Processing Through My Day
Yesterday was a horrible day. I have a feeling that this is going to be the way Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to go for a while due to the classes that I see on those days. My afternoons now have three groups in them, and the groups are not the easiest groups to see. I tried REALLY hard to see those groups in the morning when they are less tired and cranky and a bit more ready to engage in therapy. At this time, I think therapy will be just separating kids from each other and keeping them from engaging in social interaction. They just cannot seem to be in the same place for more than 2 minutes.
I left work with the news that we are now replacing 4 of our 12 teachers in the next month (if we can find folks to take those teaching positions). More upheaval for my students who do not deal well with change to begin with. More upheaval for me and my co-workers. We already had a new teacher beginning, a new Speech-Language Pathologist, and a new COTA starting in July - now we get to add more change to our school.
My general outlook is pretty negative at the moment.
On the plus side, my first round of Carnival of the Animals centers has worked pretty well. There was the kid who wrapped himself up in the shower curtain after scribbling all over my dry erase board (with a crayon) while sitting in between two staff members who didn't seem to see that he was not doing what he needed to do (last group yesterday). There was the kid who insisted on throwing instruments into a box. Those kids were the outliers, though.
We listened to the Introduction/Royal March of the Lions from the suite during the last two days. Some kids got really into the concept of the march and the roar sections. I saw students who do not interact with others in the world who acted out the roars when prompted by the music. I had some students who refused to leave the central carpet - they stayed with me and played instruments with me the entire time. Others moved around the room and tried the sensory boxes and then colored. Some colored 10 sheets (used one color per sheet rather than using several colors on one sheet). Some ripped up their own sheets. One young lady gave me hers.
Today we start the Hens and Roosters movement. We are going to put together eggs in the sensory area, color part of the book for the movement, and then use shaker eggs and gathering drums. We are going to sort the eggs, stir the eggs in the drums, and shake the eggs back and forth in the drums.
The one thing I haven't really been able to pull into the session yet is connecting the music to a coping skill. I'm trying to figure out how to do that, and the idea is coming, but it's not firm yet.
Next week contains the Donkeys and Tortoise movements. It will also include the instrument reveal for my groups. My ukuleles are currently at our other location and on the way to me. When they arrive, I will show the instruments to all of my students (while incorporating the Carnival of the Animals music somehow). Maybe we can listen to the music while we are exploring the instruments. Most of the music has string instruments, so that could work...hm.
Lots of things to think about.
Today is a day with only four groups. We are going to use all of the extra eggs that I have in my craft room. We will have some that can be opened and then we will have the ones that cannot be opened. That will cause some confusion, but my students will get it eventually. I will have time to try out ideas and then refine them before tomorrow's marathon of difficult group sessions (3 out of 6 make my head hurt).
I am in a better place now. It is amazing how processing what happens in sessions and the possibilities of session plans can help with the attitude. I have always been a solitary processor - I've never really been able to afford professional supervision, but I know that processing what happens in sessions is important. I get that a bit through peer supervision with the art therapist at my facility. We provide that to each other - a place to reflect and process how to proceed with mutual clients from within similar therapeutic situations.
If you don't have someone to talk to about what you do in your music therapy sessions, please find someone. There are many MT-BCs out there who offer supervision. There are many others who would benefit from a peer supervision setting. Find someone who understands music therapy and then use them and their expertise to process what happens in music therapy sessions.
Thanks for going through my processing with me.
I left work with the news that we are now replacing 4 of our 12 teachers in the next month (if we can find folks to take those teaching positions). More upheaval for my students who do not deal well with change to begin with. More upheaval for me and my co-workers. We already had a new teacher beginning, a new Speech-Language Pathologist, and a new COTA starting in July - now we get to add more change to our school.
My general outlook is pretty negative at the moment.
On the plus side, my first round of Carnival of the Animals centers has worked pretty well. There was the kid who wrapped himself up in the shower curtain after scribbling all over my dry erase board (with a crayon) while sitting in between two staff members who didn't seem to see that he was not doing what he needed to do (last group yesterday). There was the kid who insisted on throwing instruments into a box. Those kids were the outliers, though.
We listened to the Introduction/Royal March of the Lions from the suite during the last two days. Some kids got really into the concept of the march and the roar sections. I saw students who do not interact with others in the world who acted out the roars when prompted by the music. I had some students who refused to leave the central carpet - they stayed with me and played instruments with me the entire time. Others moved around the room and tried the sensory boxes and then colored. Some colored 10 sheets (used one color per sheet rather than using several colors on one sheet). Some ripped up their own sheets. One young lady gave me hers.
Today we start the Hens and Roosters movement. We are going to put together eggs in the sensory area, color part of the book for the movement, and then use shaker eggs and gathering drums. We are going to sort the eggs, stir the eggs in the drums, and shake the eggs back and forth in the drums.
The one thing I haven't really been able to pull into the session yet is connecting the music to a coping skill. I'm trying to figure out how to do that, and the idea is coming, but it's not firm yet.
Next week contains the Donkeys and Tortoise movements. It will also include the instrument reveal for my groups. My ukuleles are currently at our other location and on the way to me. When they arrive, I will show the instruments to all of my students (while incorporating the Carnival of the Animals music somehow). Maybe we can listen to the music while we are exploring the instruments. Most of the music has string instruments, so that could work...hm.
Lots of things to think about.
Today is a day with only four groups. We are going to use all of the extra eggs that I have in my craft room. We will have some that can be opened and then we will have the ones that cannot be opened. That will cause some confusion, but my students will get it eventually. I will have time to try out ideas and then refine them before tomorrow's marathon of difficult group sessions (3 out of 6 make my head hurt).
I am in a better place now. It is amazing how processing what happens in sessions and the possibilities of session plans can help with the attitude. I have always been a solitary processor - I've never really been able to afford professional supervision, but I know that processing what happens in sessions is important. I get that a bit through peer supervision with the art therapist at my facility. We provide that to each other - a place to reflect and process how to proceed with mutual clients from within similar therapeutic situations.
If you don't have someone to talk to about what you do in your music therapy sessions, please find someone. There are many MT-BCs out there who offer supervision. There are many others who would benefit from a peer supervision setting. Find someone who understands music therapy and then use them and their expertise to process what happens in music therapy sessions.
Thanks for going through my processing with me.
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