Systems in Music Therapy: Re-organizing My Visual Aid Library
So, I enjoy making and using visual aids with my clients. I have always enjoyed teacher stores, bulletin board designs, and clip art, and that enjoyment has found a place in my music therapy practice.
NOTE: I do not think that music therapy interventions require visuals - in fact, I want to make sure that the visuals only support the music therapy interventions -- not be the reason for the intervention. There is a distinction in my head, just so you know.
I have many different types of visual aids - from posters to file folder activities to die cuts to books and stories. I have so many projects that are in progress that I can't seem to keep track of where all the pieces are. I have been making these things for my entire life - even before I became a music therapist, so I have decades worth of stuff that I use on a regular basis. With the addition of the last storage cabinet in my music therapy room, I am now able to make sorting and cataloging these materials a professional priority.
So, I am.
I have started by taking materials out of my cabinets and writing down what I have found. I have been through my current storage solution containers - expandable file folders, plastic envelopes that hold letter sized papers, milk crates. Each time I have opened something new, I have contributed to a list that I have in my work bullet journal. This is the first inventory that I have undergone in a systematic manner, and I am finding it to be quite revealing.
The only thing that I like better for my music therapy clinic than a multi-functional visual aid is a bargain, and this has contributed to my stack of visuals. The Dollar Tree used to sell large paper die-cuts that had a common theme. They don't stock them at my Dollar Tree anymore, so that makes the ones that I have more important to me now. For a dollar, I would get 10 different die-cuts - 2 each of 5 patterns - that I would laminate and use for various purposes. They were simple shapes of objects which was nice for my type of client - not too much to distract clients from the intent of the TMEs - remember, the visuals have to support what is already happening in the music therapy experience rather than be the reason for the experience itself. I have all sorts of themes and single items - animals, weather states, vehicles, art objects, you name it!
So, I have used these laminated die-cuts for many years, but I have never really thought about storing them in any sort of place other than in milk crates. I group them based on single items or in theme pockets. Each set has a file folder with staples or duct tape on the edges to keep things in an envelope instead of just letting them slide around unconfined (that doesn't work - TRUST me!). For my students who connect to others through pictures, having these pictures helps with their ability to tell me what they want to contribute or what they need. I use these in so many ways.
Okay, so I am making a list of what I have. I am about 43% finished with this first step. My ultimate goal is to relocate all of the visual aids to the emptied shelves that have happened because I finally got the last cabinet promised. I want the visuals to be seen, not tucked away in a cabinet, so the shelves are a perfect place for these things to go. They are open, deep, and include large areas that will accommodate all sorts of things - the visuals will not take up all the space available - they might only take up about 2 of the 5 shelves...maybe not even that.
At this point, I am trying to figure out what I want to do once I have everything inventoried. I know that I want to sort by category - for example, have all of the file folder games together and all the die-cuts together - but I also need to make decisions based on how I want to store them.
Before I go any farther, please know that I am the owner of all of these visuals. I have spent my money and time and materials to make them or acquire them. My facility does not contribute anything other than the occasional watt to help me with the laminating process - I do most of my laminating at home but occasionally will laminate a last minute project at work, if needed. I buy all the laminating sheets and everything else that is used to make any and all visual aids.
So, since these are my materials and my things to use, I will be purchasing all of the containers. When I leave my facility, these things will go with me, so I need to be thinking, not only about how to contain things right now, but also how to contain things in the future. Many of my visuals are file folder activities - they are either the folder itself or contained within a folder, so file storage boxes might be a good way to go. I just bought some from Amazon for my memory boxes, so I could get some more of those for an expected amount of money and know that they will accommodate my folders and even hang them rather than the way I do things now - stuffing them in. It would be pretty easy to take my inventory and print it out to be used as a label for each box. I have full sheets of sticker paper that go into my printer without worry, so I could number the folders, do some color coding, print out the labels, stick them on the side, and then my interns could find what they need with just a little bit of orientation into how my brain works. The boxes will fit in the space that I have available, and they would also be visually pleasing to my eye - all the same and all sorts of space.
When I talk about organization with interns, I often tell them to think about what they would like if they had to change their system up. I am in that sort of space right now - looking at present use and thinking about future use as well.
I have organization systems that I already use - color coding, labels, sorting by thematic use, referencing and cross-referencing - that I can use still in this system. I am just not quite ready to pull it all together into a big system yet...
I know that I have die-cuts. I have games. I have tools. I have concept folders. I have cards for various things. I have books that illustrate specific ideas. I want to be able to know where things are at all times, so I will need to figure out how to organize the stuff in a way that helps me accomplish this goal. I also crave a system where everything has a place and everything goes into its place when its use is finished. Due to all of these thoughts, I am trying to do this once rather than just start it and then have to redo it because I haven't figured it out just yet. Better to figure it out and then do it once. I will be making decisions and then will be going with those decisions without looking back...at all...hopefully.
Today's task is another box of die-cuts. All of these will end up going into the file boxes that I will be purchasing as I mentioned above. I have an empty one that I will take to work today so I can use it right now before buying more of them. I will play around with placement on the shelves and how I can organize file folders.
I will be thinking about my accordion file folder envelopes and what I want to put in those containers. Those make sense for things that are commonly used - all the BINGO versions in the BINGO envelope, for example. That would make finding them easy - just grab the envelope labeled BINGO. Using those file folder envelopes might also limit how many BINGO sets and versions that I keep. If the envelope only has four pockets, then I can only have four BINGO sets. (None of my current envelopes only have four pockets!) Limits are good when you are a pack rat like me.
It is time to close this post now so I can get myself to work. I have things to do and people to see and an inventory to continue to work on. My organization game is becoming more clear to me.
Now, off to take the empty box to work, do the music therapy, and finish up the week. Monday is a day off, so I will need to figure out how to structure the sessions for next week when not everyone will get their scheduled sessions due to the holiday. We have finished our Martin Luther King, Jr. discussion and songs yesterday, so everyone has heard that message. Today we will be bowling for bottles and notes to play on our Orff instruments and then doing some dancing or music listening. Then, it is time to start my weekend. I have an online meeting and church to do during the weekend but nothing is scheduled for Monday. I might unpack a box or two...
Happy Friday!
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