As we close in on June (wait...what?!) things in my MT groups have me thinking a lot about what elements make for a successful group and how I can be better at helping kids be successful, and so I have really been upping the ante with new songs. Not just simple social skills songs but moving into multi-step instructions and multiple actions and getting both sides of the body going at the same time. Tough stuff. And the first couple weeks of this led to a bit of confusion and a lot of instruction and what may have looked to an observer like a lack of structure. BUT the most important thing that my internship supervisor taught me is that just because an intervention activity doesn't appear successful, doesn't mean it cant be. Because now a few weeks in my kids are even more engaged, and most of them are on their way to mastering the new activities I've brought.
Working with kids, and I mean any kids is a delicate balance of challenging them and putting them into what drum circle facilitator Arthur Hull refers to as "student crisis mode." So while it's still important to have simple, engaging and success oriented activities making up the bulk of things, it's important not to do the kids a disservice by underestimating them or assuming that they "can't" do something because they learn differently.