by Katey Kratz | May 5, 2016 | Class Registration, Parents
Fitting in a 5-week session at the end of the school year can be tough!! There’s graduations, concerts, recitals, parties, vacations, holidays, track meets, and the list goes on and on! So, why push a class that might be poorly attended?
Instead, we’ve created an alternative that gives new families a shortened session they can use as a trial, provides our regular attendees a little break, takes into account conflicting dates that might be on everyone’s calendar, and all at a discounted rate. We know this is a busy time of year for everyone so we try to work with families to find a reasonable solution.
Take a brief look at our video and visit our website to learn more about our mini session and register today! Classes start next week.
by Alisabeth Hopper | May 4, 2016 | Materials & Supplies, MTC
I love working with instruments. I could entertain myself all day with a djembe, guitar, piano, and an endless supply of sheet music. But sometimes my students and clients don’t share my endless love for all things instrumental so… what else is there? Well, I’m glad you asked!
- Musical Props and Manipulators- Hello Connect-a-band! This category is a great love of mine. I make use the stretchy band and parachute with almost every group and music class. These are great for gross motor movement and getting those jiggles out! A few other great options include bean bags, streamers, scarves, and of course- the balloon ball.
- Stuffed Animals and Adapted Toys- Stuffed animals are a great way to create a different sensory experience with common instruments. Like playing stuffed animals on a drum for “5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” or “5 Green and Speckled Frogs.” Even large bean bags can be a great way to provide a new musical experience.
- Laminated Visuals- This is something that our team has been doing for the last year. For each class session we have written a special seasonal song accompanied by five visual counting aids. We have done everything from flowers to trees, and raindrops to snowflakes. What is truly wonderful is seeing our class grow in their counting skills as we work together. If you would like to check out our counting books and songs, click here.
If you are a parent of a young child, check out our Listen & Learn for Little Ones class. Led by board-certified music therapists, this class is structured to support growth in play and musical exploration! Come join us!
by Katey Kratz | Apr 28, 2016 | MTC
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!
If you haven’t already, take the next 10 seconds to like our page & enter your name for our HUGE giveaway!!! https://musictherapyconnections.org/5k/
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:
by Alisabeth Hopper | Apr 26, 2016 | Materials & Supplies, MTC, Resources
Pinterest is well known for being the place where connoisseurs of the latest and greatest information get lost in endless pages of ideas, projects, and graphics. Most people use it as a way to explore their hobbies, but did you know that Pinterest can also be used as an effective tool for marketing, collaborating, and even research?
What is the purpose of Pinterest? For those of you who have never used this platform, Pinterest is basically a virtual cork board where you can use “pins” or graphical links to put on a “board” which you can label and is now saved in your account. One of my favorite boards right now is my “sensory” board which focuses on resources related to sensory awareness, care, tools and more. My favorite place to get resources about sensory needs is from pin boards about Occupational Therapy. Which brings me to my next point…
Why should I use another social media platform? My absolute favorite use for Pinterest is to collaborate! Now, of course it is hugely beneficial to collaborate with local professionals when you can, but in the case that those resources are not present or available Pinterest allows you to share ideas with others, professionals included!
But more than anything else, Pinterest is a great tool for advocating! There are already pages upon pages of informational graphics about what Music Therapy is, who provides Music Therapy, and why it is effective. When these images are re-pinned they become more and more popular and are then seen more and more. In the end there are so many uses and benefits to using Pinterest as a Music Therapist that I didn’t even touch on.
There are endless possibilities.
by Katey Kratz | Apr 21, 2016 | MTC
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!!
by Rachel | Apr 20, 2016 | Parents, Reflections
Last week, one of our parents sent us a photo of her daughter and another child in our Little Ones class, along with this message:
“If it wasn’t for music class they wouldn’t be this close! Met in music…discovered they have same birthday…then the same daycare…now we do play dates and events. Love them! And they both love music! You guys are awesome!”
Our mission is to help children learn and grow through music, and that is certainly the focus when designing and facilitating our classes. There are so many other magical things happening as a result: parents making special connections with their children, grandparents having precious one-on-one time with their grandchildren, siblings sharing instruments, and new friendships being formed.
Music brings people together in a way that nothing else does. So while we are teaching and strengthening important developmental skills through our songs and activities, the beautiful byproduct is stronger relationships between children, their grownups, and their peers.
I spend countless hours with my children, but there’s something special about attending music class with them. We interact in a different way than we do at home, and I love seeing both my toddler son and infant daughter interact with the other children and adults in class. It really is the highlight of our week, and I hear from other families that the same is true for them.
by Alisabeth Hopper | Apr 19, 2016 | MTC, Self Care
I often use words like fostering, supporting, and the big one — facilitating — when discussing the purposes of Music Therapy and how music can be therapeutic. I work alongside our clients to support them in growth and achievement of their goals and consider the environment, instruments used, methods applied, music played and assimilate them into one experience. I invest in them so that they will succeed. But it occurred to me the other day: when am I investing in myself, and is it enough?
