Hey there Shmooperheroes,
It’s time to go back to school! It’s school time! Who’s excited about being back in a classroom after a glorious summer full of outdoor adventures, Otter Pops (or Fla-Vor-Ice), and that fat reading list of amazing books that you burned through during your first week off?
…if those are actual crickets, we need to get the office fumigated.
If the “I Can’t Believe Summer’s Over, Time Really Is Just Slippin’ (Slippin’, Slippin’) Into the Future” blues got you down, Shmoop’s got you covered. Even if we can’t give you a virtual Otter Pop.
Featured Shmoop: What is Shmoop?
So you’ve faced the music and realized that school’s around the corner? Good, because our Shmoop elves have been hard at work over the summer getting ready for the upcoming season. They’re like Santa’s elves, except they don’t live at the North Pole, and they couldn’t make a toy to save their lives. (So, um, not like elves.) Instead, they make awesome educational resources, and their favorite holiday of the year is Labor Day.
Need a hand—or twenty—with the ridiculous process of getting ready for college? Here’s a refresher video on how we help.Also, check out our brand new College Readiness page.
Shmoop Partner: Minted.com Promotion
Welcome your students back to school in style.
Teachers & librarians: We’re offering an exclusive giveaway this week courtesy of the indie design community Minted, which features customized invitations, art, stationery, and holiday cards. Paper and design geeks unite!
The prize: 10 personalized journals and 1 inspirational art print. Share these (or, you know, don’t) with your favorite students. Enter to win here.
Featured Shmoop: Jamestown Video
When we think Jamestown, we tend to think of pugs, hunky John Smith, and the criminally underrated Virginia Company song from Pocahontas. However, we realize that a deep and true knowledge of Disney movies rarely scores points with history teachers these days—not to mention a 5 on the AP U.S. History exam—so we decided to take matters into our own hands.
Behold! Shmoop’s take on what really went down in ye olde Jamestowne.
Shmoop Shout Out: RIP Neil Armstrong, First Man on the Moon
Words probably can’t express the emotions that Neil Armstrong must have felt right after becoming the first human to set foot on the moon. After all, the event represented a first for the generations of humans who had spent their lives looking up and dreaming of strolling on the glowing, cheesy orb. However, we think this image of Neil, post-lunar constitutional, sums up the feeling pretty well.
It’s also important to remember that the entire team made it back from the moon, allowing the self-described “nerdy engineer” to live the full and illustrious life that he did. The mission was so dangerous, in fact, that President Nixon had prepared a speech in the event that the astronauts were lost in space—and you can check out what it would have been right here.
Thanks for your service to mankind, Neil! It was one giant leap indeed.
Shmoop Shout-Out: Michael Jackson Born August 29th, 1958
Speaking of moonwalkers, the 29th marks the birthday of the late King of Pop. From the days he was merely rockin’ with a robin to the years he spent rockin’ our worlds, Michael Jackson had an undeniable and lasting effect on popular music. Pay your respects and celebrate the man (in the mirror?) by reading one of our guides to his classic songs.
Welcome back,
Lords of Shmeekdom
