Toddlers have a lot of energy to burn! They are also growing and developing very quickly, which is why it is so important to support their learning and development with stimulating and challenging enough activities.
Music classes
Singing teaches communication skills; It prepares little ones for communicating later in life as it helps them get used to the structure and inflexions of their native language. For toddlers, singing strengthens their lips and tongues which encourages clear speaking, and also expands their vocabulary and teaches them about creative language and rhyme.
Learning to sing along with their favourite songs is a great way to build up their memory and concentration too.
Action songs are a great way to develop your child’s coordination, gross and fine motor skills. Exposure to music enhances a child’s natural ability to decode sounds and words.
By singing nursery rhymes to your child, you can help them to identify sound patterns and learn through repetition. In addition to that, music also helps children anticipate what is coming next in a poem or a song and they know how to put these patterns in a sequence. By mastering these skills, children build the base of literacy and numeracy.
Monkey music offers music classes for toddlers in Primrose Hill, Maida Vale, Hampstead, Notting Hill, Chelsea. Mini Mozart covers the same locations, and Little London music school can be found in Fulham and Notting hill.
Music is a mood lifter and a savior during long days. And it usually brings on some dancing!
Dance classes
Dancing with little ones fosters their sense of physical expression, self-expression and creativity. Dancing is as good for their minds as their bodies. They are discovering their full range of motion, developing body awareness, and fine-tuning their balance, muscle strength, and coordination.
Music engages the brain by stimulating neural pathways associated with abstract thinking, empathy, and even mathematics.
By its very nature, music is a socially engaging activity.
In swiss cottage, you can find Latino Bambino; in Hampstead, The Little dance academy & Petite performers; in Chelsea, Dakota’s dance academy.
Football classes
Sometimes they are more into balls! And when booking a toddler football class, don’t expect a football game. Toddlers football classes are for getting used to rules and structure/instruction; developing muscular strength, endurance and aerobic fitness. They are great for coordination, agility, spatial awareness, and much more.
Little kickers offer classes in Hampstead, Primrose Hill, and Chelsea.
Soft play
On a rainy day, this is the best option. And luckily, there are quite a few different ones! They are the best child self places to jump, climb, explore, burn out energy while developing gross motor skills and meeting new friends.
Hullabaloo, at the sheriff center; Rascals at Swiss cottage leisure center; talacre community sport center; Gambado in Chelsea,…
Gym classes
For toddlers, gymnastics classes are about climbing, jumping, practising hand and eye coordination with ball games, learning about, understanding and challenging their bodies and gross motor skills in a safe place. I personally recommend the little gym Hampstead in the O2 center (they also have a branch in Fulham), not only they are very child friendly, patient, and devoted to their work, but they also explain all the benefits of each exercise to adults. Gymboree (in Fulham, Kensington, and Hampstead) also offer gym/parkour classes mixed with singing.
Messy play
Your children want to make a mess, but you don’t want to add cleaning to your to-do list? Find a messy play class nearby!
They are the perfect place for your children to have the opportunity to explore different textures and sensations, as well as working on and developing their imagination and creativity. Plus making a mess is always fun (especially when you know no cleaning is needed afterwards)! They use veggies, cooked pasta, edible paint and other edible like materials for their activities as they know toddlers explore with their mouth as much as their hands.
Messy monkeys run classes in Hampstead, Primrose Hill, Notting Hill, Kensington.
Visiting animals
Are you an animal lover? Here is where to find them in the city!
London Zoo in Primrose Hill, they have lots of animals from different continents for your little ones to see and learn about and even have playgrounds and an outdoor splash area in the summer. My favourite is the penguins, as you can see them swim underwater through huge glass. You can also see some animals without entering the zoo. When walking north of Regent’s Park next to the zoo’s fence, you can see monkeys, camels, goats, and if you’re lucky sometimes the lion and tiger too.
Golders hill zoo in Hampstead has lots of different birds, deers, wallabies, and lemurs. It’s outdoor in Hampstead Heath and free.
Kentish town city farm, near Hampstead and Primrose Hill, have goats, sheeps, donkeys, horses, cows, pigs, and plenty more. It’s free to visit and pretty big for a city farm!
Queen’s park pets corner, near Maida Vale and west Hampstead has a small area with animals such as sheeps, goats, chickens, ducks and turkeys. Also free to visit.
Battersea zoo, near Chelsea, has quite a good variety of birds, mammals, and also reptiles for little ones to discover.
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