Music For Kiddos Podcast

Latest Episodes:

36. Franklin Willis: Music For Kiddos Podcast Sep 28, 2021

Show notes

If you are on Instagram and you are a music educator or a music therapist, you know who Franklin Willis is. He is a leader, author, an educator, public speaker and music education coach. For Franklin, kids are his focus, and his avenue to really care for kids is music.

On today's podcast, Stephanie Leavell is joined by Franklin Willis who talks about using music and movement with kids.

Franklin is one of the speakers for the Music For Kiddos Symposium this year on November 12th, 2021. You can find Franklin at www.fwillismusic.com or on Instagram at @fwillismusic.

**Register for the 2021 Music For Kiddos Symposium, our online conference for music therapists and music educators who work with kids, with Laurie Berkner as our keynote speaker! It's all happening on November 12th. Register with early bird pricing here.

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Read more about this episode here: https://www.musicforkiddos.com/blog/podcast36

We have partnered with West Music. Check out their incredible instruments and their incredible offerings at WestMusic.com or you can place your order at their customer service hotline at (800) 397-9378. Use code KIDDOS25 for free shipping on orders over $59.95.

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!

Thanks for joining us on the Music for Kiddos podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review! Don't forget to sign up for the Song-of-the-Month-Club to receive a free, high-quality original song every month, or hang out with us on Instagram to stay connected.

35. Music Class Chaos: Music For Kiddos Podcast Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

What do you do when your music class becomes chaotic and you can't seem to get them back?

It happens. Sometimes it seems like there's just something in the air. Sometimes, something happened earlier in the day with the kids in their class. Maybe a few kids are having a particularly challenging day. Sometimes it is just close to impossible to get the attention back and to get that sense of calm back.

On this episode, Stephanie Leavell shares some ideas about how to bring kids' level of alertness down and get their attention back. Of course, there's really no sure way to do this. Sometimes it's just going to happen. But here are some ideas to turn complete and utter chaos into a comfortable environment for kids.

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Download the chords + lyrics for "Bitty Bitty Bat" here:

www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast35

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!

34. Technology Tools: Music For Kiddos Podcast Sep 14, 2021

Show notes

What's your relationship with technology as a music therapist or music educator? Do you use YouTube in your lessons/sessions, or, do you create videos for YouTube?

Stephanie Leavell met with Bill Henry & Bruce Fite of The Music Podcast For Kids to talk about their podcast and about different technology tools we can use as music therapists and music educators. Additionally, they shared some tips & tricks for running a successful YouTube channel.

In this episode of the Music For Kiddos Podcast you'll hear about:

Ways to engage kids with the music and videos that you create
Adapting our online materials, like videos, so that we capture kids' attention
Strategies to make our YouTube videos stand out so that kids enjoy them and educators find them
What goes on behind the scenes when creating an animated YouTube video

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Grab The Music Podcast For Kids' resources here:

www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast34

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!

33. Self Publishing A Children's Book: Music For Kiddos Podcast Sep 07, 2021

Show notes

It's Shy Little Monster Season!

The Shy Little Monster is a music-book Stephanie Leavell wrote & self-published, illustrated by Sarah Pilar Echevarría. This (not scary!) Halloween story is a charming and beautifully illustrated Halloween book that celebrates silliness, friendship, and shows kids that hard things can be made just a little bit easier with the help of your (adorable monster) friends.

On today's episode, Stephanie is sharing how she self-published a children's book to save you some time if publishing a children's book is one of the things you'd like to do. It's a lot more simple than you would think.

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Download the chords + lyrics of "Shy Little Monster":

www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast33

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!

32. Online Business FAQs: Music For Kiddos Podcast Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

This week on the podcast, Stephanie Leavell is answering some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) about creating an online business, in a really specialized way, with a relatively small audience, that provides a full-time income. She also share some strategies and ideas on how you might be able to do it, too.

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Check out the blog post: https://www.musicforkiddos.com/blog/podcast32

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!

31. Sensory Songs: Music For Kiddos Podcast Aug 24, 2021

Show notes

How do we use music to help kids regulate their sensory systems?

Over the years,Stephanie Leavell has talked to hundreds of music therapists, music educators and parents about self-regulation, which is a topic that tends to really pique everybody's interest. On this episode of the Music For Kiddos Podcast, Stephanie talks about songs for sensory regulation and how we can use music to help kids regulate their sensory systems.

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Download "Yoga Song":

www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast31

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!

30. Back To School: Music For Kiddos Podcast Aug 17, 2021

Show notes

How are you feeling about back to school this year?

Many of us music therapists and music educators feel a mix of emotions, including uncertainty, as we approach the start of a new school year.

In the hopes of bringing some certainty and extending some kind of support, Stephanie Leavell shares some tactics she uses this time of the year and ideas for back to school planning to make sure you have lots of backups as school starts.

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Download "Hey Everybody":

www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast30

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!

29: Music & Transitions: Music For Kiddos Podcast Aug 10, 2021

Show notes

Stephanie Leavell, MT-BC shares with you four ways to use music with transitions, which Stephanie describes as "getting kids to 'work with her' instead of 'against her" by using music.

Transitions can be difficult for young kids, but a song can really prepare them and go through that change successfully. Giving children advanced notice combined with a song, can serve as that gentle reminder & "timer" before they transition to something else.

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Download "Time To Clean Up":

www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast29

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!

28. Stacey Peasley: Music For Kiddos Podcast Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

Stacey Peasley is a singer songwriter and performer for children and families, as well as an early childhood music specialist in the Metro West Boston area. After the birth of her first child, Stacey started to write songs inspired by her journey of motherhood and later on, merged both her career as an educator and her passion for music to write and perform engaging and educational songs for kids.

Stacey joined Stephanie on this week's episode of the Music For Kiddos Podcast and shared how becoming a mother, watching kids interact with each other, and performing at schools and day centers has inspired her to change her songwriting to curriculum and literacy based music instead of general family topics. She shared "Once you're surrounded by children's so often, there are just never ending things to sing and write about."

Listen to the interview with Stacey Peasley to hear about some of her best tips on engaging kids during music time.

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Download the "Bundle Up" here:

www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast28

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!

27. 5 Props For Music Time: Music For Kiddos Podcast Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

Do you also LOVE to use props in your music classes or music therapy sessions?

In this week's episode, Stephanie Leavell is sharing some of her favorite props to use in her music classes. She also shares some uses of props in music education and music therapy.

Subscribe to our Song-of-the-month newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Download the "Peekaboo" here:

www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast27

Let's stay connected!

Music For Kiddos INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/music_for_kiddos

Music For Kiddos FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/musicforkiddos

Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

Thank you for tuning in!