1. PLEASE BE PROMPT.

It is important that the children are present for the "Hello Song" in order to feel included in the class. Families who arrive late to class draw attention away from the circle and make it difficult for the teacher to regain focus. Keep in mind that parking in the village can be challenging - do your best to allow yourself extra time so you can arrive before class begins.

Our entrance (side door) opens about 15 minutes before your scheduled class time, and studio doors open approximately 7 minutes before class begins. We lock our side door approximately 15 minutes into class for safety and to decrease interruption. Once class begins, do your best to remain in the classroom for the entire class (this of course does not include a necessary bathroom break or an upset child that needs time away from the family circle).

If you are running very late and arrive after 15 minutes into class, your teacher will be in the middle of teaching and will not be able to let you in. Please, do not knock on our door or windows. We have a very generous make-up policy for this very reason. Families who fail to follow this policy are subject to receive a refund for any remaining classes, and will not be invited to complete the semester with us.
 

2.  Please note that only the registered familys' own children are allowed in the class. Bringing children who are not your own is not permitted. If a grandparent or caregiver is bringing your child to class instead of you, they are allowed to bring only your registered children.
 

3. Cell phone use is not allowed during class.

If you must accept a phone call or text during class, please carry your conversation outside the studio.

If there are extenuating circumstances (on call, awaiting an important phone call), please let your teacher know, put your phone on vibrate, and tuck it away during our 45 minute class.

4. No photographs.

If a person is taking pictures, he or she is not actively participating. Sometimes prior arrangements have been made for certain classes during the semester, and those families involved are notified. Otherwise, families are invited to take pictures before and after class. Families ARE allowed to take pictures during our last class of the semester.

5. No one (grandparents, guests and ESPECIALLY unregistered, unsupervised children) is allowed to wait in our coatroom while class is in session unless they are tending to a child that needs assistance or taking a break from class with an upset child.

6. No running in our studio.

This policy is in place for our older children in class, who are able to follow the policy, not for a toddler who just learned how to walk. All of our classes are mixed ages, and it is very important for all families to feel comfortable enough to allow their children to roam freely but safely throughout the classroom. It is suggested that if your child likes to run, please be sure to repeat this policy to your child before entering the classroom, and consider waiting until right before class is about to begin before joining the family circle. Allow your child roaming freedom, but always BE ALERT. No space is completely child-proof.

7. Food, drinks and gum are not allowed in our studio.

Nursing and a bottle for your baby is always welcome in our studio and during class, but if possible, please try to take care of these activities before or after class.

8. Stuffed animals, toys, etc., are not allowed in our studio.

Please leave those items in our waiting area or in your car. If there is an extenuating circumstance regarding an item you'd like to bring into our studio for your child during class, please speak with your teacher or contact our office beforehand to avoid upsetting your child or putting anyone in an awkward situation. If you enter the studio with an item that could be distracting without clearing it with us, your teacher has the right to ask you to figure out an alternate plan in our waiting room.
 

9. Once class begins, focus on singing, not chatting.

We do our best to create a musical 45 minute experience for everyone in the studio. Children tend to vocalize IN BETWEEN the songs. If you're socializing, you may miss important developmental achievements your child is expressing (which is what our program is all about!). Chatting throughout class also diminishes the program experience for everyone in the room. You are more than welcome to catch up with your friends/family ahead of time across the street at Starbucks or the library, arrive as early as 15 minutes to chat in our waiting area, or after class ends.

10. Dirty diapers can be disposed of in the special canister located in the bathroom.

11. Guest Policy: Families are asked to limit the number of adults per family unit to one at the start of the semester. Additional adults are welcome to join us intermittantly throughout the semester, provided there is space to do so. Adult guests are free of charge. Our $10 guest fee applies to unregistered siblings ages 8 mos to 6yrs. Guest fee can be paid by cash (exact change, please), or via Venmo (@Canalside_MT). 

12. Sickness

- Please do not bring a sick child to class. If a child is visibly ill, your teacher has the right to ask you to schedule a make-up instead.

- Keep in mind the following points suggested by pediatrician and Music Together® dad Ben Kruskal MD of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, based on the medical literature:

• Runny noses: It is not correct to assume a clear runny nose is OK and green is not. The color of the runny nose does not help to determine how contagious a child is. It is more reliable to make a judgment call by the way the child is acting. If your child has slept poorly and is acting tired and grouchy along with the runny nose, assume he is sick enough to stay home. If the runny nose is a week old and your child is acting playful and active, she is likely healthy enough to attend. If your child’s nose is runny enough that the mucus is being wiped on sleeves and/or classroom equipment it is best to keep him at home! Some children can have persistent runny noses of any color for weeks or months, which is often caused by allergies, and should not be contagious. Please check with the child’s mother or your teacher if you are concerned about a child with a consistently runny nose in your class.
   
• Coughs: A child with a frequent deep moist cough of less than 3 weeks’ duration should stay home, especially if he is too young to cover his own mouth when he coughs. An occasional cough in an otherwise healthy-appearing energetic child is of no more concern than the cold that causes it. A persistent cough for more than 3 weeks in the absence of other symptoms is unlikely to be due to a contagious infection.
   
• Antibiotics: While ear infections are not contagious, the colds that often lead to them are. Even if your child has been put on antibiotics for some other infection occurring together with a cold, this does not make the cold any less contagious. Please use the same criteria listed here based on your child’s symptoms if your child has a cold and is on antibiotics. If your child has been put on antibiotics for a strep throat, she may return to class after taking antibiotics for 24 hours.
   
• Diarrhea or vomiting: While these symptoms are most commonly caused by viruses rather than bacteria, they can have serious consequences, especially for infants and toddlers. Your child should not return to class until he has been free of both diarrhea and vomiting for at least 24 hours. If your child has a more significant infection such as chickenpox, measles, German measles (rubella) or whooping cough (pertussis), please check with your pediatrician about when she will no longer be contagious. The germs which cause most common infections can be transmitted by close airborne contact (face to face within roughly 3 feet) OR passed through hand to hand contact, as well as carried on clothes, toys, etc. Please wash your hands and those of your child before and after class or avail yourself of a waterless hand disinfectant such as Purell. If you are not sure if your child is contagious or not, please err on the side of caution and stay at home. People are often contagious for 24-48 hours before showing any symptoms. Therefore a child who appeared perfectly healthy in class could come down with a fever two hours later and may have unwittingly exposed the class. Obviously, this is unavoidable.
   
• Fevers: Please keep your child at home until it has been at least 24 hours since her last fever without the assistance of fever reducer medicines. Your child is the most contagious during the time she is feverish.
   
• Eyes: Pinkness, redness, or bloodshot, appearance is usually due to conjunctivitis, which may be infectious or allergic. Please keep these cases home until your doctor determines that they are not contagious. Gooey yellow-green goop on lashes without redness is not a reason to exclude children from class.
   
• Rashes: The majority of rash illnesses in children of this age range are not contagious; the majority of contagious rashes are preceded or accompanied by fever. If your child has a rash WITHOUT prior or co-existing fever or other symptoms, the rash is unlikely to be transmissible, so it is fine to come to class.

In summary: there is going to be exposure to germs no matter how careful anyone is or what the policies are. Any communal activity (for example: story time at the library, playgroup, new moms’ group, church, going to the market, etc.) lays us open to catching germs, which is not always bad. There is reasonable evidence suggesting that humans need to be exposed to germs at an early age to develop their immune systems. By following these guidelines, you can minimize the risk of infection being transmitted at our classes while also minimizing the need for unnecessary absences.