[Megan Dewing]

I am looking forward to sharing this information with leaders of children’s ministry from my church. She has many more connections then I do with family’s of young children, and also knows some other places to share information about such groups. I also am looking forward to building better connections with other early childhood leaders throughout our community this summer at children’s concerts and fairs.

I am also looking forward to sharing this information with some of the families of clients I currently see. Even if the family doesn’t have a young child of their own, they may have a friend/family member who is looking for this information and a class for their child.

[Megan Dewing]

This training has given me much more knowledge of early childhood development, and at what developmental stages I can expect different musical behavior from. This is will, and already has, impacted how I plan for sessions with my younger clients (and even some of my older adult clients in some of the same musical stages). I am also looking forward to sharing this knowledge with my clients parents. I find that sometimes, the parents come in with expectations that their child is just not quite ready to achieve. This knowledge is something that I am excited to share with them, so they can also use music to aid in their child’s development.

[Megan Dewing]

I agree with everyone’s answers. Proximity, as Kayla explained is something that I always use as a strategy for success. If they are unable to hear, see, or feel the instrument, they will not be able to use it.

I also use positive reinforcement in my group sessions. As Amanda shared, reinforcing those around the room doing what you want them to do is always helpful, and I use this technique in almost all of my groups.

Michelle, I could not agree more about communication! If the expectations are not clear and they are consistently and effectively communicated, it is hard for the children to know what we expect of them. Also, sharing with parents about what we are doing in the session and how they can take the music outside of the session is helpful for the children’s growth.

[Megan Dewing]

I look forward to sharing with the parents how to use music to support their child’s development. One of the things I like about Sprouting Melodies is that they incorporate the parent education into the sessions. Helping parents understand what there children are doing and how to support them is so important.

As Kayla shared, I am also looking forward to sharing and advocating with the community about music therapy through Sprouting Melodies. Becoming a leader in the early childhood community is something that I am looking forward into building. Through this we are able to educate our community about children’s development, but also about music therapy.

[Megan Dewing]

I agree with what everyone else has said about this as well. I think that reading the room is one of the most important things to do in a mixed group. I think parent education is such a big part of these groups as well. We want to know when the music is maybe too much for the little ones, but we don’t want to take away from the experience of the older ones either. Helping to educate the parents about what they can do with their child during different interventions, as Erika shared, is just as important as being able to read the room.

I also agree with Jacquelyn that there would be natural opportunities for the older children to learn real-life/social skills. Especially if they are an older sibling, this is not something that happens just in Sprouting Melodies, and can transfer to when they are home as well.

[Megan Dewing]

Sprouting Melodies 3

5 Words: Energetic, Social, Creative, Intentional, Strong

Plan: Hello/Greeting song, Are You Ready for Music. Bonding Song, Swimming Together. Songs about Me, Do You Want to Be My Friend? Instruments, I Can Play With You and I Like This Song. Movement Song/Cool Down, My Brand New Friend. Goodbye.

Family Sprouts

5 Words: Variety, Community, Cooperation, Busy, Excitement

Plan: Hello/Greeting Song, Come and Join the Circle. Bonding Song, Row it Faster. Songs about Me, Can You See Me? Instruments, You and Me Make… We. Movement Song, Jumping Up and Jumping Down. Goodbye.

[Megan Dewing]

As Kayla shared, we talked about this together. I feel the same way as Jacquelyn; the two are not mutually exclusive, they work together. I think, for me, this is why I have some difficulty with this question. I do think that we are working towards more general development in Sprouting Melodies groups then the functional goals that we work on in our music therapy sessions. We are not looking for them to be able to reach a set group of goals; we are just looking to aid in their overall development. This is where I saw the difference…

I look forward to seeing what other have to say! As everyone else stated, I am a little confused as well.

[Megan Dewing]

I use a Remo Gathering Drum, Remo frame drums, larger maracas (I’m unsure of the brand), Basic Beat chiquitas, and scarves. I sometimes use jingle bells that can go around a wrist and small tambourines, but mostly with the older children in Sprouting Melodies 2 age range, as it can be a little too much for some of the younger ones.

[Megan Dewing]

I agree with everything that has been shared as well! “Reading the room,” so to speak, is something that I think we as music therapists are uniquely able to do. We can see when the instrument play is getting a little too crazy, and bring the stimulation down within the music. Noticing when a “cool down” might be needed in the middle of the session is just as important as building one into the end of the session.

As Kayla stated, parent involvement is key to the session. Their child might need a little more caregiver bonding throughout the session, or they might want to have more independence and watch mom/dad from the other side of the room. Helping the parent to understand this, and also to notice when they might be getting overstimulated is also a big part of what we can do in the session.

