[Leigh Giglio]

I love that Beth! That would be great when I take my preschoolers back and forth from their classroom to mine and back to theirs! During “hallway time” I have incorporated the “Are You Ready for Music” with inserting some of the things planned for that mornings class as we are going to the music classroom. They love it! Thanks for all of your little tid-bits…they are great!

[Leigh Giglio]

Stimulation: I think that if the child feels comfortable and is engaged in the setting, either passive or active, then your stimulation is enough. Too much would be that the kids are reacting to the tempo, timbre in a scared (crying, trying to get to a safe person) or overactive way (running uncontroably, repetative movement/motion, etc.).

5 words: fun, adventerous, exploring, learning, observing

5 sentences: *It’s okay if your child touches my guitar. S/He is exploring and that’s okay. *Try having your child face out so s/he can see their other friends in the room! *When teaching your babay to jump, make sure that the childs heels are not hitting the ground. You want them to plant their feet firmly on the ground when they land. *You are doing great as a parent. Look at how happy she is. She is now comfortable enough to go out and explore on her own. That is great! *One more time for giggles and laughs…we are having so much fun!

Session Plan:
1. Welcome parents and chidlren as they arrive. Have name tags available for all to wear. Have instruments in the middle of the circle for exploration with some upbeat music playing in the background. Encourage and invite parents and chidlren to find their favorite!
2. Hello/Gathering songs: Hey, Hey Come and Play and then into Hello, Everybody, Hello (can insert child and parents names instead of everybody)
3. Body Percussion songs: I can clap my hands….change to other motions with different body parts
4. Lap ride/tickle time: Hold on tight
5. Instrument Play: Dancing in the middle
6. Gross Motor Movement: Will You Come?
7. Cool Down: 5 Little Ducks book
8. Goodbye: Thank You

[Leigh Giglio]

I have not worked with such little ones, so my instrument collection is geared for more adults and older children. I do love West Music, as well as Remo drums. Loved hearing about what you have in your collection and will need to remember for future purchases.

[Leigh Giglio]

5 words: calm, gentle, loving, bonding, cuddling

5 sentences: * Please take the time to get settled in our space before music begins. I want you to feel relaxed and comfortable. *Please help out and sing along so that you learn the songs to take home with you. These songs/activiites are wonderful tools to have! *As we sing hello, please gently tap your babies chest when we sing his/her name. This will help them to recognize their name, as well as help strengthen your bond. *Did you hear that? S/He was trying to imitate what you were singing! *It’s okay if your child puts the maraca in their mouth. They are learning and exploring how to use this instrument. *Please place your used instruments in the wash bin. I want to make sure that I keep all my Sprouting Melodies kids safe and as healthy as can be.

Session Plan: Since I have never held music therapy sessions with such young children, I would probably start with using your suggested plan and then adjust as time went on and I became more familiar with the program.
1. Welcome parents and chidlren as they arrive. Have name tags available for all to wear. Play some quiet, recorded intrumental music in the background to help bring a soothing and peaceful atmosphere. Give parents the time to get settled.
2. Hello/Gathering songs: Good morning to you and then into Hello Everyone (can insert child adn parents names instead of everyone);
3. Body Percussion songs: All of This is Me and Just Like Me
4. Lap ride/tickle time: Wiggly Jiggly Car and Hold on Tight
5. Instrument Play: I Like This Song and In My Little Hand
6. Gross Motor Movement: I Can Move Around
7. Cool Down: Quiet, instrumental music with scarf play
8. Goodbye: Goodbye

