[Amadee Castenell]

To Alicia –
Yessss, share all that knowledge and let it permeate to all of their clients’ or families that they serve!
Glad to hear that as the years progress, our collective knowledge will be shared and enriching so many lives.

[Amadee Castenell]

Throughout the class I have been sharing information with my friends who are planning on starting a family or have one. It has been really great to solidify the information for myself as well as provide information for them all to share amongst their friends about the benefits of music with such early childhood ages. I plan on sharing this information with families that I work with to let them know in the future about the classes and benefits, especially with family sprouts and its inclusiveness! Sharing the information will help the overall knowledge among community and support parents in a trickle-down effect over the years. Who knows – we might be hearing some Sprouting Melodies songs from adults fifty years from now and stories of how their life was enriched through this unique opportunity!

[Amadee Castenell]

Way to go Tabatha! It brings me great to joy to hear that you will be doing your best to bring the community together through early childhood classes. The more we advocate and share the benefits, the more people have a chance to take part in such a beneficial thing!

[Amadee Castenell]

Super future plan – Bring my own child to a sprouting melodies class when(or if) I become a parent!

[Amadee Castenell]

I will continue on with music therapy at this company (Roman Music Therapy Services) and use my skill set to promote growth in the populations I specialize in as we continue to provide for the entire life span and advocate for the presence of Social Capital. This course has taught me so much in regards to developmental growth in early childhood and I will use the knowledge I have learned to increase awareness of the possibilities for families to enrich their lives through music. I look forward to being able to share and help out my coworkers as they continue on in their practices. As time progresses, I may recap on all this knowledge learned to move forward in leading to see if it something I would like to do but as of now my heart will continue to be with hospice and older adults. It gives me great joy to see everyone’s responses, plans to continue or share what they have learned, and see my coworkers continue to promote and enrich the well-being of parents and children through music!

[Amadee Castenell]

One of my favorite strategies is to be in the moment. It doesn’t matter if you created the best session plan prior to the session and had to throw it to the wind because of a clients’ mood or how they were that day. As long as you are in the moment, you can support that client and deepen the therapeutic bond no matter the circumstances. Some of the greatest accomplishments I’ve witnessed in my practice have been during those moments where I surrender control and instead observe and play off what is seen. It can lead to great shared joy, responses that were unseen prior (for minimally responsive clients), or even just a deeper trust and comfort level which could also lead to more participation throughout a session. Similar to what was said by Carrie, I also shoutcast and praise small acts of participation or engagement within a specific music intervention. I have seen many smiles, increased engagement, and physical or verbal responses to praising the actions of the group members in the moment. I encourage everyone to try it (when appropriate)!

[Amadee Castenell]

Hi Carrie,
I absolutely adore the idea of sportscasting and and coaching and had not realized I had been doing it throughout my sessions. When I work with older adults, especially in memory units, I often find myself sportscasting their reactions to the music, whether it is highlighting someone who is singing quietly on the side of the room or praising a foot tapping to the beat to someone who is minimally responsive. Praising the small things can go a long way along the road of development from youth to geriatric.

[Amadee Castenell]

Hi Alicia,
Similar to you, I have a full plate already and understand totally about not going on to provide Sprouting Melodies. I also vibe with you on the fact that this course has taught us so much about the younger population and given us a wealth of songs that can be used across a wide range of populations! I am curious as well if we will have this information available to come back to upon conclusion of the course.

[Amadee Castenell]

The advocacy for the reasons why music is beneficial for kids age 0-36 months will be one of the best parts about becoming a Sprouting Melodies Provider for me. I do not know if I will go on to do any sessions but the knowledge from this course will be stuck in my head after all of the various songs, pages, and videos. I am excited to be able to share to parents why their child might be engaging in a song a certain way or that it is okay if your child decides to run circles around you instead of playing their drum. To be able to share the developmental milestones in a simple and concise way as they observe it real time in a session or outside of one is powerful as well. Whether it is advocacy for parents or simply sharing information with fellow music therapists, it is definitely better to be a Sprouting melodies provider and have the opportunity for learning, growth, and engagement than to miss this wealth of knowledge for such young children. I plan on continuing my case load of older adults, adults with developmental disabilities, and hospice clients because that is where my heart is.

[Amadee Castenell]

Megan,
You said both of these points so concisely, I love it! It is hard to explain the differences to parents in a few words but your description really does great – I’ll have to use to if I ever run into this situation. Personally, I advocate for Music Therapy vs Music Performers constantly to parents but it is good to have this as well!

[Amadee Castenell]

(To the parents)
Music for development is the use of music to foster the growth of a child’s awareness, trust, independence, control, and responsibility. I can demonstrate along the way as things emerge but you need to let your children have their own experiences without crowding over them or dictating how they should be acting. Experience is the one of the backbones of development and we need to let them experience in the music and in this space.

Music for development differs from music for skill building. Music for skill building will focus more on their experience through the music and specific songs to promote their motor skills (fine and gross), cognitive skills, emotional, and communicative skills. Please let your children explore the instruments, their emotions, their own way of thinking, and support them throughout as they experience at their own pace through their developmental journey. I will again let you know of any milestones or depictions of the milestones as we go along.

[Amadee Castenell]

Hi Brooke,
I agree with you. One of the most challenging things is trying to provide stimulation for the older kids while not overwhelming the younger kids in the process.

[Amadee Castenell]

This is a type of group that I struggle with personally. The balance between individual attention and group energy can be tricky. Maintaining good pacing and transitions is key to having a successful session, but it is often difficult to do for many reasons. The primary reason being that every child has good days and bad days depending on what happened earlier in their week,day, etc. It can be very hard to find age appropriate music or interventions that suit both the older individuals as well as the younger ones while still advocating for the success or reasons behind the song to the parents. Thankfully, when I was struggling I had the help of Meredith to demonstrate how to successfully lead a session with a multi-sensory group and that was wildly beneficial for me to see. The confidence in why a song might be played multiple times, or the confidence to tell the parents that based on a movement or gesture from a group member they are implying that they want to continue if their language is impaired. There are so many amazing and small things that can make a huge impact in the success and benefits of a single session…which is why this is a challenging population!

[Amadee Castenell]

Hi Billie
I like your use of “Hello Today is a Beautiful Day” as it is one of the most used songs at RMTS and well recognized across the entire spectrum of life! Having that familiar greeting can promote a sense of trust and excitement no matter who is providing the services!

[Amadee Castenell]

SM3 Words – Busy, Energetic, Cohesive, Growth, Enjoy
Session plan: Gathering “Hello Everybody” to collect the attention of everyone and give them a chance to come into the music and deepen that trust. Bonding song “Swimming Together” to incorporate more movement and stimulation into the group as well as bonding between parent and child. Songs about me “The Eyes are on my Face” to increase awareness and stimulation due to the melodic changes through the song and tempo at which it is delivered with gesturing. Movement “Jump up!” to maximize stimulation and the celebration of developmental growth to be able to jump with or without assistance depending on the child. Cooldown “Where oh where is my face” to promote familiar songs as well as bonding while slowing down the tempo toward the conclusion. Goodbye song “Thank you very Much” to conclude the session and individually give attention to each group member.

FS Words – Engaging, Fun, Supportive, Diverse, Connection
Session plan: Gathering “Come and Join my Circle” to get the group together and engaged from the start, bonding song “Row it Faster” to engage family members to work with their children or have their siblings help them out, movement song “Dancing in the middle” to bring out the energy and fun while maintaining a connection and awareness of others, cooldown song “It’s Time to Say Goodbye” with transition of scarves as well to incorporate a slowing of energy into a conclusion of the session.

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