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My biggest takeaway from this course is the structure of the session planning as well as the language that goes along with it. My music therapy experience has primarily been with older populations (teenagers, young adults, geriatric). I am just recently beginning my work with those in early childhood development. This course has been an incredible tool I have been able to utilize in my groups. I have taken the session structure as well as the songs to implement and have seen the effectiveness. My hope is to share these techniques with my school’s educators and administrators that work with these age groups in a workshop or staff meeting in the near future.
ParticipantHaving the knowledge of knowing where each child’s skill level is developmentally. Allowing the parents to help support you when children have disengaged or are under/overstimulated. Engaging with each individual child throughout whether that be by name, eye contact, turn taking, etc. Lastly, praising those engaging and allowing time to redirect others while not stopping the activity. Most important, make it fun!
ParticipantI think the most exciting takeaway from sprouting melodies for me is the strategies and techniques of inclusion of family and caregiver in the process. Having them not just bystanders of the process, but learning skills that they can use for years to come that are practical for them in their home is so wonderful. Like others have stated, being able to provide a safe and engaging music environment that supports the bonding process, especially during the pandemic, is so crucial for development.
ParticipantWORDS: Sharing, Connecting, Supporting, Helping, and Individuality
PLAN: GATHERING/GREETING: Sing “come on let’s make some music” while children and caregivers are gathering in the circle. BONDING: Sing “jiggle up, jiggle down”. Guide children through the song, encouraging them to play along with other’s in the group. SONGS ABOUT ME: Sing “who’s that”. Take a verse for each child and let the rest of the group sing along, learning each other’s names. INSTRUMENTS: Sing “music the way”. Let children choose instruments, helping those still working on grasp with caregivers in assistance. MOVEMENT: Sing “can you follow me”. Therapist asks the group to march (or carry and bounce) behind her around the room to the music. Allow for turn taking with different line leaders. GOODBYE: Sing “music time is over”.
ParticipantWORDS: Creativity, Activity, Strength, Personality, and Deliberate
PLAN: GATHERING/GREETING: Sing “sit down and join my circle” while children and caregivers gather, singing to each individual child. BONDING: Sing “my brand new friend” while parents/caregivers guide children around the space allowing them to introduce themselves. SONGS ABOUT ME: Sing “I’m glad you’re here today”. Take pauses during singing to hear from each child how they are feeling and what they are looking forward to in music. INSTRUMENT: Sing “you play a little” while inviting children and caregivers into the middle of the circle where the gathering drum is located. Allow for turn taking. MOVEMENT: Sing “jumping up and jumping down”. Guide the children through the movements of the song. GOODBYE: Sing “time to go”.
ParticipantA program like Sprouting Melodies’ value comes from not only the certified professional music therapist, but the program utilizing the developmental stages in it’s approach. It is giving the children along with the family the tools in the interventions that they can implement in other environments of their life.
ParticipantMulti-age groupings can be challenging for a myriad of reasons: they are all at different developmental levels, different developmental milestones, different abilities, along with varying likes/preferences. Adding all things together, and you have to navigate how to create a plan and environment that will be engaging for all as well individualize in the areas you can where needed.
ParticipantWORDS: energetic, surprising, playful, spontaneous, and free
SENTENCES: Your child is moving around the room. It is alright, they are exploring the space and interacting with others around them! I love that you bounced them along to the song, I observe them smiling and laughing with you. They grasped the shaker for a short time. They played along to the music before handing it back to you.
PLAN: GATHERING: sing hello, inviting them to join the circle. BONDING: sing “hold on tight” while parents give a lap ride. SONGS ABOUT ME: sing “that all makes up me” while allowing parents and children to stand up and move to the music; pointing to different body parts. INSTRUMENTS: sing “in my little hand”. Let the children choose instruments from the middle to explore and play. MOVEMENT: sing “March with my baby”. Parents help children to March either to the movement in their lap, while holding them up, or throughout the space. GOODBYE: bring everyone back to the circle and sing “goodbye”.
ParticipantIn my classroom:
Remo percussion (hand drums, tambourines, ocean drums, gathering drums)
Various maracas, egg shakers, clackers (brands unknown)
RBI, Studio 49, Suzuki (orff-xylophones, metalaphones, glockenspiels)
Mallets and rhythm sticks (brands unknown)ParticipantEchoing what everyone has stated, too much or too little stimulation is dependent on the child, varies by age, as well as the moment and the activity. Our job as music therapists is to recognize when it’s too much or too little and adjust what we can right then and there.
ParticipantExperience: Gentle, Bonding, Cuddling, Joy, and Calm
Responsiveness: Your child is turning their gaze towards the sound of me singing “hello”. They are swaying their body with you in response to the music. Your child is so joyful with a smile on their face and laughing when we were singing “wiggly jiggly car”! They followed the sound of the rattler you were playing and went to grab it from you. I see you bonding!
Plan: Allow for both parent and child exploration of the environment while arriving and checking in. Hello: Sing “today’s a beautiful day”, greeting each child and having the caregiver pat to indicate to their child they are being sung to. Bonding: Sing “wiggly jiggly car” for caregivers to give a lap ride by bringing the child up to their chest and back down to bounce along to the steady beat. Songs About Me: Sing “where is my face”, having parents and caregivers point out their face, their child’s face, and different features of the face. Instrument: Sing “sit with me and shake”, providing parents a small maraca to play and allow children to explore grasping and shaking briefly throughout the song. Movement: Sing “pick your hands up high” while parents can pick their child’s arms up high then low. Goodbye: Sing “goodbye” while parents return their children to their laps, singing along and swaying calmly to the music.
ParticipantCommunity-based music therapy programs bring families together in a positive environment that creates the opportunities for children’s developmental growth through evidence-based music therapy interventions. By providing families with strategies through modeling and active participation, they can take music home and see the development and bond.
February 21, 2022 at 6:06 pm
in reply to: Share some of your experiences with children of this age and level.
ParticipantI do not currently have any experience with children at this level. However, I do use songs in the categories of gathering/greeting, songs about me, movement songs, and goodbye songs with children in the sprouting melodies 3 age range. I put together an instrument scavenger hunt that I guided the students through at the beginning of the school year that allowed them to acclimate to my room, myself, each other, as well as allowing them to actively engage and explore while I set up my expectations, rules, and boundaries. Using these song categories and strategies has truly bonded us together over these months!
February 15, 2022 at 9:53 am
in reply to: What are the needs of the families and communities that you work with?
ParticipantI am currently working as an elementary and middle school general music educator. With the age range of 3-14, the needs of my school community vary. We do have a small population of students on the spectrum and some with specified and unspecified learning disabilities. In my classroom, the way I cater to those needs include offering sensory breaks, allowing more time on class work, modifying assignments as needed, and offering quiet spaces to work when overstimulation occurs. My school is very small, with only 200 students. My wish was that we had more resources for helping those students. We have a counselor that comes twice a week, we have a speech therapist, and a designated learning coach and center for students who require more one on one attention or who have fallen behind due to COVID or other circumstances. I do what I can, but know I could do more if I had the resources and especially the time to implement strategies. Like others have said in this forum, funding plays a huge factor in our ability to be effective.
ParticipantThe value music therapists bring to young families is the use of skilled practice that is research based. Not only do we bring the knowledge of that evidence, but we present the information in an engaging way to both the child and the parents that allows for transfer at home. Parents are not only able to observe the interventions we use, but actively participate with their child, making the experience unique and creative; helping to nurture that bond even more through the use of music.
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