by Alisabeth Hopper | Sep 17, 2015 | Intern's Corner, MTC
Hello again!
For those of you who didn’t see last weeks post; my name is Alisabeth Hopper and I am the intern at Music Therapy Connections. I will be posting here every week throughout my internship so be sure to check in!
This week was a bit out of the norm as Monday was a holiday and Thursday both of my supervisors were out of town. Thankfully, I got quite a bit of practice time leading up to a Listen & Learn for Little Ones class I was to co-lead with another therapist.
I went into this experience with plenty of nerves, and much excitement. I was a bit jittery and fumbling in the first couple of songs. That is, until I was playing “Down on Grandpa’s Farm” and one young boy suggested that we sing about a fox. I couldn’t help but laugh when I had to ask him “…and what does the fox say?” The entire group, parents and children, were belly laughing at our new verse, and I felt my nervousness drift away!
At times it can be difficult to set our nervousness and anxiety aside, but I have found that I am not able to be fully present in the session or class unless I do. Once I take that step I begin to experience a genuine musical moment with all of the participants.
I believe that this experience is one of the things that Music Therapy brings to the table that is unique, significant, and lifelong: a connection. What we do with that connection, that’s what makes it therapy.
Thank you for reading! See you next week!
– AH
by Alisabeth Hopper | Sep 8, 2015 | Intern's Corner, MTC
Hello All!
My name is Alisabeth, I am the Music Therapy intern at Music Therapy Connections, and this is the Intern’s Corner! Once a week throughout my internship I will share my perspective on the internship process and what its like to intern in Music Therapy, and at Music Therapy Connections. I am so excited to share my journey with you!
That being said, I just completed my first full week at Music Therapy Connections and wow, it has been a crazy week! Going into my first day I was not sure what to expect. I have known that I wanted to have a private practice ever since I began studying Music Therapy. Now I am finally here! I am able to see people actually doing that which up until now, has only been a dream. As the week went on I found myself feeling the weight of compounding stress right alongside the compounding joy that comes with doing what you love. It has been overwhelming in every sense of the word.
For all of the up and coming interns out there I have made a short list of things to remember on your first week!
1. Relax.
As nerve-wrecking as that first day can be, with a couple deep breaths you can get through it. It can be overwhelming to be introduced to all of the competencies you need to meet and projects you need to complete. Just take it one day at a time. And remember today is a day to…
2. Celebrate!
You made it to your internship! This is an exciting time and you should take some time to celebrate the fact that you did it. You made it here.
3. Reflect
Take time everyday to reflect upon what you have experienced. Transitioning from one client contact hour per week to 20+ can be a dramatic change, so adjust accordingly and give yourself time to digest everything can be very helpful. I like to do this on my lengthy drive home.
4. Self Care, Self Care, Self Care
You have reached the end of the week and you are planning your to do list for the weekend; don’t forget to add some time for self care. This is time where you do something just for you. In the past this has been difficult for me, but my supervisors have made it clear that this is very important to be the best you that you can be, and after committing to it this week, I feel more relaxed and at ease. As challenging as it is to take time for yourself, when you feel overwhelmed it can be a great benefit to you.
I wish you all the best of luck in your own adventures this week!
Thank you for reading,
-AH
by Katey Kratz | Feb 20, 2015 | Materials & Supplies, MTC, Tips & Tricks, Videos
Ever wonder what it takes to prep and clean up an early child hood group? The short time-lapse video at the end of this post shows exactly what I do before and after a class!
Each Listen & Learn Class requires a little effort to set-up and tear down. In our recent post “little details, big difference”, I outlined some of the small things we do to make our space more comfortable for the families we work with each week. On top of those small amenities we bring (hand sanitizer, a rug, tissues, etc), we carry instruments, binders, a book, and a guitar to and from our sessions. At the end of the session, everything gets packed up, taken to the other room, cleaned, and put away. This setup and cleanup generally takes about an extra 10 minutes before and after the session, making the total time for a class just over an hour.
