ASL - Do you speak ASL?

To ask if someone speaks ASL, you might first want to find out if they are deaf or if they are hearing.

The sign for "deaf" is to use your right hand, with your index finger pointing up, touch it to your temple, and then just below your mouth.

The sign for "hearing" is with your right hand, and your index finger pointing to the left, move it in front of your mouth almost like you are brushing your teeth.

The sign for "sign" is with two hands, using your fingers pointing left and right at each other, spin them around each other like a wheel going backwards.

Remember the sign for "you" is just pointing your finger at someone, and the sign for "I" or "me" is pointing at your chest.

ASL is very different than other languages because you would simply say "you deaf", "you hearing" or "you sign".
It's very important to use your face and body to also show what you are saying.
If you are asking a question, make a face like you are asking a question, or lean forward toward the person.
Also many people who are deaf are very good at reading lips, so you can still move your lips or even speak out loud if you are speaking to a deaf person.


To answer "yes" in ASL, you make a fist with your hand, and move it up and down, almost like a puppet's head nodding.

To answer "no" you put your first and second fingers with your thumb, almost like a puppet's mouth, and open and close them twice.

Here is a helpful video showing these signs:

Sign Language Basics : Sign Language: Deaf or Hearing? Do You Sign? - expertvillage




(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: Parli italiano?

German: Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Spanish: ¿Hablas español?

French: parlez-vous français?

Sponge Iron

We just learned about the Bloomery used to make metal from iron ore.

After the iron ore is put through the bloomery, it creates something called a bloom or sponge iron.

This usually has a bunch of holes in it, and needs to be hammered and put back in the bloomery before it can be used.


(from: wikipedia - bloomery)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tornadogenesis

Snakes - Forked Tongue

Let's learn more about Snake Biology.

Snakes have a forked tongue.

When they stick their wet tongue out, it gets covered with smelly stuff from the air and the ground.
They bring their tongue back in their mouth, and a part of their body called the Jacobson's organ, the vomeronasal organ or just VNO tells the snake what smells are on the tongue.

Because their tongue is forked, they can tell which smells were from the left, and which were from the right.

So in a way, they smell with their tongue, but their tongue really just gets covered in smells and brings those smells back to a sort of inside nose in their head.


(from: wikipedia - vomeronasal organ)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Newfoundland

Sacral Plexus

We just learned about the Lumbar Plexus.

Further down the spinal cord is the Sacral Plexus.

These nerves help control the back thigh, lower leg, foot and pelvis.


(from: wikipedia - sacral plexus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Digital Veins

Chugach Mountains

We just learned about the Kenai Mountains.

Another mountain range in the Pacific Coast Belt in Alaska is the Chugach Mountains.

These mountains are right by the Gulf of Alaska, and because of that they get more snowfall than anywhere else in the world, usually getting over 600 inches (50 feet!) of snow per year.


(from: wikipedia - chugach mountains)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lake Victoria

Isaac

We just learned about the person from the Bible named Sarah.

Another person from the Bible is Isaac.

Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sarah.

When Isaac was young, God told Abraham to take him up to a mountain and offer him as a sacrifice.
This was very scary for Abraham because he loved Isaac, but he feared God so much that he did what God told him to do.
He took Isaac up to the mountain, but when God saw how much Abraham feared him and would follow his orders, he had Abraham sacrifice a sheep instead.
Because he was so faithful to God, he promised that he would bless all of Abraham and Isaac's children and grandchildren.

The Bible tells of Isaac's life in Genesis chapters 21 - 35.


(from: wikipedia - isaac)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: James

Aberlemno Sculptured Stones

We just learned about the Stenkvista Runestone.

Another ancient sculpture is the group of sculptured stones in Scotland, called the Aberlemno Sculptured Stones.

This is a group of 5 stones, all carved hundreds of years ago and placed as markers in important areas.


(from: wikipedia - aberlemno sculptured stones)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dynamic Hieroglyph of the Bal Tabarin - Severini