National Park Week: Visit North Cascade National Park and Olympic National Park

 This week is National Park Week! The hashtag is #NationalParkWeek.  America has so many beautiful parks to visit!

Atteen is sharing two wonderful national parks today!

North Cascade National Park 

Here is Atteen's trip to North Cascade! North Cascade National Park was established in 1968 and is found in the state of Washington. It is 684,000 acres large and has tall mountains, beautiful valleys, and gorgeous lakes. Tourists might see black bears, black-tailed deer, mountain lions, bobcats, marmots, and birds. This national park has more glaciers than anywhere else in the lower 48 states. It has approximately 300 glaciers. The glacial melt makes the lake look that unusual blue color. It is especially pretty on sunny days. 

 

Olympic National Park 

Atteen and her family also visited Olympic National Park while they were in the state of Washington.  This nearly million-acre national park has four regions: the coastline along the Pacific Ocean, a temperate rainforest, an alpine (or mountain) area, and drier forest areas. The giant Sitka fir trees can be viewed along the hiking trails. They can grow to be 300 feet tall!

Tourists might see Roosevelt elk, snowshoe hares, pocket gophers, and hundreds of different types of birds. 

What park would you like to visit that is NOT in California?

What is the best part about camping? If you haven't camped, what do you think would be the best part?

National Park Week: Visit Yosemite and Sequoia Parks

 This week is National Park Week! The hashtag is #NationalParkWeek.  America has so many beautiful parks to visit!

Grace is sharing two wonderful national parks today, Yosemite and Sequoia!

Yosemite National Park 

Here is Grace's trip to Yosemite! Yosemite National Park was established in 1890 and is found in the state of California. It is usually open all year, however, sometimes it closes for heavy snow or flooding. This park is about 760,000 acres and it has a lot of wildlife. Tourists might see mule deer, ground squirrels, bears, marmots, and a lot of birds. Remember, never feed wild animals! 

See Half Dome in the background! This giant is made of granite and many mountain climbers like to ascend the face. 

Grace and her family hiked up to Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoia trees. Mariposa Grove has hundreds of giant sequoias. One tree is called the Grizzly Giant and it is approximately 1900-2400 years old! It stands about 210 feet tall. Wow!

Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park 

Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks are also located in California. The General Sherman tree is a highlight for tourists. This tree is the largest tree in the world by VOLUME. It is 275 feet tall and is quite a beauty. 

If you could visit one of these national parks, what would you like to do or see? 

Which was your favorite photo from Grace's trips and why? 

National Park Week: Visit Joshua Tree!

 This week is National Park Week in America!  The hashtag is #NationalParkWeek  To celebrate, we will be featuring different parks visited by Mrs. Yollis and her students.

First up is Koush! He and his family visited Joshua Tree National Park. This beauty is located in a desert region of southern California. It is close to Palm Springs, California. 

Joshua Tree National Park was established in 1994. The park is 560,000 acres and tourists come from all over the world to bird watch, climb boulders or rock walls, camp, and hike.

The park is named for the Joshua tree that grows throughout. Some people think the Joshua tree is ugly, but we think this unique tree is gorgeous! What do you think?

Anaitis also spent some time at Joshua Tree National Park! Here are some of her photos that showcase the beautiful trees and giant boulders. 

If you could go to Joshua Tree National Park, what would you spend your time doing? 

What do you notice about the unique Joshua tree? 

 

Kiwi's Adventure with Koush!

Dear Class,

I had an amazing time at Koush's house on Tuesday! 

First, I attended a piano lesson with Koush. He has been taking lessons for two months, so he was very good. Something funny at the lesson was that he played We Wish You a Merry Christmas and it is January. Funny! 

Photo by Koush's mom

After that, it was time to eat. Believe it or not, Koush severed me kiwi! Don't worry, it wasn't the bird, it was the green fruit. Hilarious!

Finally, it was time to complete the homework. We worked on dividing by 10. It was easy and fun! Did you know that the big number is called the dividend? The number you group is the divisor, and the answer is called the quotient! 

 

Thank you, Koush, for a lovely adventure 

I have a couple of questions:

We finished our math homework in 5 minutes. How long does it take you?

What musical instrument do you play or would you like to play?

Your friend,

Kiwi

Hour of Code!

 

Hour of Code is an annual event to promote Computer Science. According to their website: 

The Hour of Code takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week. The 2022 Computer Science Education Week will be December 5-11, but you can host an Hour of Code all year round. Computer Science Education Week is held annually in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906). 

We're starting Hour of Code and changing the name to Hours of Code!

Thank you, Hadi Partovi for creating this project!

Computer Science week coincides with the birthdays of two computer science pioneers. A pioneer is a person who is one of the first to enter a field of study or explore a new area of thought. 

1. Ada Lovelace, born in England on December 10, 1815, is considered the world's first computer programmer.

Photo Credit


2.  Grace Hopper, whose birthday is December 9, 1906, was an American computer programmer and Navy rear admiral. She contributed to the development of the COBOL language and is credited with popularizing the term "computer bug" in the programming community. 


Grace Hopper said, "To me programming is more than an important practical art. It is also a gigantic undertaking in the foundations of knowledge."

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One of the important things about problem-solving is perseverance. Sometimes you try an algorithm, or list of steps used to solve a problem,  and if it fails, adjust your algorithm. Try again! This strategy is called trial and error. 

