November is one of my very favorite months as far as music therapy goes, because I have all sorts of fun Thanksgiving-related songs to use with my students. And as excited as I am about the holiday, I’m a little bummed that it is here so soon — because that means I’ll have to stop singing about it.
This month has honestly been a whirlwind, between my trip to Minnesota, preparing for conference, and spending the last 5 days in Atlanta (more on that soon). I feel like I barely had an opportunity to do the Turkey Dinner Dance or break out my favorite Thanksgiving tune of all: The Ten Days of Thanksgiving.
I only have two days with students this week before the holiday break, so I’ll be getting as much use out of it as possible in between today and tomorrow. By Thursday I’ll be more than ready for turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the yummy foods I’ve been singing about! Yum. What songs and activities are you using in the last few days before Thanksgiving?
I’ve lost track of how many times I have mentioned here on the blog that I’m a list-maker. I’ve also lost track of how many lists I have running on any given day — on a notepad in my office, in the “Reminders” app of my phone, a Pages document on my computer, and now, in the cloud.
I discovered today’s “Friday Fave” while catching up on my Google Reader one day last month. John Jantsch writes the blog Duct Tape Marketing (and also wrote the book The Referral Engine, which I loved and learned a lot from), so I have him to thank for this new resource.
Workflowy is hard to describe, because calling it a list-making tool would be selling it short. The interface couldn’t be simpler: it’s just a blank page where you can add items, and then add bullet points to those items, and bullet points to those items, and then notes to those items. My Workflowy account contains an outline of all of my to-do’s in every area of my life, broken down into the smallest detail.
When I sat down earlier this week to outline my presentation for the national music therapy conference (yes, this is happening next week, and yes, I am completely guilty of procrastination), I decided to go the Workflowy route. You can see a portion of my outline above. The entire outline is nested within the rest of my Workflowy space, and I can minimize and maximize it as needed. This tool is too cool!
You know what else is cool about Workflowy? It’s totally free. It’s also accessible anywhere. I can pull it up on my computer, iPhone, or iPad — there’s no dedicated app; just type the address in Safari, sign in, and there are my lists.
I’m going to stop trying to explain and just let you go check it out for yourself. Have you tried Workflowy, or do you have another favorite organizational tool?
Sunday was a very sad day here at Listen & Learn headquarters: after two years of trusty service, my Flip Ultra HD camcorder died. Luckily, my new camera takes HD video and came to the rescue for last week’s “Sunday Singalong” video, but using that camera as a camcorder eats up the battery almost immediately. I knew I needed an alternative solution.
So where did I turn for advice? Facebook, of course! I asked my friends for HD camcorder recommendations, and the first I received was this:
My brother-in-law reminded me that I already have an excellent HD camcorder, which I knew but hadn’t thought about using as a replacement for my Flip. He sent me this link, which further convinced me that maybe I didn’t need to go out and spend the money on a new camcorder, after all.
And then I remembered a particularly memorable Kickstarter (the crowd-sourcing website I used to raise money for my studio album) project that showed up in my inbox several months ago: the glif.
The glif is “an iPhone 4/4S accessory with two primary functions: mounting your iPhone onto a tripod and propping up your iPhone at various angles” — exactly what I needed to turn my new phone into a legit camcorder. It’s a little pricy for a small piece of plastic, but compared to purchasing a brand new camcorder? I was happy to shell out the $20.
I’m going to miss the ‘ol Flipster, but I’m excited to try out my glif/iPhone combo when I record Sunday’s video. I’ll keep you posted on my thoughts, and you’ll get to see the results first-hand this weekend!
Halloween is still a week away, which gives you plenty of time to share a few spooky (and not-so-spooky) tunes with your students or even your own children.
I’ve gotten plenty of use out of my Halloween song collection throughout the month of October, and wanted to make it readily available to you — which is why it’s now on sale for $5. Take a listen to the songs below:
To take advantage of the Halloween Week discount, just click “Buy” and pay securely using PayPal or a credit card. You can bet I’ll be singing these songs like crazy over the next seven days, before it’s tune to bust out the turkey tunes!
Who are Renee and Jeremy, you may be wondering? Well I don’t actually know them (which means we’re not actual BFFs), but I do know that I really love their family-friendly children’s music.
I was searching for new play-along tunes to use with my little Church Mice when I discovered this duo in the iTunes store. I listened to clips of almost every song on both their albums — It’s a Big World and C’mon — and couldn’t find a “just okay” one in the bunch. Renee & Jeremy describe their music being “for people of all ages” and I would have to say they are right on.
Renee & Jeremy are right up there on my list with Elizabeth Mitchell and Little Miss Ann, among others. Who’s on your list of “musical BFFs” at the moment?
Welcome! I’m Rachel Rambach, board-certified music therapist and creator of Listen & Learn Music — educational songs and musical materials for children. I love sharing my work with you, along with my behind-the-scenes creative process, adventures in business ownership, and life as a mom of two.
My Book + Course
This is the book + course that will help you shape your music therapy career in order to make more money and live your ideal lifestyle. Details here.
