Music For Kiddos Podcast

Latest Episodes:

16. Music At Home with Amanda Maestro-Sherer: Music For Kiddos Podcast May 11, 2021

Show notes

What if instead of asking "brush your teeth!", "clean your room", or "go to bed", we could use music to engage children and use it as a cue for the things we are asking them to do?

Music can be part of our routines and transitions like when washing our hands or before going to sleep. Not only that, but music can also help us connect with children, share a piece of joy together, and preserve our relationship with them.

Music therapist Amanda Maestro-Scherer, MT-BC joined us on this episode of the Music For Kiddos Podcast to talk about ways we can use music at home.

Subscribe to our email newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Today's resource:

🎵Download the PDF guide "Ways to Use Music At Home" here: www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast16

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.

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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.

15. Improvisation: Music For Kiddos Podcast May 04, 2021

Show notes

Stephanie Leavell is an improvisational music therapist. What does an improvisational music therapists do?

The approach of an improvisational music therapists in any of these settings is really "in the moment." We often make up songs on the spot with what the client is needing or we are reacting to what is happening in the moment. Sometimes the entire song isn't made up. Sometimes it's just a tiny portion of the song that's made up.

There are three very simple components to improvisation that I think are key to having a successful experience:

Structure
Take Risks
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Sounds confusing? We promise is very, very simple and Stephanie discusses improvisation in the clinical setting in this episode of the Music For Kiddos Podcast.

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Today's resource:

🎵Download the lyrics of the song "Keeping A Beat" here: www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast15

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Thank you for tuning in!

14. Music & Literacy: Music For Kiddos Podcast Apr 27, 2021

Show notes

What is phonological awareness? And, what role can music play in the development of this skill?

Kathy Schumacher, MT-BC, WMTR of Tuneful Teaching joins Stephanie Leavell on this episode of the Music For Kiddos Podcast to talk about this phonological awareness and how we can support children to work on & develop communication & literacy skills through music.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Learn about phonological awareness & why this skills is important in the development of communication skills
What music experiences or interventions may be utilized when supporting children to develop literacy skills
Kathy Shumacker, MT-BC shares a free drumming resource that can be used in-person or virtual settings

Subscribe to our email newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Today's resource:

🎵Download the PDF + Google Slides of the Dot Dot Drumming Resource here: www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast14

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Thank you for tuning in!

13. I am mad: Music For Kiddos Podcast Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

Whether you are a music therapist or a music educator, more likely than not, you have come across or worked with a child that was labeled as "challenging" or that perhaps had "failed" out of other classes or therapies.

It is an amazing thing that in our role as music therapists, we can focus on their social and emotional wellbeing. We can provide them our full attention and listen to them in a different way.

I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences working with children and on this episode, Stephanie Leavell shares with you a story of a child whom she worked with and how music facilitated communication & served as an outlet for emotional expression.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Stephanie talks about assuming competency when working with children
She shares some anecdotes and suggestions on how music can be utilized to facilitate emotional expression
You'll listen to the song Grizzly Bear Grump

Subscribe to our email newsletter here: www.musicforkiddos.com/newsletter

Today's resource:

🎵Download the lyrics + chords of the song Grizzly Bear Grump here: www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast13

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

12. Miss Katie Sings: Music For Kiddos Podcast Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

Celebrating diversity, celebrating all kids and making sure that kids are represented in music are some of the things that Katie Norregard, better known as Miss Katie Sings, cares about. She is a children's musician, an early childhood music educator and content creator based in Chicago. Her songs and resources are focused on anti-bias & anti-racist education and social-emotional learning for young kids.

Miss Katie joined Stephanie Leavell in conversation on today's episode to talk about her music, her trajectory, and about being intentional with what we bring into music spaces with children guided by anti-oppressive lenses.

Follow Miss Katie on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube by searching @MissKatieSings

Today's resource:

🎵Miss Katie has graciously shared with us a beautiful video of the call-and-response song "There Is Always Light", a tribute and adaptation to Amanda Gorman's poem "The Hill We Climb." Watch the video here: www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast12

Thank you for your incredible support of the new course Empowering Little Leaders.Use the code ELLPODCAST before it expires tonight April 13th at 11:59pm to get $20 off the course.

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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

11. Songwriting for Ages 0-6: Music For Kiddos Podcast Apr 06, 2021

Show notes

When it comes to songwriting, some of us love it, and others find it intimidating. If you feel like songwriting might not be for you, listen in because I'm sharing three different tools that I use specifically when I write music for kids under the age of six.

