I can’t believe I’m writing this, but summer is winding down, and the school year is right around the corner.
Today’s post will be the last in my Summer Session Sneak Peek series, where I’ve been giving you a little glimpse into my music therapy sessions with middle and high schoolers with autism and related disabilities.
I’ve found there are not as many resources out there for this age group, so I love to share what’s been working well!
Catch up on the past posts:
Session Sneak Peek #1: Imagine Dragons + The Affirmations Rap
Session Sneak Peek #2: Musical Hangman + Taylor Swift
Session Sneak Peek #3: Pop Singer Movement Combos + Guess Who
Today, our theme is none other than….The Olympics!
We’re celebrating everything related to the Olympics. The sports that are played and the incredible, inspirational athletes that are performing.
Here is how I therapeutically incorporated The Olympics into my music therapy sessions (some of the ideas came from a Facebook thread I read several years ago, so if you created these ideas, please let me know and I’m happy to give credit!):
Opening Ceremony: Ask clients some opening questions about where the Olympics are taking place this year and teach them how to say Hello in the language of that country.
Movement to The Olympics Theme Song: March, move arms up & down and back & forth, and march again to “Olympic Fanfare & Theme” by John Williams.
Summer Olympics Charades: To the tune of “Chariots of Fire” by Vangelis, you and/or clients act out sports from the summer games: swimming, basketball, volleyball, softball, surfing, tennis, and weightlifting. Clients must guess the sport you are acting out.
Musical Olympics: Create musical games for your clients to play, based on their therapeutic goals. Award bronze, silver, and gold medals.
- Rhythms – see who can match rhythm patterns with you most accurately. Rhythm patterns can have an Olympic theme, such as “O-lymp-pics” or “Gold med-al,” or “ice skat-ing.”
- Drumming – drum and count in the language of the country where The Olympics are being held
- Speed drumming – see who can drum the fastest
- Marathon – see who can hold a note the longest
- Pole vault – sing intervals that go higher and higher. See who can go highest!
“We Will Rock You” by Queen: Begin with the pat pat clap movement that goes along with the song; then sing with a pretend microphone; then play air electric guitar.
Olympic Video “Rise Up” by Andra Day + Song Discussion: Watch the video that shows Andra Day singing while inspirational clips from the Olympic games play. After watching, have a discussion about the meaning of the song. Discuss the lyric where she sings “Rise up and do it a thousand times.” Discuss what is means to be a champion – Do champions give up or keep trying? Do they give minimal effort or give their best effort every time? Do they think about themselves or work as part of a team? How can we be champions in our everyday lives?
Dancing: Dance to “I Like to Move it” from the movie Madagascar or “Whoomp! There It Is” from Kidz Bop.
Closing Ceremony: Say goodbye in the language of that country.
I hope this gave you a few creative ideas for your Olympic fans.
If you’d like more creative ideas for your sessions as we round out the summer, check out the Summer Session Planning Pack. The E-Book is packed with creative, summer-themed session ideas for your school-age and teen clients.
Ashley Lewis, MM, MT-BC says “I of course love your resources and I think you are brilliant. Your visuals are the best I’ve ever seen! I’m a huge fan of yours and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next because I will be buying it.”
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