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Is This Music Therapy Thing For Real?
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...
Friday Fave: Letting Kids Shine
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,...
Bonus Onus: Free Sheet Music + Visual Aide
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?)...
“Wimoweh” {Animal Puppet Edition}
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...
How Do You Help a Child Cope with Loss?
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...
Sunday Singalong: Picture Schedule Song
This week's video is super short, but the picture schedule song is an important part of every music therapy session (and certain classes) I lead. It sets the tone and lets my student(s) know what to expect, as well as what my expectations for them are. The post I...
The Green Grass Grew All Around
Admittedly, I didn't know this song when I first started my career as a music therapist. I quickly learned it, though, after realizing that I might very well be the only person on earth (or at least at The Hope Institute) that didn't. Because my students requested...
Imagine: A New Early Childhood Magazine
Happy September! Today marks not only the beginning of a new month, but also the official release of a brand new early childhood online magazine. Imagine is sponsored by the American Music Therapy Association and edited by Dr. Petra Kern, who serves as president of...
Singable Story: Miss Mary Mack
Hand clapping games were all the rage on the playground when I was growing up. "Miss Mary Mack" was one of the first I ever learned, so when I came across this book on Amazon, I couldn't pass it up. I'm glad I didn't, because Miss Mary Mack ranks right up there with...