"Heartworks" Gallery
Kavi & Yash
Making Music with Michael
Keystone Kids Camp
Music Adds Life to the Party
Music to Soothe the Spirit
Sydney's Song
"Here's to Life"
"Alleluia"
A Dancer's Renaissance
Kavi & Yash
Sydney's Song
Keystone Kids Camp
Artist Trading Cards
A Blessing For Marybeth
Charlie's Chair
Lasting Impressions
John's Art Legacy
Anna's Bracelets
A Caregiver's Collage
Keystone Kids Camp
Kavi & Yash
Brothers Kavi and Yash always eagerly anticipate visits from Keystone’s Dance/Movement Therapist Esther Schultz.
The “Pop, Pop, Pop!” game has become a regular ritual and is a fun way to include a spectrum of energy levels and a range of movement abilities. Kavi delicately smoothes out the scarf and the brothers pile inflated balloons in the center. Then, as each hold tightly to a corner of the scarf, they begin to chant: first softly and slowly and then louder with bigger swings of the arms that pop the balloons all over the room. Yash smiles gleefully and demands, “More! More!”
You put the oil in the pot and you let it get hot,
You put the popcorn in and you start to grin!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle
POP! POP! POP!
The Sticker Song
S-T-I-C-K-E-R, S-T-I-C-K-E-R, S-T-I-C-K-E-R,
S-T-I-C-K-E-R, is a word I can’t say around my brother
It’s a good thing we know how to spell it, how to spell it, how to spell
it
It’s a good thing I know how to spell it so Yash doesn’t hear that word.
“What’s the word”…, (in a whisper) sticker.
All photos: Laura Thomae
Another game Kavi and Yash play with Esther is Stretchy Spaghetti. The bright multi-colored spaghetti-thin strings stretch across the room: pulling, tugging, snapping, and wiggling. Tightly holding on to the strings, the brothers use the props to connect with each other in play and movement. This builds their sibling relationship while accommodating for the needs and expressions of each child. Stretchy Spaghetti has an accompanying song, with lyrics by Kavi, called “Spaghetti Music” developed with Keystone Hospice’s Music Therapist and Creative Arts & Complementary Therapies Program Director Laura Thomae. Kavi’s song is an interactive piece where each participant has a musical instrument corresponding to each color named in the song. Everyone shakes or plays their instrument when their color is sung. This also allows for different ability levels, as the instruments can be matched to what each person can successfully play.
Kavi, Yash and Dhara like spaghetti music, spaghetti music, and spaghetti music
Kavi, Yash and Dhara like spaghetti music they play it all day long
Spaghetti music comes in all the colors, all the colors, all the colors,
Spaghetti music comes in all the colors; every color is in this song
Red…., yellow…., green…., blue…, purple…., pink…., white…, and black.
It’s a rainbow of colors in this song, in this song, in this song,
A rainbow of colors in this song so everyone can play along.
Engaging with one another through movement, play and song gives the brothers the opportunity to interact with each other naturally. Performing music helps deepen their bonds and emotional communication. Creative arts therapies give Kavi and his family a means to cope with his impending loss.
