Westminster School Highlights - November 22, 2024

We’ve had a fantastic week filled with exciting activities and valuable learning experiences that have engaged the children’s curiosity and creativity.

Here’s a summary of what we’ve been up to, along with the key learning objectives behind each activity.

Preschool

Circle Time

Our mornings began with circle time, a wonderful opportunity for the children to share stories about their weekends and revisit last week’s learning about South America.

The children eagerly recalled fascinating facts about the Amazon Jungle, including the incredible wildlife and dense rainforest.

This activity nurtured their communication skills, boosted their confidence in sharing personal experiences, and encouraged them to practice recalling prior knowledge in a social setting.

Circle time continues to be an invaluable way to start the day with a sense of connection and purpose.

Role Play: “Big Jack’s Shop”

A standout moment of the week was our role-play activity, “Big Jack’s Shop,” where the nursery transformed into a bustling little shop.

Each child was given £1–£5 to spend on toys, pens, paper, and other nursery items. They explored the process of making purchases, receiving change, and even earning extra money by helping to tidy up the room.

Some children took on the role of shopkeepers, assisting their friends in finding items and calculating payments.

This activity was a fun and practical introduction to financial literacy, numeracy, and social interaction, helping the children to develop life skills in an engaging and age-appropriate way.

Pirate-Themed Yoga

The children were thrilled to participate in a pirate-themed yoga session with Miss Molly.

They imagined themselves as swashbuckling pirates, stretching to find hidden treasure, balancing as they “walked the plank,” and using deep breathing to create “waves.”

This imaginative session supported their gross motor development, inspired creative thinking, and introduced them to relaxation techniques in an accessible and entertaining format.

Yoga is also an excellent way for children to improve focus, body awareness, and emotional regulation while having fun.

Space Exploration

This week, we blasted off into a space adventure!

The children dressed as astronauts, learning fascinating facts about planets, stars, and the solar system.

They practiced counting skills by jumping onto numbered “rockets” during countdowns to blastoff, which was both fun and educational.

We also explored concepts such as the sizes, temperatures, and positions of the planets relative to the sun, sparking their curiosity about the universe while reinforcing numeracy and spatial awareness.

The space activities were a wonderful blend of science, maths, and imaginative play.

Mathematics Fun

Mathematics took centre stage with activities designed to build early numeracy skills. The children enjoyed flipping cards to find matching numbers between 1 and 5, reinforcing their number recognition.

Another favourite was the tweezers challenge, where they carefully picked up objects of different shapes and placed them on numbered trays.

These activities not only strengthened their understanding of numbers but also developed their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination—essential building blocks for future learning.

Cultural Exploration: Colombian Arepas

Our ongoing exploration of Colombian culture continued with a hands-on cooking activity.

The children made arepas by mixing cornmeal, flour, water, salt, and cheese to create dough, shaping it into balls, and baking it.

They eagerly tasted their creations, paired with fruit, broadening their sensory experiences and understanding of diverse foods.

Additionally, lunchtime featured a Colombian-inspired mushroom, beef, and barley soup, which was a hearty and delicious addition to the week.

These activities helped the children develop a deeper appreciation for other cultures and an openness to new experiences.

Outdoor Adventures

Outdoor play was a daily highlight, with the children enjoying the freedom to run, swing, and balance on beams in the garden.

These activities encouraged teamwork and collaboration while helping the children stay active and connect with nature.

Outdoor time is essential for developing physical strength, coordination, and a sense of adventure, all while having plenty of fun with friends.

Looking Ahead

We have an exciting week ahead planned for the children, including Mandarin Character Recognition and Numeracy Development!

Next week will also feature exciting new themes and creative projects designed to foster exploration, imagination, and teamwork. We can’t wait to see what the children will achieve!

Blue Dragons

Mandarin-Sky

This week, we explored Mandarin vocabulary about the sky, learning words like sun (太阳), cloud (云), rain (雨), fog(雾), wind (风), and snow (雪). We also read stories about different weather and seasons. Though the weather can change quickly, we continue to explore the world with curiosity!

Snow-Making

On Tuesday morning, we embraced the snowy season with a sensory play activity.

The Blue Dragons began with rhythmic hand claps, followed by a fun foam-play session where they made "snow" right in the classroom.

Look how excited they were!

Tracing Letters: S and A

This month, we focused on tracing the letters S and A. The Blue Dragons worked hard to hold their pens and connect the dots to form lines and shapes.

