[Samantha Springer]

Thank you Debbie for sharing your insights!! It has been wonderful getting to know you and hear your thoughtful responses on these forums. Best of luck to you!!

[Samantha Springer]

It has been a great experience learning about early childhood development. I learned about it in school (almost 9 years ago now) and with everything else that I was learning at that time, the majority of the information did not “stick” at that time. However, this course was a great refresher for me and even better that it reviewed what musical responses to look for when a child is in a specific developmental stage. I have already used that knowledge in my sessions and will continue to use it for years to come. It has literally changed everything that I do as a music therapist and has made me into a more confident therapist.

I have interns yearly and another colleague. I will most likely use this information to inform their practice and to encourage them to review what musical responses to look for when working with someone that indicates their developmental stage. I’ve already started to increase my communication with families and point different aspects out that I see with the child throughout each session and explain the significance to the parents. That has helped significantly and I will continue to do this as well!

[Samantha Springer]

Part of my full-time job is working with individuals with intellectual disabilities who have behaviors such as aggression or SIBs. Because of this, I mainly practice from a behavioral stand point and provide a lot of positive redirections, positive praise, and positive reinforcement for everyone that I serve in music therapy sessions, including with little ones. I will use “no” with little children if I see someone engaging in a dangerous act that could harm themselves or another person, but mainly I use positive redirection and praise when I see them doing something that I want to encourage. I also use Debbie’s method of using “we” instead of you or I.

In my music therapy practice, I also will always look at what I’m doing when observing something within the group. Am I more tired than usual and is that showing? How can I be more engaging for them and how can I change the music to encourage them to be engaged? I also always do a check in at the beginning of the group by asking “how are you/they today?” Usually I will get an honest answer from the guardian/parent which will help me figure out the best way to meet the client/child where they are at that day.

[Samantha Springer]

The idea of establishing community for parents and children is what most excites me most about bringing this training to those in my community. I want to be able to provide a sense of community where families can bounce ideas back and forth with each other and learn from one another through music!

[Samantha Springer]

5 Words to Describe the Musical Experiences in Sprouting Melodies Three include: Strong, Personality, Intentional, Creative, and Accepting

Framework for a Sprouting Melodies 3 group:
1. Gathering/Greeting Song: “Sit Down and Join My Circle” can encourage the children in the group to begin recognizing the other children. It also incorporates movement which I have found to be an effective strategy for beginning a group for children in this age range.
2. Bonding Songs: “Swimming Together” is a fun song that can produce a necessary break for the children as well as encouraging bonding between child and grownup.
3. Songs About Me: “Where is the Music? encourages the children to copy different actions of those around them.
4. Instrument Songs: “You Play a Little” can encourage joint attention between children in the group.
5. Movement Songs: “The Leaves are Falling” or any other scarf song that is appropriate for that season. It provides context for the season and encourages the child to let go of the scarf.
6. Goodbye: “Thank you Very Much” which would transition into “Time to Go.”

[Samantha Springer]

I have never held a multi-age music session, but I imagine that focus of children can be a huge issue; making the group fun, stimulating, and engaging for a wide variety of ages can be difficult. Additionally, I imagine that occasionally older children might not want to be in the same group as their younger sibling and this could potentially lead to problems.

[Samantha Springer]

With this specific music based learning program, as a music therapist, I am trained to use music in a way that encourages developmental growth; I can evaluate where a child is developmentally and tailor the program to encourage different developmental milestones. In other music based learning programs, the focus is typically on learning music and being able to play music. In my music based learning program, the focus is learning and growing developmentally through the use of music.

[Samantha Springer]

Five words to describe Family Sprouts’s musical experiences include Busy, Helping, sharing, connections, support, and joyfulness.

Plans and experiences I might use in a Family Sprouts class:

Gathering/Greeting Song: “Come On Let’s Make Some Music” to encourage movement and togetherness.
Bonding Songs: “I Like to Lick the Ice Cream” This song would be beneficial for older children as they can practice sequencing and the younger children can participate in the movements. The children can do the actions together or with the parent.
Songs About Me: “Can You See Me?” For older children, it would be a great song for a call and response. For younger children, this song would be great for beginning to identify different parts of their bodies.
Instrument Song: “Music is the Way” can facilitate communication between family members and siblings.
Movement Song: “Can You Follow?” will provide structure for the little ones and provides the older siblings a chance to demonstrate how they want to move and then everyone follows.
Goodbye Song: “Music Time is Over”

[Samantha Springer]

5 words to describe the music experiences in SM2:
In addition to the words they provided, I would add energetic, flexible, exciting, anticipation, and flowing.

