Share Your Thoughts

[Meredith Pizzi]

Share some thoughts about the challenges of providing multi-age groupings.

[Michelle Russell]

I facilitated a multi-age group yesterday. It was a local group of homeschool parents. They meet at the library in a meeting room once a week. This was the first time I had worked with them. (a challenge on its own). One 7 year old, two 6 year olds, one 4 year old, three 3 year olds and two babies attached to mommies in baby slings. I addressed the parents with infants and let them know that some of what we are doing could startle the babies. They both assured me that it would be fine because they are both the third child in their families. It was funny they seemed surprised and had not really even considered that there littlest ones could be part of the group. During the group I provided a wide variety of instruments for the children to use and explore. I took opportunities to focus on the oldest children children in simple ways (showing them how to hold a clave to get the most resonance). We took an opportunity to sing gently to the babies (twinkle, twinkle). We took the opportunity to get up and move around the space by marching, starting and stopping with our drums. I also took the opportunity to sing some familiar songs that all ages seemed to know. (Old McDonald)

I think multi -aged groups require the most energy from us as facilitators. We are constantly “reading the room” and reevaluating where the group should go next. I think Music Therapists are best suited for facilitating this kind of group because we have great group awareness. Is everyone participating to the best of their ability? Is everyone being included at some point? Is everyone given an opportunity to shine?

Im not sure if This homeschool group will be interested in working with me again…..but I had a great time!

[Jaycie Voorhees]

I do have some experience working with groups who have a wide range of developmental needs, and often find that it’s easy to start to favor the needs of the older kids because they are more vocal, visibly involved, and expressive. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing as long as you find a way to meet the social emotional needs of the older kids while still maintaining a proper musical environment for the younger ones. I have not worked with kids under 12 months though, and I believe I would need to make even more adjustments so as not to overwhelm those little ones while meeting older kids’ needs.

From the perspective of a parent, I attend a music therapy group (led by one of my own MT’s) with my 20 month old and 3 1/2 year old. The rest of the kids in the group are between 18 months to 2 1/2 year old and they have various developmental delays and function on an even younger level. I’ve found that my 20 month old LOVES the groups and gets a lot out of it, however my 3 1/2 year old gets bored easily as the MT needs to meet the needs of the other kids (they have treatment plans as this is an integrative music therapy group). He shows behaviors in the groups that I don’t see anywhere else, like laying on the floor and yelling, running out of the room, and demanding he have the first turn (which we accommodate sometimes but then he doesn’t want anyone else to have a turn). It has been a challenge as a parent to find ways to keep him involved and interested without drowning out the needs of the other kids in the room, and this past week I simply decided that it’s not the right setting for him. I may try to make suggestions based on these discussions on how to meet his needs within this setting, but honestly it just seems better for everyone if I don’t bring him. I would be interested to get feedback on this from you all as both parents and professionals!

[Amanda Braden]

Jaycee, I am not yet a parent, so I can not help you on that end. However, I can give some examples of some things that I have done in multi-age groups that may be helpful. The very first practicum that I led as a music therapy student was in a special needs classroom with children between the ages of 3-8 years. So, that was a great opportunity for learning how to facilitate multi-age groups. The biggest challenge I faced was keeping the older kids engaged because they were “too cool” for the songs for the little ones and would often appear a little bored. At the suggestion of my wise professor, I had the older children in the group act as models or asked for their input as to what we should do next. That was a big help since the older ones really started to engage more with the group because they were able to contribute and feel more connected with everyone. Also, I allowed each child in the group to have a “solo” time during one of our songs in which I would pass an echo microphone around and let them sing for the group for a minute. The older ones loved this, and the younger ones wanted to participate like the rock star big kids – the older ones would often play “air guitars” while singing, and it was so much fun for everyone! So, I agree with Beth and Meredith that it’s important to allow the older children in our groups to take some leadership in the group by modeling and teaching the younger ones to help them not only gain independence and responsibility, but to feel more connected to the group and engage. Also, using the older children as models or teachers really helps the younger ones connect with their siblings and with the other children in the group as well.

