Halloween - Not My Favorite, But It Happens

I'm not a big fan of Halloween - the hype just gets to me after a while - but I am going to wear a costume and go to Trunk or Treat this evening. I will arrange a small ball game for kids to play in order to get their candy - I believe in earning things rather than just getting things. I have purchased my candy (all 798 pieces of it - I ate two pieces), and my costume is coming together. I've decided to be "The Napper." I can wear my big, comfy robe, my slippers, and some shorts underneath while also wearing my superhero cape. I'm not very good at making up costumes - I don't ever want to spend money, so I'm stuck with things around the house. I went trick or treating as a child dressed as an adult for SEVERAL years in a row - see what I mean? Last year, I went as Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. It was a great mediocrity.

So, I am going out into the world, wearing my costume and getting ready for the post-Halloween crash.

Just in case you were wondering, I am not doing any therapy interactions today, so I'm not running any type of Halloween TMEs with my students. Even when I am the only music therapist at the facility, I don't really do many Halloween-themed TMEs. The most effort I put in is to change all of my major keys to minor keys for our familiar songs.

Ironically, I have TONS of Halloween-themed TMEs. My interns have provided me with many different ideas over the years, and I've come up with my own ideas as well. There are lots of Halloween children's books that lend themselves well to songs and TMEs, and everyone seems to have a pumpkin song or two in their music libraries. I'm actually finishing up a couple of songs for next year's Teachers Pay Teachers October release that incorporate songs that outline the process of trick or treating for those of us who do not know what is happening and some songs about costumes. They were almost ready this morning, but I'll keep working on them and get them ready for release next August (it makes sense in my brain, I promise!) for the next Halloween season.

For today though, I am going to gather my robe, my slippers, my pillow, my superhero robe, and a mask to hide my true identity before I head out for a VERY long day of entertaining children and giving them candy. If my bosses were wise, they would arrange our Fall Break to happen the days after Halloween so we teachers/therapists wouldn't have to deal with the candy crashes, but the Board of Regents don't think like that, so my bosses don't think like that. Anyway, here we go!

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