Thames Tiddlers Nursery

Please come and join us for our yearly summer fete, this will be held at Thames Tiddlers Nursery on Saturday the 11th of July 2026 from 12pm - 3pm. Bring friends and family and your pennies and we look forward to seeing you there :)

We were really excited to hear the news that Catherine, Princess of Wales will be visiting Reggio Emilia this week to learn more about the Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education.

As many of our families know, this approach has inspired our practice here at Thames Tiddlers since 2012 and continues to shape so much of what we do every day within our nursery.

What has made this news even more special is hearing from both current and former parents who have reached out to share their excitement with us too. It has been so lovely reading your messages and hearing your reflections, especially knowing that the values of curiosity, creativity, connection and respect for children stay with families long after they leave us.

The Reggio Emilia Approach believes children are capable, curious and full of potential, with learning developing through relationships, exploration and the “Hundred Languages of Children” the many different ways children express themselves, communicate and learn about the world around them.

It is wonderful to see early years education being recognised on such an important platform, and we look forward to following the visit over the next few days. 💚

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c707k90lplno?fbclid=IwY2xjawRuugFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe1TbzDBr5rXD_nt_kImUnHLwK9AAQEyNqu040A5eBPZ-8nDWij69erbt6iEM_aem_ScZO04nYPwv_jL98GTk3nA

Catherine to return to overseas visits with trip to Italy The Princess of Wales will go to Italy next week on her first official overseas engagement for more than three years.

A session with Kelsey and the children exploring the lifecycle of a butterfly which we wanted to share with you all. The session began by reading Our Little Butterfly. The children were fascinated, sharing their thoughts as the story unfolded.

“Look, it laid its eggs,” Clementine noticed, while Ezra described “a fat caterpillar,” sparking lots of discussion about what caterpillars do as they grow.

When we learned that caterpillars eat their eggs after hatching, the children had plenty to say:
“Ew, yuck!”
“We can eat chicken eggs… but not caterpillars!”

The children were especially intrigued by the cocoon stage, gently pushing our model cocoon to see how it moved, making real-life connections to the story.

We also introduced a new word — metamorphosis — meaning a big change. They all eagerly attempted to say the word.
“That’s a very long word,” Clementine said, before recognising, “The caterpillar is turning into a butterfly.”

We then moved into a hands-on session, continuing to build our cocoon. The children showed wonderful creativity and care:
Adding ribbon to “keep the caterpillar warm”
Weaving string, buttons and netting
Cutting and threading materials independently

As they worked, they reflected on what they had learned:
“The caterpillar uses its spit”
“It has to be sticky”
“He wiggles!” (with lots of giggles and actions!)

August revisited the new vocabulary

August - “Metasis”

Kelsey (Educator) - “Metamorphosis?”

August - “Yes, it’s changing.”

August made the connection between the t-shirt he was wearing and the lifecycle of the butterfly, proudly pausing what he was doing to share with his peers.

We’re proud to share that Thames Tiddlers was featured in Greenwich Local Authority’s Early Years E-Bulletin!

The article celebrates how we take inspiration from the Reggio Emilia Approach of Northern Italy — an educational philosophy that sees children as capable, curious learners who thrive when their interests and ideas are explored, valued, and extended.

From creative ateliers to interest-driven projects, our practice is all about nurturing curiosity, creativity, and community.

We’re so proud of our children, families, and educators who make Thames Tiddlers such a special place to learn and grow 💛

✨ Professional Development Saturday ✨

This weekend, some of our team had the wonderful opportunity to spend the day on professional development at Atelier 21 School and visit the beautiful environments at Little Barn Owls.

I am so proud of our amazing and dedicated team who gave up their Saturday to further their learning and practice. Their passion and commitment to our children and nursery community shines through in everything they do. 💛

As always, we came away truly inspired by the ethos and environments at Little Barn Owls, and we are excited to continue enriching our own enquiry-based learning journey, taking inspiration from the Infant-Toddler and Pre-school Centres of Reggio Emilia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St2GORbo6cA

This may help others understand the difficulties the early years are facing. As always we thank all of our parents and carers for their continued support of TTN ❤️

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