Free Download: “Little Red Apples”
This is one of many counting songs I’ve written, which focuses on counting both up to 5 and down from 5. I created simple apple visual aides (using red construction paper and then laminating) which my students can then manipulate as we count.
Click here to download the mp3 and lyrics/chords.
P.S. If you want access to my entire collection of over 200 songs (mp3, lead sheet, and instrumental track), videos, tutorials, and visual aides, plus ALL new releases from Listen & Learn Music, consider joining me over at Listen & Learn Plus!
{Mama Moment} Joining in the Fun
The following is a guest post by Gretchen Chardos Benner, MSW, MT-BC. Gretchen is the owner of Piedmont Music Therapy, whose mission is to engage, empower and accompany individuals to reach their goals grounded in the frameworks of music therapy and social work.
My children remind me of the best ways to get a job done while having fun and learning a lot in the process. Let’s take my recent guitar project as an example. Having my private practice’s office within my home grants opportunities for my children to learn more about the field of music therapy. Replacing the six strings on my work guitar was a long overdue task.
My children’s precious involvement made the routine task more of an accomplishment when it was restrung and tuned. My son (17 months) and daughter (3 1/2 years) transformed a work project into a time of bonding. We counted the strings, pegs and our fingers. We talked about what Mommy does with music therapy at a school or hospital and other children I teach through private music lessons. We compared strings with my primary instrument, the viola, and wove them in with some of their favorite requests, Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes, Wheels On The Bus and family creations about our dog.
As my children grow and develop, their curiosities and personalities help remind me to include them more often with kid-friendly projects related to work. They enjoy learning and exploring newly purchased instruments, improvising or working through compositions for clients. We have more time spent with each other while identifying colors, sharing, and being respectful with others’ properties.
Music therapy is the field that I initially joined as a student in 2003 at Duquesne University. A year later my path crossed with my future husband because of our neighboring music instrument storage lockers and experiences through Spiritan Campus Ministries. With our current musical interests and pursuits, there is often music in our home.
I’m enthused that our children have been able to learn about my work by joining in the fun of counting inventory such as egg shakers or sorting visual aides. Our children have opportunities to learn about buzzing their lips to play their “trumpets” (recorders and harmonicas), preparing posters with song lyrics for active music engagement interventions or organizing the materials used for my business.
I am grateful for my children’s curiosities and eagerness to join the fun of preparing items for work and packing instruments for group contracts. They joyfully remind me to be proud to be their working momma.
Are you a music therapist with a “mama moment” to share? If so, please submit your story, along with a photo and short bio, via email.
Off to Louisville for #AMTA14
November is one of my favorite months of the year, because it means I get to reunite with all my music therapy friends at AMTA national conference. I always look forward to a few days away, recharging my batteries and getting pumped up about my career field. I always come home completely inspired and ready to dive back into work.
This year’s conference is being held in Louisville, KY — a city I’ve never visited but am looking forward to seeing. Bonus points that it’s close enough to drive! I’m heading out this afternoon and meeting up with my good friends Michelle, Kimberly, and Matt for our annual “fancy” dinner.
Thursday will be spent in meetings and preparing our Music Therapy Pro booth in the exhibit hall, which is where I’ll be spending the majority of my time for the duration of conference. This year will be pretty chill compared to years past, when I’ve presented, attended trainings, and had other big responsibilities.
Last year I brought an entire entourage along with me to conference, since my son was only a few months old and still nursing. It was a lot of fun having them there, but I didn’t really have the full conference experience since my time and attention were divided. As hard as it will be to leave my husband and toddler, I’m excited to have a few days to myself. (Remind me of that on Saturday when I’m missing Parker like crazy and counting the minutes until I get home!)
I have yet to look through the conference program and decide which sessions I want to attend, but hopefully I’ll have a chance to do that before they start on Friday. At this point, I’m just happy to be all packed and ready to hit the road.
If you’re heading to Louisville, I hope to see you there. Be sure to stop by the Music Therapy Pro booth in the exhibit hall and say hi. Coming up next: my 6th annual AMTA conference recap!
Parker at the Pumpkin Patch
It wouldn’t be October without a trip — or in our case, 2 trips — to the pumpkin patch. The first one felt like the middle of August, while the other felt more like late November. Gotta love central Illinois in the fall.
My dad and stepmom joined us for one trip, while Zach’s parents came along for the other. And what a difference a year makes; it was so fun to see Parker running around and participating in all the activities as opposed to just serving as a prop for photos, like he did at last year’s visits ;)
Although he doesn’t look particularly thrilled in this photo, Parker LOVED the horses. He had a blast on the horse-drawn hayrack ride, and has been making horse sounds nonstop ever since. The other highlight for him was the owners’ little dog, who rode along with us.
As for the actual pumpkin patch part? There were wayyy too many other interesting things occupying his attention; maybe next year he’ll have some interest in walking through it and picking out a pumpkin.
Orange Pumpkin, Orange Pumpkin
I wish I could take credit for the adapted Halloween song and activity I’m sharing with you today, but alas, I cannot. The mother of one of my students directed me to a pin via Pinterest, which led me here.
It’s a Halloween version of Eric Carle’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear, which we have sung in music therapy sessions many times to the tune of the “Pinwheel” theme song. The adapted words and accompanying printable pictures are available at First Grade al a Carte.
I put together my own little visual to accompany the song, which I sing to the same “Pinwheel” tune. If you’re not familiar with it, check out my recording of “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” to hear it. It’s very simple and repeats throughout the entire song.
Click here to download my visual.
5 days left to make use of all the great Halloween songs and activities — including this one — that I’ve written and/or collected throughout the years. Any favorites you’d like to share?
Halloween Song Round-Up
With Halloween just a week away, I’ve been getting lots of use out of my own collection of songs on this topic AND looking around the web for some new inspiration. Since you’re probably doing the same, I thought I would share the tunes I’ve written and/or adapted to sing at Halloween time.
Black cats are the iconic Halloween animals, and this particular black cat has the starring role in my echo song, which I wrote with the objective of repeating after me and singing with me.
This song takes you through the trick-or-treating process step by step, including how to do so safely and politely.
I love singing this song every year and updating it with the latest “cool” costumes. The original version was written a few years back, so some of the costumes mentioned in the songs might be considered “vintage” now ;)
Candy is the best part of Halloween, right?! So of course there I have a song specifically dedicated to the goodies.
Anytime I can sing about colors in association to a holiday, I take full advantage of the opportunity. Halloween is perfect for that, since orange and black are THE colors.
A sweet little tune about two pumpkin pals in a patch. You’ll have to listen to the song to hear the full story and how it turns out for good ‘ol Patrick and Polly.
This is one of the first Halloween songs I ever wrote. It’s an overview of Halloween and the things we see around us at this time of year, set in a minor key to match the tone of the big day.
Far and away, the most frequently sung and requested Halloween song in my repertoire. It’s a great one for working on body part recognition and identification.
Next week I’ll share a fun Halloween song and activity that one of my students’ moms actually found on Pinterest and passed along to me. In the meantime, I hope these songs provide some spooky inspiration as we enter the final countdown to Halloween day!
Sundays at Church Mice are Twice as Nice
The fall session of Church Mice, the early childhood music class I’ve been leading since way back when I was in grad school, ended last week. I’m always a little bummed when it’s over, because it is a big highlight of my week. I love that it’s super casual — anyone can drop in and it’s totally free, no registration required.
The class is designed for children ages 0-4, though we always have older siblings joining in. That makes for an interesting but super fun dynamic! I love watching the tiny kiddos interact with the big kids, and vice versa.
We play lots of instruments in both structured and non-structured ways. I think it’s so important to give little ones the opportunity to be creative with their music-making. I get some good ideas from them, in all honesty.
Some of the kids in the group stay close to their grown-up, while others would much rather jump into the middle of the circle. Many children will hang back for the first few weeks, and then by the last week, will be front and center getting into the action.
My mom brings my little boy, Parker, to class each week. He loves my guitar and would much rather be playing it as opposed to any of the other instruments I offer him (naturally).
A huge thank you to Matt Larison, an extremely talented photographer here in Springfield, who so beautifully captured these moments at last week’s class.
“Up?”
Ever since Parker learned the meaning of the word, it’s been his go-to. When I come to his crib in the morning, when he sees any familiar person, when he wants to sit in his high chair, when he doesn’t feel like standing…you get the point.
The past few weeks have been particularly exhausting, so of course, Parker has been more needy than usual. Some days I feel like I barely set him down, because if I do, he starts crying. Then he’ll give me those puppy dog eyes, hold out his arms, and say in his cute little voice, “Up?”.
Yeah, he’s got me wrapped around his tiny finger.
I’m pretty sure this recent clinginess has something to do with the two teeth Parker is cutting, and I will gladly take extra snuggles (and bigger biceps) over lost sleep.
Speaking of “up”, that is exactly how Parker is growing. 16 months as of last week. His personality has blossomed so much over the last couple of months, and he is much fun to be with. He has the best sense of humor — he is figuring out how he can make us laugh and becoming quite the ham.
I’m working more hours during the week this year, so the time that I have with Parker is more valuable than ever. Which is exactly why I give in every time I hear that little “up”, even if it means wearing him in the Ergo while I vacuum the entire house. And sometimes, if I’m really lucky, I get extra snuggles as a reward for indulging him.
Shake It Off
I could very easily say that I’m only familiar with Taylor Swift’s music because my students love her, but that would be a bold-faced lie. The truth is, I’ve been a T-Swizzle fan since the beginning, back when she was a country artist.
