Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 235
Sunsets
Hello Everyone
Last week, l was telling you about how glass is made and also how it can be many different colours.
One of the lovely things about being out here in my lighthouse in the middle of the sea is that l have the most wonderful view of the sky, and if there is a beautiful sunrise or sunset, l will be able to see the full glory of it.
And of course every colourful sunrise and every colourful sunset is unique – there will never be another one that looks exactly the same.
Have you ever wondered why there are so many beautiful colours in a sunset?
Well, l will tell you.
The colours in a sunset are caused by a phenomenon that scientists call ‘scattering’.
There are many tiny particles floating up in the atmosphere and they change the direction of the rays of the setting sun causing them to scatter.
The size of the particles affects the colours produced.
lf sand from the Sahara Desert is blown up into the atmosphere above us by a south wind, you will notice that sunsets become more colourful.
lt can even make rainbows turn pink!
When the sun is low on the horizon at dusk (and also at dawn), it is at an angle which causes sunlight to pass through more atmosphere than when it is directly overhead.
Blue and violet colours are carried on shorter wavelengths.
When light travels through more depth of atmosphere, more molecules scatter the blue and violet light away from our eyes. The red, orange and yellow colours continue on their way and into our eyes.
That is why sunsets are usually pink and orange.
Red has the longest wavelength and that is why the sun can look a red colour when it is just above the horizon. The light is taking a path through a lot of atmosphere at that angle. The atmosphere is blocking out all the other colours and only the red can get through for you to see.
You may remember seeing a rainbow where the red band is at the top and the violet band is on the opposite side at the bottom.
The seven colours of the rainbow always show up in this way.
The wavelengths of all the colours are different.
But of course, to most people, the beauty of a rainbow or a sunset is more important than the science of it.
They are good for the soul and maybe that is the best science of all.
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Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bill: What is there more of, the less you see?
Bob: l don’t know. What is there more of, the less you see?
Bill: Darkness!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
The colour of sky in the day time is blue
Sunsets can be in muted colours
Or vibrant colours depending on the weather conditions at the time
The science
(Scienceblogs.com)
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
One day this week, the weather was a bit dull and the children didn’t want to play in the garden.
Instead, they started looking at the books on Auntie Alice’s book shelves to see if there was anything interesting for them to look at.
They happened to find a book which listed names and their meanings.
Of course, they all wanted to see what their names meant!
This is what they found…
Emily – Ambitious
Henry – Ruler of the house
William – Determined Guardian
Robert – Bright fame
Alice – noble
Samuel – Answers to prayers
Jack – Godley
They found some other meanings that they found quite surprising – is your name here?
Sidney – earthy
Jennifer – white wave
Wayne – wagon maker
Iris – the rainbow
Rory – red king
Elga – elfin spear
Ramsey – island of ravens
Perry – pear tree
Deborah – the bee
Penelope – weaver
Marvin – sea
Garret – spear champion
Mavis – song thrush
Lee – meadow
Byron – bear
Selena – the Moon
Veronica – true face
NEWSDESK MINIMAKE
RAINBOW PEOPLE
These little people are really cute.
You can use them as counters on a games board – just pick your favourite colour!
To make them stand up really well, put a little stuffing inside them.
RAINBOW PERSON BODY (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and coloured yarn cast on 15 stitches
Knit 1 row
Knit 1 row
Slip 1 (knit1, purl 1) repeat the last 2 stitches to the end of the row
Repeat this last row 8 times (9 rows of moss stitch)
Knit 1 row
Change to white yarn
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off
Leave a length of yarn for sewing up and pull through the stitches
RAINBOW PERSON ARMS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and coloured yarn cast on 6 stitches
Knit 1 row
Purl 1 row
Change to white yarn
Knit 1 row
Purl 1 row
Don’t cast off
Leave a length of yarn for sewing up and pull through the stitches
TO MAKE UP
- Pull the yarn at the end of the hands to close them up
- Sew the underarm seam with right sides together using the appropriate colours along the seam using over-sew stitching then turn the arms the right way out – if this is too difficult for you then sew the arms up with wrong sides together
- You won’t need to put stuffing in the arms – just tuck the ends of the yarn into the arm to pad it
- Pull the top of the head in
- Secure the yarn and use it to sew up the seam at the back of the head
- Then push the end of the yarn through to the outside of the back of the neck
- Sew the back seam with the coloured yarn
- Squash the body flat with the seam at the back
- Sew the arms to the side of the body by laying the arm across the chest and then sewing across the top of the arm and the side of the body
- Stuff the head
- Bring the length of white yarn left at the back of the neck around the neck and pull in tightly a couple of times – then secure the yarn
- Embroider a face on bringing your needle in from the base of the back of the neck – or sew a face on before construction
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Quick Quiz
And here is another column word puzzle for you to do.
Draw a column of boxes – it should be four boxes across and six boxes down.
Answer the questions and put one letter in each box.
Find two opposite colours by reading down the first and third columns.
- a little dog makes this noise
- birds from Australia
- to entice
- the way a cat drinks its milk
- birds with big eyes that fly at night
- to cry
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE A KNlTTED SCARECROW’S HAT
So here is a hat to put on the head of the scarecrow featured in the last two blog posts.
It looks like a lovely, old, battered sunhat.
Cut a paper pattern before you cut any felt
Cut a circle for the brim 11½cm across
Cut a circle for the top of the hat 7½cm across
Cut a rectangle 24cm long by 3½cm wide (this is about the width of a ruler to make things easy for you)
Cut these pieces out in royal blue felt
Draw an inner circle on the brim using the top of the hat pattern and cut from the centre of the felt out to this inner circle eight times
Sew the strip to the top of the hat to make the sides of the crown and then sew down the back seam on the outside using over-sew stitching
Sew the brim onto the crown of the hat pushing the triangles of felt into the hat – use the circle you have drawn as a guide
Decorate the hat with ribbon and a flower
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Quick Quiz Answers
- YAPS
- EMUS
- LURE
- LAPS
- OWLS
- WEEP
