This week, our babies explored the world through sensory play, outdoor adventures, and cultural crafts—building early language, movement, and connection.
Learn more about our bilingual, culturally rich curriculum at Westminster Nursery.
This week, we focused on building listening and speaking skills through fun, hands-on learning. The children enjoyed a touch-and-feel book all about farm animals and their babies. As we read, they explored the textures on each page and joined in with the animal sounds helping them link words to sounds and actions. We also introduced Makaton signs for book, open, and shut, giving the children more ways to express themselves. These activities support early language development by helping children understand new words, use signs alongside speech, and grow in confidence when communicating with others.
Continue the learning on Saturdays with our fun-filled Weekend School—perfect for language and cultural enrichment.
This week, we introduced the children to the colours of the Indian flag through a simple and engaging tearing and pasting activity. Using orange, white, and green paper, the babies explored textures and practised grasping, tearing, and sticking. This supported their early physical development and coordination. We also introduced the Bengal Tiger India’s national animal through a bright and bold colouring activity. The children enjoyed using crayons to make marks on paper and looking at the tiger’s stripes, helping them begin to notice patterns and shapes. These early cultural experiences were shared through sensory play, rich language, and one-to-one interactions.
With the lovely weather this week, we made the most of it by spending our mornings outdoors. Many of our daily activities took place outside, giving the children plenty of fresh air and space to explore. We had two exciting trips first to Causton Sand Park, where the children helped water plants, mixed sand and water, and made simple shapes. These experiences supported their physical development and encouraged curiosity. Later in the week, we visited St. George Park, where we enjoyed a big picnic, sang songs, chased birds, watched squirrels running up trees, and had great fun popping bubbles. These outings offered valuable opportunities for movement, social play, and connecting with nature.
To link with our Indian theme, we spoke about Indian foods, flags, and animals. Through crafts and conversations, the children started to learn about life in other parts of the world, in simple and age-appropriate ways.
Don’t miss our Holiday Camps, where learning meets celebration through creative seasonal activities!
We explored kinetic sand this week the children squeezed it, shaped it, and loved how it felt in their hands. It was great for sensory play and learning through touch. We also did a farm animal washing activity where the children helped clean toy animals with warm soapy water this helped build care skills, patience, and lots of fun chatting.6. Lessons with Specialist Teachers:
In Molly’s Mindful Movement, we stretched, breathed deeply, and talked about how our bodies feel helping the children stay calm and aware of their emotions, we did pretend fire truck sounds and movements .
With Lucy Sparkles, we sang action songs and moved to music, building rhythm and confidence.
From learning about families and food to dancing to Bollywood beats, our Blue Dragons embraced creativity, culture, and confidence through joyful learning.
Dear Families, This week in the Blue Dragons room, we explored the rich theme of Celebrating Families, Food, and Culture. Through stories, creative projects, sensory play, and cultural experiences, the students embraced new ideas while developing language, social skills, and a global perspective — all while having loads of fun!
We began the week by reading the delightful story Bears on Chairs, a warm introduction to the idea of family, friendship, and sharing. The children related the story to their own family experiences, sparking lovely discussions. Building on this, we introduced the letter F, for family, flower, fairy, fox, and fire truck. Children explored the /f/ sound and enjoyed mark-making activities to form the letter using pens, sand trays, and finger painting.
To deepen our family theme, we counted how many family members each child has. Children then picked the correct number card from a pile of flashcards — an exciting and personal way to develop number recognition and 1:1 correspondence.
This week, we explored India and focused on its national colours: orange, white, and green. Children used rollers and small stompers to create large-scale Indian flags. Some chose to work freely on paper, while others preferred experimenting inside trays — each child expressed their creativity in their own unique way.
We also used earth-toned playdough to simulate natural Indian landscapes. The children moulded hills, rivers, and other forms, letting their imaginations run wild while strengthening fine motor skills.
The car wash station was a big hit! With foam, soapy water, and kitchen towels, children washed toy vehicles, learning practical life skills while enjoying refreshing sensory play on warmer days.
Hands-on art projects like these are part of our creative arts programme.
Children contributed to a collaborative project: creating the flag of India using countless tiny pieces of paper. This activity supported fine motor development and teamwork, and the final result now proudly decorates our Geography Wall.
In the kitchen role-play area, children explored the world of cooking using real spices. They pretended to create meals, serve dishes, and mix ingredients — igniting their senses and sparking imaginative conversations about food and culture.
In our Cooking Club, children enjoyed making their own healthy snacks using yogurt and freshly cut fruit. They practiced scooping, layering, and tasting — a delicious way to support independence and healthy choices.
