NatureJam = Music & Movement in Nature
NatureJam is an opportunity to join other families in a relaxed, green outdoor space to enjoy songs, rhymes and music making together.
The benefits for little ones of Music and Nature are plentiful and overlapping. Both Music and Nature encourage us to explore our senses, move our bodies, connect to our emotions, to each other and to the world around us.
Happy minds & healthy bodies
Group singing and music-making release 'happy hormones' and reduce stress which in turn regulates our minds and bodies & strengthening our immune systems. Time spent engaging in Nature has a similar effect - microbes in soil, oxygen-releasing trees and plenty of Vitamin D and fresh air provides a healthier and happier environment both for us and our little ones.
Nature leads the way
We are lucky that our regular Motspur Park venue (the Scout Centre KT3 6LX) has a great outdoor space - a large field surrounded by mature trees that provide plenty of shade and shelter.
NatureJam sessions embrace an 'outdoor learning' approach, incorporating the natural environment into our music making & exploration. Sessions are shaped around the unique interests and personalities of the group.
There can be moments of creativity and improvisation. The children might want to look for bugs or climb on the log stumps in the wooded area, or decide they want to spend more time playing the large gathering drum, or invent a new activity around sticks or leaves they have found, leading us to sing or improvise songs or rhymes around these natural treasures.
Moving to the Music
NatureJam incorporates movement at the heart of its sessions. The outdoor environment gives us space and freedom to move & dance, nurturing gross motor skills and coordination & developing musicality, pulse and rhythm.
For babies, we include baby yoga holds and sways and rhythmic moves for little arms and legs, as well as knee bouncers.
For toddlers & preschool children there are plenty of action songs, as well as marching, twirling, jumping.
This encourages children to feel the music through their bodies. It also boosts their confidence, builds bones and muscles, improves their balance and proprioception (body awareness).
How it works
NatureJam outdoor music & movement sessions embrace a mixed-age approach.
Our regular term-time sessions are for ages 0-5 years. (Our school holiday sessions are for 0-6 years or 7-11 years).
Children of different ages learn from each other, enjoy socialising together. A mix of ages nurtures kindness and community and enables siblings (and parents & carers with different aged children) to attend together.
For current prices, session times and availability, please view our Current Timetable
To book or enquire further, please Email and include your baby's name and age
VENUE
Between Nov-March, session take place INDOORS in a large spacious ground floor Hall with free onsite parking.
Between April-Oct, sessions will take place OUTDOORS (unless it is wet or too windy) in a large private field behind a Scout Hall surrounded by mature trees, shrubs and flowers (with easy access to indoor toilets & free onsite parking) in Motspur Park, New Malden, Surrey:
The address is Scout Centre, Arthur Rd, New Malden, Surrey KT3 6LX.
FREE PARKING is available on site. There is also free on-street parking available on Arthur Rd and other nearby residential side roads including Tennyson Ave and Seaforth Ave.
The K5 bus stops on West Barnes Lane a few mins walk away. Motspur Park Station is also a few mins walk away.
**please note there are stairs at Motspur Park Station**
TOILETS
Newly refurbished INDOOR TOILETS and changing tables will be available at ALL outdoor sessions.
WET WEATHER
In wet / very windy / stormy weather, sessions move indoors to our spacious, easily accessible ground floor Hall.
However, our Grasshoppers (toddlers) often enjoy popping out for a rainy stomp or puddle jump!
And, if the rain then clears during a Starlings or Seedlings (babies) session, we will often move outside for some standing, walking or swaying songs to enjoy that magically fresh 'after-rain' air...
So always come dressed for the weather!
MATS
Waterproof groundsheets & foam jigsaw mats are provided for sitting on. You are welcome to bring your own baby blanket or picnic blanket to go on top
CLOTHING
Everyone needs to be dressed appropriately for the weather forecast in clothing and footwear that you are happy to get a bit muddy.
COVID-19 & OTHER ILLNESS
Please do not attend if you or your child are unwell, particularly if they have anything that could be contagious OR are not well enough to.enjoy the session.
IF YOU OR YOUR CHILD HAS COVID-19 / SUSPECTED COVID-19, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND.
