We have a *newly updated* Songs for Kids web page! There you'll find a variety of my original songs that that can be used in your music therapy sessions or music classes! The songs address a variety of goals and fall under the following domains: Academic, Communication, Move & Groove, Social Skills, and Sense-ational. When you visit the page, [...]
Lately I've been sharing lots and lots of songs and private practice tips (which I love to do!) Today, I want to share with you some happy news. :) Earlier this week, I found out that my master's thesis was accepted for publication by the Journal of Music Therapy!! I could not be more thrilled and honored [...]
Today I 'm taking a break from my series on Private Practice Tips, Tools, and Essentials, to wish a happy SIX year anniversary to me and UCP (United Cerebral Palsy)! It was six years ago today that I walked into UCP, fresh out of internship, newly board-certified, and ready to take on this new dream [...]
I can't believe it is May already! I say this every time a new month starts, but it really does feel like it was just yesterday that we were starting the new school year. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I work full-time in United Cerebral Palsy's preschool and charter school, Early Beginnings Academy. I [...]
Today's post will wrap up Sing Your Heart Out week! Each day this week, I shared a new song that you can use in your music therapy sessions or music classes. Day 1: It is Time to Sing a Song ~ a song for building communication skills Day 2: I Am An Elephant ~ a [...]
Visual Stimulation Today's song will continue my series on Sense-ational Activities, those that target the five senses. I use this song when I am facilitating visual tracking goals and providing visual stimulation to my clients with severe and profound intellectual disability. Initially, I used this song in UCP's sensory room, which has a tube with water and bubbles that light [...]
Sing your heart out week continues!! Here is a song I use during my instrument playing activities, particularly those involving the xylophone and glockenspiel. I take out the 'B' and 'F' bars and the song fits perfectly. Also, the song lyrics can be individualized for different children using different instruments, for example "Danny plays the drum!" [...]
This song is a crowd favorite for the children I work with! They love, love, love pretending to be animals. So, I wrote this song to allow them to be a quite large one - the elephant. Each verse of the song has them move a certain way like an elephant does. Have a listen... [...]
This week I am on vacation from my job as a music therapist at UCP's Early Beginnings Academy. Yay! But, I'm not off from my work at Wholesome Harmonies! So, I decided this would be a great opportunity to share some new songs with you! Each day this week I will share a new song, [...]
One of my favorite session activities is using color-coded notation to teach children how to play xylophone, piano, and hand bells. Here is a video of two children I see for individual music therapy using color-coded notation to play the xylophone (or as my nephew calls it, the "ex-lophone :)). I didn't need to give them much [...]