Westminster School Highlights: March 14th

Important Reminders

We kindly ask that children are dropped off and picked up on time to help ensure the day runs smoothly. Punctual arrivals and departures allow the children to settle in and fully enjoy their activities. We really appreciate your support in keeping to these times!

If you would like to add an extra session for your child, please do let us know in advance. We’ll check availability and confirm as soon as possible. This helps us to ensure we have enough staff and space to accommodate everyone. Thank you so much for your continued understanding and cooperation!

Babies at Westminster Nursery

Language and Communication

This week, we continued the magical story of Puffin Peter, where Peter, the little puffin, goes on an adventure to find his friend. As we listened to the story, the babies were encouraged to point at Peter and other familiar characters, helping them engage with the story in a fun, interactive way.

Makaton of the Week:

This week, we focused on the Makaton signs for "help" and "please," encouraging the babies to use these signs to express their needs and feelings. As they explored new activities and toys, they learned to ask for assistance with the sign for "help" and politely ask for more with the sign for "please." It’s been wonderful to see them using these signs during playtime, meals, and daily routines, helping them communicate with each other and the adults around them.

Exploring Northern Europe

This week, our little explorers journeyed to Northern Europe! We introduced the babies to the snowy wonderlands of Norway, filled with stunning fjords and a rich maritime culture. With soft cotton representing snow and songs about the animals that live in these regions, the babies were able to experience the wonders of the north, sparking their curiosity and imagination.

Sensory Play

Our little ones were immersed in the colours of spring—green, yellow, and pink—through some fun sensory play! They loved touching and feeling soft fabrics, shiny objects, and bumpy textures, sparking their curiosity and fine-tuning their sense of touch as they explored the colours of the season. They also enjoyed watching the sensory lamp, which filled the room with calming, changing lights, adding a magical touch to their sensory experience.

Celebrating the Holi Festival

We had a Holi Festival celebration, where the babies dived into a world of vibrant colours! With playful scarves and soft, textured materials, the little ones felt the rainbow of colours through their hands and eyes, all while having fun exploring different textures and learning about this exciting cultural celebration.

Messy Water Play Inspired by Norway's Coastal Environment:

This week, we had a splash-tastic time exploring Norway's beautiful coastal environment through a fun water play activity! Altogether, the children enjoyed splashing, pouring, and playing with sea animals and toy boats, imagining they were out on the fjords. As they interacted with the water and animals, they learned about Norway’s connection to the sea and its stunning marine life. The babies had a blast while developing their sensory skills and exploring the textures of the water and toys.

Art and Craft

Creativity was in full swing as the babies decorated our big springtime tree with colourful tissue paper! They scrunched, stuck, and arranged the tissue paper to create their very own bright spring display. This arts and crafts session helped the babies develop their fine motor skills, all while enjoying the joy of making something beautiful with their hands.

Toddlers

Exploring Denmark: A Journey into a Fascinating Country!

Baking Yummy Danish Pastries in Cooking Club 

Bubble Magic: A Science Experiment with Bubbles! 

Learning the Sound of 't': t is for Toy and Truck!

In our Phonics session, we had lots of fun learning the sound of the letter t. The children enjoyed saying the sound out loud and identifying objects around them that start with 't', like toys and trucks. This activity helped them better understand letter sounds and gave them a chance to practice their listening and speaking skills. Connecting the sound of 'T' to things they know made the learning fun and memorable, and it’s a great way to start building their reading skills!

Counting with Our Fingers and Exploring Shapes: Fun Maths Time

In our Mathematics time, our Blue dragons had a great time counting using their fingers as a "physical calculator." They practiced counting from 1 to 10, engaging with the numbers in a hands-on way that made learning fun and interactive. This activity helped them develop number recognition and understand the concept of counting. By using their fingers, they connected physical movement to numbers, laying the foundation for future skills like adding and more advanced number concepts.

