Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
Keymaster
Welcome everyone! I always love to open up the first week comments on the Sprouting Melodies training forum and get to meet music therapists from all over. You will get to know me well through the videos during the course of the training, but I will get to know you through the conversations on the forum. Erika is our outstanding forum moderator, and she will be helping you every step of the way. Looking ahead, Meredith, Erika and I will all be joining you on the training conference call. Hope you can be with us for that. Thanks for being a part of our community of passionate professionals!
March 29, 2018 at 4:34 pm
in reply to: How are you planning on sharing this information with colleagues, administrators and families?
KeymasterWe are here to support you, Haley, as you bring more quality music to your community and your work practice.
March 29, 2018 at 4:31 pm
in reply to: How are you planning on sharing this information with colleagues, administrators and families?
KeymasterHi, Erin. It was great to connect with you about your life in Scotland. With technology, we have the capacity to help you with marketing and program development even at this distance. The Sprouting Melodies Provider Invitation should be to you soon. See what you think!
March 29, 2018 at 4:29 pm
in reply to: How are you planning on sharing this information with colleagues, administrators and families?
KeymasterWe would be happy to talk to you about becoming a Sprouting Melodies Provider, Caitlin. Yoga classes for babies are hot right now, but the community that is developed through Sprouting Melodies is unique. Give us a call and we can discuss your ideas.
March 29, 2018 at 4:27 pm
in reply to: How are you planning on sharing this information with colleagues, administrators and families?
KeymasterYes, Stephanie, experiencing the music is essential when presenting. I will be speaking to a Rotary group later in the month, and I am already chuckling to my self about what I imagine will be their surprise when I begin to sing!
March 29, 2018 at 4:24 pm
in reply to: How are you planning on sharing this information with colleagues, administrators and families?
KeymasterGreat ideas, Julianna. You are right that families WANT music programming for their little ones. We find that once families find Sprouting Melodies they are hooked on the quality provided.
March 29, 2018 at 4:22 pm
in reply to: How are you planning on sharing this information with colleagues, administrators and families?
KeymasterThanks for the words of support for the training, Shannon. We also offer other early childhood courses through Raising Harmony, and hope to see you there some day.
March 29, 2018 at 4:20 pm
in reply to: How are you planning on sharing this information with colleagues, administrators and families?
KeymasterGreat idea, Cassie. Libraries are often the hidden gem in the community for young families. Meredith and I have both done extensive library programming over the years, and it is a great way to embed your programs in the community. Keep in touch!
February 26, 2018 at 8:17 pmKeymasterHi, Erin. I apologize that it has taken me so long to reply personally to these great questions. Thanks to Erika for gently reminding me! She summed it up very beautifully “This is a great way to start to look at how the stages of development play out in real life. Also remember that development is a ladder but it is not always an upward motion. Sometimes they will move horizontally and sometimes they may move backwards.”
When I began to research early childhood music development, I really wanted to learn what develops in a natural environment that included music. So yes, these responses that you read about in the book are intrinsic music responses that almost every child will develop. Given a rich and engaging music environment, children will undoubtedly tap more into their intrinsic musicality. This is not necessarily the same as musical aptitude since that is often tied with specific skills. But a child with more intrinsic musicality will often be more willing to put in the time and effort needed to increase music skills.
Can this inborn musicality be decreased by lack of exposure? Absolutely. The older child that you mention might in such a situation. When the experience of music in a family or community doesn’t allow for the child to have free musical expression, it might be difficult for them to feel comfortable engaging in singing or moving or playing. I call this the ‘American Idol’ syndrome, where music making is met with such intense criticism that the person just stops making it.
Hope these thoughts are helpful. BethKeymasterThanks for your question, Cassie. First, it is so wonderful that you can bring your talents and skills and music to the children in your community who really need connection and community. I’m going to suggest a book that Meredith and I often recommend called How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. The book is an easy to read overview of how Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACE’s impact the fundamental development of self-regulation and executive functioning. The stress response from early trauma manifest in so many way throughout a lifetime. In my preschool work, I also have many children like yours who are already showing signs of this stress response.
My music therapy thinking in these types of situations is to remember that trauma and stress events require us to always be mindful of the need for children to trust…and so I generally use interventions from the musical developmental level of trust. Lots of repetition, lots of musical structure and always rhythm.
For struggles transitioning to and from a music space, I try and make the interactions and interventions begin as soon as the child sets eyes on me, or can hear me. Lots of singing transition songs in the hallway to and from the music room. A song from the songbook that I often use to march to and from is called “I’m Getting Ready”. We do it every time!
I also consider the ending of the session to be just a continuation of the music experiences. The music or song accompanies the children back to their room in a way that is full of rhythm and motion. The song that Erika mentioned above works well to keep children active and engaged even as they leave the room.
Another song that I use as the bridge out of almost every session is called “Thank you for Being”. You can find it on the Sprouting Melodies web page under blogs.
Please feel free to reach out to me by email at Elizabeth@RaisingHarmony.com if you would like to explore this further.KeymasterWelcome to all! It is always exciting for me to open up the first week forum and meet colleagues from around the country and around the world. You will get to know Meredith and me well in the coming weeks, but the forum is way that we can get to know you! Please post often.
Meredith, Erika and I are always available for questions. Feel free to send us an email or contact us through the forum.
Enjoy the music! BethKeymasterA PS to Erin…My daughter lived in Glasgow for six years and I was able to visit her and Scotland a number of times. What a wonderful country. Where are you located?
KeymasterWelcome to everyone! It is always so exciting to see the diversity of background, experience, location and age in our Sprouting Melodies communities. Thanks for joining us. You will get to know me well over the next few weeks, but I wanted to share with you a little more about the non-video me. I live on the north shore of Long Island in New York and am still working part-time at the same early childhood site where I started a program almost thirty years ago. I still love making music with the young children and families and find some joy everyday in the work. My own children are grown with careers of their own, but we still make music together when they come home to visit.
Will any of you be attending the AMTA national conference in November? If so, I would love to meet you in person!KeymasterWelcome! I always get so excited to begin a new Sprouting Melodies session and to discover all the great things that music therapists are doing. Over the past five years, we have had well over 200 people take the Sprouting Melodies course and we are happy to welcome you to this vibrant community.
You will get to know the ‘videotaped’ me well over the next ten weeks, but here are a few more personal items. I am still working with young children four days a week at a wonderful site on Long Island, New York. My own children are grown and so I have had the chance over many years to experience all the different phases of childhood up close and personal! I tend to be a bit of a workaholic, but during the summers my husband and I like to sail on Long Island Sound. If you have a chance, take a look at the blogs on the Raising Harmony web site. I often get inspiration for musical musings from the nautical world.
I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you. Meredith, Erika and I are here to make this journey a valuable one for you. Please feel free to reach out at any time.
BethKeymasterThank you all for the kind words about the usefulness of these songs. I often joke that the reason I write so many songs is to get the last one I wrote out of my head! Please also remember that you can access many new songs written since we recorded this course on the blog page of the Sprouting Melodies website.
-
AuthorPosts