I like a lot of her songs (and even perform several of them regularly at gigs), but something about Shake It Off grabbed my attention and reeled me in the first time I heard it. This song is fun, catchy, and best of all — self-empowering.
And as appropriate as it is in its original form for some of my music therapy clients, I wanted to create a version that I could use in just about any setting. My adaptation is quite literal; shakers aren’t required, but highly encouraged!
What I’ve noticed most when I sing my version is that it makes everyone want to dance (the same effect the original had on me). Just yesterday I watched as a roomful of tiny kiddos and their parents busted out their best moves while singing along. So. Much. Fun.
I don’t make a habit of adapting super popular songs, but this was one such opportunity I couldn’t resist. I’ll end with an apology, because now you’ll probably have it stuck in your head for the rest of the day ;)
A New Online CMTE Course…Open Now!
I’ve been facilitating early childhood music programs since graduate school, before I was even a full-fledged music therapist. I’ve continued to do so all of these years, and it has been so exciting and fulfilling to see my programs continue to grow and touch the lives of many young children (and their families).
After reading dozens of emails from fellow music therapists and educators asking for advice on starting an early childhood music program, I decided to take the plunge and create an online CMTE course on this very topic. It covers the entire process — from conception to the very last class — and everything in between.
This 3-hour CMTE course consists of 3 chapters, and each chapter is made up of 6 videos. Watch the videos at your own pace and on your own time; once you register, you will have 3 months to complete the videos, final evaluation, and post-test. Each video comes with a downloadable audio track and PDF of the slides in the video.
BONUS: You will also receive 12 songs (including mp3, instrumental track, and lead sheet) from the Listen & Learn Music collection. That is $36 worth of music at your fingertips, which you are invited to use as inspiration for your own early childhood program, or include in their original form. You are also welcome to create adaptations and use the instrumental track to record your new versions.
I. Create (42 minutes)
What Kind of Program Will You Create?
Songwriting for Ages 0-3
Choosing Children’s Songs
Instruments, Props & Singable Stories
Packaging Your Program
Chapter 1 Action Steps
II. Market (48 minutes)
Location, Location, Location
The Money Stuff
Devising a Marketing Plan
Make the Most of Local Resources
Create a Buzz Online
Chapter 2 Action Steps
III. Make Music (40 minutes)
Before the First Class
Preparing the Environment
How To Be an Early Childhood Rockstar
Tips for Tricky Situations
After the Last Class
Chapter 3 Action Steps
Final Evaluation (20 minutes)
Please note that I will be answering all questions posted by course participants inside the course. I want this course to be as interactive and educational as possible so that you have the resources to go forward and create a successful program.
Listen & Learn Plus! members receive a 20% discount on this course, so if you are already a member, click here to enroll. (And if you’re not a member yet, join now to receive 5+ years of archived resources and downloads PLUS the course discount.)
Once you complete your payment safely and securely via PayPal, you will be redirected to the registration page. Upon registering and logging in, you will have full access to the course for 3 full months.
Looking forward to seeing you in the course!
Writing It Down & Crossing It Off
This month has been insane. Between changing my business structure, moving my office/studio to a new location, seeing a full load of student, starting new sessions of two different early childhood classes, and creating an online CMTE course, I’m lucky I’m still sane enough to type this blog post.
A few weeks ago, in an attempt to organize all the chaos, I entered everything into iCal. Then I used the Reminders app to make lists for each different area of my work and life that needed attention. I could access both my calendar and lists from my iPhone, iPad, and laptop, so I thought everything would be under control.
But I was wrong. Things were still slipping through the cracks, and whenever I found a free block of time to get something done, I would be overwhelmed and have no idea where to start. So one night I went old school and wrote out a list of things I had to do the next day.
Thanks to the list sitting on my desk the next morning, I knew exactly where to start and how to budget my time. I didn’t waste precious minutes with things that didn’t need to be done right away; instead, I went right down the list, crossing things off as I finished them.
You really don’t get the same satisfaction from check-marking an item on your iPhone as you do drawing a line through something with a sharpie, do you? It’s amazing how focused and motivated I am when I sit down to work each day, because I know that my goal is to have crossed off every single item before I go to bed that night.
I use these small notepads (of which I have several, thanks to giveaways at AMTA conferences!) so that I can’t fill it up with too many to-dos; keeping the list relatively short allows me to concentrate on the MOST important items. And if for some reason something doesn’t get done that day, I write it down on the next day’s list. This doesn’t happen often, though, because nothing irks me more than throwing away a list with items left uncrossed!
Thanks to these daily lists, I’m just about finished with content creation for that online CMTE course I mentioned at the beginning of this post. Early Childhood Programs: Create, Market, Make Music! is just a couple weeks away (or less, if I really get things in gear) from launching — I can’t wait to share it with you :)