[Melissa Hentges]

This training has given me new ideas on how to share with the daycare directors and teachers why it is valuable to have a music therapist work with their students. From there, they can advocate to the parents and have better reasons than “it’s fun” to encourage parents to sign their children up for class. I have also been thinking about providing inservices for parents at the different preschools in which I work. Since I don’t get to touch base with parents on a regular basis, this would provide an opportunity for me to advocate for music therapy and to inform them of the benefits that their child is receiving by being enrolled in a music therapy based class.

[Melissa Hentges]

This training has helped me take a closer look at the activities I use in my early education music classes to make sure that I am being developmentally appropriate at all times. It has inspired me to try new modalities, to look closely at the language I use with my students, and to become more comfortable explaining my choices to the preschool teachers that I work with. As Beth and Meredith said, this is an area the doesn’t receive much focus in our education and I found that it was necessary to turn to other professions to educate myself on the abilities and needs of this age group. This training has been so beneficial as it has bridged the gap between what I was applying from my music therapy education and what I have picked up along the way from other sources. I hope to continue to push myself to create music classes that are meaningful to the development of my students.

[Melissa Hentges]

I am excited about making connections with families and being a resource on child development for parents. I love how it has been stressed over and over again how important it is to communicate our choices with parents so that they understand what we are doing and how it can benefit their child. I believe that sharing this type of information with families will encourage them to take what they have learned in class and continue sharing music with their children at home.

[Melissa Hentges]

One strategy I use, especially for older children, is to give them choices and control whenever I can during a class. They might choose the instrument they play, the tempo we play at, the dynamics we use, the topic we’re singing about, etc. I have found that the more choice and control they have, the more they will be invested in the activity. With younger children, I use a lot of actions, visuals, and props to add layers of stimulation to an activity.

[Melissa Hentges]

As others have said, keeping everyone engaged is the main challenge of multi-age groups. One way that I have dealt with this challenge is to encourage the older students to be “leaders”. I have found that older students love to teach the younger ones and will help me model for the younger ones. Of course, the music still has to be interesting enough to keep their attention so that they want to continue to participate with me. I also use a lot of books with multi-age groups. I will choose something that will keep the younger students engaged and ask the older students questions about the story as we read. Something as simple as adding a melody or melodic rhythm to books often helps keep everyone’s attention.

[Melissa Hentges]

I agree that these are two sides of the same coin. Using motor skils as an example – we may use a song that works specifically on the skill of crossing the midline but overall is encouraging development of motor skills. Or we might choose a song that encourages movement to music (gross motor skills) but does not focus on one particular skill. We can use a combination of music for development and music for skill building to help children develop overall but also to learn the skills they need within those developmental areas.

[Melissa Hentges]

5 Words for SM3: Experiment, Dynamic, Choice, Flexible, Expand

5 Words for Family Sprouts: Together, Diverse, Bonding, Cooperative, Energy

SM3 Plan: Gathering song – Gather Round; Bonding song – My Brand New Friend; Songs about me – Where Is the Music?; Instrument songs – Music is the Way (I love the use of pentatonic scales!); Movement songs – Jumping Up and Jumping Down; Goodbye song – Thank You Very Much

Family Sprouts Plan: Gathering song – Hey Everybody; Bonding song – Row It Faster (older children can participate in lap ride or do movements independently); Songs about me – All of This is Me; Instrument song – Dancing in the Middle; Movement song – Will You Come?; Goodbye – It’s Time to Say Goodbye

[Melissa Hentges]

Five Words: Laugh, Move, Active, Independent, Play

Five Sentences for Parents: It’s ok if she wanders away during a song, she knows you’re here when she’s ready to come back. He probably won’t clap quite yet, but put his arms outside of yours and he will feel you clapping. This is a lot of information to take in, she is just processing what is going on and I bet you will hear her practicing later! Try to plant his feet firmly on the ground, he’ll have a better sense of his body in space. She probably doesn’t want to be picked up because she is trying to hold on to all of those instruments.

SM2 Lesson:
Gathering – Hello Everybody; Bonding Song – Hold on Tight; Songs About Me – Can You See Me?; Instrument Song – In My Little Hand; Movement Song – Pick Your Hands Up High; Goodbye – Thank You Very Much

[Melissa Hentges]

The most common instruments I use with this group are jingle bells, chaquitas, drums of various sizes, and small tambourines. I have a large, flat, shape drum but would love to get a large gathering drum. I also use scarves pretty frequently. I’m not partial to any particular brand.

