Although I have a storehouse of session ideas (especially when it comes to Fall!), I always like to keep things fresh and bring in new musical experiences for my clients.

My mom recently sent a book in the mail for my daughters (who are ages 2 and 4) and they love it, but as soon as I saw it (and read it) I knew it would be PERFECT for my music therapy sessions.

The book is called “The Leaves Are Falling One By One” by Steve Metzger.

You can sing the book to the tune of “The Ants Go Marching One By One.”

This singable book is great for working on the following goals:

• Expressive language (sing “Hurrah! Hurrah!” or the entire song)
• Math skills (counting 1-10)
• Motor skills (wiggle fingers and move arms up then slowly down to simulate leaves falling; or use scarves!)

You can also bring in leaves (real or fake) and use them for counting throughout the story. I think your clients will enjoy this singable book as much as mine have!

BTW – will I see you at conference in Dallas next week? I hope so!

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Sensory sessions based on a theme are my absolute fave. Right now, it’s all about Fall ya’ll.

Although it never truly feels like Fall here in Miami (high today of 83!) I still try to get into the spirit of the season in my sessions. Using Fall and all the goodness that goes along with it as a framework for coming up with musical experiences helps get my creative juices flowing.

Here are some of the sensory experiences I’m using in my sessions this month:

• Fall scented candles: Apple cinnamon, pumpkin pie and pecan…mmmmm!
• Pumpkins and gourds: Bumpy ones, smooth ones, short ones, tall ones. You name it, I’ve got it.
• Leaves: Feel the crunchy leaves and smooth ones, and look at the variety of bright colors.
• Cinnamon  broom: Smell the cinnamon scent and feel the prickly bristles.
• Turkey gobbler: Work on auditory perception skills and localization by playing the gobbler in various locations around the room.

I’ve also brought these items into my elementary classes that don’t necessarily have sensory goals. We’ve used these items to work on expressive communication – using a complete sentence with adjectives to describe what they’re seeing, hearing and smelling. These experiences are also a great way to work on expanding their vocabulary as they describe various Fall items.

I LOVE Fall and will continue to bring as much of ‘it’ into my sessions as I can each year!

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It’s Fall Ya’ll!

I just returned from a two week road trip with my husband and 15-month-old (she did great!)

We drove from Miami, FL up to Fayetteville, NC, then to Silver Spring, MD, Rehoboth Beach, DE, Richmond, VA, and Hot Springs, NC (where there was no cell service or wifi; it was lovely!!). Then, we headed down to Jekyll Island, GA and back home!

This trip really made me miss “Fall.” We got to see some beautiful colors in the trees and crunch in the leaves.

Down here in Miami, the most we get is the palm fronds turning brown and falling off the palm trees.

So, I always make an extra effort to bring Fall into my music therapy sessions.

For the month of September, we were all about APPLES! I created my goal-oriented musical experiences around the apple theme and it sparked so many creative ideas for me.

Here are some of the experiences I included in my apple-themed sessions for September:

– Apple Books: I wrote songs to go with the following books: “Ten Apples Up On Top” by Dr. Seuss, “Manzanas” by de Ann Burckhardt, “From Seed to Apple” and “Apples” by Gail Gibbons.

– Letter A Song: A for Apple.

– Color Red (or Green!) Song: For the color of the apple.

– Counting Apples Song: Using apple visuals – each apple had a numeral 1-10. We counted the apples and identified the numbers on the apples.

– Pass the Apple Song: Using a real apple. Some children tried to take a bite!

– Parachute: We bounced apples on the parachute.

– Scarves: Using my original song “Wind, Wind” I adapted the lyrics and we moved scarves slowly like wind blowing through the trees, then we moved scarves quickly as if we were shaking apples from the trees.

Adapted lyrics:
Slow verse: Wind, wind, blowing through the leaves. (repeat)
Quick verse: Shake, shake, the apples off the tree; shake, shake, one for you and me. (repeat)

– Stretchy Band: After pretending to shake apples off the tree in the activity above, we listened to “William Tell Overture” (aka The Lone Ranger Theme Song) and pretended to we were riding horses on the farm.

– Apple piggyback songs: I typically use mostly original songs in my music therapy sessions to ensure they’re goal-oriented. However, I use piggyback songs in certain sessions for very specific reasons. I lead Mommy/Daddy & Me sessions where my main goals are interaction and connection between the parent and child. So, I like to use piggyback songs where the tune is familiar, and I can put the adapted lyrics up on a wipe off board or chalkboard. I do this to encourage parents to sing along with their child during the session and to sing at home!

Here’s an example:

(I didn’t write the lyrics to these songs, they were found online through a simple Google search! Isn’t Google just the best?)

I hope these ideas spark some creativity for you!

I went found some yummy apple crisp recipes after singing about apples all day long this week :)

I’m going to continue my “It’s Fall Ya’ll Series” in October and November by sharing more Fall-themed sessions ideas. Stay tuned!

Leave a comment below and let us know what apple songs you use during your sessions. We’d love to hear!

The post It’s Fall Ya’ll: Apples, Apples, Everywhere! appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Olfactory Stimulation

At UCP’s Early Beginnings Academy, I work with many children who have a diagnosis of severe and profound intellectual disability. For these children, stimulation of the five senses is very important. In my previous Sense-ational Activity post, I shared a song and activity about providing tactile stimulation.

Here’s an original song I wrote called “So Many Scents.” It pairs with an activity where I use a variety of scents to provide olfactory stimulation for the children.

These are some examples of scents I’ve used based on the season we’re in…

Summer/Spring:
– peach candle
– flowery room spray
– mangoes
– mango passionfruit shave gel

Fall/Winter
– cinnamon
– oranges
– apple hand soap
– vanilla hand lotion
– apple cinnamon candle
– coffee beans
– tea bags

The sky is the limit!

Would you like to use this song in your sessions?

And be sure to check out the Sensational Songs & Activities E-Book for more sensory ideas, sheet music, & themed session plans:

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