[Melissa Hentges]

Music therapists bring a unique combination of skills. We can assess development and implement interventions to encourage development in young children, but what is uniquely valuable is that we purposefully use music as a tool. Rather than just singing to sing, we make choices about the melody, rhythm, tempo, etc. in order to successfully reach the goals of our clients. Because young children are naturally so engaged in music, this puts us at a distinct advantage when it comes to working with this population. We can tap into that love of singing, moving, and playing and use our skills as therapists to create an experience for young children that is about so much more than making music. Also, because we are trained to work with a wide variety of individuals, we know how to engage the parents/caregivers of the children so they are able to recognize the value in the experience.

[Melissa Hentges]

In planning my lessons, I always include singing, instrument, and movement activities. One way I include listening activities is by bringing in stories to sing to the students. I have found that by adding a melody to a story, the children will attend to it for a longer period of time. I will often have a repeated phrase that the children will sing with me throughout the story which also helps to keep them engaged in listening.

One thing I have changed since beginning this course is my awareness of the different levels of participation in my classes and how that can be matched to a level of development. I have been able to share with teachers, who may be encouraging a student to participate, that the student is participating by choosing to listen or watch instead of sing/play/move. It is easy to assume that these students aren’t getting much out of class when they aren’t actively playing their instrument – but now I have been able to share why the opposite is true. The students are still actively engaged, but in a different (and still valid) way.

[Melissa Hentges]

Singing: Alters vocalizations in response to singing, Makes purposeful vocalizations in response to singing, Imitates short vocalizations, Sings phrase with approximate melodic contour, Sings familiar song with correct melodic contour

Playing Instruments: Reaches towards instrument, Explores instrument with hands/mouth, Uses hand to strike instrument, Uses mallet to strike instrument, Uses mallet to play rhythms on instrument

Moving: Moves entire body, Moves body rhythmically, Uses repetitive motor patterns, Responds to music with dance movements, Uses sequences of movement patterns

Listening: Shows pleasure toward music in environment, Looks towards face of singer, Seeks out source of music, Sings along with others, Adjusts singing to blend with others

[Melissa Hentges]

Minnesota has a very German and Scandinavian cultural background. Many of the old, familiar nursery rhymes and folk tunes are still sung with children today. However, in the recent past, the cultural landscape of this area has begun to drastically change and become much more diverse. Music therapists in this area will need to begin integrating music from these cultures into their repertoire as our clientele reflects that change.

[Melissa Hentges]

I am very excited to use these songs in my classes! I particularly enjoyed the use of minor keys and different modes. I admit that I get stuck using major keys a lot of the time but I really loved the songs that made use of the rich sounds that different modes can produce. I always use a “Hello” song to begin my classes, but this week I’m going to try out the gathering songs as children enter the room. That can be a very hectic time and maybe with the addition of a song right as they are entering the music space it will help them transition smoothly.

[Melissa Hentges]

There is a Laurie Berkner song that I enjoy using with children in the Independence stage called “I Know a Chicken”. In this song we use egg shakers to shake in different ways; high, low, fast, slow, loud, quiet, etc. At the end of each verse we freeze and I sing “Ohhhhh” leading into the next chorus where we begin to play our instruments again. I could really see the enjoyment of musical surprises while holding out this “Ohhh” for various durations – sometimes we’d jump right in and sometimes I’d hold it for as long as I could. The students would laugh and laugh and I could see the excitement building to play their instrument again when I finally sang the familiar melody of the chorus.

[Melissa Hentges]

To my early childhood music music therapy based classes, I bring an excitement for the development that is happening almost right before our eyes in children of this age. I think working with this age group is a blessing – we get to be silly and have fun, but at the same time we are there to witness those “ah-ha!” moments as they grasp a new concept or experience something for the very first time. We get to see the pure joy that music can bring in someone who is utterly honest in their responses. To be a guiding role in a child’s life while they are first exploring and learning about the world around them is humbling and I hope to use the information I learn from this course to push myself to present activities/interventions that are truly meaningful to that development.

[Melissa Hentges]

I agree that the red flags were particularly valuable to learn about. I cannot imagine, since I don’t have children of my own, how anxious parents could become if they feel their child is not developing appropriately. I think it would be helpful to have a professional that knows and cares for their child communicate that the child is going through normal stages or on the flip-side to confirm concerns that the parent might have so that the child may begin receiving any appropriate services as early as possible.

I also found the idea of recognizing the different stages of understanding that children go through particularly helpful. For instance, the example of the maraca stuck out to me (calling an orange maraca “blue” is better than calling it a “truck”). I often have students that misidentify colors or shapes and it is good to keep in mind that while they might not have correctly identified a color, they are in the right category and that is an important developmental skill.

[Melissa Hentges]

Hello! My name is Melissa Hentges. I graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2010 and currently live in Minneapolis with my husband and our crazy border collie. I completed my internship at University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH working with a variety of populations. My passion is in early education and for the past four years, I have worked as an independent contractor for a company that provides developmentally based music classes in daycares and preschools around Minnesota. I am looking forward to learning new techniques and new music to use with my students and to refresh my knowledge of early childhood development so that I can provide meaningful music experiences in my classes!

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