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]

[Elizabeth Ferguson]

Early childhood music has always been a passion of mind whether in music therapy groups, parent/child music groups or traditional music lessons. I have gained a lot of knowledge in sharing music with children over the past 17 years. Currently my daughter is 3 and my son is 10 months old, my life is so busy and beautiful! My children have taught me so much about being a developing little being. Having children of my own also has helped me to relate and interact with parents on a different level than prior to having kids.

[Cassandra Reyna]

I am passionate about helping children in the early stages of development start their educations, and lives, on a solid footing. Having gone to a “basic” Kindergarten, where there is simply reading, writing, and arithmetic (no arts or gym!), I understand the benefits of having a solid developmental foundation. However, I believe that this can be achieved through music and not just drilling kids on the facts–it CAN, and should be, FUN! Children need guidance, support, and opportunities to explore their worlds–and what better way to do so than music?
The information that I am learning about early childhood developmental stages is crucial to our work in this field. After I complete my Master’s, I intend to pursue employment in a children’s hospital, where children’s developmental needs can often take a backseat to their physical health needs. It is vital that I understand the developmental milestones of children and babies who have spent their formative years in and out of hospitals. One particular patient from my internship comes to mind–she was in the NICU until eight months and then on the Stable Vent Unit for one more month before discharging home. Developmentally, she was anywhere from 3-6 months behind her peers because she was confined to a trach, vent, and crib at all times. She could not explore as much as a child her age should, and she was not interacted with as much as if she had been at home with her parents and sibling. Understanding where she is at and where she should be helped me set goals for her and for the many children to come during my career.

[Anonymous]

I truly enjoy reading each person’s reflections in each of our trainings. I think this question is a great way for you to see what wonderful skills you already have to bring to early childhood work.

[Rachel Lighty]

I have worked with young children for years in and out of the music therapy profession. In my previous job as a daycare teacher, I found that children responded best when I participated in the activities fully with them, bringing energy to the group that energized them and encouraged them to participate and have a fun time while doing so. I also had opportunities to talk with the parents about what happened during the day. The parents often asked questions about how they could implement what I was doing at home and I think this type of program will be great so the parents can see and experience what happens in the groups. It also allows the parents to ask questions they have in the moment so they can take what they learn back home with an even better understanding of things to look for and encourage.

[Tracy Schoenberg]

Working in the school system has really opened my eyes to the wonders and challenges of music with kids with developmental and behavior challenges. It brought some kids to life when they didn’t seem aware of anything, and was very easy to motivate positive behaviors in small classes. A little bit more challenging in large diverse groups, but was manageable. I always tried to have a sense of fun about it because music can and should be enjoyed and shared. Not every kid is happy all the time and I know that music therapy has limitations in groups, but I always tried to reach each kid. The individual sessions were always the greatest time because it totally revolved around them, and then I slowly added a friend or 2 to have more social interaction. That works really well sometimes. My job as a parent has been full-time with some part-time music therapy jobs in elderly care and piano teaching. However, I would like to go back to early childhood music therapy someday. I sense there’s a need for it in my area. I also would love to get my kids some positive experiences in music since they have sensory issues with regular music classes, and I’ve tried multiple ones.

[Beth McLaughlin]

I have been working with young children for many years. The information that I’m learning in this training has certainly validated the work that I have done but is also giving me a clearer understanding of how to best maximize the learning opportunities that each intervention may provide based on the developmental needs of the child. For instance, allowing a toddler to independently go to the music box, stoop to get a maraca, stand and return to his square is promoting independence, movement control and social interaction as we celebrate the child’s success in completing this awesome task!

[Alice Sorensen]

I am very excited to be immersed in this course material, as I am looking to bring an early childhood music therapy program to the community in and around my place of employment (which is a church). I am excited to bring my experience as the music director as well as my experience as a music therapist (with geriatrics as well as with the little ones!) to early childhood music therapy. As I’m reading about how children develop, mentally, physically and musically, I’m experiencing both feelings of “oh yeah I remember some of this from grad school” as well as “this is much more meaningful now that I’m a few years older and planning on applying it in a specific, concrete way”. This makes the information “stick” for me a bit better, and it’s going to make me a better early childhood music therapist because I’ll be freshly armed with this very depthful understanding of child development.

