News
Music Bus Southwater Baby Cafe
Thursday 08 December 2011 at 11:45Great news and a first at Music Bus
From January 2012 Music Bus will be opening its doors to our brand new “BABY CAFÉ”, specifically aimed at babies from Newborn up to 6 months old. Our “Baby Café” sessions are designed to be very relaxed, giving you a chance to introduce your baby to the delights of music and play whilst also enjoying a cup of complementary Fairtrade / Organic tea and coffee – it will be a great way to meet new friends too. This will be a pay-as-you-go session with no need to pre-book!
The Baby Cafe will run at the Southwater Leisure Centre from 1:30pm until 2:45pm every Friday during term-time starting on Friday 13th January ’12. So if you or anyone you know would be interested in joining us we’d love to see you! Please pass this information on to friends and neighbours and if you need any further information get in touch.
We’re looking forward to seeing you and making lots of new friends on the 13th January.
Come and join the fun!
Music Bus Southwater Baby Cafe
Southwater Leisure Centre
Pevensey Road
Southwater
West Sussex
RH13 9XZ
For further information about the Music Bus Baby Cafe or to book a FREE TRIAL for your child at our regular Southwater Music Bus classes please either telephone Hannah on 01403 240842 or send me an email at hannah@musicbus.com
The Mini Band Sensation
Thursday 06 October 2011 at 20:09Take a look at the latest sensation on youtube, the mini band!
The band members are aged between 8 – 10 years and play the guitar, bass, drums and vocals at festivals choosing songs by Metallica and Guns n’ Roses. Pretty talented for 8 – 10 year olds, and pretty noisy too! Imagine what they could be doing in 10 years time! So, get those drums and shakers out and have a good time, you’re never too young to play along to your favourite song and who knows…
Make Music with your Baby in Burgess Hill
Sunday 07 August 2011 at 18:05Due to the popularity of Music Bus classes at the Sidney West Children’s and Family Centre in Burgess Hill, from September dedicated BABY classes have been added in addition to the popular TODDLER sessions already well established.
Weekly classes will now be available to book into, alternating between a baby class one week and a toddler class the following week. This will give Helen the opportunity to provide music sessions specifically written for babies from birth to walking, as well as for children walking to school age.
Please contact the Centre for dates and to book your place, sessions remain on Wednesday mornings.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Please contact: 01444 255493 for further information and to book.
“Summertime and the living is easy…” George Gershwin
Thursday 04 August 2011 at 19:25What a fabulous song! Great for the summer holidays and those long balmy evenings we’ve been having.
Summer holidays and music go hand in hand, whether you’re in the garden enjoying a BBQ, on holiday at the seaside, in the nursery or driving in your car, taking pleasure in enjoying music as you go about your day is priceless.
As more and more families join in the family festivals on offer around the country, finding music that the whole family enjoys can be a tricky subject.
We particularly like the upbeat World and Picnic Playground CD’s by Putumayo for the Summer, they get everyone in our family joining in, big or small, and stop any possible arguments. Brilliant for those long drives ending with an extra hour stuck in traffic on the M25!
We’d love to know what you listen to, so share some of your favourite summer songs with us.
A sigh of relief as the EYFS is scaled down!
Friday 08 July 2011 at 20:36As childrens minister Sarah Teather outlines changes to the early years curriculum to be introduced next year, nursery teachers will gain valuable time to spend with their children, rather than filling in forms.
So long as areas of learning such as creative development are incorporated into childrens activities and not lost, this is a welcome move.
What do our nurseries think?
What are your views on the “gender-neutral” pre-school?
Thursday 07 July 2011 at 14:08What are your views on “gender-neutral” pre-schools in Sweden?
A hot subject provoking controversy!
I’m all for equality between the sexes and less stereotyping, but how far could this go and what are the long term implications for children and for society?
Please let us know what you think.
Get Children Reading!
Wednesday 22 June 2011 at 14:27The National Literacy Trust must be overwhelmed by the level of support it is gathering for its project in London to help children 3-5 years struggling with learning development to read and write.
The scheme was launched by Boris Johnson and Peter Andre and featured the Duchess of Cornwall in a primary school in Chiswick earlier this week.
The Evening Standard is running a campaign to help recruit the 500 volunteers needed as reading ambassadors and literacy champions for the 2,000 London families targeted. By yesterday, almost 3,400 people had signed up and a significant amount of money raised to help fund it.
Encouraging parents to read at home with their children, starting when they are very young, can introduce a whole new world of adventures and a lifelong love of books. Sharing a quiet part of the day together reading a favourite story brings you close, in your own little world.
