Westminster School Highlights: April 25th

Reminders

A Wonderful Week of Learning and Play at Our Westminster Nursery

Early Years Adventures for Babies Aged 6 Months to 5 Years | Central London

At our nursery in Westminster, we believe that every day is a new opportunity for discovery, creativity, and joy. This week was filled with exciting activities designed to support early years development through play-based learning, sensory exploration, and cultural celebrations. Here's a look at what our little learners have been up to!

Building Communication Skills with Makaton

In our Modern Language and Communication sessions, we introduced the Makaton signs for “big” and “small.” Through songs, stories, and interactive play, the babies learned to point at big and small toys while trying out the signs themselves.

Developing early communication is a vital part of our childcare programme in Westminster, helping children express themselves and build confidence even before they can fully speak.

Celebrating World Earth Day and St George’s Day Through Play

At our Westminster preschool, we love introducing little ones to important celebrations in fun and meaningful ways. This week, the babies used green and blue playdough to create their very own “earths” in honour of World Earth Day—a sensory activity that encouraged fine motor skills, creativity, and a conversation about caring for our planet.

For St George’s Day, we explored red and white sensory trays and created English flags with art and craft materials, sparking curiosity and national pride in a playful, hands-on environment.

Outdoor Adventures at St George Park

Outdoor learning is central to the philosophy at our Westminster nursery, and this week’s trip to St George Park was full of wonderful discoveries! The babies played games filling small buckets with colourful balls, enhancing hand-eye coordination and teamwork.

A highlight of the day was spotting a mother duck with five fluffy ducklings. We sang “Five Little Ducks” as we watched them, blending nature exploration with music and language development. The babies also explored the flowers in the park, learning about colours, textures, and smells—building early sensory awareness and environmental curiosity.

Specialist Sessions at Our Belgravia Nursery

STEAM Activities – Snack Making Fun

As part of our early years STEAM education, the babies took part in a fun cookery activity, making their own snacks! Using plastic knives to cut soft fruits and mix them with yoghurt, they built fine motor skills, hand strength, and independence in a safe, supportive environment.

Hands-on experiences like these are essential to fostering a love for learning and building life skills early at our Westminster nursery school.

Molly's Mindful Movement and Music

This week, our babies enjoyed a peaceful yoga and mindfulness session with Mindful Molly. Using soft scarves, gentle stretches, and soothing music, the children learned how to relax, focus, and become more aware of their bodies—supporting emotional wellbeing and self-regulation even from a very young age.

Music with Lucy Sparkles and Friends

We also had a magical time with Lucy Sparkles during music class. The babies clapped, shook instruments, and moved to the rhythm of lively songs, developing listening skills, confidence, and early self-expression through joyful musical play.

Specialist sessions like these are a cherished part of life at our nursery near Westminster Abbey and Victoria Station, where we believe in nurturing the whole child through a wide variety of experiences.

A Greek Cultural Adventure at Our Westminster Nursery

Toddler Learning Journey | Early Years Education in Westminster, Central London

This week, our curious toddlers at the Westminster nursery embarked on a two-day cultural adventure to Greece! Through creative arts, storytelling, dance, and cooking, the children immersed themselves in the vibrant traditions of the Mediterranean. Here’s a glimpse into our exciting week of learning through play, cultural discovery, and skill-building activities.

Mini-Olympics Relay Challenge

Inspired by Greece’s Olympic heritage, we hosted a toddler-friendly relay race. Children carried cardboard torches with paper flames, passing them to teammates while wearing their own olive-leaf crowns. This exciting event helped build gross motor development, team spirit, and turn-taking skills—important milestones at our childcare setting in Central London.

Storytelling and Role-Play: Greek Myths Brought to Life

Through interactive storytelling, toddlers followed the legendary voyage of Odysseus. Using props like puppets and fabric winds, the children expanded their language skills, imagination, and emotional empathy.

After storytime, the toddlers dived into role-play, becoming Odysseus steering cardboard ships or Poseidon summoning waves. Narrative reenactment like this fosters early literacy development and social-emotional growth.

Creative Construction: Building Santorini’s White Houses

Taking inspiration from the whitewashed houses of Santorini, toddlers at our nursery in Westminster constructed mini homes using foam blocks and coloured-paper roofs. Each project reinforced shape recognition (squares, triangles, rectangles) and counting skills as they added windows to their island homes.

Sensory and Cooking Club: Making Tzatziki

Our toddlers became little chefs during our multi-sensory cooking activity, creating traditional Greek tzatziki sauce. Mashing cucumber, mixing yogurt, and smelling fresh herbs introduced new vocabulary, texture exploration, and healthy food experiences—all part of our early years sensory programme.

Doctor Play: Learning from Dr. Hippocrates

In our Hippocrates Healer Role-Play Corner, toddlers dressed as doctors and nurses, caring for dolls and soft toys using pretend stethoscopes, bandages, and syringes. We introduced gentle first aid concepts, encouraging empathy, gentle touch, and community care. Pretend play supports early emotional intelligence at our Westminster preschool.

Earth Day Celebration: Caring for Our Planet

Midweek, we celebrated Earth Day with hands-on activities like:

Earth plate painting (blue oceans and green continents)

Water-play rescue missions melting ice to free trapped animals

Play-Dough planet shaping for fine-motor and shape recognition practice.

These activities foster environmental awareness, problem-solving, and a love for nature—a key part of our holistic approach at our nursery near St James’s and Victoria, Westminster.

