It can also support and validate emotion when a child has only a vague idea of what they are feeling. Because children’s verbal abilities are not as developed as adults’, music can offer an additional resource for children to connect to their own emotional states and then to share this with people in their lives.  A lack of language to express emotions can be even more pronounced for children with special needs due to physical and cognitive challenges and increased emotional stress. Using music to help children explore emotions can lead to clearer communication and increased ability to tolerate and regulate feelings because the child has a way to connect his or her internal experience with the external world.

To understand more about how music impacts emotions, take a moment to picture these classic film and TV scenes and the music that accompanies them: the shower scene in Psycho, the shark approaching in Jaws, or the Smurfs dancing through their opening song. All of these scenes rely heavily upon the impact that music has on emotion and they reach us various levels of cognition and awareness. This is because when we listen to music, the elements of music: tonality, instrumentation, tempo, etc. combine with our cultural knowledge, memories, and associations to make music a powerful tool for eliciting and supporting emotions. Understanding our personal responses to each of these scenes can help us to better understand our own emotions.   

Similarly, you can help your child understand and express emotions by helping them create soundtracks to their feelings. Children cope with a lot and children with special needs cope with even more: feeling different from peers, frustrated by challenges, etc. They may also have difficulty processing what is taking place around them. Additionally, if your child is on the autism spectrum, he or she most likely has difficulty recognizing emotion in others. This can make it difficult to interpret signals sent by caregivers, teachers, and peers. Using music to teach about recognizing and expressing emotions can help your child develop the following abilities: self-soothing, recognizing emotions, asking for support and validation, and expressing emotions in a safe, helpful way. Developing these skills can enhance your child’s and your family’s quality of life through improved communication and decreased stress in the home.

Music Therapist Amy Madson performing with TWLS Students

There are many ways to use music to support emotions in your home. Here are a few ideas to incorporate into what you already do:

Invite your child to find songs that support and comfort them when they’re feeling the following emotions: happy, sad, angry, and afraid. Does your child have other favorite songs they want to connect to an emotion? Maybe your child wants to add an emotion to the list. You can make a wheel map with your child that has at its center, “Music and My Feelings”. Each spoke of the wheel should represent a different emotion. Work with your child to help them find the songs they like and fill them in for each emotion. The most important part of this is that your child puts in the songs that are meaningful to him or her. Strive to find songs for each emotion that are validating and comforting, so they can allow your child to feel his or emotion and then to move through it to a more comfortable place. This may take several songs.

Ask your child to make up a song about what they are feeling. You might need to model this for them first. For example, you might sing a song that goes, “The snow was so annoying, it really got me down. I had to drive for two hours just to get across town!” Be sure to demonstrate a face that expresses the correct emotion as well as model that this is a fun and safe way to say what you’re feeling. Using music in this way can help a child feel a sense of safety even when they are expressing something that is difficult for them to express.

Amy Madson, music specialist at The Whole Learning School, is a board-certified music therapist and licensed associate marriage and family therapist. In addition to working at TWLS, she maintains a private practice called Aria Counseling in which she specializes in integrating the creative arts, specifically music, into mental health counseling for adults, children, and families. She invites you to contact her with any feedback, questions, or comments.  amy@ariacounseling.com, 612-219-1449, www.ariacounseling.com.

Each year, The Whole Learning School Players put together a Winter and Spring Showcase, to showcase what they have been learning in drama and music. 

Hopping along the bunny trail

 Unlike other schools, at TWLS, all students are expected to participate in these productions.  The showcases, which attract a crowd of about 100 friends and family members, are an important opportunity for TWLS students to learn about teamwork, because they have to work collaboratively to have a successful production.  In addition, students build their self-esteem, confidence and risk-taking abilities.

"Spiders" from the Spring 2011 Showcase production of James and the Giant Peach

The December 15 event will feature Beatrix Potter’s classic tale of Peter Rabbit, including original songs, set to familiar tunes, that the audience can join the students in singing. Refreshments will be served following the performance.

To RSVP, please call the TWLS office at 763-231-2700 or email Julie Hoff at j.hoff@twls.org. We look forward to seeing you next week!

Like Groupon, Plum District offers daily deals via email, but Plum District focuses on deals that women and moms will love. Plum District puts women first by connecting them with products and inspirations that make their lives easier. Their goal: To make every woman’s day, by offering great values for her and her family.

“I’ve already used Plum District to get excellent prices on great holiday gifts and for family portraits taken by a professional photographer who came to our home. You have to check it out,” said Laura Beth, TWLS parent and Plum District shopper.  “On top of that, The Whole Learning School gets 10 percent of all my purchases. It’s a win-win,” she concluded.

There is no fee to sign up, you just agree to receive their “daily deals” emails. Each time you make a purchase, please use the link below or go directly to Plum District through the emails you receive from them. If you are already a member, please re-sign in to Plum District through TWLS…that way, TWLS will receive 10% of each purchase you make.

To sign up now, click here:  http://click.plumdistrict.com/SH47

We hope you find a “plum” of a deal!

Tasty Acorns

Ingredients
1 bag of Mini Nutter Butters
1 bag of chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips
1 bag of Hersey’s Kisses

Cooking Supplies
Crock pot /pot to heat the chocolate
Wax paper
Paper towels
Wooden spoon

Directions
1.  Melt a small amount of chocolate chips…that’s your glue!
2.  Take apart the Nutter Butter cookies.
3.  Dip the bottom of the Kiss in the melted chocolate.
4.  Attach the bottom of the kiss the Nutter Butter cookie.
5.  Dip the bottom of the chocolate chip in the melted chocolate.
6.  Attach the chocolate chip to the top of the Nutter Butter cookie.

Allow to cool…and enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving from one cute turkey!

“It’s awesome!” Elena shouted. “I liked making the feathers,” Peter said. Based on the clay pasted all over the students’ fingers, it was a hands-on experience that they’ll remember for a long time.

 In addition to clay turkeys, the students constructed clay finger puppet animals. While many of the animals were unrecognizable, the excitement wasn’t. They loved creating their own finger puppets. There was variety of animals sculpted, including a penguin, chicken, duck, and even a plaque honoring a teacher.  It was a fun prelude to the feast of Thanksgiving.

Northern Clay Center visits TWLS

“A key reason for The Whole Learning School’s success in developing independence and self-advocacy in its students is because we actively involve students in solving their own problems,” says Head of School Ann Rooney.  “Children know the answers, but they need help to learn to listen to each other, ask the right questions and use “I” statements to express how they feel,” Rooney said.

In the next blog post, we’ll explore concepts like William Glasser’s “Choice Theory“, how it looks in practice, how we used it to effectively resolve a real-life problem and how it lays the foundation for successful problem-solving at The Whole Learning School.  

Until next week, check out the link above or go to the William Glasser Institute’s   website…and let us know if you have any personal experience with this concept.

“The overnight experience really connects are students and our families in a deeper way, helping them feel fully connected to their community,” said Head of School Ann Rooney. ”For our new students, BNW is often their first sleep-away without Mom and Dad,” Rooney finished.   

This year, students will participate in two classes led by BNW Naturalists, including “Minnesota Animals” and “Digital Photography.”  These classes are both interesting for students and it gives them valuable lessons in and ideas for leisure and recreation, a critical skill in adulthood. 

In addition, students gain independent living skills and life skills by staying overnight, managing their gear at BNW, cleaning their cabins when they leave, gorcery shopping for food to eat on the trip, preparing that food and cleaning up afterwards.