The Summer Solstice is Today!

According to TimeAndDate.com, this year's Summer Solstice will occur at 3:34 P.M. today in Los Angeles! Today is Monday, June 20, 2016. 

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What is a summer solstice? 

sum·mer sol·stice

noun: the solstice that marks the onset of summer, at the time of the longest day, about June 21 in the northern hemisphere and December 22 in the southern hemisphere.

Here is a fabulous BrainPop video explaining the seasons. 

Solstice Fun Facts:

• The summer solstice is the longest day of the year.
• Bonus: Tonight there is a full moon!
• The full moon is called a strawberry moon.  

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Summertime is a fun time! 

For one thing, school is out and will not resume until August 24. Students and teachers have time off to pursue some relaxation and person learning.  

Photo by Abby's mom

Many people gather together for summer parties. The air temperature is lovely, and people enjoy being outside!

Photo by Mrs. Yollis 

People and pooches love to get in the water to cool off. Go, Buck, go! Swimming pools, the beach, lakes, rivers, and even sprinklers provide a welcome reprieve from the heat. 

Speaking of the heat. Sometimes summers bring heat waves. A heat wave is a period of excessive heat. Here is Los Angeles, we are in the middle of a heat wave. It was 111 ˚ F (44 ˚C) at 9:30 this morning. That's hot!

Photo by Mrs. Yollis

Student bloggers are still publishing! Keep your writing strong via quality commenting. My Trip to Monterey Bay and My Mini Robots are two new student posts.  

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What are some things you enjoy about summer? 

What is a strawberry moon?

What are some summer foods you enjoy? 

Welcome Back! 2014-2015

Welcome back to a new school year! 

 Here's a video greeting from Mrs. Yollis!

 

Here is the photo I mentioned in my Welcome Back video. After many days of practice,  Buck was able to master the skill of dock diving! 

Go, Buck! Go! 

Photo by Mr. Yollis

Such JOY!

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Parents & Students

 Here are some links for you to peruse as we start our year of learning together:

A.  This blog is the centerpiece of our classroom community. It is a wonderful space for sharing and learning together. Here is a link to an article I wrote about the benefits of classroom blogging. I hope you'll have a chance to read it before our Back to School Night.

B.  We also have a class Photo-of-the-Day blog! Anyone is welcome to contribute a photo or comment throughout the year.   Join our 365 Photo-of-the-day project!  :-)


C.  I am proud to tell you that I am a finalist for a BAMMY Award in the category of Elementary School Teacher of the Year. I will be flying to Washington, D.C. in September for the national awards ceremony! Here is a link to my BAMMY nomination page.  Being a finalist is a true honor!

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If you are a new or returning student, please leave a comment telling me about yourself. What did you do over your summer break? What adventures and experiences did you enjoyed?

If you are one of our blogging buddies, please introduce yourself to my new class. Where are you from? What have you been up to?

Remember to proofread your comment with a parent before you publish! Students must always be supervised on the Internet! 

:-)

If you are not sure how to comment on this blog, watch this video tutorial! It will walk you step by step through the process!

Happy Blogging!

Blogging Tip: Sometimes comments disappear when using Chrome. If that happens to you, switch to another browser like Firefox. 

Summer Blogging Ideas!

Although school ended on June 12, there are still lots of ways to contribute posts and maintain your quality writing skills during the summer. 

Here are a few ideas:

 1. Contribute to Yollis' 366 Project. 

Email me a small photo (around 200 kb is good) to be considered for our class photo of the day blog. Be sure to include a little text to explain the photo. End with a question or two that will get readers commenting. If you don't want to contribute a photo, think about composing a comment or making up a story about the photo. Why even dogs leave comments sometimes! Teacher, parent, student, and animal contributions are welcome!

UPDATE: We have already received photos from Texas, England, Iowa, California, Washington,  Germany, and Australia! Join in!

 2. Leave a comment for a student blogger!

Many students are continuing to write posts over the summer! Why not leave your blogging buddies a comment or offer to write a guest post! Here are some recently published posts on some student blogs! Click on the icon (picture) to take you to a student blog.

 

 3. Leave a quality comment for one of our blogging buddies in the southern hemisphere. 

They are about halfway through their school year, and it is winter where they live. What are they learning in their classrooms?  Learn along with them! Research using World Book Online and add relevant information to their blogs. They would love to hear from you!

Enjoy your summer learning!

Remember, regular practice with reading and writing makes your brain grow!

Voice Thread: Summer Poetry

Our Australian buddies at 2KM did a creative Voice Thread about the winter season that is beginning in the southern hemisphere.

Since we live in the northern hemisphere, we did a creative Voice Thread about the summer season that is just beginning!

Like our buddies, we brainstormed things that you see, hear, feel, taste, and touch in the summer! Each student wrote a poem about Summer and shared a line from the poem in the Voice Thread.

Thanks 2KM for the inspiration!

Please enjoy our Summer Voice Thread! Click on the triangle to HEAR the poetry.
(To add a recorded comment, you will need an email address.)



What do you think of our Voice Thread?

Which is your favorite season and what do you like to do during that season?