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PBJamz!
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Video Interview with Erica Cohen Lyons, author of ALONE TOGETHER ON DAN STREETPB (Picture Book Tasting) -- ALONE TOGETHER ON DAN STREET by Erica Cohen Lyons, illustrated by Jennifer Jamieson A story that begins and ends with singing is a definite keeper in my opinion. This is not only a story of singing and Passover. It's a story of togetherness, loneliness, helping each other make it through challenging times, kindness, sharing, and so much more of what the world needs now. When Mira's family in Jerusalem is confined to home during the pandemic, Passover preparations are a little different. When Mira starts thinking about all the people around her who will have to celebrate Passover alone, she makes a plan to quell the loneliness and finds a way to bring everyone together for Passover! Interspersed with a lot of Passover culture and Jewish connections, this book is nonetheless perfect for every kid and every person. Mira encourages us all to think of others and invite the strangers in. It's a perfect book for Passover, and for any other time as well! A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)I have gone down the Dayenu rabbit hole! I adore this Passover song. I love this version because it's clear and easy to follow and I love how he speaks about the meaning of the song. Dayenu means enough, and the song talks about all the amazing things God did for the Jewish people, but even if He had only done ONE of those things, it would have been enough. A fun and beautiful song about gratitude! Be forewarned: If you are in a public school setting, he does talk about God in this song (It is, after all, a Passover song -- and Passover is a very religious holiday.). Use your discretion if you choose to use it. It is a lovely song, with incredible meaning for people of faith. If you'd like something Jewish to go along with this study, I can recommend this Israeli folksong (Zum Gali Gali Gali, Zum Gali Gali) It would be great in a music class or a regular classroom or anywhere you'd like a bit of Jewish folksong. Teacher Tips/Curriculum Tie-ins
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Video Interview with Annie Lynn, kids' musician and writer/composer of "Earth Hour" song
Check out this short video where Annie Lynn and I chat about Earth Hour -- an event everyone can engage in to help conserve energy and help our planet. This year, Earth Hour is taking place Saturday, March 26. You turn out all NONESSENTIAL lights and make a concerted effort to save energy during that hour. It's a small thing, but if we all work together, it can make a big difference!
PB (Picture Book Tasting) -- EARTH HOUR by Nanette Heffernan
EARTH HOUR is written by Nanette Heffernan and beautifully illustrated by Bao Luu. It not only tells about Earth Hour, it tours the entire earth, highlighting landmarks from all over the world. It begins by talking about energy -- what it is and how it's used, gives the reader a whirlwind tour of the world, then calls on each one of us to make our own little difference, and reminding us that we can certainly do more together to make our world a better place.
A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)
Annie's song is linked up here and such fun as a call and response song. Get your students involved! Sing, pledge, and make a difference!
Teacher Tips/Curriculum Tie-ins
- Contact National Theater for Children to find out if they will do energy-saving programs in your area. In our area, they partner with our energy provider to come into schools (live or virtually) to do a dramatic production that teaches kids about energy. Our energy provider will provide energy-saving kits to households that are customers to help conserve energy in our region. Check and see if they do something similar in your area. **See links session for the Google slides I did coordinating with this event. There are also a couple of YouTube playlists in that section you might find helpful.
- What is Earth Hour? How/Why do we celebrate? How does it help? What else can we do to help?
- Curricular tie-in with science
- Energy
- Saving energy
- Types of energy
- Light
- Electricity
- Curricular tie-in with social studies
- Interaction between humans and natural resources
- How we impact our planet
- Renewable resources
- Alternate forms of energy
- Ways we can reduce our footprint
- Geography/Social studies
- World landmarks
- Map connections
- Project possibilities (choose a landmark to learn more about -- create a model, do a report , etc.)
- Math connections
- Telling time (hour. . .) OR (for older students) discussion of time zone (Everyone celebrates Earth Hour at their LOCAL time.)