Look at their determination as they practiced these important pre-writing skills!

Our partnership with Little Village

As an early years education and childcare institution, we put great value on helping children in need.

This is why we partnered with Little Village, an organization that helps babies and young children living in poverty all across London.

Want to help children in need? Donate to Little Village below!

South America Adventures: Feeding Miss Parrot

Our special guest, Miss Parrot, flew in all the way from the Amazon Jungle! To welcome her, the Blue Dragons prepared delicious dishes.

During the cooking activity, they learned about different vegetables and discussed which foods are healthy and which are not. What a tasty way to learn!

Inca Civilization: Mask Making

Continuing our journey into South American culture, the Blue Dragons explored the rich history of the Inca civilization.

After reading stories about this fascinating culture, the children created colorful masks inspired by traditional Inca designs.

Their creativity was on full display!

World Kindness Day: Handprint Tree

At our school, kindness is at the heart of everything we do. One of our golden rules is to use kind hands and kind words, and World Kindness Day gave us the perfect opportunity to reflect on this value.

To celebrate, the Blue Dragons came together to create a beautiful Tree of Kindness. Each child added their unique handprint to the branches, transforming them into vibrant “leaves.”

Before making their prints, we had a thoughtful discussion about what kindness means and how small, everyday actions—like sharing, helping a friend, or saying kind words—can make a big difference in the world.

We also shared stories and moments where we had experienced kindness, whether it was a friend helping with a task, someone sharing a toy, or simply a warm smile.

These moments reminded us that acts of kindness, no matter how small, can create ripples of joy around us.

Our Tree of Kindness now stands tall as a reminder of how we can all work together to spread compassion and love. Let’s continue to nurture these values every day!

Baby Room

This week in the Baby Room, we've had a wonderful time engaging in a variety of activities that have supported the babies' growth, development, and learning.

It’s been a week filled with excitement, discovery, and plenty of sensory exploration!

Mandarin music sessions

During our Mandarin music session, the babies had lots of fun singing and moving to rhythms, which helped develop their listening and early language skills.

The use of music and movement encourages both physical and cognitive development, fostering their ability to follow simple rhythms and sounds.

Circle time

In circle time, we explored our monthly vocabulary theme – weather – and talked about what’s happening in the world around us.

Makaton sign of the week: "All Done/Finished"

We also practised the Makaton sign of the week: "All Done/Finished," a useful sign that helps the babies communicate their needs. This is part of our ongoing focus on supporting early communication skills.

We introduced new words related to the theme, including sun (太阳), star (星星), moon (月亮), and wind (风), helping expand the babies' understanding of the world.

Enjoying the snow

On Tuesday, we were thrilled to see the snowfall, which brought lots of excitement to the Baby Room!

The babies had a chance to explore the snow outdoors, feeling its texture and experiencing the cold, which was a fantastic sensory experience.

Indoors, we made pretend snow from cotton wool and other materials, encouraging more tactile exploration and imaginative play.

We also enjoyed reading That's Not My Snowman... by Fiona Watt, a lovely textured storybook that introduces winter themes and sparks curiosity.

Sensory play

The different textures on each page encouraged the babies to engage in sensory play as they explored the story with their hands.

Purple playdough was a big hit this week as well. The babies enjoyed rolling, squishing, and shaping the playdough, and they especially loved searching for stars while singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

This activity not only supported their sensory development but also helped strengthen their fine motor skills as they manipulated the playdough.

Sensory play like this is vital for developing hand-eye coordination and creativity.Mindful Molly’s sensory and yoga session was another highlight of the week.

The babies had the opportunity to explore mindful movements and calming yoga poses, which promote relaxation, physical development, and body awareness.

The gentle activities help the babies focus on their breath and movements, supporting both emotional and physical well-being.

Amazing excursion: Pimlico Library

We ended the week with a visit to Pimlico for some creative art, crafts, and sensory play.

This outing encouraged the babies to express themselves through different mediums, from finger painting to exploring various textures.

It provided a wonderful opportunity for them to explore their creativity while developing fine motor skills.

Overall, it’s been a week full of fun and meaningful experiences that have supported the babies’ cognitive, physical, and emotional development.

We look forward to more adventures next week! 

Parenting in the age of AI

Are you curious to learn about how modern technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), can positively or negatively impact parenting in this day and age?

If so, you might be interested in subscribing to our CEO’s blog on Parenting in the Age of AI.

Check out his blog here!