Demo Days Cancellation – July 31st only

Due to severe weather and no online registrations, our Demo Days for Thursday, July 31st, have been cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later date.  We still have a few openings left in our Saturday morning Demo Days classes for your convenience.  Check them out here. 

If you have any questions, please email us at info at masterworks-studio.com or call 404-395-5247.

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Drums, Drums, and Didgeridoo?

Earlier this month we completed our Imagine That summer camp entitled “Drums, Drums, Drums” and had an absolute blast!  We learned about the djembe, the conga, steel drums, the sansa, and the shekere in our camp and enjoyed a visit with a real percussionist and her conga drum. 

When I ran across this clip on Musikandmotion’s blog , I couldn’t resist sharing it in honor of my Imagine That! students.  You will really enjoy the sounds of the didgeridoo from Australia that was also heard by our Zoo Train and Family Time families in the song “Drover’s Dream.”  Jono Callow is a-*mazing*!  Enjoy!

Thanks, Sunny!

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Demo Days are Back! *Free* Kindermusik Classes!

Imagine whirling, creating, storytelling, singing, and dancing.  Nowhere else is learning this much fun!  And no other experience offers more ways for children to grow! 

 This unique opportunity allows you and your child to experience the most respected programs in early childhood music education first-hand. Together you’ll share the wonder and magic of learning through music.

 

We will share activities from our Fall Semester programs:

Dream Pillow and Zoom Buggy for Village classes,

Milk & Cookies for Our Time ages,

and Our Kind of Day for Family Time

in our class for ages newborn to 3 years.  

 

For older children, we will also share activities from:

Hello, Weather for Imagine That! ages 3.5 to 5 years, 

as well as Young Child, Semester 1 for children ages 5 to 7.

 Come join us for 30 minutes of fun, laughter, and special bonding time created just for you and your child!  Share the magic of Kindermusik with your child and experience it for yourself.

Register Here.

Not sure where we’re located?   

All classes are held at Avondale First Baptist Church, 47 Covington Road, in Avondale Estates. 

A map and directions are available here. 

Come join us as we share some of the fun and learning you will find in our Kindermusik classroom this fall!

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2008 Georgia Sales Tax Holiday – July 31-August 3, 2008

I’ve had a number of readers contact me, asking for further updates about the Sales Tax Holiday for 2008. 

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue’s website,  Georgia House Bill 948 provides for a sales tax exemption from both state and local sales taxes for certain items purchased July 31 – August 3, 2008.

The Bill also provides an exemption for specific energy and water efficient products purchased October 2 –5, 2008, with information pertaining to that specific holiday being released at a later date.

During the sales tax holiday of July 31 through August 3, 2008, a sales tax exemption applies to purchases of tangible personal property in the following categories:

• Articles of Clothing. The exemption applies to articles of clothing and footwear with a sales price of $100 or less per item. Clothing accessories such as handbags, umbrellas, cuff links, handkerchiefs, jewelry, key cases, wallets, watches and watch bands, and ponytail holders and/or similar hair products are not exempt.  In other words, they’re taxable.  See link below of exempt items.
• Personal Computers. A single purchase of $1,500 or less of personal computers and/or related accessories is exempt. If the single purchase exceeds $1,500, the entire transaction is taxable. See link below for exempt items.
• General School Supplies. The exemption applies to the purchase of general school supplies with a sales price of $20 or less per item.  Exempt items are linked below.

All of these items are intended for personal use and are not for resale.  They do not include items purchased at theme parks, entertainment complexes, hotels, restaurants, or airports. 

For general information about the 2008 Sales Tax Holiday, please visit the Department of Revenue here.

You might also visit your child’s school website for a list of required supplies by grade-level.  Print it out and take it with you.  Many of the local office supply stores such as Office Depot, Target, or Staples also have lists there at their stores, supplied by local area schools for specific grade-levels as well as teachers.   For a printable list of tax-exempt school supplies, go here. 

For information about children’s books that are exempt, please follow this link.   After last year, when I had a question about a specific book I was trying to locate for my then 12yo daughter, and finding no one in any of the local stores who could verify that, yes or no, it was tax-exempt or not, I’m definitely printing that list out and taking it with me. 