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

My primary contact with children currently is in my work in early intervention. This means that I mostly see children who are experiencing some level of developmental delay. It can be difficult not to allow this experience to skew my knowledge of typical development, so it is very valuable to be reminded of what typical development looks like.
Since I primarily work with children at home with their families and not in groups, this affords me the opportunity to gain and in turn provide to their families a more nuanced understanding of the child’s development, needs, and strengths. Though it is very useful to understand and be reminded of typical developmental milestones, I have found it powerful in my work to understand each child’s development as having its own trajectory, particularly for children with identified delays or diagnoses. As I consider development in the context of groups, it will be interesting to think about how shared understandings of the timeline of typical development will affect children who may have evident delays and their caregivers.

[Marchele Gilman]

I bring my own experiences as a mother of a typically developing child and ones that have developmental delays. I understand from a parent’s point of view what it is like when a child is not developing as they should and the stress it puts on the family. I understand what it is like to be told that your child has a disability. I believe that having this experience, my training as a music therapist, along with the information in this class is providing, will help me be a more effective therapist and a support to those that may find themselves navigating the world of disabilities.

[Jessica Triana]

I am still fairly new to the profession but have directed much of my work towards children and adolescents. I currently work in a pediatric rehab facility and it just so happens that the majority of my census the past few years has been patients 0-3 years old and their families. I find a lot of joy and reward working with this particular population. I work very closely with our Child Life Specialists to provide on-going therapeutic play groups for our younger inpatients. We’ve received wonderful feedback from parents and the medical team on how necessary and beneficial this service is to the patients, particularly during early development. In my previous post, I mentioned that most of my patients have multiple and/or severe developmental delays and I tend to skew my perspective of early development and create new baselines based on my patients’ presentations. I really appreciated the emphasis Beth placed on the importance of being a music therapist being a unique source of knowledge and competency for our patients, families and treatment team. I often look to my fellow rehab therapists for their expertise to inform my practice and I hope to offer them the same.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for sharing with us.

[Alison Albino]

It appears my post for this week did not actually post as I look back to read others responses. I originally had wrote that I agreed with Cassandra about music being fun! Having all this information is so important because now I can share my knowledge with parents. I have witnessed a lot of parents who are so concerned about their child doing something “wrong” that they don’t seem to be having fun! Being reassured that their child is at a totally normal developmental level is so important.

[Anonymous]

Hi Alison- I apologize it did not post. We have this issue occasionally and recommend everyone saves their posts incase so they have it to quickly copy and paste. Thank you for checking back and posting!

[Flora Whitmore]

I feel that what I can bring to an early childhood music therapy-based program is the variety of settings I’ve had the opportunity to interact with children in. I have had the opportunity to engage in music making with my step daughter (age 6) and other children of a variety of ages in my own community, as well as children with behavioral issues in a very restrictive environment, children with disability in a mainstream/public school environment and very fragile children, confined to hospital beds. I’ve been able to observe the differences and similarities in the needs of children in all these environments and feel that along with all the new information I am gaining here, I can apply that understanding to being a more effective provider for this program. I also have training in dance, theater and improv comedy and I feel all of those things also help inform what I am able to offer as a music therapist.

[RaeAnna Zinniel]

Even though I am still a student I am looking forward to working with children. I have always loved children and I think I will bring through music a new avenue for them to express themselves and to grow and learn. In my area there is little in the form of music services for students besides lessons and school band and choir. I want to change this and have opportunities for young children to have more exposer to music. The material in this course will help me to hopefully accomplish this.

[Virginia Caldwell]

My work as a music therapist has always been with adults and teens; hospice, long term care, mental health/psych. Having children has really opened my eyes to this population and the endless possibilities of enriching their growth and development with music. Though I am in the throws of these stages and have read these thins before, as a parent you are always concerned with ‘are they were they need to be.” I am looking forward to reassuring parents either way that their children have their own time table and what to look for. As far as my own practice and early childhood music therapy; I think that what I most want to do is bring an intergenerational component to early childhood music. I am invisioning 3-5 year olds with seniors in group and the shared love for music and movement. The older generation reliving the innocence of childhood, passing down their beloved music through oral tradition and the younger generation learning new songs and meaningful social interaction with peers and adults. Being child like again, jumping, playing, making music and re-exploring their environment through the excitement of a child.

[Ayelet Weiss]

As I discussed previously, the music groups that I have been to with my son are not really geared toward specific development stages or the children’s abilities. Thinking back to when I did a field placement with Beth, everything the child needs can be provided within the music as long as it is designed or created with realistic and attainable goals. Hopefully this course together with raising a child can help me internalize what would be realistic and attainable and have it come more naturally then it did in the past…

[Anonymous]

Thank you both for your submissions.

[Author]

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