Free Educational Resources for Kids and Teenagers

I love creating resources. And right now with many students at home, the need for quality, creative, engaging (and free!) resources has never been greater.

Each week I will be creating a new educational resource to share on my website.

The first resource I have created is a weekly art journal I created using Book Creator. If you haven't heard of Book Creator before, I would highly recommend you check it out. It's a great tool which you can use to make your own eBooks with text, pictures and sound recordings. Plus it's free.

Routine is so important to all of us. When things are feeling uncertain in the world, a daily practice and consistent, predictable activities can help reduce anxiety and worry.

With that in mind, I created What Can You Draw? - A simple art journal which has five drawing challenges for kids (one for each weekday).

--->Download the easy print pdf<---

Some helpful tips and strategies:

• Set a daily reminder on your phone to prompt when it is time to begin the activity.

• Too easy? Scaffold the activity (e.g. "Can you draw four completely different trees?" "Can you draw a monkey in the branches?")

• Get involved! The best way to encourage a child is to get stuck in is to do the activity with them.

Want More Educational Resources?

Check back next week for more free learning resources from Play Anything or take a look at our selection of educational eBooks for all ages and abilities.

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring is finally here. And more good news - We are now accepting Saturday morning bookings.

There are a limited number of spots available so do get in quick before they are booked out!

W: www.playanything.com.au E: carlin@playanything.com.au

Hello from Hong Kong!

It was an incredible experience for me to present a workshop at the Hong Kong Music Therapy Conference 2018, alongside leaders in the music therapy field including Alan Turry, Leslie Bunt and Professor Katrina McFerrin.

Photo by #hkmtc2018

My workshop delved into the use of music technology in music therapy. This is an area I am particularly passionate about. I love sharing my knowledge of how music technology can be used in music therapy settings. There are significant gaps in the training and utilisation of music technology in music therapy. I hope that sharing my my skills and experience will help music therapists broaden their skill set so that music-making is relevant and accessible for the people we work with!

AUMI is a great free program which can use motion tracking to generate musical sounds

Australian RMTs Carlin McLellan, Geena Cheung and Tim Kwan

My fellow Western Sydney University alumni RMTs Geena Cheung and Tim Kwan also attended the conference. In this photo we are admiring Geena's poster about the role of music therapy in addressing mental health issues for adolescents in Hong Kong.

It was inspiring to hear from the local presenters and to learn about some of the music therapy programs making a difference in Hong Kong. I struck up a friendship with two music therapists from Hong Kong, Esther Dorcas Wong and Cat Chau. We met up after the conference and spent an afternoon improvising with traditional and electronic instruments. The jam was heaps of fun and really hit home that music technology can be incorporated with traditional instruments to create new, exciting possibilities in music-making.

Check out a short video from the jam below.

Hong Kong is such a vibrant, diverse, energetic, exciting place. It was great to meet music therapists from across the world, share our knowledge and strengthen the profession. Of course, I didn't mind the amazing food and hospitality of Hong Kong either.

I'm back home in Newcastle now, looking forward to putting into practice some of the knowledge gained at the conference and to continue the journey of learning, learning, learning..

Next stop, I'll be presenting at the Australian Music Therapy Conference in Sydney on September 15!