A dynamic teacher and a unique program come to the neighborhood

The Biscayne Corridor has a great new treasure of a neighbor. For anyone in the Corridor who has devotedly schlepped to Watson Island or Coral Gables to participate in the awesome Music Together classes of Ashlee Cramer, you now only have to go as far as Midtown Miami to get some of Ashlee’s incredible energy and spirit.

As an alum of Ashlee’s classes and a diehard fan, I highly recommend you get to her studio as soon as possible if you’re not already familiar with her particular take on the Music Together program. A national organization with franchises all around the country, including several in our area, Music Together offers research-based music education for the early-childhood set. The program is built on a parent-and-me model, engaging small kids and their grown-ups (parents, grandparents, childcare providers) in rhythmic, tonal, and melodic exercises through folkloric music from around the globe. As taught by Ashlee, Music Together is intoxicating for all involved.

If you are a regular reader of this column, you will not be surprised to hear that, for this writer, on some level the program’s music selections are a bit too sing-songy. I worried early on that the song choices were a bit patronizing and dumbed down for my kids, who I aim to expose to the arts relatively uncensored, presenting the same textured and layered things I enjoy while encouraging them to get what they will out of it. This, I believe, promotes creativity and comprehension skills, and builds their confidence as critical thinkers.

So when I embarked on Ashlee’s class with Izzi, I was blown away by the classes, which felt not terribly unlike an aerobics class. Izzi was completely engaged the entire time, and the previously sing-songy music came off instead as bold and bright in a way that didn’t make me gag. Ashlee, who flies around the space like a Super Ball, ricocheting from wall to wall, gets participants clapping, snapping, and tapping seamlessly, without a beat within which to get distracted.

With her background as a performer and credits singing and dancing on and off Broadway and on TV, Ashlee brings a very strong stage presence to her work. She also brings the instincts she relies on as busy mom of three kids, coddling and nurturing her students and fostering confidence in every parent through a sense of camaraderie that is also inherent in the participatory structure of Music Together. The program relies on the grownups modeling the musical and movement exercises for their kids through full participation.

Our booming family population along the Biscayne Corridor will certainly benefit from Ashlee bringing her work right into our neighborhood. Beginning this month, there will be something happening in the studio space every day, between her classes and one morning a week when there will be a mommy-and-me yoga class. Ashlee says that as she settles into the studio and the area, the space usage will expand to other kinds of mommy-and-me programs and also afternoon sessions. In the meantime, Music Together classes kick off in the new space with sessions beginning January 5.

Here are schedules for the ten-week sessions: Mondays 10:00 or 11:00 a.m.: Mixed ages. Mondays 12:15 p.m.: Babies under 12 months. Tuesdays 9:30, 10:30, 11:30 a.m.: Mixed ages. (Wednesdays Ashlee is in Coral Gables.) Thursdays 10:00 a.m.: Mixed ages. Thursdays 11:15 a.m.: Babies under 12 months. Fridays 9:30, 10:30, 11:30 a.m.: Mixed ages. Saturdays 9:00 or 10:00 a.m.: Mixed ages. The fee for the ten-week session is $150 plus $38 for CDs and songbook.

Miami Children’s Music, Inc.

3252 NE 1st Ave. Suite 112

Miami, FL 33127

305-519-0362

www.miamichildrensmusictogether.com

Stanley G. Tate Florida Prepaid College Plan
Miami is lucky to have among its residents Stanley G. Tate, a visionary who truly values education and the broadest possible access to it. Tate, a prominent developer, was the driving force in creating Florida’s prepaid college tuition program, which now bears his name. If you don’t already know about this college savings program, get yourself immediately to www.myfloridaprepaid.com to learn more. Or call 1-800-552-GRAD (4723) to order an enrollment kit in English or Spanish.

The plan locks in college tuition at any of Florida’s public universities, colleges, or community colleges at today’s rates. If your child ends up going elsewhere for school, the plan essentially works as a standard IRS Section 529 college-savings account. You still get your investment and its earnings to put toward the expenses of most accredited private colleges and universities.

Purchasing a four-year university-tuition prepaid plan for a newborn who would enroll in college in 2027 can save a family up to $25,000. Florida Prepaid College Plan prices are affordable. For a newborn, they start at a little over three-dollars per day for the four-year university-tuition option. But purchasing a plan for a child of any age is still worthwhile and can be calculated on the plan’s site. The “Budget for College” section (click the “Affordability” tab on the home page) helps families figure out where there may be room in their budgets for college savings.

But act now. The deadline to receive current Florida Prepaid College Plan prices is January 31, 2009. Parents or grandparents or benefactors only need to apply by then and pay the application fee. You then have until April to pay in one lump sum or begin payments. After January 31, fees will increase.

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