Save us a spot on your dance card and come waltzing with us as we chat snowmen, penguins, snow, music, time signatures, curriculum . . .we really packed this snowball full of fun tidbits, curriculum connections and lots of music! Timely, too, since Karen and I BOTH got snow this week (which is a rare occurrence for us since we are both Southern girls.) AND,  I LOVE having repeat guests because they become friends, and I especially love when the timing works out that I can teach with the book around that time. I just used this book for all my music classes last week and they loved it! What perfect timing, since snow arrived Tuesday night for us! 

Written by Karen Konnerth and illustrated by Emily Neilson, this book is perfection for introducing kids to different time signatures.  While the book is going to help them become familiar with and differentiate 3/4 and 4/4 time in music, it is also a lovely story about learning to get along with people fundamentally different from yourself, and about accepting differences, forging unlikely friendships, taking turns, learning from each other. . . and if you want to stretch the curricular connections, you can expand to talk about snowmen or snow and penguins and more. This book is a treasure trove of inspiration for littles that could branch off in numerous directions.  It is sweet, rhythmic, and absolutely beautifully illustrated.  If you're in the mood for a delightful winter book, look no further than THE SNOWMAN WALTZ, published by Sleeping Bear Press!

If your students (or kids or whomever you're sharing this book with) are like mine, they have NO IDEA what a waltz is.  This is a lovely sample danced to My Snowman and Me by Sia so there's a bit of a double meaning there.  If this is not something you're interested in showing your students, there are lots more choices in the YouTube playlist in the links section. My students particularly also enjoyed this Freeze Dance.  It was especially appropriate because it had the snowman and the penguin. :-)

This book is so rich and perfect for a multidisciplinary unit. In the links section, you'll find even more activities and ways to use the book. Here are some fabulous tips and topics you can share in conjunction wit this book:

• Reading/literacy
  • poetic elements
    • rhythm
    • rhyme
    • alliteration
    • repetition
    • assonance
  • Using picture clues/ text and illustration matching
  • Purpose of back matter
  • One of the things I would definitely do is pair tis with some other books.  You could do a snowman unit or a penguin unit or a winter unit.  Pair fiction and nonfiction.  There's so much you can do and many directions you could go with this book.  It's a great one to partner with your specialist teachers (Arts/Encore/etc.). This book makes a super interdisciplinary unit!
• Math
  • Creat story problems related to penguins and snowmen. (Use whatever concepts you're teaching and learning)
  •  Math problems related to time signatures.  Ie. If there are 4 beats in every measure, how many beats are in __ measures (simple mult/div problems) **Time signature is different from fractions, so don't get confused.  In music, 3/4 means 3 beats per measure and (4) the quarter note gets the beat.  4/4 means 4 beats per measure and the quarter note gets the beat.  
•  Science -- lots of great topics
  • Winter
  • Snow
  • Penguins
• Arts -- check the Pinterest board and listen to the interview for some ideas and details. Here are some general possibilities
  • Music -- see music section for more ideas and details 
    • learn the song
    • learn the waltz
    • time signatures
  • Art
    • Penguin/snowman puppets
    • Directed drawing
    • Various penguin, snowman, snow crafts (check Pinterest board)
  • Dramatic arts
    • Role plays
    • Puppet shows
    • Readers theater
• Social studies
  • Geography (penguin habitats)

There is so much musical content in this book!  I've been using it this week in my own music classes (K-2).  In my classes, I've started with some fun winter/snowman/penguin rhythm play-alongs, vocal explorations, etc. I played an instrumental version of a waltz and had kids listen for the 1-beat, then we counted 1,2,3. lastly we swayed to the music.   (We haven't done much with 3/4 time.) Then we listened to the read aloud that is on the YouTube playlist, done by Mrs. Geiger.  Really excellent with musical background and a distinct difference in the time signature sections.  Then I pointed out a couple of things in my copy of the book.  Then we looked carefully at the written music and discussed that.  Then we tried the waltz steps in the book, starting slow, step-by-step and speeding up a bit until we did the steps (just by ourselves) in a nice moderate 1,2,3 beat.  Then we did a couple of penguin songs/dances for fun and we always end with a "boogie" so we used Coach Corey Martin's Winter Freeze Dance which features a snowman and a penguin, so it was a lovely fit.

Next week, we'll delve into penguins a bit more and I have the beautiful waltz video from Strictly Dancing to show them what a beautiful waltz can look like. I don't think I'm up for trying the waltz with partners in K-2, but maybe some of you are braver or better :-)

Here are some of the topics I'm teaching with this book and some others that you could teach, depending on the ages of your kids, your schedule and other variables.

