What are our daughters learning about the Wedding?

[bbcmum]

My six year old daughter can't get enough of the wedding; as far as she is concerned it is the ONLY thing to get excited about these days. I sense it's because there's so much talk of it in school (it certainly doesn't dominate the conversation at home). I'm curious as to whether anyone is in a dilemma as to what to say to young children? Are we as parents/teachers under a responsibility to explain that the Royal Family is not something to aspire to, or is that insensitively bursting their fairytale bubble at such an age?

Work hard, get into a good university so that you can marry well (well when I say well I mean into money - not sure I fancy the gilded cage so much myself or for my DD)

DS2's class teacher is getting married the day after the Royal Wedding, so my DC are more interested in that than Will & Kate TBH.

But then DD (who is 5) isn't really into the whole fairytale princess thing anyway.

The children in my school are interested in the 'street party'. I have had to educate them about the Royal family tree. They barely knew any of the names (including Princess Diana - which amazed me). They knew that William was something to do with Harry (who seems to be the best known 'Royal' after the Queen) some thought that William was his son!!! A few knew about Prince Charles but absolutely no-one had ever heard of Prince Andrew or 'Fergie'. Fame is so very fleeting. I feel I should point out that I work in a high achieving independent school.

I work in Y1. We have covered the wedding this week. We have discussed what a wedding is, how people go about it, what is involved, etc. And we have discussed the Royal Family, who they are, what tey do, where they live, etc. Tomorrow we are having a street party in the playground for an hour. And we have looked at the story of Cinderella as a fairy tale/traditional tale.

Activities have been:

• design a wedding dress, bridesmaid dress or groom's attire
• draw some clothes you might wear to a wedding
• make a crown
• write an invitiation to either the wedding or our party - part of our curriculum anyway
• design a coat or arms
• create a wedding menu
• make bunting
• made flags

Tomorrow we are making iced biscuits and sandwiches, ready for the party.

There has been no talk of how you get to marry a princess (or princess) tbh.

The children on the whole, boys and girls, have been interested in it and been wanting to talk about the wedding and do things ike the activities above

DD hasn't asked a thing about being a princess, but is excited about seeing a wedding as she's to be a flower girl soon and wants to see what happens (she's not been to an actual wedding).

I taught upper KS2 how to write a formal reply to an invitation.

We used 'bunting' as a vehicle for measurement activities, including creating a union flag design on a pennant.

We also looked at some 'old' Royal Weddings - fashion sense moves on doesn't it. Perhaps not always successfully.

dd says we 'must watch the royal wedding mummy'

she says she has already watched the 'first' royal wedding at school, i said who? Princess Diana? she said 'yes, thats right, she was a Princess and she died in a terrible car crash' (looking very solemn and sad)

so it seems they are teaching them about it because i haven't mentioned it at all at home

oh, she's 5 and in reception btw

DD1 has learnt that although William has got away there may be a chance with Harry. [chmm]

Don't have a daughter but ds came home aghast that ALL the girls in his class want to be princesses.

The result of them learning about it is that I might have to watch the bollocks on Friday and I was planning on doing absolutely ANYTHING else.

ooooh we have royal smilies! [cbiscuit]

My dd is far more interested in Charles and Diana than William and Kate; she sometimes asks me to tell her 'more silly things Prince Charles does' and I regale her with all the scurrilous anti-monarchist gossip I can remember, like how he allegedly makes his flunkeys boil several eggs every day so he can choose the one that's cooked most perfectly.