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Keymaster
Welcome, Carla! Thank you for joining us on this journey. I am sure that you will have much to offer as we move through the material. Please let us know if there is anything you need as you catch up.
KeymasterThanks for all the interesting and interactive conversations. As we move into Week 2, please post your responses to the forum questions directly underneath the previous comment. That way the thread will be more cohesive. Most weeks will have 2 to 3 different threads.
Week 2 is probably the most dense in terms of material so you might want to plan your time accordingly.
Looking forward to a new week, new ideas and new enthusiasm. Beth
PS. We are looking into the formatting issue and will get back to you soon on this.
KeymasterWhat a great group of music therapists! We are so excited to have you join us as we move toward week two of the course. Previous participants have found it helpful to save their comments in a word document as they create their posts from week to week. It is amazing what great ideas people have come up with and it is nice to be able to have the comments to refer to when the course is finished.
KeymasterWelcome, Katherine. Thank you for joining the course. Please take a minute to meet your fellow participants who have posted on the other thread. It is a great group.
KeymasterI love how we all begin to become community through this forum! There is so much that each of you can contribute and the diversity of our locations and backgrounds will make these discussions rich. We will be answering some of your specific questions as we go along. Some of the information (such as funding under IDEA) is not included, but I will give you some resources and websites to find what you need as we move through the course.
There is a wonderful book by Joan Shaw on intergenerational music therapy called “Musical Bridges”. It is filled with lots of ideas and activities.
Beth
PS to Kristin- my daughter lives in Glasgow. Where are you located?
KeymasterWelcome! We are so excited to begin this journey into early childhood music and early childhood music therapy with you. My name is Elizabeth Schwartz, but most people call me Beth. For the past 25 years I have worked with very young children through Alternatives for Children on Long Island, New York. We provide comprehensive services for children with special needs, children at risk, families, early intervention and typical children. I also teach music therapy at Molloy College which is also here on Long Island. Meredith and I founded Raising Harmony a little over a year ago because we were so passionate about sharing our work with young children and families. I am lucky enough to have been able to put many of my ideas and music down on paper and in cyberspace. Please take a look at the blog I write for Raising Harmony when you get a moment.
I am also the mother of three grown children, and so have lots of personal knowledge of the ups and downs, joys and challenges of young kids.
I look forward to getting to know all of you.
Beth
KeymasterHi Everybody! I’m thrilled to be on this online course with all of you! I am Meredith Pizzi, proud to be a Board Certified Music Therapist and excited to see so many other wonderful music therapists interested in learning about early childhood music therapy and Sprouting Melodies. Here we are about to embark on a 10 week journey together and I know we are all going to learn a lot!
I am a graduate of Duquesne University’s Music Therapy Program and I had the joy and honor of working with Beth Schwartz as my internship supervisor. I learned so much from her in my internship and really developed a love for working in early childhood. After my internship, I had a very successful private practice on Long Island, NY before moving to Boston in 2006. Once settled into Boston, I founded Roman Music Therapy Services, and in 2009 Sprouting Melodies was born! Since 2009, we have seen our revenues at Roman Music Therapy Services skyrocket, more than tripling in 3 years and a lot of that has to do with the growth of Sprouting Melodies and how well it has been received in our community. What brings me here is the desire to share with others what I have learned about early childhood and music making. And with all of the effort that has gone into growing Sprouting Melodies, I want to give other music therapists the opportunity to now make it part of their practices. I’ve learned so much, and the branding and program development is done! I just want to get it out there to music therapists and families all around the country! So what brings you here??
KeymasterGreat! The part I didn’t add in the Duckie song: After ‘Watch me go’ I hold up my hand and say “Whoa!’ They all stop and wait, we look around, and then count ‘ready, set, go’ and do the song all over again.
I wrote this little piece because I got so tired of hearing our day care staff saying “Get back in line. No come back here. Pay attention” 😉
The staff might not use the songs all the time, but they sure do when I am around.
And they move the kids from one place to another so much easier, more independently and more pleasantly!KeymasterLove the “One more time for giggles and laughs”!
Here is a little chant that I don’t think we did on the video:All the little duckies
Go marching in a row
Widdle, waddle, widdle, waddle
To and fro
Widdle, waddle, widdle, waddle
Watch Me Go!KeymasterThank you for so clearly reminding all of us about the realities of parenting. We need to celebrate the commitment that families make to get to music class every time. I often work with moms who work nights and then pick up to kids to bring them to group before napping in the afternoon. Hopefully the music gives them an oasis of support.
KeymasterThank you for all the wonderful ideas, Leigh. I heard Barb Else from AMTA National Office speak about a project working with military families. I will try and find out more about it and how she arranged for funding.
KeymasterOne other strategy I like to use with older kids is to have them audiate the song (I often do this with ‘All of this is Me”). We ‘put the music in our mouth’ and close our lips and just move through the song in our minds. It is fun for the older kids and often spell binding for the younger ones. This is possible when the children know the song very well, and can internalize the tempo and watch you for cues to the beginning and end. It is the parents who have that confused look! and the children also love that!
KeymasterI hope you enjoy the book, Robin. The songs are meant to spark ideas and to be a starting point for making the music really fit your style and the needs of your children and families. One of the best things for me is to walk into a session and hear the SMP or therapist using one of my songs, but in a way that is so different from what I would have imagined. Would love to hear your feedback.
KeymasterI loved that you framed everything in terms of “mom”. I always feel as if my job is to always move the child from rapt attention toward me (as the music) and toward their mom or caregiver- the music partner.
KeymasterThe conference call scheduled for next Monday, March 11 is the time to follow up on anything you feel has been missing from this course so far. We can also get into more depth on some issues that you find particularly compelling. Please let us know through the forum or by email any questions or comments you would like to put on the agenda. Thanks!
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