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April 21, 2015 at 10:12 amParticipant
Singing: Awareness- breath sounds, moving mouth. Trust- matches some selected pitches,makes purposeful vocalizations. Independence- Increased vocalization, “secret singers”, melodic inflection. Control- show time/listen to me, varied dynamics. Responsibility- Experiments with pulse and meter in song, able to recall “learned” songs.
Playing instruments: Awareness- Responds differently to play-song vs. sedative music. Trust- Picking up and grasping instruments, putting in mouth but shaking purposefully 2-3 times. Independence- Not in mouth as much anymore, exploring a variety of instruments. Control- Starts and stops playing in the music, greater control over sounds produced. Responsibility – Loves gathering songs, can keep a steady beat.
Moving: Awareness- natural responses to play-song vs. sedative songs. Trust- move body rhythmically, isolates body parts. Control- Imitates movements, explores the space. Responsibility- movement games, sequencing.
Listening: Awareness- Recognizes vocal timbre (mom). Trust- comforted by familiar melodies looks to the source of the sound. Independence- Facial expression matches the intensity of the music. Control- engaged listening, stops actions to listen to the music. Responsibility- Listens to the music made by others.
April 21, 2015 at 9:38 am
in reply to: How have you used these four music experiences in your practice?
ParticipantI use the playing of instruments in each session that I lead. I have noticed that the children who are in the control phase seem to wait with anticipation for “instrument time”. After several sessions with me they “know whats in the blue bag”. I have found that breaking up my session between singing/spoken chant and exploration of instruments allows me to set a pace for the session. By alternating between the two I can either slowdown or pick up the pace/energy of the session. When I work with my youngest of clients (3 months) I love to tune into their listening skills. When I work in a childcare setting the staff in the infant room is amazed that the children track me as i walk around the room with my guitar.
Movement can be a lightning rod with some of my groups. While I encourage movement, in some of my preschool aged settings the staff does not always. There is a fine line between “now its time to sit still and listen” and “please control your body”. In one session I have a larger size preschool group. This is a childcare setting with 17 3-4 year olds. This group is my biggest challenge with movement. The staff would much prefer that “no one get out of control”. I am always trying new ways to incorporate movement without producing chaos.
April 14, 2015 at 6:15 pm
in reply to: Discuss with the board the traditional and cultural music in your home community.
ParticipantI live in the town of West Hartford,Connecticut. I live in a predominantly Caucasian area. Although we are next to an urban setting that is much more diversified, I live and work in the same town. I am honestly not sure what the traditional or cultural music of my community is. If I were to talk about the city of Hartford there are some very strong cultural influences from Jamaica and the West Indies, Puerto Rico and Latin America.
I seem to be at a loss for looking into my own community. I can tell you that among parents in this town there is a strong importance placed on music in the public schools! The town has amazing music programs that are nationally recognized and supported by the taxpayers over and over again. The schools are full of choirs, orchestras, bands and jazz bands. As I think about it, they are mostly rooted in western music tradition. I guess there is an expectation that the young children I work with will some day follow in this style of music education.
This is a question I am going to have to think a lot more about.
April 14, 2015 at 5:58 pmParticipantI currently work with two year old children in a mom and me style class. I also work with a “twos” room in a daycare setting. It is has been interesting for me to think about the children this week and compare the differences. It is quite a different dynamic when there are equal numbers of adults and children. There are eight children and two teachers in the room with me when I work with the daycare. The children in the daycare setting who are in the CONTROL level of development are the ones I thought about most during this section. These little ones at the day care are doing extremely well with turn taking right now. They are making instrument requests too! “Where are your eggs?” They are starting to show preferences for instrument color and type. They also respond to dynamic changes with great joy and anticipation…anticipation for when we finally get to play LOUD again. I am looking forward to using some of the new music from this week when I work with them next.
April 14, 2015 at 5:43 pm
in reply to: Sing and learn some of the songs presented in the video. Share with the board your experiences using these songs.
ParticipantI also enjoyed learning the songs/material from this week. This week is spring vacation for my children, and I am not working. I was unable to try the songs with any of the children that I work with. Conveniently my son is three years old! We sang some of the songs together. He particularly enjoyed “Sit down with Me” and “Where is the music”. I am looking forward to bringing them into my work settings next week.
April 6, 2015 at 10:46 amParticipantI hope that I am able to provide a creative and supportive environment for both children and parents. Some of the programming I offer is for parents and child together, while some of the preschool age groups are in educational settings. While being supportive of the parents, I also hope to create an environment where the parents can become supportive of each other. With our background as Music Therapists we bring experience and understanding of group dynamics. I think that this skill can only enhance the quality of the programs that we will provide.
April 6, 2015 at 10:38 am
in reply to: What was your most valuable takeaway from this weeks’ content?
ParticipantI currently provide early childhood music programming for a daycare center. Twice a month I work with the entire center classroom by classroom. I start in the preschool and work my way backwards to the infant room. I work with children 12 weeks of age up to the little guys who will enter kindergarten next fall. As I reviewed the materials this week, I of course couldn’t help thinking of specific children in each room and matching their developmental milestones. I have been working there for over a year now. I have watched the children reach their milestones and progress into the next classroom. It reminded me what a great tool this particular site is for me in honing my awareness of developmental growth.
ParticipantMy name is Michelle Russell and I have been a Board Certified Music Therapist for 14 years. (when did I get so old) I currently live in West Hartford , CT. I spent 12 years working in long term care settings exclusively. I managed Therapeutic Recreation Departments, and really loved it. After the birth of my second child I stopped working full time. I have been slowly building up a small private practice for myself. (Feel free to like Musical Moments Music Therapy Services on Facebook) As an expansion of my practice, I have recently started offing early childhood music programming to local day care centers and preschools. I am hoping that this course will help build my confidence in what I am providing as well be a good refresher about development. It had been a while since I worked with children. I am looking forward to learning with you all.
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