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Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Drum
During a brainstorming session for an upcoming early childhood class, my partner Katey mentioned that she had written a song about monkey sounds. She suggested picking up some cute stuffed monkeys to use as props, which sparked the idea for this song. I've been a...
{Mama Moment} Wanna Build a Snowman?
I can tell you that Parker's answer to this question was a resounding YES. He's been talking about Frosty nonstop since he made his debut in our home at Christmas time, so seeing him in the flesh -- er, snow? -- was a pretty huge highlight in Parker's young life. But...
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 6
I had the opportunity to speak on a panel about work-life balance at the 2013 AMTA national conference, which turned out to be an informative and wonderful experience for everyone in attendance. It also made apparent just how great the need is in our field for more...
Shake Those Bells!
Sometimes I come across a song I wrote YEARS ago that just needs a little facelift. Bells are for Shaking is definitely one of those songs, because it's such an effective one for hitting so many different targeted objectives. When I sing this song with my kiddos, I'm...
Sissy’s Room
Every time we go upstairs, Parker asks the same thing: "Sissy's room?" Actually it sounds more like "issy's room" but we know what he means. It's the room with the pink walls, his old glider, and a little side table -- and literally nothing else. For some reason, this...
10 *MORE* Songs That Make Me Feel Good
Back in the summer of 2011, I put together a list of 10 songs (current and not-so-current) that I was digging at the time. Since almost four years have passed since then, I thought it was high time that I post an updated list. I have my students, son, and Pandora to...
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 5
Meryl and I met way back in the day, as grad students in the music therapy program at Illinois State University. We've served on the board of the Illinois Association for Music Therapy together, swapped business advice, and been a listening ear to each other when it...
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 4
I first met Natalie Mullis way back at the beginning of both our music therapy careers, when she emailed me about a song I posted on my blog. Since then, we have followed similar professional paths by leaving full-time jobs at facilities to open our own private...
Say Something (Loudly & Quietly)
I sat down a few months ago to write a song targeting the goal of appropriate voice volume for one of my music therapy clients. As I brainstormed, the song "Say Something" by a Great Big World immediately came to mind (quite possibly because 3 of my voice students...