[Kayla Lyles]

I think some of the biggest challenges of providing multi-age groupings is attending to all the various developmental needs and levels of each child. That being said, it can be done and there are strategies to use, not only within the music, but the dynamics of the group (older children and siblings assisting and modeling). For me, the biggest challenges I’ve had when facilitating multi-age groups is creating musical experiences that were enticing for all ages (during internship I would do a day camp in the mornings before going to my teenagers and the kiddos ranged in ages 2-7 some days). Like Amanda stated, my older kids were “too cool” for some of the songs that I used to keep my little ones engaged, but I always did my best to use them as models or sharing input to help with the flow of the group.

[Milijana Majstorovic Kozul]

I agree with Kayla…..
Unfortunately I have no experience with multi/age grouping. It is a big challenge because of developmental differences between kids.
I think that someone already mention that too much of noises can be stressful for some babies or toddlers and it is true. Also it is depending on a group members. Right now I am working with babies form 0 to 1 and I have very sensitive baby in my group who is crying when I make just an eye contact with her, but some of them are fine. So I am very sensitive with her. Maybe to start with the young ones and their parents and selectively we can include older one. So as a music therapist I think that we should have to meat our group little bit and according to that we can make some structure or improvise etc…..
Maybe I am wrong but I think that we must have some kind of “control” under the group and I hope that is a part of training and practice. As we have more and more families it will be easier.

[Jacquelyn Blankinship]

I also don’t have a lot of experience in leading multi-aged groups (at least for children!), but I’ve been reflecting on it some. I agree with LOTS that others have said: the continual reading of the room, working to not overwhelm little ones while still engaging the older ones, and using modeling and helping behaviors from the older kids to facilitate interaction with the younger ones. This discussion relates a lot to the one last week regarding over-stimulation. I think it’s a real challenge to have music that is stimulating enough for some more developmentally progressed kids while not over-stimulating the lesser developed children. I am a person who tends to err on the side of caution, too, so I think I’d lean more toward engaging more developed children in helping, modelling, etc. I also really liked what Beth said about using the “Goodbye” to really gear more toward the younger ones – it’s a little bit more natural to do so at that part of the session than during, say, the movement part of the session. I also really enjoyed seeing the adaptability of the bonding songs part – I typically automatically think of those songs as being more subdued and gentle, but the adaptations she mentioned for the kids who are ready to move a bit more opened it up even more to me.

I will also say that, during those times when you do need to focus on a child who is in a different area developmentally, if that means that another child isn’t being stimulated enough in the moment, perhaps that’s an opportunity to work on practicing or introducing those real-life/social skills of waiting your turn, being patient, etc. That in itself isn’t damaging to the child and, while it can cause some struggles in the moment, I think it’s helpful to keep in mind that it’s necessary work for the child as well – even if it’s not quite as fun.

[Kristina Rio]

Great job answering this question. For those of you who said you don’t have much experience working with children in multi-aged groups, I think you did a great job using your clinical judgement on how you would balance the group. Nice work! It’s always hard to feel the expert when you don’t have much experience, just like when you are informing parents, but you are not a parent yourself. It’s definitely important to remember that you are an educated professional, and you have the skills necessary to be the expert!

[Anonymous]

I am going to second what Kristina stated above that you all did a great job answering and you all do have the necessary skills. I would like to also that I really loved how you each identified the need to be constantly monitoring the room and making adjustments in different ways to meet each child’s need. Meredith has shared that her families have called it “taking the temperature of the room.” Another important point is that as you are alternating and changing, you can also include the caregivers in this process. Kristina, pointed out in a previous training, how she encourages her families of little one’s to turn them away from the group when they get overstimulated or startled. I like to give very brief directives, especially with new families, on how they can engage with their little one’s based on age. For example, it’s time for our movement song and we each have a unique way to be in the music and the movement. Our babies and possibly our toddlers will need to be held while our older friends will be ready to get up and be active. And then always leaving space for the caregivers or siblings to identify how the babies want to to move and using that movement and then giving the older children a chance to identify how they want to move in the music.

[Megan Dewing]

I agree with what everyone else has said about this as well. I think that reading the room is one of the most important things to do in a mixed group. I think parent education is such a big part of these groups as well. We want to know when the music is maybe too much for the little ones, but we don’t want to take away from the experience of the older ones either. Helping to educate the parents about what they can do with their child during different interventions, as Erika shared, is just as important as being able to read the room.

