What do I receive when I purchase an educator kit?
- Five large full-color illustrated picture books with activity guides and musical scores
- Downloadable musical recordings of the book texts
- Interactive music videos for caring adults to watch with your children
- How-to videos demonstrating how to teach the song and book to your children
- A variety of printable pages for teachers, children, and families to extend learning
- PLAY & LEARN program for home allows families to partner with you to share learning activities, songs, and music videos
- Online access to movies, songs, and printable pages 24/7
- Launch pad to guide your implementation of the program every step of the way
How does this program align with various early childhood standards, curricula, or philosophies?
Review this alignment document: www.singplaylove.tools/alignment. Those utilizing the SING.PLAY.LOVE. program share this early childhood director’s opinion regarding the crosswalk with Conscious Discipline and other social-emotional curricula: “SING.PLAY.LOVE. compliments Conscious Discipline. CD routines and rituals explicitly target feelings and behaviors impacted by big feelings. SING.PLAY.LOVE. songs and strategies provide supports for children to carry on with their day - with joy! - in a variety of ways. This implicitly sets the children up for positive feelings.”
SING.PLAY.LOVE. provides an additional set of tools for successfully implementing any curriculum or philosophy. Many philosophies and curricula provide information about WHY and WHAT is expected for young children to learn. SING.PLAY.LOVE. provides the HOW!
What are the results of your research? Is this program evidence-based?
Our preliminary data from two pilot studies suggests that both teachers and children benefit from their participation in the SING.PLAY.LOVE. program. For more information, please refer to our research summary at: www.singplaylove.tools/research
How does SPL specifically align with the Pyramid Model?
The program creator completed reliability training for the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool (TPOT) and completed observations for her program. She supported program-wide fidelity implementation of the Pyramid Model in a large school district’s early childhood special education program in her role as music therapy consultant and early interventionist. Many of the SING.PLAY.LOVE. activities, songs, books, and strategies were a result of her interest in Pyramid Model practices.
How much time does the program take to incorporate each day? Do you do the program the same for infants and toddlers versus preschoolers and kindergarteners?
It takes approximately ten minutes to incorporate one book and two songs each day as a SING.PLAY.LOVE. routine. It is recommended that teachers include one book a month and focus on the book’s targeted skill throughout the month by singing, reading, moving, talking about, and practicing the skill across the routines and environments of the day. Children younger than four years of age may benefit from breaking the ten minutes up into chunks of 3 – 5 minutes that can be embedded several times a day.
Are these materials for typically developing or SPED students?
The creator worked for sixteen years in an inclusive preschool setting with thousands of typically developing peer models as well as children with identified special education needs. She found that the SING.PLAY.LOVE. approach was engaging and beneficial for every young child, but extremely powerful for some children. Her original program linked all activities, songs, and books to outcomes of the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System (AEPS) and the Pyramid Model. A variety of alignments can be found here: www.singplaylove.tools/alignment
Have you used the program with kindergarteners? Many are not ready when they arrive!
The program is being utilized in kindergarten classrooms across the country. Kindergarten teachers report that SING.PLAY.LOVE. helps them be more intentional about teaching and reinforcing social-emotional skills. Teachers often teach one skill and book per month for the first five months of school to equalize opportunity for all new kindergarteners and focus on key skills for school success.
Why do you have so many different styles of illustration? Photos versus Illustrations?
The creator wanted children to interact with a rich variety of art and music. The styles are as varied and interesting as the children in a classroom! Teachers often the debate the merits of using photos versus illustrations as visual supports for teaching key skills. The creator believes that both are valuable for engaging young children in early learning. Her criteria for book illustration are that the style be whimsical and “delicious” after hundreds of repetitions.
Do your materials work with children who have special needs/autism?
The materials were developed to support learning and instruction of young children with identified special education needs. The variety of visual supports, family materials and multi-sensory learning activities help all children be successful. However, the program may be uniquely powerful for children who experience learning difficulties or challenging behaviors. Children on the autism spectrum may experience unique benefits of this approach, as music facilitates self-organization and self-calming. The use of visuals and predictable routines are also indicated for children with ASD.
What kit should I purchase for a low-incidence classroom?
Consider the learner goals you have prioritized for your children by reviewing the complete list here: www.singplaylove.tools/learnergoals. What kits provide the best match for your instructional priorities? Many teachers and therapists serving children with significant or multiple disabilities find the EARLY LEARNING EDUCATOR KIT to be of benefit, as language and imitation are the primary emphases.