The simple answer was rarely, and no.
Now, I am not talking about your standard self-care plan, which usually consists of exercising, watching a movie, or going to bed an hour early just because. Though these things are important, I am talking about the other side of self-care: artistry.
You are an artist. Say it with me: I am an artist. If you chose a profession in music, you did it for a reason. This realization hit me like a ton of bricks, but then something amazing happened: “You know what, I AM an artist.” It was in that moment that I realized that I had been neglecting my passion for music. I chose then and there to set aside five minutes every day to play one song that I love, or write, or something that was just for me that was far far far away from “Old MacDonald”.
I took this time to facilitate artistry in myself, I provided an environment, chose instruments, applied methods, and played music which seamlessly assimilated into one experience.
How are fostering artistry within yourself?
by Alisabeth Hopper | Apr 12, 2016 | Class Registration, Parents
We are now three weeks into our new social skills class called Let’s Get Social, and it has already been a wonderful adventure. Although “adventure” might be an accurate term for most classes, this one has called for a much different perspective.
Up to this point, our primary focus has been on our Listen and Learn for Little Ones Classes, which are created to support and encourage development for children birth to age five within a rich musical environment. In those classes our approach is broad and reaches many domains. That being said, the structure of a social skills class, focusing on one domain, calls for a different approach.
Every social skills class and session will be different. Every session is planned based upon what is best for each group as a whole and the individuals within in. At the beginning of this session, I decide to search for the big question.
The big question is essentially the goal for that group to achieve by the end of the session. This could be anything from “How can I support them this week to achieve team work and collaboration?” to “How can I facilitate a session where they make eye contact and communicate verbally to one another?”. This is an achievable adaptation to traditional assessment, planning, and documentation, because our sessions are only five weeks I made our focus specific and inclusive of everyone.
In this structure I have seen a great response from clients and families. It is amazing how quickly an idea can be applied and put it into practice. Those are the moments that stick with me: when I see individuals apply themselves and they see the success happen right then and there. I am so grateful to share in those moments with them.
by Rachel | Apr 5, 2016 | MTC, Resources
Back in August when we were creating the curriculum for our early childhood music class, I wrote a song called “Little Red Apples” to work on counting skills. While I was at the studio setting up the night before the first session,
I decided to make five apples out of construction paper to go along with the song. Our kiddos loved counting and manipulating the visuals as we sang, so the counting song became a staple in every round of classes.
Each session, we wrote and introduced a new counting song with visuals to match. The songs all follow the same template and are nature-themed, so together they form a nice collection.
When we realized we had two songs for each season, it was a no-brainer to package them up for others to use as well.
But Counting Through the Seasons isn’t just a songbook. We wanted it to be as helpful a resource as possible, so we included all of the following:
- sheet music (melody line + chords)
- mp3 recordings
- instructional videos
- visual aide templates
- photos
No matter what the season, you’ll have a counting song for your little ones — and it can easily be adapted to go beyond the number 5. We consider all of our songs to simply be starting points; our job is to tailor the musical experience to our students’ unique needs.
This multimedia songbook contains the following original songs:
- “Five Swirling Snowflakes”
- “Counting Clouds”
- “Raindrops in a Row”
- “Five Flowing Flowers”
- “Little Red Apples”
- “Five Leaves Waving”
- “Five Orange Pumpkins”
- “Five Tall Trees”
We hope you and your kiddos enjoy them as much as we do. Check out the details and download Counting Through the Seasons here.
by Rachel | Mar 31, 2016 | Materials & Supplies, MTC, Tips & Tricks
In case you haven’t heard, ukuleles are all the rage these days. They are super popular with singer-songwriters, and we’ve had so many of our students spark an interest in learning how to play. We’ve always loved the uke, but their popularity surge inspired us to create a class for beginning strummers.
We’ve offered the class several times now, and we’re excited to start a new session in a couple weeks! The goal of 1-2-3, Learn Ukulele is to have students (many of whom have never picked up a stringed instrument) playing chords and then songs right from the get-go. Just recently, one of our students who had never formed a ukulele chord walked out of her first lesson able to play the entirety of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”!
While not everyone learns at quite that speed, the ukulele is easier to pick up than the guitar. It only has 4 strings as opposed to 6, and its petite size fits smaller hands better. What I love most about the ukulele is that the simplest chord progressions and songs perfectly suit its sweet sound; I think that’s why it has become so popular. You don’t have to be highly skilled to play, though there are certainly uke prodigies out there.
If your child is interested in playing a fun starter instrument, consider the ukulele! Our 8-week class begins on April 13, and we provide the ukes so that the only thing students need to participate is the willingness to learn. Click here for details and registration.