[Melissa Hentges]

When there is too much stimulation or not enough stimulation you begin to see the activities breakdown. Children will disengage from the group and will engage themselves in other activities – like Meredith’s example of a student banging into the wall. It can be a fine line between enough stimulation and over-stimulation and as others have said, it will vary based on your group. I think it is worth pointing out that not only can over stimulation come from us, it can also come from other students. I have seen students begin to disengage during an instrument activity and something as simple as saying to the group, “let’s try to play really quiet now” or changing my dynamics so that the students imitate my dynamic level can bring the over-stimulated student back into the activity.

[Melissa Hentges]

Most of my young students are in the 6-12 month range, but sometimes I’ll have a student who is younger than 6 months. It is fun to see how quickly they start to recognize the repeated aspects of our music classes and start to anticipate their role in those activities. It always makes me smile when I enter an infant classroom and my students crawl over to our music spot and start patting their knees! It shows how connected children in this age group are to music and how much joy they get from it. To me it is obvious, when creating music with infants, to see how being human and creating music are a natural pairing. They are simply experiencing the music in whatever way they can!

[Melissa Hentges]

Five Words: Bonding, Soothing, Gentle, Exploring, Repetition

Five Sentences for Parents:
– Let’s move our scarves slowly so that the child can follow with their eyes.
– Tickle their palm with the instrument and they will grasp it!
– If they are fidgeting, your child may be more comfortable in a standing position – try holding them that way.
– See how he turned to you when you sang? He learns from your voice first!
– She’s not bored, she’s taking it all in so let’s sing that song again.

SM1 Plan:
Gathering/Hello – “Where Is ______?”
– “Where is Sara? Where is Sara? There she is! There she is!” When the child is quite young, I will look at them when I sing the question and touch their knee, tummy, or arm when we ‘find’ them. As they get a little older they start to anticipate it and will raise their arms up when they hear their name then reach out for a ‘high-five’ when I sing “There he/she is!”

Bonding Song – “Hold On Tight” (EKS)
– I like how this song has a slow, rocking section and a faster, bouncing section. Encourage parents to be aware of their child’s reaction when the music changes so that it is not startling.

Songs About Me – “Show Me if You Can”
– “Can you find your nose? Can you find your nose? Can you find your nose? Show me if you can!” This is a simple song about the body. I model finding each body part or touch the child’s nose/knee/toes/etc and repeat it as many times as needed before moving on to the next part.

Instrument Song – “In My Little Hand” (EKS)
– I like how adaptable this songs is – changing how you shake (up and down, all around), changing where you shake (in your hand, on your knee), etc.

Movement Song – “As Big As Can Be” (EKS)
– This song sounds like so much fun! Again, encourage parents to be aware of how their child is responding to the music and adjust movements accordingly.

Goodbye

[Melissa Hentges]

I think music therapy can have a significant role in community based settings because it is so flexible. Our training allows us to respond to what our community needs and create groups based on those needs. Because we are trained to work with so many different populations, we can really be inclusive in our classes/groups. People from different backgrounds can come together and share in a music experience focused on something that connects each one of them – their love for their child. Having a music therapist as the facilitator of the class guarantees that no matter the differences of our clients, they can all be successful in this shared experience.

Leigh Ann makes a great point about creating a safe space for parents to share concerns. By making parents aware of our education and training, they may feel more comfortable bringing questions or concerns about their child’s development to us.

[Melissa Hentges]

As more information becomes available about the benefits of music, I see more and more parents seeking a way to use music in their homes. Because I work in preschools I only see the children during class time, not the parents. Often parents will ask me for the songs that I am teaching so that they can sing them at home – however this can be difficult if it is a song that I have composed. Creating groups for both parents and children would definitely fill the parent’s need to find music they can engage in with their children.

[Melissa Hentges]

I really liked Mikhala’s point about supporting the child’s growth, the parent’s growth, but also the growth of the relationship between child and parent. In our society, so many people think that music is something you can only do if you are “good” at it. That it is only about performing or watching a performance. I love that with these classes, music becomes part of the everyday activities of these families. We know as music therapists, how beneficial music can be to other areas of development and the more accessible we can make music for the parents, the more music will become part of their relationship with their child.

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