by Rachel | Uncategorized
The first time I Skyped (yes, this is a legitimate verb), it was with some of my family who live in Denver, including my 3-year-old niece and 1-year-old nephew. It was so much fun; I got to hear Kaitlin sing some songs, and see how big Jacob had gotten since the last time they visited. And the best part is that it was completely free. Technology = amazing.
But it wasn’t until recently that I used Skype for professional purposes, and now I’m hooked! I met two of my good music therapy friends, Kimberly S. Moore and Michelle Erfurt, through the internet, and got to spend time with them in person at the AMTA national conference last November. While we were in San Diego, we decided to “get together” monthly to bounce ideas off one another and just talk MT. We had our first Skype meeting in December, and another one last night. As a result, we’re now working on an exciting project in which Skype will play an important role.
After last night’s meeting with Kimberly and Michelle, I spent some time Skyping with a music therapy student in Georgia who found me by way of Twitter and has since connected with me on Facebook. (Gotta love social networking.) Erin writes a blog that recently turned its focus to music therapy, so we had a lot to chat about.
So many aspects of my personal and professional life rely on technology and the internet, which makes me wonder: how did people ever get by without it?! If you browse through my previous Friday Faves, you’ll notice that many of them are some piece or type of technology, from the iPhone, to Garageband, to my awesome microphone. We’re living in the digital age, and I’m loving every minute of it!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
The Hope Institute has been featured in several local publications recently, and I feel honored that our music therapy program has been mentioned in a few of those articles. Today’s cover story in
Springfield’s Own Magazine highlights many aspects of Hope, including music therapy.
Another way Hope is thinking outward is by employing innovative teaching and therapy methods that will help students master daily tasks and help them express their feelings and communicate. In 2006, Nyre helped Hope obtain a grant for a music therapist, and Rachel Rambach was a perfect fit.
“I got really lucky,” she says. “I was finishing up my graduate school internship (for music therapy), and Hope had received a grant for music therapy.”
By allowing students to learn by singing and playing instruments, Rachel Rambach is able to connect with the children in a different way and reinforce what their teachers are working on with them, she says. She writes her own songs and creates CDs for both parents and teachers so students can keep learning through music even on the days she does not meet with them. While teaching youths of varying learning levels and abilities can be difficult, she says her job is more fun than anything else.
“My job is so much fun,” she says. “Music helps to create a level playing field for the kids; its universal, and it’s something that everyone can relate to, no matter what their ability.”
Teaching handicapped and disabled children involves a large commitment from Hope’s teachers and staff, but what is most evident among them is their dedication, faith and love for their students, and the hope that Hope will help the children have satisfying and fulfilling lives.
Read the entire article (written by Nicole Harbour) for a better understanding of what The Hope Institute is all about, and just how many children it benefits in so many different ways. You can do so here.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Coming down with the flu can really set a girl back, you know? I’ve spent the last two days catching up on the work I should have been doing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, when instead, I was laying in bed with a fever, cough, and headache. But thankfully, I am all better now and ready to take on this busy weekend!
And that includes, of course, HALLOWEEN. So in celebration of the spookiest day of the year, today’s Friday Fave is dedicated to dressing up, trick-or-treating, and scarfing down candy. I will be doing all of the above tomorrow at a friend’s costume party…what about you? Do you have any big Halloween day plans?
Oh, I also have to tell you that two of my students won our paper’s local costume contest and were featured on the front page of the State Journal-Register today! Take a look at these cute little slices of pizza:
Adorable, right? The girls’ mom made those costumes, and their win was well-deserved :) What are your little ones going as? I had so much fun looking at all of my students’ costumes at school today, from cheerleaders to jailbirds and everything in between.
Enjoy your Halloween; stay safe and have fun! Here’s a little tune to hum as you go to door-to-door with your little ghost or goblin.
Do you know about a day
That’s not so very far away
Everywhere there’s orange and black
And chills are running up your back.
