Hubble space telescope

We just learned about the first satellite in space called sputnik.

We use telescopes to look very far away into outer space at the stars and planets.
Just think how much farther we could see if we could put a telescope into outer space, and look from there!

That's exactly what the Hubble Telescope is:

(From: Wikipedia - hubble space telescope)

Using this telescope that's launched into outer space, we can see some beautiful things that we could never see before,
like this picture of a new star being created over 40 quadrillion miles away!

(From: Wikipedia - hubble space telescope)

French - Dog, cat

To say dog in French, you say chien and it sounds like shee-ah.
Listen at Google Translate

To say cat in French, you say chat just like the word chat.
Listen at Google Translate

Batteries - positive and negative

We just learned a little about USB.

If you look close on a battery, you'll see a plus + for positive on one end and a minus - for negative on the other end.

(From: Wikipedia - battery)

When you connect a wire or a light bulb to the positive and negative ends of the battery,
the electricity will flow through the loop or circuit from the negative end to the positive end and light up the light bulb!


(From: Wikipedia - electrical circuit, light bulb)

Polar bear skin

We just learned about Corgis.

Polar bears are the largest meat eating animal living on land.

Their fur is white of course, but their skin is black underneath, just like their nose!

(from: wikipedia - polar bear)

Radius & Ulna

We just learned about the Humerus.

The bones in your forearm are called the radius and ulna.

The radius is the one on the inside top, and the ulna is the one on the outside bottom.
When you turn your hand over, your radius bone moves, but the ulna stays in one place.



(From: Wikipedia - radius, ulna)

South America

We just learned about Antarctica.

In the South part of the earth below North America is a continent called South America.

(From: Wikipedia - south america)

The most populated countries in South America are Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.

Most people speak either Portuguese or Spanish.

The Olympics will be in the Brazil city of Rio de Janeiro in the year 2016, and it is the first time the Olympics are being hosted in South America.

Eighth Commandment

We just learned the Seventh Commandment, about not stealing.

The eighth commandment that God gave to Moses is:

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

This means you shouldn't lie.

(from: wikisource - Luther's Small Catechism)


(from: wikipedia - thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour)

Big & Little Dipper

We just learned about the North Star.

Up in the sky at night, you can usually see one or two groups of stars that look kind of like a measuring cup, scooper, ladle or spoon.

A group of stars is called a constellation, and these are called the big dipper and little dipper.

The big dipper is also part of a constellation called ursa major.

(From: Wikipedia - big dipper)


The little dipper is part of a constellation called ursa minor and the north star polaris is one of the stars in the little dipper

(From: Wikipedia - ursa minor)

French - Do you speak French?

To ask if someone speaks French, you say parlez-vous français.
(google translate)

It sounds like pahlay voo fuansay.

To say yes, you would say Oui, sounds like wee.
Or no, which sounds just like the way you say it in English.

USB

We just learned a little about Text Messages.

Let's learn about more fun stuff!

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus

It's the name of a type of connector for computers, to connect phones, computers, cameras, and just about anything else!

This is what a USB port looks like on a computer:



And this is what a USB cable looks like:

(from: wikipedia - usb)

Corgis

We just learned a little about .

A corgi is a type of dog, and there are two types of corgis:

Cardigan Welsh Corgi (bigger, huskier, has a tail)

(From: Wikipedia - cardigan welsh corgi)

Pembroke Welsh Corgi (smaller, no tail)

(From: Wikipedia - pembroke welsh corgi)

The pembroke corgi is the more popular dog, most likely because the Queen of England has had several pet corgis through the years.

Old legends say that fairies used to ride corgis like horses, and that's why they have that white mark around their necks from where the saddle was.


(From: The Fairy Tale of Two Corgis)


(From: Custom Fairy Steed Corgi Dog Costume)

Humerus

We just learned about the False Ribs.

The large bone for your upper arm is called your humerus.

(From: Wikipedia - humerus)

Sometimes when you bang the end of your elbow and it hurts, that's called hitting your funny bone.
Someone probably thought this up because the word humerus sounds just like humerous which means funny, and your humerus bone connects to your elbow!

Antarctica

We just learned about the country of Australia.

The big frozen chunk of ice at the bottom of planet earth is called Antarctica.

