What was your most valuable takeaway from this weeks’ content?

[Meredith Pizzi]

Please reflect on your takeaway from this week’s material.

[Laura Myers]

My most valuable takeaway from this weeks content was to feel confident in my knowledge of early childhood development. That although I work only with older adults, I do have knowledge of how children develop. I have two children, and have watched each of them grow, yet I’ve never felt confident in my knowledge of developmental milestones. Listening to the video and reading the slides and the text, I found that I really do know some of this stuff! 🙂 I was also able to put myself more into a providers mindset, rather than a parents mindset. ~ Laura

[Ericha Rupp]

The biggest takeaway from this weeks’ content was confirming that there is a lot going on in these little minds and bodies that I get to work with on a daily basis. I feel comforted knowing that overwhelming feeling I get when I walk into one of my 16 pre-school classrooms (ranging from 6 mos – 48 mos old) is normal. I find myself constantly asking ‘where are these kiddos developmentally?’. These slides from the power point were so helpful with providing a guide to help organize my thought process when treatment planning. 🙂 Thanks!

[Lysa Wright]

It was so interesting to listen and read about child development broken down into more specific age ranges. I do work almost exclusively with the ages discussed in this module, so there is a lot of info I’ll be able to take. It will definitely give me lots to think about while doing my sessions this week. I’ll be thinking of what’s going on in their minds and I’ll be more observant to things that younger infants are able to do and recognize.

[Ian Crawford]

A couple days a week I see a marathon of classrooms in a short amount of time, with kids ranging from 6 months to 5 yrs. Trying to keep track of developmental levels is a bit overwhelming, to say the least. It’s so nice to have this information presented so concisely and I’m excited to start applying it to my classes. So I guess the biggest takeaway is all of it! I’m really looking forward to next week’s videos.

[BJ Waelz]

I took away a lot of skills. This was a great refresher for me and a reminder that I want to incorporate classes for birth to 9 mos as well as the older toddlers that I am already serving. There is so much going on at this really early age and I can see so many opportunities for use of music groups for all young children. Especially to help with family bonding at this very “busy” and tiring time for parents. I need to take a new look at the 18 – 36 mos old class that I am currently serving as the developmental range is quite expansive at this area. I have even allowed younger children to participate in these classes and feel that i would be better serving the child and parent, by possibly narrowing age groups if I can. I feel more comfortable and secure in my knowledge and glad to be adding to my EI knowledge. I am enjoying focusing on the skill sets of each age and reflecting on my own child’s development (despite that she is now in 4th grade).

[Shonda Malik]

My most valuable takeaway from this weeks’ content was the emphasis Beth put on us being a source of education for the parent’s regarding developmental appropriateness as well as spotting when there might be a developmental delay. I often find myself noticing developmental aspects about a client but I sometimes forget that the parent of this single child hasn’t had the privilege of working with many same-aged children like I have and thus doesn’t always know if they should be concerned. I also found it valuable to be reminded about the developmental appropriateness of the aggression and rebelliousness of 3-4 year olds and comforting to be able to share with parents that this aggression will decrease as they become 4-5 year olds.

[Adrienne Salmon]

The most valuable lesson that I took away from this week’s assignment is the importance of understanding a child’s developmental levels, and working within them. I worked this summer as a nanny for a quite advanced 16 month old, who I bought sidewalk chalk for way too early.. Needless to say, he had a very colorful mouth. I will be applying understanding of just what a typical child should be able to do, at what age, while also keeping in mind the possibility of development not being 100%. On the flip side of that, I have worked with children of varied ages where I have wondered if certain actions that I was observing were a ‘red flag’ or not. I will definitely be getting to know these developmental expectations better and applying them to my arsenal as a music therapist to make sure that my activities are always developmentally appropriate.

[Anonymous]

It is great to hear all of the things you are all taking away from the training materials.

[Kristina Rio]

What great reflections everyone!

Adrienne, it can definitely be tough to discern when something is a red flag or not, and then what do you do about it? As Sprouting Melodies Providers, we are expected to address concerns we may have with the family as gently as possible and be a great resource for them. One way to help decided whether or not you have observed a red flag is to keep an eye on it from week to week, but also bring it up to the parent or caregiver. Tell them that you noticed him for instance, toe walking during class. Ask them, “does your child walk on their toes often in other settings?” That can open up a conversation where you can provide support and resources.

Keep up the great work!

[Kana Kamitsubo]

This presentation has helped me to clarify child’s developmental stage. I have a 9 month old boy and as I read and learned, I was remembering how he has developed and excited about how he will develop. This greatly helps me what to observe in the children when leading group music sessions and how to speak with parents who are worried about their children’s development. I have been working with numerous numbers of children with special needs 4 years old and up, so, I can tell when children around this age shows behaviors that are not typical. However, it is still difficult for me to point out what is normal and what is not in younger children. With this presentation, I deepened my understanding of child’s development.

[Anonymous]

Kana I am so glad you were able to deepen your understanding. I also felt in a similar way when I took this training. Our years of being around atypical development for a majority of the time seems to make it difficult to really identify typical development. My daughter has also been a tremendous help in seeing and absorbing more typical development. I am so glad that this training is also helping you as much as it helped me.

[Author]

Posts