music, therapy, and me

Back in January of 2020, I was getting ready for something that I never thought I could do - an exhibition table at the Midwestern Regional Conference. I was producing file folders, small books and keychains, digital links, and several copies of my books to take with me to Lincoln, Nebraska for the conference. I was excited to figure out how to do this part of the job of a music therapy creator when BAM! Well, you know what happened in March of 2020, so I won't dwell. Since that time, I have cooled off with my production habits. I have focused on making things that I could use in my clinic, and those things have not often been original files. I have focused on making things from other creators and have not done as much as I would like on my own. Yesterday, I spent about an hour to two (I didn't really keep track) preparing 80 file folders to use to make visual aids. I trimmed off the flaps on the side so the folders will fit in my laminating pouches, and then I affixed stickers...

I haven't written since Wednesday this week. I seem to be falling into a pattern of not writing as much, but I want to write more. I'm just not doing it. I have no reason other than just not feeling like writing in the mornings lately. There's not much going on that is different from other seasons in my life, but writing still just feels like too much right now. I am trying really hard to figure some things out. I am tired. My body is doing strange things - gotta love perimenopause. I feel like I am stagnating yet again. I have lots of ideas, but absolutely no impetus to follow through on those ideas. Does anyone else have this existence? Okay. That's enough self-pity. Time to get started with something more productive. I spent some time on Tuesday laminating things for music therapy. I have been spending lots of time at work making things for other people, so it was nice to have some time to just sit and laminate things for my use rather than giving things away. I have...

It is Tuesday again, and I am ready to highlight my Teachers Pay Teachers store once again. Instead of going over one of my visual aids, I thought I would feature my forms today. These forms have several different functions, specifically for internship directors and supervisors and music therapy clinicians to help with strategizing and strengthening their use of music in sessions. This is a direct glimpse into how my brain works - don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is a thing, so here it goes! I like forms. I like having them, but I have rarely found what I want or need from many of the forms that are part of being a music therapist. The National Roster Internship Site Evaluation that is offered by the AIAC? Adequate, but not exactly what I needed at my national roster internship, so I made my own (not part of these files...yet!). I have done that with lots of materials and forms - made my own or made newer or more functional versions of those things.  Are yo...

On Sunday, I spent my entire blogging time trying to figure out my new Sunday blog series. I eventually ended up selecting Song Switch Sunday , and I'll be making some videos to go along with this concept. They will be videos made in the early mornings, so don't expect perfection or much editing, but I will try my best to present things in something other than my pajamas (wink). Here I am, on Tuesday at 4:41 am, trying to figure out what sort of topic I want to put into place on Tuesdays. I thoroughly enjoyed doing Teachers Pay Teachers Tuesdays where I featured TPT creators and told you about their free resources. I have no idea if anyone ever went over to TPT and downloaded these files, but I enjoyed finding them and finding uses for them in my own music therapy life. I also have about 30 files in my own Teachers Pay Teachers store , so I could focus on my own resources for quite a long time, but I feel queasy when I do things like that - my business coach recommends that I ...