Hatching Dragons City Blog

City of London School Highlights: May 2nd

Written by Ali | May 5, 2025 3:36:35 PM

Exploring Language, Colour, and Community at Our City of London Nursery

Hatchlings Weekly Newsletter | Early Years Learning Near St Paul’s Cathedral | Hackney & Islington Families Welcome

This week at our City of London nursery, our Hatchlings have had a vibrant, sensory-rich week full of language learning, cultural exploration, and joyful movement. From colourful scarves to cool water fountains, our babies explored the world through play, connection, and curiosity.

Modern Languages: Learning Mandarin Through Mealtime

During our Modern Languages sessions, our youngest learners explored two practical Mandarin words:

  • 热 () – hot
  • 水 (shuǐ) – water

These words came to life during everyday moments, especially mealtimes, where the children discussed the temperature of their food and drinks. These real-life language connections support early bilingual development and help our babies at our nursery to begin to make meaningful associations with their surroundings.

Outdoor Adventure at St Paul’s Gardens

Under the warm sun, our Hatchlings enjoyed a joyful outing to the gardens near St Paul’s Cathedral. They:

  • Ran freely through the grass
  • Discovered sprinklers spraying water
  • Found a playful water fountain that splashed and sparkled
  • Spotted colourful flowers and curious pigeons

These outings offer the perfect blend of nature exploration, sensory engagement, and gross motor development, all part of our commitment to outdoor learning at our City of London nursery.

Regional Theme: Exploring India and the Subcontinent

We launched our new regional education theme by introducing the babies to the vibrant culture of India.

  • Using a themed sensory tray, we explored the national animal of India—the tiger—and practiced colour recognition with black and orange.
  • The children traced striped patterns in the sand with their fingers, improving fine motor coordination while building early visual awareness.

Through multisensory exploration, our Hatchlings gained their first understanding of cultural identity, patterns in nature, and global diversity—all in a baby-friendly, play-based setting.

Sensory Activities: Rainbow Crumble Play

This week’s sensory highlight was our rainbow crumble activity, a playful combination of oats, cereal, pasta, and sand. The children explored each texture, squishing and scooping with their hands, learning about:

  • Different colours
  • New textures
  • Early cause-and-effect

Sensory play is at the heart of our baby room curriculum, helping children develop language, focus, and emotional regulation through tactile experiences.

Physical Play: Rainbow Movement

Our Hatchlings soared through a rainbow of movement, using brightly coloured scarves to run, crawl, reach, and stretch their bodies. These joyful activities are more than just fun—they’re vital for developing:

  • Balance and coordination
  • Body awareness
  • Muscle strength and gross motor confidence

This type of movement-rich, sensory-based learning supports whole-child development at our nursery in Central London.

Specialist Sessions: Music, Movement, and Magic

This week, we had magical visits from two of our specialist teachers:

This week with Molly's Mindful Movement during specialist music and mindfulness session, Miss Molly introduced our new theme: People Who Care for Us.

Through songs and storytelling, our babies learned about the everyday heroes in their lives—like firefighters, doctors, and loving family members. A favourite moment was singing Miss Polly Had a Dolly, which encouraged:

  • Language development
  • Musical rhythm and memory
  • Emotional awareness
Specialist sessions like these bring enriching, developmentally appropriate experiences to even our youngest learners at our City of London nursery.

Lucy Sparkles enchanted the children with "Star Light, Star Bright", helping them make wishes come true—from big red buses to cuddly pooh bears! The session continued with dancing, making fruit salad, and playful movement games that nurtured early musical memory, self-expression, and joyful learning.

Toddlers: Blue Dragons group

Blue Dragon Weekly Highlights | Preschool Learning Near St Paul’s Cathedral | Hackney & Islington Families Welcome

This week at our City of London nursery, our Blue Dragon preschoolers experienced a wonderful mix of sensory discovery, specialist enrichment, and outdoor play. With creative free play, engaging group activities, and glorious sunshine, the children explored the world around them while developing core early skills in language, movement, and social interaction.

Specialist Sessions: Mindfulness, Role Play & Movement

Molly's Mindful Movement
This week, Miss Molly led a dynamic mindfulness session that combined imaginative role-play with relaxation techniques. The children dressed up as firefighters, working together to “put out a fire” through songs and pretend play. This encouraged:

  • Teamwork and cooperation
  • Creative expression through role-play
  • Emotional regulation during calm-down time with soft lighting and music

These mindfulness sessions help our preschoolers build self-awareness, manage big emotions, and connect body and mind—a core part of our early years wellbeing strategy.

Sporty Minis: Colour Racing & Coordination
The Blue Dragons were full of energy in this week’s Sporty Minis session, starting with a group warm-up to stretch their muscles and get ready for action. The highlight was a colour cone racing game, where children raced to match and retrieve the right colour cones.