On our class blog, you can use HTML code to level up your comments. Here is some information about HTML code. Here is the HTML code for some fancy shapes. There are many more!

What do you like about coding?

Share something you have learned about a program?

What is the most difficult thing about writing computer code?  

Turkey Takes a Vacation!

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Turkey Takes a Vacation!

Stories and Vacation Photos by Mrs. Yollis’ Third Graders

Enjoy!

***Click to enlarge the Google SlideShow!***

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Steps Taken to Complete this 

*Turkey Takes a Vacation* 

project 

First, we read Turkey Trouble, by Wendi Silvano.  The funny fantasy follows our feathered friend as he finds out what Americans feast upon for Thanksgiving.  

Second, we selected an exotic vacation location for Turkey. (If he left America over Thanksgiving break, he would not get eaten.)

Third, we researched an international landmark using Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 

Fourth, we used our facts to create a story about Turkey's time at the international landmark.

Finally, we located the international landmark on Google Earth and took a "vacation" screenshot. Pegman was so helpful! The screenshot was uploaded to our class collaborative Google Slideshow. 

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What was your favorite part about the project and why?

What landmark would you like to visit? 

Leave a comment for one of the turkeys!

Happy Veterans Day!

Today America celebrates Veterans Day! It is the day we honor the men and women who have served in the armed forces. Veterans Day is a national holiday.

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Photo by Mrs. Yollis

 

Veterans: Men and women who have served in the armed forces.

Soldiers: Men and women who are currently serving in the armed forces.

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Here is a link to a wonderful BrainPop

 video about America's Armed Forces.

What did you learn about the 

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard?

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Below we feature some friends and family who are veterans!

Illustration by Aarna

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Meet our district superintendent, Dr. Stepenosky. As you can see, he served in the Navy. From 1990 to 1994, he was on the USS Chancellorsville which was a guided-missile cruiser. It was 9,000 tons and had a crew of 330. Notice the destroyer in the background.

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Meet Mrs. Yollis' Uncle Don who served in the Army from 1945-1946. He served in Korea and earned the rank of T-5. This was a non-combat technical rank. 

Meet Mrs. Yollis' great-great-great-grandfather who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. His name was John Adam Pfau. 

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Meet Scarlett's great grandfather who was a veteran. His name was Major William Robert Graham and he served in the Air Force during WWII.  Major Graham participated in the European Theater with 5 campaign stars.

Meet Scarlett's great-grandfather, Robert Sigurd Haugen, who served in intelligence in WWII. He is pictured next to Scarlett's grandfather, Robert Peter Haugen who served in the Naval Air Force during Vietnam and the Six-Day War in the Middle East. 

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Meet Fletcher's grandfather who was the in U. S. Navy as a Hospital Corpsman from January 1966 to December 1969. As a Hospital Corpsman, he worked in the Great Lakes Naval Hospital, the Great Lakes Naval Station Dispensary, and the Navy Supply Corp School Dispensary (in Athens, Georgia). While he was stationed in Athens, he was promoted to Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class. (See photo below.) In December 1969, he was transferred out of Vietnam to Okinawa and then to Long Beach, California for discharge from active service.

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Meet Olivia's grandpa, whom she calls Bobo! His name is Roger and he served in the US Army in Maryland from 1962-1964. 

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Are any of your relatives or friends veterans?

Please tell us about them and thank them for their service!

What have you learned about Veterans Day? Please share!

California Facts For Our Blogging Friends

 We were ecstatic when we got a comment from a class in Foxton, New Zealand. They left a comment for us on the Fall into Autumn blog post. Here's their comment: 

First, our current season in the northern hemisphere is fall. Fall is very mild here in southern California. In fact, the weather has been quite warm lately. 

Our New Zealand friends also asked us to tell them about California, our state. Well, we have many facts to share about the state of California. Here are some fun facts! (All photos provided by Pixabay.)

1. California is divided into four geographic regions: the mountain region, the central valley, the desert region, and the coast.

2. California has the highest population out of all fifty states. There are 39 million Californians. Texas has the second greatest population with 30 million, and Florida ranks third with 22 million. 

3. The capital of the state of California is Sacramento. The building where California government takes place is featured below. The city is called the capital and the building is called the capitol. (Notice the spelling!) 

4. The California state bird is the quail. Quails are part of the pheasant family along with turkeys and peacocks. They have strong bodies. Their strong beak helps them break open seeds and gather berries. 

5. Our currency is the dollar. Other common values for paper bills are: $2, $5, 10, 20, $50, and $100. 

6. Every state has a flag and here is the California flag. The white represents purity. The red stand for courage. the grizzly bear represents strength and independence.

7. Many mountain lions live in California. They are also known as puma or cougar. 

8. One of the many national parks in California is the beautiful Joshua Tree National Park.  Mrs. Yollis and many other students have camped, bouldered, and hiked in this desert spot. 

9. Another famous national park is Yosemite! Unlike Joshua Tree National Park, Yosemite is known for its many beautiful waterfalls. 

10. Tourists enjoy seeing and driving across the Golden Gate Bridge. This suspension bridge is not really painted gold. Instead, it is painted international red so that it is more visible in the frequent San Francisco fog. 

11. Finally, many tourists love to go to Disneyland when they come to our state. This park is located in Anaheim, California, and was opened for the first time in the summer of 1955.

We would love comments from New Zealand and any other classrooms from around the world. 

What are you still wondering about California?

Tell us about your state or location!