I count myself lucky for being able to continue my job (with almost ALL of my clients!) online. The connection is so important for these kiddos and the whole telehealth thing has gone SURPRISINGLY well!
There are many struggles of telehealth too, and I am also seeing the “honeymoon phase” wear off for a few of my clients. To combat that, I wanted to share a few of my favorite telehealth go-to’s that have worked really well so far!
Most of these include visuals, and I will be sending out a free keynote visual presentation with one of my songs in the newsletter for May, so stay tuned for that resource too! (Not on the list? Don’t miss the extra creative goodies- Sign up here!)
Alas! Here are a few of my favorites:
- Musical Books (I don’t know why they are so interesting via telehealth, but I’ve had GREAT success with them!) All of them lend themselves very well to song, some come with pre-recorded music and I’ve made up melodies to most of the others. The following list of books are always on the ready! *Disclosure Below*
- Movement Songs- I’ve found some movement songs that include stop/go to be very useful during this time! I’ve been playing Rockin’ Robin A LOT these past few weeks and kids are eating it up! I have them do different dances for each part (tweet like a bird, stomp feet, etc) to work on their active listening/attention skills.
- Fingerplays- I have a lot of kids really digging fingerplays during this time too, so I’ve been using those a lot with the support of finger puppets!
- Visual Supports- Have you checked out Music Therapy Made Simple Yet? They were on the podcast and they create AMAZING materials! I’ve been using their Disney Bingo by sharing my screen and it’s been such a hit!
- Puppet Musicals- I’ve found that kids seem to like the idea of a puppet show, so I literally hide off-screen, use some of my puppets/animals and make a puppet show with songs!
- Hide and Seek– I have a few kids who really love the surprise element– so we sing a simple “Where is ______, where is ______, ready or not, here I come!” and play hide and seek. I simply move out of the camera shot, and jump back in when they “find” me– I try to come in from different angles to make it fun!
- DIY Instruments- I’ve been having some kids make DIY instruments with me in session (toilet paper rolls have been the best instrument craft!) I then give them a few options of songs they want to use it with. Sometimes families are making these ahead of time too which is great!
And as an important reminder….
It’s always about more than just what you’re doing. It’s also about how you are being with your client.
Check out this topic as I dive deeper into what the relationship brings to the table in telehealth. One of our most powerful tools is the relationship we have made with our clients (I would argue during this crazy time, it may be MOST important, but I digress).
Hop on the newsletter if you don’t want to miss out on any of these posts and free downloads! We routinely have new content coming out about supporting the mental wellness of children through the creative arts!
***Disclosure: Many of the links above will take you to Amazon, where I get a small percentage of any sales made from this site. These books are chosen 100% by me and are literally sitting next to me in a tote as I write this. I only recommend items I have purchased on my own, have used personally, and that I believe in 100%. This also provides me with some financial help to offset the cost of keeping this website going, which in turn makes me able to provide you with free resources! Thank you!!***
