Because brilliant beginnings start with music
For over 25 years, Musically Minded has brought brain-based, research-backed music into early childhood classrooms, from Seattle circle times to conference stages to district-wide training.
Play is how young children learn best. When they’re engaged, moving, and having fun, learning happens. Musically Minded turns that belief into something teachers, programs, and families can actually use.
Whether you’re a program director outfitting your classroom, a teacher searching for practical tools, or an administrator ready to strengthen engagement districtwide, there’s a path here built for you.
We Play
This is what it means to be Musically Minded
Give a three-year-old a worksheet and watch their eyes glaze over. Give them a song, a shaker, and a reason to move, and watch them light up. That’s not a coincidence. It’s how young brains work.
When you teach through music and movement, you’re not entertaining. You’re teaching with intention, and children can feel the difference. That’s the shift Musically Minded helps teachers make: from getting through circle time to teaching on purpose, every time.
“Engage hearts and minds. Move together. Learn for life.”
We Teach With Purpose
Play only works when it’s intentional. That’s where Engage, Move, Learn™ comes in.
Engage, Move, Learn™ is the framework behind everything Musically Minded does. There’s a path here built for you, whichever seat you’re sitting in.
For Schools & Programs
I’m a Program Director
Done-for-you music classes for your students, in person for Seattle-area schools or virtual curriculum anywhere, so you don’t have to find or train a music teacher.
See Class Options →For Educators
I’m a Teacher
Practical, brain-based circle time strategies and PD that actually works at 9:42 on a Tuesday, through the Musically Minded Academy for Teachers.
Explore the Academy for Teachers →For Leaders
I’m a Program Leader
Engage, Move, Learn™ training and consulting that reduces behavior challenges and strengthens Tier 1 instruction across your program.
Explore Engage, Move, Learn™ →We Provide Proof
25+ years in classrooms. Still in classrooms.
Musically Minded is led by Jocelyn Manzanarez, ECE Faculty at Green River College and Washington State Certified STARS Trainer, author of Circle Time Success. She’s still teaching, every week, in real classrooms.
Engage, Move, Learn™
Increase Engagement. Reduce Behavior. Strengthen Early Learning.
Most early learning leaders we talk to aren’t worried about curriculum right now. They’re worried about:
- Children struggling to stay engaged
- Behavior challenges taking over the day
- Teachers spending more time managing than teaching
What we see consistently across programs is this. Most behavior challenges in early childhood start as engagement issues. When instruction doesn’t align with how young children naturally learn, behavior fills the gap.
Engage, Move, Learn™ works from Tier 1 instructional shifts, not more behavior systems.
We Support People
You don’t have to figure this out alone
Whether you’re a teacher trying to make circle time click, an administrator supporting a whole staff, or a parent who wants your child to love learning, Musically Minded exists for the same reason it always has: when you teach with intention, children thrive, and so do the grown-ups raising and teaching them.
Thank you for all you do. You make a difference every single day. ♡