How do your materials address the needs of children and families who need support for mental health issues?
Our program is widely utilized within education and mental health organizations by a variety of early childhood professionals. Psychologists working in early intervention and mental health have this to say about SING.PLAY.LOVE..
“We are excited to make therapists we have trained aware of the SING.PLAY.LOVE. approach to supporting parent-child relationships and social-emotional development. We had been looking for something that was consistent with developmental research of the role of movement and music in mitigating young children’s stress and promoting mental wellbeing. This approach provides very pragmatic and creative approaches for caregivers to employ, which complements our other work with children and families who have experienced trauma.”
- Beth Troutman, Ph.D. and Kelly Pelzel, Ph.D., University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
How do you help parents teach along with the teacher? Any printables to distribute or resources for families?
Our PLAY & LEARN program links families to resources that build a bridge of learning from school or center to home. Families can access play activities, songs and music videos to intentionally teach key skills at home, in partnership with the child’s teacher or therapist. Each kit comes with pages to distribute to families with activities and information. Families can also register to access corresponding songs and music videos on their phone, tablet, or computer to enjoy with their child.
Are the SPL materials useful to SLPs? Parent educators? Infant-toddler-preschool mental health professionals? OTs? PTs?
Yes! Any early childhood professional interested in engaging young children in learning will benefit from utilizing the SING.PLAY.LOVE. program. The program is easy to use and requires no specialized training. And, importantly, you are likely to observe new learning and growth in a variety of targeted skills in the context of planned SING.PLAY.LOVE. activities. This is because SING.PLAY.LOVE. provides a meaningful context for children. They are joining other children to joyfully participate and do not realize they are actually learning. Purchasers are advised to review all the current books and targeted skills here: www.singplaylove.tools/learnergoals
How do I train new teachers to utilize SPL?
There are a free set of video modules available at: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8307369/embed
What if I don’t feel comfortable singing with my children?
Children think their teacher is the best singer in the world! Try to set aside any misguided belief that young children are tiny American Idol judges who will evaluate an adult’s singing prowess. Purchasers can sing along with the recorded songs or go rogue and embellish the songs with unaccompanied versions they create for their children. All is that is important is that a teacher or therapist be open to joy and fun as critical ingredients for engagement and learning.
Is there anything else I need to purchase to utilize one of the educator kits in my classroom?
It is recommended that teachers or therapists utilize a visual schedule for SING.PLAY.LOVE. Time. Directions are provided as printed pages with each kit purchase. The creator uses a simple cookie baking sheet from the local dollar store for this purpose, along with a package of magnets. A magnetized white board can also be used for this purpose. There are additional simple materials that can be incorporated with songs that are sold with the SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL and “I LOVE LEARNING” kits. Those are listed in the back of each of those song guides. No musical instruments or special equipment are required!
Do you encourage musical instruments with certain stories or songs?
The creator likes to utilize materials that are always readily at hand for “instruments” – such as pots and pans, cardboard boxes, cushions, or other re-purposed items as drums. This helps children to think imaginatively about making music and adds no expense to utilize the program. Children love to “play and say” key phrases of songs on a paint bucket using a wooden spoon. These simple activities support phonemic awareness and language acquisition.
Are the SPL songs, books and/or materials available in Spanish?
A three-book set of picture books in Spanish is available as a supplemental resource for each educator kit. The translated books include a song download of the song performed by a native Spanish singer. NOTE: the supplemental Spanish kits are not meant to be a replacement or alternative to the Educator Kit. They do not contain instructional videos, printable materials, or music videos. The translated books allow you to share the songs and texts in Spanish as well as English.
When will you be releasing a new educator kit?
There is a new kit in the works called FRIENDSHIP, FAMILY AND FUN that focuses on social skills and family engagement. It will be available for purchase in 2022.
Is Anne Meeker Watson available for conference presentations, program adoption trainings and coaching?
Absolutely! Contact Anne at anne@singplaylove.com to discuss your proposal. Learn more about Anne.
How can I connect with the SING.PLAY.LOVE. Community? I want to learn more!
- Subscribe to our Youtube channel to check out dozens of movies, including free songs and great information.
- Check out Anne’s blog for songs, strategies, and articles.
- Do you have a great idea for a song, story or learning skill? Email Anne. She would love to hear from you! anne@singplaylove.com