Westminster School Highlights - October 25, 2024

Mandarin and Phonics

This week, the Dragon flight dove deeper into Mandarin language learning, focusing on pronunciation, recognition, and writing of key words related to everyday life and nature.

The children practiced writing characters such as “hand” (手), “mountain” (山), “October” (十月), and “heart” (心), learning the meaning of each word and discovering how each character represents an idea or object in Mandarin.

Watching them practice these strokes, each child focusing on the precision of the characters, was inspiring.

In phonics, we introduced the letters O and M in connection with words the children find familiar: O for October and M for mountain.

This phonics practice helps reinforce letter recognition and encourages the children to make connections between languages, as they start recognizing similar sounds in both English and Mandarin.

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 us give them the things they need? Donate to Little Village below!

Outing to Pimlico Library and the Park

Our week included a wonderful outing to Pimlico Library, where the children joined a rhythm and movement session designed to bring stories to life!

They sang songs, read in expressive and engaging ways, and danced to the beat of classic nursery rhymes.

The children especially enjoyed the group reading activities, where they experienced storytelling through sounds, movement, and dramatic expressions.

Each story was read in a different style, introducing them to how words can be made even more exciting.

After our library visit, we headed to the nearby park for a round of physical exercises. The children enjoyed running around, climbing, and challenging themselves on the playground equipment, making it a delightful afternoon of movement and laughter.

So, don't miss out on our future outings - increase your hours now!

Geography: Discovering North America

In geography, the Dragonflies continued their exploration of North America.

They learned about the continent's unique climates, iconic plants like the cactus, fascinating animals, and the first groups of people who inhabited the land.

To visualize North America’s location on the map, the children participated in a crafting activity where they cut out each of the seven continents and carefully placed them on an ocean backdrop.

This hands-on activity helped them see where North America fits into the bigger picture of our world!

Additionally, we played a world puzzle game, where the children worked together to assemble the pieces and identify North America’s location.

Their excitement grew as each puzzle piece fell into place, and by the end, they proudly pointed out the continent with big smiles!

Halloween Activities with Miss Mindful Molly

With Halloween approaching, the children had the opportunity to engage in festive-themed activities during our music session with Miss Mindful Molly.

They practiced yoga poses inspired by Halloween, such as stretching like bats with wide wings, creeping low like cats, and swaying like trees in the wind.

The session was filled with joyful energy, especially when the children were given magical “witches’ hats” to catch bubbles!

Each child eagerly ran around, hats raised high, attempting to catch the shimmering bubbles floating through the air.

Alongside these activities, they had fun designing their own pumpkins.

We also used this opportunity to expand their Mandarin vocabulary by teaching the word for pumpkin, 南瓜 (nán guā).

It was a special moment to see each child proudly hold up their pumpkin designs, repeating the word in Mandarin with excitement.

Each week, it’s wonderful to witness the growth, creativity, and curiosity of the children as they engage with new concepts, languages, and cultures.

We look forward to more adventures in the coming days as we continue our journey of learning and discovery together!

Baby room

This week, our babies explored the fun themes of Autumn and Halloween through various engaging activities.

During house play, the children showed curiosity while exploring the book My First Spooky Words, enjoying picture reading and learning new seasonal words.

They also took part in mark-making, and created a big spider craft that is now proudly displayed in our room!

In circle time, we focused on being kind to each other, learning how to wait for our turns and using gentle hands.

These important social skills help us build positive relationships. Our Makaton sign of the week was “wash hands,” which we practiced during handwashing routines.

It has been a wonderful week filled with learning, creativity, and fun. We look forward to more exciting experiences next week.