Beach Allen Primary uses wedding role-play to build social skills under new national curriculum
BASSETERRE: Tiny guests dressed for a big occasion filled the halls of Beach Allen Primary School on Thursday as Kindergarten students staged a full wedding ceremony — complete with roles, rituals, and real learning — as part of the Ministry of Education’s newly launched Enhanced Curriculum.
The activity falls under the Kindergarten Curriculum theme of Celebrations, a framework designed to help young learners explore the social and cultural events that shape communities in St. Kitts and Nevis. By acting out the ceremony, children took on roles that pushed them to communicate, cooperate, and build confidence in front of their peers.
Far from being a simple play activity, educators at Beach Allen say the wedding scenario was carefully chosen to introduce students to “weddings as an important celebration that brings families and communities together,” while simultaneously expanding vocabulary and emotional development.
The hands-on session is one of several interactive strategies the school is using to implement the Enhanced Curriculum, which places experiential learning at its core. Rather than passive instruction, the new curriculum asks teachers to design activities where students learn by doing — a shift that educators at Beach Allen appear to be embracing wholeheartedly.
Teachers at the school say the goals extend well beyond the academic. Social and emotional development — helping children navigate real-world situations with empathy and understanding — are equally central to the approach.