April was Autism Awareness Month and I had the opportunity to do something I LOVE to do: travel to different library branches throughout Miami-Dade county and lead Rockin' and Readin' music therapy sessions. Rockin' and Readin' is a program I created to bring music therapy sessions to the libraries in our area. Our focus in [...]
I'm ashamed to admit this, but... I used to be a huge Backstreet Boys fan. I mean HUGE. One of those embarrassing fans. I knew all of the guys' birthdays, their favorite foods, and the kind of car they drove. My best friend and I spent hours making collages of their faces on our binders [...]
When you live in Miami, one season tends to blend right in to the next. Winter feels like Spring and Spring feels like Summer. Nonetheless, I like to acknowledge the change of seasons in my sessions. Thus, I have a ton of ideas in store for my Spring-themed sessions next week. I work at a [...]
"Raise your hand if you're an American Idol fan!" Anyone? I said this at a recent session with a group of middle schoolers and they just stared back at me. I think I heard actual crickets. Apparently AI is't cool anymore?! Even if it's not still cool, I'm still watching. Want to know why? A [...]
If you're anything like me, you get SUPER EXCITED about conference. There's the preparation and planning out of your session schedule. There's travel to a new destination (even if it is only to see the inside of the hotel!) And there's the reconnecting with music therapy friends and colleagues that you haven't seen in years. [...]
The library is one of my favorite places to be. I've always loved the smell of the books and the peacefulness that lives in the bookshelves. Well, that is the peacefulness until storytime starts! If you've ever been to one of our Rockin' & Readin music sessions, you know we get a little bit loud [...]
Valentine's Day is just around the bend. With that theme in mind I've been incorporating lots of "love"- and friendship-themed songs into my sessions: "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, "Rhythm of Love" by the Plain White T's and "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars. Although I'll be the first to admit that it's fun to [...]
I will admit I'm a big "holiday person." I love planning special celebrations for each holiday. This comes in handy when I session plan because I always have a theme to inspire me. If you aren't already been using it, I want to point you in the direction of a free resource here that will [...]
Wholesome Harmonies has grown in leaps and bounds since I started seeing my first private client way back in 2007. I started as a solo practitioner providing solely individual music therapy services. From there, I expanded to group music therapy services, developmental music classes at local libraries and adapted music lessons. Currently, about half of [...]
Earlier this week I had one of those really great session days. Everything flowed, my students were totally engaged, and I got great feedback from the teachers and students alike. I had brought in some New Year's-themed interventions, which is how I like to start each new year with my school-age and teen clients. I [...]
