MUSIC THERAPY

May your days be merry & bright & filled with music!!

By Kate & Blythe– music therapists

As we head towards the end of the year, we thought that some musical ideas might come in handy during the school holiday time, so here’s some ways you could use music at home just like we do with your children at school...

• Redirect your child’s attention (“Here, listen to this…”)
• Help your child to calm down (this works best when they have ‘learned to calm’ by listening to preferred quiet music at times when they are not upset– practise makes perfect!)
• Help to change/improve your child’s mood (favourite music of all kinds works for this)
• Creative pursuits such as music based apps for the iPad such as Garageband (making music), Fluidity (visual & relaxing) or  Spotify (for finding favourite songs)
• Using music to aid transitions– listening ‘on the way’ or as a cue that we are going somewhere different
• Singing songs together as a family… to share our joy :)