Two Weeks

It is hard to believe that I have completed 2 weeks of my internship! It feels like I just got to Kansas City, let alone start working at the hospital. I have learned a ton and I know I will be learning a lot more. Although I have led a few interventions/activities with different kids and group, next week I get to jump in even more and take over group on my own. Exciting! Here are just a few of the things I have learned (or re-discovered in some cases):


Reasons why the Ukulele is awesome in interventions with kids:

1. It's small enough so kids can hold it and play it
2. The 'C' chord is just pressing down one string
3. You don't have to use a lot of pressure to hold down the strings
4. Kids love it and can be successful pretty easily
5. They get to accompany you and get to control the song

New (& not so new) instruments I love to use:

• ukulele
• kalimba- if you do not know what this is, you should check one out because it is so fun to play and see kids play it!
• boomwhackers- did you know that kids love to look through these and talk through these. Talking through one of these suckers got one of my nonverbal pts with a flat affect to smile!
• the quacker- it's this annoying little shaker type instrument that when you shake it or hit the top, it makes a quacking noise. It is a favorite of the little ones, but it is a PAIN to disinfect, because the slightest touch causes this huge QUACK! and people look around trying to figure out what that awful sound was
• ocean drum- I love it and I think I need my own, just for my own therapeutic purposes

One of the most fun/newest things for me has been working with babies who are not in the NICU. These are babies who are recovering from surgery but not quite ready to go home yet or in dialysis or have left the NICU. I love working with them on more developmental goals like passing a shaker from hand to hand across midline. The other day I got to see music therapy co-treat with physical therapy, and the physical therapist asked to co-treat with us! That was very cool. We were working with a baby and the PT is working on getting her to sit up (with support) and working on bending those knees and moving those legs! Since the pt is in a crib all day and the surgery she had, she cannot be on her stomach and even try to crawl, so it is important for that PT to help her reach those other developmental milestones so when she is physically able to crawl, she will be able to do it!


It's great learning other people's ideas and I love to modify them to work for me/ make up my own songs to use with them. The muse has been upon me these past two weeks and I have come up with about a dozen new songs on such vast topics as tapping a drum, hello, egg shaking, etc. Deep stuff. :D