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America, the Beautiful
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...
Positive Affirmations
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...
The Story of My Feelings
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...
Colors in the Morning
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...
Something to Celebrate
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...
School’s Out for the Summer
Can this really be true? Well, judging from my near-empty, cleaned out music room and the big smiles on all of the teachers' faces, I guess it is! This school year has been an exciting one, and today marks the end of my second full year here at Hope. This afternoon...
Hooray for June!
At last, my very favorite month of the year has arrived. This first week of June is an eventful one: Tuesday is the last day of school and my first music therapy session of the summer at the Autism Program, Thursday I'm going to a Cardinals game with my dad and...
Friday Fave: Graduation
Today is another special day at the Hope Institute...graduation day! Several students from the senior classes will be taking the next step in their lives after the time they've spent at Hope, whether that is moving back home to be close to family, being placed in a...
Bells Are For Shaking
Bells, bells, and more bells...I just can't get enough of them when it comes to developmentally appropriate instruments for my students. They come in so many different sizes and shapes that I have one to suit the needs of even the most challenged kids. A student with...