Cultural Day at Primary School

[DancingonmyOwn88]

Looking for ideas! Not a political debate.

it’s Cultural appreciation Day next week at my son’s school, there’s quite a lot of different backgrounds that his classmates are coming from (only 15 in the class but it’s a southeast London borough) and we are actually in a bit of a minority being white British.

But they want parents to be involved which is very nice and it happens to be a day I’m not working, so they’re inviting us to come in and do a 5-10 min activity and take some traditional food from your culture to a class lunch.

As I say we are just English. Not even any Scottish or Irish or Welsh or things that are widely celebrated. I suppose it’s just making me wonder if it’s ‘ok’ to outwardly celebrate being white British without causing any offence (please no Reform-esque debates here I am trying to navigate it appropriately!

What do I do? Learn morris dancing? Dress as a Pearly Queen 😂

I thought about just reading a Paddington Bear book and making some marmalade sandwiches but is that a bit lame?

DS is only in reception by the way so they’re all very small obviously and they’re still all getting to know each other as a class.

I love the scones idea. The jam v cream debate, the bone v gone pronunciation debate - they can get surprisingly heated and the children will find it hilarious. Plus if you pronounce it like gone, you can have the joke what’s the fastest cake? Scone!”

you can also talk about how fiddly they are to get right and they get ruined if you twist the cutter

There is a great book about British food published by Phaidon:
https://www.phaidon.com/en-eu/products/the-british-cookbook-authentic-home-cooking-recipes-from-england-wales-scotland-and-northern-ireland?srsltid=AU7gw4VSIy7O9-_UkKXJhyyiChTDS1bV6XoEBo-nOBYrQ87mMeB7tWQF

Take in a couple of advent calendars (by kinnertons, as they are nut free) and get kids to select them by numbers. I know they are German, but you can explain that you want the treat to be allergen free. Or make some Jam Pennies? The late Queen used to eat these every day. They would be nut free

Agreed. Here's a pic of a plaque commemorating her that I passed at the trout and bacon festival in Sigüeiro, Northern Spain, on the Camino Inglés. Go, Margery!

Also, what about cockles with malt vinegar? We ate these in tiny dishes in Croydon's Surrey Street Market in our youth? Or Jellied Eels? Proper London dish.

Why not go for something historical? Oliver Cromwell, the Levellers, Queen Elizabeth I - all English, not British. Tricky costumes, admittedly. I am a socialist and it is a massive failure on the part of the left that we have ceded patriotism to the right, especially the far right. There is a narrative to be created about Englishness that celebrates working-class struggle, such as the Peterloo Massacre.

But to go back to your dilemma, OP - I actually love your Paddington Bear idea. Or for very easy costumes, you could do something sporty - cricket, rugby and, I believe, football were all invented in England

Paddington Bear is Peruvian and marmalade is Spanish, but it’s a sweet idea.

You could smear yourselves in woad, carry around a sacred chicken, and launch a war campaign against the Romans?

They have invited you in why wouldn't it be ok. If you want to talk about Paddington I'm sure that's ok but there are many things you can do. I don't expect you want to take in a roast dinner or fish and chips but you could make a Victoria sandwich cake and talk about how it was named after queen Victoria who liked it with her afternoon tea, and you could take other food items from afternoon tea , scones which are very british and finger sandwiches. Or if it's near fireworks night you can talk about that again (in a child friendly way) it's a particular Britain tradition., with treacle toffee, Parkin etc. or you could read the AA Milne Poem 'They are Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace "and talk about what that means. Or if you want something not Royal Family related you could talk about Pantomime which is a very British tradition that confuses many people from other cultures and take in traditional Christmas time foods/sweets
The opportunities are endless! I hope it goes well

Why do you think they're snarky? People are just trying to help.

Definitely jam sandwiches. Ideal because rarely anyone is allergic to them and it’s kosher/halal/vegan. Paddington is cute, marmalade sandwiches would be quite bitter.

I did think of the great British seaside holiday and taking in bars of rock but you might end up with half a dozen toothless kids so I’d avoid that 😂

I think your Paddington idea is great! You could think music too - we had a similar day when mine were in year one and quite a few kids wore artist T-shirts like oasis and spice girls, and took in those big people little dreams books if there was one matching! One kid went as Elton John and he looked bloody brilliant 😂

Sorry if someone else has already suggested this, but if you want to avoid the politics as much as possible, have you considered a modern version of The Famous Five. Everyone can get involved, bring their own blanket and picnic (with lashing of ginger beer!) and you could offer a book per group so they could see what white British meant years ago, what they still like to see, and what hasn't survived as well - and why.

Sorry if someone else already mentioned this, I'm just trying to not rock the boat (uh, so to speak) but it not only provides food eaten in a particular English way (from a blanket, sitting cross legged) that may well be new, but literature that seems to have only become less popular over time.

It would be great to offer, if age-appropriate, a FF book per child, but obviously that's finances and a whole other issue of money.

That’s not a bad shout actually, DS is ginger and charismatic enough to pull off a young Elton!

I am English.

I am 58 years old.

WTF is a groaning cake?

I love the Paddington Bear idea. After all, when trying to think up an idea for the, "Culture Day" to end all Culture Days, that's what was arrived at for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The only other one I've thought of which aren't too fraught with controversy and does have a London theme is Dick Whittington and his cat.

It's for reception class after all. No need to get too complicated.

Really. First idea, best idea. Paddington.

😆

That made me laugh out load in the dentists waiting room.

When DS was in Reception, I sent in mini Victoria sponge cakes. When he was in Year 1, I sent in packets of salt and vinegar crisps. 😂🙈 (To be fair, I was heavily pregnant and not in a state to go round fussing about food...) They just did a big buffet and everyone sent something in, with parents just joining in with the party. No activities needed.
We live abroad, so him celebrating being "white British" has never been an issue.

Paddington bear is a fictional creation by an English person.

They do these at DD secondary school. Obviously not including parents. She just goes dressed in her normal clothes!

Are they allowed to do their own? My daughters school had theirs a couple of weeks ago and they had to wear mufti in the colour of a flag they wanted to represent and she wore red white and blue for Union Jack and the teacher said she could use those colours for France instead as English flag was too much of an obvious choice so she did the work based upon it on France.

Yes, but the character is Peruvian. Lots of characters were created by British authors, but it doesn’t make them British. Would you suggest that OP turn up as Poirot? Or Mowgli from the Jungle Book?

Yes I'm surprised a few have had trouble understanding this.

Most of Shakespeare's plays weren't set in England but he was still an English playwright and poet 😳

Country dancing. You could get a Morris side in to demonstrate but they might scare the kids.

English culture is alive and well in folk clubs.

That could take some time😂

Dude nobody thinks Paddington is Peruvian