Thanks so much for watching my video and heading over to Listen & Learn Music! I’m excited to share “The Toolbox Song” with you because it truly is one of the most effective tools in my musical toolbox (pun totally intended).
My students and clients request this song time and time again, and I am always happy to oblige, because it allows me to work on so many goals at the same time.
To receive the mp3, instrumental track, lyrics/chords and facilitation guide, simply enter your first name and email address below. Then I’ll deliver the download link to your inbox.
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.
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 :)
“Back to School” Roundup
I’m not sure how it happened, but yet another summer has slipped away and a new school year has begun. My Facebook newsfeed is full of back-to-school photos (which I love, just to be clear…as long as I don’t have to think about my child going off to school anytime soon!) and we’re gearing up for our fall session at Music Therapy Connections.
For most kiddos, the transition into the school year can be challenging: they have to get up early, establish a routine, work hard all day, and spend lots of time making social interactions (which is much harder for some children than others).
Knowing that many of my own students are facing those challenges inspired me to put together a little roundup of all the songs I’ve written on these topics. So without further ado, here are a few of my musical tools for making the back-to-school transition a success.
One of the most common complaints I’ve been hearing from my students is that now they have to get up “sooooo early!”. That alarm clock can be a rude awakening (literally) after a whole summer of sleeping in, which is where this song comes in super handy.
I wrote this song specifically for younger kiddos who are off to school for the very first time, and aren’t sure what to expect. It can be scary and overwhelming, which is why I broke it down in this song.
Not only do children learn to play nicely at school, but they also must learn how to work together in both small and large groups. This can be a foreign concept to some, especially the younger set, and it can seem foreign after doing their own thing all summer long.
My adaptation of the pop song “Call Me Maybe” is all about making friends, which for some children is the hardest aspect of going to school. I know it was for me, since I was on the shy side. This song is a reminder that making new friends can be fun.
Just as wake-up times get earlier at the start of the school year, so do bedtimes. I always dreaded that part of the new school year as a child, since my parents were pretty lax during the summer months. I sing this song to my son as part of our own bedtime routine.
This entire album is a good resource for getting back into the swing of things. My Clothes and My Shoes, That Yellow Bus, Making Friends, Cleanup Time, Time to Say Goodbye — all apply to the average school day.
What songs would you add to this “back to school” roundup? I’m betting most of you have tips for easing into the school year routine, whether as a parent, music therapist, teacher, or anyone else with little ones in their lives. Sharing is caring!
Welcome to the World
Fun fact: It was my mom, not me, who wrote the first song dedicated to my son Parker after he was born last summer. She would sing it to him every time she came over to see him, and now we all sing “The Parker Song”.
It took a couple of months for the fog to clear my new mom brain, but once it did, I was inspired by Parker to do some serious songwriting. The first song that came out of my creative burst was Welcome to the World, which came at the perfect time since so many of my friends were bringing home new babies.
Ever since, I’ve been recording versions of this song as gifts to parents of newborns. Every baby should have his or her own song, after all! The version on the album below was recorded for my sweet nephew, Alec, when he was born in April. I also included the instrumental track for the new babies coming into the world around you.
By the way, that adorable squishy little baby in the photo is Parker at five days old. Oh, how I miss him being that small! The older he gets, though, the more he inspires me as a songwriter — my own personal muse.
Coming Soon: A New Online CMTE Course
I’m knee-deep in content creation for my new CMTE course — Early Childhood Programs: Create, Market, Make Music! — and I can’t wait to share it with you in a few weeks.
Creating a new group, class or program can be overwhelming, but it can also be extremely rewarding — especially when the end result is helping young children learn and grow through music. This 3-hour CMTE course will guide you through the entire process of designing, launching, and running a successful early childhood program.
Be a Part of the Baby Band
Let’s be honest: it doesn’t get much cuter than a whole bunch of babies playing instruments together. I’ve been a “baby bandleader” for many years now, teaching early childhood music classes, so it’s a little ridiculous that it took me this long to write a song all about my favorite kind of band.
“Baby Band” was written for the summer session of my Listen & Learn for Little Ones class, and I used it during free play time. Unlike most of the other instrument-centered songs I sing with my kiddos, this one doesn’t have any specific directions for playing a certain way. It’s just an opportunity for the little ones to try out different instruments and make music however they want.
I did include some different sounds in the verses for older babies who are starting to verbalize and develop their speech. My own baby just turned 14 months old and is getting to the point where he can repeat most sounds and words, so the fact that he can participate is so much fun :)
Oh, and speaking of baby bands, registration for the fall session of Listen & Learn for Little Ones is now open! We’re offering both morning and evening class options this time around, so if you’re in the Springfield area, I hope you’ll be able to join us.