Spring Adventures and Learning at Our Westminster Preschool

For Children Aged 3–5 Years | Central London Nursery | Early Years Education

At our preschool in Westminster, springtime has brought endless opportunities for hands-on learning, language development, creative exploration, and community celebration. Our dedicated team continues to blend early years education with outdoor adventures, cultural experiences, and mindful activities. Here's what made this week so special for our preschoolers!

Language, Literacy & Mandarin Enrichment - Mandarin Spring Vocabulary in Action

This week, our preschoolers explored the beauty of spring in our Mandarin language sessions. They learned new seasonal words like:

• 叶子 (leaf)
• 草 (grass)
• 树 (tree)
• 虫子 (insect)

Through songs, bilingual flashcards, writing practice, and movement-based games, the children absorbed the new vocabulary in a lively, engaging way.

Outdoor trips around the garden and local parks encouraged them to spot spring elements in real life, linking language with observation skills. Activities like these support multilingual learning, which is a proud part of our offering at our nursery near Westminster Abbey and St James’s Park.

Phonics Fun: Sound and Movement

Phonics at our Westminster preschool is always interactive! Alongside daily writing practice, children matched magnetic letters to objects of their choice, strengthening their understanding of how letter shapes connect to sounds.

Adding a physical twist, we introduced hula hoop games where children jumped to the correct letter sounds, combining literacy learning with movement. Active phonics sessions like these promote early reading skills, spelling awareness, and gross motor development in a playful, engaging environment.

Festival Fun: Easter Egg Hunt Celebration

Our garden turned into a magical Easter adventure during our Easter Egg Hunt. With parents joining in, the children eagerly searched for colourful hidden eggs, practising observation skills, teamwork, and community engagement.

Thank you to all the families who joined us at our nursery in Westminster for making this festive day extra special!

Outings: Art and Nature Adventures

This week, our preschoolers visited Tate Britain, where they observed famous artworks and explored the ideas of shapes, lines, and colours. Inspired by what they saw, the children sketched their own interpretations, proudly sharing their creativity with peers and teachers.

We also continued our spring nature hunts in the local park, searching for insects, leaves, and seasonal treasures. These outings strengthen curiosity, mindfulness, and a deep appreciation for art, nature, and self-expression—hallmarks of the early years education we offer in Westminster.

Specialist Teachers

Maths Adventures in STEAM class: Counting in Nature

Spring gave us the perfect backdrop to take maths learning outdoors! On nature walks, the children searched for numbers around them—spotting digits on houses, petals, and even hidden in the shapes of clouds.

Later, they collected sticks and created numbers on the ground, practicing numeral formation through tactile, nature-based learning. Connecting mathematics to the real world helps reinforce skills while building a lasting love for exploration and discovery.

Sporty Minis with preschoolers in PE action

In Sporty Minis class, the children participated in an exciting session of "Runaway Scarves." Using brightly coloured, lightweight scarves, they practiced chasing, catching, and floating them through the air. This lively activity wasn't just about laughter—it specifically targeted the development of spatial awareness, balance, hand-eye coordination, and gross motor strength. By moving their bodies with intent and interacting with peers in a playful environment, children also honed important social skills like taking turns, cooperative play, and celebrating each other's successes.

Physical games like this are a vital part of our preschool curriculum in Westminster, ensuring children develop confidence in their movements, a key factor in future sports, fine motor tasks like writing, and overall physical health.

Mindful Molly's Movement 

Meanwhile, in our Mindful Molly yoga session, the focus shifted towards calmness, focus, and emotional balance. With Easter-themed stretches and gentle, flowing movements, the children explored how their bodies move when relaxed. They practiced deep breathing exercises—learning how to fill their lungs slowly, then exhale with control—to support emotional regulation and stress management, even at such a young age.

Using soft scarves, ambient music, and storytelling through yoga poses (like pretending to be stretching bunnies or blooming flowers), the session created a safe, soothing environment for preschoolers to experience mindfulness in motion. These activities build self-awareness, empathy, and resilience, teaching children essential tools to manage their emotions both at nursery and as they grow.

At our nursery in Westminster, we believe these specialist experiences are essential in helping children become not only confident learners but also happy, healthy individuals ready to take on new challenges with enthusiasm and calmness.

Musical Memory and Humming with Lucy Sparkles and Friends

Music is a vital part of our early years education in Westminster, and this week, the children were delighted to take part in a joyful session with Lucy Sparkles and Friends. The focus of the lesson was on humming—a simple yet powerful technique that supports musical memory development.

Through humming, the children learned to recognize melodies, retain musical patterns, and enhance auditory memory, all of which are fundamental for more advanced musical skills later on. Much like how exposure to a rich variety of words helps young children become strong readers and speakers, frequent exposure to a wide range of songs builds the foundation for future musical fluency.

By filling their minds with a diverse musical repertoire from an early age, we are helping our preschoolers at our nursery near Victoria and Belgravia to develop listening skills, rhythmic awareness, and a lifelong appreciation for music.

Lucy Sparkles' engaging and joyful teaching style encourages children to participate with confidence, blending movement, voice, and imagination to make learning musical concepts completely natural—and incredibly fun!

At our Westminster preschool, we view music not just as entertainment, but as a key part of cognitive, social, and emotional development, fostering creativity, memory, and expressive communication.

Looking for a Nursery in Westminster, Belgravia, or Central London?

At our Westminster and Belgravia nursery, we provide a rich, nurturing environment for children aged 6 months to 5 years, with an emphasis on play-based learning, creativity, and personal development.

If you're seeking a preschool or childcare setting in Central London where your child can thrive through hands-on experiences, outdoor adventures, and specialist-led sessions, we’d love to welcome you. Enquire Now!

📍 Conveniently located for families in Westminster, Belgravia, and surrounding Central London areas.