Frequently Asked Questions

For answers to your registration questions,

What should I expect to do in class?

PLAY® music classes include songs, chants, and musical stories, use a variety of musical instruments and props, and encourage free exploration.

No musical skills are necessary—but if you’re a grown-up, expect to sing, move, dance, and play along. Your children will participate at their own levels and in their own styles, but your engagement in class is vital to their experience.

How long are the classes?

PLAY music classes are 45 minutes long.

What’s the age range for PLAY music?

PLAY music is a mixed-age music and movement program for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

While we don’t have a lower age limit for enrollment, the youngest babies in our mixed-age activities at Play tend to be 6 or 7 months old. Some families enjoy mixed-age music at this age, and some prefer to wait a bit longer. At what age to begin is an individual decision, and we encourage parents to attend a demo if they are unsure.

Our upper age recommendation is four years. Our curriculum allows for preschoolers to be challenged and to participate in different ways alongside their younger classmates. Older kids have the opportunity to experience being leaders in class, and, often, to bond with younger siblings they attend with.

What comes with my tuition?

Your tuition includes your 10 weekly classes, a professionally produced, 14-song CD, and family materials on a password-protected website. Web-based materials include sheet music and lyrics, additional tracks for on-line listening, and musical activities to do at home.

Also included is your membership at Play from the start date to the end date of the class. As a member, your enrolled child will have free access to our community area anytime we’re open for the term of the class. (Fees for Messy Art are additional.) Non-enrolled siblings may be added to your community area membership at $20 a month. Click here for additional membership benefits.

Can I try a class before signing up?

Yes. We offer demo events in advance of each session for families interested in signing up.

What if my child is ill?

We ask that families not attend class when their children are ill or showing signs of an oncoming or a lingering illness. One of our main goals is for Play to be a safe, clean, and healthy environment for children, and we can only achieve this with the help of all of our families. If a child has chronic allergies or symptoms that have lingered far beyond an illness, and he or she has been cleared by a doctor to be around other children, we ask the parent to please make the other adults in class aware of that.

What’s your make-up policy?

We ask that all make-up classes be scheduled with us so we can avoid overcrowding. If you miss a class (or you know in advance that you'll be missing one), you can make it up at any time within the current session. All we ask is that you either e-mail or call us by the day before your planned make-up—or sooner—to let us know when to expect you. We will call or e-mail back to confirm your make-up or to suggest another time.

Make-ups are not guaranteed, but the best way to insure that you get all your classes is to schedule your make-ups early in the session. We ask families to try to limit make-ups to two per session.