Daily Routine

Grasshoppers in the Park is not just a name - it’s our favourite daily activity, rain or shine.

We feel it sets our nursery apart from others. We strongly believe that our daily walks in the park represent an educational opportunity and that the outdoors hold all that is valuable and important to growing and learning children.

The children also use local facilities, such as the library and, from time to time, go further afield – recent trips have included Discover Children’s Story Centre, Little Angel Theatre, Tate Modern, Hackney City Farm, the V&A Museum of Childhood, Kew Gardens and the Science Museum. Parents are invited to come along if they can.

The children are back from their morning walk for lunch at 1pm.

After lunch the sleepers have a nap and the older children play outside in our garden or they take part in indoor activities suitable for their age group.

We encourage free play during the afternoons, which offers a great opportunity for the children to explore their imagination, communicate ideas and express their emotional and physical selves.  

Our weekly Art Hoppers art sessions have been introducing the children to a world of artistic expression.

Art Hoppers is delivered by local artist Claire Ward-Thornton throughout the year. Each term we start with a new theme such as 'art history' or 'the park'. Weekly sessions start with the inspiration of a playful anecdote and visual references and end by gathering in a circle to talk about the work created.

There are no ready-made templates to decorate or colour in, the aim is for each child to produce something different based on their own ideas and imagination.

The sessions are fun, messy and occasionally chaotic but voices are heard and incredible original artworks are made.  

Forest School is an inspirational process that offers children, young people and adults regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a local woodland environment - Forest Education Initiative (FEI)

Based on a Scandinavian idea of embracing the outdoors as a learning environment, Forest School involves children working with a Forest School Leader on a frequent basis, ideally once a week, in a local woodland setting or on a designated Forest School site.

We take the Grasshopper's to Springfield Park, where our Forest School Leader Roberta uses learning and teaching strategies to raise self-esteem and develop confidence, independence, language and communication skills. The Forest School sessions are not considered an 'addition' but are a part of the children's learning experiences and part of their nursery week. Sessions take place in all weathers and children are always dressed appropriatley.

Every Friday between 10:30am and 12:30pm the Nursery holds an outreach session to which all families in the local community are invited.  

The session is publicised locally and children are free to come and explore the nursery and participate in any of the activities.

These usually include arts and crafts and our very popular music sessions with our visiting artists - including multi-instrumentalist Jorge the Music Man.

In these fun and exciting sessions, children can sing along, dance, experience a variety of musical instruments and even learn to conduct!  

Book your free spot here!

We take pride in being a creative organisation and delivering inspiring artistic projects into the wider local community.  

We also aim to include the local community through our Friday drop-in sessions (book your free spot here), monthly swap shops and parties throughout the year.

We also have our annual summer party to celebrate a great year and to give our older children and their families a happy farewell as they prepare for the move up to school.

Having performed, competed and taught internationally, our dance teacher AJ brings a wealth of experience to every session, adapting his approach to create fun, age-appropriate classes that inspire even the youngest children to move, explore and enjoy dance.

His nursery sessions are energetic, engaging and full of fun. Through music, movement games, imaginative play and simple dance activities, children develop coordination, balance, rhythm and social skills in a relaxed and supportive environment. Every session is designed to encourage participation, spark creativity and help children gain confidence through movement.

His sessions combine the excitement of dance with the freedom of play, creating a positive space where every child can explore, express themselves and leave with a smile on their face.