- How long is an hour -- units of time
- Set a timer throughout the day for 1 hour and discuss how long/short it felt, what could you do in an hour's time
Tips and Topics for Music Teachers
- Science
- Sound is energy-- talk about the fact that light is one kind of energy and that sound is another
- Discuss sound waves
- Talk about how energy powers many musical instruments/other items that help us enjoy music
- Amps/speakers, etc.
- What musical activities don't require power/electricity?
- "Earth Hour" song and other energy songs
- Telling time songs
- Check out the links below for a Google slides that you might find helpful, as well as a couple of YouTube playlists, and the Pinterest board. All of those have elements you could use in the music classroom.
Writing Prompts/Author Tips
- If you could visit any of the landmarks in the book, which one would you visit and why?
- Why do you think Earth Hour is important?
- Make a list of things you can do without lights at night.
- Write about a future with no electricity.
- Write about an hour that changed the world.
- What would be your favorite thing to do for one hour without stopping?
- Write about other ways we can positively impact our planet.
- How can we share the event and encourage others to participate?
Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!
Pinterest board full of Earth Hour resources, telling time, crafts, and things to do when the power is out. I'll be adding in some activities for world landmarks too, and other energy-saving activities.
YouTube playlist with a read aloud of EARTH HOUR, AnnieLynn's Earth Hour song, and other resources that could be used in conjunction with the book, song, and event.
Earth Day -- short YouTube playlist with a few songs that you could use for this or for Earth Day in April.
Google slides I did in conjunction with NTC when they did our energy-saving program. The beginning and end were seasonal, and not relative to energy. Feel free to make a copy and adjust for your needs or simply use it to pull the links for the videos.
YouTube playlist with a read aloud of EARTH HOUR, AnnieLynn's Earth Hour song, and other resources that could be used in conjunction with the book, song, and event.
Earth Day -- short YouTube playlist with a few songs that you could use for this or for Earth Day in April.
Google slides I did in conjunction with NTC when they did our energy-saving program. The beginning and end were seasonal, and not relative to energy. Feel free to make a copy and adjust for your needs or simply use it to pull the links for the videos.
PBJamz Snack 3x3 PBJ Sammies
Here's the link to the recipe pictured here.
Since I am trying to eat gluten free as much as possible, I'll do a variation on this recipe. I have gluten free bread (Canyon brand) and I plan to make 3 columns of various nutty spreads and on the other piece of bread, 2 jams/jellies and a stripe of marshmallow fluff. Each bite will be a variation! Another benefit is that this snack, lunch, supper. . . can be made without any power. Just some jars, some bread and a knife -- maybe a napkin or a plate. I haven't tried these yet, but I wonder what my favorite bite will be. If you try them, comment below and tell me your favorite combo!
Since I am trying to eat gluten free as much as possible, I'll do a variation on this recipe. I have gluten free bread (Canyon brand) and I plan to make 3 columns of various nutty spreads and on the other piece of bread, 2 jams/jellies and a stripe of marshmallow fluff. Each bite will be a variation! Another benefit is that this snack, lunch, supper. . . can be made without any power. Just some jars, some bread and a knife -- maybe a napkin or a plate. I haven't tried these yet, but I wonder what my favorite bite will be. If you try them, comment below and tell me your favorite combo!
Guest Links and Giveaways
Nanette is generously offering a copy of EARTH HOUR as a giveaway, and AnnieLynn has two jump drives with her excellent music going out to two lucky teachers! To be eligible for the book, leave a comment below. To be eligible for the jump drives, comment below with your school name and ages/subjects taught.
Nanette Heffernan's Links:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Annie Lynn's Links:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Nanette Heffernan's Links:
Website
Annie Lynn's Links:
Website
YouTube
Last week's winner: Darla Christie
Darla, You've won a Zoom call with Vivian Kirkfield!
Congratulations!
Darla, You've won a Zoom call with Vivian Kirkfield!
Congratulations!
Video Interview with Jessica Kulekjian, author of FIRST NOTES OF SPRING
With Spring knocking on our door, there is not a more perfect book to share today than this one by Jessica Kulekjian, illustrated by Jennifer Bower ( a NC illustrator!) FIRST NOTES OF SPRING is a beautiful book welcoming spring with music and frolicking text full of onomatopoeia and a lovely message about finding your voice -- and your group. Join Jessica and me below as we explore the background, the music, favorite parts, and upcoming projects!