(From: Wikipedia - antarctica)

It's another continent, just like North America and Australia.

Not many things can live in the frozen cold of Antarctica!
Living on the land are penguins and seals.


And living under the water are blue whales, orcas and colossal squid!

Seventh Commandment

We just learned the Sixth Commandment about not committing adultery.

The seventh commandment that God gave to Moses is:

Thou shalt not steal.

(from: wikisource - Luther's Small Catechism)



(from: wikipedia - ten commandments)

North Star

We just learned about the Milky Way

Let's learn about the North Star.

The North star is one of the brightest stars in the sky at night, and if you point toward the direction where the North star is, you will be pointing North!

Many people through the years have used the North star to find their way while traveling on land or sailing on ships at night.

It's also known as Polaris.


(from: wikipedia - polaris)

French - Please, You're welcome

Remember that to say thank you in French, you say merci.

To say please in French is s'il vous plait but it doesn't sound like it looks!
To say it right, it sounds like see voo play.

And to say you're welcome, you say de rien and it sounds like duh ree en.

Text Messages

We just learned a little about Car Ignition

Text messages are simple messages that you can send to your friends over your mobile phones.

After you type out a message on your phone, you click a send button and off it goes!

(From: Wikipedia - iphone)

The phone then connects through the air using something special called radio waves.
They are invisible energy, kind of like how you can't see what is pulling two magnets together, you can't see the gravity that is keeping your feet on the ground, and you can't see the light coming from a remote control talking to the TV.

The radio waves from the phone connect to something called a cell phone tower.
If you keep your eyes open and look around up high you might be able to find a cell phone tower.
They're usually big white towers with something on the very top.


(From: Wikipedia - cellular network)

The cell phone tower then talks to other cell phone towers until it finds out which one is closest to the mobile phone of the person you're trying to send your message to.
Once it finds them, it sends the message to their phone using those radio waves and BEEP they get your message!

Deer

We just learned a little about Bald Eagles.

A male deer is called a buck, a female deer is a doe, and a baby deer is a fawn.



(From: Wikipedia - deer)

Male deer grow new antlers every year, and at the end of the season they fall off.

False Ribs

We just learned about the Pectoral Girdle

The lower five ribs are called the false ribs.


(From: Wikipedia - false ribs)

The upper three false ribs are called the vertebro-chondral ribs, because they connect from the vertebrae to the rib above them.

The lower two false ribs are called the floating ribs or vertebral ribs because they only connect to your vertebrae, and the other end is just floating out there.

Australia

We just learned a little about Cardinal Directions.

Just like North America is a continent, there is another continent on the other side of the globe called Australia.


(From: Wikipedia - Australia)

Australia is home to some very special animals like the kangaroo, koala and duck billed platypus!

Sixth Commandment

We just learned the Fifth Commandment about not killing.

The sixth commandment that God gave to Moses is:

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

This means that married people need to love and be faithful to each other.

(from: wikisource - Luther's Small Catechism)


(from: wikipedia - thou shalt not commit adultery)

Milky Way

We just learned about Earth's Seasons.

Let's learn about the Milky Way.

The planet earth that we live revolves around the sun in our solar system.

The sun is one of many stars in our galaxy called the Milky Way


(From: Wikipedia - Milky Way)

It's called the Milky Way because up in the night sky it kind of has a milky white color.

Our galaxy has somewhere from 200 to 400 BILLION stars!

That's a whole lot of zeroes! 200,000,000,000

French - Very good thanks

In French, if someone asks How are you? by saying Comment allez-vous
you can answer Very good, thanks. by saying Très bien, merci.

The way you say it, sounds like Tray bee-en, mare-see.

It's also polite to ask how they are, so you can add et vous? to the end of that sentence.
That sounds like Ay voo? (The vowel in Ay sounds like Hay)

So using all the words we've learned:
Bonjour, Au revoir, Monsieur, Madamoiselle, Comment allez-vous and très bien merci, et vous

We can have a conversation in French like this:
Girl: Bonjour Monsieur.
Boy: Bonjour Madameoiselle, comment allez-vous?
Girl: Très bien merci, et vous?
Boy: Très bien, merci.
Girl: Au revoir!
Boy: Au revoir!

Car ignition

We just learned a little about Spark Plugs.

