Welcome to “Sing Me a Book”
I love to read and write almost as much as I love making music. So incorporating books into my music therapy sessions was a natural occurrence and has become one of the favorite interventions in all of my children’s groups and individual sessions. In this blog series, I will be sharing my favorite children’s books and how and why I use them in my music therapy practice.
The idea of singing books is not new or original. There are many books that illustrate folk songs, while other books are written to be sung. When used as part of a multi-sensory approach, multiple goal areas are addressed in the group and individual setting.
The first book I use with my 2 and 3 year olds is the well-known Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle and Bill Martin, Jr. A simple three note melody is used. Color identification goals and sign language can be addressed as an extra added bonus. The children are usually already familiar with the book so appropriate responses are obtained and rapport is built during the first sessions.
The second book in this series is Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Is perfect for vocalizing animal sounds for children just learning to use their voices.
The third book in the series which is Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? Promotes gross motor coordination “bald eagle soaring” and “water buffalo charging”. The final book in this series Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? Includes different animals for vocabulary expansion.
Address sequencing and matching goals – use your flatbed color scanner (I love these things!) to copy a
nd print the animal pictures, laminate, and add Velcro. Then you can use a felt board or add Velcro in the book itself and have the kids match the pictures as they read the story.
Thanks for reading! Come back next time and I will introduce you to my favorite alphabet book.
What is your favorite children’s book and why? Please share with our on-line community in the comments below.