Great Fire of London in Year 1

[SleepingStandingUp]

So this weekend it'll be helping my 5 year olds make cardboard houses and then lots of pretend fire burning them down. With my eldest we did a big picture with lots of tissue paper fire and I can honestly say it still feels like such an odd thing to teach 5 year olds about.
Why is it still such a big thing on the primary school curriculum? I just don't really see why we need to be taxing 5 year olds about how London burned down once!
Aibu? Surely there other history that's more age appropriate? I know it's all a big gory etc but I just feel like more sensitive kids might get really disturbed by so much talk about burning houses!

This is history and bringing a timeline of history to children is important. Other events will latch on to this as they through school.

if you think this is tedious wait until your child experiences school

Has your child never sung nursery rhymes, a lot of them are about death, dying etc. Ring a ring of roses, and the one that ends “here comes the candle to light you to bed…..”

This ⬆️.
In secondary they're going to learn about many History topics, including the Holocaust. They'll be reading some texts in English which may contain upsetting themes.

Fire of London is a great topic! History, geography, literacy and science all easily bound up into one, exciting and interesting topic, with landmarks that can still be visited today.

Kids that might be sensitive about it are the kids that need topics that might challenge their comfort zones, they can’t be shielded from real life forever.

When I have taught the GFOL I have related it to a local town’s similar fire. We visited the local museum where they ran a workshop . The topic helps the children understand the differences in building construction, equipment and clothing 400 years ago. They are taught that this is why we no longer build houses in this way etc. Being wary of fire is a good thing and leads to conversations about how to keep safe.

They will also learn about Remembrance Day very soon so prepare yourself!

I just feel like more sensitive kids might get really disturbed by so much talk about burning houses!

Oh, FFS.

Ours did a trip to the local fire station and got to sit in a fire engine and spray the hoses. Sadly didn’t get to slide down the pole - it is ludicrously high! About 3 storeys in our local station (the bays for the fire engines are more than double-height). Amazes me that none of the actual firefighters have ever fallen off.

I have an older child, my children have experienced school but thanks for the patronising comment anyway.

You're a bit late, they've already done it

OP I felt the same as you. This was Yr 2 subject in the last half term. They have the fire engines etc turn up at school anyway once a year so much of that type of benefit didn’t have much impact.

anyway, we’re doing a day trip to London over Christmas, we’ve planned to go and find the spot on Pudding Lane where it started and visit St Paul’s. It’s is actually part of the geography curriculum as opposed to teaching about fire safety.

accepting not everyone can do day trips like this, and it happens to coincide with a pre planned visit.

I agree actually. Why is a fire “great fun?” would you laugh if your house burnt down?

One of mine totally freaked out about learning Henry VIII in year 2. Wouldn't talk about it for around 2 years. But I totally feel it was right that it was taught, I just had a particularly sensitive child. A few years on he happily chats about wives having their heads chopped off, hangings and heads on spikes on London Bridge. No lasting trauma occurred!

It caused huge changes in our history. It changed London beyond recognition and it helped bring the plague to an end. Kids love this topic! What would you prefer to see them learn?

It’s an important historic event.

It’s the 8th today. We have a minute’s silence at 11am on the 11th at school. This happens in every school I have worked in and happened at my now grown up children’s school.

@LostMySocks Most primary schools take a topic into other subjects, cross curricular as you say . So tissue paper collage, silhouette art, making fire squirters for DT, properties of materials for science , role play for drama and obviously diary entries in the style of Samuel Pepys for their writing.

It’s a hugely significant historical event and will be taught in an age appropriate way, the same way that the holocaust will be taught later on in children’s educational lives.

The government decides the curriculum OP.

FFS. This kind of shite is why teachers are leaving. If you don’t like the curriculum, lobby your MP. Teachers teach what the Government tells them to.

What about the one that goes ‘London’s burning’? Kids first hear about the GFoL long before they start school in reality.

We did the Great Fire of London when I was in infants so sometime between 1990-1992 😂 It’s a classic and, as a PP said, offers so many learning opportunities from different curriculum areas.

I find parents who refer to history taught at an appropriate level that their children might be 'disturbed' are the ones who need a reality check and need to stop treating their darlings as babies.

It's the parents who are the issue not 'sensitive' children.

In yr1 all the kids were given books by the school for Christmas to keep. They were all geography or history related. Parents actually complained because they got given one which was apparently too much for their child to cope with. It was a series of childrens books aimed at that age group.

It's utterly pathetic and ungrateful.

When my child did that topic. They invited the Fire Fighters, Fire engines to the school, they set the boxes on fire and also learned about Fire safety, they all loved it.

It's the parents who need to deal with oversensitivity not the school who should change what they teach which the other 29 in the class are enjoying and are fine with.

Ok, let's take history off the curriculum in case a couple of snowflake kids get the collywobbles about it.