It's Not Too Late To Start Music Class

Once a session is a few weeks in, we see the same thing at the door almost every class. A grown-up comes in with a toddler on their hip and starts apologizing before they've even found a spot on the rug. They're sorry they're late. They know everyone else started weeks ago. They hope it's okay.

It's okay. You don't need to apologize at all. Kids join our classes in week three, week five, and later, and they settle in just fine. If there's an open spot in a class near you, we'd love for you to come now.

Your toddler isn't counting weeks

Grown-ups keep track of sessions and start dates. Toddlers don't. Your child won't walk in thinking about how long the other kids have been coming. They'll be looking at the instruments, the other kids, and where you are.

What helps a new toddler feel safe is having their grown-up close by, and that's already how class works. All of our music classes for kids and toddlers are Grown Up & Me, so you stay in the room and in the circle the whole time. If your child spends a class or two holding onto you, that's very normal. We wrote more about it in why kids stick to your leg in music class.

Class follows the same pattern every week

Our classes repeat a lot, and we plan them that way. We sing many of the same songs each week, and the order stays the same too. In Fall Fiesta, every class goes like this:

• Hello Song. Various languages, movement, and singing as a group.
• Time to move and dance. Shakers and Hungry Bags.
• Mystery Discovery Bag. A new instrument to explore every week.
• A dance party.
• Our epic earworm goodbye song.

Because the pattern repeats, a new child doesn't have much to figure out. By their second class, a lot of kids already know the hello song is coming and start to perk up when they hear it. Grown-ups tend to pick it up just as fast.

Some kids watch first, and that counts

We once had a little girl join partway through a session. For her whole first class, she sat in her grown-up's lap and stared at the shaker bin. She didn't sing or touch anything. She just watched.

The next week, she reached over and touched one of the shakers. By her third week, she was standing up and shaking it over her head with the rest of the group.

Some kids are like that. The American Academy of Pediatrics describes some children as slow to warm up. They take a while to adjust to something new, and they get more comfortable as it becomes familiar. If your child spends the first class watching, they're still taking part. They're learning the songs and the room in their own way, and most of them join in once they're ready.

There's nothing to catch up on

You don't need to learn the songs ahead of time or teach your child anything at home first. Pick one simple thing and let that be enough:

• Clap along
• Bounce your child on your lap to the beat
• Hold a shaker together

When we play a song like Squirrel Fight, you'll see kids doing all kinds of different things at once. Some are dancing, some are sitting, and some are watching from a lap. All of that is fine. If you'd like a better idea of what a class looks like before you come, read what to expect at your baby's first music class.

Waiting for January usually means waiting longer

A lot of families tell themselves they'll start fresh with the next session. Then January comes, and it's cold, someone's sick, or the schedule is busy, and it gets pushed back again. Before long, it's next fall.

If you're wondering whether your toddler is ready at all, our post on signs your toddler is ready for a first music class can help. If the answer is yes, joining now gives your child more weeks of the same songs, the same pattern, and the same group of kids.

How to join partway through

Find a class that fits your week, check for an open spot, and come to the next one. Get there a few minutes early if you can, so your child has time to look around before the hello song. You don't need to bring anything special. Just come ready to sit in the circle with your child.

👉 Take a look at our class locations, pick the one closest to you, and come join us this week.

See you in the circle,
The Rockness Crew
Rockness Music