The premier online conference for music therapists and music educators who work with kids is back on NOVEMBER 10th, 2023!

The 4th annual Music For Kiddos Symposium is an online conference and continuing education opportunity for people who love kids. If you spend your days supporting kids through creative engagement, play, and MUSIC — this conference is for you. 

At Symposium, every session is directly related to the nuances of childhood development and/or music. The speakers are innovators, advocates, and creatives who share new ideas, resources, and encouragement to support you in your work.

We want to hear your ideas too, so we build in extra time for questions and comments during each session, including an optional post-event virtual gathering so you can connect with other music therapy and music education colleagues and share your thoughts.

Do you need a music therapy or education pick-me-up? Then this conference is for you!

Leave rejuvenated and refreshed, armed with new ideas and inspiration to bring back to your work.

You can watch live (webinar-style), watch the recorded version after the fact, or do a little bit of both.

Kind words from prior years:

I've been to many professional seminars, and this was by far, the most engaging, helpful, and fun that I've experienced! - Evan, MT-BC, LCAT

This was absolutely fantastic! I loved all of the speakers and really felt motivated and excited to try some new material during sessions. Please do this every year!!! -Jenna, MM, LCAT, MT-BC

Amazing!!! A wide variety of speakers and topics. Super accessible format. Incredible resources. An event I will be anticipating annually! - Shelby, MT-BC

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

The Okee Dokee Brothers: Inspiration and Interconnection through Music and Nature (Keynote)

Ami Kunimura, Ph.D., MT-BC: Music, Compassion, and Well-Being

Lorrie Kubicek, MT-BC and Kimberly Khare, MA, MT-BC: Professional Identity Recalibration & Transformation

Fyütch: Empowering Kids with Music

Emily Diaz, M.S. CCC-SLP: Gestalt Language Processing

If you attended in previous years, you know that this conference is one-of-a-kind and receives rave reviews. There’s nothing else like it, and you’ll leave with resources, inspiration, and fresh energy for your work.

Music therapists can earn 9 pre-approved CMTE credits, and educators can receive a certificate for 9 professional development credits.

Participants can watch the Symposium in real time (webinar-style), watch the video replays after the fact, or do a little bit of both.

Prerequisites: None.

Course Access: One year of video access. Music therapists pursuing continuing education credit (CMTE) credit must complete the course within 6 months of purchase.

Instructor Qualifications: 

Okee Dokee Brothers - As childhood friends growing up in Denver, Colorado, Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing were always exploring the outdoors. Whether it was rafting down their neighborhood creek or discovering hiking trails through the Rocky Mountains, Joe and Justin were born adventurers. Now, as the GRAMMY® Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers, they have put this passion for the outdoors at the heart of their Americana Folk music. Joe and Justin record and perform family music with a goal to inspire children and their parents to step outside and get creative. They believe this can motivate kids to gain a greater respect for the natural world, their communities, and themselves. The five-time Parents’ Choice Award winners have garnered praise from the likes of NPR’s All Things Considered and USA Today, and have been called “two of family music’s best songwriters".

Fyütch is a multi-discipline artist and educator with a vast creative resume spanning several decades. Born Harold Simmons II in Gary, IN, he began public speaking at age 7, winning the city-wide speech contest and speaking at the US Capitol. Fyütch gained musical notoriety in Nashville, TN as the lead singer of Hip-Hop/Soul band Biscuits and Gravy, opening for acts like Kanye West and Pharrell. Fyütch leads music, poetry, and performance workshops/assemblies for students of all ages, and corporations like Adidas, Verizon, and Warby Parker. He uses Hip-Hop, spoken word, and visual storytelling to promote racial equity and liberation. His unique blend of catchy social justice content covers topics like Black History, Indigenous Peoples, empathy, and sustainability. His work has been featured on the Today Show, CBS News, NPR and radio stations worldwide. His song “Black Women in History” charted #1 on Sirius XM Kids Place Live. Fyütch is a member of the GRAMMY® nominated group 1 Tribe Collective, celebrating the rich culture and diversity that Black voices bring to family music.

Ami Kunimura, Ph.D., MT-BC is the founder of The Self-Care Institute. She holds a Ph.D. in Mind-Body Medicine and is a board-certified music therapist.Ami provides therapeutic support for professionals around the world who are experiencing burnout. Ami provides support for individuals and support for organizations with burnout prevention, burnout recovery, stress management, and sustainable self-care.

Emily Diaz, M.S. CCC-SLP is a certified speech-language pathologist with a passion for empowering individuals to find their voice. With a focus on neurodiversity affirming care and augmentative & alternative communication (AAC), Emily offers valuable insight and support to clinicians, parents, and school districts.  Emily’s expertise extends to topics like managing AAC in the classroom, the importance of staff-buy in and dynamic coaching methods, and the nuances of gestalt language processing and AAC implementation strategies. Having shared her knowledge at conferences and platforms, including Meaningful Speech, Bright Ideas Media, and SpeechPathologyPD.com, Emily stands as a beacon of expertise and innovation in the field of speech-language pathology.

Lorrie Kubicek, MT-BC is a board certified music therapist and program manager for Expressive Therapies at Massachusetts General-Brigham Hospital. With 20+ years professional medical music therapy experience and 7 additional years doing music and creative arts at Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children with medical needs, Lorrie finds a very effective balance between traditional music therapy techniques, childhood development knowledge and clinical fun.

Kimberly Khare, MA, MT-BC is a board certified music therapist and a Nordoff-Robbins

music therapist. For 25 years she has worked in community-focused settings supporting children,families, teens and young adults by designing and facilitating programming that helps thembuild their accessibility, creativity and agency. Kimberly has taught at Berklee College of Music for 20 years, ushering in the next generation of music therapists by helping them hone in on their clinical musicianship.

(Event host) Stephanie Leavell, MT-BC is the creator of Music for Kiddos, a resource and education website dedicated to high-quality children’s music. She’s an educator, board certified music therapist, Berklee College of Music graduate, community-builder, and above all, is passionate about using music to help kids succeed.

Course Format: Online webinar format with five 75- minute presentations and a “Speaker’s Forum” featuring all the speakers together for 75 minutes. There is also an optional “Reflect and Connect” online gathering the day after the event where participants can connect and share insights learned.

SCHEDULE

Friday, November 10th, 2023

10:00 am - 11:15 am ET  Fyütch - Harmonizing Change: Empowering Kids with Music

11:30 am - 12:45 pm ET Emily Diaz - Gestalt Language Processing

LUNCH BREAK

1:30 pm - 2:45 pm ET - Kimberly Khare and Lorrie Kubicek - TBA

3:00 pm - 4:15 pm ET  - Dr. Ami Kunimura - Music, Compassion, and Well-Being

4:30 pm - 5:45 pm ET - Okee Dokee Brothers - Inspiration and Interconnection through Music and Nature  

DINNER BREAK

6:30 pm - 7:45 pm ET Speaker's Forum (all speakers attend and participate)

Saturday, November 11th: 

1:00pm ET - Optional Zoom Meeting: “Reflect and Connect” 

Total Course Time: 450 minutes (9 credits)