Dance into Summer with Highlights High Five!

This year's summer solstice, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, is going to take place on June 21. We all know what that means, right? Super long days, short nights, and the beginning of summer! But what does the word solstice really mean?

If we examine the Latin origins of the word, "sol" actually means "sun" and "stice" means "to stand still." So on June 21, as the sun reaches its highest point above the horizon, it might look like it's standing still in the sky. But that doesn't mean that the children in our lives will be standing still. In fact, with all the good weather and with many kids out of school for the summer, it will probably be just the opposite!

Here's a fun action rhyme from the July 2011 issue of Highlights High Five to help young children ages 2 to 6 celebrate the beginning of summer through movement and dance...

A special thanks to Highlights for Children, Inc., who are always so generous in letting me post their dance-related poetry for kids. This particular poem was written by Marilyn Kratz and illustrated by Alexandra Ball. Guy Cali Associates is responsible for the photos of the incredibly cute orange-shirted boy. 

Charles Ghigna (also known as Father Goose) is another well-known children' poet with a fun dance-related poem for summer....about dancing dragonflies! You can read it here.

Do you know of any other great children's poems about summer? If you do, I'd love to hear. Maybe we can find some more over at the Poetry Friday roundup, hosted today by Check It Out. Let's go see!