PLEASE read: Royal wedding roleplay and PC.debate!!

[Barbie19]

Hi everyoen! I have a quick question for you. I currently work in a Private Day Nursery and in April as the pre-school supervisor I decided I wanted to look at the Royal Wedding with the children; we are going to make invitations for CLL and crowns for KUW and commemorative plates for CD and so on. However when it comes to role play area I really want to turn it into an alter for the children to play getting married etc. The alter would be church based but not go into much details..basic alter candles etc. Thr main point would be for the children to play at getting married not necessarily learn about the church itself. However, a member of staff who is catholic finds this role play idea offensive?? As she says we shouldn't impose religion on the children and teach them to play in churches. Now we are a multicultural setting and look at all the religions as we made eid cards and divali lanterns to which she has no problem doing. Does anybody else not agree with the RP idea? Sorry its a long one !!

[twinthing]

ummm well I would say maybe the alter is the bit she finds offensive...why not have a few rows of chairs....with an isle up the middle, some fake flowers for the childen to arrange in pots...the dressing up rail available, print off some basic orders of service to put up on the wall, maybe have a table with a cloth and a book for the register to sign...rather than candle sticks ect....perhaps that is a less religious approach....use some cameras to take photos....and if your co worker hates the idea ...make it into the reception with lots of play food at tables...a cake of some sorts perhaps for snack ( along with your healthy foods of course! :) ) I hope that helps ......:) good luck.

[Ruthierhyme]

Hi and welcome , the aisle scene setting does seem a little focussed. Marriages and unions happen in a variety of places and in a range of ways. Being a public holiday you may find images of Westminster abbey supports the children's recognition of a church should they see it on tv or visit.

Dressing up and talking about the ceremony, the commitments a couple make to each other and the reasons are a nice focus for marriage and enables child led activity /role play.

Marriages, unions and partnerships on wikipedia

Hth enjoy the site
xx

[tutu]

i would set up a table with a registrar. as a practitioner i would not want to offend as a parent i would be unhappy to have my children taught that a religious ceremony was something that made you a partnership. Less than 10 of the people in this country attend church and it certainly isnt what i would want my children to think is normal. be creative!

[Barbie19]

The creativity side to it isn't really an issue. We have decided and planned the way in which we are going to go about it. However,as a general rule would you stay away from creating any religious building in a role play area even if the attention was not on the religion itself? The practitioner herself has said that she would not mind if i asked her to create a mosque if it was during Eid, but finds the idea of having a church offensive. The majority of parents that we asked out of interest couldn't see what the fuss about having a church was. If the Royal Wedding was based in any other format i would have suggested doing the role play in that way too. I am not pushing the idea of Christianity to the children, but merely setting the scene of the wedding itself. If the Royal ceremony was held on a beach, i would say Let's do a beach! Honestly, would you be offended if your child's nursery had a church to simulate the scene of the Royal Wedding in their role play area?
I certainly wouldn't. I would want my child to have awareness of all cultural ceremonies and/or religions as I feel it is the only way to create an open minded future generation. I myself am Atheist so religiously i have no issues, but also personally I really don't see the big deal?? Maybe it's just me.

[Ruthierhyme]

Originally Posted by Barbie19

Honestly, would you be offended if your child's nursery had a church to simulate the scene of the Royal Wedding in their role play area?

Honestly yes.

Firstly let me say re-enactment is amazing.

It isn't in this instance that a religion or a place of worship & a ceremony is being promoted so much as adult's knowledge & understanding of what's involved being used to plan and setup/lead the children's learning that causes conflict. The impact of religion and the responsibility, or expectations of marital commitment can be huge, so much so that impartiality could be viewed as more beneficial for children, maybe so they have complete control over their own learning, their existing & extended perspectives.

You have so many great ideas going on that celebrates the royal wedding positively asking children to take part in a ritual that's aimed in the UK at two adults - having provided consent, seems a little unnecessary.

Child marriage is illegal in the UK and whilst I appreciate this is role play, understanding how children recognise the difference between play and reality may be more interesting to explore through ongoing access to marriage related resources rather than a planned, focussed & time constrained event?

xx

[Heidi]

Originally Posted by Barbie19

The creativity side to it isn't really an issue. We have decided and planned the way in which we are going to go about it. However,as a general rule would you stay away from creating any religious building in a role play area even if the attention was not on the religion itself? The practitioner herself has said that she would not mind if i asked her to create a mosque if it was during Eid, but finds the idea of having a church offensive. The majority of parents that we asked out of interest couldn't see what the fuss about having a church was. If the Royal Wedding was based in any other format i would have suggested doing the role play in that way too. I am not pushing the idea of Christianity to the children, but merely setting the scene of the wedding itself. If the Royal ceremony was held on a beach, i would say Let's do a beach! Honestly, would you be offended if your child's nursery had a church to simulate the scene of the Royal Wedding in their role play area?
I certainly wouldn't. I would want my child to have awareness of all cultural ceremonies and/or religions as I feel it is the only way to create an open minded future generation. I myself am Atheist so religiously i have no issues, but also personally I really don't see the big deal?? Maybe it's just me.

