There is something that happens when the same group of families walks into the same room week after week. At first, everyone is new. Babies take everything in. Toddlers explore. Parents find a spot on the floor and begin getting to know the rhythm of class.

Then, little by little, the room becomes familiar. Children recognize their teacher, the other families, the instruments, the songs, and the general flow of the experience. Parents begin recognizing one another, too.

That familiarity is one of the reasons our Kindermusik classes at Grow and Sing Studios are designed as ongoing classes rather than drop-in experiences.

Predictability Gives Young Children More Room to Learn

Babies and toddlers are constantly processing new information. A new room, new adults, new children, new sounds, and new expectations all require attention.

When some of those things become predictable, children don’t have to spend quite as much energy figuring out where they are and what is happening. They can begin directing more of their attention toward exploring, moving, listening, interacting, and participating.

That doesn’t mean every child responds the same way. Some children jump into a new environment immediately. Others prefer to observe for several weeks before they begin participating more actively. Both are just fine.

An ongoing class gives children something important: time to become familiar with the people and environment at their own pace.

We’ve seen that comfort show up in wonderfully simple ways. Every so often, a toddler or crawling baby will make their way across the circle and climb right into another parent’s lap. Usually the whole room notices, because it’s such a clear sign that the child no longer sees the adults around them as a room full of strangers.

It’s adorable, of course, but it also illustrates something important. When children feel safe and comfortable in an environment, they are better able to turn their attention toward curiosity, interaction, exploration, and active learning.

Familiarity Matters for Grown-Ups, Too
Parents and caregivers benefit from consistency in a different way. Walking into a brand-new group every week can feel uncomfortable, especially for new parents or anyone who isn’t naturally comfortable in unfamiliar social situations.

In an ongoing class, faces begin to look familiar. Parents learn one another’s names. Educators get to know individual children and their personalities. There is less pressure to start over socially each week, and there is more opportunity for relationships to develop naturally over time.

Sometimes those relationships remain class friendships, and sometimes they continue well beyond Kindermusik. After more than 20 years of teaching families throughout Central Florida, we’ve seen plenty of both.

But there’s another important reason the grown-up’s comfort matters: young children take cues from the adults they trust.

When a parent or caregiver feels comfortable in a space, their body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, and willingness to participate can all communicate that sense of safety to their child. A relaxed grown-up is more likely to engage, play, sing, move, and interact freely, and the child experiences that, too.

In other words, the sense of familiarity we’re building isn’t happening separately for the child and the adult. They’re influencing one another.

The grown-up begins to feel they know the place and people, and can start to relax. Then the child receives that message in all kinds of ways without anyone ever needing to say it aloud: My person is comfortable here. I can be comfortable here, too.

That growing sense of safety and familiarity can give a young child more freedom to explore, interact, take appropriate risks, and learn.

And ultimately, that’s what we value about a consistent class community: children and their grown-ups have the time and space to become comfortable and learn together.

For more than two decades, Kindermusik with Grow and Sing Studios has offered parent-and-child music and movement classes for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and young children throughout the Greater Orlando area, including Oviedo/UCF, Winter Park, Baldwin Park, Lake Nona, Winter Garden, Clermont, Sanford/Lake Mary, and Dr. Phillips.

Learn more about Kindermusik with Grow and Sing Studios at growandsing.com.