by Rachel | Uncategorized
I’m always looking towards the next major (or minor) holiday with anticipation, because holidays mean special songs to go with them. And everyone knows that one of the biggest days of summer is the Fourth of July. I love this particular holiday because there are so many great songs just waiting to be played and sung. Recently, Songs for Teaching asked me to record a few for their website, and I was more than happy to do so. Follow the links to listen to a sample of each:
America the Beautiful
The Star-Spangled Banner
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
I have strong memories that accompany many of the patriotic songs we all know and love, and I bet you do, too. A few include being the designated high note hitter whenever my high school choir performed the “Star-Spangled Banner” (though I doubt I could hit that note these days!), playing “Yankee Doodle” obsessively on the piano as a little girl, and middle school choreography to “You’re A Grand Old Flag”. Ahh, memories!
What are your favorite patriotic tunes?
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Sometimes being a music therapist is hard. Music therapy, like parenting or teaching, is seldom a cut-and-dried job, and every once in a while I have to question whether what I’m doing is right, or best, or even working at all. Since I don’t have any music therapists as colleagues in my proximity, it’s almost always my students and their parents who provide that feedback.
As the summer begins and I prepare to take on several new clients and students in my private practice, I find myself second-guessing my work more frequently than usual. This can be a little overwhelming, but it’s actually a useful tool that I think is helping me grow as a music therapist. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut and rely on the interventions that have worked in the past, but I hate the thought of being like those teachers who teach the same lessons, assign the same homework, and give the same tests year after year. I’m much too creative for that :)
In the last few days I’ve had the opportunity to do quite a bit of self-reflecting, and in that time I’ve also been lucky to have several positive affirmations passed my way. The first was in the form of my end-of-the-year evaluation at school, where the music therapy program rests in my hands. Talk about pressure! But the wonderful feedback I received gives me great peace of mind. I had a similar experience with several parents of children who attend my music therapy class at The Autism Program…one even said that it was the “best music experience” her child ever had. That was huge.
But the best affirmation I’ve received all week, I think, came from my 2-year-old niece Kaitlin, who lives in Denver. Her mom accidentally left the CD I recorded and sent her at home, instead of bringing it to play in the car on the way to daycare as usual. Well, Kaitlin was not having this at all, and threw a tantrum all the way there. “I want Aunt Rachel singing!!!” were her words, I believe. Upon hearing this, I made a second CD (with all new songs for my sister’s sake) and sent it out immediately!
These are the things that inspire me every day, and assure for me that I’m in the right place. My job might not be the easiest, and it may not be the highest-paying, but the benefits are countless.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Happy Tuesday, everyone! I have a lot to do today, as my private practice’s summer session begins on Monday and this afternoon is my second round of music therapy classes at The Autism Program. But before I get to work on all of that, I wanted to share one of my very favorite resources with you:
The Story of My Feelings. It comes from one of my very favorite artists, Laurie Berkner, a name that should be very familiar around here!
I use this book with children of all ages and levels of development, as it appeals to almost everyone. I remember using it with a group of young children for the first time, and by the end of the story, several of the moms were tearing up. The illustrations in the book are great, and this is such a wonderful way to address emotions with children.
I have an older group of kids with whom I use this book, and they love to imitate each action in the book as I sing about it (especially YELLING!). It is definitely a resource that I will never retire.
by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized
It’s an absolutely beautiful Saturday morning; the sun is shining in the bright blue sky, which reminded me of a great song I’ve been waiting to post. A couple weeks ago, a reader named Jamie emailed me with a great idea for an activity he was planning for a group of kids (his own included). The song is based on Donovan’s “Colours”, whose lyrics he changed to focus on color identification.
Yellow is the color of the bright, bright sun,
In the morning, when I rise,
In the morning, when I rise,
That’s the time, that’s the time,
I love the best.
Blue is the color of the clear blue sky…
Green is the color of the dewy grass…
Purple is the color of the lilac bush…
Pink is the color of the flowers that bloom…
Red is the color of the cardinal bird…
Orange is the color of the butterfly…
He suggested the use of scarves for each color in the song, and then the thought occurred to me to make a poster with images for each item in the song, attachable with Velcro. Here is what I created:
I used half of a foamboard and covered it with colored construction paper. Then I attached Velcro (the prickly side) with a sticky back.
Here is the back of the images I made for each item in the song. I laminated each and attached Velcro (the fuzzy side) to the back.
The finished product. I added a verse about an ant (the color “black”) so that there would be enough colors for each child in my group.
Thanks, Jamie, for sharing this wonderful idea! I tried it with one of my groups at the Autism Program last week, and it went over really well. I can’t wait to do it again next week!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
It’s June 5th, which means I’m one year older today. 26! Even though I don’t love these growing numbers, I do love celebrating my birthday. I was awakened by my husband and puppy singing “Happy Birthday” to me (well, Zach was doing most of the singing, and Sadie was mostly just licking). and then we took her for a walk around the neighborhood. I’m going out to lunch this afternoon, and then hopefully spending some quality time by the pool :) Tonight my friends and family are gathering for a little shindig, topping off the perfect birthday.
Have a great day…I know I will!
I’m always looking towards the next major (or minor) holiday with anticipation, because holidays mean special songs to go with them. And everyone knows that one of the biggest days of summer is the Fourth of July. I love this particular holiday because there are so many great songs just waiting to be played and sung. Recently, Songs for Teaching asked me to record a few for their website, and I was more than happy to do so. Follow the links to listen to a sample of each:
