Baby Dragons Newsletter
Theme of the Week: Sensory Discovery & Gentle Communication
This week, our littlest learners experienced a world of colour, sound, and sensory delight! From soft music and gentle movement to creative play and nature walks, every moment was designed to build early communication, curiosity, and confidence through baby-led exploration.
Curious about how we combine culture, confidence, and creativity in the early years?
Modern Languages and Communication
We explored Handa’s Surprise with pretend fruit toys—feeling, smelling, and naming each one together. Babies responded with focused looks and happy hands, absorbing sounds and sensations.
Throughout the week, we also introduced Makaton signs for “Mum,” “Dad,” “Please,” and “Thank you,” encouraging kind and gentle communication from the very start.
Cookery Fun
In our baby-friendly cookery session we made African farm house dish, the children helped mix soft pasta and blended veggie sauce.
They used spoons and hands to stir, squash, and poke the dish exploring warm, smooth, and squishy textures while building coordination and sensory skills. And lots of giggles were had along the way!
Amazing Excursions
We had a soft blanket picnic in our nursery garden with our bear monkey and pretend fruit practising turn-taking and pretend feeding. Babies also explored our mint plants, reacting with delight to their new scents.
With gentle support, the babies walked through the park, touched flowers, watched birds, and listened to the bubbling fountain—calm, confident steps into the wider world.
STEM
We mixed blue and yellow water to create green—an exciting cause-and-effect surprise!
Babies then added paint to playdough, squishing and squeezing it with tiny fingers. These hands-on activities supported early science learning and fine motor development in the most colourful way.
Sensory Play
We built a big jungle scene using green paint, tissue paper, and toy animals. Patting and pressing the pieces helped babies develop tactile awareness and early creative thinking.
In our African village tuff tray, the babies explored textures and animal sounds—some even growled like lions or squeaked like mice!
Specialist Teacher
During Molly’s calm sensory session, our babies buzzed like bees, tapped sticks for sound, and built mini beehives. The highlight? Popping bubbles with gleeful claps perfect for developing focus, fine motor skills, and joyful awareness.
With Ella Sparkle's soft guitar music, we sang and swayed. Some babies clapped to the beat, others bounced on laps, connecting emotionally through rhythm and song.
Blue Dragons Newsletter
Theme of the Week: Shapes, Sounds & Space Exploration
This week, our Blue Dragons combined imagination with discovery—exploring letters, numbers, movement, music, and the marvels of outer space! From phonics and Mandarin learning to our exciting Science Museum trip, the children were curious, confident, and creative every step of the way.
Modern Languages
This week in Phonics, we focused on the letter S – for snake! The children got creative using clay to roll and twist their own slippery snakes, practicing the shape and sound of “Ssss.” Then, they proudly placed their snakes on their phonics mats. S is for super snakes!
In Mandarin Music Time, we sang and danced to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Mandarin: 头、肩膀、膝盖、脚！(tóu, jiānbǎng, xīgài, jiǎo!) The children pointed and wiggled with glee, learning the body parts while getting active!
STEM
In our Rocket Science story, we soared into outer space! We counted shimmering space stones and spotted stars hidden in the sand tray. The children used their fingers to trace, count, and collect, building early number skills while imagining life among the stars.
Amazing Excursions
Our Science Museum trip was an exciting journey of learning and fun! We explored space in the Galaxy Hall, discovered how steam powers machines in the Modern Science Gallery, and marveled at old trains and flying inventions. In the Pattern Pod, the children engaged in sensory play with lights, sounds, and interactive digital displays. We learned how solar panels work and touched real building materials. The trip ended with a look at stuffed animals from various habitats, sparking curiosity about their homes and diets.
Regional Education
This week in Mandarin, we explored giraffes 长颈鹿 (cháng jǐng lù) and the idea of big 大 (dà) and small 小 (xiǎo). We read a sensory story together and sorted animals and objects into “big” and “small” groups. The highlight? Imitating a tall giraffe walking with a long neck—so funny and wobbly!
Art Time
This week, we used bowls to trace big, round leaves on paper tree trunks. The children explored shape, texture, and nature-inspired designs as they created their own leafy trees. Some even gave their trees names!
Sorting Fun
During group play, we practiced our sorting skills. The children worked together to sort colorful toys by color, placing them into matching bowls. “My bowl is full of red ones!” one friend announced. A great way to learn about categories, colors, and sharing space.
Specialist Teachers
Get ready, set, go! We played a game of Scotch Hopping (hopscotch) in Sporty Mini and turned it into a group race. The children counted down together—3, 2, 1… go!—and hopped with big smiles and strong legs.
We had a magical visit with Mindful Molly this week! Together, we created bee hives using craft materials and buzzing sounds. Pretended to fly spaceships made from scarves and lights. Danced joyfully with sparkly pom-poms. Tapped wooden sticks to create different rhythms and beats. It was a calm, imaginative, and mindful moment for all.
Dragon Flights Newsletter
Theme of the Week: Rhythm, Rules & Real-World Learning
This week, our preschoolers danced to the beat of African drums, discovered the science of slime, built literacy and numeracy skills through play, and even created their own classroom rules. With creative movement, calming yoga, and hands-on exploration, the week was full of confidence-building and joyful learning.
Regional Learning
Our regional theme took centre stage as children explored African rhythms. They stomped, clapped, and twirled to drumbeats, retelling simple stories through expressive movement. Working in groups, they created mini performances—boosting confidence, coordination, and creativity.
Personal Development – Handwashing Song & Classroom Rules
We reinforced hygiene with a catchy handwashing routine—wet, soap, scrub, rinse, dry. Children learned to keep germs away and practiced doing it independently.
In a collaborative activity, the children created classroom rules using photos and role play. They proudly displayed their rules, learning ownership, respect, and responsibility.
STEM
In Science Club, we learned all about our fingers—names, roles, and movements. Children traced and labelled their hands, and even tried making shadow puppets. It was a fun, hands-on way to boost body awareness and language skills.
Amazing Excursion – Slime-Making at Local Art Club
We ventured out to a local art club for a gooey, giggly slime-making session. Children measured, mixed, and described textures like sticky and stretchy. It was messy, educational fun that encouraged teamwork and early scientific thinking.
Specialist Teachers
As part of our celebration of global practices, Miss Molly introduced the children to yoga storytelling. Poses like "tree" and "cat" helped children stay calm and focused while building strength and balance. Breathing exercises supported self-regulation and mindfulness.
Literacy & Writing
Children traced the letters in their names using crayons, markers, and sand trays. We practiced letter sounds and built simple words like “cat” and “sun.” These early literacy tasks also supported fine motor development and confidence in writing.
Math Moments
From counting drumbeats and yoga poses to measuring slime ingredients, maths was everywhere. Children explored size, number matching, and sorting while using real-world materials. They learned terms like “more,” “less,” and “same” through play.
Sports Day Celebration
Our Sports Day was full of excitement! Children ran races, completed obstacle courses, and cheered each other on. Parents joined in for relay races, creating memories and promoting physical development and teamwork. Thank you to all the families who made it so special!
It’s been a week full of joy, growth, and shared learning. We’re excited for what next week will bring!
Supporting a Cause Close to Our Hearts
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
In case you missed!
our update last week regarding important changes—including the new fee structure starting 1st September 2025—we kindly ask you to review the details.
Please take a moment to catch up and see how this may affect your family. Read the Nursery Fee Update →
Extended Learning: Holiday Clubs
Our Holiday Clubs offer STEAM fun, language learning, and field trips for school-aged children.
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