[Katie Maurer]

5 words: exploration, energetic, varied timbre, active, structured spontaneity

5 sentences: -As your child develops he’ll start to make choices about his participation in our musical activities. It’s okay if he wants to move in a different way than I’m moving, wants to play an instrument differently, wants to explore the rest of the room for a bit, or even wants to just sit and watch the rest of the group. -Your child will likely move to the music or play an instrument to her own rhythm. That’s great! -While your child may not sing all the words to the song, he loves repeated sounds like ‘la la la’ or ‘do do do.’ -Your child thinks musical surprises are great. It can be a funny sound, a moment of silence, or a quick change from loud to soft. Be comfortable adding these surprises to your music at home. -Even if your child seems quiet or doesn’t participate much here, keep singing at home. Your child might start singing at home before they sing here!

Plan: -Instrument Exploration, have instruments in the circle for children to explore during arrival times. Have recorded music playing sometimes. -Hello/Gathering, I really liked Meredith’s two-word hello song. It could also be changed to sing hello to each child. -Bonding/Lap Song, everyone seems to love “Wiggly, Jiggly Car”. I can just imagine a group of little ones and their caregivers giggling along! -Songs About Me, I really like “All of This is Me.” -Instrument Song, “Dancing in the Middle” seemed like such a fun one (and I want a good excuse to ‘need’ a large gathering drum!). -Movement Song, “March With My Baby,” this one seems like it’s very versatile and adaptable to both those that are not yet walking and those that want to move themselves. -Goodbye, Meredith spoke last week about how all the SM classes there use the same goodbye song and I really like that idea. I also really liked the idea of using “Thank You Very Much” and encouraging the children to work up to shaking hands with others.

I’m really looking forward to getting “You and Me Makes We” that I ordered last week. I’ve been out of early childhood so long that I don’t have a very good variety of songs at the tip of my tongue to choose from.

[Katie Maurer]

My internship case study subject was a 3-year-old boy with autism and developmental delays. I would say he was mainly in the stage of trust. He was almost completely non-verbal and didn’t sing at all. He very much preferred familiar interventions and preferred playing the guitar or piano to hand-held instruments. He could physically play the hand held instruments, but would only shake or strike for a short time before throwing the instrument down. He would rarely add the last word of a phrase when silence was left for him, but it was never really a sung word, just spoken.

[Katie Maurer]

It’s been awhile since I’ve spent much time with children this little. One thing that always struck me, though, is their preference for higher pitches. It’s always interesting to see moms and dads take their speaking voices up when speaking to their baby.

[Katie Maurer]

5 words: soothing, tender, gentle, repetitive, flexible

5 sentences:
-Your voice is familiar and your baby will respond it to, so even if you think you can’t sing, use your voice. My voice can help guide you, but it’s your voice that your baby needs to hear.
-It’s okay if your baby isn’t doing exactly what me or the other babies are doing. We’re looking for baby to engage in the music and that may mean listening and watching. Turning away from the music can be a valid choice as well.
-As your baby starts to use musical babble, repeat their vocalizations back to them trying to match timbre and inflection. This encourages baby to make that sound again. Repetition is safe and allows baby to discover what his voice can do.
-Even though baby can’t play an instrument, we’re looking for her to turn her head toward the sound, look toward the sound, or respond in another way. If baby grabs your instrument to put it in her mouth, that’s okay! She’s learning about her world.
-As your baby moves through Sprouting Melodies 1, expect to see him begin to move on his own in response to the music. He won’t be in time with the music, and that’s okay.

