At Eaton House The Manor Nursery there is an abundance of activities on offer: from music, sports and swimming to drama and design, to name a few. From first thing on Monday morning until Friday lunchtime, the nursery children join in with exciting activities both within the Nursery and at the main school, led by both the Nursery team and dedicated subject teachers.
We are very privileged to have our own spacious playground which is accessed via the classrooms and is a secure space where the children can play and explore safely. This allows children to use their gross motor skills in many different ways. We also have a large number of outsize wooden blocks that can be made into structures, together with sand and water play areas. All these activities develop the children’s fine and gross motor skills. During the warmer months we enjoy trips to Clapham Common, where we practice weekly for our sports day. We also make the most of the Pre-Prep’s AstroTurf and use it for games once a week.
Cubs and Bears
The children start in the Cubs’ room and go through to the Bears’ room after a term or two depending on which term they enter the school. Both rooms are bright, spacious rooms full of new experiences and toys to explore. The home corner is always a hugely popular with our little ones.
There is a gentle introduction to sounds and numbers, which are explained through fantastic hands-on experiences. The children can search for numbers in the sandpit or find sparkly sounds floating in the water.
The Bears’ room is more structured to help the children prepare for the smooth transition up to big school. Circle time, computers, outside play and individual work are equally important at the older stage of nursery. With gentle encouragement, most of our children leave us knowing all their sounds and some have even started to read.
Outings
Each term we take the children on a trip. We visit museums, theatres, the local library or the zoo. We take full advantage of the diverse facilities that are available to us as a London day school. Our trips include the Horniman Museum, The Museum of Childhood, the Transport Museum, Polka Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, London Zoo, Battersea Zoo, Bocketts Farm, Hobbledown, and the Unicorn Theatre.
Afternoon Activities
As our children become more confident and settled in the nursery routine, some stay for an afternoon session. One of our afternoon activities is swimming. Our children have the opportunity to hop on the school minibus with their friends (some might say the most exciting part of the week!) and take the short journey to Clapham Manor Leisure Centre. Two teachers and a parent accompany the children to the pool each week. The children arrive, change into their costumes and goggles, then jump into the pool.
The pool has a floor that can be raised, so the children are never out of their depth. This helps the children build confidence quickly in the water without the need for armbands. All levels are catered for, children are assessed and put into different groups, swimmers can swim and improve their technique and children who need time to build up their confidence, use noodles and floats. Our teachers gently encourage from the sideline, and the leisure centre staff are in the pool with the children
Sports
Every child participates in sports activities during the week. Sports sessions take place in our fully equipped gym or sports hall. The huge space with all the equipment and our wonderful specialist sports staff ignite a passion for sport at an early age. The children are exposed to a number of sports including football, hockey, tennis, gymnastics, basketball and athletics.
Before we know it we have some budding athletes who show great hand-eye coordination and a competitive drive! The summer term ends in one of our nursery highlights, sports day. Every child participates and so do the parents. Our children also have the opportunity to use the AstroTurf for sports skills sessions, the nursery playground lends itself to balance bars and heavy wooden blocks.
With such a range of activities on offer we hope to find something for everyone.
Click on the dropdown options below to find out more about some of our activities.
