For many of us, COVID-19 has upended our lives as we once knew them. It has disrupted our schedules, our plans, our work, our goals, our motivation…everything. It’s okay not to be okay right now.
I wrote this song just as much for grown-ups as I did for children. Whether you’re a parent figuring out how to balance parenting with working from home, a small business owner struggling to stay afloat, a teacher providing distance education, or anyone else who is having a hard time right now, this is my love letter to you.
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 44
Like last week’s episode, this one was also recorded live and in person at the AMTA national conference in Kansas City. It features one of my favorite people, Emily Wangen, who has so much to share related to both her personal life and her career in music therapy.
I think you’ll be just as inspired by Emily as I am — she is someone I look up to as a fellow mom, business owner, and person in general! She has faced and overcome some significant challenges, which she discusses candidly in the episode.
Emily talks about her experience with pregnancy loss, how long commutes and inclement weather affected the development of her private practice, and her ideal vision for the future in Episode 44 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast.
Be sure to check out the show notes page for more information about Emily, along with links to the resources she mentions in the episode.
This episode is sponsored by Serenade Designs, which is owned by board-certified music therapist Julie Palmieri. Julie helps her fellow music therapists create, enhance, and rock their online presence.
Through Julie’s website design services, social media and online marketing services, and virtual assistance, she’s here to help you rock your online presence — while making it all feel effortless. She assists music therapists in having a strong representation on the web so that they can focus on working in the field they love — music therapy.
Julie understands what it’s like being a busy business owner as well as a Momma. :) You can learn more about how Julie can help you with your online presence at serenade-designs.com.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes, or search “Guitars & Granola Bars” in the podcast app on your Apple device.
Click here to listen and subscribe on Stitcher, or download and search the app on your mobile device.
#AMTA15: Conference Recap (With Pictures!)
Another year, another wonderful national conference under my belt. I can’t believe this was my 7th — it seems like just yesterday I was a new professional attending #AMTA09 in San Diego.
This was my second time attending conference with a baby in tow, and I was extremely fortunate to have my mom with me as well to help. I did make sure that Mia made at least a few appearances, since there was a long list of music therapists waiting to hold her :)
The Music Therapy Round Table hosted a booth in the exhibit hall as usual, and we were lucky to have wonderful neighbors once again (Metro Music Therapy, Music Therapy E-Books, and Music Therapy Book Club). I spent quite a bit of time manning our booth, which meant I got to connect with lots of fellow professionals, interns and students.
Katey and I attended the Music Therapy Business Owners meeting on Friday and were inspired by all the amazing things happening in private practice. We all introduced ourselves and shared our biggest successes and challenges this year as business owners. It’s awesome to be a part of a community filled with like-minded, supportive colleagues.
Another highlight was running into my former internship director, Maria Carron Cavanagh. I hadn’t seen her since completing my internship at Midwest Music Therapy Services in May 2007, so we were able to catch up and I told her how influential she was in my decision to start a private practice.
I also ran into quite a few of the music therapists I’ve interviewed and gotten to know through my podcast, Guitars and Granola Bars. I feel like I know them so well after hearing their stories, so it was really nice getting to meet them face-to-face. Jennifer Whitlow, who was featured in Episode 41, also had her daughter with her!
I always look forward to recording our live episode of the MTRT podcast right at our booth in the exhibit hall, which we did on Saturday morning. We also drew winners of our raffle and shared the results of our fun little survey.
This was my shortest conference experience yet, since I didn’t arrive until Thursday afternoon and then left on Saturday. I’m looking forward to next year when I’m neither pregnant nor will I have a child with me; it will be the first time in 4 years I can fully immerse myself without fighting morning sickness or taking breaks to feed the baby.
Happy baby getting ready to hit the road! This was Mia’s first roadtrip, and overall, she did wonderfully in the car. Towards the end, we were both anxious to get home to Zach and Parker (who had a great time during their “boys weekend” together).
See you at #AMTA16 in Sandusky, Ohio!
Thanksgiving Sensory Feast
The following is a guest post by Marilyn Webster. After Marilyn told me about this activity she created and led, I mentioned that I would love for her to share it here on the blog. I’m so glad she took me up on it!
Hi, my name is Marilyn Webster, and my daughter has been a client of Rachel’s for years! As my daughter with autism grew, we found it harder and harder to find fun activities that we could enjoy as a family. Her interests and abilities were not the same as her peers, and she was too old to join preschool groups anymore.
And so, I started my own group with the support of my church! We call them family fun nights, and all families with special needs kids are welcome to attend. Our group serves a few functions for our families: it provides us with a sense of community, provides fun activities which our kids are able to fully participate in, and gives families who often feel isolated “something to do”.
As I plan events, one question I challenge myself with is: how can I find ways to take situations which either I personally or others in the group shared have been difficult to access for our kids, and make it accessible? Some of the most commented on events that families find difficult are holidays. Parents desperately want their kids to be able to enjoy these important cultural and family events and participate in the traditions, but our kids can find it overwhelming and confusing.
