It is not always easy knowing what history to teach very young infants. There are three main issues. How do you avoid covering aspects of the pupils’ own lives that will probably have been explored in Foundation Stage. Secondly, the concept of time is notoriously difficult to grasp. The third issue relates to pupils having the vocabulary to access some of the concepts involved. It is often claimed that studying themselves and then moving backwards through time, as it were, is the best option. It certainly starts from where the pupils are and there is no shortage of source material. The difficulty comes, I fear, when the differences between grandparents’ childhoods and children’s own is not sufficiently stark to make change through time clear. I often prefer to look at a period beyond living memory where the contrasts are more obvious.
I favour two main ways of approaching topics for the very young infants. One involves artefacts, the other story. A major article on using fiction will soon be uploaded. In the meantime, have a look at this topic on myself which involves a highly engaging and hands-on activity called Muddled Bags or Dad’s car boot.
Please note that most
