[Mary Jane Dibble]

I plan on advocating and building connections more in my community. I hope to connect more with organizations, parents of children with special needs, preschools, daycare centers, and local libraries. I plan to let my colleagues know about this Sprouting Melodies program. I plan on buying the songbook so I can learn more of the songs shared in this training and I will also advocate that to my colleagues. Thank you for a great course and good luck everyone!

[Mary Jane Dibble]

This training has been very helpful in my work as a music therapist. It was helpful to see the different levels of development broken down into sections and specifically see how those levels relate to music. I now plan on using this knowledge in my practice with young children. I am excited to advocate more in the community and build connections with others in the community.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

Some strategies I use are to say out loud when I notice a child doing something successful or point out to the parents what the child did well after the session. I will also verbally direct children through eye contact, using the music, and by saying “it’s ok to run around to this song” or will specify “now let’s all come sit down in our circle” when I want kids to come back to the group. I want to be better at using the tips given here in Sprouting Melodies to verbally then physically redirect children when needed. I want to also be better at giving parents tips for how to help their child as well as using the music timbre, tempo, etc. to help redirect the children in the group.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

I am looking forward to using the skills I have learned in Sprouting Melodies to help young children and their parents to grow and develop more. I look forward to working more with children. I love that Sprouting Melodies provides this great support group.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

5 words for Sprouting Melodies 3: independence, trust, progressing, personality, developing

5 words for Family Sprouts: bonding, repetition, structure, together, shared

Plan for Sprouting Melodies 3 Session:
*Hello Song
*Gathering Song: Sit Down with Me
*Bonding: Hold On Tight
*Instrument: I Like This Song
*Movement: Jumping Up and Jumping Down
*Calming Song with scarves
*Goodbye

Plan for Family Sprouts Session:
*Hello
*Gathering: Hey Everybody
*Bonding: Row it Faster
*Songs About Me
*Instruments: I Like This Song
*Movement: Will You Come
*Music Time is Over
*Goodbye

[Mary Jane Dibble]

I agree with what Emily said. Music for development can use music interventions to trigger development and can help facilitate, support, and provide opportunities for development. Music for skill building is teaching a specific skill and helping them learn and practice that skill.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

I agree that it can be challenging to have a group with different ages, especially when trying to keep the older ones engaged while not scaring the younger ones with too many changes. One thing I really like about it though is that siblings have the opportunity to help each other and have a fun shared experience.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

At this age the children are needing a little more stimulation than in the younger age group, but are still sensitive to too much change. You don’t want too much inflection in voice or too many unpredictable changes in the music but you still need more than in SM1, you can use a little more inflection in your voice and can throw in some surprises in the music at this stage. It also depends on if the clients have any sensory issues such as oversensitivity to sound, etc. You have to gauge the reactions of the clients. If the children are all leaving the group and appearing to lose interest then you need to increase the energy of the session a little.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

I use chiquitas a lot. I also use ocean drums, some little children tambourines, paddle drums–the kids especially love the ones that look like a lolipop. Also, rainsticks, djembe drums, little colorful shakers, castanets, scarves, ribbons, parachute, rhythm sticks, jingle bells, and colored desk bells.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

5 Words: fun, engaging, helping, encouraging, exploring

5 Sentences: -synchronize your movements with the speed of your child on the lap ride
-letting the child have some independence in getting away from you is ok
-help the child tap their foot with the flat part of their feet are on the floor, we want to organize their bodies through rhythmic movement, they need to feel feet firmly on the ground when jumping to help with their certainty with their position in space
-it’s about making their own musical choices, they don’t have to be going exactly along with what’s happening
-children observe what adults are doing, we want them to be observing you
-independence is good it’s ok if they’re not following with the group the whole time and they go off on their own some

Plan: I really liked the examples given in the video so I wrote some of them down to use in my sessions:
*Hello Song: (I really like the 2 word hello song because it’s easy for the parents to sing along to)
*Bonding Song: Wiggly Jiggly Car (I’ve started using this in sessions and it’s been great)
*Songs About Me: Can You See Me?
*Instrument Song: Come Along and Play with Me (on the drum)
*Movement Song: Let’s Go Fly a Kite with scarves
*Music Time is Over and Goodbye Song

[Mary Jane Dibble]

Most of the children I work with and have worked with are just older than this but there have been a few babies this age in my sessions. It is such an important time for the child to be able to bond with their caregiver and it is an importan time to help the child to feel safe and loved. It is important to not do anything too crazy and unpredictable in the music because children this age could easily become upset. It is fun to watch the children this age and to notice all that they are taking in even just by observing.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

5 words that describe the music experiences in Sprouting Melodies 1:
comforting, safe, bonding, calming, uplifting

Plan for music experiences:
*Hello Song: One that I wrote where I go around to each child and say his/her name (I also love the one shown in this video)
*Body Percussion: Oh will you tap along with me (A song I wrote)
*Lap Ride: The car song shown in an earlier video
*Instrument: Shake to the music (also love the one shown in this video)
*Movement: The Silly Song
*Cool Down: Twinkle Little Star
*Goodbye Song

[Mary Jane Dibble]

I like the goals that Cynthia mentioned, these are great ways that music therapists can help in a community based setting. I think music therapists play an important role in this setting because we are able to offer a unique skill set, having been trained and had experience with people of varying abilities and challenges. We are trained to assess and help people work towards goals that will empower them to be able to better participate in their communities.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

A lot of my families are in music therapy because their children are having developmental delays. They are trying to help their children progress in development in several areas including speech, movement, socialization, emotion, sensory, etc. Many of the families need support and encouragement in their efforts to help their children. The community I live in has a lot of families with young children and it also has a high rate of autism so there are a lot of families who can really benefit from music therapy.

[Mary Jane Dibble]

I like how it was pointed out that each music therapist brings individual and unique differences to our sessions. I think that music therapist bring a lot of value to families with young children. Some of these are:
Quality time spent between parents and children (parents get to play with their children), the parents and children are able to take songs home with them to continue to use, and parents and children are able to socialize and relate with other parents and children.

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