Saturday Singalong: The Story of My Feelings

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“Sunday Singalong” got bumped to Saturday, because I have a special Valentine’s Day post planned for tomorrow. Two weekend posts…bonus!

Like I said in the video, I chose Laurie Berkner’s song “The Story of My Feelings” because all month, my students and I have been working on understanding what emotions are all about, what they look like, and how we show them.  I received the illustrated book as a Christmas gift two years ago, and I have been using it ever since to supplement not only music therapy sessions, but also the music classes I teach for young children.

And now back to today’s regularly scheduled programming: couch time!  It is Saturday, after all, my one day to relax after a busy week.  Sundays start early, with choir rehearsal, church, grocery shopping, Church Mice, and tomorrow, a Valentine’s Day dinner with my special Valentine.  More on that to come!

The Feelings in My Heart

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We talk a lot about love during February.  After all, it is the month in which we celebrate Valentine’s Day!  But what about all of those other feelings we experience on a daily basis? Recognizing, expressing, and regulating emotions are important skills for any child, including those with whom I work. I had this is mind when I wrote today’s song, “The Feelings in My Heart”. Take a listen:

Happiness, Excitement, Anger, Sadness, and Love,
My feelings are in my heart.
You can tell how I am feeling by my actions and words,
But in my heart is where they start.

I laugh and I smile when I’m happy,
Having fun with my friends for a while,
Happiness is a feeling I have in my heart,
It makes me laugh and smile.

I jump up and down when I’m excited,
When good things are coming around.
Excitement is a feeling I have in my heart,
It makes me jump up and down.

CHORUS

I yell and I pout when I’m angry,
When there’s something I’m mad about,
Anger is a feeling I have in my heart,
It makes me yell and pout.

I cry and I frown when I’m sad,
When I’m hurting or feeling down,
Sadness is a feeling I have in my heart,
It makes me cry and frown.

CHORUS

I hug joyfully when I feel love,
For my friend or my family,
Love is a feeling I have in my heart,
It makes me hug joyfully.

I used this song yesterday with a class of middle school students who have behavioral issues.  After each verse, we went around the room and gave examples of healthy ways to express that particular emotion.  Not only did I receive some very interesting responses, but I got a little more insight into my students and what they are all about.   I’m planning another activity related to this topic for next week.  I am going to create snippets of popular songs, which I’ll play for the class and ask them to identify whether each song reflects happiness, excitement, anger, sadness, or love.  I will provide the lyrics for analysis, and of course, some of the songs will fall into more than one category.  I’ve learned that anytime you can incorporate music that the students actually listen to outside of school (as long as it is school-appropriate), the opportunity should be seized!

Sunday Singalong: What Do You Do?

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You can find the original post of this song, including lyrics, here.

Listen & Learn reader Erin Breedlove requested that I feature “What Do You Do?” as today’s Sunday Singalong song, and since that is what I chose, Erin will receive a free album download of her choice.  Congrats, Erin!  Everyone else – send next week’s requests (it could be a Listen & Learn original OR a cover of any song that could be used in a music therapy session) via email, or just leave a comment right here on the blog.

How was your weekend?  Mine has been a good mix of relaxation (Friday Night Lights is our new streaming Netflix fave), work-related stuff (IAMT board meeting and piano festival student applications) and fun (friend’s wedding and out with friends).

Today is a big day in the Rambach household, because as I wrote yesterday, we are celebrating my husband’s 27th birthday.  We are going out to dinner at a local Japanese restaurant, where you can sit at a hibachi grill with up to 16 people.  Tonight all of those seats will be filled with family, and I can’t wait.  Yummy sushi and other Japanese goodies, here I come!

Enjoy your Sunday night, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow for a brand-new song about a certain type of transportation.

The Story of My Feelings

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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 favorite resources with you: The Story of My Feelings. It comes from one of my very favorite artists, Laurie Berkner, a name that should be very familiar around here!

I use this book with children of all ages and levels of development, as it appeals to almost everyone. I remember using it with a group of young children for the first time, and by the end of the story, several of the moms were tearing up. The illustrations in the book are great, and this is such a wonderful way to address emotions with children.

I have an older group of kids with whom I use this book, and they love to imitate each action in the book as I sing about it (especially YELLING!). It is definitely a resource that I will never retire.

What Do You Do?

by | Listen & Learn Music

Teaching social skills is high priority in the land of special education, especially when it comes to children with autism. Though many of the students with whom I work can be very social at times, it is a goal to teach the appropriate actions and responses in various situations. I was brainstorming this topic one day a few weeks ago and came up with this song, which I called “What Do You Do?”.

What do you do when you see a friend?
You wave, you wave.
What do you do when you see a friend?
You wave, you wave.

Waving’s what you do when you see a friend,
You wave using your hand,
So what do you do when you see a friend,
You wave, you wave.

What do you do when you’re feeling blue?
You cry, you cry.
What do you do when you’re feeling blue?
You cry, you cry.

Crying’s what you do when you’re feeling blue,
You cry, using your eyes.
So what do you do when you’re feeling blue,
You cry, you cry.

What do you do when you’re feeling glad?
You smile, you smile.
What do you do when you’re feeling glad?
You smile, you smile.

Smiling’s what you do when you’re feeling glad,
You smile using your mouth.
So what do you do when you’re feeling glad,
You smile, you smile.

What do you do when you hear a joke?
You laugh, you laugh.
What do you do when you hear a joke?
You laugh, you laugh.

Laughing’s what you do when you hear a joke,
You laugh using your voice.
So what do you do when you hear a joke?
You laugh, you laugh.

What do you do say right before you leave?
Goodbye, Goodbye.
What do you say right before you leave?
Goodbye, goodbye.

Goodbye is what you say right before you leave,
Goodbye only ‘til next time.
So what do you say right before you leave?
Goodbye, goodbye.

The staff and I encourage the students to act out each action (waving, “crying”, smiling, laughing, and waving/saying goodbye) as the song is sung, and they have such a fun time with this. There are many other situations you could sing about, so use your creativity. Those I included are pretty broad, but feel free to be more specific as you tailor the song to your own students. And don’t forget to share your ideas with me!