Now, you’ve probably jumped quickly to the melee of Christmas or the raucousness of Halloween, and you are right, those are struggles. But the one holiday that comes up in conversation more often than you might think is Thanksgiving, and if you give it a moment of reflection, this makes sense.
First of all, the whole idea of Thanksgiving is very abstract. Some of our kids can’t grasp the idea of gratitude yet, and this isn’t a holiday with a lot of concrete symbols like Santa, pumpkins, or eggs that our kids might be able to enjoy. In fact, the only physical symbols of Thanksgiving are foods! And food is one area where our kids tend to struggle immensely! New foods are frightening, and many of our kids have very narrow diets.
So, how to make Thanksgiving a fun and welcoming experience? I created a sensory Thanksgiving feast! This way, kids could explore the smells, textures, and appearances of traditional Thanksgiving foods in a fun, non-threatening way, and maybe build a connection to what we mean when we talk about the holiday.
Our feast included:
Pumpkin pie playdough: You can use whatever basic play dough recipe you prefer, but add pumpkin pie spices to it and color it to look like pumpkin pie filling.
Cranberry sauce playdough: The texture of this was a bit weird, and most kids didn’t really like it. I think a simple activity with whole cranberries might have been more fun. But here is the recipe.
Dry corn sensory bin: We filled a water table with that dry corn you throw out for the birds. It was a huge hit!
Dry stuffing sensory bin: two bags of dry store bought stuffing in a wide, low bin. I think this bin was responsible for making the whole room smell like Thanksgiving!
Potatoes and “gravy” stamp painting: I cut a few potatoes in half to stamp with. Then I mixed a dry turkey gravy packet into some plain yogurt to use as paint. It looked and smelled like real gravy! This was most definitely “process art” as opposed to “product art”.
While kids explored the feast, we sang a few songs having to do with turkeys and saying thank you.
Our kids had a blast playing with all the Thanksgiving goodies, and their parents had fun being able to enjoy traditional holiday foods with them, albeit in a very unusual way! I know when we sat down to our Thanksgiving feast, and my daughter had her usual plate of spaghetti while the rest of us dug into the turkey, I was thankful that she had at least enjoyed a sensory Thanksgiving meal of her own.
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 43
This episode is super special, because it’s the first in the entire series to be recorded in person! I spent the past several days in Kansas City at the 2015 AMTA national conference, and my guest this week just happened to be there as well.
I got to spend a good amount of time with Mallory Even, because her booth was in the exhibit hall right next to mine. It was so enjoyable interviewing her face to face, and I know you’ll enjoy hearing her story.
Mallory talks about how her twin pregnancy shaped the course of her career, the health challenges her son faced immediately after birth, and running a business while staying home with her children in Episode 43 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast.
Be sure to check out the show notes page for more information about Mallory, along with links to the resources she mentions in the episode.
This episode is sponsored by Serenade Designs, which is owned by board-certified music therapist Julie Palmieri. Julie helps her fellow music therapists create, enhance, and rock their online presence.
Through Julie’s website design services, social media and online marketing services, and virtual assistance, she’s here to help you rock your online presence — while making it all feel effortless. She assists music therapists in having a strong representation on the web so that they can focus on working in the field they love — music therapy.
Julie understands what it’s like being a busy business owner as well as a Momma. :) You can learn more about how Julie can help you with your online presence at serenade-designs.com.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes, or search “Guitars & Granola Bars” in the podcast app on your Apple device.
Click here to listen and subscribe on Stitcher, or download and search the app on your mobile device.
Better When I’m Dancing
My business partner Katey recently shared with me a video of Meghan Trainor’s song “Better When I’m Dancing” from The Peanuts Movie and asked if I had heard it. I hadn’t, but I loved it and knew immediately I wanted to adapt it for use in music therapy sessions and classes.
I might have had just a little too much fun with the instrumentation and vocals on this recording — and by that I mean I was literally dancing in my chair while I worked (it kept my baby entertained, at least!).
As much as I enjoy writing completely original songs, I love to throw in a good cover every once in a while, especially one from a popular artist that many of my kiddos will recognize.
Listening to this song is an instant mood lifter and will hopefully inspire my students and clients to dance along, too. Can’t wait to sing it with them this week!
Members of Listen & Learn Plus! have access to all of these songs (along with tons more) right inside the Dropbox folder I share with them — come over and join us!
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 42
I soooo enjoyed interviewing this week’s guest, and it wasn’t just because of her fantastic southern accent :) Jodie Ross has a thriving career as a music therapist, and her enthusiasm for her work comes through in our conversation.
Jodie also has some wonderful insight to share when it comes to parenthood, despite being new to motherhood. She offers a fresh perspective that I found to be very inspiring!
Jodie talks about becoming an internship director shortly after completing her own internship, her readiness to return to work at the end of maternity leave, and how she relates parenting styles to music therapy approaches in Episode 42 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast.
Be sure to check out the show notes page for more information about Jodie, along with links to the resources she mentions in the episode.
