Make It Monday: Seeking Inspiration From the Things I Already Own

Today is the Monday before Thanksgiving - a forlorn space in a school therapy setting and twice as challenging in a school space in a psychiatric residential treatment facility like mine. There are two days before a five-day weekend break from school, and that causes additional problems for the staff who are required to work the holiday and for those of us who are required to leave. It is always an interesting time, and I am going in to do ten sessions with students and staff members who are not happy to be doing anything.

I am debating what I want to do this week with my clients, and I think I have decided that we will throw splash balls at drums. This tends to be a good, non-speech centered TME that allows us to hit something that will not hit back and that can allow us to express some of our frustrations. I will get all of my drums out, and we will throw balls and continue until we are tired. It is a low planning, high reward type of TME, and it requires very little preparation on my part.

I am currently flooded with ideas of things that I want/need to do but that I cannot seem to start.

One of the things that I try to do as a music therapist is to design therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) that are accessible to just about every music therapist out there, regardless of financial status. I know that being a music therapist is not the best paying job out there, so I strive to make things accessible to music therapists at any stage of their earning potential. I design TMEs that can be completed by a variety of instruments rather than focusing on Orff instruments or large drums. I release files that are inexpensive in my TPT store. I try my best to remember what it is like to be a brand new music therapist who is wondering if they can afford food while paying tuition or student loans (or both, in my case!).

Now, I'm not saying that is right, but it is the situation that many of us find ourselves in as music therapy professionals. So, I strive to help out the way I can - with keeping prices low for products I produce. That means often using things that I already have around me rather than purchasing something else.

One of the best things that I have ever purchased was a bundle of clip-art from Scrappin Doodles. I spent lots of money for that bundle, but I now have access to all sorts of clip-art to use in my TPT files. That means that I can create just about anything for just about any theme. All of my clip-art comes from Scrappin Doodles except the music stuff - that comes from Dancing Crayon. Two companies that have given me a chance to purchase tools that I can use in my own way.

What does this mean? It means that I have all sorts of inspiration already in my files. I just have to figure out how to make it into something that other music therapists can use.

I am going to work on some January/February holiday files this next week. I want to have some visuals and accompanying TMEs for a couple of months ahead so that music therapists can find TME inspiration when it is time to access it. That means that I have to think a couple of months ahead of time. I was in that pattern when I was writing monthly sing about songs editions, so it is just a matter of getting back into the routine. I will skip over December holidays and themes this time so I can design things for February.

I am starting to blather a bit, so let me close with these thoughts.

First, I want to offer ideas and tools to other music therapists, so I tend to charge less money than I could/should.

Second, I have too many ideas and not enough time to work through them - and, not enough interest, either.

Third, it is always better to leave people wanting more than overstaying my welcome.

See you later, alligator.