Kindermusik with Tabby

This information is directly from the Friendswood Music & More website.  Please check there for updated information and detailed policies.

Click here to register!

By clicking the above link to enroll in classes, you are agreeing to the studio’s policies, so make sure you’ve read them and know what they are.

Kindermusik & art classes begin August 23rd. Each semester is 15 classes, meeting once weekly for 45 minutes.   The fall semester will run from  August 23rd through December 10th.   The Spring semester is January 17th through May 6th.

Tuition for each semester of Kindermusik is $150, with a $65 materials fee, for a total of $215 per semester.   You will receive a set of home materials at the beginning of each semester.  There is also a $15 registration fee per family.   There is a 10% tuition discount for siblings enrolled, and they will also receive a discount on materials.

You may attend a free demo class with no obligation, but we cannot reserve a spot for you without payment.

Please be sure to download our complete studio policies, as payments made are non-refundable.

Last year, I created my KMtabby website, and I love it!  But not too long after I set it up, I realized that I prefer WordPress as a content management tool over Blogger, but I couldn’t make my archaic knowledge of web design work to translate my site “look” over to WP.

Lucky for me, I found a local website designer who not only was able to do it for me for a very reasonable fee, he had it turned around in less than 48 hours!  So I owe a big thank you to Chris Olbekson from c3mdigital.com.

Do you need your Kindermusik website or blog updated?  Chris has offered a special promotion to other Kindermusik teachers who would like to use this WordPress template for their websites:  For $50, he’ll set up, install, and customize this Kindermusik template for you.    The photos of the kids in the sidebar are my students, so it would make sense to update them to photos of your own kids, but you could use KI’s stock photos, if you don’t have any.

This great offer includes all the work to set up the wordpress site for you on your domain or website host, plus he will customize the images in the sidebar. WordPress is a SUPER easy to use website content management system, and it can be hosted at wordpress.org, which is a free hosting site for people who don’t want to buy  a domain, or he can install it on your existing host.

If you’d like to take advantage of this great offer, please contact Chris at c3mdigital.com with details.

Click on the image to view a graphical representation of the fall schedule.  Classes are enrolling already, but enrollment is not available online yet.  Check back soon for online enrollment.  If you know what you want to sign up for, you can call the location of your class to enroll:

Friendswood Music & More – 281-992-4242

Acrosports Kids Center – 281-332-4496

If you know the specific class you want, here is the list by curriculum.  Evening classes are in BLUE.

Babies 0-18 mo. – Village
Monday 9:00 am – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More
Tuesday 1:20 pm – Ms. Tabby @ Acrosports Kids Center
Wednesday 11:30 am – Ms. Tabby @ Acrosports Kids Center
Thursday 10:00 am – Ms Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More

Toddlers 1.5-3 yr. – Our Time
Monday 10:00 am – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More
Tuesday 9:00 am – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More
Tuesday 11:30 am – Ms. Tabby @ Acrosports Kids Center
Wednesday 10:00 am – Ms. Sarah @ Friendswood Music & More
Wednesday 2:15 pm – Ms. Tabby @ Acrosports Kids Center
Thursday 11:00 am – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More

Preschoolers 3-5 yr. – Imagine That!
Monday 11:00 am – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More
Wednesday 12:30 – Ms. Sarah @ Friendswood Music & More
Thursday 1:15 pm – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More

Young Child First Year- Kindergarten-2nd grade
Tuesday 4:30 pm – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More

Young Child Second Year- Kindergarten-2nd grade
Tuesday 5:30 pm – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More
Thursday 12:30 pm – Ms. Sarah @ Friendswood Music & More

Family Time – Infants to 7 years
Monday 2:00 pm – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More
Tuesday 2:15 pm – Ms. Tabby @ Acrosports Kids Center
Tuesday 6:30 pm – Ms. Tabby @ Friendswood Music & More
Wednesday 11:00 am – Ms. Sarah @ Friendswood Music & More
Wednesday 1:20 pm – Ms. Tabby @ Acrosports Kids Center

July 31, 2010

Dear Students,

I am very sad to tell you that I have resigned from teaching private lessons.  You will have a new instructor at your regularly scheduled lesson after August 18th.  I know that all of the instructors here at Harmony are very well qualified, and that the new teacher that Ms. Margo has chosen for you is very excited to get to know you and help you learn more about music.

I am taking a break from teaching private lessons for a while.  My kids are both in Elementary School now, and I need to be at home for them during the after-school hours to help with homework and other important family activities.  I have enjoyed teaching private music lessons for so many years, and you will probably still see me at festivals and performances, as my kids will continue to study as well.