This episode is sponsored by Serenade Designs, which is owned by board-certified music therapist Julie Palmieri. Julie helps her fellow music therapists create, enhance, and rock their online presence.
Through Julie’s website design services, social media and online marketing services, and virtual assistance, she’s here to help you rock your online presence — while making it all feel effortless. She assists music therapists in having a strong representation on the web so that they can focus on working in the field they love — music therapy.
Julie understands what it’s like being a busy business owner as well as a Momma. :) You can learn more about how Julie can help you with your online presence at serenade-designs.com.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes, or search “Guitars & Granola Bars” in the podcast app on your Apple device.
Click here to listen and subscribe on Stitcher, or download and search the app on your mobile device.
Pumping at Work
I thought I was going to hate it. I still worked from home during Parker’s first year, so “pumping at work” meant walking from my home studio to my kitchen.
This time around, I was completely dreading having to remember my pump and parts every day, haul everything back and forth, and then set up shop in my studio between clients.
It took a few days to get the routine down, but once I did, something completely unexpected happened: I started looking forward to my pumping break.
It’s only 15 minutes, and I have to hurry through the prep and cleanup, but the time spent actually pumping gives me a chance to relax my brain for a few minutes. My afternoons and evenings are otherwise nonstop with back to back students, clients and groups, so it’s nice to be able to check my email, scroll through Facebook, and have a snack.
I’m lucky in that I was able to structure my days so that I only have to pump once; I would probably enjoy it much less if I had to pump multiple times throughout the day. And ask me in May how I feel about pumping at work…I’m pretty sure I’ll be over it at that point.
Two months in, though, I’m happy to have this tiny bit of downtime in my day. As long as I have a lock on my door and a fridge for storage, I’ll keep on keeping on.
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 41
Listening to this week’s guest tell her story, I was struck by how many similarities there were with my own: we both went into turbo drive building our businesses during pregnancy, had quick deliveries just a few days after our 30th birthdays, and now have daughters who are only 4 days apart in age.
Jennifer Whitlow had some challenges to overcome after the birth of her baby just five months ago, and hearing how she did so is an inspiration to any new mom.
Jennifer talks about starting her private practice while pregnant, why she actually enjoyed her labor and delivery, and her adjustment to new motherhood as a business owner in Episode 41 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast.
Be sure to check out the show notes page for more information about Jennifer, along with links to the resources she mentions in the episode.
This episode is sponsored by Listen & Learn Plus, which is a premium site for music therapists, music educators, parents and anyone else who wants to give their clients, students & children a rich musical experience. Gain instant access to a vast collection of over 200 songs (mp3, lead sheet, and instrumental track), videos, tutorials, and visual aides, plus ALL new releases from Listen & Learn Music.
Inside of Listen & Learn Plus, I’m sharing the very resources I use to serve my own clients and students in my thriving music therapy practice and studio. I’ve grown from a sole proprietor to a team of 8 with a brick and mortar business, and I’ll show you how I did it.
If you go to listenlearnplus.com, you can enter your name and email for an inside look (including several free downloads) at what membership has to offer.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes, or search “Guitars & Granola Bars” in the podcast app on your Apple device.
Click here to listen and subscribe on Stitcher, or download and search the app on your mobile device.
Good, Good, Good Goodbye
When I write a hello or goodbye song, I make sure I reeeeally like it, because most likely I’ll end up singing it for YEARS. Case in point: my rotation of these includes songs I wrote during my internship (over eight years ago).
But I’m always adding to that rotation, because it’s nice to have lots to choose from since almost every class and music therapy session begins with a hello song and ends with a goodbye song.
My latest farewell tune is a new favorite, and I hope you like it too! This one is peppy and geared towards a group setting, but you could easily adapt it for use with an individual student or client.
Do you use a variety of greeting and goodbye songs, or do you prefer to keep yours consistent? If you are looking for even more, you’ll find plenty by searching the archives.
Members of Listen & Learn Plus! have access to all of these songs (along with tons more) right inside the Dropbox folder I share with them — come over and join us!
The Intern’s Corner
In addition to growing our team and moving into a new facility this fall, we also started a university-affiliated internship program. Katey and I made the decision to do so last winter; we spent months interviewing, filling out paperwork, and getting all of our ducks in a row to welcome our very first intern.
Alisabeth Hopper joined us in late August, and is now in week 8 of her internship. Although I have been an internship director in the past, this is our first time having an intern in the private practice setting.
It has been a learning experience for all of us, and we still have a way to go! Alisabeth has been blogging about her life as a music therapy intern, which I think will serve as a helpful resource for students and new interns who want a glimpse into the internship experience.
Alisabeth will be with us through March, and it will be so neat to compare her reflections at that point with those in the beginning and middle of her experience.
Even though I completed my internship 8 years ago, I can still relate to what Alisabeth is experiencing. It’s such a formative time in our careers as music therapists, and it’s exciting to be a part of her journey.
Read more about Alisabeth and follow along with her adventures in internship here.