[Patricia Karr]

Sabrina, I agree that it has been really great to have the ability to share valuable information with parents and work more as a team to help the children grow.

[Patricia Karr]

I participated in a 2-evening phone conference with Beth in December of 2014 entitled “MT Assessment: Early Intervention to Early Elementary.” As you all know from taking the Sprouting Melodies course, Beth is very thorough and knowledgeable. The phone conference was chock full of some excellent information and resources in addition to an explanation of how to use her assessment tool. I highly recommend taking the Assessment Training at this time. I have to say that after completing the Sprouting Melodies training, the assessment tool and my 2014 notes sure hold a whole lot more meaning!

Best of luck to all of you!

[Patricia Karr]

Sara,
Great tips for spreading the word about your Sprouting Melodies groups! Also, congratulations on the growth and popularity of your program!

[Patricia Karr]

I have already begun sharing with my families as I speak with them about their children’s progress in music therapy. As noted in my previous post, I have found that I am now able to speak with parents in a more knowledgeable way about their children’s developmental stages and the hows and whys of what I do within the music to meet individual needs. I am also able to describe the next steps and give the parents tips and strategies for home use.

I am eager to talk with my Clinical Director about potentially offering Sprouting Melodies at our therapy center. We are always trying to come up with new group offerings for our clients. I can really see the value of offering age-specific Sprouting Melodies and Family Sprouts groups at our center for our families to bond and have some enjoyable time together while making music. I could also see how this could offer my music therapy clients the opportunity to interact with other children and help scaffold their development in a number of areas.

As for colleagues, I know a Sprouting Melodies Provider who has a thriving SM and MT business within an hour drive from me. I would like to connect with her to share ideas on expanding SM in my area. I am also planning to speak with some music and MT colleagues in my community about my SM training. I may also approach my church leadership (of which I am a part of). My church is currently building a new activity center to help meet the many social needs of the community and of the church membership. I wonder if they may have an interest in hosting a community-based parent education and support program such as Sprouting Melodies?

[Patricia Karr]

Sara, Good luck to you as you become a Sprouting Melodies Provider and expand your company’s group offerings!

[Patricia Karr]

I am grateful for all I have learned through taking this course. It is a great fit with my work with children and my M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education. Since taking this course, I have definitely been more reflective in my evaluation of what my clients are doing in music therapy and what it means about their development. I have also been more aware of my decision-making re: music choices and setting appropriate goals. As a result of taking this course, I have also been able to speak with parents in a more knowledgeable manner about their children’s developmental stages. I have been able to apply what I have been learning to my work with other populations as well. I can see where my adult clients with developmental disabilities are in their developmental process and what I should be providing for them to encourage further growth.

If I decide to become a Sprouting Melodies Provider, I can see how it could expand my reach to other children and their families in the community who do not come to me for music therapy services. Because of my increased presence in the community, I could potentially see growth of my music therapy practice as well as my Sprouting Melodies practice.

[Patricia Karr]

April and Erika,
I appreciate what you had to say about being able to make adjustments with a “Plan C” and giving validity to sometimes allowing a child to “just be.”

[Patricia Karr]

Sara, I like your acknowledgement that success is measured differently from person to person. I especially like what you said about the importance of getting to know your parents and children to provide what they need to feel successful.

[Patricia Karr]

To ensure every child has success in music therapy and inclusive music groups, I have found it important to first bring the necessary and appropriate experiences, songs, instruments, adapted equipment/mallets, visual aids, movement props, supplies, and materials that each child may need to fully participate. I also consider environmental factors such as lighting, temperature, and safety. Finally, I consider positioning. Then we are ready to begin the music group!

I am careful to acknowledge each child various times throughout the session, remain observant, and encourage increased participation when I see an opportunity to bring him or her further into the experience. I have used eye contact, facial expression, proximity, preparatory breaths, gestures, conducting, touch cues, supported movement, modeling, pausing/silence, verbal or sung verbal cuing, choice, role assignment, and, of course, music changes to encourage increased focus and participation. Sometimes, I have provided increased challenge or additional assistance or accommodation for those individuals who require it. The child who needs challenge can benefit from adding another layer of music, individual musical responsibility, or a more challenging instrument part. Some children may need to be closer to you or may need to be picked up and held for increased engagement to occur. Of course, we should take charge and redirect or intervene when a child’s behavior becomes disruptive or dangerous. I have had to do this on a number of occasions over the years. Consistent responses to harmful behavior along with modeling and acknowledging appropriate behavior really helps children make the appropriate adjustments so that every child in the group can experience success.

[Patricia Karr]

Sara,
I love hearing about the tremendous support you have for Sprouting Melodies at your workplace and your desire to serve additional families in your community as a provider!

[Patricia Karr]

Like most of you have reflected upon here in this post, I am changed by this course. Everyday, I find myself applying what I have learned about developmental stages, appropriate instruments and music for each stage, the new songs, and how to converse with my parents about their children’s therapeutic progress and development in a variety of areas.

Cynthia, I also would like to keep up the connections with the amazing music therapists met in this training. Thanks to ALL of you for offering your ideas, insight, and support on this forum! I have learned something new from each and every one of you.

[Patricia Karr]

I have not come to a final decision on whether or not I will become a Sprouting Melodies Provider (SMP) at this time. I have enjoyed the support and ideas of my MT-BC colleagues in the online forum. If I decide to become a SMP, I especially look forward to staying connected with some of you and having the opportunity to connect with and learn from a broader community of MT-BCs who work with young children.

[Patricia Karr]

Wow, so many great posts here! I found myself agreeing with something each of you said.

Cynthia, I also really connect with Beth’s quote of “learning to be a human.”

I think that there are many ways to answer this question, and how to answer it may depend upon the depth to which your parents want to go in the conversation. Regardless of how deep the conversation goes, all parents will be happy to hear that Sprouting Melodies is good for their child’s development as a person.

[Patricia Karr]

Many parents have little to no experience with music therapy and may not be aware of the many ways a music therapist may utilize music for non-musical skill building in a therapy session. Assuming that more parents are familiar with music classes and music lessons than music therapy, I might begin from that place of common understanding. My explanation might go as follows:

As many of you know, the goal of most instructional music classes and private music lessons is to develop skills in music. What we provide you with in Sprouting Melodies is very different and unique, even among other community-based early childhood music programs. Our focus in Sprouting Melodies is to address the overall development of the child rather than specific music skills. Through Sprouting Melodies, we will be focused on guiding your children toward developing an awareness of self and the world around them, building a trusting bond with you (the parent), developing the confidence to connect with others, exploring how they can have a positive impact on the people and environment around them, and growing into independent and responsible human beings. As your instructor, I will be here to guide your child in his or her development and will teach you what to look for and how to support your child as we share in some enjoyable music-making experiences that you can also use at home.

Of course, after that initial explanation, I can offer more information in the weeks to come or as parents want to engage in deeper conversation on this topic. Perhaps there will be conversation about my music therapy credentials and music therapy as we go along. If there are any families who already have music therapy services, I can clarify the difference between music therapy and Sprouting Melodies early on in our conversations.

[Patricia Karr]

Erika, Sara, Cheryl-Lee, and Rebecca,
Thanks for the reminder of why it is a good idea to use a consistent greeting and goodbye song. I most often do, too, in my practice to clearly mark the start and end of the session for my clients. Tempo, dynamics, and accompaniment variations are something that I utilize when my clients seem ready to tolerate these changes. Some I plan for, but more often these changes are implemented in the moment (as are lyric changes) as I match the client’s movements and monitor their reactions.

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