Some FAQs
Some FAQsRegistrations will be taken on-line (PayPal/CC) as we offer classes on a first-come, first served basis. Payment is required at the time of registration.
Registration preference is given to returning families for a specified period of time at the beginning of each registration period. After that, registrations are processed on a first-come first served basis.
With on-line registration, you will only be able to register for classes with open seats. If your first choice class is filled, please give us a second choice class and let us know if you want to be on the wait list (occasionally a seat opens up in a full class) for your first choice class. Your registration will confirmed when your payment is received.
All classes are offered subject to sufficient enrollment (6-8 registered children). Under-enrolled classes may be merged with other classes (i.e. 9:15 and 10:15 merged to 9:45).
Every child attending class on a regular basis MUST be registered. If two children from two different families attend with the same grown-up, each child must be registered separately (i.e., not as siblings). We continue to welcome one-time visitors to class.
If you know in advance you will be missing class, please let us know ahead of time if you can!
You may make up two classes per session, by prior arrangement on a space available basis. (We may be unable to accommodate drop-in make-ups.)
To schedule your make-up class, please give us a week's notice and e-mail us with your choice of date/time and your name/child's name. We will call you ONLY if there is NO space in your chosen make-up class so you can choose another make-up class.
Missed make-up classes are not able to be rescheduled (we
may have turned down someone else for that slot!)
Please DO NOT bring snacks into class. This policy is enforced for allergy reasons. Nursing, bottles and spill-proof sippy cups are fine. If your child needs a snack, please feed them OUTSIDE our classroom. Even better, have snack time at home before you leave for class, or on the way to class! Many children have severe allergic reactions to the smallest crumbs or spills!
Please leave toys at home. Transition objects are okay, but you may want to let your child know that other children will want to play with their bear too.
Music Together® class is not a performance or a playgroup, and your enthusiastic participation is key to your child's (and others') enjoyment of the class. Once class begins, please, try to use your singing voice only!
If your child has had any of the following within the 24 hours prior to class, PLEASE STAY HOME: fever, runny nose or eyes or sores, contagious or unexplained rash, vomiting or diarrhea, etc. A good rule of thumb is that if your child has symptoms that, if you saw them in someone else's child would cause you to think they should be kept home, then you'd best stay home too.
To the best of our ability, we provide a child-appropriate environment to have fun making music together. That being said, you are ultimately responsible for your child's safety and discipline. If your child is behaving in a disruptive manner, please feel free to take your child out of the classroom until you can return and both have fun.
In class we hop, skip, dance, wiggle, crawl, jump, slither, walk and move in many other silly ways, but please, no running or climbing! We ask that parents be the primary enforcers of this important safety rule.
Young children will often explore the instruments with their mouth: this is developmentally appropriate! Wipes doused with rubbing alcohol are provided for you to clean up the instrument before returning it at the end of the song, and you are certainly welcome to wipe it off beforehand too! Alternatively, you are welcome to purchase and bring your own instruments (many are available on line at www.musictogether.com).
You are encouraged to wash your hands as
well as your child's
after class. Restroom facilities are available at each location.
If public school in the town where your class is held is canceled or delayed due to snow or other severe weather, then our classes (morning AND afternoon) are also canceled and another class will be added onto the end of the session to make it up. There are several radio stations and web sites that list school closures as early as 7am: WBUR and WBZ.
In the case of severe weather on Saturdays, your teacher will call you if the class is cancelled.
Older non-registered siblings are welcome to attend (and participate in) class if there is a school half-day or teacher workday (please do let us know ahead of time).
Visiting grandparents, aunts/uncles, or other adult family
members and other adult visitors are welcome to
attend class (again, please let us know ahead of time if
possible). Please
tell them how much fun they'll have singing & dancing with you!
Mixed-age groupings are favored by today's leading child development researchers because they foster a more natural learning setting in which the parent/caregiver plays an important role - their musical role-model.
Mixed-age classes work because music is such a multi-faceted skill. Our classroom environment provides children the opportunity to learn at their pace and in their own area of interest. Each week we provide a wide variety of musical experiences, and children take from it what they are ready to learn and assimilate.
Children learn best in an informal, family-like environment, and their caregivers are their most important role model!
Children under the age of five learn from watching and copying or imitating their primary caregivers -- that's you! -- and through repeated exposure and experimentation with a particular activity. For this reason, there is no need to separate ages!
Mixed-age classes work because the whole family (infants thru pre-schoolers plus grown-ups!) can come to the same class, and no one has to stay at home with a babysitter!
Regardless of how you feel about your musical ability, your child thinks your voice is the most wonderful sound in the world (until they begin to sing independently, that is, and then they'll tell you to stop singing!☺).
Children will learn pitch and rhythm from the activities in the class; they will learn their attitude or disposition (to enjoy or not to enjoy) towards music from you! (Think of how children of parents whose first language is not English learn to speak without an accent!)
Music Together classes provide a friendly, informal and supportive environment for everyone (adults as well as children) to "find" their singing voices (or re-discover them!).
Our emphasis is on participation and enjoyment, not performance. Your child will sense and be concerned about any discomfort you may be feeling, so relax and have fun!
© 2007-8 Alexandra Andrews, Director. Apple Country Music Together All rights reserved.