As a caregiver, what is my role in class?

Sing, dance, and have fun! You might be surprised to hear that you are your child's most important music teacher right now—and it doesn't matter whether you think of yourself as a great singer or dancer. Young children develop dispositions for certain behaviors, including learning to love music, by observing and imitating their loved ones. Simply by participating enthusiastically during class and playing with the ideas at home, you'll give your children the modeling they need to learn to love to make music. Please wait to socialize or use your cell phone until after class and instead help us create a music-only environment.

What's expected of my child in class?

At Music Together^®, children are never required to sit in the circle or expected to conform to an adult's idea of participation. We know that children learn differently from adults. They learn instinctively and constantly, through observation, interactions with adults and older children, and through imitation, play, and, especially, movement. One hallmark of Music Together is the insight that children will naturally develop music ability simply when they are immersed in a community of families all making music.

Children's responses depend on their most dominant learning style and temperament as well as their age and developmental level. Some might follow the teacher right away. Many will simply want to watch and absorb, particularly in the first few weeks of class. Some might crawl or toddle around; others are stimulated by the music and respond more actively, running, jumping, or dancing. All are perfectly natural responses to the new, musically rich environment. Throughout the semester, your teacher will help you tune in to how your child learns best so you can support their music development in class and at home. Feel free to ask if you have questions!

How should we use the Music Together^® materials?

Play your songs frequently, especially during the first few weeks of class. Make the music available for your child to listen to while she is playing or before nap or bedtime. Create your Music Together account and download the Music Together® app (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store) for digital versions of the songs and more activity ideas to try! 

Use the songbook to help you learn the songs and get new musical activities to use at home. If you play an instrument and want to play along, the music notation is available in the Family Music Zone^®®   Try using the songbook at storytime!

What is the class size?

Each class has between 6 and 12 registered children, plus their caregiver(s). At times, classes may have as many as 14 children if make-ups, drop-ins, or demos are scheduled.

What if I miss a class during the semester?

We offer unlimited makeup classes during each semester. Please visit our Make Up Classes page to learn more. 

Can I make up a class from a previous session in the current session?

Makeups can roll over to subsequent sessions, but only if you’re fully enrolled in both sessions, and thus have access to the makeup scheduler to do it yourself. The system only allows actively enrolled students to schedule makeups so if you’re not enrolled in the active session it won’t let you schedule makeups from the previous one. Unfortunately it’s simply too complicated for me to try and manually enroll makeups from previous sessions — this is why I make such a big deal almost every week of reminding folks to schedule their makeups! If you enroll in the current session you should be able to schedule make-ups for the classes you missed over the previous one. Otherwise, if you’re not interested in fully enrolling, you can schedule paid drop-ins and come when it works for you! 

Can I switch to a different class?

Requests for class changes are made at the discretion of the center director and teachers involved, and dependent on availability. Please make your request as soon as possible if you need to switch.

What if I start classes after the semester begins?

City Sing And Play welcomes families at any point during the semester! However, we generally do not prorate for classes missed due to late registration. Instead, families may makeup class(es) during the semester.

Can we eat in class?

Please feel comfortable to nurse or bottle-feed your child in class, but we ask that you not bring food or drink into classrooms. 

Will classes be cancelled in inclement weather?

Please check your email, or our Facebook and Instagram pages for announcements regarding weather cancellations.

Is it ok for more than one adult to come to class?

Yes! Parents, grandparents, or caregivers are welcome to attend class at any time—no need to ask!

Can I bring an adult and/or child guest to class? Can I bring a pet to class?

It's natural to want to share the joy of Music Together with your friends and family! Guests, such as visiting friends and/or family members, are always welcome to join! All children (ages 5 and under) must be registered, however, to keep class sizes manageable. Guest children must be registered as Drop-In guests. Adult guests are always free and need not be registered! As for pets, no animals are allowed inside the buildings where classes are held. Please do not bring any animals!

Why aren't there classes for specific age groups?

Classes with children of different ages have intellectual and social benefits for both younger and older children. In fact, it's the learning environment recommended by many early childhood researchers. Older children learn empathy and awareness of others, while developing leadership qualities and gaining self-confidence. Younger children learn by imitating the older ones and often show more complex behaviors earlier than usual. Even babies benefit by being in an environment that gives them lots of opportunities to observe the behavior of children of varying ages. Plus, it allows everyone—siblings, parents, grandparents, caregivers—to share in the musical experience together!

What if I can’t get my child to stay in our designated area?

One of the main tenets of Music Together is that children learn by doing and should be free to explore their surroundings and experience music in any way that feels right for them, which sometimes means walking or running around. With everyone’s health and safety in mind, I will ask that the parents and caregivers resist the urge to keep the children seated or forced to stay still, but at the same time monitor them and their engagement with others. If kids want to jump, great! Want to run around? Sure! It will be the responsibility of the adult to monitor each child and decide what is a reasonable distance to maintain from others. 

How do I get there?

Our classes are in the heart of Southwest DC at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church at 222 M St, SW and and Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater at 1101 6th St SW. We encourage our SAPling families to avoid driving as there is limited street parking available (and it's better for the environment!) but there is some free, 2-hour parking and Zone 6 parking around the neighborhood, as well as metered parking (though free on Sundays) near Arena Stage. The parking garage at Arena Stage is also open to the public, but is not included in the cost of the class.

The church is conveniently located just 2 blocks east of the Waterfront metro stop and 4 blocks west of the Navy Yard--Ballpark metro stop, both on the Green Line, as well as a little under a mile south of the Federal Center SW metro stop on the Blue/Orange/Silver lines. There are also multiple bus routes that run along M Street SW and bike racks outside the buildings. 

Arena Stage is conveniently located 1 block west of the Waterfront metro on the Green line and about a 15 minute walk from L'Enfant Plaza metro station which serves the Blue/Orange/Silver/Green/Yellow lines. There is also a free SW neighborhood shuttle that will take you from L'Enfant Plaza to the SW Duck Pond, a block away. Additionally, there are ample bike-share options and bike parking available.

Will we get take-home materials?

If you are registered for a full session, YES, you will absolutely get your songbook with digital access, optional CD, optional sheet music, parent resources, and growth chart! If you are registered for drop-in or demo classes, no, you will NOT receive any take-home materials besides the App postcard.

Do you offer gift certificates?

YES! City Sing And Play now offers gift certificates in any amount! Click here to learn more!