Please use this page for information regarding online classes. If you have any questions, please email the director.

Visit Classes page for current schedule.

Visit Registration page to enroll or pay via Venmo or PayPal if you're a continuing Valley Cat family with no changes in your family or location. 

LOCATION: ZOOM. . . and the comfort of your home, wherever you live!

What's Included?

A full session of
• one 45-minute live Zoom class per week
• on-demand video access (class recording link posted via Remind app every week for even more "More!" or as makeup class)
Note: Class recordings show teacher view only, and no class videos will be posted outside of the private Remind group. You have the freedom to show up as you are, wherever you are! 

Music Materials: download code of 25-song collection (rotates every session), fully illustrated songbook, notation book, parent guides/growth charts, optional CD. Materials will be mailed to all families within the U.S. (cost included in your tuition).

Private "Remind" Class Text. All registered families will be invited to join/added to the Remind class for the current session, where teachers will post weekly class info and add links to class recordings. 

Caregiver participation, modeling, and interaction. Just like in class, I don't expect your kids to participate; I invite you to. If I can't see you on-screen, then your child may be too close (or off exploring, which is great). The beauty of the at-home class experience is that your kinaesthetic or reticent learner can move to the beat of their own drummer in their home safe space and still absorb the music coming from your computer, tablet, phone, or TV (I do recommend connecting computers to Bluetooth speakers since often computer volume isn't very loud, especially when we're playing instruments, too). Don't be surprised if you hear even non-participating family members humming a song from class that they heard from the next room...

You remain their most important teacher, and I am your guide. You are why MTO is not a passive experience. Your teachers will mute all for most of the class, opening audio before & after class for hellos and goodbyes and during class for tonal patterns or animal noises, and we'll ask for suggestions via the Chat window before class begins so you can sit back and just do your thing.

Note that babies should be placed facing you, not the screen, so you receive class instruction and they receive your music-making with them. All children need the modeling of their adult caregiver as well as the space to move away from your device as desired.

What's Not Included?

Hearing each other sing at the same time. While the Zoom platform is great at allowing us to feel connected, it can't sync our Internet connections to keep us in time with each other, but we'll unmute as often as we can (be sure to keep your version of Zoom updated). 

However, when you're muted, you control the volume in your house (maybe you need to share earbuds with your older child while a baby naps, maybe your child likes to play instruments on every song), allowing you to relax and listen to your teacher, your child, and yourself without worrying that either you, the gardeners, or someone else is making too much sound in your home. 

Traffic stress or parking issues! You're at class right now! :-)

My instruments in your hands. You can pull together a set of instruments for use in online and in-person classes, including:

    • shakers 2pp (eggs, maracas, rattles, homemade containers with rice/pasta) 
    • sticks 2pp (papertowel rolls, wooden spoons)
    • scarves 2pp (any cloth object, pillowcase, bandanas)
    • drum 1pp (tupperware, bowl, box, giant cheesepuff container)
    • jingle bells 2pp (keys, ? grab 99-cent store jingle bell wristbands/necklaces now!)
    • ball 1pp (large enough to roll from person to person, underinflated for easy grabbing)
    • resonator bells 1-2pp (D&A keys of a xylophone plus mallet)
    • mixed percussion 1-2pp (everything you already have—without batteries)
    • and for sure a stuffed animal/lovey/doll.
Remember: each participant needs their own set, one or two per person (1-2pp)!

    2. Music Together also sells new products via their online store (musictogether.com/store/). 

Registering for Online Classes (use Registration page — log in at the bottom)

Please register your free siblings! You will receive a link to attend your weekly Zoom class in your registration confirmation (please add to your calendar!). Families are welcome to invite a grandparent or other adult relative to join the Zoom to participate and see you in gallery view; relatives with kids may pay to drop in or sign up to attend the full session. 

Demos? Try a Zoom class with no commitment the first two weeks! 

Please visit Facebook.com/valleycatmusic/videos to check out class-length livestreams (the ones over 30m), three-song videos (around 15m), or single-song offerings as a sample of what to expect from a class (without the faces of your classmates in Zoom).