Plan
-Have soothing recorded music playing as babies arrive and get settled.
-Hello/Gathering Song: Simple song sung to each baby using his/her name. I love the idea of using name tags, not only for my benefit, but for the benefit of other parents as well. In this group, I would imagine it would be best for the parent to wear a name tag with his/her name and baby’s name.
-Lap/Bonding Song: Song used to encourage parent/baby interaction and bonding. Include possible whole body movement and lots of touch. Use active silence, but also watching for startling.
-Instrument Play: Song that is a little more complex used to engage baby with instruments. Listening, exploring, playing instruments are all desired responses. Use simple instruments such as maracas with rattle-like handles and simple frame drums.
Song About Me: Simple song that includes body part touch or maybe repeated syllables to encourage vocalization (in older babies). Encourages parent/baby interaction/bonding.
-Movement Song: Song that may be a little louder/faster that provides opportunities for parents to move baby and when capable, for babies to move themselves. Movements such as up/down, side/side, forward/backward, that can all be done while seated and also standing for older babies that are looking for more movement. Use active silence, but also watching for startling.
Cool Down: A softer song with scarf movement or a singable book.
GoodBye Song: A simple goodbye song. I would use the same song each week to create consistency and help with the transition of leaving the group.

[Katie Maurer]

I think community based music therapy is an important part of how we can bring our services to a wider range of people. Through community settings, we can make people aware that music therapists can work with people of all needs on their path to wellness.

Sprouting Melodies groups are a good way to do this in early childhood, for adults I think of relaxation groups, and for older adults, music based exercise groups. Like Meredith said in the video, no formal assessment or treatment plan, but still using music to support development and wellness.

[Katie Maurer]

I think my community is a pretty average midwestern city – Evansville is the third largest city in Indiana.

Like folks above have mentioned, I think parents are looking for additional opportunities for their children. I think this is probably doubly true for families with children with special needs – always looking for new methods to support their children’s development. We currently have places offering Kindermusik and Music Together, but no Sprouting Melodies that I know of.

Jennifer, the idea of grant funding for refugee groups sounds really interesting. Groups designed for their unique backgrounds and needs could have such an impact. Maybe one of the community groups or schools could help with the grant finding/writing? I can really relate to the funding issue, because I see a real need in my community for early childhood programs and resources for low-income families. And I guess it’s really bigger than just funding – such programs have to be located where these families are, at times that parents/caregivers could attend (a real variety of times would need to be offered), and flexible enough that occasional attendance would be okay.

[Katie Maurer]

Dany, that’s a good point. Not only does our education and training allow us to know what we’re doing, but we also know (and develop through practice) how to communicate that.

[Katie Maurer]

I think it really is all about our knowledge and training. And for most of us, through continuing education opportunities, the training never stops! I like how Caroline puts it “we have the training to engage a variety of ability levels, to manage behaviors, to recognize and embrace the non musical goals, to build upon strengths, to know what is typical, what is not.” That touches on so many of the benefits of us as music therapists. We have experience and training to tailor the programming we offer to the individuals we are working with – beyond what we’ve even learned in this course. Nancy mentions our level of awareness, we know how to observe, what to observe and that’s invaluable when working in early childhood.

I think it also gives us some credibility. Even though our credential isn’t widely known, we can at least point to the CBMT and AMTA as a way for others to see some of our training and education. It shows that our training isn’t just in “the program,” but covers such a wide range of areas. They can see the standards that music therapists strive to hold and the code of ethics we are bound by.

[Katie Maurer]

I’m not currently working in early childhood, but when I did last – my internship – I included singing, playing instruments, and moving into each session. I did some listening activities, but they were less often and generally occurred in one-on-one sessions.

This week’s information was a good reminder that while I may have always included the four experiences, I most likely wasn’t always using them at an appropriate developmental level. I definitely needed the reminder about using listening experiences and the importance of allowing time for the children to respond when listening.

The idea that we must always be doing ‘something’, and not always allowing time for responses, is definitely something I struggle with, not just in working in early childhood. I’ve really started to be mindful of this with my current client, a geriatric individual with special needs. Sometimes I just need to wait and give her time to formulate her response to the music. I’m waiting after singing to allow her to respond instead of jumping in with my own commentary, allowing more time for her to independently find the colored piano dot without offering assistance, not rushing into the next intervention when she wants to talk. The discussion about listening and silence this week make me want to really be mindful of this.

I’m also trying to work in some new instrument playing interventions based on the developmental levels.

