5,000 Facebook fans is something to seriously celebrate! We love the support that we get from our facebook community and want to share the love by giving away an AWESOME prize to one of those fans. Our facebook page is where we share details on our new classes, post pictures of what’s happening at MTC, and get awesome feed back from people everywhere! We are so grateful for the tremendous amount of support and the outpouring of love we see on our page every day!
We LOVE using movement props from Bear Paw Creek! To help us celebrate, they are giving away the following incredible pack of prizes! Mark your calendar for Wednesday, May 4th @ 5:30 pm and tune in on facebook for our LIVE VIDEO where we will announce the winner and share some other BIG NEWS! Join us 5/4 to see if you won:
2 Connect-a-Stretchy Bands ($50) // Bean Bag Set ($18) // Scarves Set ($22) // Balloon Ball ($15)
Along with all of the above, the winner will also receive digital downloads (including lyrics, chords, mp3, and instrumental track) of the following songs, which were written specifically for use with Bear Paw Creek movement props:
Curious to know what comes with our NEW multimedia songbook, “Counting Through the Seasons”? Check out the video below to get a sneak peek at one of the songs and learn more about everything you get with your digital download!!
We regularly get asked by the parents in our Listen & Learn for Little Ones classes if an older sibling can sit in on the class. We don’t have a problem with them joining but I often feel bad because the session is geared toward a younger audience. The older siblings will sometimes join in with the instrument playing or helping their little brother/sister, but their needs aren’t the focus in the Little Ones class.
So what better way to address those needs than to add a class just for the older siblings at the same time. This session we are adding a Little Ones class on Thursday evening at the same time as the Explorer Class so both young children and older children have a class designed for them but parents only have to worry about being in one place!
We’ve also added a couple classes for older kid and even teens and adults on Wednesdays afternoons/evenings. As we continue to grow, we are looking for new opportunities for all of our community members. If there is a class you would like to see, just let us know! We would love you input.
Check out what’s new on our classes page! We’d love to see you in the upcoming session!
One of the pieces of advice I’ve heard over and over from business owners is to have set hours for yourself and shut everything off after a certain time.While this may be great advice for some, it doesn’t always work for me.
I believe more in listening to what your body and brain are telling you and following your own personal work flow.Instead of pushing myself to do the same tasks at the same time every day or follow my planned out to-do list to the T, I listen to what my body is telling me I should do.
I find that by following my own personal flow and doing something I’m drawn to at that moment, I’m able to be more productive, creative, and focused.Also, if I’m working on something I WANT to do, the work usually turns out 10x better than if I’m forcing myself to get it done.
Example: The other night, I was wrapping up with students and as everyone was going home when I got the urge to put down one of the tracks for our upcoming session.I was drawn to it and loved doing it!An hour later, I had one of my songs done and loved the way it turned out, even though it was past normal working hours.I worked on a project that drew me in and it was so much easier to get done that way.
This methodalso means listening to my body when it wants to do nothing.Taking a break is not just ok, but necessary.If you need permission to sit on your behind and turn on Grey’s Anatomy, take a long bath, go for a walk, or curl up and take a cat nap, I’m giving it to you now!!DO IT! And don’t give yourself one ounce of guilt.
I’ll be the first to admit, there are a couple flaws in my method and a couple drawbacks, but I’ve never felt better, been happier, or produced better work than the days where I am 100% honest with myself and followed what I am inspired to do.
Drawbacks and how to handle them:
Bills have to be paid and calls have to be made – Save or schedule these (or other unpleasant tasks) for when you usually feel best in your day and are free of other distractions.That way you can accomplish them quickly without getting too frustrated or exhausted.
Deadlines – We all have them in one sense or another.If you have control over when deadlines are, be realistic with yourself and give yourself plenty of time to accomplish what you need with some extra time thrown in there for those days when projects are a little harder. If you don’t have control, find your flow and run with it.If something isn’t working out, switch tasks and come back to it.
Required or scheduled tasks – We all have parts of our day or tasks that we are required to do.Try to keep a positive attitude, get plenty of sleep, surround yourself with positive people and energy, and make it yours.If you don’t like cooking every night, try cooking all your meals one day a week.Paper work got you down?Listen to your favorite tunes. Take a break and walk.Grab your favorite beverage.Sit in your favorite spot. Use fun colored pens. Etc.
The moral of the story is, do what works for YOU!!Take the time to figure out what your work flow and follow that. You do you!
A few weeks ago my cousin tagged me (and about a hundred other people) in a post on Facebook. The post contained a video entitled “what’s your why?” I liked the video and its inspirational message but didn’t think much of it at the time.
Over the past couple weeks, it became more apparent though that “what’s your why” has been a kind of underlying theme the past few weeks without my even noticing it.
Intention is a huge topic we’ve been tackling in all areas at MTC. If you caught our post about goals for the new year, it would make sense that figuring out intentions is essential in reaching those goals. Recent “why” questions include: Why are you providing that intervention? What is the purpose of this class? Why do you want to be a music therapist? What do you want to learn? What goals are you achieving through this song? Why do you want to be here? Why are we using this process? Why are we doing this?
Why? Why? Why?
So I started thinking… as a leader, business owner, etc… What’s my why? Why am I doing this job??? Why am I here?
I could stop and think of the negatives. I could bring myself down with all the things that haven’t worked out, the long nights, early mornings, and sometimes stressful days. I could get caught up in my never ending to-do list and simply give up…be knocked out and taken down…
BUT my why is stronger. It easily trumps everything and keeps me energized and in the game. My why means that I don’t think about most of the downs sides or hard days. My why keeps me smiling nearly all day every day.
So why??? WHY???????
Because I LOVE IT!!!!!! I love seeing the excited look on a moms face when her son crawls for the first time in my class. I love the “ah ha!” moment when one of my students gets it!! I love writing new songs and hearing the kids I work with sing them. I love teaching an intern and working with people. I love writing, finding solutions, and constantly learning new things. I love seeing the families who come in the door week after week. I love the behind the scenes work that makes everything run smoothly. I love trying to make all the pieces fit. I love finding the answer to a problem. I love trying new things. I love watching people grow and knowing that I had a small part in it. I simply love it. I truly love it. That’s why.
