Exploring Australia Through Sensory Play
This week in the Baby Dragons room, we enjoyed a wonderful mix of sensory activities, creative play, and outdoor adventures. From discovering Australian animals to exploring nature and light, every moment supported our babies’ curiosity, coordination, and communication skills.
Curious about how we combine culture, confidence, and creativity in the early years?
We introduced simple modern language experiences during story time with That’s Not My Kangaroo, a sensory book the babies loved touching and exploring. We practised Makaton signs for “hello” and “goodbye” during daily routines, supporting early communication. Puppet time with kangaroo, koala, and turtle puppets encouraged eye contact, emotional connection, and curiosity.
The babies created colourful kangaroo art by tearing tissue paper, using brushes, and sticking textures onto their drawings. In cookery, we made a yogurt and fruit swirl, exploring colours, smells, and textures.
For sensory play, we set up an Australian animal hunt in the tuff tray, hiding animal pictures under sand for the babies to uncover. This encouraged fine motor skills, early problem-solving, and tactile exploration.
We visited Bessborough Park, enjoying the calming sounds of a small waterfall and admiring a large fish sculpture. At Causton Sand Park, the babies explored wet and dry sand, mixed water, and made simple sandcastles, supporting physical development and sensory exploration in nature.
Mirror and light play fascinated the babies as they tracked reflections and moving light, supporting visual awareness and self-recognition. Ice painting with coloured cubes was another highlight, combining messy play with the exploration of temperature and texture.
Our outdoor session with Mindful Molly included a bunny-themed picnic, pretend tea time, and a calming group “sleepy time.” These gentle activities encouraged emotional regulation, imagination, and a sense of routine.
It has been a truly enriching week for our Baby Dragons, filled with smiles, new discoveries, and meaningful learning through play. Thank you for being part of our journey.
This week, the Blue Dragons enjoyed an exciting mix of learning, creativity, and active play. From hopping games in maths to fizzing volcanoes in science, the children explored the world through movement, imagination, and hands-on discovery. They also learned new Mandarin words, practiced Makaton signs, and enjoyed special outings and teacher sessions that kept everyone smiling.
Our baking soda and vinegar volcano was a thrilling experiment. The children watched in amazement as the “lava” fizzed and bubbled, shouting “It’s exploding!” with wide-eyed excitement.
In Math, the children rolled a dice, counted the matching number of objects, and hopped the same number of times. Laughter filled the room as they hopped around, connecting numbers with movement.
In the garden, the children planted plants and pretended to grow tall trees. Some used real soil, while others used leaves as pretend seeds. Many also rode bikes, showing great coordination and balance.
With Mindful Molly, the children enjoyed a teddy bear tea party, speaking gently and sharing pretend tea. In Sports Mini, they practiced balancing objects on rackets, improving focus and coordination.
At Pimlico Library, the children joined an interactive story session, reading The Planet in the Pickle Jar and then drawing their own imaginative jars filled with creative treasures.
We learned two new Makaton signs: “need toilet” and “well done.” The children practiced the full routine for using the toilet and proudly received praise for trying new activities, sharing, and tidying up.
Water play linked perfectly with Mandarin learning. The children poured and measured water to spin wheels, sent ducks swimming, and learned the Mandarin words for “duck” (yā zi) and “water” (shuǐ). They repeated the new words with enthusiasm as they played.We explored the letters A for Australia, K for kangaroo, and T for turtle. The children matched letters to pictures and wooden shapes, reinforcing both sound and recognition skills.
It’s been a joyful week of learning and exploration. Thank you for your continued support in helping the Blue Dragons grow in confidence, curiosity, and kindness.
This week, our Dragon Flights embraced a mix of imaginative role play, creative arts, and active learning. From exploring body parts in two languages to acting like animals in a library drama session, every activity encouraged confidence, curiosity, and creativity.
We started the week with a calm and focused circle time, revisiting our classroom rules about gentle hands, kind play, and good sitting. Children also learned body parts in English and Mandarin, such as head (头), shoulders (肩膀), knees (膝盖), and hands (手), pointing to each part as they practiced.
Our big trip to Pimlico Library began with a drama workshop game called “Busy Bees,” where children buzzed around before freezing into animals like giraffes, gorillas, and snakes. We read, The Planet in the Pickle Jar and created imaginative pickle jar drawings, one filled with red spaghetti, another with a lobster and crab! More storytelling followed with Brave Dave and Giraffes Can’t Dance. Before leaving, we played a role-play game as Little Red Riding Hood delivering food to Granny.
In art, children explored dot painting inspired by Australian Aboriginal art, developing fine motor skills while experimenting with colors and patterns. They also enjoyed sensory fun in the sand tray, a shop role-play area to practice early numeracy, and tracing different shapes to support pencil control.
Gross motor skills were strengthened through running, balancing, and stretching in a mini sports session. Later, Miss Molly led a calming yoga storytelling session based on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, where children acted out poses while following the story.
Thank you for supporting another exciting week of learning, creativity, and movement, your encouragement helps our little dragons shine brighter every day.
Hatching Dragons is proud to support our founder Cenn John, running the Cardiff Marathon this October to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Inspired by the loss of a sibling to congenital heart disease and Down’s syndrome, this fundraiser aims to help children facing life-threatening illnesses.
We would love for our Hatching Dragons community to join us in supporting this cause. Every donation, no matter how small, can help change a child's future
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