EARTH HOUR

Julie Bower, you are last week's winner of an autographed copy of FIRST NOTES OF SPRING by Jessica Kulekjian, illustrated by Jennifer Bower!  CONGRATULATIONS!  Thanks for jammin' with us!  Check back in each Thursday for a new episode!

A FUN SURPRISE!

Allison Strick, the artist and designer of the PBJamz logo, was kind enough to provide the logo in the form of coloring sheets.  Feel free to print these off and let the children color to their heart's content.  If you'd like to take a snapshot of your child's coloring of the sheet, or designing their own PBJamz cover on the blank book, I'd love to feature some on the blog.  Send the photos to me via Twitter (@tonnyef) or via email (tonnyefletcher@gmail.com) Enjoy!  And thank you Allison!

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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.
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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!

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