Monday, October 31, 2016

North American Cordillera


We just learned about the Saint Elias Mountains in Alaska.

Most of the mountain ranges we've learned about have been in Asia, as those are the highest mountains in the world.

In North America, there are mountain ranges that are part of a group of mountain ranges.
The word cordillera means a group of different mountain ranges.

The North American Cordillera is a group of five different areas called belts that all have mountain ranges in them.


(from: wikipedia - north american cordillera)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: US Virgin Islands

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Noah


We just learned about Abel.

Adam and Eve had another child named Seth, who had many children.

The Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandson of Seth was Noah.

God told Noah to go build a giant boat called an ark that was 300 cubits long, which is about 1 and a half times as long as a football field.
He told Noah to bring animals on the ark, and then the flood came and flooded everything for 150 days.
After 150 days the waters started to go down, and the ark landed on a mountain.
Noah sent out a dove to go see if there was land.

After 40 days the water had gone down enough, and Noah and his family came out of the ark and built an altar to God.
God was happy, and promised to never flood the earth again.

The Bible tells the story of Noah in Genesis Chapters 5 - 9.


(from: wikipedia - noah)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Paul's Second Letter to Timothy

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Golden Madonna of Essen


We just learned about the Archangel Ivory.

Another ancient statue is the Golden Madonna of Essen.

This is a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus.
The Virgin Mary is sometimes called the Madonna.

It has a wooden sculpture inside, and is wrapped in gold leaf, which is thin sheets of gold.
The eyes are made from a type of colored glass.

It was made around the year 980, so it is over 2,000 years old.
It is the oldest known sculpture of the the Madonna.


(from: wikipedia - golden madonna of essen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Le Bal élégant, La Danse à la campagne - Laurencin

Friday, October 28, 2016

ASL - Good Morning


We just learned a few ways to say hello and goodbye in ASL.

Let's learn how to say Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Evening.

To start with, the word "Good" again uses the the "Open Hand" shape we learned about.

ASL open b
(from: wiktionary - appendix:sign language handshapes)

With your fingers pointing up and your palm toward your face, put your fingers on your chin, and then move your hand out forward and down.
That is the sign for Good.

Usually this sign is also done with your left hand out as your "base hand", and your right hand slaps down into your left hand.

For morning, put your left forearm up in front of you in a horizontal line.
Think of this like the horizon that the sun comes up from in the morning.

Take your left hand and put it on near the inside of your right elbow, and then bend your elbow inward, bringing your right hand up and toward your face.

Think of this like your left arm is the horizon, and your right hand is the sun coming up over the horizon.

For afternoon, use your left arm as the horizon again, but touch your left hand to the outside of your elbow by your forearm, and pointing your hand away from your face make a motion like the sun is going down a little.

For evening, your left arm is the horizon, and your right wrist goes onto the back of your left hand, and your hand goes over and down your left arm, almost like you are slam dunking a basketball.
That is the sun going down for evening.

So for each of these times of day, just put the sign for "Good" in front of them, and that is how you say Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Evening.

Here is a helpful video showing these signs:


GOOD MORNING, AFTERNOON, NIGHT | ASL - American Sign Language - ASL THAT


ASL
(from: wikipedia - american sign language)


Italian:
buongiorno, buon pomeriggio, buonasera, buona notte

German:
Guten Morgen, Guten Tag, Guten Abend, Gute Nacht

Spanish:
Buenos días, buenos tardes, buenas noches

French:
bonjour, bonsoir, bonne nuit

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Forge Welding


We just learned about the Punching.

Another thing blacksmiths do is called forge welding.

When a blacksmith has two pieces of metal that they want to stick together, like maybe a handle for a shovel, or a hilt for a sword, they get the two pieces of metal really hot, and then hammer them against each other.

The metal has to be so hot that it is almost melting into a liquid, and then the two metals get joined together.

In ancient times when people would make swords, they would take two types of metal and forge them together.
One type of metal would bend easily but never break, another type of metal would never bend, but could break.
By forge welding them together, they could make a sword that would never bend and never break.


(from: wikipedia - bladesmith)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Waterspout Tornado

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Mandarin Ratsnake


We just learned about the Vietnamese Long Nosed Snake.

Another type of snake is the mandarin ratsnake.
This snake is not venomous, and has colorful black and yellow marks on it's body.

It is one of the most popular snakes to be kept as a pet.
In the wild it is a sneaky snake, and likes to live in the homes of mice or rats to hide out.
Even though it is cold blooded, it likes cooler temperatures and is mostly outside in the evening.


(from: wikipedia - mandarin rat snake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Labrador Retriever

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Cervical Plexus


We just learned about the Somatic Nervous System.

We know about the 8 cervical nerves in the spinal cord at the neck.

The first 4 of those, C1 - C4 have nerves that come out to be what is called the Cervical Plexus.

These nerves control the feelings and moving of the back of the head and the neck muscles.


(from: wikipedia - cervical plexus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Median Cubital Vein