Share Your Strategies

[Meredith Pizzi]

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

[Kristen Crouch]

Redirect, redirect, redirect. This has been the key for me in working with little ones. If they are not on task or doing something that is undesirable I may or may not comment on their action and then redirect to the appropriate activity. Encouraging them to “use nice hands” as opposed to “no don’t do that” is another strategy that works well and keeps it positive. Although there are times that I feel its appropriate to say no.

[Lauren Roberts]

Although I have not yet conducted early childhood groups, there is one strategy that I carry with me to my elementary/adolescent groups and private piano lessons: positivity. After a student performs a piece during his piano lesson, I always begin my comments with something positive, no matter how many things need fixing or improving. Probably the closest that I am to early childhood at the moment is lead teaching 4-6 year olds at my church on Sunday mornings. With these children and my music therapy groups with older children I rely heavily on positive reinforcement; instead of constantly trying to correct undesirable behaviors, I am pointing out and praising desirable behavior. Particularly with the 4-6 year olds, they are aiming to please. Nothing gets them on task quicker than simply saying something like, “I LOVE how Maggie is sitting with her hands in her lap.”

[Barb Blackburn]

I haven’t worked with groups in music therapy since my internship. I think it’s very important to always give positive reinforcement to children who are following directions, maybe even a little incentive like a sticker. Kids love to be praised, and they feel proud when you notice and call attention to it. “Wow, I love that (name) is sitting so quietly waiting for the song to begin. This will encourage other children to want to behave properly so that they too can get positive reinforcement and possibly even a sticker! =)

I try to give children the opportunity to self correct (as long as they’re being safe). I may say something like, “(name) is that how we play the tambourine?” And most of the time they will smile shyly and say, “no” ad play correctly. If they are being uncooperative and say “Yes!”, then I may have redirect and show them the proper way to play.

I think it’s important to create as many “teachable moments” as you can.

[Lauren Caso]

I use positive reinforcement whenever possible! If I need to redirect a child, I may try to use peer modeling, and give praise for good behavior when demonstrated. In schools, I often use stickers as a reward for good behavior, or extraordinary participation. It’s amazing what kids will do for a sticker, so I sometimes raise the bar for getting one where applicable! I always try to be sure that each child earns a sticker before the end of the class.
Therapist modeling and adult participation is also key in setting up a safe environment for play and growth, and defining parameters for appropriate behavior in music. For older, higher functioning children, I use a “three strike” rule for behavior. It’s rare that a child needs to sit out or leave the group for “x” minutes, but it has happened on occasion. Some kids need a time out, and it works for them and calms them down if they are becoming too excitable, and potentially harmful to themselves or others. If parents or caregivers have a reward system already in place, I will use that system uniquely for that child. I also adapt activities so that each child may be successful in their own unique way, whenever possible. I find a safe environment presents more opportunities for children to be successful in music.

[Caitlin Kauffman]

I have not led an early childhood group since my very first semester of practicum in college (eek! so long ago!) but have had some group experience with kiddos since then, both in my internship (also a while ago) and in the past four years through several grief camp opportunities. So the settings have been quite different, though many strategies would surely carry over. Some major strategies I have found when working with kids (especially in group settings) are positive reinforcement, vicarious reinforcement, and redirection. Truthfully though, sometimes (in grief groups) I have absolutely had to take a moment for some obvious behavior correction and clear setting of boundaries. With short attention spans and a lot on their minds, it is sometimes a task. I often will focus on the kids who are eager to participate, but will intentionally seek responses and ideas from all of the kids in the group. I also keep the adult volunteers with us so that behavior can be addressed if needed and I do not have to leave the group. Positive reinforcement and redirection are the ones with the best results I think – when you can say something to a child that makes him/her feel successful, I really think it does wonders! If they give some off-the-wall answer to something, validate that you appreciate they said something but then offer a more appropriate alternative. In my groups, this could be something like “I think we would all agree that superheroes are so brave! What about someone that you know personally who might not be in a movie?” Or in a SM setting… “Hitting the maracas together does make a big sound! But we want to be extra careful not to break our maracas, so why don’t we just shake them as hard as we can? aaaaand… GO!”

[Ann Dardis]

I loved reading the above strategies, mainly because I must admit that with my limited experience in working with children I don’t have very many of my own. I agree that positive reinforcement is the way to go. When it doesn’t work…redirecting is great. I tend to let the parents handle the most problematic behavior – calling time outs, leaving the group momentarily – but if there is danger to another child or to an instrument I do intervene. There have been times I’ve stopped a song early or even ended a session early because the children were uncooperative. One particular day comes to mind when there was a severe thunderstorm in the area & the kids were all incredibly restless. I think it is important to be flexible and to realize that what you have planned is not always what the children need on a certain day.

[Amy Dunlap]

Like many of the others, I don’t have a lot of experience working with early childhood groups. In general, I do find that replacement is usually a successful tactic when trying to change a child’s behavior. Since children in SM classes will be accompanied by an adult, I will be intentional to educate the adult so that they are an asset to success, not a hindrance because I haven’t helped provide an appropriate strategy. Also, one thing that has been stressed here and in my other MT training is to use the music as a solution for any and every problem you can. In talking about the music, Beth and Meredith have done a great job of encouraging us to think outside of the box in terms of musical elements that we can manipulate. They have encouraged us to consider the reason for and intended outcome of manipulating the music. In turn, I have begun to think more creatively in my music therapy sessions; my therapist thinking is fuller and more comprehensive than before taking SM training. When working in groups with children, I think a balance between creative musical experiences and good, standard behavior modification (i.e. redirection, replacement) is probably (hopefully!) a recipe for success.

[Brandy Jenkins]

**Late Entry as I am Catching Up on Posting**

I use a lot of redirection and validation. “You are playing that drum just the way you want.” I think that, as long as it is not harmful, it is important to allow the child to explore and play instruments with independence and creativity. I have not had any parent/child classes, but would take moments to teach parent modeling. If a child is having a difficult time, I may also say, “it is ok if anyone needs to step out for a moment and then come back in.”

[Bernadette Skodack]

Though I don’t work with kids right now, there are a couple of things I use in my adult groups that might transfer over. I use redirection as well to help the adults stay focused on their task. I validate and acknowledge in my groups; after the bell choir plays a song the best they’ve ever done it, I let them know it. If the individual members had tricky parts and nailed it, I let them know that, too. In another group, I allow time for the response, which is one of the beauties of live music. Some may need the extra time to process or to even try it, and I want to allow for that so they can see that they can do it.

[Sarah Gagnon]

I agree with Kristen- It’s all about how we redirect that can either bring focus or lack of focus to a group. Of course it also depends on level of family involvement and abilities of the children and when there is a flag, to gently ask questions.

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