[Amy Foley]

From here, I would like to learn more about what it means to be a Sprouting Melodies provider versus just providing early childhood music groups on my own through my business. I hope to be able to market well to the parents to get them involved. As part of the summer camp series we offer at my business, I did put some basic information about early childhood music groups starting late summer to see if I could garner any interest and get anyone to sign up for more information. Unfortunately, I have not had anyone formally inquire, just a few friends asking about when the groups were going to run. I hope that I can find the connections I need in the community with parents of young children to begin these groups successfully.

[Amy Foley]

I plan to continue diving in deeper to early childhood music therapy and music development overall to better enhance my music therapy business. This training has given me a solid foundation to begin early childhood groups and provide resources to my employees as well. I feel more confident with splitting up age groups for developmental reasons and know that my knowledge of this will serve well when talking with the Help Me Grow staff and preschool administrators in my community.

[Amy Foley]

Strategies used to assure every child is successful:

-mix and vary the intervention types throughout the session

-keep things in their hands or keep them moving when overall focus is low

-use dynamics and rests to gain attention, especially with toddlers

-providing opportunities to explore and be free in the music making without specific directions to follow all of the time

-giving lots of verbal praise and reinforcement through the music by changing the tempo when they get excited

[Amy Foley]

I am looking forward to offering a new class for parents and young children in my community. I have had several parents try a different early childhood music class and like it okay but want something more personalized or more open to their child with developmental delays. I think this training will also help me with the preschool groups I am already running. I now feel more confident to speak up to the teachers who do not always have developmentally appropriate goals or expectations in mind for the children. I feel that I have a greater understanding of early childhood development to speak to within the music setting specifically.

[Amy Foley]

I think it can be difficult to take off our music therapy hats and look from a broader perspective. I think explaining the difference to parents can involve explaining what they would witness differently in a music therapy session, including the assessment, treatment plan, and data tracking. In sprouting melodies, the focus is on providing developmentally appropriate music experiences to match where the children are as they learn and grow. I think I would have a hard time not pointing out skills that are being developed though, even if we are not specifically targeting or tracking it.

[Amy Foley]

I have experience running multi-age groups but with older children. Most of my experience is with elementary aged students in mixed age groups. I have always found that it is helpful to provide opportunities for all age groups to shine. If the older kids feel it is too easy or babyish, I allow them to make choices, be the leaders, and model for the younger children. I provide multiple opportunities for the age groups to interact. I liked the tips in the video of providing different instruments based on developmental levels as I have tended to just stick with the instruments most appropriate for the younger groups if we were playing something together.

[Amy Foley]

5 Words for SM3:
Welcoming
Accepting changes
Emotional regulation
Ebb and flow
Imaginative

Session Plan
Gathering: Sit Down with Me and Sing this Song
Bonding Song: Come on Ride the Train
Songs about Me: Give Me a Hand
Instrument Song: Your Turn, My Turn, Together We Play
Movement Song: Bloom Little Flower, Grow!
Goodbye: So Long, Farewell

5 Words for Family Sprouts:
Varying
Multi-leveled
Involvement
Support
Engaging

Session Plan
Gathering: It’s Music Time
Bonding Song: I’m Glad to Be with You Today
Songs about Me: From My Head to My Toes
Instrument Song: Shake it Up!
Movement Song: Swing and Sway
Goodbye: Goodbye to You

[Amy Foley]

I have several instruments that I use frequently but am worried about some of them with the youngest group of children that I have not worked with very often.

Here is what I use most frequently:

-chiquita shakers

-egg shakers

-scarves

-streamers

-parachute or large scarf

-tambourines

-jingle bells

-tambourine sticks (not sure of the technical name)

-rainsticks

-shape drums

-gathering drum

-child floor tom drum

-lollipop drum/paddle drum

-bubbles 🙂

[Amy Foley]

I feel that the amount of stimulation varies throughout the session depending on the energy level of the children. If I notice that they are getting tired of moving around, I slow the tempo down and provide space for the children to move back to their own areas with their parents or staff member to do something with less stimulation and overall energy. However, if doing something more relaxing and I notice that the children are running around the room and “not listening to directions”, I will switch it up and provide extra stimulation with greater timbres and tempo/dynamic changes as well as a stronger sense of rhythm. If I match what the children are giving me, I am usually able to provide the right amount of stimulation. There are times though that I need to take the lead and provide a more calming experience, especially as the session winds down.

