I’m so excited to share the newest resource in our line of Piano Progress Pins!
The E-Z Piano Milestones Curriculum Planner is an editable curriculum guide that’s exactly what you need to get all of your students aligned on the same curriculum path. Watch them propel forward with their piano progress while earning a fun, colorful collection of Piano Progress Pins.
Purchase the E-Z Notes Piano Milestones Curriculum Planner and Piano Progress Pins here.
If you’re anything like me, your studio is filled with tons of wonderful resources from a variety of sources. It’s a great thing to be able to piece together your own customized curriculum for your piano students. But, it’s also easy to let things fall between the cracks without a cohesive guide to help you hold it all together.
I designed the E-Z Piano Milestones Curriculum Planner to help teachers just like you create a custom curriculum plan that every student in your studio can follow. And, the best part is, there’s a whole line of Piano Progress Pins that your students can earn while following your customized curriculum!
The E-Z Piano Milestones Curriculum Planner is organized into six colored levels that students work through at their own pace: red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple.
Once students finish the colored levels, they begin earning “gold coins”. There’s no limit to how many gold coins your students can earn so this curriculum guide can be used with your beginner through advanced students.
Each page has 6 categories for you to fill in skills your students should be mastering at that level: repertoire, note identification, rhythm, sight reading, scales & chords and other skills.
You can use the rainbow-colored levels along with the gold coin levels to have 2 distinct paths your students can follow: rainbow for younger beginners and gold coins for older students. Or, the rainbow colored levels could segue into the gold coin levels.
Here’s how it works:
- Purchase the editable E-Z Milestones Piano Curriculum Planner from the Very Piano Shop.
- Edit each category on each page to reflect skills and milestones you’d like for your students to reach in order to pass that level.
- You can have one standard curriculum that everyone follows or create a variation or two to accommodate students who may take a different path or use different material. It’s flexible!
- Print out the colored pages for your students.
- Use the pages as a checklist to track their progress as they complete assignments and reach milestones.
- Reward your student the corresponding Piano Progress Pin as they finish each colored checklist page
Once you have the E-Z Milestones Piano Curriculum Planner, you can edit and print the pages as many times as you need for your students.
When I set up each level for my own students, I spent some time thinking through all of the skills and activities I typically teach and in what order I do them in.
Here’s what my Red Level page looks like, in a previous edition.
If there are some things in my boxes that don’t make sense to you, that’s okay! All that matters is that your boxes make sense to you and your students. If you use funny nicknames for certain skills or have an unconventional approach to something, use it!
I was very intentional about limiting the amount of material at each level so that students can feasibly work through each colored level or gold coin at a reasonable pace. I didn’t want it to take a full school year just to get through one level, so I split up the material in a way that students would likely work through 2-3 levels per school year. This keeps a big milestone and reward in sight at all times.
When a student completes everything from one of their colored level or gold coin check lists, they earn a Piano Progress Pin to display on their piano bag.
FAQ:
Is this a piano curriculum?
This is not a piano curriculum, but rather a way to organize your own curriculum, especially if you pull your teaching material from multiple sources.
Where do I get the colored and gold coin check list pages?
You can purchase the reproducible printable pages in the Very Piano Shop. Click here to purchase your E-Z Milestones Piano Curriculum Planner.
Where do I get the Piano Progress Pins?
You can order any number of Piano Progress Pins in the Very Piano Shop. Whether you need a handful or a bulk order, you’ll find all of the colors and gold coins that you need here!
Where do I get piano bags?
These can also be found in the Very Piano Shop! Click here to purchase piano bags for your students.
How do I edit the documents to include components of my curriculum?
Just open the document with your default pdf reader, click in one of the white boxes and a curser will appear that will let you type in the box.
When should I give my student the Piano Progress Pin?
This is up to you! In my studio, the first week of each month is “award week” and students collect their pins that they earned from the previous month at the beginning of their lessons. Some teachers hand out Piano Progress Pins at recitals and others give them to students on the spot as soon as they earn them. You can decide the best way to award Piano Progress Pins to your students.
Can I use this curriculum if I teach from a method book?
Absolutely! It’s common that students start to feel stuck in a method book, or that the certificate at the end takes a REALLY long time to earn. Breaking your method book material into more manageable portions is really motivating to piano students, especially beginners. Plus, using this system helps you pull in supplemental material that may not be found in your favorite method book.
What if a student is already past a level?
Any time you start a new program in your studio, it’s inevitable that experienced students will have already surpassed part of the program. For your students who aren’t starting at the very beginning with the red level, you could give them colors they would have previously earned, or just start with the current level they are working towards.
Click here to get the E-Z Piano Milestones Curriculum Planner.