• 3/4 time -- time signature How to count in 3
• 4/4 time review
• Comparison of 3/4 and 4/4 time
• Waltz tempo
• Waltz steps/following step diagram
• Writing down music
• characteristics of written music

If you want to expand a bit or work with a classroom teacher or another arts/specialist/encore teacher, you could explore more of the subjects above -- delve into penguins and their geography and life cycles or dig into the seasons and characteristics of winter or do a big snow/snowman unit.

Instrumental version of Karen's music for THE SNOWMAN WALTZ. (Arranged and played by Leslie Martin. a full time pianist playing around New Orleans, and also a member of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, a very cool national band.
https://www.snzippers.com/  
Here is a reading of THE SNOWMAN WALTZ (by the author) with the instrumental version played as the intro and outro.


YouTube playlist full of read-alouds, music, dances, snowman, penguins , , , .

Pinterest board that is overstuffed with craft ideas, additional books to pair, dance info, nonfiction info about penguins, reading and writing activities, science, music and more!

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Karen is offering a free copy of THE SNOWMAN WALTZ to one lucky winner!  All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment below.  Tell us your favorite part of the book, or share how you've used it, or how it's inspired your own writing. Give us a fun writing prompt, or anything you want to share.  Leave your comment by Wednesday, Feb 5 at 11:59 PM EST to be eligible for the giveaway.

​Inspired by a true-life Mamiachi, the authors and illustrator compose a story of a contemporary Mexican family who carries on the tradition of mariachi (Mexican music played by a small group of musicians) in a non-traditional way, since mariachi did not include women until much later in its history and it is still a fairly rare occurrence. The creators of the book have brought together Mexican culture, music, and girl power in a very meaningful way that will hopefully inspire the next generation of "mamiachis"! The back matter is not to be missed, as it tells the true story of some of the earliest mamiachis and tell more about the instruments and the make-up of a mariachi band.

As I've delved into the world of female mariachi, I've enjoyed listening to many all-female groups as well as male groups and mixed-gender groups.  I love this group for a few reasons:  their name (Mariachi Mariposas) which translates to Mariachi Butterflies or Butterflies of Mariachi.  I also love the variety of instruments in the group:  violins, trumpets, guitar, guitarron.  This one gives you a perfect, if slightly softer and slower example of female mariachi.  There are many more in the YouTube playlist, along with some educational videos, and rhythm play-alongs for music class, etc. Their sound is professional and quite lovely. I hope you enjoy!

This book is so great for the classroom.  It would especially be applicable for Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15) or for other Hispanic holidays (Day of the Dead, Cinco de Mayo, etc.)  It would also be fabulous for March, as it is Music in Our Schools AND Women's History Month. Here are some topics you could explore, but also take a look at the YouTube playlist and the Pinterest board for specific lessons, crafts, videos, etc. to supplement the book.

• History of mariachi
• Geography of mariachi (where it originated, where it's popular now, and everything in between -- regional differences? etc.)
• Mexican holidays where mariachi would be featured
• Women's changing roles in mariachi
• Reading/literacy
  • Vocabulary/Spanish words
  • Back matter
  • Blending fiction/nonfiction
• Mariachi costumes
• Mariachi instruments
• SEL -- So much emotion!  Lots of different feelings to discuss, roleplay or learn about in the way that best suits your classroom and the ages/stages of your students.
• Arts -- Draw instruments or players, create puppets, make musical instruments, etc. (Check out Pinterest board and YouTube playlist for specifics and more ideas)

YouTube playlist with 60+ videos that are the perfect complement to this book!  There are examples of female mariachi, as well as mini-documentaries, play-alongs for music class, background music, and more!

Pinterest board with images of mariachi costumes, craft ideas, Hispanic culture tie-ins, activities for Cinco de Mayo and Dia de Muertos and Hispanic Heritage month or any other time you'd like to use this book.  History of Mariachi, Mariachi costumes, information about the musical genre and the instruments and more. . . 

Visit Jolene's site for an Educator's Guide for MAMIACHI & ME as well as her other books.

Jolene's website where you can find out more about her, her books, access educational guides, and more.

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Dakota isn't very active on socials, and is quite busy with his university work.

Get your signed copy here: 
https://secondstartotherightbooks.com/book/sign1419767159

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Jolene and Dakota have offered a free copy of MAMIACHI & ME to one lucky winner who comments on THIS BLOG POST by 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, January 22.  Just drop a comment below to be eligible!