Kjos recently announced that they are now carrying and selling MiniMusic. From what I heard, not a lot of people are familiar with MiniMusic so I thought I would share my experience. Paula Manwaring is the brainchild of MiniMusic, which is an early childhood program that covers about 9 months of lesson plans. I bought this program years ago because I was interested in doing an early childhood program in my studio but didn’t want to pay royalties or fees for using a program, which seems to be common among early childhood music programs. MiniMusic was an answer to that problem.
MiniMusic covers rhythm, pitch, steps, skips, keyboard geography and learning about instrument families. After a child completes MiniMusic they are well on their way for music lessons in whatever instrument they choose.
What I love about MiniMusic is that not only can one use it for an early childhood program, it is easily adaptable for pre-piano camps, workshops, group lessons, homeschool groups, etc. I personally have used a lot of the material for my pre-piano summer camps. All the materials are reproducible and comes with several fun manipulatives that can be used in class. So after you pay for the program, you really don’t need anything else. You can be assured that the investment will be worth it in the end regardless how you decide to use it. I love this!
Hi Jennifer!
I am so glad to hear how much you have enjoyed the Minimusic program! You are so kind to blog about it, and do a fantastic job at describing everything!!
Minimusic is now on facebook and I would love to share your post. Are you okay with that?
Paula
You bet Paula! 🙂
Jennifer, I realize this review is several years old, but I went to your teaching site and it seems you are still using this program – which leads me to believe it’s working! I’ve been approached by a local music store to teach a pre-piano program to preschoolers once a week for 6-8 weeks. Of course, I’m not wanting to write my own stuff for this class. Would you think Mini Music would be suitable for something like this? How long would you say each session would last using one unit or lesson of Mini Music? Is there enough to last for 45 minutes or would I need to supplement? Does it keep kids interested?
Hi Karen, yes, I am still using Minimusic. Since you are doing a 6-8 week course I would probably double up on lesson plans which can easily be done. My Minimusic kids meet for 45 min. Some of the lessons go quicker then others (really depends on the students) so most of the time supplementing isn’t needed, but I always have a supplemental backup just in case they are faster than predicted. Hope that helps! It’s a super easy program to do and the kids do enjoy it!
Thank you, Jennifer! I appreciate your help with this teacher, and your kind words. I think you might still have the original Minimusic kit. If I could convince Kjos Music Publishers to send you their newly published program, would you be interested in doing a fresh review?
Let me know your thoughts on this. Thanks again, Paula
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Thanks Jennifer!