April 2026 Newsletter
Dear Medley friends and colleagues,
Thank you and welcome to everyone who has supported us in our first two months on this journey! We hope that you have already found some ideas that will positively impact your classroom– and we would love to meet you in a training and share more.
Classroom activity videos and supporting materials below! Let’s start the information roundup.
Online Professional Development Opportunities
Tuesday, April 21st, 6-7 pm Eastern Time: FREE office hour with Jen and Jess
Sunday, May 3rd, 6-7 pm Eastern Time: FREE office hour with Jen and Jess
In-person Learning Opportunities
April 12th, 2026, 9:45 am. The ABLE Assembly conference, Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Registration and info.
July 17-19, presentation time TBA. The Feierabend Association for Music Education (FAME) conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Registration and info.
July 27th-31st, 8:30 am-4:30 pm. Save the dates to take our weeklong graduate course! Introduction to Adaptive Music Education, Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA. 3 graduate credits. Additional info will be found here.
Tips on mindful hand-over-hand assistance. View Jen’s video, Jess’ video, and informative graphics.
Examples of projects from our instrument adaptation workshop, and DIY instructions on adding elastic grip assistance to an egg shaker.
Why the cabasa is a recommended instrument for students with high support needs.
Understanding the difference between accommodations and modifications can help you better meet the needs of your students who need extra support. View a video and informative graphics.
Demos of some of our favorite quiet sensory tools. View a video and informative graphics.
Reframing the idea of breaks from demand in the music classroom.
Explaining why we don’t feature students in our social media and website content.
Preferred language for discussing disability— we don’t say “special needs.” View a video and informative graphics.
Don’t forget to follow us on your favorite social media platforms (links below) and please help us reach more teachers by interacting with our content. We are so grateful to be in this important work with you!
Enthusiastically yours,
Jess, Jen & Jon
Buzz Buzz Buzz— a Medley original by Jon and Jess. This song uses egg shakers to represent ladybugs quietly crawling on various body parts, then flying around actively in an alternating Freeze Dance-type format. Download the bundle for FREE including music notation, activity instructions, original artwork by Isaiah Eddington, and body part choice cards.
Goodbye, My Friends— a Medley original by Jon and Jess. A simple goodbye song for classroom routine and structure. Download the sheet music.
El Florón— a song from Mexico, with a simple hide-and-seek carnival-style game for engaging students with attentional and social differences.
Body percussion choice cards— for assisted composition activities among other things. Download for free on our website. View informative graphics and a video.
Old MacDonald and The Wheels on the Bus choice boards— ready-to-print processing and communication tools available in our free download A Song In Your Pocket on our website. Watch the video.