One thing I’ve learned in my fourteen years as a music therapist is that it is better when we work together.

Cue Jack Johnson singing “it’s always better when we’re together.”

One of my favorite parts about working in a school setting is co-treating with other professionals.

I have learned a tremendous amount from co-treating with other therapists and working closely with teachers and paraprofessionals.

Today and next week, I’ll be sharing some simple tips to ensure a smooth collaboration with other professionals so your clients can receive the maximum benefit from your sessions.

To start, here are some simple tips when working with teachers and paraprofessionals:

1. Meet with them before your sessions begin

If possible, try to visit teachers in the morning before students arrive. You can chat with them about what they’re working on in their classroom and how you could potentially target some of those concepts in your sessions. For a few examples:

Watch this video to see how I worked on math concepts with a student in individual music therapy.

Watch this video to see how I worked on mixing colors using a singable story during group music therapy.

(All the Academic Concept videos are HERE.)

2. During your group sessions, ask and encourage them to participate

Some teachers and paraprofessionals may not want to “step on your toes” since you’re the group leader. If you want their participation, be sure to ask for and encourage it. From experience I’ll tell you it’s a lot more fun and motivating for the students if they see the teachers singing and waving their scarves too!

3. Be specific about the kind of help you need

In group sessions, some students require hand over hand assistance to participate. Ask the teacher to assist the student during a movement activity by moving their arms up and down to the music.

Some students need support to stay in the group during the session. You can ask the teacher to sit next to that student and ensure he or she doesn’t try to run away.

4. Get their feedback

After the session, ask if the teacher has any feedback or suggestions for ways to make the session more effective. I’ve been a music therapist working in various settings for what seems like a long time. To this day, I still ask for feedback and ideas from teachers and I believe we should all continue to do this so our students can receive the best service we can offer.

What suggestions do you have for working with teachers and paraprofessionals?

Stay tuned next week when I share ideas for co-treating with other therapists (one of my favorite things to do!)

The post Making The Most Of Professional Collaborations (Part 1- with teachers) appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

A few weeks ago, I shared a musical experience I created called The Noun Rap.

I designed it for the 3rd, 4th & 5th grade students I work with at Children’s Resources Educational Center.

I figured, hey, if they have to learn about nouns, why not at least make it cool? (You can listen to what it sounds like here).

Following that, the teachers told me the students were learning about adjectives. I decided this was the perfect time to bring in one of my favorite musical experiences for school age kiddos – the Musical Mad Lib!

You did Mad Libs growing up right?

All I do for a Musical Mad Lib is choose a song, type out the lyrics of the song leaving blanks for some nouns, adjectives and verbs and ask the students to fill in those blanks with their own words.

Since we had a major cool down this week in Miami (we got down to the 60s!) I decided to use a winter fave, Frosty the Snowman. This is a well-known song and had plenty of opportunities where I could leave nouns, adjectives and verbs blank for the students to fill in.

They came up with some really creative lines…

Frosty the Snowman, was a slimy, cold soul. With a corn cob bike and a button nose and two eyes made out of chicklets.

…and they had even more fun singing those lines out loud!

If you work with school-age students that are learning the parts of speech, I recommend you try out the Musical Mad Lib.

When you do, leave a comment below to let us know what song you used and how it went.

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Growing up, I always loved writing.

In particular, I used to write a lot of poetry and always loved seeing how I could make things rhyme and flow.

Little did I know that skill would serve me very well in my music therapy work with tweens and teens!

I recently started working at a school in Miami called Children’s Resources Educational Center that provides services for school age children with autism and other special needs.

I love working in an academic setting, because just like when I was employed at UCP Miami, a large focus during our sessions is on concepts the children are learning in the classroom.

Already, I’ve written songs about math concepts, letter sounds and most recently a rap about….wait for it…common and proper nouns.

Yep. A rap about nouns.

I decided to go the “rap route” because this was for the third, fourth and fifth grade classes. I wanted to make sure that the song I created didn’t sound too “childish” for them.

Right away, I thought of using a hip hop beat I created on GarageBand.

I jotted down the important concepts, created rhyming lyrics and set it to one of the beats. Here’s what I came up with:

In addition to this, I created a visual that I could point to as I went through the rap so the most important concepts were highlighted visually as well as aurally.

If you’re a subscriber to the Wholesome Harmonies mailing list, you’re in luck, because I’ll be sending out an MP3 of The Noun Rap, along with the hip hop beat and lyric sheet to all subscribers this week! You can sign up right here for free.

Even if you’re not working on this specific concept with your clients, I thought it would be beneficial to share the general idea just to get your creative juices flowing.

Hip hop beats are super easy and fun to create and they instantly bump up the “coolness” factor of the intervention (at least that’s the feedback I’ve gotten from my tween and teen clients :)

If you want to learn how to create your own looped hip hop beats and how to use them therapeutically in a variety of different ways, check out Tune In To Teens: Creative Ideas for Connection & Music Therapy Session Planning.

