Written by Lisa Barnett, MTBC
This blog post was written by Lisa Barnett, MTBC, a music therapist and member of the Music For Kiddos Community. Lisa is sharing about the music book she authored, My House, and how it might be utilized in therapeutic spaces. Lisa Barnett, MT-BC is a music therapist from Michigan who spent most of her career working in the public schools in metro Detroit with disabled children and young adults. She recently moved to southwest Florida where she continues practicing as a music therapist and piano teacher online at www.songstogrowon.com.
The “My House” Book: Supporting Children’s Communication Goals
As a member of the Music For Kiddos Community I am thrilled to be writing this guest blog post! I would like to let everyone know that this fall, I am looking for ways to collaborate with both music therapists and music teachers who work in early childhood. I would like to share my story of the interactive songbook and MP3 that I created originally for students who are working through communication goals and how it can be utilized in early childhood centers, primary grades and in private practice.
The “My House” book was created as a therapeutic resource to support students’ speech and language skills by singing a story about their home, the special people they live with, and the things in their home that are unique and special to them. The book is a colorful downloadable PDF that can be assembled in a binder. It contains a word menu of over 150 words that can be cut out, laminated and fastened to the pages of the book as they “sing” and “say” their story.
The pages also have spots for photographs of pictures of the people, places and things that are selected, therefore each book is unique and tailored to each specific child. It comes with a professionally recorded Mp3 and a lead sheet so the song can be sung directly with the student. It also has an interactive name and address board.
The “My House” Lyrics
The song begins with the chorus:
This is a song about, my house,
This is a song about, my house,
This is a song about my house, it’s the special place where I live.
The next part of the song is descriptive.
Houses come in different shapes and different size,
No matter where you live you must realize,
It’s the people that you live with, that make your house a “home,”
It’s that special place where you live.
The next section is where the therapeutic work really begins.
Here the child is instructed to identify the photograph and sing or say the word on the page. At the same time the child is then able to fasten the laminated word to the page in the book to complete the task.
This is the ________ at my house. There are three opportunities to fill in the blank.
This is a __________at my house. Three more opportunities to fill in the blank.
Then there is a small break and the chorus appears for the second time.
This is my _________at my house. Three more opportunities to fill in the blank.
These are my ________at my house. The final opportunity to fill in the blank.
The chorus appears one last time with an added verse.
This is a song about, my house.
This is a song about, my house.
This is a song about, my house,
It’s the special place where I, special place where I, special place where I live!
During my years working for the Berkley Public Schools I wrote several grants to fund the raw materials for making the books. My preschool classroom teachers would work with me to obtain the photographs and word choices so that I could make each child their own unique book. This project usually started in the fall to give time for parents to fill out the order form, select their words and send in photographs. There was no charge to parents because the grant paid for all raw materials necessary for creating the book. In the spring, once the books were assembled, we scheduled an event called “Welcome Home” where parents could come into the classroom and celebrate the “reveal” of the new book by singing it in the classroom with their child. The books then would go home with families and they included a CD to allow the child to continue practicing singing their new words at home.
Here is a photograph of one of our “Welcome Home” celebrations.
The book is very adaptable. It has been utilized for children with apraxia at the Kaufman Children’s Center, a speech and language clinic in Michigan, and was also piloted at Children’s Hospital in Detroit.
This is Nancy Kaufman who is the owner of Kaufman’s Children Center in West Bloomfield, Michigan. She was a big supporter of these books during the summer months when I worked in the SPEAK program for children with apraxia.
It can also be utilized in private practice. This video highlights a student that I worked with in my own private practice when the book was newly created.
A note from Lisa:
If you are interested in creating a book for a specific student or music therapy client, you can purchase the book at www.songstogrowon.com. I am very happy to consult with you. There is a complete list of everything you need to create an individual book on the website as well.
If you are interested in a quantity of books (pdf) you can contact me at songstogrowon@gmail.com and I would be happy to work out an arrangement with you.
During this school year I am very interested in working collaboratively. If a specific music therapist or music teacher wanted to create an event I would even set up a zoom link to visit your classroom virtually.
I look forward to working with you and wish you all a wonderful start to the school year!
Connect with Lisa at www.songstogrowon.com