One of the earliest ways to learn language is through song with your child mimicking your words and pattern of language.
Giving children the opportunity to make music as babies and toddlers helps develop their letters and sounds and language development needed for reading .Word patterns and the rhythm of language are developed through learning songs and rhymes and playing rhythm games by clapping, stamping, moving to music and song and using musical instruments. Stories are brought to life on storyboards, with children exciting in role play as the main characters.
So, promote a good start for a child by sharing a book, making music and singing a song, the effects are far reaching!
Horsham Baby Show Today
Sunday 12 June 2011 at 09:08It’s Sunday 12 June and we’re off to the Horsham Baby Show at the Drill Hall to see Hannah Batten who runs the Horsham Baby and Toddler Music Classes.
It must be the time of year. Last Sunday Tessa who runs our Crawley Baby and Toddler Music Classes was also at a Baby Show at the K2 Leisure Centre.
Visiting baby shows have become an increasingly popular pastime for new and expectant mothers. They are a fantastic way of seeing lots of providers of baby equipment, clothing and activities in one place. Music Bus has been exhibiting at baby shows of one kind or another for many years.
We hope to see you there. Come and join the fun.
Helen
Horsham Baby & Toddler Show
Saturday 14 May 2011 at 17:22On Sunday June 12th Hannah and her team will be exhibiting at the Horsham Baby and Toddler Show which takes place in the Drill Hall in Denne Road from 11.00am and 3.00pm. With more than thirty stands, the show brings together the largest group of childcare businesses and experts in the area.
There are stage presentations for grown ups and a wide range of free activities for children.
Organised by the events team at the County Times, the Baby and Toddler Show will be filled with ideas and advice for families and anyone who spends time with or works with children.
Healthcare professionals and local support groups will be making stage presentations throughout the day and will also be available for an informal chat or to answer specific questions.
For younger visitors there will be organised sessions taking place throughout the day. All activities are free of charge and last around 30 minutes.
As you would expect, the venue is child friendly. Buggies and pushchairs are welcome and free parking is available in Horsham on Sundays. The Drill Hall is in Denne Road within walking distance of Swan Walk Shopping Centre and the many restaurants and shops in Horsham.
Come and join the fun!
We’ve restocked the shop
Saturday 05 March 2011 at 20:01Today we’ve been adding more items to the Music Bus online shop. It’s been a real family affair. At one point this afternoon Mike and our two teenage daughters were sitting laptops perched tapping away whilst my youngest daughter and I were running back and forth with tea and freshly baked lemon drizzle cake. Fortunately nobody got their keyboards too sticky 
It means we’ve been able to broaden our range of instruments to include a much bigger range of sturdy child friendly shakers, rattles, bells, maracas and castanets as well as two new CDS from award winning children’s world music company, Putumayo.
Folk Playground features a fantastic selection of traditional and contemporary songs in a folk style.
Years ago, before the advances of modern technology gave us MP3 players and video phones, people used to get together with family and friends to make music. Gathered around the fireplace or sitting on the front porch, people of all ages would pull out instruments and sing traditional songs that had been passed down from previous generations. Parents learned from grandparents and children learned from parents. In this manner, a circle was created and the music was preserved for future generations to know, learn and love.
Some of the musicians on Putumayo Folk Playground can trace their roots directly back to the folk family tree: Erib Bibb is the son of famous folk singer Leon Bibb. He is joined by Michael Jerome Browne on a folk//blues song “Just Look Up.” Joining them on this wonderful collection are Elizabeth Mitchell, Jon Gailmor, Victor Johnson, Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, Justin Roberts, Brady Rymer, Zoe Lewis and Michelle Shocked. It’s the very essence of folk music and a great family recording from Putumayo Kids.
Acoustic Dreamland is a soothing collection of songs for bedtime and relaxation.
Acoustic Dreamland was released by Putumayo just last month and is a worthy addition to the already successful and award winning Dreamland
collection. Celebrated singer-songwriters perform unplugged music to lull children to sleep and for adults to unwind to. The CD includes songs originally recorded by the Allman Brothers, James Taylor, Wilco and Mary Chapin Carpenter, among others. A read-aloud, mini storybook that parents can share with their children at bedtime accompanies the CD. Acoustic Dreamland is the fifth release in Putumayo Kids’ popular Dreamland Series.
We hope you’ll enjoy our new musical offerings. As ever please feel free to comment or drop us a line to let us know what you think and to offer any suggestions for how we can improve our offer to you.
Have fun making music with your children
