Quebec

We just learned about the Canadian province of Ontario.

Quebec is in the Northeast part of Canada, east of Ontario, and north of New York.
It is the second most populated province in Canada, and it was originally settled by people from France, so in this Province they speak both French and English.


(from: wikipedia - quebec)

The flag of Quebec has a blue background, a white cross, and four white fluers-de-lis, which is French for lily flower.
This flower picture was on the French royal flags, so the Quebec flag is to honor their French history.

(from: wikipedia - flag of quebec)

The coat of arms for Quebec are a crown above a shield with three parts.
The top is the fluers-de-lis for France, the middle is a lion for England, and the bottom is three green maple leaves for Canada.
The words je me souveins is French for I remember.

(from: wikipedia - coat of arms of quebec)

Lake Ontario is part of the five Great Lakes, and it is connected to a water way called the Saint Lawrence Seaway that eventually makes its way out to the ocean.


(from: wikipedia - saint lawrence seaway)

Montreal is the largest city in Quebec, and it has a very old cathedral built in the late 1800s, called Notre-Dame Basilica

(from: wikipedia - notre-dame basilica (montreal))

The official bird of Quebec is the Snowy owl

(from: wikipedia - snowy owl)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Makalu

Psalm 119 - Longest Psalm

We just learned about Psalm 137 - By the waters of Babylon .

Another famous chapter in this book is Psalm 119.

This Psalm is the longest chapter in the whole Bible, and has 176 verses.
These 176 verses are split up into 22 parts, and each of those 22 parts, one for each letter of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Each of those 22 parts has eight verses, and each of those eight verses begins with the Hebrew letter they are listed under.

For example, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is "אַ", called "Aleph".

The first eight chapters of Psalm 119 in Hebrew are:


אַשְׁרֵ֥י תְמִֽימֵי־דָ֑רֶךְ הַֽ֝הֹלְכִ֗ים בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָֽה׃
אַ֭שְׁרֵי נֹצְרֵ֥י עֵדֹתָ֗יו בְּכָל־לֵ֥ב יִדְרְשֽׁוּהוּ׃
אַ֭ף לֹֽא־פָעֲל֣וּ עַוְלָ֑ה בִּדְרָכָ֥יו הָלָֽכוּ׃
אַ֭תָּה צִוִּ֥יתָה פִקֻּדֶ֗יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֥ר מְאֹֽד׃
אַ֭חֲלַי יִכֹּ֥נוּ דְרָכָ֗י לִשְׁמֹ֥ר חֻקֶּֽיךָ׃
אָ֥ז לֹא־אֵב֑וֹשׁ בְּ֝הַבִּיטִ֗י אֶל־כָּל־מִצְוֺתֶֽיךָ׃
א֭וֹדְךָ בְּיֹ֣שֶׁר לֵבָ֑ב בְּ֝לָמְדִ֗י מִשְׁפְּטֵ֥י צִדְקֶֽךָ׃

Hebrew is backwards from English, and is read from right to left.
So if you look at the character on the right of each line, you can see it is the "Aleph".

When the Psalm is translated to English, the letters don't match up anymore:

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.
I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!


(from: wikipedia - psalm 119)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Feast of Christ the King

Judith and Holofernes - Donatello

We just learned about the Renaissance sculpture of David by Michelangelo.

Another famous sculpture from this time is Judith and Holofernes by Donatello in 1464 in Italy.

This sculpture was different because it was meant to be looked at from all sides, not just the front.
It is a sculpture of a woman named Judith.
In the story of Judith, there was a man named Holofernes who was the leader of an army that wanted to kill her people.
She tricked him into thinking that she liked him, and then when he was sleeping she killed him to save her people and stop the war.

Some people from the town of Florence look at this story as an example of a humble servant winning the battle against a wicked person full of pride.

(from: wikipedia - judith and holofernes (donatello))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Winged Victory of Samothrace

ASL - March, April

Let's keep learning about the months of the year in ASL!

We just learned how to say January, February

Remember, to say a month, you just have to spell out the first three letters of the month.

March - M-A-R



April - A-P-R



wiktionary - appendix:sign language handshapes


Here is a helpful video to show how these signs are done.


ASL HANGOUT: HOW TO SIGN MONTHS OF THE YEAR! - Sign Duo



(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: Marzo, Aprile

German: März, April

Spanish: Marzo, Abril

French: Mars, Avril

Grinding

We just learned about the Hole Saw.

So far we have learned about cutting metal using a lathe or a mill, putting holes in the metal by threading, boring or drilling.

Another type of way to work with metal is called Grinding.
This is a way to use one rough piece of metal or even diamond to scrape off metal, almost like using sandpaper on wood.
Usually a grinder is a metal disc called a grinding wheel, that spins around very fast.

There are different types of grinders like angle grinders or bench grinders that you might use depending on what you want to do with the metal.


(from: wikipedia - angle grinder)


(from: wikipedia - bench grinder)



(from: wikipedia - grinding wheel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blacksmith

Waxy Monkey Tree Frog

We just learned about the Pouched Frog.

Another type of frog is the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog.

This frog gets the monkey part of it's name because it only ever walks through the trees, never hopping, so sometimes they look like monkeys.

These frogs never come down from living in the trees.
They lay eggs on leaves, and then fold the leaf over like a sandwich.
When the eggs hatch, they fall out of the leaf and drop into the water to live as tadpoles, until they become frogs and climb up into the trees.

These frogs have chemicals on their skin that have been used to create medicines as painkillers.


(from: wikipedia - phyllomedusa sauvagii)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ring Necked Snake

Hair - Muscle

We just learned about the Hair - Root Sheath.

Another interesting part of human hair is the Hair Muscle.
The fancy name for this muscle is the Arrector pili.

This muscle gets used when your skin gets cold and you get goosebumps on your skin as the hair is shoved out a little.


(from: wikipedia - arrector pili muscle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Subthalamus