There are three things that tend to help me write new songs that are really captivating for kids:

Keep it simple
Add a little bit of silliness
Include some musical surprises

Those three things are absolutely central to helping me write captivating songs for kids.

In this episode:

Hear about my songwriting process and how I write 10-12 original songs every month

I share the three things that help me write engaging + captivating songs for kids
You'll listen to the movement song Whatcha Gonna Do?

Today's resource:

🎵Download the lyrics + chords + mp3 of the song Whatcha Gonna Do? here: www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast11

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

10. Empowering Little Leaders: Music For Kiddos Podcast Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

Some of the questions that music educators and music therapists might be asking themselves when it comes to creating inclusive and equitable early childhood spaces might be:

How can I create social change in my early childhood music classes?
How can I talk to young children about topics related to race, politics, landownership, disabilities, etc.?

How can I have meaningful teaching moments in which colonialism, ableism, whiteness, and other systems of oppression are de-centered and equity, inclusion, and accessibility are upheld?

Music Therapists Kerry Devlin, Naomi Davis and Zoe Levine join Stephanie Leavell to explore these questions and to talk about how to engage children in anti-racist and anti-oppressive conversations while presenting these topics in a developmentally appropriate way. They also share about Music For Kiddos' new course, Empowering Little Leaders.

IN THIS EPISODE:

You'll meet the three course curators of the Empowering Little Leaders course: Naomi Davis, MT-BC, Zoe Levine, MT-BC, and Kerry Devlin, MMT, MT-BC.
You'll learn about the anti-oppressive early childhood music program "Just the Way You Are", established at Annapolis Music Therapy in 2020.
You'll get some ideas about how to engage children in anti-racist and anti-oppressive conversations while presenting these topics in a developmentally appropriate way.
Get a glimpse of what the course Empowering Little Leaders is all about!

TODAY'S RESOURCE:

🎵DOWNLOAD THE VISUAL REPRESENTATION CHECKLIST here: www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast10

Let's stay connected!

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Music For Kiddos WEBSITE: www.musicforkiddos.com

9. All About Movement Songs: Music For Kiddos Podcast Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

My all-time favorite song category are movement songs. Why? Because movement songs provide endless opportunities to engage children and can give them an opportunity to regulate their sensory systems.

When it comes to movement songs, I have a very systematic kind of approach. In today's podcast, you'll learn my system and how I use movement songs in my classes and therapy sessions.

In this episode:

I share my systematic approach to movement songs
You'll hear about the different types of movement songs: active, transitional & cool-down songs
You'll learn how to implement movement songs in your classes or sessions with children
You'll listen to the movement song Scurry Stick

If you're interested in more on movement songs, we have a mini-course called Movement Songs For Kiddos with 13 professionally recorded movement songs, backing tracks, the chords and the lyrics for each song, & a video that explains these three kinds of movement songs, how I might use them, and implementation tips for each one of them.

Use the code podcast on the Movement Songs For Kiddos course to get $10 off. Find the course here.

Today's resource:

🎵Download the lyrics + chords + mp3 of the song Scurry Stick here

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

8. Speech Goals: 5 Ways To Support Speech Through Music: Music For Kiddos Podcast Mar 16, 2021

Show notes

Music can be fun, engaging, and a great source for entertainment. But, did you know that music can also provide opportunities for learning and address goals, such as those related to speech?

Alyssa Stone, MT-BC of Dynamic Lynks shares how communication skills can be addressed and developed through music on this episode of the Music For Kiddos Podcast.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

How music can access communication, speech and language
Tools and instruments we can use to support breathing, sound productions & articulation
Strategies to promote and elicit communication

Today's resource:

Mini Guide: 5 Tips and Strategies to Support Speech & Language Development in Early Childhood and Across the Lifespan

Download this communication skills guide HERE.

*and if you would like to receive the chords + lyrics + mp3 of original songs every month, subscribe to the Song-Of-The-Month Newsletter to get everything right in your inbox.

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

7. My 3 Favorite Singable Books: Music For Kiddos Podcast Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

Is there anything more pleasing and enjoyable than a good book? Especially music books with engaging visuals, an interesting melody, and that have a really clear song form. There's nothing that will quite hold a child's attention.

In this episode:

I share my top 3 singable books to use in my music classes & therapy sessions
You'll hear their melodies and a little bit about how I implement them in the classroom

Today's resource:

🎵Download the lyrics + chords of these books here: www.musicforkiddos.com/podcast7

*and if you would like to receive the chords + lyrics + mp3 of original songs every month, subscribe to the Song-Of-The-Month Newsletter to get everything right in your inbox.

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

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