[Julie Palmieri]

Awareness
turning toward the source of sound or instrument
recognizing the sound of a parent’s voice
Calm to familiar melodies, including ones they may have heard in utero

Trust
Reach out to touch instruments, exploring with their mouths and hands
Move body parts in response to the music
Purposeful vocalizations in response to singing

Independence
Claps hands
Uses hands to play instruments like guitar and piano
Simple whole body movement patterns like rocking, bouncing

Control
Adjust vocal dynamics to match the dynamics of the music (soft, loud are so fun at this stage!)
Use individual fingers to play piano or guitar
Start and stop instruments in response to music (one of my favorites!)

Responsibility
Use individual fingers (on dominant hand) to play piano
Singing and playing at the same time
Retrieving/choosing and putting instruments away

[Julie Palmieri]

Early childhood features such huge leaps in development. Recognizing differences in development and meeting each little one at their individual level will bring the biggest benefit to them, as well as their caregiver.

[Julie Palmieri]

Ooh, this is such a great question!

[Julie Palmieri]

It was fun to review the developmental stages, especially as I’m on the “other side” of this stage of parenting. I remember reading books and articles about development in little ones as a new parent.

I think my biggest takeaway and reminder is knowing that every child is going to be different and take a different path. One of my kids started standing at 9 months, the other at 13 months. Crawling and walking came at different times, as well.

One milestone that I absolutely loved was when my girls learned how to clap. We used to watch an adorable show called Classical Baby, where cartoon animals listened to symphony orchestras and watched animations and would clap after each selection. When my girls clapped with the animals, my Momma heart melted. Many, many times.

[Julie Palmieri]

Sarah, welcome to the field of music therapy and congratulations as you begin your career! How exciting!

[Julie Palmieri]

Talia, it is so wonderful to meet you! 🙂 Cannot wait to hear more about your resource library!

[Julie Palmieri]

Hi everyone! I am Julie Palmieri, and I currently live in Rockford, Michigan. I work as the Marketing Coordinator for Roman Music Therapy Services, and I have been a board-certified music therapist for 20 years (WHAT!?!?). As part of my work at RMTS, I handle the setup of the course, which means you’ll also see my name/profile that I use for the technical side of this website. 🙂 I hope it doesn’t get too confusing along the way – I think you’ll be able to see when I respond as a student of this course. 🙂

Early on in my music therapy career, I discovered very quickly that I really loved working with young children. I loved their energy and their curiosity and their openness. When I became a Mom of two beautiful children, music was a constant in our house. I was constantly singing throughout our days – in the morning, at lunch time, at night during our bedtime routines. Now my daughters are teenagers/tweens, and they still remember some of the songs we used to sing. Now, they are both studying musical instruments, participating in band, and playing piano. It is the biggest joy to be the parent in the audience, watching your kiddo play in recitals, band concerts and marching band performances!

I am really looking forward to getting back to my roots and immersing myself in the world of early childhood music once again. And I look forward to learning with all of you!

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