Jack-o-lanterns and ghosts and bats,
Witches and goblins and big black cats
Spooky spooks come out to play
On the thirty-first, Halloween Day.
Let’s pick a costume we can wear
And all the neighbors, we will scare
When at their door we trick or treat
And they will give us something sweet.
Jack-o-lanterns and ghosts and bats,
Witches and goblins and big black cats
Spooky spooks come out to play
On the thirty-first, Halloween Day.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
When I joined Facebook as a 21-year-old graduate student back in 2004, I would have laughed at you if you’d told me that one day, my mother and I would be Facebook friends. Fast-forward to five years later, when I am Facebook friends with not only my mother, but her friends, my dad, my former professors, and my students’ parents. Not to mention hundreds of other people from all areas of my life.
Over the last couple of years, Facebook has transitioned from a neat way to keep in touch with friends from college, to a completely legitimate networking tool. I’ve befriended and exchanged ideas with other music therapists, explained music therapy to complete strangers via mutual friends’ wall posts, and created a nice network of people who read Listen & Learn or use the services of my private practice, Music Therapy Connections. My
Facebook page allows me to update my “fans” with new blog posts, information they might find useful, and best of all, it lets them get to know me as a person.
So thank you to everyone who has taken a moment to “become a fan” of Listen & Learn on Facebook, simply by clicking the Facebook box that appears in the left-hand sidebar of this page. (And if you haven’t already, please do so!) I also wanted to share a few other Facebook pages that you might enjoy:
Brown Music Therapy
The Hope Institute for Children & Families
Kidlutions: Solutions for Kids
Kids Sing Studio
Laurie Berkner Band
Midwest Music Therapy Services
Model Me Kids
Neurosong Music Therapy Services, Inc.
Songs For Teaching
West Music
If you can think of any I might have left out, or you have your own Facebook page that Listen & Learn readers might enjoy, please feel free to share in the comments section or send me an email. Happy Friday, everyone!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Today’s edition of “Friday Faves” is brought to you by Twitter, because that is how I discovered Model Me Kids. Little did I know that many of my students already knew all about Model Me Kids, and used their videos at home.
From their website:
Model Me Kids® is dedicated to producing high quality teaching tools for children, adolescents, and teenagers with Autism, Aspergers, PDD-NOS, Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD or NLD), and developmental delays. The videos are used by parents, teachers, and therapists. They are also helpful for teaching children with developmental disabilities such as Down Syndrome and may be used with typically developing younger children. Model Me Kids® videos demonstrate social skills by modeling peer behavior at school, on a playdate, at a birthday party, on the playground, at a library, restaurant, and more. Real children model and narrate each skill. DVDs for ages 2-17.
Shortly after following Model Me Kids on Twitter, I received an email from Sue Klein, MMK’s founder and president. She had visited Listen & Learn and thought my songwriting style might be a good match for a video they were currently producing. I loved the idea, and immediately called her to tell her so. Creating the music for Model Me Faces & Emotions™ became one of my summer projects, and it was so much fun! But the best part was receiving my copy of the finished DVD just last week. Actually, I take that back…the VERY best part was having my students receive their copies only to discover my picture on the back cover and hear my familiar voice narrating the video :)
Model Me Kids currently offers 8 DVDs: Model Me Faces & Emotions, Time for School, Time for a Playdate, I Can Do It!, Model Me Conversation Cues, Model Me Friendship, Model Me Tips & Tricks, and Model Me Confidence. You can view samples on their website.
Teaching social skills is a huge focus for the students with whom I work, which made this collaboration truly exciting. If you work with or have children (whether they have autism, another developmental disability, or are typically developing) and want to learn more about Model Me Kids, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, and their website.
So that does it for today’s Friday Fave. This week has flown by, and I am in disbelief that it is already time for another weekend. I have sheet music to edit, two presentations to prepare, articles to write, and songs to record, but somewhere between that I am going to squeeze in some time with friends. What are your weekend plans?
