Systems in Music Therapy - Updates on the Visual Aid Organization System

Oh me, oh my.

At the start of this calendar year, I decided that I needed to get a grip on my visual aids.

I have an extensive collection of things that I use with my clients to increase the possibility of understanding and communication within the music therapy session. This collection has come about due to love for teacher supplies (can't walk past a bulletin board display without taking a long, close look), my love for papercrafting (also really love drawing and making things), and my tendency to be a pack rat (love me some paper, markers, tools, and visuals for songs - what can I say?). I have so many visuals that I was really unable to keep track of them all, so it was way past time to find some sort of organizational system.

My first step was to establish a place to store things.

In my office, I have a series of built-in shelves that are awkward for instrument storage. They are just not the right size for many of the instruments that I need to use. They reach from floor to ceiling and offer a totally accessible storage area for just about anything other than instruments.

My second step was to find storage that would hold my visual aids in a way that allowed for me to categorize by various categories.

One of my biggest visual aid rules is that everything has to fit within a file folder. This allows me to have visuals that are large enough for my group members to see from across the room and still have some consistency. I have some larger posters, but most of everything fits into a file folder. This rule made it easy for me to find storage for my visuals - file folder boxes. I now have four boxes that have various sets of visuals in them. I have sorted them, placed them in hanging file folders, and have inventoried them.

My current step is to use the inventory to help others find what they are looking for easily.

At the moment, the inventory lives in a file on my computer. My plan is to link the inventory to the boxes that I have already started. I have alphabetized some of the materials, and I can easily make the inventory match the folders. I just need to do it. The plan is for my interns to be able to look to see if I have any bug visuals to supplement their insect TME. After they see that I, indeed, do, they can see that these visuals are in the die-cut box, folder 15. They walk over to the shelves, open up the die-cut box, and voila! There are the insect pictures!! They check them out of the box and, then, when they have finished using the pictures, they check them back in and put them back in the designated folder. This system is not only for my interns but is also designed for me.

Progress made this week - more than last week, that's for sure!

At one point in this almost unbearably long week, I sat down and put all of my Teachers Pay Teachers purchases and personal offerings into the inventory. I have a ton of things that I have paid for over the past several years, so why not include those in the inventory? I do not have paper copies of all of these things, but they are available for my interns to use, so they go on the list as digital files.

Next steps...

At this point, I want to alphabetize the next three boxes of visual aids. Then, I will make the stickers to identify each of the boxes. After that, the next step would be to identify the boxes and folders of each set of visuals in the inventory - listing the box and the folder number. That seems to be the farthest that I should plan since it is taking me longer to finish this project than I envisioned due to limitations on movement being dictated by my body.

I really should take some pictures to share. 

I am making progress, and that is what is most important about all of this. Even small steps are forward progress. I am ready to start this up again. I am hoping that my body will cooperate today. My plan is to alphabetize the next visual aid boxes by this afternoon. We will see if that happens, but that's the plan...

See you tomorrow...