music, therapy, and me

Monday has come around again, and it is the last Monday that I have off before the start of the 2025-2026 school year. Next Monday is my first day with kids after being off for over a month due to medical issues that are continuing even after surgery. We now know more about what is happening inside my body, and it doesn't seem all that great. I go to my primary person today to cover some things that are concerning me - high blood pressure, falling, etc., but that is a topic for another day. Today's topic is laminating. I am a big fan of lamination. My clients tend to be juicy, so it is a good idea to cover things in plastic that can withstand some Clorox wiping (or LOTS of Clorox wiping). So, I enjoy covering visual aids in plastic.  When I was an intern, it was often my job to cover visuals in clear Contact paper. Now, I HATE Contact paper because it was my job to cover visuals during my internship. I swear that stuff sees me coming and instantly starts to fold, wrinkle, and s...

Part of my identity as a vintage music therapist is my CD and cassette collection. Now, I have purged many of my cassettes, but I cannot seem to get rid of the CDs that I purchased over many years. I use them in my car during commutes because wi-fi and data usage and all that is confusing to me (that's where the vintage label becomes VERY evident), so I prefer my music in tangible form rather than in streaming. So, I have book after book of CDs in my living room. The reason I bring this up is that the songs that I have been listening to lately are from yet another soundtrack - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.  This is from a sweet movie that discusses grief and creativity and love, and the music is wonderful. It is currently the only CD in my car, so I am listening to it often. I cannot identify a favorite track in the soundtrack. It all blends together nicely. There is only one vocal track, and that one is not my favorite. I enjoy the leitmotivs and the way the music flows. I r...

Well, it is Friday again. This time next week, I will be at work, trying to figure out what I will be doing instead of going through the physical aspect of our behavior management system. I will still be a bit shy of my 6 week, no lifting requirement. Technically, that will be the week after, but I have to go back to work so I have a little bit of sick time left. I am almost ready to return to my work life. I am feeling better, can move pretty well, but am still having some medical issues. I have to fit in some more tests and things to do before the start of the new benefits year. That reminds me - time to check the benefit sign-up process. It is time, so I have gone through that process and have the confirmation page proving that I have finished it all. Today's challenge is to see if I can get an appointment with my primary care person to talk about some of the medical challenges that I have left before I head back to work. That means making phone calls to snippy medical professio...

Well, it is now Thursday, and I have one week of my enforced and scheduled break left before I get into the 2025-2026 school year. I think I have finished my medical appointments for some time, but other things are popping up that need to be addressed, so I am not sure that I will be able to leave the world of medical issues completely. This week has been a good one for creativity and for my TPT store as well as for feeding my soul. I have put in three new files - star instrument cards in color, star instrument cards in black and white, and Olympics sports in both color and black and white. I completed several art journal pages, and I have read and read and read my current crop of library books.  I have spent money on things I wanted rather than on things that I needed, but I have done some spending on things I needed as well. I have a new music therapy t-shirt that I am looking forward to wearing around my facility. I have some new die-cut templates for journaling and visual aid p...

It is Wednesday again, so it is time to highlight a website that I use for either inspiration or materials. Today's website is one that I use as both a storefront and to get materials. It used to be called Teachers Pay Teachers - now it is just TPT .  (I am conveniently linking you to my store - if you are interested in music therapy visual aids at low, budget-friendly prices.) I have always made it a point to be completely transparent when it comes to recommendations. I get a financial benefit if you purchase something from my store on this site. I do not get any sort of financial benefit if you purchase from any other stores on the site. It is free to sign up, and there are SO many free resources on the site that are just sitting there! I am always surprised when I hear that a music therapist has not signed up, especially those who work with children, adolescents, and young adults. So, head out there and sign up for TPT. Also, check out the resources that I have available for th...

This is going to be a thematic post - all about themes, and my current theme is "Back to School." I spend lots of moments during this time of year hearing about classroom themes (my sister's classroom is going to be amazing, y'all), watching classroom organization videos, thinking about my own room (which doesn't really change all that much), and seeing the decor that is generated by many people in the music education world.  There are some teachers out there (cough, cough sissa!) who make everything match or work within their creative themes. My room has muraled walls, so there is not much room for things to put on the walls. Also, my clients like to rip things from the wall and destroy them, so I don't want to spend time and money replacing decorations over again. So, I tend to keep the decorations things that I can move to and fro in the group area rather than on the walls. That doesn't mean that I don't have ideas about themes. Ooh boy, do I have i...