[Katie Maurer]

Singing Awareness: can vocalize in response to singing; Trust: can sustain vocalization throughout pitch changes; Independence: Uses simple words in familiar songs; Control: Uses different vocal timbres such as shouting and whispering; Responsibility: Sings in varied dynamic ranges and with different vocal qualities.

Playing Instruments Awareness: can tolerate the feel of open hand on instruments; Trust: can play or strike instruments with internal rhythmic beat; Independence: can use hands to strike and shake purposefully; Control: can change playing from fast to slow and slow to fast; Responsibility: can play learned rhythm pattern at appropriate time in group.

Moving Awareness: can move body parts when touched; Trust: can move body parts with internal rhythmic beat; Independence: can imitate simple whole body movement patterns; Control: can adjust speed of movement to reflect music: Responsibility: can create novel movement patterns in a familiar movement game.

Listening Awareness: can alter movements/vocalizations in response to silence in music; Trust: can recognize changes in familiar melodies; Independence: enjoys changes in dynamics, tempo, and timbre: Control: can anticipate the end of a familiar song; Responsibility: enjoys rhythmic imitation games.

[Katie Maurer]

I’m not currently working with anyone in early childhood (or any children at all!), but as I was singing through the songs provided this week, I was truly struck by the simple, functional language that is used in them all. I know that is a real focus and could understand it better as I went through the songs.

I was also struck by the repetition. I’m always afraid when writing my own songs that I’m repeating too much, so it was great to see all these songs with lots of repetition. It encourages me that I’m on the right track with my own songwriting and reminds me that repetition really is a way to support the child’s development.

The use of modes and minor keys also stood out. That’s definitely an area in which I have very little experience – writing and singing early childhood songs in anything but major keys. I can see how these songs would be very effective when used as part of a session to avoid everything starting to sound too similar and to keep children engaged and listening.

[Katie Maurer]

I grew up in the midwest in a fairly conservative family. My mother always sang to and with me as I was growing up. Lots of traditional American children’s songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” While not songs exactly, we also did a lot of rhythmic chanting of nursery rhymes like “Little Bo Beep” and “Jack Be Nimble.”

I was also surrounded by hymns and Christian children’s songs like “Jesus Loves Me,” “The B-I-B-L-E,” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” Hymns are still a big part of my life and a type of music that I love to go back to when I’m looking for comfort and familiarity.

One of the biggest musical memories I have from childhood is of what we referred to in our house as the “Do Do” song. This was a hymn tune that my mother always sang to me as I was going to bed or sick or just out of sorts. It’s an actual hymn that has words, but she always sang it on the syllable ‘do.’ Even just thinking of the melody reminds me of the feelings of love and comfort I experienced when she sang it. I’ve even pulled out the ‘Do Do’ song to comfort an upset child I was babysitting.

[Katie Maurer]

And by ‘test’, I definitely mean text.

[Katie Maurer]

I had the same experience Kate. It was almost impossible to read the test in both the small video and when it was expanded to full screen. I think I got most of the blanks filled, so if you had any you missed, I can try and help.

[Katie Maurer]

Everyone has such great answers.

I think I will bring a number of things to an early childhood music therapy based program:
-My experience and history of working in early childhood.
-My education and experience as a Music Therapist, including participation in early childhood continuing education opportunities. Knowing the purpose and reasoning behind specific songs and activities sets us apart from other early childhood music programs. Being able to develop our own songs and activities also sets us apart.
-Being extremely comfortable working with groups of young children.
-I think Elyse makes a great point about being knowledgeable of possible development delays. This can allow us to guide parents into seeking the opinion of a diagnostic professional, if appropriate. I see our background as Music Therapists as being critical in this area.
-I’m sure that I will add to my answer as the course continues and when I begin SM groups.

The information we’re learning in this course will make me a much better early childhood Music Therapist because I have gained a greater understanding of appropriate development. I’m really looking forward to the section on musical development since that is an early I feel less confident about.

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