Alongside counting, the children also had fun exploring different shapes, such as circles, squares, and triangles. They used shape cutters with dough to create their own shapes, enhancing their shape recognition and fine motor skills. As they pressed the cutters into the dough, they explored how different shapes felt and looked, building their understanding of shape concepts in a creative and tactile way.

Exploring Spring Trees: Learning About Nature and the Parts of a Tree

This week, our Blue Dragons learned about the different parts of a tree as we explored the arrival of spring. We introduced new vocabulary such as tree, trunk, branches, leaves, roots, and flowers. The children had the opportunity to create their own trees by sticking trunks and adding colourful flowers to the branches, helping them understand how trees grow and change during springtime. They also learned about the importance of caring for trees, including how trees need water, sunlight, and healthy soil to thrive.

Water Fun: Pouring and Filling 

Little Chefs in the Kitchen: Cooking and Sharing Recipes

In the Kitchen Area, the children had a blast role-playing as chefs. They shared their favourite recipes and asked fun questions like, "How many eggs do we need to make a cake?" and "What do we need to make pasta?" This activity gave the children a chance to practice speaking in full sentences, express their ideas, and work on their communication skills—all while pretending to cook and having lots of fun! It was a creative way for them to develop their language and social skills through imaginative play.

Planting Flowers: Taking Care of Nature

Preschoolers

Understanding the World: Northern Europe

We took a journey to explore the fascinating countries of Northern Europe, learning about the landscapes, weather, animals, and people of places like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. The children were fascinated to learn about the cold, snowy environments and the Northern Lights, which we explored through a creative science experiment. We added food colouring to water, creating vibrant colours similar to the Northern Lights, and the children enjoyed mixing the colours together and watching them blend in a beautiful way.

As part of our exploration of Scandinavia, the children also learned about the Viking culture. After hearing exciting Viking stories, the children got creative and made their own Viking shields. They designed and decorated their shields, using their imagination to think about how Vikings might have decorated theirs. This activity not only connected the children with the stories they heard but also encouraged fine motor skills as they worked with different materials.

Exploring Nature and Culture

We explored the natural beauty of Northern Europe, focusing on iconic images such as snow-capped mountains, forests, and fjords. In our group activity, the children practiced colour recognition by sorting images of these beautiful landscapes into the correct colour categories. They also worked on their fine motor skills as they cut and pasted different natural elements, like trees, snowflakes, and animals, to create their own winter scenes.

Phonics fun

This week, the children have been learning the letters n, m, p, and i. They have enjoyed practising recognising each letter, matching them with their corresponding names, and sounding them out. Through fun activities such as letter games and songs, the children have strengthened their phonics skills and letter recognition. They also had the opportunity to identify objects around the room that begin with these letters, helping them connect the sounds to everyday examples. This interactive approach to phonics is boosting their confidence and preparing them for future reading and writing activities.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

As part of our focus on Northern Europe, we also celebrated International Women’s Day by learning about inspirational women from the region, including historical figures like Greta Garbo and modern-day leaders like Iceland’s first female president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. The children shared stories of women they admire, and each child made a beautiful flower as a gesture of love and appreciation for women in their lives.

Mandarin Language Learning

In our Mandarin lessons, we explored words related to spring in Northern Europe. The children were introduced to Mandarin words for seasons, colours, and animals native to Northern Europe. Learning about the reindeer, snow, and Northern Lights in both English and Mandarin allowed the children to experience the beauty of the region while enhancing their language skills.

Here are some of the new words they learned this week:

Northern Lights – 北极光 (Běijí guāng)

Vikings – 维京人 (Wéijīng rén)

Viking Shields – 维京盾 (Wéijīng dùn)

Snow-capped mountains – 雪山 (Xuě shān)

Forests – 森林 (Sēnlín)

Fjords – 峡湾 (Xiá wān)

Trees – 树 (Shù)

Snowflakes – 雪花 (Xuě huā)

Animals – 动物 (Dòngwù)

Flower – 花 (Huā)

Spring – 春天 (Chūntiān)

Seasons – 季节 (Jìjié) 

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