I also agree with Jacquelyn that there would be natural opportunities for the older children to learn real-life/social skills. Especially if they are an older sibling, this is not something that happens just in Sprouting Melodies, and can transfer to when they are home as well.

[Christine Czuhajewski]

I haven’t had direct experiences with multi-age groupings in this setting, but I think that at such a young age, the different developmental levels would present a challenge in how to maintain everyone’s attention and engagement. I think that the greater the age difference, the harder it might be just because the younger children might not have the skill set that the older children have, and some activities might be too easy for the older children. Another challenge would be finding music that is engaging enough for the older children, but developmentally appropriate to engage the younger babies. I used to work as a music director for a summer day camp with inner city children. The programs were held at churches throughout the city and the groups very vaguely separated by age. My youngest group had kids who appeared to be between 2-6 and even within that small age range, I found it to be a challenge. The older children in the group had more “mature” interests musically and didn’t respond to the same simple melodies that the young children were interested in. Another challenge with a multi-age group would be social interactions- I would imagine that the older children will be seeking more interaction from adults and other children, and it might be difficult for some of the younger ones who just aren’t ready for that and are still content to just experience the group with a parent. I love hearing about everyone else’s personal experiences, it definitely brings up some unique situations to consider.

[Mary Withington]

Well I’ve done a bunch of multi aged groups at various libraries to sub for the children’s librarian, and a bunch of groups for Partnership for Children (ages newborn to 8 or 9) and Kindermusik Family Time sessions. Not to mention the acute care unit in adult Psych which had 18 yr old suicidal patients all the way up to 80 yr old Alzheimer’s patients in one group. ( talk about challenging,) But music is the great unifier! I find that songs can be adapted to any age. I’ve used children’s songs in Alzheimer’s groups, and little kids songs with teens with autism per their request. It’s easier to aim up and adapt the babies. The older kids love to help model, hand out instruments, give ideas on songs and movements, they like to help the younger ones. As someone mentioned before, oftentimes the moms with babies have to be encouraged to participate with the baby, because they assumed they weren’t included. I have to give directions to them on how to adapt the activity so the baby can participate. I’ve had to remind older boys to be careful and not get too wild and run over the little ones. The younger kids love to watch the older ones and try to emulate them. Babies are fascinated by toddlers and older kids. In a large multi age group sometimes the biggest challenge is to get the parents to participate with their child and stop chit chatting on the side, or yelling and correcting their child to sit still.

[Katie Whipple]

Oh my! What a good question! I’m sure what appears as challenges at first may become the strengths of the groups. My biggest concern is that the older children will become bored and uninterested… however I think that there are ways to combat this by giving the bigger kiddos “helper” roles like picking up instruments, singing to brother, or helping me remember the words when I forget wink 😉 On the flip side my other concern is that the younger babies are too overstimulated. I think that utilizing dynamics will be key because it is not only my energy and dynamics that I am concerned with but also the overall dynamics of the group. So keeping it low key enough or even situating the different kiddos in different places within the circle and avoiding large, loud instruments will help. Really you don’t know because every kid is different and each Family Sprouts class will be different. You really have to go with the overall needs of the group.

[Meredith Pizzi]

Several of you mentioned the need to have the grownups fully engaged in the music. In my experience, children of all ages look to their parents (or caregiver) for clues on how to respond. Sometimes, the grownup forgets that even older children need lots of positive engagement and attention. In multi-age groups, there is sometimes a tendency for the grownup to focus on the smaller ones and assume that the older one will take care of themselves. I think it is often just the opposite, where the older child needs Mom or Dad or Sitter to pay attention to them and to celebrate their music making. Sometimes once the younger one is comfortable with me, I offer to have them sit with me, and suggest that this could be a ‘special time’ just for the big kid.

[Darcy Lipscomb]

One challenge that I encountered recently while leading a multi-age class was safety. The older little ones, especially two twin boys, were very active and unpredictable in their movements and of course wanted to be about two inches away from the action (aka – me). As the younger little ones settled in and became more comfortable, a few started crawling/gingerly walking toward me. It was definitely a dance to keep the intervention going, keep one eye on the little ones to encourage their exploration, and keep the other eye on the big kids to promote safe, gentle play. This was a one-time community group at a library which also impacts the ability to best support everyone’s participation as you don’t know the families and children as well.

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