Year 7 at Listen & Learn was another big one. With my son in part-time daycare, I finally had daytime hours to devote to songwriting and creating content, so the first thing I did that year was create an online CMTE course all about my favorite kind of direct service: early childhood.
I spent the month of September finishing the course, Early Childhood Programs: Create, Market, Make Music! A few days after launching it, I found out I was pregnant with my second baby, and that’s when the rollercoaster really took off.
My private practice was growing like crazy, which was both thrilling and overwhelming. My new business partner Katey and I both had full caseloads and our early childhood classes were a huge hit; we knew it was time to grow our team AND our physical space. So we began looking for a new location while also putting out feelers for a new music therapist and lesson instructor.
At the same time, my husband and I had been house-hunting for a while, and finally found the perfect one. We moved on New Year’s Eve, and shortly after, I started a new podcast, Guitars & Granola Bars.
I had my baby girl, Mia Belle, at the end of May, and closed out year 7 with a 3-month “maternity leave” — most of which was spent painting and fixing up the new home of Music Therapy Connections.
My 2014 Gift to You
YOU are the reason that Listen & Learn Music is still alive and well today, and YOU are the reason I’ll be celebrating another 10 years in 2028. Every email and comment I receive detailing how a song was brought to life in a classroom or music therapy session, and how it helped a child to learn a new skill, provides the motivation to make this an even more valuable resource for you.
To properly thank you for your support, I’ll be sharing one of my favorite resources with you from the L&L collection each day in yearly chronological order, all the way through September 10.
Just before having my baby, I released a second collection of instrument songs: Ring, Sing, Strum & Drum! Today’s gift is two songs from that collection — “Sh-Sh-Sh-Shake” (for shakers) and “Tam Tam Boo” (for tambourines). This download includes the mp3, instrumental track, and notated lead sheet for both songs.
If you have already joined the “Listen & Learn Music Turns 10” celebration, this gift has already been delivered to your email inbox. And if you haven’t yet joined in, all you have to do is fill out your name and email below:
Check your email now for a special invitation to the private “10 Years of Listen & Learn” Facebook group. I’ll be sharing all 10 resources there as well, along with other goodies you won’t want to miss throughout the 10 days of celebration.
Our Biggest Giveaway Ever
On September 10, one extremely lucky winner will receive a LIFETIME VIP MEMBERSHIP to Listen & Learn Plus, including all current and future CMTE courses.
All you have to do is help me celebrate by:
1) following Listen & Learn Music on Instagram
2) Creating a post about how you’ve used a L&L resource, or just simply sending a birthday wish
3) Tagging @listenlearnmusic on your post
4) Using the hashtag #listenlearnmusicturns10
Feel free to save and post this image and use the caption:
Wishing @listenlearnmusic a very happy 10th birthday! I’m joining in the celebration and hoping to win a lifetime VIP membership to Listen & Learn Plus! #listenlearnmusicturns10
Follow the steps above to enter as many times as you’d like between September 1 – 10.