5 sentences I would use when speaking with parents:
1) When a child wants to explore the guitar, I would say something along the lines of: “It’s completely fine that they are playing the guitar with me! They are exploring new sounds and instruments!”
2) When your child starts to vocalize, they’re matching the pitch with me, which is a great first step in expressive communication!
3) Children may move in and out of the group freely and may not participate in a musical experience for the entire time; this is completely normal for their age!
4) Children at this age may hold onto two or three maracas and it’s normal for them not to shake it right away; however, with time, they’ll start to shake it as they grow and learn!
5) A child may start to move their bodies to the beat of the music by clapping their hands or stomping the feet as they get older (18 months).

Plan for Songs and Music Experiences:
To implement a Sprouting Melodies 2 session, I might implement the following songs/experiences.

Greeting/Gathering Song: I would use this song at the start of the session and would use my own “Hello Song” that I wrote. I’d focus on bringing the musical qualities out and adding more excitement such as body movements that end in sitting down.

Bonding Songs: I LOVE the “Wiggly, Jiggly Car” song by Elizabeth Schwartz, LCAT, MT-BC so I would love to use this one in a Sprouting Melodies 2 session.

Song About Me: Rachel Rambach, MM, MT-BC has a fantastic song called “Put the Scarf on Your…” that I’ve adapted to fit into this category. I also would use “Can You See Me?” because I know that kids love putting the scarf on their head as well as on other people’s heads.

Instrument Songs: I love the “Sit With Me and Shake” song by Meredith Roman Pizzi, MT-BC so I would try and implement that song. Otherwise, I have written several songs or adapted songs that would fit into this category for the maracas or the gathering drum. I love incorporating the gathering drum to encourage social interaction among the children.

Movement Songs: I also enjoyed the song by Meredith Roman Pizzi, MT-BC called “March with My Baby.” I think this song is great to be used to establish a bond between the parents and child and once the child is old enough to start implementing the movements themselves, it can great for channeling energy and to build fine and gross motor movement.

Goodbye: I would probably use a goodbye song that stated how music time is finished and I’ll see them again real soon! I love the idea of singing “Thank You Very Much” by Elizabeth K. Schwartz, LCAT, MT-BC while children and families are leaving to further encourage social interaction.

Thanks for reading!

[Samantha Springer]

I currently do not have any groups with children at this developmental level. However, I serve children 1:1 at this developmental level and use instruments that are easy to hold independently (maracas). As mentioned in the video, I stay away from tambourines, bells, or other instruments with a bright timbre or that have parts that may break and be ingested since mouthing can occur. I also try to stay away from smaller instruments that could cause choking. I like to sometimes use brightly colored instruments as well to provide visual stimulation.

I order all of my instruments from West Music, but don’t have any specific brands that I love. In my full time job, we have a plethora of instruments to choose from that are provided by the site so I make sure to choose sturdy instruments. However, in my part time job (running my own business), I order instruments that would be appropriate for that person after I complete the assessment with them.

[Samantha Springer]

I often find that it is highly dependent on the specific child or person. I find that watching their reaction to the music and then changing the music accordingly is the most appropriate way to monitor the amount of stimulation the person is feeling in my music therapy sessions. I find it extremely important to watch for overstimulation (crying, closing eyes, moving away from group/space, etc.) or under-stimulation (falling asleep, finding other activities to do in the room, etc). These can both look similar, but knowing the child/person can assist you with determining the right amount of stimulation for that moment.

It’s always important to watch your timber of voice and energy level as these aspects can greatly influence stimulation. I wouldn’t recommend a high energy session for a child 0-9 months as this can lead to overstimulation. Being attuned to the individual you’re working with and changing certain aspects accordingly is the most important part of stimulation.

[Samantha Springer]

Community-based music therapy programs can provide and build a sense of community for families, including the parents as well as children. Music therapy can provide opportunities for socialization and encouragement as well as provide a place where families can ask questions about development. Parents can build connections with other parents and children can meet other children as well to form friendships and strengthen community. Music therapy can provide a space where parents don’t have to feel lonely and where they can come and be part of something for their children without being judged.

[Samantha Springer]

I actually have limited experience with children at this developmental stage and age level. I worked at my church in the nursery for a short amount of time, but I was a supervisor so I didn’t get to interact 1:1 with the children as much as the volunteers. Although I didn’t work with the children directly, I had the opportunity to work with the families and the parents more often. As Debbie mentioned above, I learned that parents of little ones definitely need to be shown more understanding, love, and acceptance. Some days are harder than others and parents deserve to be shown that grace and be part of a nonjudgemental space.

During my internship, I lead a class, “Listen and Learn,” but none of the children I had in the class at that time were 0-6 months. However, I have lots of experience working with 1 year-5 year olds as many of the children in those classes were between those ages.

[Samantha Springer]

These are fantastic ideas and as Erika pointed out, a great connection to common language used by other clinicians. I hadn’t thought about connecting the four areas to the developmental areas that you mentioned. It made sense to me how the four musical developmental areas connect and translate to the other non-musical developmental areas.

[Samantha Springer]

I love the potential idea about “filling in the blanks” once they become more familiar with this song and your adaptation for using “pants/shirts” etc. Great ideas! I may end up using them as well. =)

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