Tax-exempt clothing and footwear may be printed out from this page.  Know before you get to the checkout lane whether or not your selections are taxable.  It can save you money. 

The single purchase of $1,500.00 or less of personal computers and personal computer related accessories for noncommercial home or personal use is exempt during the sales tax holiday. Computer related accessories include keyboards, monitors, other peripheral devices, personal digital assistant, modems for Internet and network access and non-recreational software.

Be very aware of the $1,500.00 limit on personal computers and software.  If your purchase exceeds that amount, even if only by a few cents, you’re liable for the sales taxes on the *entire* amount – not just the difference over and above the $1,500.00. 

For a printable list of exempt computers, software, and related accessories,  please check out this page.

Plan your shopping accordingly ahead of time.  Stores tend to be extremely busy during these days.  A little bit of foresight and planning can pay off not only in big savings, but also less hassle and frustrations.  

I did this last year, checking out recommendations for laptops, and plotted my shopping strategies accordingly.  By visiting major stores’ websites ahead of time and adding my email address to their email newsletters’ list, I received sales flyers *before* the sale dates and shopped at home. 

I found the laptop I wanted on sale at BestBuy.com, visited the local store’s website the night before to verify they had it listed in stock, went there first thing the next morning, and came back home in less than 90 minutes, the proud owner of a new laptop being set up and loaded by the Best Buy Geek Squad with software I had chosen.  I picked it up later that afternoon while others were still roaming around, making their choices.  This process also saved me over $98.00 in sales tax, not including the incentives that Best Buy offered in their promotional sales for laptop computers. 

For additional information and any other questions you may have, visit the Georgia Department of Revenue site.  I do not know if any of these tax-exempt lists pertain to online purchases or not.  That is a question that can be researched at the Revenue site or by contacting them at the Taxpayer Services Division at 404-417-6601 or taxpayer.services@dor.ga.gov .

Plan ahead – it’s worth your money *and* your time!

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Did you hear that *BOOM* last night?

Those strollers just keep coming!

 According to Sharon Jayson of USA Today, we are just now beginning to experience what experts are terming a “boomlet” akin to the Baby Boomers of the 50′s and 60′s of which I am one.  

A record 4,315,000 live births were recorded in 2007, a significant increase over the past few years.  It hasn’t been this high since 1957 – 51 years ago! 

The 2007 numbers are attributed to a “perfect storm” of factors: more immigrants having children, professional women who delayed childbearing until their 40s, and larger numbers of women in their 20s and 30s in the population, keeping the fertility rate high. The average number of births per woman was 2.1 in 2006, the highest since 1971.

“We have three different phenomena around birth happening at the same time,” says demographer Arthur Nelson of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Ronald Rindfuss of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, family demographer, makes an interesting point and says there is a bigger question looming than who’s having kids.

“From the perspective of schools that have to educate these children, this is a real increase in the number of births and something they’re going to have to deal with,” he says.

I know over the past 25 years that my husband has been teaching in the City Schools of Decatur, we have seen the enrollment numbers drop through the years, seen schools closed and school communities consolidated into fewer neighborhood schools, and now, over the past several years, seen the enrollments begin to climb again.

Are our schools ready for this kind of influx? 

To read this article in its entirety, please visit USA Today.

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*FREE* Kindermusik Classes – Demo Days are here!!

Ever wondered what a Kindermusik class was really like?

Did you ever want your child to experience Kindermusik, but didn’t have the funds available right then to pay for tuition?

Now’s the time to take advantage of *FREE* classes during Demo Days here at Masterworks Studio.  This week we will have free 30-minute classes on three different days for two different age-groupings: 1) ages newborn to 3.5 years,  and 2) 3.5 - 6 years.  

Choose your class below that best fits your child’s age, and click on the link to register.  If you have more than one child, choose the class that more closely overlaps the age ranges of your children.  These are absolutely free!