PB (Picture Book Tasting)
FIRST NOTES OF SPRING is a book to delight the senses. It is wonderfully fun to read aloud, and absolutely perfect for kids to interact with -- using bodies and voices! As a teacher, I know the message of "Too loud, too wild . . ." will resonate with students (some more than others ;-) The woodland setting and fun characters add to the charm and appeal of this book, but the onomatopoeia are like the cherry on top. The way Jennifer Bower hand-lettered all the delightful sounds of the book helps readers know how to read the words and infuse their own beautiful charm and appeal. It is full of interesting teachable moments with elements of SEL, music, literature and language arts, science, and more! Even a little "Easter egg" hunt (Watch the video above to find out what to look for!)
A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)
Theme song "Find Your Band" by Tara Trudel. A great musical piece to accompany THE FIRST NOTES OF SPRING. Another element which makes the book a perfect inclusion for music classrooms, the song is full of actionable onomatopoeia, fun rhythms, adorable language and might be the most pleasant ear worm you've ever had.
Teacher Tips/Curriculum Tie-ins
- ONOMATOPOEIA!! This book is full of it! Define it, practice it, integrate it into students' writing, identify it in the book (and other books). Here's a great song by Jack Hartman that gives them great practice (and teaches them to spell it -- as a matter of fact it's how I learned to spell it correctly and now I don't have to look it up every. single. time. ;-)
- STEAM project/activity/unit -- a perfect opportunity for partnering with your music teacher. Have students build their own instruments. I did this for years when I taught second grade as part of our Sound unit in science. My students did it as a home project. They loved it, and it really helped cement their learning about how sound works. Their instrument had to be able to produce a sound and they had to name it. They also had to be able to tell me if it was a wind, string, or percussion instrument, based on how the sound was created. There are lots of ideas for this project on the Pinterest board.
- Concrete poetry -- This book is a great introduction to concrete poetry because of the hand-lettering of the onomatopoeia throughout the book. There are some ideas on the Pinterest board or you can easily google concrete poetry for more ideas. They are sometimes called shape poems too.
- Compare/contrast -- lots of opportunities to practice this skill: compare/contrast the two groups (First Notes & First Beats), Juniper and Moose, or choose two seasons.
- Characteristics of Spring (integrate Science)
- Woodland creatures/ woodland forest habitat/biome (integrate Science)
- For writing integration, check out the writing prompts section!
- Check out this amazing Teachers' Guide by Kari Allen for even MORE great teaching tips!
Tips and Topics for Music Teachers
Oh, my -- this book is replete with musical opportunities:
- Instrument families (especially highlighting percussion)
- Steady beat
- Drumming/bucket drumming/cardio-drumming would all integrate well with this book.
- Call and response songs/activities
- Rhythm matching words (boomey-boom-boom "ti-ti ta ta" etc.)
- You could use this in conjunction with the song and assign moves to each word or have them tap them on their laps or give students various instruments that coordinate with the sounds and have them play them at the appropriate time.
- Use the song as a movement moment and let them dance as the music moves them -- or have a parade around the music room, marching to keep the steady beat, give each of them an instrument to play at the proper time, etc.
- Dynamics -- discussion of quiet (soft) vs. loud
- Tempo -- discussion/practice of fast vs. slow
- Onomatopoeia -- discuss musical sounds (ringy ring ring, boomey boom boom, etc.)
- Vivaldi's Four Seasons -- Spring
- (There are quite a few play-alongs on YouTube if you can use it)
- Listen and draw along
- Talk about characteristics of Spring and how Vivaldi integrated them into the music.
- Discuss the difference in rhythm/beat and how they work together OR
- Talk about and practice rhythm/beat/melody and how they work together to make beautiful music.
Writing Prompts/Author Tips
Writing Prompts:
Author Tips from Jessica:
- Write a Spring Sensory Poem
- Create a concrete Spring poem (shape poem)
- Write about a time you were disappointed/left out.
