Saturday Specials: Spend Time Creating #MusicTherapyMaker

I am going to try a new series of posts - we will see if it takes off in any way, but here we go...

Now, I am really pretty good at making up series titles for things, but I am not as good at keeping up with them, but we will try it anyway. Today's change up in topics is brought to you courtesy of the Dollar Tree where I dropped a cool $60 this morning, buying things for my upcoming trip and spending money on books for kids and all that stuff. It is also brought to you courtesy of Kathy Schumacher over at Tuneful Teaching. (You can find her on Instagram using this link.) She recently released a cute visual aid for free, so go check her out!! I realized that I make all sorts of things, but I rarely share them for others to see, so this is the day that I will try to get some of this stuff out into the world for others to enjoy.

Of course, I am making this decision with little to no plans or action steps or anything, but you know, that is how I roll these days. (Don't believe me - I haven't changed THAT much!) I have lots of things to show off, but I don't always do a good job of sharing with others, so here we go!

I am a crafter.

I am proud of the fact that I like to make things, and it is always interesting to figure out what people like to try for themselves. I am the type of person who will make things myself rather than paying someone else to make it. Others seem to be intimidated about making something, so they prefer to pay someone else to make it. So, as I work through the things that I want to use this series to do for me and for other music therapists out there, there are some things that I want to let you know about how to make your own stuff for your music therapy interactions...

The first thing to know is that you don't have to have anything fancy. Tools help in saving time, but they are not necessary to make something that works for clients. In fact, you can do lots of things with a pair of scissors, some markers, a computer and printer, and access to a laminating machine. Add in some Velcro, and you are ready to go!

If you end up making more things, then purchasing some additional tools will help you in the process. I love my laminating machines (I have five of them in various work and home locations). I have scissors for Velcro and for laminate. I have scissors for paper and fabric. I have all sorts of things that help me make my items look just a little bit nicer.

My clients don't notice. They don't care if the visuals are printed on high quality cardstock or on copy paper. They don't notice the rounded corners. I notice those things, though. My clients use them and bend them and scrunch them up because that's what my students do. I have learned to keep a pristine copy of all visuals at my home so I can handle the cringe that happens when client A bends the cards that I spent lots of time making. I know that there is a perfect version of that visual in my files - FLAT!

I intend to make this series a bunch of posts about what I make for my clients to use and consume. There will be times when I send you to my other social media accounts to get information. There will be times when I send you to my TPT store. I will also share pictures, techniques, and videos about what I am making. For now, though, I am going to do some brainstorming about what I want to do with this series, so I am finished here.

See you next Saturday!!