Category : RE

This week Year 1 found out how different faiths celebrate marriage.

First, the children shared their thoughts about some weddings that they had been to.

Then, we found out that not all wedding ceremonies are the same. People make choices about the type of wedding they have depending on what they believe in and what is important to them.

Christians believe that marriage is one of God’s gifts. Weddings usually take place in a church but can take place anywhere nowadays. The bride and groom exchange rings which show their eternal love.

The Muslim ceremony is called a Nikah. It usually takes place in a mosque.​ The husband sometimes pays a money gift to the bride called a mahr and this ​payment is for the bride to keep and use as she wishes. Most of the time, the bride and groom have a Walimah, which is a large feast where the couple announce their marriage publicly. ​

Sikh weddings usually take place in a gurdwara. On arrival at the gurdwara, an  introduction is carried out between the two families. The main ceremony is very simple and includes hymns, readings and music. After the ceremony, a reading is given and a sweet pudding called karah prasad​ is passed out to all guests. 

After that, the children took part in acting out a traditional Christian wedding ceremony.

Year 1 finished their RE learning for this term by looking at promises.

First, we learned that a promise is an agreement to do or not do something.

We then shared talk about promises… Olivia said that you can make a ‘pinkie promise’, Harvey said that promises are something you should never break, Lilah said she always promises to tidy her room and Ocean said that she makes promises to always be good.

Then, we listened to the tale of Abraham and Sarah which is a story from the bible.      It tells of how God made Abraham a promise. He promised to give Sarah and Abraham a child and many descendants if they moved from where they were living to a new land. They did, and they had a son called Isaac.

God kept his promise to them, proving he was dependable and faithful.

Next, we spoke about how we feel when promises are broken … Malik said that you might feel angry and confused, Delilah said she would feel sad and Tommy said that you might feel disappointed. Some children also shared that if they break promises, there would be consequences, for example, time-out, no treats or tablet time.

Finally, the children made their own promise vouchers, promising to:-

• be kind
• tidy my bedroom
• tell a joke to make someone smile
• remember my manners

All the children thought carefully about their promises and understood the importance of keeping them. They were excited to take them home to share with their families.

Year 1 have been looking at rules and why we need them.

We discussed that rules keep us safe and make sure that everyone is treated fairly.

The children shared their family rules. Finn told us that in his house they’re not allowed food and drinks upstairs and Delilah told us that in her house her bedroom must be tidy before she gets treats. We realised that all families don’t always have the same rules.

Gracie told us that “we have golden rules at school” and we all agreed that these rules can also be used in family and a sports clubs.

Then we listened to the story of Moses and how God gave him the 10 Commandments.

The commandments were the rules for all people to follow and live a good life by.

When we looked at the 10 commandments, the children could understand their importance in life today, even though they were from the Bible that was written a long, long time ago.

Year 1 then designed a poster of a rule which was most important to them. We decided that ‘be kind’ and ‘always try your best’, were the most important rules to follow.

In RE this term, Year 1 have already learnt about some celebrations that are familiar to them  – they now know that Christian’s celebrate Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day, and that we also celebrate this day in different ways.

This week we looked at two different festivals from different faiths.

The Hindu festival of Holi –

•   Holi is a festival celebrated by Hindus and it takes place in March.
•   It marks the start of spring and is sometimes known as the Festival of Colour. It celebrates good winning over evil.
•   Everyone chases each other with dry powder paint and coloured water.
•   People sing, dance and have fun together, no matter who they are.
•   Bonfires remind people that the winter days are coming to an end and warmth and light are coming.

The Muslim festival of Eid –

•   Eid is a festival celebrated by Muslims and it takes place at the end of Ramadan.
•   During Ramadan grown-ups do not eat or drink anything while the sun shines.
•   People put on new clothes and share meals with family and friends.
•   Homes are decorated, their sacred text, the Quran, is read and they go to the mosque to pray.
•   Some women and girls decorate their hands with mehndi patterns.

The children enjoyed discussing and sharing their knowledge of these festivals.  We spoke about that although we may not belong to the same faiths, we are still able to respect each other.