- Which is your favorite season and why?
- What is your favorite thing about Spring. Explain.
- If you wanted to wake/welcome Spring, what would you do?
Author Tips from Jessica:
- Follow your curiosity.
- Give “rough draft thinking,” a chance to surprise you.
- Be willing to write “ugly” drafts. It’s all learning. And it all belongs.
- Some stories need to rest, or be re-imagined before they sing.
- Trust the timeline of each project. It takes the time it takes.
Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!
- Watch the video above with Jessica and me to find out about the "Easter egg" hidden throughout the book and search to see if you can find them all!
- Check out the coloring pages by Jennifer Bower
- The teaching guide by Kari Allen has lots of wonderful ideas for classrooms, homeschoolers, and families!
- Here's a YouTube playlist with lots of fun musical activities and the Onomatopoeia song by Jack Hartmann.
- Here is another playlist with a variety of Spring and St Patrick's Day videos.
- Here is a Pinterest board with many ideas related to the book (Spring, creating your own instrument, etc)
PBJamz Snack (Gooey PB&J Blondies)
Here's the recipe for these delicious-looking (and gluten-free) Gooey PB&J Blondies. Blondies are brownie-textured, but without the chocolate. These have peanut butter and jelly appeal thrown in. Plus they're made with garbanzo beans and oats, so if you get GF oats, this recipe is gluten free! I wish I could tell you I've taste-tested them, but it is a very busy week, and I have not -- YET. But they are on my list to do very soon! Let me know if you try them first!
Guest Links and Giveaways
Jessica is giving away one signed copy of THE FIRST NOTES OF SPRING to ONE lucky classroom! To be eligible, comment below with your name, your school, and what subject/grade you teach. Random winner selected from comments received!
Here is where you can find her on-line:
Instagram
Twitter
Website
Illustrator Jennifer Bower website
Here is where you can find her on-line:
Website
Illustrator Jennifer Bower website
Video Interview with Vivian Kirkfield, author of MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD
March is Women's History Month, so it is a PERFECT time to share this lovely book by Vivian Kirkfield. Notwithstanding that she is a testament to women with all that she has accomplished and is accomplishing. This book is beautiful in so many ways. It's about two incredible women who impacted the world in amazing ways. It's also about their friendship and how they not only honored each other, but also helped each other, and continued a pathway of light for women to build each other up, help each other, and honor each other. That's a legacy worth honoring. Let's all of us honor and continue their legacy -- together!
| | VIDEO CREDITS: PBJamz logo -- Allison Strick Theme song co-creators/vocals -- Annie Lynn & Tonnye Fletcher Theme song sound engineers -- Walt Wilczewski & Chris Arms Guest -- Vivian Kirkfield |
PB (Picture Book Tasting)
This lovely picture book biography by Vivian Kirkfield, Illustrated by Alleanna Harris tells the story of a unique friendship between Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald, both entertainers in their own right. It details how Marilyn helped Ella and how Ella helped Marilyn. It's the perfect book for a Jazz unit in music class, or the perfect book to talk about Women's History (March is Women's History Month.). It's a lovely book to talk about civil rights, racism, and tearing down fences/walls that separate people. (not just racially, but these women faced bias of numerous kinds.) It's a wonderful book to highlight during a unit/study of friendship. Or a study of the entertainment industry, etc. There are so many layers and ways you could use this book in the regular classroom or in the music classroom. Families will find much to love about this book, too! (C2020 by little bee books)
A Little Jam . . . (The Music kind)
Teacher Tips/Curriculum Tie-ins
For classroom teachers, there are many topics, activities to use this book and/or Ella's music.
- A unit on friendship, unlikely friends, etc.
- Helping others
- Civil rights/racism
- Discussion of bias (race, skin color, body shape, weight/size, intelligence/perceived intelligence, gender)
- Women's History unit
- Music History/jazz study
- Venn diagrams (compare/contrast)
- Primary sources/secondary sources (back matter of MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD)
Tips and Topics for Music Teachers
There are lots of ways and topics where Ella's music could be featured:
- Compare versions of A Tisket, A Tasket (kid version, Ella's version) or Old MacDonald Had a Farm
- Jazz unit -- scat singing, partnerships, elements of Jazz, etc.
