jesus was going to die while carrying the sin of the whole world with him.

In the book of Psalms, King David had written a song that began like that, and then goes on to talk about being in pain and suffering, but then being delivered by God and praising God as he rules over all the nations.

Jesus talked a lot about things that prophets said were going to happen, and many times told people that he was proof that some of the prophecies were coming true.

Psalms were poetry and songs that were written mostly by King David about 1,000 years before Jesus came along.

Psalm #22 in the book of Psalms starts off with: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
which is exactly what Jesus said. He knew every word of every Psalm.

The Psalm goes on to say: "a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment."

Jesus was on the cross with his hands and feet pierced, and the solders had divided up his clothes and cast lots for them.

It goes on at the end to tell how the Lord will rule over the nations, and ends with: "They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!"

Jesus talked in parables a lot, and did things that were part of fulfilling the prophecies of the prophets from long ago.
King David's Psalm was written over 1,000 years before Jesus came along, but on the cross he was still fulfilling the prophecy, and even said the first line of the Psalm that talked about what was happening.


(from: wikipedia - crucifixion of jesus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jesus' Miracles - Catching Fish