Post to the board a personal reflection of what you personally will bring to early childhood music therapy based programs and how this information will support your work as a music therapist.

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Victoria Fansler]

I definitely think the quality of being childlike is a foundational piece of my personal style as a music therapist. Especially with young children, I bring enthusiasm and playfulness that in some ways mirrors their experiences. I also bring empathy, unconditional positive regard, and authentic presence with my clients.

Of course, competence is also a fundamental piece of what we all need to bring to early childhood programs! This information helps me to more specifically tailor experiences to my clients based on their ages and developmental levels. It also helps me be a better informed resource for the parents, caregivers, and teachers I partner with. Having a detailed picture of typical development will help me to clearly identify potential gaps or red flags in my clients, as well as their areas of strength. Knowing the way each developmental step leads to the next will help me structure experiences to match each client’s developmental function and build from there.

[Anonymous]

Victoria, I am so glad you found this week’s material helpful and that you have been able to identify the unique qualities you bring in working with the early childhood population.

[Debrah Evans]

Personally, I feel that I am often very energetic and youthful personally, at times almost to a fault! I think that this will help in groups with children to really engage with them through music.

Some of the ways that I hope to incorporate this into practice involves really focussing on creating activities that target what a child can do developmentally at their age. In addition, knowing that I have to set clear boundaries will help me to create successful experiences for children and their parents if I do start a sprouting melodies program. If not, it’s helpful to know how to create experiences that can engage the older adults in our intergenerational group to interact with the kids in a way that will help them developmentally.

[Courtney Kjaldgaard]

Similar to the previous two posts, personally I think I bring a lot of enthusiasm, youthfulness and energy to the childrens’ groups that I facilitate. I love working with children (or else I wouldn’t be taking this course!) and I’m pretty comfortable with being childlike around them; I feel that the act of being childlike around a young child is a part of how we show them empathy and it really helps create a comfortable environment for them to work in, plus it makes the groups/classes a lot more fun!

This information will support my work as a music therapist by increasing my overall knowledge of child development and as mentioned in my first post for Week 2, it will help me become a better resource for parents who have concerns about their child’s development. It will also provide me with a better understanding of what to expect from the children that I work with, both in a group and individually, and if needed will help me re-evaluate the goals/objectives that I have created in the past for children in this age range.

[Tori Clark]

As a mother of two young children, experiences with children 0-5 are fresh on my mind. I think parents come to classes like these expecting to gain memorable, high-quality experiences with their children, and many times that happens. Sometimes it doesn’t though, because children may come tired, or teething, or for some other reason just don’t engage well in the class. My own children have had mixed experiences in music classes when I thought they should’ve been rock stars! Because of this, I think I bring a lot of understanding and empathy when children don’t engage as you hope or expect them to. I think I can help reassure parents that what we are looking for is any response to music, as opposed to very specific responses. Children, especially those with special needs, may respond quite differently, and I want to be reassuring and encouraging when those responses come.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. I enjoyed reading how you each see what qualities you bring to your work and your clients. Tori brings a wonderful point the needs of parents. Although some of you may not be parents you have specific knowledge and qualities that will help parents to be reassured and validated.

[Joanne Van Eycke]

I feel I bring joy to the musical experiences I create. Loving what you do can be infectious and contagious in the most positive way. Working in groups is very enjoyable for me and I love being able to respond to the needs of my students. As a new mom, I think I have a fresh perspective on the needs of the parents in the group too. I am looking forward to incorporating this training as well as my experiences as a mom into future groups.

[Megan Neil]

I focused my Master’s clinical project on music therapy & attachment. I feel that I bring this knowledge to early childhood music therapy programs and feel it helps support my experiences that I lead. I have noticed this week at work that I am beginning to let this knowledge help shape how I assess where my families are at with this and also to help shape some experiences I may do. It is helpful to understand the developmental process because attachment looks different at different points along the way!

[Janet Buchanan]

Some of my experience is in early childhood education without a music therapy component. In my time as a preschool teacher, I learned a LOT about how to communicate both with children and their parents. I also learned a lot about what kids are interested in, and grew to have a sincere appreciation for some of the songs we sang and books that we read!! My particular school put a lot of emphasis on learning through play and letting the child direct what they wanted to learn, so I also am bringing this perspective to my music therapy practice.

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