- Women in Jazz -- alongside Billie Holliday, Etta James and other famous women of jazz
- Black History connections -- Check out David Row's black history blogpost for lots of great resources and tips!
- Check out the YouTube playlist for great musical content (rhythm play-alongs, percussion play-alongs, biographical videos, performances, kid songs, etc.)
- Music history
- Variations of songs (A Tisket, a Tasket, Old MacDonald, etc.). Changing tempo, instrumentation, rhythmic patterns, etc.
- Listen to a lot of Ella's music -- write about your favorite song/why?
- Compare/contrast her version of Somewhere over the Rainbow (or other songs) with other versions kids may be familiar with.
Writing Prompts/Author Tips
Writing Prompts:
Some Writing Advice from Vivian:
- Write about an unusual/unlikely friendship
- Write about a time your first impression of someone was wrong.
- Write about a time you helped someone or a time someone helped you.
- Write about a time someone judged you based on your appearance.
Some Writing Advice from Vivian:
- My writing motto: Magic Happens When You Make Every Word Count.
- Never be too busy to offer an encouraging word, a sympathetic shoulder, and a hand up.
- The only failure is the failure to keep trying.
- Nothing is impossible if you can imagine it.
Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!
YouTube playlist for music activities and classroom activities to go along with MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD. Please make sure you preview videos ahead of time to make sure they are developmentally appropriate for your kids/students.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8LDDelelmHmSpReuhS5POifF140Rf3Te
Pinterest board with lots of additional worksheets, books, music activities, and other extensions/activities:
https://www.pinterest.com/tonnyef/pbjamz/making-their-voices-heard/
More books about Ella:
Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa
PBS Kids www.wpbstv.org/xavier-riddle-the-secret-museum-full-episode-i-am-jesse-owens-i-am-ella-fitzgerald-pbs-kids/
Miss Ella's Playhouse album (YouTube link)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8LDDelelmHmSpReuhS5POifF140Rf3Te
Pinterest board with lots of additional worksheets, books, music activities, and other extensions/activities:
https://www.pinterest.com/tonnyef/pbjamz/making-their-voices-heard/
More books about Ella:
Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa
PBS Kids www.wpbstv.org/xavier-riddle-the-secret-museum-full-episode-i-am-jesse-owens-i-am-ella-fitzgerald-pbs-kids/
Miss Ella's Playhouse album (YouTube link)
PBJamz Snack (Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast)
What a simple and lovely idea! These peanut butter and jelly French toasts were delightful! I made some with regular white bread and some with Canyon gluten free bread. Both were wonderful! I used grape, plum, and strawberry jelly and jam. All of them were delicious. We didn't feel like these needed syrup, but you could certainly add that if you wanted. I also left out the sugar in the egg/milk mixture. It just depends on how decadent you want to be :-) We had them for breakfast, along with bacon, but you could also have them for lunch or snack or even dinner!
https://en.petitchef.com/recipes/snacks/peanut-butter-and-jelly-french-toasts-fid-1574243
https://en.petitchef.com/recipes/snacks/peanut-butter-and-jelly-french-toasts-fid-1574243
Guest Links and Giveaways
Vivian's website
Vivian's Twitter
Vivian's Facebook
Vivian is giving away a 30-minute Zoom session. Authors can use the zoom session to discuss writing and/or publishing with Vivian. Teachers can use it for a classroom visit. To be eligible for the drawing for a 30-minute Zoom, leave a comment below. Winner will be chosen at random from comments received.
Vivian's Twitter
Vivian's Facebook
Vivian is giving away a 30-minute Zoom session. Authors can use the zoom session to discuss writing and/or publishing with Vivian. Teachers can use it for a classroom visit. To be eligible for the drawing for a 30-minute Zoom, leave a comment below. Winner will be chosen at random from comments received.
Last Week's Winners!!
