I’m back…finally!

So where have I been? The past 4 months have been nothing short of tumultuous (and a bit exciting!). In mid-February I found out that I am expecting! I’m due October 25th, and we just had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound yesterday –  we are having a baby girl! I’m feeling SO much better now but up until about week 16, I was super sick and in survival mode. I still feel like I’m playing catch up, but it feels so good to be back on the blog. My current goal is a consistent 1-2 posts per month until I can really ramp my efforts back up. So thank you for hanging in there with me and going along with me on this journey!

Today I am excited to share with you a guest post from a future music therapist, Kelsey Clark. During the past year, Kelsey has shadowed me as part of a high school course and learned a great deal about music therapy. It has been a pleasure for me to mentor her! She also designed a very special project which we are excited so share with you for FREE. So keep reading!

Kelsey’s Journey

My name is Kelsey Clark and I am a senior (just graduated!) at McKinney High School. This past school year I was an Interdisciplinary Studies and Mentorship, program, where I chose to study music therapy. My passion for music therapy sprouted in the fourth and fifth grades, where I would spend my recess time in the PPCD classroom at my elementary school.

Every time I walked in the room, the children would light up, and I loved seeing the impact that I made on these children. From this point on, I began thinking about careers that involved helping children with special needs, so I decided early on that I wanted to be a PPCD teacher. Moving forward into sixth grade meant that I was unable to visit the children I had grown to love anymore; however, I was able to begin my music journey when I joined orchestra and started playing the cello. Soon, I fell in love with music, and my career path changed. I wanted to pursue a music degree.

While doing some research into music fields, I came across music therapy, and I knew that I wanted to pursue it as a career. The first semester of my class involved research and interviews in order to gain more knowledge about the field. Second semester involved shadowing a professional in the field and working with them to create a product.

(Here Kelsey is helping out at a special needs egg hunt this spring!)

The idea for my product came from Mary. We decided to create Color Play, a book of adaptive piano songs for children with special needs. In some of the sessions I observed, I saw a client play a common children’s melody on the piano by corresponding the colored stars on the paper to the colored stars on the piano. For example, a purple star would represent a D on the piano, and a yellow star would represent A, and so forth. I helped Mary by making a digital book of these melodies.

By shadowing Mary, I have learned a lot about the field of music therapy and the diverse uses for it. All of the time she has dedicated to me has made me more prepared to major in music therapy at Sam Houston State University in the fall, and I could not be more grateful to have had the opportunity to shadow Mary over the last few months. The knowledge and skills I have acquired will put me a little ahead in my classes, and Mary will be a great asset to have in the later years of my studies.

Let’s hear it for Kelsey, you guys! She has been super all year and has already demonstrated her commitment to to music therapy…and she hasn’t even started college yet. The future of our field is bright!

And since I know you’re dying to have your very own copy of Color Play, just subscribe below. It will be instantly delivered to your inbox. You’ll receive one PowerPoint file that is editable (in case you have a different color system) and one pdf file. Get it now!