Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Sizzling Summer Solstice

In the Northern Hemisphere, summer begins on June 20, 2012.


This first day of summer is called Summer Solstice.

Sol + stice comes from a combination of Latin words meaning "sun" + "to stand still." As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky.

As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in 
the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their 
longest summer day in December!



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What are your favorite activities during summer?

Do you have any special summer plans?

Leave a comment, and let's stay in touch!

13 comments:

  1. Dear Mrs. Ranney,

    I am having a great summer! In the summer I am playing baseball, hockey, basketball and golf. For Father's Day my family and I went to play golf.



    Hope you have a great summer!

    Sincerely,

    Dylan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Mrs.Ranney,

    I'm having a fantastic summer so far. I've been going to the pool and going to the beach. I also have been studying for fourth grade. I am trying to study by going on Mathletics and Vmathlive.

    Best Wishes,
    Francesca

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Mrs. Ranney and class,

    This was a very interesting post. As you have noted, the Southern and Northern Hemispheres have summer and winter at opposite times in the year. I've prepared a comment post about this post but didn't want to take up too much space on your blog so here is a link to the comment if you are interested.

    http://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2012/06/22/winter-solstice-for-mrs-ranneys-class/

    @RossMannell
    Teacher, NSW, Australia

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Mrs. Ranney,

    So far during this magnificent summer my cousins came from San Jose.
    We played baseball and went swimming.
    When they left my family went to Palm Springs. The hotel we stayed at was called Rancho Las Palmas. We went on the Lazy River and a 100 foot water slide.

    It has been a wonderful summer.

    Sincerely,
    Josh

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Mrs. Ranney,
    I am having a great Summer so far! I went to Palm Springs to see my aunt, my cousins, and my grandmother.I had a great time there! Soon, in August I will be going to Maui! I am pretty sure I'll have a fantastic time.

    This Summer rocks,
    Melissa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Melissa,
      I know you'll soon be getting ready to leave for Maui! I hope you have a wonderful time at one of my favorite places! Be sure to comment back and let us know how it was!
      Cheers!
      Mrs. Ranney

      Delete
  6. Dear Mrs. Ranney,

    I am having a terrific summer! I started camp recently, and it is a lot of fun. My favorite thing to do at camp is the ropes course.

    A few weeks ago my cousins from Texas came to visit us. It was very exciting because it was my first time meeting them! Their names were Jackson, Isabella, Dominic, and Kassie. We had so much fun! First, we went to Legoland. There we went on tons of rides, and enjoyed looking at the huge creations the made entirely out of legos.

    Then, we went to Disneyland where we had a magnificent time. We went on all the rides, but my all-time favorite was the roller coaster Thunder Mountain. The most exciting thing was meeting Mickey Mouse and getting his autograph! We also enjoyed looking at his house and some of his cast mates houses. We also saw two princesses, Ariel and Sleeping Beauty, my favorites after Belle.

    Lastly, we went to the Point Dume Beach. All of us made a gigantic sandcastle and really liked jumping in the waves in the ocean. Point Dume is my favorite beach because of the huge rocks that you can climb, and you usually see dolphins or seals. When my cousins left we were really sad, but cheered up when we heard we were going to Colorado with them next year!

    I'm also going to Hawaii in August. I can't wait to go because we are going to go snorkeling, and maybe I'll even spot a Humuhumunukunukapuaa! I will send pictures.

    Hope to see you in August

    Best Wishes,
    Bella

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Bella,
      What a wonderful summer it sounds like you're having! I know you'll soon be getting ready to leave for Maui, just like Melissa!

      I know you'll have a wonderful time! Snorkeling is one of my favorite activities. Last summer we spotted many colorful Humuhumus, so I'm sure you'll see some too! The best snorkeling spot we visited was at Kapalua Bay!

      Have a terrific trip, and keep on enjoying your summer! Be sure to come back and leave a comment about your time in Maui!

      Bon Voyage!
      Mrs. Rannety

      Delete
    2. Dear Mrs. Ranney,

      Thank you for writing back. I am so excited for Hawaii. My family and I are actually leaving tomorrow! We aren't going to Maui though we're going to Kona. I am very happy that we are going to get to go snorkeling because it will be my first time. The hotel we are staying at is really close to a super rocky volcano and a beautiful waterfall. I hope I see a lot of tropical birds, dolphins, and seals.

      Another thing I am excited about is that school is going to start soon. I am excited to find out who my teacher is. I hope you enjoy the last week of vacation.

      Aloha,
      Bella

      Delete
  7. Dear Mrs.Ranney,

    I had an amazing birthday. The first thing I did on my birthday was to open the present my mom and dad gave me. Then we went to have a yummy birthday lunch at a restaurant called Famous Dave's. The food was good. We also had a birthday cake at home. It was an Oreo Cake. I also got a lot of great presents and birthday money. When I saw the Oreo Cake, I wanted to eat the whole cake.

    Best Wishes,
    Francesca

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Francesca,
      I'm so glad to hear from you and that you had such a wonderful birthday!

      Famous Dave's sounds like a great restaurant, so I'll have to try it!

      Happy birthday, and keep on enjoying your summer!

      Mrs. Ranney

      Delete
  8. Dear Mrs. Ranney,

    My birthday was very special. I invited all my friends over to have a sleep over and go to Yamoto for dinner. For my birthday I am going to an Oakland A's game and getting a wooden bat and a baseball bag.



    Sincerely,

    Dylan

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear Mrs. Ranney,

    Twelve days ago was my b-day.
    I went and had dinner at Something Fishy.
    Also, I had a sleepover with Andrew.

    So far I've had a wonderful birthday and summer.

    Your former student,
    Josh

    ReplyDelete

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