Big congratulations to:
Brandy Bellittera! Brandy won a PB Critique from me. I can't wait to read one of your stories, Brandy!
and
Steena Hernandez! Steena won the copy of HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Steena, I'll be in touch to get an address to mail the book!
Brandy Bellittera! Brandy won a PB Critique from me. I can't wait to read one of your stories, Brandy!
and
Steena Hernandez! Steena won the copy of HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Steena, I'll be in touch to get an address to mail the book!
Video Interview with Valerie Bolling, author of LET'S DANCE!
| | VIDEO CREDITS: PBJamz logo -- Allison Strick Theme song co-creators/vocals -- Annie Lynn & Tonnye Fletcher Theme song sound engineers -- Walt Wilczewski & Chris Arms Guest -- Valerie Bolling |
Join me as I interview Valerie Bolling, author of LET'S DANCE, about musical connections, teaching points, and her new projects!
And, stay tuned NEXT WEEK when Vivian Kirkfield is with me talking girl power, music and star power, discrimination and friendship with the book MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD. It is a PB Biography about the wonderful friendship between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe. Don't miss it! It drops next Thursday!
And, stay tuned NEXT WEEK when Vivian Kirkfield is with me talking girl power, music and star power, discrimination and friendship with the book MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD. It is a PB Biography about the wonderful friendship between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe. Don't miss it! It drops next Thursday!
PB (Picture Book Tasting)
This book is an absolute joy! From the very short rhyming couplets to the diverse and beautiful illustrations, it exudes happiness and movement! There is one spread (2 pages) of back matter (informational text) in the back of the book that explains and gives a bit more detail about each dance and its place of origin. This book is a wonderful introduction of dances of the world and would be a tremendous addition to a classroom library for classroom teachers, music teachers, and dance teachers. It would be an integral part of a Music Around the World unit or a Dance Around the World unit, and would be a wonderful addition to a social studies unit focusing on world studies, dance, the continents, etc. For families, it is a beautiful bedtime book as the last spread ends with a child snuggled in bed counting sheep. There are so many amazing ways to use this beautiful book! Illustrated by Maine Diaz, published by Boyd Mill Press 2020.
A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)
A super-sweet and fun little song -- perfect for Preschool - (maybe) 2nd grade. It goes through different body movements and how music makes our bodies want to move. It begs for interaction. You can download the music on Nancy's website
Teacher Tips/Curriculum Tie-ins
- Here's a book review done by Kristen Larson with some teacher tips.
- Rhyme!
- Make a list of rhyming words from the book on flash cards, worksheet, plastic egg halves, etc. and students match the rhyming words.
- Have students try their hand at writing simple rhyming couplets.
- Vocabulary!!
- Onomatopoeia --
- tappity tap, etc. Find the onomatopoeia in the book.
- Here's an excellent video from Jack Hartmann that teaches them how to spell it as well as what it is :-)
- Onomatopoeia --
- Verbs!
- Swirl, twirl, tap, etc.
- Find all the verbs (action words) in the text.
- Brainstorm a list of other verbs that tell you how to move (hop, jump, run, etc.)
- Use that list to make cards and play charades or drawing games and allow students to guess the action word.
- Multi-cultural/Geography
- Integrate with social studies for a dance field trip around the world. Read the book and ID the places on the map/globe.
- Show videos of dances from those places.
- Extend the study by looking at video or photos from those places.
- ID animals, important plants, tourist attractions, etc.
- Diversity
- The illustrations show lots of examples of diversity. Use that as a jumping-off point for a discussion of how dance is for everyone. Everyone is different in some way, but everyone enjoys moving their bodies to music.. (Be sensitive to the fact that some cultures and religions don't allow dance.)
Tips and Topics for Music Teachers
- Movement, movement, movement! This book is a great way to build movement in -- even as part of a read aloud, you can invite kids to move along with the words.
- The book covers key dances from around the world. There are many ways you can integrate these into music lessons:
- Show video clips of the various dances from around the world (check out the YouTube playlist in the extensions and links section)
- Try some of the dances (There are some tutorials in the YouTube playlist :-)
- Use the back matter to build vocabulary surrounding the various dances
- Create an interactive bulletin board or game where students match the style of dance to the country/geographical area
- Listen to the music associated with each form of dance.