This fun activity supported:

  • Listening and attention skills
  • Colour recognition
  • Gross motor development and coordination
The cheering, movement, and group dynamic also fostered confidence and team spirit, all part of our holistic approach to physical development at our City of London nursery.

Together, they sang along to Peter Rabbit and shook magic music eggs, filling the room with rhythm, movement, and laughter. These sessions promote teamwork, musical memory, creativity, and fine motor coordination—essential parts of holistic development at our preschool near St Paul’s Cathedral.

Outdoor Fun: Sunshine, Bubbles & Ball Play

With the sun shining brightly, the Blue Dragons headed outdoors for active play in the fresh air. Laughter filled the garden as the children:

  • Chased and popped bubbles
  • Kicked balls and practiced hand-eye coordination
  • Enjoyed group games under the sky

Outdoor experiences like these are more than just fun—they support gross motor development, sensory regulation, and a joyful connection to the world around them. 

Discovering Spanish Culture, Maths Fun & Music at Our City of London Preschool

City Preschool Weekly Highlights | Childcare Near St Paul’s Cathedral | Hackney & Islington Families Welcome

At our City of London nursery, our preschoolers in the Dragon Flight group had a vibrant and culturally rich week, exploring Spanish traditions, practicing early maths and literacy, and enjoying specialist-led music, sports, and mindfulness sessions. Here's a look at how we brought global culture, fun learning, and movement into the classroom!

Regional Education: Exploring Spanish Dress, Symbols, and Art

This week’s regional education theme focused on the rich culture of Spain. Children learned about:

  • Traditional Spanish clothing, its bright colours and detailed patterns
  • Spanish customs and flamenco-style dance through visual performances
  • The cultural symbol of the Spanish bull – introduced in both English and Mandarin as 西班牙公牛 (xī bān yá gōng niú
  • Using fabric, coloured paper, and drawing tools, children created their own:
  • Outfits inspired by traditional Spanish styles
  • Colourful bull artwork
  • Tissue-paper stained-glass windows (based on Southern European church designs), while practicing the Mandarin words for "church" (教堂 – jiào táng) and "window" (窗户 – chuāng hù)

These hands-on activities not only encouraged creative expression, but also supported multilingual learning, pattern recognition, and cultural awareness—a core part of our curriculum at our preschool near St Paul’s Cathedral.

STEAM: Counting, Colours & Collaborative Games

In our maths-focused STEAM sessions, the children worked on:

  • Recognising numbers 1–5
  • Circling specific digits on number block worksheets
  • Practicing counting with physical number blocks and finger play

We also introduced a fun dice game where each child rolled two dice—one with colours, the other with numbers—and had to match and count coloured bears into cups. This game helped develop:

  • Number recognition
  • Colour matching
  • Turn-taking
  • Fine motor control

Maths learning at our City of London preschool is always interactive and accessible, laying the groundwork for confidence in numbers and logic.

Literacy: Word Tracing & the “Splat!” Game

Children practiced literacy through:

  • Tracing laminated cards showing words like “dog,” with corresponding images, to reinforce word-picture association and letter formation
  • The energetic “Splat!” word game, where children raced to identify and tap the right word when called out

These group sessions promoted early reading skills, coordination, and teamwork—important developmental milestones we foster at our nursery for preschoolers in Hackney and Islington.

Mandarin Vocabulary This Week

In line with our bilingual learning approach, the children learned key Mandarin words related to this week’s cultural focus:

  • Spain – 西班牙 (xī bān yá)
  • Ox – 公牛 (gōng niú)
  • Window – 窗户 (chuāng hù)
  • Church – 教堂 (jiào táng)
  • Numbers 1–10 in Mandarin

Multilingual learning builds cognitive flexibility, curiosity, and cross-cultural understanding—essential life skills we begin developing early at our preschool in Central London.

Specialist Sessions: Sports, Music, and Mindfulness

Our week was further enriched by vibrant specialist sessions:

Sporty Minis: Children played Sharks and Fish, a fast-paced game that encouraged running, jumping, and spatial awareness.

Mindful Molly's Movement: After active play, children calmed down with gentle stretching, soft toys, and peaceful music—supporting emotional regulation and body awareness. regulation and self-awareness.

Music with Lucy Sparkles and Friends: With joyful songs about Easter bunnies and Sleeping Bunnies, children sang, danced, and acted out movements, building rhythm, listening skills, and imaginative play.

These sessions are a beloved part of our early years programme in the City of London, helping children explore the world through sound, movement, and reflection.

 

Looking for a Nursery in the City of London, Islington, or Hackney?

Our nursery offers a warm, stimulating environment in the heart of Central London, easily accessible from Islington and Hackney. With a focus on creativity, outdoor exploration, cultural learning, and music, we support every child’s early journey with care and intention.

📍 Located in the City of London, we welcome families from across Hackney, Islington, and the surrounding areas.

👶 Enrollment is open for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers aged 6 months to 5 years. Enquire now!