[Megan Dewing]

5 Words I would use to discribe Sprouting Melodies 2 are: Exciting, Engaging, Exploratory, Observing, Moving

Phrases I could share with parents are: 1. It’s okay that your baby is just watching right now, they are processing and taking it all in. The learning will come out later at home. 2. We want your baby to plant their whole foot solidly on the floor. This is where they take in the most information, and helps them to process the rhythm best. 3. Your child can roam around the room; we want them to gain independence and to do things on their own! 4. It is okay that your child doesn’t engage much with their peers. They are learning about themselves and how to be independent. This will come later! 5. We want your child to engage with the instruments, and it’s okay that they sometimes will put the shaker in their mouth. This is a step in the process of learning to shake!

Sample Session Plan: Hello/Gathering song to welcome everyone to the group. Bonding song to be able to start with mom/dad, but also bring some movement into the session. Instrument play and movement song (children can keep their instruments if they want to) to keep the energy high and encourage independence in movement/play. For a cool down sing a song about me to encourage bonding. Finish with a goodbye/closing song.

[Megan Dewing]

I think that music therapy has something important to share with others in community based settings. We have knowledge that others might not have. This makes us uniquely able to give support those others in these community groups. As Kayla said, there are not always activities geared toward families. As music therapists we are able to work and adapt to include all ages in the music experience and help every participant to get something out of the class. We are also able to offer other support, such as developmental information and referral sources, that other individuals or companies may not. The information and support that we are able to offer families is unique, and our parents find it beneficial as well.

[Megan Dewing]

Most of my experience with children this age comes from helping with nursery/child care at my church. I love how they are so excited to watch everyone and take in what is going on around them. Watching their facial expressions change as you make different faces at them and how they react differently to the timbre of your voice is always interesting. I also love to watch their face when they hear Mom or Dad’s voice. Even if they are facing away from them, they know when they have come into the room. The babies smile and excitement says it all! This experience and the new knowledge from this week’s videos makes me very excited to work with babies and their caretakers through music.

[Megan Dewing]

Some of the words that I came up with to describe Sprouting Melodies 1 are: Calming, Engaging, Relaxing, Unique, and Interactive.

Some of the phrases that I could share with parents are: (1) It’s okay that your baby fell asleep; we want them to be well rested. They will enjoy this experience when you are singing the songs with them at home just as much! (2) Your baby likes the timbre of your voice best. The will respond the most when you are singing with them. (3) That might be hard for your baby to see, let’s slow the movements down. It will be easier for them to follow. (4) Your baby might not hold the instrument for the whole time, and that’s okay. They are learning how to grasp and let go. (5) It’s okay that your baby is frigidity, why not try a standing position? He might enjoy it more.

A sample plan could be: After greeting the group, we would move to a bonding song (such as Row, Row, Row your Boat) to help parents engage with their child from the beginning. Starting with a song that is familiar to them will help encourage them to participate in the singing. The next few elements will be about sensory stimulation, moving scarfs and singing about the colors. This would be followed by playing instruments, such as shakers, working on feeling and holding the instruments and listening to the sound they make. A movement song would be used next, encouraging parents to move with their children as much as the baby is comfortable with. A song about me, such as “Just Like Me,” would be used as the cool down followed up by a goodbye song.

[Megan Dewing]

I have loved reading what everyone has said, and I totally agree with everything! We have such a unique skill set that we can bring to music, and the parents recognize that. We are not only able to adapt in the moment and work on functional skills, but we are able to give the parents something that THEY can do with their children. They don’t need to be the best singer and they don’t need to know how to play a guitar or piano. I think this is one of the biggest things that we bring to this age group. The music is not only accessible to the kids, but the parents are able to take what we are giving them in the class and “take it to the streets.” They can use the songs at home, share the knowledge with other caregivers, and continue to use the music to aid in development, even when they are not at music class.

[Megan Dewing]

Many of the families that I work with, like Darcy, are in need of education. Both developmental and musical milestones are important to share with the families we see in our practice. I, too, am excited to have more knowledge to share with them. Helping them to not only know what we can expect from them at this developmental stage but also how to help develop that skill through music is something that is a need of our clients.

Our community has a few other Early Childhood groups, such as Kindermusik and Music Together, but there is a real need for groups like these during the weekend. Most of offered during the week, and some parents are unable to take advantage because they are both working. I enjoyed the exercise of what music therapist and I, myself, can bring to early childhood classes, and I think this knowledge base is something that our community will also appreciate.

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