I do not have clinical experience with working with such little ones but personally I have been a mom caring for my two children who are now out of this newborn/infant stage. I have a girl, Grace, who will be 5 in July and a boy, Caleb, who just turned 3. They are 19 months apart, so it was a challenge at times having to take care of both of them when Caleb was a newborn. My husband died when I was 5 months pregnant with Caleb, so I have also had to learn to be a single Mom, which I never dreamed I would be! I remember thinking to myself after Caleb had turned one and had just started sleeping through the night for the last 2 month, how did I make it through that first year? I mean I was extremely tired since I would get to nap for 1-3 hours at most throughout the night and maybe one or two 1-2 hour naps during the day. I was basically a walking zombie because I was so sleep deprived. Besides getting Grace to preschool 2 days a week, making sure that Grace had solid foods to eat, a clean diaper or was able to start potty training, I was also nursing Caleb, changing his diapers, doing tummy time/playing with him, introducing Caleb to solids (and I made my own baby food), bathed the kids at seperate times, put them both down for naps. I also had other duties like food shopping, cleaning, cooking (if you called it that), taking out the garbage, etc. Just know that the parent’s that you will be meeting at this stage are tired, frazzled, may be unsure of themselves, and did I mention tired. They may feel like they are just holding on by a string and are proud of themselves that they even were able to get out of the house, especially if Mom is alone at class or a single mom. I still have days where I feel a bit overwhlemed and my kids are older.
My husband, Nick, and I did take Grace to a Kindermusik class when she was 3 months old that happened to be lead by a MT-BC! I was so excited to be with someone that knew my kids milestones and had the education I had while running a music program geared for her age. It was a great bonding exprience for us as a family and I recommend new parents to find these kinds of programs for their children, too.

[Leigh Giglio]

In my community, I see a need for our military Moms. They struggle with young children and a Dad’s Schedule that is always changing with frequent TDY’s or deployments. They are basically functioning as a single Mom in a marriage because there is so much instability as to when Dad will be around to help. These women are stressed and, sometimes, overwhelmed with their current situation. A community based music therapy program would give them a break, allow them an opportunity to make friendships with others in their situation, as well as meet local moms that know the ins and outs of the city, and as an opportunity to be educated about the development appropriateness of their children (many of the enlisted families do not have the menas to send their kids to preschool).
I have not researched this yet, but I think offering services at the hospital through their birthing education classes would be benefitical. Being able to meet these Mom’s prior to birth to teach them the importance of music and relaxation and even music inutero and then segway the class to after the have their chidlren as a type of support group, especially to first time Mom’s. There is also two pregnancy help centers in town that would benefit from this type of program, as well. We also have a local Chidlren’s home that takes in court appointed children. These kids are desperatley needing some form of positive bonding with safe adults so that they can learn to trust again. The only roadblock I see is funding. No one has the money to fund such viable and needed programs.

[Leigh Giglio]

The community I live in is a military town. Most people that come here are in the Air Force or Army and their stay is usually about 2 years for the Army and 3 years for the Air Force. Since families are always coming and going, there is a a great need/want for these families to get plugged into community to fairly quickly to help build relationships with other families, especially for “family-like” support. Also, there is constantly families with younger children dealing with deployments of at least 6 months up to 1 year. This is a great loss for the young child to deal with, as well as a difficult change for a parent to go from having a helpmate to being a single parent for an extended period fo time. Providing services through the Community Center, the deployed Spouses program with Hearts Apart, the Airman and Family Readiness Center and the Chapel would be beneficial. But, with the Sequestrian, I’m not sure if funding would be possible for these types of programs on base.
There is a local University that is located in our town that has an early childhood education program. Providing presentations to these classes/professors would help to educate the benefits of a music therapy program in the earaly childhood field.
There is also two strong MOPS (Mothers of Preschooler) groups that meet on a bi-monthly basis. These are mom’s that are looking for: 1. connection with other mom’s with kids the same age as theirs, and 2. something to do to get them out of the house. Presenting at least once a year, as well as offering a free session or a door prize of a free sign-up would also help to get them educated and interested in signing up for classes to be offered.