Newborn – 3.5 years

Tuesday, July 15th – 10AM      Thursday, July 17th – 6PM    

Saturday, July 19th – 10AM

3.5  – 6 years

Tuesday, July 15th – 11AM     Thursday, July 17th -  7 PM    

Saturday, July 19th – 11AM

Not sure where we’re located?    All classes are held at Avondale First Baptist Church, 47 Covington Road, in Avondale Estates.  A map and directions are available here. 

Come join us as we share some of the fun and learning you will find in our Kindermusik classroom this fall!

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A Taste of Fall

It’s hard to believe, but our fall semester is just around the corner!  Classes begin the last week of August, and, if you’ve been following this blog, you’ve already learned how you can spread the cost of your tuition out over five months and already made your deposit!    In case you weren’t in class the day when this information was shared, here’s a little peek into the themes of this fall’s classes.

Village (newborn to 1 ½ years)

 

Zoom Buggy! — Swoosh, vroom, and clickety-clack your way through this delightful unit. Parents and children will dance, sing, and play instruments to the theme of being on the go. Chug around the room to the song “Little Red Caboose,” hold on tightly while “Riding in the Buggy,” and dance your way to “Zoom-e-oh!” Engage in rituals and playful activities such as infant massage, lap bounces, exercise, and quiet time.   

Home Materials: Colorful board book—Zoom Buggy, Home CD of the songs heard in class, two Art Banners to mount for your child’s viewing pleasure at home, and a baby instrument for your own music-making sessions at home.

Dream Pillow —This title alone brings images of rocking, cuddling, singing, and lulling to sleep. But leading up to sleepy time are many upbeat and playful activities. You and your child will swirl to a dreamy cloud dance “Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland.” You’ll also play baby appropriate instruments to “Aiken Drum,” and “Sarasponda.” Favorite nursery rhymes like “Wee Willie Winkie,” and “Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling,” are sprinkled throughout the classes. It’s easy to weave many of the class songs and activities into your family’s daily routines.

 

 

 

Home Materials:  Board book that calms and relaxes—Dream Pillow Lullaby, Home CD of the songs heard in class, two Art Banners to transfer the learning home from class, and a baby instrument for music-making at home.

To register for Village classes, please visit our website.

 

Our Time (1 ½ years to 3.5 years)

Milk & Cookies makes everyday home activities and chores easier and more fun with music! Cook and sing to “The Muffin Man”; dust and clean to the original song “In My House”; get ready to wash clothes to the delightful poem “Washing Machine”. Baking cookies, eating cupcakes, blowing on hot cross buns, wiggling like jelly, going grocery shopping and making tea are all represented in familiar as well as new songs. Move, play, and sing together in developmentally appropriate activities created just for 1 ½ to 3-year-olds. Capture the familiar and new moments of the day and learn how music can impact your toddler.

Home Materials: Two Books—At My House and Cookies, Two Home CDs, Stir Xylophone instrument, and a Home Activity Book—all arriving in a durable lunch bag.

To register for Our Time classes, please visit our website.

 

Imagine That! (3 years to 5 years)

 

Hello Weather! Let’s Play Together! — Sunshine, rain, snow, thunderstorms, and more are in this imaginative and delightful weather-related musical adventure. Preschoolers create storm sounds with a drum to “Wild Storms,” jump in pretend puddles to “Mud Puddle Jump,” throw pretend snow-balls to “Snowballs,” and sing along to “Colors of the Rainbow.” They’ll be surrounded in a creative musical environment that integrates music, pretend play, story telling, movement, and more.

Home Materials: Two books—Michael Finnigan and Hurry Home, Little Kittens, Hello Weather Play Set, Two Home CDs, Family Activity Book, and Instruments—ankle bells and rain shaker with scraper.

To register for Imagine That classes, please visit our website.

 

Young Child (4 years to 7 years)

A pressure-free approach to learning, but concrete enough because your child is ready for the more abstract thinking processes that music requires. Play remains the primary way a young child learns, so throughout the curriculum there is a consistent effort to balance active learning with the emotional reasoning aspects of a young child’s development in mind.

Home Materials: Children’s Folder, Music At Home cards & stickers, Games Bag, Family Songbook, Home CD, and Carry Bag. Instruments can include glockenspiel w/mallets, dulcimer, and recorder.

