by Rachel | Uncategorized
It didn’t take long for me to learn that as a music therapist working with children who have special needs, one goal area I’d be addressing often is bathroom routines.
Handwashing, teeth brushing, bath taking…those are the easy ones. But toileting is a little more tricky, not to mention a little less fun. However, it’s a goal I’ve been working on with students since my first day on the job, and I’m still at it five years later.
The key to a good “potty” song is that it must be detailed yet tasteful enough so that parents, teachers and others feel comfortable singing it. To the Bathroom I Go is repetitive and the melody is simple, as you’ll hear below.
This is a reworking of the original potty song I wrote years and years ago, and since it’s proven to be effective many times, I didn’t make too many changes. While some of the lyrics may induce a giggle or blush, I think they strike the balance I mentioned earlier.
Plus, it’s a catchy little song that — like it or not — you’ll probably be singing all day long. What are your favorite songs on this unavoidable topic?
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Like so many others, this song was written specifically for one of my music therapy students. She is working on identifying her name from a field of several others, so now we sing Find Your Name at the beginning of each music therapy session.
The visual I use is pictured above, and was super easy to make. I just printed a simple sign I made using Pages, slipped it into a page protector, and then attached Velcro dots to the front and back where you see the name cards. There are also Velcro dots on the other side of each card.
I made several cards so that I can switch them out each week, which makes finding her name just a little bit more challenging for my student. The simple song is short and lets her know exactly what is expected of her.
I have started using this song with quite a few of my other students as well, though for some, a field of 4 is a little too overwhelming. But that’s an easy fix — I just remove 1 or 2 cards as needed, and will gradually increase the field as they start to recognize their names more easily.
What songs, visuals, and other resources do you use to help your students pick their names out of a crowd?
by Rachel | Uncategorized
This past weekend was a bit of a bummer for me. I started losing my voice in the middle of the week, and woke up on Saturday with a full-blown cold. Turns out I’m not the only one: when Michelle, Kimberly, and I got together via Skype to record this month’s episode of our podcast, we realized that all three of us were under the weather! It’s just that time of year.
Being sick meant I had to cancel most of my weekend plans, which included providing music activities at Breakfast with Santa, recording some new songs for my students, singing in the choir at church, and making a “Sunday Singalong” video (thank goodness for my special guest this week!).
But even though I was stuck at home with no voice, I still managed to make the most of my weekend while getting the rest I needed to start feeling better. Here are the ways in which I stayed productive…and none of them involved leaving my couch!
- Learn new music. I’ve got some holiday gigs coming up, so I spent some time going through my Christmas songbooks and working on a few tunes. By working, I mean listening to recordings of them, and then playing them either on the guitar or piano (okay, so this does involve leaving the couch). It was hard to resist singing along, but the sound of my voice was so pitiful that even I couldn’t stand to hear it, let alone my husband in the next room :)
- Make lead sheets. I fell a little behind on making lead sheets both for performances and music therapy work, so I took this down time as an opportunity to catch up. Michelle Erfurt recently shared some excellent tips for making lead sheets here.
- Go shopping. And by this, I mean online shopping! I was able to buy almost all of my holiday gifts for friends, family and students over the weekend without stepping foot outside of my home. No traffic, no lines, no sales tax, and (in most cases) free shipping? It doesn’t get much better than that.
- Clean out the ol’ email inbox. All those unanswered emails that piled up throughout the week have now been replied to, and that’s a great feeling. I may have been a little cross-eyed last night from all those hours staring at the computer screen, but they were worth it.
- Tackle boring administrative tasks. There are many such items to do both on my computer and in my office that don’t require much thinking at all. I was suffering a bit from “sick brain” this weekend, so even when my head wasn’t so clear, I was able to cross a lot of these items off my list.
- Above all else, REST! None of the things I did over the weekend were overexerting, but I made sure not to go overboard. I took plenty of naps, drank hot tea with honey and lemon, and used my voice as little as possible. Now here I am on Monday morning, feeling one hundred times better and ready to take on a brand new week.
Do you try to stay productive when you’re sick, or do you prefer to hibernate both physically and mentally? (There are most definitely times that I have done the latter.) Let’s raise our cups of tea and toast to a (hopefully) healthy holiday season!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
I’ve noticed a common theme among the songs that I’ve been choosing for both my students and myself lately. While there have been a few exceptions, most have been songs that just make me feel really good, whether I’m singing them or just listening. Judging by my students’ feedback and performance, I think the songs have the same effect on them!
Summer is all about having fun and enjoying life, in my opinion, so here are the top 10 songs (in no particular order) that are helping me do just that at the moment.
- “King of Anything” by Sara Bareilles
- “Better Together” by Jack Johnson
- “The Best Day” by Taylor Swift
- “Sing” from Sesame Street
- “Blackbird” by the Beatles
- “Any Dream Will Do” from Joseph
- “Change the World” by Eric Clapton
- “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl
- “Be OK” by Ingrid Michaelson
- “Shower the People” by James Taylor
The more I brainstormed, the longer my list grew…but I’ll stop there and leave the question open to YOU. What are your favorite feel-good songs at the moment?
by Rachel | Uncategorized
My professional roles of music therapist, teacher, and performer can be quite draining. After a long day of sessions, lessons, and a long rehearsal, I feel as though I’ve just run a marathon.
So when I have one of those days in front of me, I find myself wondering: what is the best thing to put into my body in order to provide the energy I need?
I’m a creature of habit, so when I discover something that works, I stick with it — up until this point, my breakfast (cereal, banana, and yogurt) and lunch (sandwich or salad with protein, some kind of fruit or vegetable). But my workdays are much more intense now than they used to be, and I usually need to refuel in between meals.
So I’m asking you, my esteemed colleagues…what is your fuel of choice to carry you through a long day of singing, playing, and working with children or adult clients?