That’s just one of the many things you’ll learn in the CMTE course as I assist you in creating meaningful, engaging interventions that your teen clients will love.

Check out everything the course has to offer right here:

The post The Noun Rap. (Yes, You Read That Right!) appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

The ink has barely dried on my Beach Themed blog posts and already I’m realizing people are posting first day of school pics of their kids. That can only mean one thing – it’s back to school time!

Looks like it’s time to shift gears.

I’m excited, though, because at the end of August I’ll be starting a new position providing group music therapy services at the Children’s Resource Center, a school for children with special needs in Miami.

I’m thrilled about this, because since leaving my job at United Cerebral Palsy of Miami, I’ve really missed providing group sessions in the school setting.

This upcoming change already has my wheels turning for new session ideas. And although I have a TON of homemade props and visuals, I am always on the lookout for new materials that I can bring into my sessions.

This week I’ve been thinking about a few ways you can get geared up for the new school year if you work with children and teens with special needs too:

1. Go straight to the Dollar Section of Target. I don’t know about you, but I love perusing the aisles of Target. Even if there are only three things on my list, I always somehow manage to check out with an entire cartful of things. My last trip was no exception. I immediately hit the Dollar Section and it was a GOLD MINE!

Check out the picture at the top of this post. There are flash cards for everything from the alphabet to the U.S. presidents to dinosaurs. I found large colorful calendars with stick-on pieces for the days of the week and months of the year. I found a felt map of the United States with cutouts of each state and a special landmark you can find in each one. I found little games and visuals to help with spelling, counting, and numeral recognition. Even lacing games to work on fine motor skills! I really had to stop myself from cleaning out the entire aisle.

2. Check out the E-Course Tune In To Teens. Tune In To Teens is a 5-hour video CMTE course that I designed for music therapists based on feedback I was getting about what would be most helpful for them when session planning. The course includes an entire section on how to find music that’s appropriate and appealing for teen clients. The course also includes a vast amount of intervention ideas that can be tweaked and adapted to fit a wide variety of levels and needs. And participants have lifetime access to the course forum where we continue to share new session ideas and pop songs we like. Have you checked out this one by JT yet?

You can click here to learn more about what’s inside the Tune In To Teens E-Course and to enroll OR watch video of a sneak peak into the course here.

3. Incorporate a Back to School Book ‘n Song. While at story time with my 2-year-old last week I came across a book that would be perfect to use with young clients on the first day of school. It’s a book based on the tune we all know, “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.” But there are extra verses added about the first day of school. It’s perfect for children who might be a little overwhelmed and apprehensive about the whole experience.

4. Introduce a Back to School “Get To Know Ya” Song.  I wrote “It’s the First Day of School” a few years ago to help the children (and me!) learn the names of everyone in their class. The song also provides the opportunity for children to work on expressive language skills by prompting the child to say “My name is _________.” You can take a listen to that song by clicking here and scrolling down to the audio player.

There you have it – a few ideas to help you gear up for back to school time.

What ideas do you have for easing into the first day and first few weeks of school? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

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In last week’s blog post, I shared about how I’m using any summer “down time” I can find to get a head start on session planning for the Fall.

If you’re in the same frame of mine I am and are need of some musical experiences that address academic concepts with kids, you’re in luck!

Below is a round up of some videos and songs where you can learn how to target specific academic concepts in your music therapy sessions:

Videos:

Movin’ & Groovin’ in Music Therapy (Part 1) – See how to incorporate movement while teaching shapes.

Movin’ & Groovin’ in Music Therapy (Part 2) – See how to incorporate jumping and stretching to practice -AT Words.

Music Therapy + Cognition – See how multiple academic concepts can be targeted within one original song.

Songs:

Here is a Song About S – This song allows children the opportunity to practice the ‘S’ sound and identify words that start with the letter ‘S.’

I Like To Eat Ice Cream – This song gives children the chance to practice counting…with scoops of ice cream!

Look, Look Take a Look – A song to teach opposites.

A Body Parts Song for Kids – A song to practice identification of body parts.

Days of the Week – A song to work on days of the week.

The Letter M – This song allows children the opportunity to practice the ‘M’ sound and identify words that start with the letter ‘M.’

I hope these videos and songs give you some fresh ideas and offer inspiration for you to create your own original songs and activities this summer.

Fall will be here before we know it, so let’s get planning!

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Today is the final post for my video series on Music Therapy + Cognition. I’ve had so much fun putting these videos together! You can catch up on the past posts and videos here:

Part 1: Using the clarinet to work on localization

Part 2: Using rhythm instruments to work on auditory perception skills

Today I’m sharing a video of a Musical Attention Control Training (MACT) experience.

MACT experiences can target one or more of the following types of attention: sustained, divided, selective, and alternating.

This video demonstrates an intervention where I use two different color scarves, an original song, and my uke to address sustained attention and a bit of alternating attention.

Watch to see how:

There is a LOT going on here. Through this one musical experience I’m targeting:

• Sustained attention
• Direction following
• Stop & go and impulse control (“shake scarf annnnnd…..freeze!”)
• Color identification
• Body part identification
• Alternating attention (“shake the pink scarf on your nose, shake the blue scarf on your back!”)

