Fun Friday: Finding Out What Is Hidden

If you have been reading anything from the past couple of weeks, then you know that my water heater sprung a leak and the water went all over my library closet and in part of the room itself. Today, I have a water mitigation company coming over to work with the now-dried but very mildewy carpet. I have been moving boxes and sorting through things for the last two weeks. I am hoping that everything will be finished up by the end of today, but who knows? 

The good news is that I am finding all sorts of things to put into my music therapy room. The bad news is that I am finding all sorts of things to put into my music therapy room.

Yesterday, I started brainstorming some uses for some visual aids that I found one of my many boxes. (See the post here.) I was able to find four ways to use the airplane and banner visuals, but I am still figuring out two more things to meet my self-imposed "six things" rule. If I can't find two more ideas, then I will try to give things away.

My sister, the second grade teacher, has an entire classroom theme every year. All of her bulletin boards and visuals are centered around the theme she selects. We have lots of fun talking about her themes. This year, she is repeating her theme from last year, which I like because it means more creativity without having to start from scratch. She is busy finding things for a friend's classroom theme. It is just about time for me to help her come up with puns for the new theme - we like coming up with clever statements centered around learning and whatever theme we have going for us. My aunt used to teach math in a high school, and we came up with all sorts of puns for her based on an "under the sea" theme.

I don't have a classroom theme because my clients will destroy everything that I have within minutes. My room, though, is full of visual stimulation in the form of murals. I inherited our old play therapy/training room, and the art therapist painted all sorts of things on the walls. I have a fairy tale wall, an insect wall, a flower wall, and a dream factory wall. The dream factory wall is currently covered by cabinets, but it is still there. I do not have any bulletin boards in my classroom, but I do have all that cabinet space.

I am currently making a bunch of word cards for said cabinets. We are shifting our 18-21 program from self-contained to coming back to the music therapy room for leisure programming. I want their experience to be full of choices, so I need to ensure that my clients are able to choose things to do while they are in the music therapy room. These folks have been limited to what I have brought to them for the past two years, so it is time to expand their music-related leisure options.

As I have been going through boxes in the library, I am finding more and more things to add to my word cards. My vision for this communication board is to have elements that are velcroed to the cabinets that I can change and adapt and replace as needed. I am using words and real pictures as much as possible. I may change things up and use line drawings of instruments later on, but this is what I have available to me at this point. So, the thought behind this situation is that clients will be able to see pictures of their options with the communication aids available to indicate what they want to do. I may make a pocket version to go with the display on the cabinets.

This is the best thing to come out of my stressful May and the end of this break - finding some of my interests again.

It is time to get going on the things that I can contribute to the music therapy world again. So here's to some rebranding and an increased effort towards getting materials in front of the people who can use it the most! I have a couple of pages in my journal where I will outline what I am going to be working on this summer. Right now, those pages are empty (except for some washi tape), but it will be filled very soon. Stick with me for some deals and reveals very soon!

Two more things to come up with for my airplanes and banners. Two more things. In the meantime, it is time to keep moving books around in my library, find out if we can remove the mildew without removing the carpet, and then put things back in a more organized manner. I also have so many things to laminate before I get back to work on Monday. It is time to get things going.

I wish I had another week off since this process is taking so much longer than I originally planned, but I will be heading back to work on Monday for an intern interview/audition and five groups (I think - the schedule has changed...). For the next three days, I will be organizing, laminating, making plans for my future. There you go.

Happy Friday from this part of the world!