Our music sessions this week introduced the joyful and rhythmic sounds of Bollywood music. Children danced, moved to the beat, and explored Indian instruments and dance styles — all while expressing themselves through rhythm and movement.
Mrs. Mindful Molly, with her calm but engaging temperament, offered a high-standard mindfulness session filled with stories, breathing exercises, and calming activities that the children truly enjoyed.
Mini Sporties brought energy to the garden! This active session included learning to walk sideways, run fast and slow, and collect cones — helping to build coordination, balance, and confidence.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Each child’s curiosity, laughter, and creativity made this week especially meaningful. We’re proud of their growing understanding of family, food, and culture, and we look forward to more shared discoveries next week!
Want to join our family of curious learners? Apply for a nursery place today.
Our preschoolers dove into a week of vibrant cultural celebrations, phonics games, Mandarin writing, and mindful movement—bringing learning to life through play.
This week, our preschoolers explored vibrant cultural traditions from India, deepened their phonics and maths skills through games, and enjoyed special celebrations and curriculum experiences. From birthday fruit cakes to yoga and Bhangra dance, the classroom has been filled with movement, laughter, and meaningful learning.
Our exploration of India continued with a wonderfully creative handprint flag activity. The children painted their hands orange, white, and green to stamp onto paper, creating their own versions of the Indian flag. They proudly wrote the word “India” beneath their prints and decorated around the flag using a collage of orange and green shapes, enhancing their fine motor skills and sense of national symbolism.
Later, we turned up the music for a lesson in Bhangra, a traditional dance from the Punjab region. After watching a video demonstration, the children practised the energetic movements themselves—bouncing, clapping, and spinning with joy. This rhythmic activity helped develop coordination and cultural appreciation, and filled the classroom with colour and sound.
Phonics this week was full of energy and movement! In our “Roll the Dice, Hop on the Letter” game, children rolled a die and jumped to the matching numbered hula hoop. Each hoop had a letter inside—S, A, N, P, I, and T—and children brainstormed names, animals, and objects that began with those sounds. They were also encouraged to check whether any of the letters appeared in their own names, building personal connections to phonics.
In another activity, we introduced the five vowels—A, E, I, O, and U—through a word-building game. Some children chose simple three-letter words while others used magnetic letters to build them. As they worked in pairs, they practised segmenting and blending sounds, with a strong emphasis on pronunciation and collaborative learning.
This week in Mandarin, we practised writing the character for sheep (羊) and horse (马). Children used tracing cards and whiteboard markers to follow the stroke order, gaining confidence in Mandarin writing.
We also reinforced vocabulary through farm-themed songs and picture prompts, linking the written character with familiar animals from our previous lessons. The children are growing more independent in recognising and repeating Mandarin sounds during circle time.
In our “Circle Time, Be the Time!” activity, children learned to tell the time by acting it out. First, we discussed the parts of the clock—numbers 1–12, the short hand, and the long hand—then transformed our circle of chairs into a giant clock, with children holding up numbers to represent the face.
We talked through our daily nursery routine and identified what time different events happen, such as snack time, storytime, and home time. Children then acted out those parts of their day—washing hands, reading a book, or pretending to eat—making the abstract concept of time feel more real and relevant.
Later, we played UNO and Number Blocks, where children chose number cards, counted out the correct number of blocks, and built towers. Each tower was placed on top of its matching number card, helping to reinforce numeral recognition, quantity understanding, and construction skills in one engaging activity.
This week we celebrated Yeva’s fourth birthday with a special fruit cake activity! Using fresh fruit brought in by parents, the children worked together to wash, slice, and arrange the ingredients to create a beautiful and healthy birthday “cake.”
The celebration was full of cheerful singing, bright colours, and big smiles. It was a lovely opportunity for everyone to come together, practise sharing and cooperation, and celebrate one of our classmates in a meaningful, delicious way. Happy Birthday, Yeva!
During Sports Mini, the children headed into the garden to enjoy a mix of movement games, beginning with a warm-up and moving into a classic: Red Light, Green Light. They practised listening carefully and controlling their movement while building gross motor skills and following instructions in a high-energy setting.
With Mindful Molly, the children explored breathing and yoga in creative ways. They took turns blowing pinwheels to practise deep breaths and rolled a soft dice to select yoga poses from a book. Some poses were familiar, while others were brand new, prompting laughter and curiosity as the children tested their flexibility and balance. The session ended with a calm group story, helping the children wind down with mindfulness and imagination.
If you're searching for a childcare or preschool space where your child can thrive through hands-on experiences and specialist-led sessions—we’d love to welcome you.