It's Back to School Time! Hooray? Some say yes, some say no. However you feel about this season, it's here, there is no question about it. I'm feeling it because my daughter started PreK 4 today (!!) AND I'm gearing up to start sessions again at the school where I work with children with special [...]
Is it hot where you are? It's always hot here in Miami, but recently it's been reeeeeeally hot. So hot that my kiddos don't even want to play outside in water. So inside with the AC it is! Since we've been spending more time indoors, I've had the chance to take a look at some [...]
I just returned home from a lovely trip to Boston with my little one for a family get together. The weather was beyond beautiful and we enjoyed some delicious BBQs in the backyard. Now that I'm home, I'm ready to wrap up the little camping series I started two weeks ago. You can catch up [...]
Last week, I shared a post on a Camping Theme I'm working on with my K-5 students in music therapy. We started off with a camping hello song while looking at pictures in the book "Down By the River." Then, we roasted marshmallows over a campfire of red, orange and yellow scarves in a drum, [...]
I've recently been beefing up my arsenal of activities for the school-age population (grades K-5). Two years ago I started working at a school for children with special needs, and it's been a great exercise in creativity for me! I have lots of ideas for working with children and teens, but not many that are [...]
I've been working with teens since 2005 (yikes! It's true!) Over the years, I've found it harder and harder to locate "appropriate" songs to use with my teens clients. I know what qualifies as an "appropriate song" can vary from person to person. What I'm referring to are songs that are free of inappropriate language [...]
I will be the first to admit that I like to have control of things when it comes to my business and my music therapy sessions. I'm an overachiever in the organization department and I need to have a plan in place for everything. So, the thought of pulling back on the reins and letting [...]
Lately, I've been working a lot of cognitive interventions into my sessions, particularly those that are targeted towards improving attention skills. So today I thought I'd do a roundup of all the posts I've created that target cognitive skills. Arousal orientation, localization, auditory perception skills, alternating attention - I cover it all. I thought maybe [...]
Playing the ukulele makes me happy. It reminds me of summertime and being at the beach. Do you get that same feeling when you play? Recently, I started ukulele lessons with a three-year-old. It's been fun to come up with a short lesson structure for this age group, and the lessons have been going very well. [...]
There is nothing more frustrating than when you're leading a session, singing with enthusiasm, trying your hardest, and look out to see a group of children with...blank stares. No participation, they're just sitting there. You've spent hours preparing, hours practicing, and...nada. Not a good feeling, am I right? During my twelve years working as a [...]