To register for Young Child classes, please visit our website.

Family Time (Newborn through 7 years)

Our Kind of Day —Build family bonds, creativity and physical and mental development in a delightful one-room schoolhouse. Each week children will listen to instruments and to each other, learn from their peers and older children, and enjoy music and movement with hoops, scarves, and tumble-around play. Story time and family jams, puppet play and happy singing—every Family time activity encourages discovery and exploration and fosters sharing and social skills too.

Home Materials: Two Books—Bouncing on the Bed and Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, Two Home CDs, Family Guide, Domino Game, Hopper Kangaroo Hand Puppet and Bounce Joey Finger Puppet, and Two Double-Egg Shaker Instruments.

To register for Family  Time classes, please visit our website.

 

From zooming around the room to snack times to stomping in mud puddles and having just the perfect kind of day, we’ve got you covered this fall at Masterworks! 

Additional details on all curricula may be found at our website here. 

See you in August!

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How can I afford Kindermusik classes?

 

“I’d really like to enroll my child in your classes, but how can I afford it?”

“With gas prices so high, I don’t know how we’d pay for the classes!”

Sound familiar?

I know I’ve had similar thoughts in my head before when my own children were small.  I’ve even had similar thoughts recently!

As a mother of five children, I am very familiar with how tight finances can be.  Because I believe so passionately in Kindermusik and what it can provide for a child, Masterworks Studio now offers a Payment Plan for just about any budget.  Of course, full payment with enrollment is always gladly accepted! 

Masterworks Payment Plan

For our Payment Plan, the following options are available:

• Option A: $75 Deposit with Enrollment, Balance by the first class in August.
• Option B: $75 Deposit with Enrollment; Balance split into two payments: 1st payment due by the first class in August and the second payment due by 9/16/08.
• Option C: $75 Deposit with Enrollment: Balance split into three payments; 1st payment due by the first class in August; second and third payments due by 9/16/08 and 10/16/08.
• Option D: $75 Deposit with Enrollment; Balance split into four payments: 1st payment due by the first class in August, second, third, and fourth payments due by 9/16/08, 10/16/08, and 11/16/08.

Regardless of which option  you choose, an initial $75 deposit for your child’s home materials is required, and the first installment is due by the date of your child’s first class in August. 

In some instances, due to later registration, this might result in the home materials deposit and the first installment being due and payable at the same time.  The earlier your registration is received, the further you can stretch your payments – even over five months – from July to November!

Wonder how that translates to real dollars?

For a child enrolled in any Village, Our Time, Imagine That, or Family Time class, the remaining cost of tuition after the $75 deposit is $155.  Split into two payments, that’s $77.50.  For three payments, it’s $51.67.  And spread out over four installments, it’s only $38.75 each time – less than $10 a week each month!

For Young Child students, due to hour-long classes, after subtracting the deposit, the remaining balance is $195 – resulting in two payments of $97.50, three payments of $65.00, or four payments of $48.75 – which is less than $12 a week each month for an hour-long lesson!

And, as always, siblings receive a 10% tuition discount (or more for additional siblings) which results in an even lower monthly figure for their tuition!

For questions about which plan will work best for your situation, do not hesitate to contact us at info at masterworks-studio.com or call 404.395.5247.  We are always happy to work with any family to make Kindermusik possible for their child.

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Early Learning Expo at Babies "R" Us – Saturday, July 12

This Saturday from 10AM – 2PM, there will be an Early Learning Expo at all local Babies “R” Us stores nationwide.  Kindermusik educators in all 50 states will be singing, dancing, twirling, and bringing the joy of music to parents and children alike.  Come join us as we offer *free* classes at 10AM, 11:30AM, and 1PM at the Babies “R” Us store located at 8160 Mall Parkway, Lithonia, GA at Stonecrest Mall. 

Families enrolling that day in our studio classes for the Fall Semester will receive a free Kindermusik t-shirt or onesie as well as a “Best of Kindermusik, Vol. 2″ CD.  See you there!

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Make it home

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