September 2010

Ask Listen & Learn

September 29, 2010

I get lots of email from Listen & Learn readers. I try to answer each and every question that lands in my inbox, which sometimes takes me hours at a time. So instead of writing the same responses over and over, I thought it might be beneficial to share reader questions and my answers right [...]

Let’s Count: Hold Up 10 Fingers

September 27, 2010

After four years of actively writing songs for children, I’ve lost count of the songs I’ve written about counting (no pun intended, hehe). It’s definitely not for lack of other song topics; it’s just that counting is a skill that every child needs to learn, whether it is through signing or speaking. My latest counting [...]

Friday Fave: Music Therapy Week in Illinois

September 24, 2010

This week, we’re celebrating and advocating for music therapy (even more so than usual) in the state of Illinois. The Illinois Association for Music Therapy is holding its annual Fall Meeting and CMTE this Saturday at Illinois State University. I’m especially excited, since as Secretary/Programming Chair, I’ve been planning and preparing for this event over [...]

Today at Listen & Learn Plus!

September 23, 2010

Since yesterday was the first day of fall, I thought it was only fitting to share with my Listen & Learn Plus members the lead sheet and mp3 download of my favorite fall song, All About Autumn. Like almost all of my songs, it is easy to learn, upbeat, and educational. You could be singing [...]

Happy First Day of Fall!

September 22, 2010

It’s officially here, even though the Midwest is experiencing temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s. We’re also experiencing quite a downpour this morning, which makes me glad to be safe and sound in my little music therapy office :) As sad as I always am to see the summer end, there is so [...]

That’s How We Ring & Sing

September 20, 2010

Handbells, jingle bells, sleigh bells, and resonator bells are all a part of my instrument collection, which is probably why I have so many songs about bells! (Each word links to a different song.) But last week I decided that I needed a fresh one to accompany my little bell players, so I adapted a [...]

Friday Fave: Listen & Learn Turns 2!

September 17, 2010

They grow up so fast, don’t they? :) This month has been so incredibly busy that I missed Listen & Learn’s actual birthday (September 4, to be exact) but I figured it’s never too late to celebrate! 2 years and 485 posts is worth a little celebration, don’t you think? My little website has been [...]

Today at Listen & Learn Plus!

September 14, 2010

As I told my Listen & Learn Plus members in today’s post, I am super excited about the resource I am sharing with them today! It’s a 70+ page e-book designed to help young children learn to count to 10. For each month, there are 2 pages of visual thematic items (such as leaves and [...]

Is This Music Therapy Thing For Real?

September 13, 2010

As I looked at the faces of my colleagues during my first week on the job, I could tell they were all silently asking this question. But really, I couldn’t blame them. Here I was, this 23-year-old kid fresh out of grad school, in my first “real” job, doing something no one around me had [...]

Friday Fave: Letting Kids Shine

September 10, 2010

For the last three years, a group of my students have performed at The Hope Institute’s annual Celebrity Chef event. Tomorrow is the big night — after only two weeks of rehearsal, those kids will get up in front of 300 people and sing their hearts out. No easy feat, right? I was a nervous [...]

Bonus Onus: Free Sheet Music + Visual Aide

September 9, 2010

The first Christmas that my husband and I celebrated together, his family introduced me to a new concept. It was the “Bonus Onus” — an extra gift above and beyond what we had already received. I have grown to love that Rambach family tradition (I mean, who wouldn’t?) and today I’m going to give one [...]

“Wimoweh” {Animal Puppet Edition}

September 8, 2010

Mr. Alligator here is part of a set of animal puppets I received as a Christmas present a few years ago. (I owe my family members big time for helping me grow my music therapy instrument and prop collection when I first started my career!) They are quite an eclectic bunch (the puppets, not my [...]

Today at Listen & Learn Plus!

September 6, 2010

The weather is finally cooling down, and that is something worth singing about! But what about those 85-degree Indian summer days bound to pop up, early fall rainstorms, and every other kind of weather you can think of? I have an album for you. Well, for Listen & Learn Plus members, at least. All 10 [...]

How Do You Help a Child Cope with Loss?

September 6, 2010

The other day I read a thought-provoking blog post by a mother of a child on the autism spectrum. She posed the question: “How do you introduce the concept of death to a child who has autism, which means that 1) he has trouble understanding the abstract, and instead focuses on the very real and [...]

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