[Charniqua Snell]

I was able to use “Sit down with me” and “Are you ready for music?” with some of the children I see. For the first one, they really liked it and kept singing even after the intervention was over! I usually use another greeting song so when I used “are you ready for music?” they seemed a little confused at first. However, by the end of it they liked it especially since I gave them choices in what they wanted to do in the session. (They were middle school aged and were able to do this) I am definitely going to use these songs more!

[Charniqua Snell]

I have been able to use these 4 experiences before in my sessions. Movement is probably my favorite to do because young children have a hard time sitting still. In the schools, I go to they practice sitting still and not moving around the room, so it is important for the children (and my sanity) if I give them a chance to stand up, stretch and move their bodies. Of course, we also work on following directions and imitation but I have noticed after the movement activity the children are more engaged!

[Charniqua Snell]

Singing – Awareness: Look toward source of sound and make repeated sounds. Trust: Sing descending intervals with varied vowel sounds. Independence: Vocalize in major 2nd intervals and imitate animal sounds. Control: Use ascending and descending intervals and sing 2-3 word phrases. Responsibility: Sing 4th, 5th, and minor 3rds and sing familiar songs while playing a simple instrument

Playing Instruments – Awareness: Will reach toward the source of the sound. Trust: Will explore instruments with hands and mouths. Independence: Use whole hands/fists to hit drums, chimes, and pianos. Control: Use a mallet or striker and use index finger to play chimes and piano. Responsibility: alternate between fast and slow and use individual fingers while playing piano on dominant hand

Moving – Awareness: Will suck rhythmically and tolerate being moved to music. Trust: Move entire body rhythmically to music but not synchronized. Independence: will imitate simple whole body movement patters (like rocking). Control: Can start moving in response to music and run, march, and jump with assistance. Responsibility: Move with a partner and play freeze games.

Listening – Awareness: will alter movements when sound/music stops. Trust: Look toward sound source when music stops or when melody/rhythm changes in familiar song. Independence: Will attend to familiar music despite outside sounds and distractions. Control: will anticipate the end of a familiar song and watch others make music. Responsibility: Will follow 2 step musical directions

[Charniqua Snell]

I am sorry for the late response but I realized my comments did not go through in this forum the first time. So I will post it again!

The information in this training will equip me to not only help the children I work with but also their caregivers. I am excited to help the parents/caregivers with not only tools to relate with their child more but to also give the emotional support that they need. As someone who is not a mother, it can be intimidating to talk to parents about their children and what will help with their development. But I want and need to bring that support into my groups to make them more affective and worthwhile.

[Charniqua Snell]

In my community there are a diverse number of people who live here. There are many people from the Caribbean who now call Florida home. With them comes reggae and dance hall music. There are a lot of Latino families and knowing songs in Spanish is a huge plus for this community. In both of these communities, I have noticed that dancing is a big part of their culture! In the African-American community, gospel and other religious songs are huge. If the parents/grandparents are religious than the children usually know the songs sung in their church. There are many families that live in rural areas surrounding Orlando or are from other southern states. So country and folk music is something listened to a lot around here. Depending where you are in central Florida, the cultures, languages, and music listened to can change. You just have to wait until you meet the family and you will always be surprised what they say is their favorite!

[Charniqua Snell]

In one of the groups that I see, I have children in the awareness stage although their physical age is higher than infancy. I had to learn to appreciate silences like you talked about in the video. Even though it felt awkward to me at first, they needed that time to refocus and prepare for the next musical intervention. Also, the children can become over-stimulated easily with sounds that are too loud or with too many sounds at once just as a smaller child would. It also took time for them to tolerate the new sounds and therapist they were not used to hearing. Now after a month of seeing them, the sessions run smoother mostly because I am able to read their body language and cues, and also structure the session so they are most successful.

[Charniqua Snell]

My take away is that it is important to know these milestones not only to spot typically developing behavior but also when a child may be behind. Working with children with disabilities its important to not only know their physical age but also their developmental age. With this information I can make sure every child of any age is achieving their full potential!

[Charniqua Snell]

Hello, My name is Charniqua Snell. I received my bachelor’s at the University of Miami and completed my internship at Season’s Hospice in Miami, FL. I am currently working at Joyful Music Therapy which is a private practice in Orlando, FL. I work with individuals of all ages and diagnosis from early intervention to Alzheimer’s patients. Working at Joyful Music Therapy, most of the clientele are young children and children with disabilities. Since my internship was working with older adult at end of life, my skills with children have become rusty. I am looking forward to learning more about working with children and learning new songs and interventions to use!

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