Enjoy this short video!!
by Katey Kratz | Feb 13, 2015 | Apps, MTC, Resources, Videos
I love using sign language in our early childhood groups because it gives children of all ages and abilities the opportunity to participate and communicate in a meaningful way while learning new words and skills they can use at home.
In the video below you can learn and practice the sign language to my song, “Sing With Me Love.” Along with providing opportunities for parent/child bonding, children learn the sign language for family members (mom, dad, sister, brother, grandma, and grandpa). “Sing With Me Love” is featured in our Facilitator Package 3 and in the “Bonding” mini-pack.
One of my favorite apps for learning new sign language is “ASL Dictionary American”. This app shows you the sign language for individual words using videos that you can slow down and replay as many times as you need.
Note: I am by no means a sign language expert. After reviewing the video I posted, the I found that I accidentally used the sign for “my” instead of “me” when signing the first two parts of the video. I corrected this in the later parts of the video, including the full sing through at the end of the video.
by Katey Kratz | Jan 22, 2015 | Materials & Supplies, MTC, Tips & Tricks
When Rachel and I began working in our new group space, we were both incredibly excited. The space is only feet away from our instrument storage, the room is large, and the building centrally located in town. Even with all of the positives of our space, we had a few challenges to overcome.
Though the space is mostly empty, it is used by several different people so we needed to adapt it to make our clients a little more comfortable and willing to participate in groups. Here are some of the small changes we made to make a big different for our clients.
Adding a Colorful Area Rug
Having a rug helps define the space and creates a central location for children to come forward during story time or gather to play with larger instruments or movement props. It serves as a wonderful reference point when giving directions as well (ex. “Come sit on the rug”).
An area rug can also help cover unsightly or distracting things on the floor. The shiny outlet cover in this picture was a huge distraction during our first class and was quickly covered for future gatherings.
Not only is our rug functional, it adds to the overall aesthetic of the space, making it more “ours”. It’s also easy to roll up and store away after every class.
Storage on Wheels
Our rolling storage cart may be my favorite purchase thus far. This 3-drawer cart allows me to organize the instruments we are using in the group and store things out of sight of our group members.
Because my toddler-age group members like to explore on their own, I face the drawer pulls toward the wall so the drawers cannot be opened without turning the cart around. This usually discourages clients from getting into the drawers and give me more freedom to lead the group.
At the beginning and end of class, it’s so much more convenient to roll the cart back into our storage area then carry multiple bags and bins!
Little Amenities
We try to provide little things to make our clients feel more comfortable.
Anticipating their needs helps them feel more at home, willing to participate, and likely to come back again. Having small things like hand sanitizer and tissues can make a huge difference when someone is in need!
by Rachel | Jan 18, 2015 | MTC, News
In my almost 10 years of experience leading early childhood music classes, I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many others who do similar work. We’re therapists (of the music, physical, speech, developmental, and occupational sort), music educators, music specialists, general education teachers, volunteers, parents, and the list goes on. But the bottom line is the same: we all help kids learn and grow through music.
I’ve been writing songs and sharing them on my blog since 2008, and those songs make up much of my early childhood music class curricula. This summer I partnered with a fellow music therapist, Katey Kamerad, and we have been collaborating to provide early childhood music programs ever since.
Katey and I put lots of time and energy into songwriting, recording, crafting, and creating print materials for each and every class session we offer. We go through this process every 6 weeks or so, and while it is exhausting, we absolutely love the work.
But we know that not all leaders do. Maybe you are passionate about marketing but not songwriting. Perhaps putting together your curriculum together completely stresses you out, but you are passionate about putting songs into action with your students. It very well could be that you just aren’t interested in writing your own songs, but you need fresh material.
No matter which category you fall under, we created this site for you. We’ve taken the classes that have already been put into action here at our studio in Springfield, IL and packaged them up so that you can do the same. The songs (including lyrics, chords, and recordings), instructions and material lists are all there and ready for you to implement in your own early childhood classes.
And this is just a jumping off point for us. We have lots of plans in the works for other resources and materials, and in the meantime will be sharing tips, techniques and tool right here on the blog.
So please stop by regularly, and don’t hesitate to share your feedback! We’d love to hear what you need most when it comes to resources for leading children through music.
