We take so much for granted.
Like clapping.
We have kids clapping during songs, we have kids clapping on the beat as well as off the beats, we have kids giving other kids rounds of applause fortheir achievements in music class.
But not all children walk through the door the first day of school knowing how to clap their hands.
Not all kids walk through the door.
There are children who live incredible lives but struggle to do so.
Lucky for me, I had the opportunity to work with many of these children, take stock an inventory of the blessings I have in my life, learn more about the body’s inner workings, and help these students enjoy and engage in music, including the sound of their own clapping hands.
For sixteen years, I taught at the John G. Leach School, a school for kids with severe cognitive and Orthopedic disabilities in New Castle, Delaware, with students ranging in age from 3 to 21.
For many of these children, it was impossible to spontaneously clap their hands.
Clapping your hands involves a highly delineated set of skills, with one of them being understanding the midline.
What is the midline?
The midline is the imaginary vertical line that runs from top to bottom in the middle of your body.
It's where your hands come together to clap.
Not all kids can conceptualize the midline.
The midline is crucial for understanding how to coordinate the left and right sides of our bodies. Bringing a spoon to your mouth, tying your shoes, brushing your teeth – all of these occur at the convenience of your subliminal understanding of the midline.
It is a skill that can be learned, often with significant repetition and the help of therapists as well as real world applications.
Clapping while counting or singing were some of the first musical expressions that kids participated in my music class.
As always, these initial activities are gorilla assessments to quickly evaluate the baseline body awareness that kids have developed and move forward from place.
Plus, there was no way I was going to arm a room of kids with loaded rhythm sticks before I assessed how they clapped their hands.
Everything I put in the hands of children was dependent on an developmental antecedent.
(And please don’t be that adult who claps a call and answer rhythm to gety kids to be quiet. Remember, kids see much more than they hear: train children that when you raise your hand, you expect them to be quiet and attentive.)
I will go over some of the techniques I developed in music class to help kids find the midline and clap their hands in another post but for now, just know that what you and I effortlessly do, especially with musical instruments, can be a struggle for others.
As teachers, our commitment is to accept children at their present skill level and hopefully guide them to the next level.
Sometime during your teaching career, you may encounter students who are struggling with clapping.
When you do, first count your blessings, and second, start strategizing with an occupational therapist about clapping and coming to the midline.
Like clapping.
We have kids clapping during songs, we have kids clapping on the beat as well as off the beats, we have kids giving other kids rounds of applause fortheir achievements in music class.
But not all children walk through the door the first day of school knowing how to clap their hands.
Not all kids walk through the door.
There are children who live incredible lives but struggle to do so.
Lucky for me, I had the opportunity to work with many of these children, take stock an inventory of the blessings I have in my life, learn more about the body’s inner workings, and help these students enjoy and engage in music, including the sound of their own clapping hands.
For sixteen years, I taught at the John G. Leach School, a school for kids with severe cognitive and Orthopedic disabilities in New Castle, Delaware, with students ranging in age from 3 to 21.
For many of these children, it was impossible to spontaneously clap their hands.
Clapping your hands involves a highly delineated set of skills, with one of them being understanding the midline.
What is the midline?
The midline is the imaginary vertical line that runs from top to bottom in the middle of your body.
It's where your hands come together to clap.
Not all kids can conceptualize the midline.
The midline is crucial for understanding how to coordinate the left and right sides of our bodies. Bringing a spoon to your mouth, tying your shoes, brushing your teeth – all of these occur at the convenience of your subliminal understanding of the midline.
It is a skill that can be learned, often with significant repetition and the help of therapists as well as real world applications.
Clapping while counting or singing were some of the first musical expressions that kids participated in my music class.
As always, these initial activities are gorilla assessments to quickly evaluate the baseline body awareness that kids have developed and move forward from place.
Plus, there was no way I was going to arm a room of kids with loaded rhythm sticks before I assessed how they clapped their hands.
Everything I put in the hands of children was dependent on an developmental antecedent.
(And please don’t be that adult who claps a call and answer rhythm to gety kids to be quiet. Remember, kids see much more than they hear: train children that when you raise your hand, you expect them to be quiet and attentive.)
I will go over some of the techniques I developed in music class to help kids find the midline and clap their hands in another post but for now, just know that what you and I effortlessly do, especially with musical instruments, can be a struggle for others.
As teachers, our commitment is to accept children at their present skill level and hopefully guide them to the next level.
Sometime during your teaching career, you may encounter students who are struggling with clapping.
When you do, first count your blessings, and second, start strategizing with an occupational therapist about clapping and coming to the midline.
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