That is one of the things I love the most about music therapy – although we have one overarching goal for an intervention (to improve attention skills), there are so many other skills we can sneak in there to practice.

Now I’d love to hear from you about how you address cognitive skills in a creative way in your sessions.

Leave a comment to let us know!

The post {VIDEO SERIES} Music Therapy + Cognition Part 3 appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Just scroll through Pinterest and you’ll see the ideas out there are endless!

One of the best resources I’ve found for creating visuals for my academic activities is a site called FileFolderFun.com.

This site has free printables that can be used to create file folder games. These games are visually appealing AND easy to store (I keep them all tucked away in a file folder organizer). I love this site not just for the free printables, but also because it helps me generate some news ideas and themes to bring into my sessions.

You can search by subject or by grade. Once you find a game you like, just print it, laminate it and glue or staple it into a file folder. Then you’re all set to go!

Below is the Cupcake Count File Folder game (a favorite of the clients with whom I work!) I use this game, along with an original song I wrote called “Yummy Yummy Cupcakes,” to address the following concepts:

• Counting (count the cherries on the cupcake)
• Numeral identification, 1-10
• Matching numeral to quantity

Want to hear the song and see how I facilitate this intervention?

Click below to watch a video of me using this song and game with a client during individual music therapy (video shared with written parental consent):

I hope you’ll find FileFolderFun.com as useful as I have! Happy session planning!

The post Favorite Resource for Addressing Academic Concepts (Part 2) appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Check out that video here – we’re working on identification of shapes.

Today, I want to share a video that incorporates movement into an individual session where we’re working on identification of -AT words. (You know, words that end in -AT, like cat, hat, bat, and mat.)

I incorporated a few things here that get this little guy up out of his chair and moving around: hopping, stop and go movement, bending over, and reaching.

Watch the video now to see:

As you can see in the video, the -AT word cards are placed on the floor for him to bend over, pick up and read. On the wall are pictures of the -AT words. He must reach to place the -AT word card on the corresponding picture.

Hopping, along with the stop and go cued by the music, provide opportunities to work on direction following, attention skills, and impulse control.

It’s pretty cool that we can address so many things within one short intervention.

So, why is it so important to incorporate movement into this intervention?

Why didn’t I just sit him across from me in a chair and sing the song about -AT words, prompting him to read each card?

Research has shown a connection between physical activity, movement, energizing activities, and improved cognition. When children move, more oxygen goes to key brain areas. Thus, movement can be an effective strategy to strengthen learning, improve memory and enhance motivation.

Try it out!

Would you like the sheet music for “-AT Words” so you can use the song your sessions? Click below to purchase for just $1!

The post Movin’ & Groovin’ in Music Therapy ~ Part 2 appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Movement is so important when children are learning – it wakes up the body and the brain and actively engages children in the learning process.

In the video below, I am working on shape identification with a client. Correctly identifying five basic shapes was one of her IEP goals and one of the goals we were addressing in music therapy.

Rather than having her sit in a chair and drill shape and after shape, I decided to get us up and moving!

Watch and see:

This simple step of going from learning in a chair to learning on her feet resulted in a child who was more engaged and a child who was able to attend for a longer period of time. This in turn helped facilitate the achievement of the goal we were working on.

Would you like the sheet music for “Shapes, Shapes” so you can use the song your sessions? Click below to purchase for just $1!

Be sure to tune in next week as I continue the series on how to incorporate movement into your sessions with kids. I have an excellent video to share that I think you’re really going to like!

The post Movin’ & Groovin’ in Music Therapy ~ Part 1 appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s refreshing to just drop all the things you were “supposed to do” from your To Do list and just spend time with family and enjoy a beautiful day.

That is just what I did yesterday, which is why I didn’t get the chance to write my usual Saturday morning blog post. I was busy enjoying a belated Christmas get-together with my in-laws.

Now I’m ready to get to work today and share with you one of my favorite resources: a website called File Folder Fun.

This website has amazing printouts to help you create file folder games for your sessions with preschool and school age children. I am so happy I found this website – it has been an incredible resource and has helped me generate some new ideas for addressing academic concepts in my music therapy sessions.

Here is a picture of the Cupcake Count File Folder Game:

{Click here to watch a video of me using this game in one of my individual music therapy sessions!}

I have a song that goes along with this game that addresses three main math concepts: counting (count the cherries on the cupcake), identifying numerals 1-10, and matching numeral to quantity. These are concepts that many of the children I work with at UCP’s Early Beginnings Academy have on their IEP (Individualized Education Plan).

Here is a picture of the Alpha Animals (Beginning Letter) File Folder Game:

I have a song that goes along with this game where I sing: “I am a horse and I start with letter ___.” The children identify the letter and place the picture on that letter.

Super fun and easy. Go over to the File Folder Fun website and see what visuals you can print out for your file folder games.

What other websites do you use to print out file folder games?

Leave a comment below and let us know!

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