I think your theme is a lovely idea, I know children in our setting love to dress up, girls as brides or princesses, the boys love dressing up - especially wearing capes (we provide many options and accessories etc) - whether they are super heroes or kings. Marriage must still be talked of as the children re-enact through their role play and talk of getting married naturally. Many know that their parents are married, some have been bridesmaids, page boys or just attended a wedding.

If you are worried about offending by recreating a christian wedding, how about researching a little bit about other cultures/religious wedding traditions?
We have saris in our dressing up - not as elaborate as wedding sarees, but by providing other options, perhaps some pictures or accessories of other wedding ceremonies/celerations you could look at will help allay others concerns/fears.

I'm sure whatever you do, you will make it age and stage appropriate, obviously remain unbias in presenting your story telling/facts - you could talk of how a British bride may prepare/wear for their wedding and for an Indian wedding how they decorate their hands with henna, wear gold jewellery etc. You may want to look at a European wedding - pick out snippets that you think the children would like to hear. At some European weddings they really go to town decorating the wedding car with flower garlands, and after the ceremony driving through the town beeping their car horns to announce to all that someone has just married, in Britain we tend to have a ribbon on the bonnet of the car to go to the church, the registry office - or even a castle these days!

If you have lots of capes and crowns this will give the children an opportunity of dressing up as Kings and Queens - there are other Royal families throughout the world - another option to look at, talking about William and Kate as our King and Queen one day.

All these options don't have to make more work for you, keeping it simple will allow the activity go in the direction the children want it to.

I think your idea is a good idea - you just need to make sure that colleagues and parents can see that you have thought of equality and diversity when providing activities and learning opportunities for the children and there shouldn't be any problems. The union of a couple should be a joyous occassion whatever the cultural or religious beliefs.

[Ruthierhyme]

It is all about the learning, the resources, the child and adult experiences, the knowledge & understanding that provides quality opportunities

Child marriage / forced marriage is a child protection & safeguarding issue. The study of religious objects, iconology and their meanings, having information where people who don't beleive in a god get married, celebrate a lifelong committment to each other, same *** unity, how people of other faiths, cultural backgrounds marry, family, friends, traditional ways of celebrating unity and the involvement of the community.

Controversially maybe I feel age appropriate relates also to situations.

Examining & evaluating what adults expect children to gain from focussed role play scenarios helps to identify the learning they'll be providing.

Getting married, what marriage involves/means legally, marital ages worldwide, why age is a requirement for marriage - the entering into a contract.

Wedding guests, bridesmaids, pageboys, flower girls are roles children take on in uk weddings.

The nature of role play is holistic and empowering.

Being creative enables babies and young children to make connections between one area of learning and another. They need opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of art, mathematics, design and technology, music, movement, dance and imaginative and role-play activities.

source early years fs

Netting for windows, oranges or any other self chosen resource would be used by littlie brides to be, and princesses if they see purpose and reason to their play

Maybe bride & groom dressed puppets or soft toys could shift the focus of ceremonial play?


*edit - additional link added

[ray]

The children in my setting the other just suddenly started a complicated discussion about church and " the mosque" before we knew it they has set up rows of chairs , donned hats, "neck ties" and head scarves and were discussing what you have to say in church. One said and I quote "You have to say Hallelujah , very loudly" Another said " NO you put your hands together and say "Praise the Lord and Amen" One of the little girls knelt on the floor and said "Allah , Allah" This was all spontaneous and not adult led at all. They set up their own " place of worship" and the "Interfaith" ceremony seemed to work well for them lol. We spoke to all the parents involved and none seemed offended or concerned but the children did start this activity themselves. Of course it all disintegrated when one of the children said very forcefully that in their church they say " Our Father who farts on heaven, Hello is your name" I,m not sure that adults setting up a mock up of a religious place of worship in a setting is acceptable though as some parents may be offended. Perhaps you could arrange visits to places of worship to see where people get married or have the children bring in photos of their parents weddings to discuss the different places people do get married. Then just provide the role play "props" to see what the children do with them?