Share Your Strategies

[Meredith Pizzi]

Share some strategies you have used to assure every child in your groups is successful.

[Julia Park]

I think remembering how to incorporate the element of “Fun” in the group has been successful. I did a lot of hands on activities with the children in my groups where children would sometimes make mistakes on rhythms, but we all just laugh it off and do it again together. In that process, the parents would watch the children and laugh along with them. I felt that parents seeing their children actually having fun meant a lot to them because not only they are learning but they are also having fun and loving the experience. It is important to have the specific goals and agenda but also to create the atmosphere that it is okay to make mistakes.

[Daniel Henry]

Here are some strategies that I find really helpful:
Use the music to engage the children. Music is the easiest way to redirect a child and get/maintain their attention.
Express to the parents how their children are engaging and praise the successes.
Have a solid understanding of the behavior and expected responses for each developmental age/level.
Encourage participation/modeling from parents. Having the parents participate and engage with their child helps tremendously!
Keep lines of communication open with parents to better understand their child and their needs.

[Nicole Drozd]

Remembering you are the leader of the group and modeling are great strategies for running groups-whether it is with kids or adults. Parents need the support to know that they are both being good parents but also that they can put their foot down to their child if the child is being harmful to others or not engaging at all. Having resources available for parents is also a great strategy as well.

[Susan Gannon]

I think Daniel hit it on the hit when he said to “use the music to engage the children.” I also think that just having the understanding that each child may participate differently is important; some participate just by watching. Sometimes I have experienced parents wanting to encourage their child too much and this just discourages the child. I think the most important thing I have learned from this training is that I need to communicate with and educate my parents more so that they understand what should and can be expected from a child at different developmental stages. Another strategy could be to continuously be observant and visually and aurally checking in with each child during the Sprouting Melodies groups. Through this information one gains perspective on each child which then helps the therapist engage the child, note red flags, and encourage the parent/child relationship.

[Marcie Hernandez, MT-BC]

I agree with all of the answers, but most of all, I agree with using the music to redirect and/or engage the child. Children are being talked to and given verbal directions in every other setting – what sets us apart is that we can use the music to do the same thing. I also think that honoring each child’s level of participation and engagement is also very important, and letting parents know that if their child isn’t actively participating, but it actively listening/watching, that is just as good.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

I completely agree with the strategy of having a strong knowledge basis of what behavior and music responses for developmental stage. This will help you to be able meet each child at their level and increase participation. I also believe that being consistent is extremely important to ensure appropriate behaviors – children will always test their boundaries. Using music to redirect or as a reward is also powerful. As had been mentioned, being aware of each child is extremely important. As we do this we can better engage the child and be able to catch those red flags.I agree with Marice that letting parents know that passive participation is still participation is an important concept. Passive participation can help children self regulate if they experience cognitive or tactile fatigue.

[Charniqua Snell]

I agree with others about using the music to pull the children in and keeping their attention. Also using different timbres of the voice is helpful too. Make sure you voice (whether you are singing or speaking) is engaging and energetic. Also facial expressions and body language can be more important than the words we sing or say! If the MT looks and sounds excited to be in the group then everyone can feed off that energy.

[Alexis Ramagnano]

I agree with everyone’s answers as well. Despite not yet working with children, I find that our trainig to use the music as the tool to elicit a desired response is one of the best ways to reach a child. I find myself doing this daily with my own children and it never fails! In my opinion, there is music in all of us, so no child can fail in a music group. For example, I’ve turned a tantrum into a silly vocal improv with body percussion that has stopped my daughter in her tracks to join in.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed each of your submissions and strategies. I think it is great how you are each also taking into consideration the development of each child and how to arrange experiences so that each developmental stage can benefit at the same time. I think music therapists have a unique understanding of this and many tools and strategies to accomplish this. As you move forward, Beth’s book is a wonderful resource to have on hand to keep your music development lens on. She created the book so that it can be a working resource when you need it.

[Kate Potrykus]

I think the number one strategy I will be using is confidence. Being confident in my newly gained knowledge about developmental stages and how music can apply to those stages is going to be the most useful strategy. Julia mentioned keeping the “fun” and I completely agree with that as well. I think being fun, energetic, and observant will also help ensure that every child gets what they need out of the music experience. An continuous open dialogue with parents and caregivers will also go along way with knowing how to provide for each child in the best way possible.

[Shelly Peterson]

I agree with Susan that communicating and educating more with parents is essential.
I am also constantly evaluating the responses of my students to determine where they are at that day. I have found it so helpful to be engaged with them and also paying attention to the seasons, changes in their schedules, checking in about their sleep and routines, holidays coming up. When I see or learn that a child is experiencing many changes, I often make the activities a step easier and familiar for them so they can regain their confidence and security, then bump up the difficulty again to where we have been once they are demonstrating comfort. I’ve found it is natural for people of all ages to go through periods where they need more familiarity in their life than others and that is ok.
I also find it helpful at times, with some ages and some groups, to use instruments that are alike so there is not any fighting over getting their favorite color or instruments, or make sure there are many of each color and type of instrument and it will avoid the “mine” issue altogether.

I bring this situation to the group as a learning experience as well as to invite suggestions and insight to add to my repertoire…I had a situation in a 6 week session of classes I was offering at a daycare center where the parents could choose to attend music class with the child. One particular set of parents were really struggling with accepting the developmental stage the child was in (age 12-24 months – independence) as he tended to want all of the instruments, take them out of other children’s hands, not want to put them away, throw them when he didn’t get his way, etc. I supported the child and the parents by modeling appropriately, encouraging the parents participation, expressing that his behavior was ok or not for his developmental level (or saying no throwing, etc.) and offering strategies that allowed the child (in the independence stage) to have more time with the instruments-having him put his away last, etc. The parents often held the child when he didn’t want to be held, helped him put back the instruments when he wasn’t ready and were not picking up on anything I was providing to them – I’m sure I said several times to let him be and explore as long as he is not hurting anyone or himself. During one class when the parents were not there, the child did just as well as the other children making it obvious he just needed his time and space to be ready to do what was asked (I think he was getting ready to move up to the next class as well). I praised him for this and reported to the parents how successful he was in that class. I was unable to follow up with the parents outside of the group because I was not allowed their contact information by the center, however, in hind site, I should have at least given them my card and encouraged them to contact me to discuss further ideas. I also did not want to draw more attention to the child and parents than they already had. If I could have, I would have changed the environment greatly to get rid of distractions and tables/chairs to climb on. I wish I would have also connected with the teachers more to discuss how we could work together to support this family. Does anyone have suggestions for such a situation? Encouraging parents to just let their child explore individually when the parents aren’t quite ready for their child to be independent?

[Elizabeth Carras]

This may be more of a strategy for myself, but sometimes it is helpful for me, as the provider, to reframe what ‘successful’ looks like for each child. Maybe success for the child who seems to be always off task isn’t “Today he will follow directions and be engaged in group music making.” Maybe instead, it’s, “Today he initiated playing with a peer in the group, even though the rest of the group wasn’t using instruments at the time. He made a connection.” Maybe success isn’t “The group will use a cool-down to transition into getting ready to leave music,” instead it is “We will do this energetic music and movement experience five more times, because the group members are so into it and and growing and sharing and connecting.”

[Christina Bass]

I think the most important thing to first consider is how your can make every session apply to any developmental level and be able to adapt and communicate with and support the parents (or aids in non-SM groups) in assisting the children that may be excelling faster or need a little more time. Another thing I think is important is to continually be communicating with the parents and other providers to see how they are doing outside of your session, this will give you more input to if what they are learning is transferring and if they require more support during the session.

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