[Samantha Knapp]

I love your insight in all of this. Perhaps I do more than I think I do in my own practice and I simply am looking at it too closely instead of stepping back and observing.

[Samantha Knapp]

I frequently use movement, playing instruments and listening in my practice, but often forget to use singing. Many of my students are nonverbal or limited verbally and I tend to place more value on the playing and listening aspects of music instead of providing opportunities to sing in their own ways.

I use a lot of movement songs with my younger groups because they enjoy them and it helps them orient their bodies in the space and in relation to their classmates. We play instruments in almost every group and I like to allow them to explore as many of the instruments as possible. I do several “free play” groups throughout the school year where the students are allowed to pick just about any instrument available on my cart and explore. It tends to get a bit noisy and chaotic, but the kids really enjoy the opportunity to use all of the different instruments. For listening, I use a game called “pass the beat” where the kids have to pass the beat around the circle, paying attention to how many times I play and to when it is there turn. It’s a really great activity to help with attending to task.

I’m going to work to try to include more opportunities for singing in my practice as I move forward. I have found myself listening and studying my kiddos in recent weeks to see where they are in their development and this makes that even more interesting.

[Samantha Knapp]

Singing
Awareness: cooing and crying in response to music
Trust: pitched vocalizations and imitation; hard consonants
Independence: melodic intonation with simple words
Control: singing independently; interest in the social give and take of music
Responsibility: changing timbre to express emotion when singing

Playing instruments
Awareness: mouthing and licking instruments; reaching to touch instruments
Trust: placing head on a drum; hitting instruments with a fist or open hands
Independence: can play piano with a single finger, but will fluctuate to banging and using all fingers at the same time
Control: breath support and oral motor control necessary for playing wind instruments
Responsibility: creating personal musical style combining multiple aspects of music

Listening
Awareness: opening and closing fist and presenting reflexive movements in response to music
Trust: visual tracking of and awareness of the music
Independence: musical responses match and imitate what is heard
Control: maintaining interest in the music even when they are not playing or singing
Responsibility: maintaining music in thought instead of out loud

Moving
Awareness: rhythmic movement of the body
Trust: kicking legs and feet toward the instrument or music
Independence: will move to the instrument to retrieve or play it; is using a pincer grasp to pick up instruments
Control: will quickly adjust movements to meet the tempo of the music
Responsibility: able to participate in social dances and games with musical gestures

[Samantha Knapp]

I am really looking forward to using these songs for my little guys! I feel like things have gotten very redundant and I’m stuck in a rut. I’m excited to see what they thing about the movement songs as well! They love some of the movement songs that I’ve done previously and ask for them every week. Seeing how they learn the songs and the movements is going to be really fun!

[Samantha Knapp]

I grew up with parents who played Eagles, Genesis, Phil Collins, Boston, Jimmy Buffett, Garth Brooks, Kenny G. There was an odd mixture of music in my house looking back on it, but it helped me to develop a love and appreciation for all different kinds of music.

The county where I work is called “Slower Lower Delaware” and it’s largely farming and beach communities. These places are made up of pretty chill, laid back people, with exceptions of course! Tourism plays it’s part in the area, as well as people who have relocated to the area for one reason or another. We’re not far from the local Air Force base, and that brings families from all over the country and the world. We also seem to have a large number of immigrants in our community – Spanish, Latina, Turkish, Czech, Russian. It’s a melting pot of cultures that creates slower lower and it is very difficult to find a common thread connecting our families outside of disability and music. I use a lot of popular music in my practice because it crosses a lot of the cultures due to it’s popularity, but I know I could and should do more to meet the cultural needs of my community.

[Samantha Knapp]

Tabatha, I love that you’re incorporating those extra elements to Mr. Sun! I love to try to bring in little toys for songs. I’ve been using beanie babies and stuffed animals to make Old MacDonald much more interesting! Sometimes it’s more like a zoo than a farm!

[Samantha Knapp]

This sounds a lot like my typical kiddos! Their growth is so rewarding to me! But, I also get frustrated because a lot of my attention needs to be given to my little guys with special needs. I’m loving that they want to share their music with me though!

[Samantha Knapp]

I love the moments when they choose to participate and become a part of the group, but I also really enjoy watching these kiddos watch the group and listen and try to figure out what’s happening. Seeing that curiosity grow and expand before they finally participate is so awesome to watch!

[Samantha Knapp]

Working in a setting with a very diverse group of children, I see all of these stages in multiple groups. However, two of my students jump to mind for control and responsibility.

T.G. is very firmly in the control stage of development. He will typically stay in the room for music therapy sessions, but decides when and where and in what way he will participate. Very often, he seats himself away from the group, choosing to listen and watch from a distance. He will frequently participate if we do “Speckled Frogs” or if we play drums, but otherwise will stay distant. It’s frustrating because he is so capable of doing these activities, but I respect his choices because he is his own person.

My other student, T.M., is in the responsibility stage. They are autistic, so working with peers is limited, but they’ll often observe their peers during music therapy. I’ll also sit with them and play the drum, imitating back and forth. T.M. will often sing to me while playing, expecting me to imitate in return. The melody is frequently the same, but they have full control of it and it is like a game. I know that they aren’t entirely in the responsibility stage, but this is where I see a lot of their musical expression come to play. I think that T.M. may be spread across multiple stages.

[Samantha Knapp]

I’m looking forward to bringing my personal experience as a mom to the groups, as well as all of the things that I learn during this course. I love working with the little guys and can’t wait to be able to work with them, watching them grow in their personal and musical development in the music therapy groups. I’m also looking forward to bringing my knowledge of special needs to these groups to serve a currently under-served group of children who I think would enjoy a music group in their area.

[Samantha Knapp]

Hi Carrie. I had some of the same thoughts as I was going through the training. Working with my kiddos, I can pretty easily recall the differences in their chronological age versus their developmental age. I’m interested to get back to work after spring break to see how this training will effect my views and responses to my little guys.

[Samantha Knapp]

Hi Megan! I’m on the same page as you. There is a pretty under-served population of special needs children that I’m extremely interested in serving through this training, and I love all of the information that this has already provided. Glad to see someone else with the same thoughts in mind!

[Samantha Knapp]

I really appreciated hearing about the red flags, as well as the reminders to encourage a trade, making the sharing easier for the children involved in groups. It’s a difficult concept for the little guys to understand, but this makes it a little simpler and helps the concept to grow.

I also really liked the breakdown of the different age groups. There is so much going on during these first 5 years and even as a parent it could be overwhelming. Working in a school and with early childhood, it helps me to see the breakdown of some of my groups in a different light as well. This is a super informative week and I love it.

[Samantha Knapp]

Hi Billie! I’m a little jealous of your internship! haha I’m looking forward to learning with you during this course!

[Samantha Knapp]

Hi Stephanie! I’m looking forward to learning with you! I hope that your company sees the value of Sprouting Melodies training!

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