[Leigh Giglio]

Why are they coming to your program?: I think the AMTA states it the best: “With young children, music therapy provides a unique variety of music experiences in an intentional and developmentally appropriate manner to effect changes in a child’s behavior and facilitate development of his/her communication, social/emotional, sensori-motor, and/or cognitive skills.
Music therapy enhances the quality of life. It involves relationships between a qualified therapist and child; between one child and another; between child and family; and between the music and the participants. These relationships are structured and adapted through the elements of music to create a positive environment and set the occasion for successful growth.”
Other persons that teach children do not have the training to provide what we do as a music therapist. They may not be able to adapt or create to enhance the session of child or the groups needs and they may not be qualified to work with chidlren with special needs. Our services are valuable.

[Leigh Giglio]

I really liked looking at each musical response developmentally. I had never done that before. This would be a very helpful tool to use when creating a treatment plan with future clients!!

Singing:
(A) Recognizes Mom’s vocal timbre and uses pitch in vocalization to communicate with Mom.
(T) Matches Mom’s pitches in a vocalized play.
(I) Creates varied vowels and consonants when vocalizing. Wants Mom to imitate her sound.
(C) Starts to sing the melody of a familiar song with vowel/consoants and some of the words to the song.
(R) Sings spontaneous songs independently.
Playing Instruments:
(A) Turns head towards the “sound source” when therapist plays an instrument.
(T) Reaches out to the instrument and explores with hands/mouth.
(I) Able to sit up, grasp the instrument and transfer the instrument from one hand to the other.
(C) Explores the use of instruments by banging or pounding, using different tempos and/or dynamics.
(R) Will play with others in a group imitating simple rhythms and/or maintaing a steady beat.
Moving:
(A) Spontaneous, active movements are present (ie. kicking legs) when upbeat, play music is introduced. Relaxed, calm body when lullabies or soft instrumental music is introduced.
(T) Baby rocks back and forth on all fours rhythmically when play music is introduced.
(I) Claps hands, stomps feet to the music.
(C) Watches therapist and imitates movements to the song being played.
(R) Creates own movements to a familiar song
Listening:
(A) Recognized Mom’s singing and turns her head towards her voice.
(T) Hears Mom’s vocalizations and tries to imitate/match the pitch.
(I) Hears the silence/pause in the music. Stays still and quiet, smiles and then leads others to continue the song through vocalizations.
(C) Takes turns in a call/response song with Mom.
(R) Sits and listens patiently while others take a turn to sing/lead the group.

[Leigh Giglio]

I, also, try to incorparate the four music experiences in my sessions. I tend to use movement singing and listening the most. My school does not really have any instruments nor a budget for music, so, if I do use an instrumental experience in a session, I need to bring instruments from my own collection at home (and with some of the classes being so big and with them back to back, it makes it difficult to be able to keep them sanitized and/or have enough to use for each class). So, I tend to not incorporate this experience as often or with every preschool class each week.

The use of listening has usually been for transitions or following directions. Lately, I have been incorporating more of the silence! The kids just love this and will stay still and attend to see what I’m going to do, usually with a smile on their face or some giggling. I have paused long enough unitl the children respond on their own. Also, I have been incorporating more changes in tempo within a song or changing the tempo (ie. one time I’ll singing it fast, another time slower, another time slow and then fast at the nd, etc.) if it’s a song that is repeated per child. It makes it more play like and makes them have to listen to see how it will be presented to them.

[Leigh Giglio]

I used several of the songs with my 2, 3, and 4 year old classes this week. Our preschool is getting ready for our annual Presdient’s Day Parade, so this week I wanted to work on marching with them. I first used “Will You Come?”, followed by “Sit Down with Me” (changing the lyrics to March and Sing along with me, tra la la la….) The children were all able to march in their spots and then would follow me around the room. I would change the movements from marching to hopping, walking, tip toeing. They really like the stopping section and would count along with me. I used the “Sit Down” song as a transition to sit back down in their seats to learn the tra la la la part of the song. After I felt that they were confident in their singing portion, we got up to march and sing around the room again. In the 2 year old classrooms I used the “Just Like Me” song. I would reach out to interact with the children individually to touch their hands, nose, etc. during the song. It was truly a bonding moment with all my kids. A lot of them would find my hands or a friends hands to touch. I also used pauses and silence in this song for the chidlren to “fill-in-the blank.” which they did happily. Also, at the end a lot of my kids got up to give me hugs! I also incorporated “A Car on my Knee” for my 2, 3 and 4 year old classes. The children all really loved this song and were able to sit patiently and wait their turn. Only one class started to fight over my airplane, but when told that everyone would have a turn and that it made me sad that they couldn’t share, they were able to sit and wait better. Every child seemed to smile when it was their turn and loved that they could pass it to a friend that hadn’t gone yet. My 4 year old classes are a lot smaller, so for a second time around, I gave everyone different body parts to put the airplane on (ie. wrist, neck, ankel, back, etc.). I can’t wait to try out more of the songs with them and to use some of these again!

