My Music Starts Here

The smiles. The high-fives. The songs that help children feel safe, connected, and ready to learn.

Every school year begins with moments like these — and music helps make them possible. At My Music Starts Here, we equip educators with research-backed tools that make joyful learning part of every day. From our 36-week classroom music program to inspiring professional development and our new Certification Pathway, we’re here to help teachers feel just as confident and supported as the children they serve.

Because when we start with music, we grow happy, healthy children.

🎵 Explore our resources and let’s make this your most joyful school year yet. www.mymusicstartshere.com

Whether your classroom incorporates technology, embraces screen-free learning, or thoughtfully blends both, we’re honored to partner with educators and school leaders by providing research-backed resources that strengthen classrooms, support teachers, and help children flourish.

Created by a music educator who refused to accept the status quo, My Music Starts Here empowers early childhood and special education teachers to seamlessly weave music into everyday learning. Our research-backed, curriculum-informed approach helps build early literacy, language development, STEM foundations, social-emotional skills, and inclusive learning environments where every child has the opportunity to thrive.

Whether you’re looking for:
🎵 Our 36-week, seasonally organized digital classroom resource
🎵 Professional development workshops delivered nationwide
🎵 Or the My Music Starts Here Certification for individual teachers, schools, administrators, and school districts

We’re here to help equip teachers with practical, joyful strategies they can use every day to transform learning. Thank you for believing, as we do, that when we start with music, we grow happy, healthy children.

🔗 mymusicstartshere.com

Too many professional development sessions leave teachers with a handout and a headache. Ours leave them with a toolbox full of musical learning activities they can use the very next morning — and the confidence to actually use them.

Our workshops cover:

🎵 Early literacy and language development
🎵 Social-emotional skill development
🎵 Supporting challenging behaviors
🎵 Infants & toddlers
🎵 Neurodivergent learners and children on the autism spectrum
🎵 Teacher self-care and burnout prevention
🎵 Classroom management and transitions

Every session is customizable, curriculum aligned, rooted in current neuro-musical research, and designed to be immediately applicable. Schedule now to kickoff the new school year. Link in bio to book.

My Music Starts Here We strive to ensure that all young children regardless of their race, gender, location, school, childcare, or socioeconomic status have the very best music learning experiences.

This July, Mary Anderson () will join music educators from across the country as a presenter at the 6th Biennial FAME (Feierabend Association for Music Education) Conference in Chicago.

Her session, Early Musical Learning for ALL: Using First Steps in Music as a Foundation to an Inclusive Early Childhood Classroom, will highlight practical ways educators can build music-rich learning environments where every child feels welcomed, supported, and empowered to participate.

As a certified First Steps in Music educator trained by Dr. John Feierabend and Lillie Feierabend, Mary has spent years blending the principles of this respected approach with her own research and experience in inclusive early childhood education. Those insights continue to shape both the My Music Starts Here curriculum and the professional learning experiences we provide for educators nationwide.

We’re grateful for the opportunity to join educators from across the country in Chicago and contribute to important conversations about inclusive, research-informed music education.

🎉The latest issue of The Beat, our monthly newsletter filled with joyful resources for early childhood educators, has just landed in subscriber inboxes.

This free resource is designed for educators who create moments every day that help children feel safe, seen, connected, curious, and ready to learn. Whether you teach in a preschool, public school, private school, Head Start, homeschool, special education program, or somewhere in between, our goal is to support the important work you do as you help shape our future.

At My Music Starts Here, we believe educators deserve resources that honor both their expertise and their time. Decades of brain research and best practices in early childhood education show that weaving music and playful learning into everyday classroom routines strengthens literacy, language development, social-emotional growth, and the behavioral and cognitive skills children need to thrive. Just as importantly, it creates calm, connected classrooms where children feel they belong, teachers feel empowered, and joyful learning comes naturally.

That’s why we’re here. Our goal isn’t to add one more thing to your day—it’s to make something that already works simple, practical, and joyful to implement. Whether your classroom incorporates technology, embraces screen-free learning, or thoughtfully blends both, we’re honored to partner with educators and school leaders by providing research-backed resources that strengthen classrooms, support teachers, and help children flourish.

📥If you’re already a subscriber, check your inbox. If you haven’t signed up yet, it’s free—just use the link in our bio.

🩵Every child deserves a classroom where they feel seen, included, confident, and excited to learn. And every teacher deserves practical tools that make that possible.

That’s why we created the My Music Starts Here Certification Pathway.

This isn’t about turning teachers into musicians. It’s about equipping early childhood educators with research-backed strategies that use music as a bridge to stronger literacy, richer language development, early STEM learning, social-emotional growth, smoother transitions, and classrooms where every child can thrive.

Whether you’re teaching in a public school, private preschool, Head Start program, charter school, homeschool cooperative, or special education classroom, certification is designed to help you confidently weave music into the moments that matter most.

And it doesn’t stop with individual teachers. Our pathway recognizes schools, administrators, and even entire districts that are committed to creating learning environments where brain-based, joyful, inclusive education isn’t an exception — it’s the standard.

This summer, as you prepare for a new school year, imagine what could happen if every classroom began with connection, curiosity, and confidence. That’s the future we’re working toward.

🔗Use the link in our bio to learn more about becoming certified and bringing research-backed music integration to your school.

Strumming a ukulele engages your brain in a unique way — lifting your mood, helping reduce stress and anxiety, and activating your brain's natural reward system. Better yet, you only need three basic chords to play many of the children's songs you already know and love.

The bonus? You can bring it straight into your classroom and accompany your students as they sing together. One instrument. Endless possibilities. Endless joy.

Around here, you'll usually find our founder, Mary Anderson, with her favorite Kala ukulele in hand. As a proud Kala Brand Music ambassador, she knows firsthand how one simple instrument can spark a lifetime of joyful learning through music.

Summer is the perfect low-pressure time to pick it up. Tell us — do you play any instruments, and is the uke going on your summer list? 🎸

The teachers who feel most prepared in September are usually the ones who spent a little time in July and August getting tools in place. Our 36-week digital curriculum is organized seasonally and ready to use from day one — and a free 30-minute demo takes the guesswork out of it entirely.

In 22 years of teaching, Miss Dena says she’s never seen music taught quite like this: “It’s engaging and fun. And I never have to redirect the kids or give reminders to pay attention. They are truly drawn to it.”

💙Your students deserve that kind of classroom. So do you. Book a free demo: https://calendly.com/erin-mymusicstartshere

Meet the My Music Starts Here Certification pathway! We created our certification program to equip educators and transform classrooms through research-backed music integration that supports early literacy, language development, STEM foundations, social-emotional learning, and inclusive teaching practices.

Our certification pathway grows from the individual teacher to the entire school system:

✅ Teacher Certified: Educators complete professional development and implement daily music integration strategies across core learning areas, earning the Certified Educator credential.

✅ School Certified: Schools where all eligible teachers are Certified Educators earn Certified School designation, demonstrating a schoolwide commitment to research-informed, whole-child learning.

✅ Administrator Certified: School leaders gain tools to communicate the impact of music integration and strengthen their leadership.

✅ District Certified: Districts with multiple Certified Schools earn District Certification, supporting strategic planning, grant applications, and public trust.

My Music Starts Here Certification strengthens teachers’ capacity, supports student success with proven resources, and positions your program as a leader in research-based early childhood education.

Designed for public, private, Head Start, charter, homeschool, and special education preschool programs! Get started here:

➡️ mymusicstartshere.com/get-certified