Meet An Olympian!

The Winter Olympic Games are starting on February  9 - February 25. The host country is South Korea. 

The Winter Olympics are held every four years and the best athletes in the world come together to represent their country. It is an exciting international event!

Here is the Winter Olympic Schedule. When are your favorite events scheduled?

In anticipation of the Olympics, we invited Tanner mom to come and share her experience with the Olympics. She's an Olympian! 

Tanner's mom was a member of the U.S. Speed Skiing Team. That's the fastest ski race there is! The skis are very long and measure approximately 240 cm long. (About 94 inches) No one could believe how fast speed skiers go. The fastest speed Tanner's mom recorded was 196 km (That's 120 m.p.h. WOW!)

Photo by Mrs. Yollis 

She used a special suit when she raced down the hill. 

A highlight of her time as an Olympian was the opportunity to meet other athletes from around the world. She said trading national Olympic pins was popular and fun. 

Here is a photo of the Olympic pins she collected. What an array!

In this fabulous photo, you can see the length of the skis and the special suit she wore during races.

What a pleasure it was to hear from an Olympian and learn about the grit and persistence required to compete!

Tanner's mom recommends that young kids try out lots of sports and see which ones they love. Then they need to practice and practice if they'd like to be an Olympian. 

Do you have any questions for our Olympian?

What sports do you enjoy playing?

What events will you be watching during the Winter Olympics? 

Blogging: How to Teach and Promote Quality Writing

In my 31 years as an elementary educator, I have never seen a project more powerful for sharing classroom learning, making global connections,  and building a positive digital footprint for young students than having a classroom blog. I recommend every classroom teacher consider flattening the walls via blogging. There are so many benefits!

Educational blogging is also a fantastic way to teach and promote high standards for writing. Students want their writing to get published and educational blogging is a great way to leverage that interest.  


I have two educational blogs that I use in our learning. Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog is a public blog where classroom events and projects are published. The comment section is where the blog comes to life. Students and parents interact in this online community. 

My second blog is called Yollis' 365 Blog, and it is a public photo-of-the-day blog. Students, family members, and other classes throughout the world contribute photos and text. The digital images are used to inspire creative stories, spark  poetry entries, and share information about hobbies and interests. 

Below are TWO videos I've made to help teachers begin blogging with their students.  

1. This is a video made by Mrs. Yollis' students called How to Compose a Quality Comment!  It offers FIVE tips to help take comments to the next level! I use this video to teach students about content. 

2. This is a video made by Mrs. Yollis' students called Tips to Ensure Quality Blogging. It outlines the rules for participation in our classroom blogs and the agreements the students make when publishing on our blogs.

Do you have any questions about blogging for my students?

How has your writing improved through participation on the blog?