Songbird Studio

 Hi! It's me again, two weeks in a row (kinda) that's good, right? Today I'm sharing a visual schedule I use. I use this in two ways.        1) On Google Slides, set up with each icon as its own individual icon, and then move each icon to the "Done" section after we complete it.       2) I have another set printed, laminated, and velcro-ed, and I move each icon from the "To Do" to the "Done" section in a similar, but more concrete, fashion, for the students that benefit from that.   Do you do anything similar? I'll talk about what my general session schedule is in more detail later.  If you are interested in downloading your own copy, click here !

I love this song.  Festive and a fun spin on the traditional "Jingle Bells!"  Since it's a little more up-tempo, it's a great carol for kids, and since it's older, it's familiar and fun for adults, too! For my youngest kiddos, I do a simple add-on. Verses/Chorus ("Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock..."): Play jingle bells. Bridge ("What a bright time...") : Wave scarves. Use Christmas colors or fabric for the scarves for an added holiday touch. :) If you use the original , you can also add an easy xylophone/boomwhacker/keyboard pattern at the beginning of most stanzas: JINGLE BELL , JINGLE BELL , JINGLE BELL ROCK D                    C#                   B                    F# The...

The careful use of YouTube can be so helpful in connecting with tweens and teens.  These are two of my current seasonal favorites on this popular video sharing site. Angels We Have Heard on High (above), as performed by The Piano Guys . This video is amazing--it would make for a great lead-in to a teamwork discussion, or a collaborative music project of your own!  Especially great for groups.  Even better if you have access to a piano so you can crack it open and do some exploration--maybe even create your own soundscape. Little Drummer Boy and Carol of the Bells , as performed by Pentatonix . If I haven't shared this group before, I apologize, because they are my hands-down favorite.  Everything they do, even the covers, are family friendly modifications that still ring true to the originals, and the fact that there are no instruments used is just amazing.  Their channel in general is a great resource for discussing teamwork, but also for buildin...

In my practice, I rely a lot on a variety of folk songs--yes, there are age appropriate folk songs for even adolescents and young adults! One reason I LOVE folk songs?  Most of the beloved 'classics' are SO classic that they are public domain.  There is also a rich oral tradition in folk songs, which makes variations plentiful, so there is always a new version out there to give you new ideas.  This series will explore a few of my current favorites. Today we look at one that I use with my adolescents and young adults with cognitive disabilities.  It is a perennial favorite! Shake Them 'Simmons Down CHORUS:   (E) Shake that tree, do, oh, do, oh Shake that tree, do, oh, do, oh Shake that tree, do, oh, do, oh, Shake them (B7) 'simmons  (E) down... VERSE: Circle to the right, do, oh, do, oh, Circle to the right, do, oh, do, oh, Circle to the right, do, oh, do, oh, Shake them 'simmons down... Other verse options: Circle to the left... Clap y...