Summer  (Try writing a summer journal or take a spiral and write your feelings about the day  to someone in your family by placing it under their pillow.  Then they could write back to you and place it under your pillow)

At the summer solstice, which falls on or around June 21, the earth is tilted in such a way the the North Pole is as close to the sun as it ever gets.  As a result, the day is the longest of the whole year and the night is the shortest.

What time does the sun actually set tonight?  Compare it to March 21...

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Helen Keller

Helen Keller was born on this date in 1880 and died in 1968. She was less than two years old when she suffered a serious disease that left her both deaf and blind.  For almost five years she lived without language.  Thanks to her lifelong teacher, Anne Sullivan, Helen did learn to read, write and even speak.  She went to college and graduated with honors.  She wrote many books and worked to improve conditions for blind and deaf people.  She proved that handicapped people not only have a place in the world, but can make vast and beautiful contributions to it.

Lois Braille designed a system of coded dots embossed (raised) on paper to help visually impaired people read.  Go to the internet and find out what the code is and write a letter to Mrs. Blough in Braille.

Halfway Day

Today is the the last day of June and we're exactly halfway through the year. Six months have passed and six more months to go.

Do everything by HALVES today.  Try wearing one black sock and one white sock.  Laugh half-heartedly and say you half a mind today.

At half past noon half a sandwich with a friend.

Then make up half-way animals like a giraffalo and draw it.

Stars

There is an old tradition that says falling stars and the first star of the evening are good for wishing.  Tonight, about twilight (soft light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon or the line where the sky seems to meet the earth).

Did you know that some stars are so far away their light takes millions of years to reach the earth.
Have a starlight picnic one night with a friend and gaze at the sky. Look for pictures or constellations in the sky.
See if you can find the North Star.  Hint: look for the Big Dipper. 

Or find a website that shows all the different constellations and choose one.  Draw it and determine the time of year by where it is located in the sky.

Grandma Moses

Grandma Moses was born on this day in 1860.  She passed on December 13, 1961.  (How old was she when died?)  Her real name was Anna Mary Roberson and married Thomas Moses.  She worked on her farm until she was 76.  She began painting scenes from her youth in upstate New York at this time and became famous within five years.. At 90 she was given the title of Grandmother of the Nation.

Now is a good time to pay a visit to a grandparent or family member. Ask your family to help fill in a family tree.  This is a list of your families names and who their children were.

Another thing to do is to make a journal of family stories.  One day you'll be glad you asked because they could be lost.