A Trip to the Dollar Store

If you know me at all, you know that I love stuff and love paying very little for it. As a result, I am often at the Dollar Tree (my local Dollar Store). Today, I woke up with the urge to shop and took myself to the store in search of toilet paper (I thought I would see if there was any) and anything else I could find. I left the store with three bags and 21 dollars poorer with the toilet paper and various and sundry items.

There is nothing like a trip to the Dollar Tree to get my creative juices flowing.

Today, there were new die-cuts!! Die-cuts are large shapes cut out of paper. I have an extensive collection of these visual aids that I use with my students and most of my songs. There were solar system, sea life, and zoo animal die-cuts that I have never seen before. I bought two sets of each and will be laminating them very soon. Then, following my very own rule, I will need to find six different things to do with these die-cuts before I can put them into my clinical area.

Time to brainstorm...

Solar System - sun, moon, planet (X2 - 1 with rings, 1 with double rings), comet...

Sea Life - fish (X2 facing different ways), manta ray, star fish, turtle...

Zoo Animals - elephant, hippo, giraffe, zebra, and lion...

So, with the options available to me, I can see songs about rocket travel, being alone, information about animals,....

Oh, just had the need for a shower, and while I was in there, I realized that I now have all the die-cuts that I need to do a therapeutic music experience (TME) for one of my favorite Sesame Street songs, I Don't Want to Live on the Moon. Look for that TME plan on my website, www.musictherapyworks.com as soon as I can write it down!! (It's up now...please feel free to use the idea!) I'm thinking felt board TME or moving around the room, traveling through the song. Hmmm....

So, continuing with the trend of thinking about things that I can do with my new die-cuts, I'm thinking that we could do a dance routine to Under the Sea or All the Fish. Daddy's Taking Us to the Zoo Tomorrow is always a favorite with my little bits, and I have several "move like an animal" songs as well.

It is amazing how one trip to the Dollar Tree can inspire a bunch of new TME ideas.

I didn't even tell you about the little bitty cups and little bitty chairs that I got as well... 

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