[Alicia Little]

Amadee- I like the differences you point out between adults and children and the ways you talk about fixing the problems of over/under stimulation.

[Alicia Little]

This is something I think about in every session. I’m loving what everyone has already said. Sometimes it’s a toss up to decide where to start with a group of children that are transitioning from a different school activity. In the hospital setting it’s super easy to tell if someone is engaged enough or too much. I look for sudden changes in heart rates and oxygen levels, in my preverbal kiddos I look for the “stop hand” in front of their face or sneezing or scrunching up their face to know if what I’m doing is too much. If they are reaching for something else to play with or not looking towards the location of sound or trying to engage in a different activity than I know they are not engaged enough.
Something that hasn’t been mentioned is that some kids need to control how much they engage and as MTs do we just accept that? They have very little things that they can control, so do we let them control how much they do or don’t engage with music?
As a general rule I like to end on a quieter note so that I’m not leaving hyped up children for teachers to come in and transition to what is next.

[Alicia Little]

5 words: exploration, fun, bonding, developing, engaging

I love the way she smiles when you sing to her! This is a great way to connect at home- even if you can’t remember all of the words! Even if you don’t like your voice, your child’s favorite voice is yours so sing to them often! Not everything we do together needs to be fast and fun, we can also bond with slow and gentle voices- variety is great! Try different ways of singing this song with your baby- maybe lay them on the floor next to you, or put them in your lap- all are wonderful and help you and your child bond.

As far as a plan (does one have to use only Sprouting Melodies trademarked songs?)
Hello song while patting legs
Lap ride: “Ha ha this-a-way”
Instrument Play: “Shake all day long”
Movement: “Who’s Hiding” peek-a-boo with scarves
Good-bye song while waving good bye and patting various parts of body.

[Alicia Little]

I see a lot of kids at this level in my job at Children’s Hospital. I selfishly love when their parents aren’t present so that I can hold them and play with them, but I know bonding with their parent is key too.
Speaking of, I’m very glad that they shared that just *a* connection with a caregiver is important and doesn’t always have to be their parent. I was wondering about that.
I currently have a few that are in this stage on my caseload and it is so fun to watch them explore and learn so much! I love introducing them to new sounds (especially since most of them have been in a hospital their whole little life and haven’t heard sounds that a baby would regularly hear in everyday life).

[Alicia Little]

As music therapists I’m not sure we can teach a song without having another “goal” (whether informal or formal) in mind. Which is a great problem!
I personally view music as a non-threatening, creative, way for us to connect with others that are different than us. We can break down so many barriers through music. Our communities and our world will be a better place when we are able to connect with those that are different from us and when parents can connect with their children. Music can aid in accomplishing both!

[Alicia Little]

I agree with everything everyone has said- I like that music therapists can provide the “why” for music is great for our brain development and why it’s so enjoyable.
I like that music therapists are equipped with group leadership skills, whereas music educators often struggle because they know how to teach, but not how to manage a classroom.
In the hospital setting I work in, music therapists also have an incredible ability to break down so many barriers for children that are fearful of medical providers with the non-threatening and motivating tool of music.

[Alicia Little]

I definitely use all of these in my daily work. Instrument play is my go-to and through this course, I’ve been challenging myself to use less instruments and have singing and listening be “enough” during parts of the session. It’s been a challenge, but it’s been a good practice for me as well. Voice is my primary instrument and I’m glad I can use it without the accompaniment of instruments sometimes.

[Alicia Little]

Singing
Awareness: babbling/cooing in response to music
Trust: pitched approximation of sounds/imitating
Independence: engage in a repeat after me singing song
Control: singing independently
Responsibility: changing tempo to reflect a zone of regulation

Playing instruments
Awareness: mouthing/reaching for instruments
Trust: hitting instruments with a fist or open hands
Independence: can shake shakers using bilateral hands, but will sometimes use 1 hand at a time
Control: can interchange between two instruments (drums and shakers) within a song
Responsibility: Can inhale and exhale to play a harmonica

Listening
Awareness: heart rate will increase or decrease when music is heard
Trust: visually tracks location of sound
Independence: listens and responds with appropriate movement/instrument play
Control: can interact with others and listen for their turn
Responsibility: can identify different instruments within a song when various instruments are being played

Moving
Awareness: may move hands from open palm to fist while listening to music
Trust: kicking legs in response to music
Independence: will choose an instrument to play and dance to with music
Control: can follow therapist in a movement song
Responsibility: able to create own dance movements to music

[Alicia Little]

I have really enjoyed using songs with glissandos and even using songs in a different mode- Before the course I hardly even used minor keys with children. I had a child respond “I like this song!!” which is a big deal as he usually does not participate for the entire group session in his class.

[Alicia Little]

I work with children of all ages, but one I saw today is definitely in the awareness stage. She likes and recognizes her mothers voice as evidenced by visually tracking the location of her mother’s voice and smiling and not doing that with other voices (doctors, nurses, etc.), she will reach towards some instruments and not reach towards others.
Super fun to see our clients through this lense!

[Alicia Little]

The community I provide services in is incredibly diverse. We have the largest Somali population outside of Somalia, a very large hispanic population, a large hmong population as well as a fairly large native american population. I am usually the whitest person in the room in the places where I serve and it keeps me on my toes to learn new music all of the time.
The Somali culture does not have many songs that are known to everyone like “twinkle twinkle” or “row row row your boat”, but I am eager to possibly translate some songs into Somali.
I’ve learned a lot of spanish children’s songs from my clients and practicum students. I know one Hmong song and do not know any songs in any native american languages (ojibwe is the most prominent one where I live.)

[Alicia Little]

Hi Megan- I definitely would love to! Unfortunately, a lot of Somali families have told me they don’t really have any songs that all children know like “twinkle twinkle” or “you are my sunshine”…
Perhaps I’ll have to write my own? Unless anyone else knows of any?
As far as spanish songs go- I definitely use those in my every day practice. I’ve learned most of them from practicum students!

[Alicia Little]

In my community we have a high need for community groups for low income families. The city I live in has a very large Hmong, Somali, and Spanish community. It would be amazing to offer community groups for all of these families to attend.

[Alicia Little]

During this lesson I almost found myself frustrated that music therapists don’t have more childhood development classes in college. I found this information to be incredibly helpful and I will also use it when working with a multidisciplinary team to provide the best treatment for the at-risk preschoolers I work with.

[Alicia Little]

I also agree with you RMTS intern- parent education is so important. So many parents are concerned with making sure their child is doing what all the other children are doing/what they are “supposed to be doing” in a group class and it’s a great idea to remind them of the helpful outlines in this lesson.

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