Miss Liesbeth Takes Ownership of Athens Mini Maestros Music Studio

Liesbeth Korink Beasley first got involved with teaching music through the Athens Kindermusik program in 2010 when Miss Christa announced that she needed an additional music teacher. Liesbeth had gained an understanding and appreciation for the Kindermusik curriculum while taking music classes with her two young children at Miss Christa's studio. 

Initially the studio and instructors were licensed by the Kindermusik program which provides lesson plans, trainings, and assistance with marketing. Liesbeth and Christa decided to break away from the North Carolina based Kindermusik licensing in order to have local control of the curriculum and create their own educational program geared specifically to each developmental age grouping.  This spurred the birth of the Athens Mini Maestros program utilizing the new curriculum plans. Recently however, another shift has taken place, Miss Christa is moving to New York leaving the business in the musical hands of Liesbeth. December 1st Liesbeth became the official new business owner of the Athens Mini Maestros Studio.

The Athens Mini Maestros program offers Music and Movement classes for age groupings of infants (ages 0-2) toddlers (ages 2-4) and preschool (ages 4-6). Each age grouping has specific curricula targeting the developmental phases of the children. The infant category focuses on baby massage, language development, vestibular system, parental support, and emotional and social development. The toddler grouping places emphasis on learning fine motor skills, listening activities, singing, social interaction and pre-math. The final grouping advances to focus on school readiness, pre-piano, singing, ensemble music, language and math. The Athens Mini Maestros also offers piano lessons following the Simply Music Piano curriculum. The Simply Music Piano program starts students out immersed in learning by ear rather than focusing initially on note reading. Students learn to play songs from a range of styles including blues, contemporary, and classical. This method of learning mimics the way language and speech is mastered naturally through experience of hearing language and speaking rather than through reading. Students are introduced to note reading after the first year of the program having already mastered a base of 35-50 pieces.

For Liesbeth, music has been a life-long journey. Prior to meeting her husband and moving to the U.S, Liesbeth was born and raised in the Netherlands. Her father performed in a successful jazz quartet and Liesbeth started playing piano at the age of 8. Though she considered entering a music conservatory and making a career of music, she decided instead to pursue a degree in Educational Sciences. Liesbeth's enthusiasm for teaching shines through when she talks about her work. Teaching combines her passions including children, music, and education.

There is room available for more students so visit the  Athens Mini Maestros web page to learn more! 

What were your New Year's Resolutions? 

If your New Year's resolution list is full of determination to improve your health, here are some resources in the community that you should know about. ACEnet's building "A" houses several wellness practitioners who may be able to help you meet your goals for 2015. 

Holistic Fitness-  Wholistic fitness with Opa Hamilton integrates building strength, flexibility, and stamina with nutritional choices and emotional balance. Opa develops individualized fitness plans based on each client's abilities and wellness goals.  

Michael Loukas- is a certified Rolf Movement Practitioner, Registered Craniosacral Therapist™, and Polarity Practitioner. Michael focuses on structural integration movement therapies and the body's balance as a whole.  Michael visits Athens one weekend a month and his sessions fill up quickly! 

 Athens Ki-Aikido- Athens Ki-Aikido is the only Ki Society International affiliated dojo in Ohio or the immediate multi-state region. Ki-Akido is a specific style or school of the Japanese Martial Art system of Aikido. Aikido is a modern martial art system with traditional roots, practiced for awareness, health/fitness/wellness, and spiritual/personal exploration, as well as self-defense. Classes are offered for both youth, and adults. 

The Appalachian Ohio Herb Clinic- is an herbal health care practice located in and serving southeast Ohio, run by Caty Crabb. This practice is based in a holistic understanding of physiology, emotional well-being, lifestyle and nutrition; taking into account the whole person, not simply looking at the illness or ailment a person has. To assure strength, quality, and sustainability, Caty makes all of her own medicines from plants ethically harvest in wild areas, grown on her own farm in Rutland, or high-quality, organically grown herbs.

Herbal Sage Tea- interested in healthy and medicinal tea? Herbal Sage offers a variety of medicinal herbal teas , tinctures, and tea accessories. Many blends are created to promote health. 'Calm Your Cough' and 'Tealady's Cold Care' teas help ease away colds and coughs, while the 'Happy Belly' tea soothes the stomach. Other blends also offer distinct benefits to give your body and mind balance. If you don't find a tea that fits your purpose, Maureen Burns offers custom tea blends to create a tea to serve your individual needs.