Before Day One
What to do, sign and talk about with your child before their first Rainbow DJ Lab class.
First: the Lab isn't running yet
Rainbow DJ Lab is proposed. The Chicago Park District has not approved it, no dates are set, and no staff are hired. No class runs until every item on the launch checklist is met. Everything below describes how it will work once it does.
Your checklist
1. Now: join the interest list (optional)
Until launch, the form on the Register page is an interest list, not enrollment. It asks only your child's first name and last initial, age and age group; your name, email and phone; and your permission for us to contact you. It asks nothing about health, pickup, custody or emergency contacts, no consents, and no free-text notes. If the Lab hasn't started within 12 months, we delete the list. You can ask to come off it any time.
2. After launch: complete full registration
Full registration opens only when every launch-checklist item is complete. At registration you give verifiable parental consent for the limited information the Lab collects about your child. See COPPA compliance. You'll get a confirmation email, and when a coach approves your child for a class, your private family link to the class app. It shows only your own child.
3. Fill in the forms
These are part of full registration, after launch. Each consent is asked separately. The printable Forms are for full registration too. All parent forms will be available in English and Spanish.
- [ ] Registration
- [ ] Emergency contacts
- [ ] Medical and allergy, plus your child's FARE Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan if they have one
- [ ] Authorized pickup: every adult who may collect your child. For a 9-year-old (Junior DJs), drop-off requires this signed list.
- [ ] Media consent
- [ ] Performance consent (without it, your child isn't put in the Spotlight)
- [ ] Digital tracking consent (without it, nothing your child does in the class app is saved)
- [ ] Code of conduct: read it together with your child
If your child takes medication during class time, it must come in its original pharmacy container with a signed authorization. See Medication storage.
4. Tell us what helps
If your child has sensory needs, a disability, or a learning difference, tell us now. IEP or 504 information is welcome but never required. See Accessibility.
5. Come to orientation
See Orientation. It's your chance to see the space, meet the adults, and ask anything.
6. Plan the trip
See Locations and Transportation and parking. Bring a photo ID every time you pick up. Every adult on your pickup list must bring one too.
What your child needs to bring
Nothing required. Class is free and all equipment is provided: controller, laptop, headphones and earplugs. Your child may bring their own ear defenders if they prefer them, and a water bottle is a good idea. Outdoors in summer, see Sunscreen and hydration.
Get your child ready
A 9-year-old usually wants to know three things: Who will be there? What will I do? What if I mess up?
- Read the kids' pages together: My first day, Rules for me, and If you feel unsafe.
- Explain "Data!" In the Lab, a mistake is called "Data!" Your child names one reason it went wrong and tries again. Nobody gets in trouble for a crashed mix.
- Explain Spotlight. Playing on the big speaker is volunteers only. Nobody will make them do it.
- Talk about the buddy system. Kids go to the restroom in pairs, and an adult waits at the entrance. See Bathroom and buddy.
- Name their safe adults. Make sure your child knows who's on the pickup list, and that they should never leave with anyone else. See Who to talk to.
- Start thinking of a DJ name. They'll build one in Mission 1: their name + a sound + a color.
Keep illness rules in mind
Keep your child home with a fever of 100.4°F or higher. They can come back when they've been fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine and their symptoms are improving. After vomiting or diarrhea, keep them home until they've been symptom-free for 24 hours. See Communicable disease.