[Karli Purscell]

Emily, that’s great that this training has supported your current work and re-ignited your love for working for this population. Keep up the good work with those kids 🙂

[Karli Purscell]

Emily, I agree that Meredith’s perspective on sharing connections between what we do in music groups and what we do with other populations as an inroad to advocating for the profession is a fantastic idea! Sometimes, I personally feel a little uncomfortable talking up music therapy as I’m afraid that I’ll sound like a “snake oil” salesperson. This could be a good way to remedy that feeling in my own advocacy for the profession.

[Karli Purscell]

That’s interesting with the rhythm sticks, Karen. As a DIY-er, I wonder if there might be a way to safely cut some in half and sand them down to make them more useful for smaller children.

[Karli Purscell]

Karen, that’s true that babies can sometimes be intimidating. I know that I have felt intimidated by them as they are so easily upset! It’s so great that you have developed expertise with this group and are helping your interns develop a better understanding of this age group.

[Karli Purscell]

One thing that I have not been doing a lot of is explaining all of the musical choices that I make during a session to teachers and parents. I feel like I could definitely be doing more of that. I could also start reaching out to the parents of the children that attend the daycare, giving them more information about what we have been working on during sessions and providing ideas of how they might utilize music at home.

[Karli Purscell]

Part of the reason I signed up for this course was because I was already providing music groups at daycares, but I felt like my knowledge was lacking especially in relation to the very young children I was working with. This course has really helped me conceptualize how to approach music sessions in a way that is developmentally appropriate, but it has also opened me up to exploring other possibilities. I’m now starting to think about how I might work to offer family groups through some of the daycares with which I have already have built up connections.

[Karli Purscell]

Katherine, I really like your idea for passing out instruments! That’s a great way to prevent the room erupting into playing before you’re really ready for playing to begin.

[Karli Purscell]

Some of what I have used has been to have transition songs ready when the kids are starting to act out or talking while I’m introducing a song. One of my favorites that I stole from one of the really great classrooms I’ve observed at a daycare is to sing “put your finger on your lips on your lips” when all the kids start talking at once in between songs. It really brings down the volume when I need to communicate with the group.

I’ve also had groups where I noticed that the kids were acting up at specific times in the session so I reconsidered the structure of the sessions and changed it to prevent problems for future sessions.

[Karli Purscell]

Laura, I agree, developing a stronger foundation of understanding of the development of young children can make you more confident in providing services or even approaching different organizations.

[Karli Purscell]

I am looking forward to applying a new approach and perspective in my own work with young children. I have ended up providing music experiences at some daycares, but I feel that this approach really deepens my understanding of music and development so that I can really address the developmental needs of the kids I’m working with. I also think that this training has helped me by assisting in developing a framework for expanding my work to other families in the community.

[Karli Purscell]

Karen, that’s true, family music making can really give the whole family an opportunity to learn new ways to approach each other.

[Karli Purscell]

Sprouting Melodies 3

Words: Moving, Exploring, Changing, Ideas, Separating

Sentences:
* It’s okay if your little one is starting to pull away from you, it’s part of his/her growing to become an independent person.
* A great way to encourage your little one to connect with others would be to sing along with the song and model the movements while he/she is in another part of the room. That way, your little one can look to you to see what to do.
* Even when your little one is not near you, they can still bond with you. Just knowing that you are in the same room with them experiencing the same thing can strengthen that connection!
* We want your child to develop their creativity! So sometimes, I may stop the song so that he/she can put in ideas and contribute to the song. That’s not being disruptive, that’s being creative!
* It’s important to show your little one how to do things when they are having trouble. We want to model without doing it for them which lets your little one learn and grow!

Plan:
Hello – “Hello my friends” Accompanied by guitar, pauses added for responding
Gathering – “Sit Down with Me” Tapping on legs with pauses for opportunities to respond.
Bonding – “Blowing in the Wind” Have the children grab hands with those around them. The song will start slow and the participants will start to sway slowly, after the first section, the song will get progressively faster with faster waving motions.
Instrument – “You Play a Little” Have a drum and go to each of the children with the drum. Have the child tap the drum at “you play a little” and pull it back in for “I play a little.”
Movement – “All Around the Kitchen” Have the children walk in a circle during the chorus and stop during the verses. For each verse, model a movement. After a few verses, let the children take turns making up movements.
Cool Down – “The waves on the Ocean” Place resonator bells in the center of the room. Have the caregivers play on the bells with a steady ostinato pattern. Give the children mallets to participate and encourage them to hit the bells with the caregivers.
Goodbye – “Bye bye my friends” Have the children practice waving to each other while singing the closing song.

Family Sprouts
Words: Variety, togetherness, meaningful, teamwork, connection

Sentences:
* During bonding songs, you should place the older child closer to you and the younger child onto your lap. That way, your older child will feel like they are caring for their brother/sister while also feeling their connection to you.
* Music can be such a great shared experience for you and your family! When we get busy, we sometimes forget about finding joyful, shared experiences.
* The older children can model the movements for the younger children. This gives them an opportunity to show off their skills and helps the younger children participate more fully.
* Let’s ask the older children to see what songs they would like to do next. This gives them an opportunity to make decisions and influence the group.
* There are lots of different ways for children to contribute to music making. If your younger child (or older child) responds a little differently, that’s okay! It doesn’t have to be the same.

Plan:
Hello – “Hello to my friends” Song accompanied by guitar, encourage the children to wave to each other.
Body percussion – “Come and Join me in the Circle” Chant while tapping on the knees.
Bonding Song – “Hold on Tight” Have the older child sitting closer to the caregiver on lap and younger child on legs. Encourage the older child to hold the younger child while caregiver bounces the children.
Instrument Play – “Bouncing and bounding” The children will be given instruments appropriate for their age levels. The instrument play will mimic the type of movement described in the lyrics.
Movement – “I can move around” The children will play instruments while moving to the music.
Cool Down – “All of this is Me” The older children will be encouraged to show the younger children how to point out body parts.
Goodbye – “Bye bye bye” Slow chant that will be accompanied by guitar.

[Karli Purscell]

Katherine, you raise a good point about sibling rivalries and arguments that can cause disruption during the groups. I like the idea of making the older child the helper to give them a role so that they are less likely to get bored when things are less stimulating. I also think that this might help the older siblings define their role better in the group so that they are less likely to pick on their younger siblings whenever they get personalized attention from their caregiver.

[Karli Purscell]

One challenge that I foresee for multi-age level groups would be that it would be much less focused on the specific needs of the children. With the defined groupings, sessions can really be tailored to the developmental needs of the children, but that is less possible with the multi-age group. Then, the group can run the risk of becoming somewhat unfocused. There are ways of addressing this issue (i.e., keeping these groups small, planning and structuring sessions to adapt to needs, etc.), but the music therapist needs to be mindful of this potential issue while planning these types of groups.

[Karli Purscell]

Katherine, I like the point you make about the adaptability of music for development in that it can be adapted and changed depending on developmental level.

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