Free and affordable half-term and Halloween suggestions for the under fives in central London ...

If you do not have school-age children yet, you likely are not aware that this week is half-term.  Many small playgroups will be closed and the museums will be packed but there is still on lot going on for even the teeniest of the Under Five’s in Central London.

The Westminster Children’s Centres and the neighbourhood pools will be open; you should ring ahead just to confirm that the times have not changed.  Battersea 1 O’clock club will also remain open from 1 – 4 daily for the under fives. 

If you want to fight the crowds, the Museum of London has some amazing activities for the over 3’s, as does the Transport Museum (£10 per adult with no fee for children, or £30 for an annual family pass).  The V and A has a ceramic workshop where you can make beads or plates.  The Foundling Museum and the National Gallery have storytelling sessions.  The Tate has a great Halloween session.  Whole Foods Market will have some activities as listed below.

Click here to check the complete details for half-term activities and reviews of museums and parks throughout Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea.

Museum of London, London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN, 0207 001 9844 (free) Tube: Barbican, St. Paul’s, Moorgate; Bus: 4, 8, 25, 56, 100, 25, 172, 242, 521; http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/VisitUs/

Comical Romans, Saturday 24th October – Tuesday 27th October 11- 11:45, 12:20 – 1:15, 2 – 2:45, free (tickets allocated on arrival) ages 3 + Make a Roman comic strip, bring your own USB stick if possible.

A Day in the Life of ... Saturday 24th October – Sunday 1st November, 10:30 – 3:30, free, ages 2+ Learn about the history of London in the Clore Learning Centre where there will be drop-in, hands-on activities and workshops.

Roman Family Photo, Wednesday 28th October 11 – 1:45, 12:30 – 1:15 and 2 – 2:45, free (tickets allocated on arrival) for ages 2+.  Make Roman costumes together and use a digital camera to create a portrait to take home. 

Fiery Costumes, Saturday 31st October and Sunday 1st November 11 – 11:45, 12:30 – 1:15, 2 – 2:45 free (tickets allocated on arrival) Come and make fantastic fiery costumes inspired by the London’s Burning exhibition,  ages 2+ 
 
The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Sq., London WC1N 1AZ, 0207 841 3600 (free); Tube: Russell Sq, King’s Cross, St. Pancras; Bus: 59, 68, 91, 168, 188, 17, 45, 46; http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/location.php

Storytelling, Thursday 29th October 2 – 4pm Join us to hear more stories connected to the amazing objects and pictures from the Foundling Hospital.  Formal stories at 2pm in the Picture Gallery, but look out for the storyteller in the colourful coat at other times.

Put Yourself in the Picture, Friday 30th October 10:30 – 12:30 and 2 – 4pm See yourself in one of the archive photos, we will email the results or print you a copy.
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

Tube: Waterloo, Embankment

Bus: 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, 139, 168, 171, 172, 176, 198, 243, 341

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/visitor-info

Cheese and Wine Festival 23 October – 25th October
Slow Food Halloween Market 30th October – 1st November
National Gallery (free)

Magic Carpet Ride, under fives, Tuesday 27 October  – Saturday 31 October, 11:30 – noon 

Bus: 3, 11, 12, 24, 53, 87, 88, 159, 453

Tube: Charing Cross

For half-term The National Gallery is expanding its Magic Carpet Ride sessions.  These are great, entertaining for children and parents alike. Meet in the education wing (which is the opposite side of the entrance on Trafalgar Square) a docent gathers families for a prompt start to the activity.  After in introduction and discussion of the rules, the group walks through the galleries and sits in front of a work of art to listen to a story about the picture and sing a song. 

Transport Museum, Covent Garden (admission £10 or annual family pass £20)

Secret gardens - Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October
14:00 to 16:00 drop-in
Suitable for ages 3 and above
Take a pot of mud, add a sprinkling of imagination and make a mini secret garden to take home. Construct a shed, fill it with flowers or add your own tiny treasures to make your garden extra special.
Eco-pots - Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October
12:00 to 13.00 drop-in
Suitable for ages 3 and above
Learn how to make eco-plant pots out of recycled newspaper, ready to plant straight into the ground without disturbing your little seedlings. Collect your free seeds, get planting - then take your pot home and watch them grow.
Sing-along Suburbia - Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October
11:00 drop-in (session lasts 20 minutes)
Suitable for under 5s
Sing along to a selection of hand picked songs about life in the garden. Including old favourites Incy wincy spider and Wiggly woo the worm.
Spooky suburban spiders - Saturday 31 October only
12.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 15.30 drop in
Suitable for ages 3 and above
Make a spooky spider, to hide in your garden and freak out your friends on Halloween. Eeeek!
Museum of Natural History, various events (free)

Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD 0207 942 5000

Tube: South Kensington

Bus 360, 70, 414, 74, 14, C1, 49, 430, 345

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/index.html  

The biggest draw this week for the Under fives (and this is best for the over threes) is the Investigate Room, in the basement, will be open daily from 11 am – 5pm.  This is the coolest place in London to take an older toddler.  The room is stocked with specimen trays that the children may pull out and look at samples of sea shells, animal skins, various butterfly and beetles.  Further; there are microscopes for the children to use.  Keep in mind that it can get busy and you may have to wait for a turn to enter. 
The “Cocoon” in the Darwin Centre is now open and free to all (I have yet to go, so no word on whether or not it is toddler friendly). 
Wildlife Garden will be open from 10 – 5pm daily and it closes for the year on October 31st.
 
 V and A, South Kensington (free) Cromwell Road, South Kensington Tube: South Kensington Bus 360, 70, 414, 74, 14, C1, 49, 430, 345  Monday 26 – Friday 30th October 10:30 – 1pm and 2 – 5pm, Drop-in Design Special: Super Ceramics
Get your hands dirty playing with clay.  Visit the new Ceramics galleries and be inspired to make your own creations.  Then meet ceramic artists Louisa Taylor and Shizuka Maruta and learn how to make clay beads from textures and moulds, decorative dinner plates using ceramic transfers, or try using a potter's wheel and have a go at throwing clay.
(Art Studio and Lunchroom, Sackler Centre) 

Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, Tuesday 27 – Thursday October 29, Noon – 1pm, Clay Time As part of Super Ceramics, visit the open studio of ceramic artist Steve Dixon and see demonstrations of animals and figures being modelled in clay.
(Ceramics Studio, Room 143A)
Tate Britain (free)

Millbank, London SW1P 4RG, 0207 887 8888
Bus: 2, 3, C10, 36, 36, 87, 88, 159, 185, 436 and 507

Tube: Pimlico, Vauxhall, Westminster

Spooky Tate, Saturday 31st October, noon – 5pm, (officially 5+, but there has never been a problem taking little ones in the past) Create your own trick or treat costumes, hear spooky stories behind the paintings, make your own dancing skeleton puppet, help fill the galleries with thousands of spiders and bats

Halloween at Whole Foods Market, High Street Kensington, Wednesday 28th October

Kid's Bat Scavenger Hunt  4pm-6pm Find all of the bat facts we've hidden around the store, and be in with a chance of winning a bag full of Halloween treats!
Kid's Fancy Dress Competition  4pm-6pm Turn up to the store between 4pm & 6pm in your best Halloween Costume. The first 50 children to arrive in costume will recieve a goody bag. The best costume will win a hamper full of Halloween fun!!
Kid's Club Halloween Special 5pm Pumpkin decorating, pre book at our Q desk £5 per child

Laura Vogel is a former primary school teacher and full-time mother of two who is enjoying every minute of her life in London discovering the city with her children on her extended maternity leave.

Photo credit

Comments

[compléments alimentaires]

Hello
You have given nice suggestions to us.This is really helpful for us.I will sure recommend this to my all friends.Thank you very much for giving such a good information.

[MumVersusKids]

Hi there, great ideas and what a cool Jack o'Lantern photo. I actually run a new website with lots of child friendly stuff to do in London (http://www.reallykidfriendly.com) - just search for places in your neighbourhood / South bank / west end, etc or look at the What's On page for things to do for free or during half-term. I've got two toddlers, so there are plenty of ideas for under 5s. If you get lots of mums taking you up on your fab ideas above, I'd love it if they stopped by my site afterwards to tell other parents about their experiences!

[Janine Clements]

Brilliant - great to have all these in one place. Thank you!

[Karen]

Thanks for some great ideas, Brilliant!

[angelsandurchins]

I'm too late for Halloween, but don't forget the old standbys: ride on top of a double-decker bus (free for under fives, if not for the adult they're with), going up and down escalators in a department store, walking alongside the Thames, chasing pigeons and running in Battersea Park. Love London with littles!