[Amy Foley]

5 Words: Inquisitive, Watching, Trying new things, Energy, and Changes

5 Sentences:
1. It’s okay for your child to sit on, lay on, or play the drum with their feet because they are engaged and joining in with the group.
2. We wash all of our instruments after each session. It’s completely normal for children to explore by putting instruments in their mouths.
3. As the children become more comfortable in the group, you may notice them wandering away to be closer to other parents or children and that’s great!
4. Continue to sing and move your body with your child as they still learn so much from you.
5. Work on matching your child’s speed and energy level in the music to fully support their learning.

Session Plan
Gathering Song: Hello Everybody, Music Time is Here
Bonding Song: Shake it Up, Shake it Down, Shake it Any Way and All Around
Songs About Me: All of this is Me
Instrument Song: Gather ‘Round the Drum
Movement Song: March with My Baby
Goodbye: Goodbye to You

[Amy Foley]

I am personally struggling a bit right now to feel as connected with my community as I would like. There have been several one-time opportunities for me to connect with people out in the community through group programs and music therapy related work. However, the mindset in my area is that people want the service volunteered or for free. This is a huge struggle as a music therapy business owner as I have worked hard to show that music therapists are worth paying for and the reasons one would seek out a music therapist. Although it is important to me to be connected with my community, since I live in a smaller town, I want to be careful not to misconstrue what a music therapist does and why one would seek out a music therapist. On the other hand, I offer summer music camps to children of all ages and abilities. I also like to be visible at community events, although this is not community music therapy. This summer I have three library programs scheduled with surrounding communities that I hope can begin getting me out into the community in a way that is better meeting the general needs of the area I live in.

[Amy Foley]

5 Words: Observing, Connections, Relationships, Calming Presence, Experiencing

5 Sentences:
1. Your baby is looking wide-eyed because they are learning what we do here and taking it all in. It’s okay for them to not smile or coo along.
2. Your baby is watching you and learning more from you when you sing and move along.
3. Did you hear your baby making sounds? It’s because they hear you singing too!
4. Your baby needs more soothing music right now as they are startled by the stopping or dynamics used in the previous song.
5. There are no wrong ways for your baby to explore the world. Let them play and make music on their own instead of doing it for them as this is when the real learning happens.

Music Therapy Experiences:

Walking into class: Gentle background music of guitar or piano melody

Hello/Gathering Song: Hello My Baby

Body Percussion: Let’s all move… to the music!

Lap Ride: Row, Row, Row your Boat

Instrument Play: Let’s shake!

Movement: The More we Get Together

Cool Down: Where is Baby? with scarves

Good-Bye Song: Goodbye to You

[Amy Foley]

My personal experience working with children under one year has been limited, especially within music therapy. During one summer in college, I worked at a daycare in the infant room. However, this was several years ago and involved playing, feeding, and changing the children when they were not sleeping. We seldom did music with the children except to put on “soothing” music during nap time occasionally.
I hope to be able to have an opportunity to work with little ones again soon!

[Amy Foley]

I believe that the families I work with always have more needs than they let on. For their children, they have a desire for normalcy, socialization, greater communication, ability to follow directions, etc. Many families I see are constantly traveling between therapy appointments and schooling. They feel worn out, defeated, and tired. Most parents I see are happy for a small break from the hustle and bustle of every day life with their child with special needs. The families also need a time to felt heard and understood. They need to feel like their child is valuable and can contribute to society or the group or is making progress in their therapy. I have heard from too many parents that the emphasis elsewhere is on what their child cannot do, how far behind their child is, etc. What we present in music therapy has great power to show the families what their child CAN do and what progress their child IS making.

[Amy Foley]

I feel that music therapists bring a great understanding of not only child development, but also manipulating music elements in the moment with them to their sessions. When I work with younger children and their teachers, it is evident that my music therapy experience and training allows me to best meet the children where they are. We have the ability to be super flexible in the session if we allow ourselves to be. So often, other music professionals are stuck teaching to a curriculum. We can stick to our session plan, or totally throw it out the window and react with different music experiences based on what we are seeing from the children in the groups.

I like how Sarah noticed how unique we are as music therapists after watching someone else come in and do music with the students at her preschool.

Alyssa, I like how you pointed out the negative classroom behaviors exhibited by little ones. I feel that too many times the teaching staff that I work with is focused on the students sitting still and behaving like perfect angels instead of exploring and learning in their environment.

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