PDF for Shake them 'Simmons Down

You can view the song from this blog post and find the file available for download here! I've notated the song in the key of C--transpose to whatever key best fits your needs. I also notated V chords as straight Vs, but you are of course free to spice them up as V7s, or get more inventive with the chord progression as a whole--whatever best fits your population!

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Book Review: Grateful Giraffe, a Yoga Story

I recently had the opportunity to review The Grateful Giraffe, by Giselle Shardlow. It is a sweet book featuring a variety of animals corresponding to yoga poses for children. I read the book and did the yoga flow with my kids one morning, and they really enjoyed it! Giselle has included tips for how to use the book and how to use yoga in general with kids, and I loved that! There are illustrations of kids performing the poses on each spread, which is very helpful for young ones who need information in as concrete a manner as possible. I also really enjoyed the flow--it was one that I could probably teach to my kids to use without the book eventually. We added a simple mindfulness component to the rest pose at the end. As we lay in rest pose, we talked about five things we could see, five things we could touch or feel, and five things we could hear. It was a nice way to bring closure to the activity and add in mindfulness. There is an extr...

Movement Ideas with Music, #1: The Parachute

I finally got a parachute! It has taken me way too many years to acquire one! In fact, it's been a windfall year for parachutes--a 12' parachute was donated to me and a 6' parachute was finally found at a super affordable price that fit my budget. I'm really glad it worked out that way, as I need the smaller one for my tiny groups, but the big one is great for my big groups and my big kids! After check-in, I like to begin my groups with a fun movement activity. This energizes the group, increasing their attention and motivation for the course of the session, and setting the stage for whatever work we will do later. Sometimes it's just something fun, and other times it is directly related to other goals we will address later in the group. This is a simple activity that is paired with a relatively recent pop song, so I find it appropriate to use with all ages of children. Grab your parachute and a copy of " Shake It Off " by Taylo...

Effective Behavior Management

Building Rapport One Step at a Time Last month, I did a short presentation at my former graduate school for the student music therapy association there. One of the programs I work in is a public school day treatment setting with adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders, and the organizer of the event felt that presenting on behavior management strategies would be most informative for the group. I thought I would share parts of my presentation here, as a new series on the blog. If you're anything like me when I was going through my music therapy practica, this is the population that produces the most anxiety for you. Hopefully these practical, concrete tips will ease some of that anxiety, because I feel this is a very fulfilling pouplation to work with, and I hope you get the opportunity to do so someday. It's also possible that you are very comfortable with or excited about working with this population. If that is the case, I hope this series reaff...

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