Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
Participant
All I know is la banana, but Sean have you heard of Charlotte diamond? She’s a really popular children’s musician in Canada and she does all her songs in English, French and Spanish!
ParticipantHaha three for three! I used just like me in my 0-6 month class this morning! I find caregivers really love when music gives them something to ‘do’ with their baby and because it’s melodically so simple it’s so easy to take and do at home!
ParticipantThis morning I had a new baby in the independence stage start bopping up and down to the music and started signing “ more” at me! It was so cute!
ParticipantTrust-
At this level I would expect to see babies tuning and looking at my face, and often waving their hands and feet around when the music starts. Sometimes they cry if my music is too loud or fast, or there is too much noise in the room, or there are other factors causing them to regard music as too much stimulus that day. I can see a clear difference in their eye contact and awareness when I start my upbeat hello song ( most sleepy babies wake up. When I end class with a lullaby before my goodbye song there is a perceivable shift in the room as the babies all settle down, vocalize less, cry less and generally are content to be held/ rocked by a caregiver at this point. They will usually already begin to demonstrate preference by smiling at preferred songs when I begin to sing.Occasionally they will coo or ‘ sing’ back to be when I look at and sing to them.Independence
This is when I begin refer to class as ‘ slightly organized chaos’. Babies are mobile and all over the place usually. Often when I start music they will stop and look at me, and then usually go back to exploring. This is when I expect to see them begin bouncing independently with some of my songs. I also notice that when I do songs where I stop the music they will either stop what they are doing and look at me, or look confused or begin to giggle.Often the baby will approach me and strum or bang my guitar. At this stage I notice a lot of response to drums so I do a Lot of drumming. During this stage I expect to see some babies beginning to imitate my actions and sounds, particularly high pitched expressive sounds ( like oh no!) animal sounds and vehicle sounds.Control
This is when I begin to bring out stop and go songs because the children now have the ability to do things like jump and stop on cue. I also notice that they can handle more musical variety such as moving quickly and then slowing down to tiptoe. They can follow actions and also follow actions in a sequence (or choose not to!) they may start to try to sing or chant the end of a favourite song or use vocal approximations for words in songs.
Responsibility
Now I can see a child able to call a response with a call and response song, or even tap back a rhythm. They are are able to remember action and melodic sequences week to week. They respond to songs with changes to pitch and timbre such as singing in a high voice then a low voice or a laugh voice then a quiet voice. They can usually tap a steady beat on their lap or on the floor and are able to do so while chanting or singing. They have much larger motor skills and can complete action songs with a larger variety of actions and handle doing two actions at the same time .ParticipantOhhh! I loved working with the different ones too! Traditional education leaves a lot to be desired, do t you think?
ParticipantI think I bring the perspective of someone who has just recently lived many of these milestones and hasn’t yet had enough time to put my rose coloured glasses on them. I vividly remember the sleepLessness and pain of teething and sleep regressions and first bumps.
So much of how I run my early music classes has been influenced by my experience As a parent! For example I teach a lot of ASL with an a music context because ASL was such a huge help for me when I was parenting my own child who could not speak yet. I remember one time she was having a meltdown in a store and nothing I could do would soothe her until she looked at me and signed ‘hungry’. A simple Hand gesture and a granola bar saved my sanity. The way I watched her engage with the world influenced many of the songs that I wrote when she was little and change the way I looked at things like lullabies. I didn’t really understand before that the power of skin to skin contact and holding your child and singing to them and what that does for their neural development.
I have also been Collaborating with a paediatric physiotherapist running tummy time classes out of my studio and integrating music therapy to teach the parents how to use music and musical engagement to help their children better tolerate tummy time as many of them have had birth injuries and are having tummy time to strengthen the muscles they will need later to sit up and stand and walk. I love to collaborate and I also love integrate new knowledge into my classes as it helps me not feel stagnant!
ParticipantAgreed! What humans view as ‘ other’ or Strange they are less accepting of. Exposure, especially when little is huge! I hope these stats begin to shift in music therapy and other professions!
ParticipantI think my most valuable takeaway is how simple the early development and the things we do with people that small can be. Sometimes I get carried away when I’m program planning thinking I need things that are flashy but that that can actually be contraindicated with early development.Who knew a simple bell could be a) so engaging, b) used so many ways and c) so completely developmentally appropriate. I think many parents of small kids can relate to this- not realizing how they can really engage with their kids and how simple it can be. When my daughter was born we appreciated that one of the resources we were gifted was a Montessori based play mat that came with a parent guide month my month for the first twelve months that explained where our child was developmentally and how to engage her with the toys. I work with children and this was all news to me. And I think something to DO thats engaging for grownups and little is often what brings them into class. I sprinkle a little info into all my classes but the more I know, the more I can pass forward to other parents and I appreciate having a condensed resource to refer to!
ParticipantHi everyone, I’m Jorden and I’m Canadian.
I graduated in 2015 from one of only 6 music therapy programs in Canada. I currently run groups for neuro divergent kids in my local school district, and started my own private practice in 2016 and opening my own studio in 2017.
My daughter was born two weeks into the pandemic, so there were no music or other early childhood programs at the time. This and some nudging by a few bored mom friends prompted me to launch early music classes at my studio in addition to music therapy. I developed my own program but I am looking for something to inspire me as I’m beginning to feel stagnant and I’m hoping this course can help. I have worked in churches, long term care facilities and community programs. I currently serve over 150 (!) kids a week in studio, school district, preschool, childcare, and after school programs in my community.
ParticipantSound birthing? I would love to know more about that. Music was big with my first birth.
ParticipantThat is exciting! Myself and my current intern will be attending world congress! I landed here in this course when you presented at the Canadian Association of Music Therapy’s conference.
-
AuthorPosts
