Interview with Stephanie Leavell
Stephanie Leavell is an award-winning songwriter, a music therapist, and the creator of Music for Kiddos. This online education company provides high-quality music resources and continuing education for music therapists, music educators, and parents. Stephanie is a Berklee College of Music graduate and is passionate about using music to help kids succeed. She specializes in working with babies and kids through age 10.
Instagram: @music_for_kiddos
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MusicForKiddos
Website: https://www.musicforkiddos.com
YouTube: youtube.com/musicforkiddos
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0t9vTFNjGsjQMtfrJqgZ13?si=px9eIcyBTcSvh_fUat3P1w
She shares her top song recommendations for families, including calming, movement-based, and sensory-regulation songs. These are all available on her spotify page. Search for Stephanie Leavell.
1. Blowing in the Wind
This a scarf song. It's very, very calming and relaxing for kids. You don't have to have a scarf. You can have a, just a scrap of fabric or something like that. Try that song when a child is kind of starting to amp up a little bit. Put on that song, get out scarves, play along with them. You'll be amazed at how grounding and calming that can be.
2. Breathe
This is a great breathing song, just very simple and calm.
3. Grizzly Bear Grump
It's a playful song. Don't put it on when your child is grumpy, put it on when they're feeling playful. There's nothing kids love more than acting grumpy. And so this is a song where they're feeling good and they're acting grumpy. and it's a sensory regulation song where they're stomping around and they're pretending to be grumpy. And then it gives them tools for helping their body to feel better like squeezing their arms, giving themselves a deep squeeze, saying, "Grrr!" and stomping their feet, twisting, and things like that. The goal for that kind of song is that they practice those strategies when they're feeling good and then when they're feeling a little bit grumpy you could you know they might be able to say themselves I'm feeling a little grizzly bear grumpy and they might be interested in putting the song on and getting a little sensory regulation in.
4. A Gentle Wave
This is another favorite breathing song.
5. Busy Like a Bee
This is a great like active movement song. It's kind of fun and there's running and jumping and dancing and all that.