Winter Begins!

                               
Oh No ---- Winter begins, we so hope not!  We are rather enjoying this spring/fall weather!  I know, I know --- the law of averages just might win out El Nino or not!  Just remember from this day forward --- we gain daylight!

Here are some interesting Winter sites:

First Day of Winter 2015 - Old Farmer's Almanac
Shortest Day of the Year in the Northern Hemisphere - timeanddate.com
Everything you need to know:  December solstice 2015 - EarthSky
Everything you need to know about the Winter Solstice:  From astronomy to religion, the year's shortest day brings enduring mysteries, by Brian Handwerk, National Geographic, 12-21-15
Ring in the new season:  December Solstice happens next week, by Geoff Gaherty, Starry Night Education, space.com, 12-18-15

Activities:
Education World:  Celebrate Winter! Solstice Activites
Winter - Teacher Resources - TeacherVision
Winter Activities and Printables for Teacher - apples4theteacher.com

Cold Hard Facts!

Yes, I know we are tired of this cold weather but did you know…

The world's largest snowflake was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records, at 38 cm wide and 20 cm thick. The snow flake fell at Fort Keogh, Montana, USA on 28 January 1887.

With tires for his mouth and trees for arms, "Angus" - the tallest snowman, was made by residents of Bethel, Maine, USA, measuring a whopping 34.63 meters. "Angus" took 2 weeks to build, and was completed on 17 February 1999.

The greatest snowfall recorded was on Mt Rainier, Washington State, USA - Over 30metres fell during the winter of 1972.

In the winter of 1932 in the US was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid!

Dirty snow melts faster than clean.

Snowiest city in the U.S. – Blue Canyon, California.

It snows more in the Grand Canyon than it does in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

-40 degrees Celsius is equal to -40 degrees Fahrenheit.