Share some of your experiences with children of this age and level.

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Keeley St Clair]

Most of my experience working with this age group is with babies on the pediatric acute care units, neonatal intensive care units or in the Pediatric intensive Care Unit. As Meredith and Elizabeth mentioned in the video, it was important to adopt a warm affect and use gentle quiet timbres. I would often use stringed instruments including the reverie harp and guitar or just my voice. We would explore other small percussive instruments if it was appropriate for the setting and the particular baby.
I always enjoyed quieting the fussy babies or ones in pain with songs that were familiar and soothing. I also really enjoyed the rare moments of play with these hospitalized babies who were ready for tapping a drum or shaking a chiquita. The value of the music was always apparent from the changes in arousal level and babies’ affect – but perhaps the most rewarding was when parents had the opportunity to take a breather, have some sun and bond with their baby over something positive. I would often hear that “this is the first time they have smiled since they’ve been here.”

[Coleen Shanagher]

I have not had a ton of experience with children 0-9 months and that is a big part of why I decided to take the training. I had the opportunity to work with a woman having premature triplets and realized that I really didn’t know the specific knowledge that I needed for such a job. I think that some of the things we’ve talked about seems to come naturally, like the changes in affect and tone. But other things it really helped to think about, such as the startle reflex and the use of tracking.

[Petra Paukova]

OK. I just finished watching both videos. Here is my assignment: MT in community setting should be mostly about wellness and early detection of possible developmental issues of children. 5 words describing music experiences in SM1: sensory, bonding, calming, slow motion, love.
5 sentences I could use speaking with parents in SM1: I would describe all the features you talked about ( bonding, calmness, gentleness, slow motion, sensory stimulation etc.) and their importance. I have no real sentences in my mind right now.
Plan for songs in MT1? You already did it for us! 🙂 I like the format you used and will try to follow it. However, plan is one thing and reality can be different, so I know it often needs to be changed on a spot according to babies needs…..:)

[Erin Spring]

I think trust is an important aspect for children this young; this is their first experience with the world and so it is important that they be able to trust and become comfortable and confident in their environment/world. I had quite a few infant cousins growing up, and I always would sing to them when I held them. They always seemed to calm and appeared more comfortable when I sang to them. Even though I was not one of their usual caregivers, who often sang to them, so my singing I think indicated that I was trustworthy to my infant cousins. Singing is something that can be created/provided pretty much anytime, anywhere. At home, in car, at a restaurant, etc. No matter how an environment or people change in an infant’s life, I think creating a response of comfort from singing stimuli can create the opportunity for consistency and trust for an infant. Familiar voice is ideal, but I think familiar type of stimuli is the next best thing.

[Lauren Stoner]

I also have not had much experience in work related experiences with clients this young. However, I believe that I carry my music therapy hat around with me when I interact with others, especially my nephew. Like Erin said, a natural stimuli is singing and this can be very beneficial to promote trust and decrease confusion. My parents decided to adopt a song as their own, after I sang it to my nephew for Easter. “Do your ears hang low” is now their song. As my nephew got older, the repetition of this song and how they sing it to my nephew helped establish a bond even though they are far away. Even if my nephew has not seen them for a while and gets confused as to who they are, after the song is sung he is smiling and giggling and the connection is redeveloped. I also find ways to establish connection to my nephew through the music experiences we have together. Almost like a smell or taste which is said to have the best remembrance, I think a song can help to provide that connection and trust. I am not sure that I answered this particular question, but I wanted to share this with you all.

[Toni]

I have had about 12 years of experience working with 2 1/2 year to 5 year olds in preschool settings. The classes were inclusive in nature. I think my greatest experiences have been witnessing how children are naturally accepting of diversity.

I have not worked with children under three nor in a community based/family setting. I think this is the age group I will be primarily working with when launching the SM program here. I look forward to new experiences ahead!

[Siobhan Rooney]

I have not had the opportunity to work with infants, the children at my program start at 24 months. Many of the children in my program do have younger siblings so I can see how a Sprouting Melodies program would be of great interest to the families in our school as well as the greater community.

[Stacy Reno]

As my parent/ child group is 0-3 I have had both babies that were apart of the program and babies that were siblings of the student in the “Early On” program. Parents will often bring blankets, bottles…whatever they need. In addition to giving info on how to adapt the activity to meet their babies needs we talk about how they use music as home and what the possibilities are. This is a great time for the group to bond – with the parents of older children sharing their experience with the parents of the littlest ones!

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

Stacy, I would love to hear more about the “Early On” program.

[Sarah Tree]

Most of my experience with young children has been with kids aged 3+ through a Headstart program where I completed my practicum experience. I volunteered for a short time at a pediatric ward, where I spent some time with infants with RSV. Generally the intent was to calm the infant, so lullabies, softer timbre, stringed instruments and the iso-principal were all vital. As Keeley said, the benefit to the parents as well as the infant was evident. More of my experience with very young infants has been with my sister’s twins, a boy and a girl who are almost two. She very recently had another daughter, and I’m excited to get to try some musical observations now that I understand a bit more about the awareness stage when they come for a visit this Thanksgiving.

[Jennifer Sokira]

Clinically I have done some early childhood groups with this age range, however the experience of the Sprouting Melodies training has put my observation and understanding of my experience in better context. I have had several clients (much older) who are developmentally at awareness/trust. In those cases, while the music differed for age appropriate adaptations, the general intent of engagement, nurturing, etc. remained.

My primary experiences with children of this age and level are with my own two sons as well as with my niece. Like Meredith, it’s one of my favorite age groups, and I am looking forward to facilitating a Sprouting Melodies 1 group soon!

[Shannon Kiley]

My experiences with children of this age are rather limited, but during my internship I helped to run a mommy & me group similar to Sprouting Melodies. Interestingly, this program’s youngest group was suggested to be 6-12 months. When parents would ask if they could bring younger children to the group, the general response I observed was “Well, you *can*, but…”– the implication being that it wouldn’t be very useful for the 0-6 month age range. With the information I’ve learned now, I know that an insane amount of information is being processed during this time and the focus on sensory stimulation (and tolerance!) and bonding couldn’t be more appropriate for that age range. During the internship I always felt like the 6-12 month group was a little “boring” because the babies “just sit there”, which isn’t as much fun to watch… however, I’d love to go back and try it again knowing what to look for now!

[Kathryn Opher]

Having raised three children through this stage-I have done a lot of work! I also run caretaker and me music classes at my own CAT center. I love meeting the babies where they are and being soft, soothing and rocking. So much of the world is loud banging that it is wonderful to be calmer and quieter and watch to see how the babies respond. Then-much like vocal contagion–I follow their lead and go from there.

[Kehlen Bushatz]

I did some early intervention work during my internship, but that was 9 years ago. I had about 3-4 kids who were seen individually in their home I’ve taught preschool special ed. for 4 1/2 years and have had several preschool music therapy clients for 8 years. Most of my MT preschool clients have been individuals sessions. I used some group MT techniques with the classrooms I worked with in my teaching job.

[Andrea U]

I don’t have much experience with children of this age except for one little baby who would attend multi-aged groups in the hospital setting. From that little experience, we did a lot of cooing and soothing for this little guy. I would have loved to have his parents around, however, it only occurred on one occasion and it was great to see the mom bonding with him through music.

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