The ignition or starter is the part of the car that you put your keys into, then turn them, and it starts the car.

When you turn your keys, the car takes electricity from the battery and sends it to the sparkplugs to make a spark.
That spark explodes the gas inside the piston and starts the engine.


(From: Wikipedia - ignition system)

Bald Eagle - nest & plumage

The bald eagle's next is over 8 feet wide.
That's longer than any grownup person is tall!


(From: Wikipedia - bald eagle)

The "bald" part of the name, comes from an old word that actually means "white".

The size and color of the feathers of a bird is called "plumage".

Pectoral Girdle

The clavicle and scapula together make up what is called the pectoral girdle.


(From: Wikipedia - pectoral girdle)

Cardinal Directions

We just learned a little about the North America Continent.

On a map, if you see the letters N, E, S, W they stand for North, East, South, West.
Those are called the cardinal directions, and they are used to tell where something is at on a map.

(From: Wikipedia - cardinal direction)

So if you are in Michigan, you might say that it's very cold up North and very warm down South.
New York is to the East, and California is to the West.

A fun way to remember the letters is the sentence: Never Eat Soggy Waffles!



(From: Wikipedia - world map)

You can use a special tool called a compass to figure out which way is North, no matter where you are!


(From: Wikipedia - compass)

Fifth Commandment

We just learned the Fourth Commandment about honoring your father and mother.

The fifth commandment that God gave to Moses is:

Thou shalt not kill.

This means not to kill another person.

(from: wikisource - Luther's Small Catechism)


(from: wikipedia - thou shalt not kill)

Earth's Seasons

The earth's seasons, spring, summer, fall and winter, are all different temperatures because of the way the earth is tilted and how the sunlight shines on it.

When the top of the earth (where North America is) is tilted at the sun, that's when it is summer, the hottest time of the year.

When the top of the earth is tilted away from the sun, that's winter, the coldest time of the year.


(from: wikipedia - season)

French - How are you?

In French, to say How are you? you say Comment allez-vous?.

The way you say it is different than the way it looks though, it sounds more like como tah lay voo.

So the next time you see your Mom or Grandma, you could say:
Bonjour Madame, comment allez-vous?

And it sounds like:
Bohzhoor mahdahm, como tah lay voo?

Spark Plug

We just learned about a car's Muffler

Inside a car engine, when the pistons go up to push on the gas and make it ready to explode, the spark plug is the thing that lets out a little spark like a match lighting a fire, and BOOM the gas explodes and pushes the piston back down.


(From: Wikipedia - spark plug)

The spark plug gets it's electricity from the car's battery, which looks like a big square block.


(From: Wikipedia - lead acid battery)

Humpback Whale - Baleen Plates

We just learned about the Lion's Mane

Let's learn about Humpback Whales!

Humpback whales don't have regular teeth like humans or other animals, they have something called baleen plates.

Baleen plates are kind of like the bristles on a brush. They grow down from the top of the whale's mouth, and are very close together.

(From: Wikipedia - baleen)

When a whale wants to eat, it gets a huge mouthful of water that is filled with things like krill, which look like very small bugs that live in the water.

(From: Wikipedia - humpback whale)

Then the whale closes it's mouth and pushes the water out through it's baleen plates.
The krill are too big to get pushed out, so the whale gets to eat them. Yum!


(From: Wikipedia - krill)

Clavicle and Scapula

We just learned about the Esophagus

The bones on the upper part of your shoulder are called the clavicle (or collarbone) and the scapula (or wingbone).

The clavicle is the bone in the front that goes from your neck to your shoulder.
It is connected to your sternum (middle of your chest) and your scapula.

The scapula is the bone in the back that sticks out like a wing, and connects up to the back of your shoulder.
It is connected to your clavicle and your upper arm bone.


(From: Wikipedia - Clavicle)

North America Continent

United States of America (USA) is a country, and is part of something bigger called a continent.
The continent that USA is a part of is called North America.

There are other countries in North America, like Canada which is above the USA, and Mexico which is below the USA.

All of North America (in green):

(From: Wikipedia - North America)

Canada:

(From: Wikipedia - Canada)

USA:

(From: Wikipedia - United States)

Mexico:

(From: Wikipedia - Mexico)