[Micaela Gibson]

I’m echoing the sentiments of everybody else when I say one of my community’s greatest needs right now is connection and community with each other. Many of the goals and objectives I’m working on with my clients are related to combatting social isolation in wake of the pandemic, and shared music experiences are a great way to do that. A lot of my sessions involve different groups of people being connected via Zoom (either multiple groups coming together or individuals) so the opportunity for socialization to happen even if in an unconventional manner. Whether my clients just listen to a piece of music together and discuss it, or engage in playing music through the screen, interaction is happening. Music facilitating interaction is what’s most important.

[Micaela Gibson]

I think that music therapists can provide lots of extra support to young families. There are plenty of parents and caretakers who may not know about what their child can accomplish developmentally through music, and a trained music therapist in early childhood can help them navigate that. They can also provide insight and encouragement when a child reaches a developmental goal in music, showing the family that just because they didn’t accomplish it a certain way, because they’re interacting with it through music, they’re making progress toward it.

[Micaela Gibson]

A lot of the Sprouting Melodies classes that I’m observing in my internship mostly include traditional music and music in that style that most children in America would listen to, this is done because most of the participants in those classes are familiar with the American culture. It’s their world and what they are familiar with. I know should a child of another culture join the group, their culture would be celebrated. Oftentimes, our sessions end with reading books such as It’s OK to be Different, which opens children up to people who live in different ways than them.

[Micaela Gibson]

Awareness:
1. Reaching in the direction of a preferred sound
2. Smiling when preferred music is played
3. Vocalizing to preferred music

Trust:
1. Moving to music
2. Creating their own melody
3. Exploring instruments with hands or mouth

Independence:
1. Choosing between instruments to play
2. Has a favorite song
3. Use of the whole body to move to rhythm

Control:
1. Choosing the color or shape of an instrument
2. Singing words of songs
3. Playing music loud or quiet

Responsibility:
1. Maintaining a steady beat
2. Increased control of loud and quiet
3. Attends to others making music

[Micaela Gibson]

In my first practicum experience, I worked with a small group of 12-30 month olds. The youngest boy in the group was about 13-14 months and beginning to gain full confidence on his feet. To begin sessions, me and my practicum partner would sing a song that prompted the clients to follow us to the music area and do some movements. The first thing we prompted the clients to do was stand up and for the first few sessions, this boy needed assistance from a teacher to stand up and follow his peers. Over the course of the semester, his response to our prompt to stand up got quicker and quicker, and by the end of the semester, he was standing up quicker than some of his peers.

[Micaela Gibson]

I think there are lots of unique experiences I can bring to early childhood music therapy programs. Reflecting on my experiences with early childhood music therapy practicums, I know I have a solid base of what to expect, although further experience in the future will definitely grow me even more. My non-music therapy job in undergrad as a teacher’s assistant in a preschool also gives me a unique insight. I’ve worked with children 12-60 months and have seen the development process in action across many children. Again, having that base knowledge of child development outside of music will be helpful as we add musical knowledge through the course of this course.

[Micaela Gibson]

From this week’s content, just seeing how early childhood development progresses layed out in the textbook and presentations was very helpful. It really gave me a solid picture of what to expect when working with young children. I also think this will give me a good foundation for how their musical development works.

[Micaela Gibson]

Hi there! MY name is Micaela Gibson and am I the newest intern at Roman Music Therapy. I did my music therapy coursework at the University of Kansas, where through fieldwork and practicum experiences I fell in love with the early childhood/intervention population. I also have a passion for working with children with special needs after a lot of non-music therapy volunteer and paid work within that population. After my internship is done, I hope to continue working with young children with and without disabilities within music therapy, although I don’t know what that looks like yet! My hope is that this course will expand my knowledge of early childhood development through music based on what I’ve learned and seen in undergrad. I know this course will serve as a beneficial foundation as I transition from observing to facilitating Sprouting Melodies classes at Roman, as well as my future work with children.

[Author]

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