[Leigh Giglio]

I also find this a hard question to answer, as well, especially since each person is individual with what type of music they “like” to listen to. With the ability to now have any type of music at your fingertips via apps or through technological devices, it’s even harder to see a community preference. I have observed that in my town we do have two creative arts halls/auditoriums that bring in various professional and community type musical events. Community events might be the local high schools band, orchestra or choruses, as well as dance school performances or the local community Orchestra and Chorale where the music may focus more on classical or pop muisc. As for professional groups, we have military bands/chorales, country singers, cover bands and jazz groups that I have noticed that have come to perform. As far as radio stations, there is a variety of country, pop, rap and 80’s music. Being in the south, we do tend to have a lot of contemporary Christian music to listen to, as well.

[Leigh Giglio]

From birth through present I have always incorporated music into my children’s daily lives. It’s something that I’m comfortable with and I know the developmental importance for them. I have a distinct memory of a time when my daughter was only about 3-4 months old and we were developing trust. I was rocking her in the rocking chair and we were both just staring at each other. She began to coo and I would match her pitch and sound. After I would stop, she would begin again. After going on for a while (about 5 minutes), I began to change the consant sound and she would try to imitate me. If I stopped for a long pause and smile, she would start to reach up to my mouth indicating she wanted me to sing again. As she got older our musical “communicating” changed from quiet cooing sounds to changes in dynamics, along with musical babbling sounds. I know this isn’t a clinical related memory, but it was the one that stood out most clearly in my mind to describe a musical developmental stage.

[Leigh Giglio]

Again, I’m sorry that this entry is late as I was dealing with a sick little one last week and that took away my “course” time. I also agree that my role as a parent has helped me to be a better therapist to the children that I do work with at the prescool. I have a better understanding of the developmental stages, how to set boundaries and incorporating kid-like play that helps to teach and grow them. My kids at school love how I “play” with them in class and will go home and tell their parents all about what they learned in music…mind you, I only see each class for 15 to 20 minutes once a week, so I think that’s pretty good that in such a short period of time they are picking up whatever I am sharing, feeling confident enough to share it with their parents, as well as retaining what was taught.

[Leigh Giglio]

First, I apologize for this entry being late. I had a sick little one last week and my “course” time was spent either taking care of him or catching up on rest.
I really enjoyed the review of the developmental stages and milestones. I am in the midst of both parenting children in these age ranges(almost 3 and 4.5), as well as teaching in a preschool setting with 2 year olds through 5 year olds. Even though my education has taught me what to expect at each age, as a parent, you do question yourself at times with certain behaviors your child are exhibiting and wonder if this is normal or should they be able to do “?” yet? I especially liked the parenting advice that Beth shared, as well as the red flags to know when there may be a developmental problem to look into.

[Leigh Giglio]

Alyssa,
You are such an encourager! I just went through to read or re-read some of the introductions and loved how you commented and encouraged each person that posted! Thank you for being such a caring person and truly wanting to connect to us all. You are right that we are all blessed to be able to learn and experience this training together!

Congratulations on your certification, new job and working towards your first CEU’s!!

Looking forward to getting to know you better and hear some of your “new” insites!

Blessings,
Leigh

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