Blog Posts

Sentence Segmentation to Improve Communication – Part 1 of 2

      Echo Singing or Chanting One of the skills I almost always include in both one-on-one and group music therapy sessions with young children is an echo song or rhythmic exchange.  During this type of intervention, the following areas in the Phonological Awareness […]

Improper Fractions and a FREE Division Song for You

Today’s focus is on math.  I started writing math songs before I learned about phonological awareness and the development of literacy skills.  Math is still a love of mine, and luckily comes pretty easily to me, due in large part to all my years learning […]

The Book With No Pictures

We have been having a ton of fun with my most recent book discovery.  When I say “we,” I am referring to my music therapy clients, my children, and myself.  The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak is hilarious. The text consists of the […]

Teamwork Required

This picture of my two little girls reminds me of my childhood with my own little sister.  We were blessed to grow up in rural Wisconsin, spending the majority of our time outdoors.  We had a massive garden and helped our parents at a young […]

What a Wonderful World — New Book for Your Collection

I’m always on the lookout for picture books that can easily be set to music or ones that illustrate well known songs.  I recently came across a new version of “What a Wonderful World” that is my current favorite of all picture books.  It is […]

Recipe for Reading Success

I’ve been thinking lately about what it takes to raise a successful reader.  My oldest daughter, now 12, was reading Boxcar Children when she entered Kindergarten.  The reading specialist who tested her reading level was amazed at her ability to read with expression. My middle […]

I Was Fired from My First Job as a Music Therapist

While this post has a catchy title, it also could have been called “Transforming a Challenge into an Opportunity” — the theme for this year’s Music Therapy Social Media Advocacy Month. After reading posts and listening to stories from other music therapists (posted here), I […]

Top 5 Reasons to Choose Music Therapy as a Career

#1 If you are a musician and also have a strong desire to help people, music therapy as a career may be perfect for you.  Personally, I was torn between becoming a music teacher or a special education teacher. I vividly remember learning about music […]

Can You Guess My Goal for 2015?

My goal for 2015?  You’ll never guess it.  It’s simply to read!  Ah, but to clarify, my specific goal is to read my ever growing pile of books and journal articles that are NOT on a screen. And I’m going to use this cute picture […]

Mirror Neurons at Work

As my final post for you in 2014, I offer a story… It was a wintery Friday morning in Wisconsin.  I was teaching a “Learning Through Song” class for kids with special needs and their parents.  Through a strange set of circumstances, I only had […]

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