I would have liked to say goodbye in person, but Ms. Margo insisted that I keep my news to myself.  She is concerned that it might confuse everyone and cause families to think that my resignation ended their contract with Harmony.  You will have your regular scheduled lesson each week, but you will be assigned a new instructor.  If you have any questions, you can call the studio at 281-992-9800.

I will miss you very much, and I wish you the best of luck on your continued studies.

Sincerely,

Ms. Tabby Worthington

As part of Kindermusik’s commitment to quality, our parent company, Kindermusik International has created 5 polls about the Adventures curriculum “Zoo Train” – Each survey should take less than 2 minutes to complete.

Zoo Train Survey 1 http://tinyurl.com/2u5xtfh
Zoo Train Survey 2 http://tinyurl.com/39bmrqw
Zoo Train Survey 3 http://tinyurl.com/35rec5w
Zoo Train Survey 4 http://tinyurl.com/2eaf889
Zoo Train Survey 5 http://tinyurl.com/28abw2y 

We are deep in the throes of summer vacation around here, and with the onset of these “lazy days” most parents find their children behaving badly in one way or another.  Sometimes, it’s simple boredom that turns your normally sweet girl into a whiny mess.  Others, it’s sibling bickering that has you tearing at your hair, or maybe even being asked for the 20th time in 10 minutes if we can go to so-and-so’s house to play.  In any case, we all need new strategies for dealing with these behavioral back-hands.

As a mom, I’ve read a lot of books and articles about parenting techniques and disciplinary strategies.  Some have worked for us, and some have not.  As an early childhood educator, I have read even more books and articles about child development, classroom management, and disciplinary strategies, and some have worked for me, and some haven’t.  But about a month ago, I stumbled upon an idea for a jar, sort of like a “swear jar” only instead of putting money in it for swearing, we would take a job out of it every time someone said “I’m bored” during the summer vacation.

I was doing the dishes and found a spaghetti sauce jar (we buy the one that comes in mason jars) and cleaned it out.  I scrubbed the label off, and put a home-made label on, and filled it with simple chores that everyone in the house could do.  I threw in a couple of fun things just to keep things interesting.  I had heard of another mom using the word “party” to describe chores – laundry party, garbage party, etc.  So I put some of that in the list.  I added “Hug Party – hug everyone in the house at this moment” and a few others like it.  I also added about a dozen each of “pick up 10 pieces of trash and throw them away,” “clean the garage for 5 minutes,” and even a couple of “sit in time out in the front hall for 10 minutes” among the other simple chores like wiping the bathroom counter, putting away 1 basket of folded laundry, gathering toys from shared areas of the house and putting them away.

I posted a photo of the jar on Facebook today and got a lot of responses, so I thought I would describe it more in-depth here.  The bowl next to the jar holds the completed jobs.  The purpose of the jar has also evolved since the kids returned from their trip to Grandma’s house and Disneyland for two weeks – now it’s not just “I’m BORED” that gets you a job – it’s whining, or asking for something repeatedly after being told NO (aka badgering), or arguing with your brother, or making annoying sounds after being asked to stop.

We’ve been using it this way for three days now, and I can tell you – the amount of yelling I’ve been doing has decreased considerably, and the general attitude has gotten much better.  The kids are told to get a job when they act up.  If they complain about getting a job, they get a second job.  Sophie got up to 6 jobs yesterday in one tantrum before she caught on.  Luckily, she drew the “Hug Party” tag and it made her laugh and snap out of it, or we might have emptied the whole jar   Today, she got up to 3 because she lied about something twice in a row, but she was able to stop a tantrum mid-wail in the car in order to avoid more jobs.

So to all you flustered moms out there, I say that it’s time to put those kids to work!  Tell them to GET A JOB!

Here are some sample jobs.  I printed them on one sheet of paper in a 3-column document in word. I broke them into small chunks that take less than 5 minutes for most of them.

Clean up the garage for 5 minutes
Pick up 10 pieces of trash
Empty the *ROOM NAME* trash
Clean the Kitchen table and wash it
Clean the coffee table and wash it
Straighten the kids’ bookshelf
Hanger Party: *CLOSET NAME*
(hanger party means gather all empty hangers)
Laundry Party: gather dirty clothes and put in your hamper
Clean the kids’ toilet
Clean the kids’ bathtub
Clean the kids counter and sink
Dust for 5 minutes