- Add musical vocabulary, too -- what instruments are popular in that culture? What instruments do you hear in this music?
- Make instruments to match some of the dances (could also be an extension activity/home project
- Castanets for Flamenco, etc.
- April 29 is International Dance Day. What a fun day to focus on dances from around the world!
Writing Prompts/Author Tips
Writing Prompts:
Author tips:
Valerie offers writing classes. You can find out more here.
Beginning author tips from Valerie:
1. READ as many books as you can in the genre you intend to write. Some people say that you shouldn't write a picture book until you've read at least 100 of them.
2. STUDY the basics of writing by taking a class or going to writing conferences with workshops. I teach classes. Here's my page: https://www.westportwriters.org/valerie-bolling.
3. WRITE those ideas down and turn them into stories.
4. GET FEEDBACK on your stories. Find a critique group.
5. JOIN writing communities, like SCBWI, 12 X 12 Picture Book Challenge, and Black Creators HeadQuarters*.
*(if you’re Black, of course)
- Write about your favorite dance
- Write about a dance gone wrong
- Write about someone who's not a great dancer, but LOVES to dance!
- Write rhyming couplets (2 lines that rhyme)
- See if you can write 5 rhyming couplets about a topic.
- Can you try for 10?
- Write about a time you danced -- what was it like?
Author tips:
Valerie offers writing classes. You can find out more here.
Beginning author tips from Valerie:
1. READ as many books as you can in the genre you intend to write. Some people say that you shouldn't write a picture book until you've read at least 100 of them.
2. STUDY the basics of writing by taking a class or going to writing conferences with workshops. I teach classes. Here's my page: https://www.westportwriters.org/valerie-bolling.
3. WRITE those ideas down and turn them into stories.
4. GET FEEDBACK on your stories. Find a critique group.
5. JOIN writing communities, like SCBWI, 12 X 12 Picture Book Challenge, and Black Creators HeadQuarters*.
*(if you’re Black, of course)
Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!
- Let's Dance While Learning (YouTube channel with lots of great activities)
- Interactive StoryTime article
- Pinterest board PBJamz -- LET'S DANCE *
- YouTube playlist with related videos*
- **These are works in progress, and I will continue adding items as I find things that are appropriate. If you find videos that would be good additions, please put them in the comments, and I would love to check them out.
- Coloring sheet
PBJamz Snack (Peanut Butter Dip with Fruit!)
https://www.peanutbutter.com/recipes/creamy-peanut-butter-dip
Full confession -- this is not my picture :-(. I ran out of time this week and didn't actually try this recipe, but it is definitely on my radar. If you try it, let me know how it was. I'm planning to make it soon! Since we're talking about dancing this week, I wanted something light, but still full of protein, and this fit the bill as a very healthy and protein-rich snack!
Full confession -- this is not my picture :-(. I ran out of time this week and didn't actually try this recipe, but it is definitely on my radar. If you try it, let me know how it was. I'm planning to make it soon! Since we're talking about dancing this week, I wanted something light, but still full of protein, and this fit the bill as a very healthy and protein-rich snack!
Guest Links and Giveaways
Valerie's website
Follow Valerie on Twitter
Valerie's Instagram
Valerie's FB
Giveaways:
We still have 2 thumb drives of Annie Lynn's music available and
Valerie's publisher is kindly giving away a copy of the book LET'S DANCE
In order to be eligible for the giveaway, please comment below either:
1. A favorite dance memory
2. A tip for teachers for integrating more movement into their classrooms
3. Your favorite dance from the ones featured in the book LET'S DANCE.
AND
if you are a teacher or NOT a teacher.
You must comment by Wednesday, March 9 at midnight EST to be eligible for the prize, but comments are welcome any time if you found something helpful or have a question!
PBJamz
This page is the official space for PBJamz -- multimedia Jamorama celebrating all things PB (picture books) and Jamz (music), although we'll indulge in the other PBJ snacks where appropriate :-). Join us each Thursday for new content connecting picture books and music!
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