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This year with our shift to the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling, we have been added in a few new routines and traditions. Each day as a family we study one of the following topics: poetry, artist study, musicians, and Shakespeare. We have some friends who mentioned that they do a poetry tea party sometimes. I loved the idea and decided it was a must-do for our homeschool! To make it extra special, I went shopping at my local Walmart for some tasty Bigelow Teas. (See all of our book activities for kids.)
For our first poetry tea party, I did not tell my kids about it, but decided to surprise them. It was the perfect day to try it out because the kids were having a difficult school day. (yep, we all have them!) They were grumpily working on reading their books. I was sneaking around setting the table with a pretty tablecloth, got out our nice china and our silverware. Now, I like to have them help me set the table so they get better at table setting!
I let them choose their favorite herbal tea and made them some little snacks to go along with it. My sister was visiting us and so I got her the Bigelow Pumpkin Spice flavor that she raves about. This is a lovely warm fall variety! (Not being a caffeine drinker, the kids and I prefer the no-caffeine, herbal varieties, though.)
We are studying Emily Dickinson this month. I have a book of her poems from the series Poetry for Young People. I turned on classical music (our composer this month is Bach) to listen to while we had tea. We sat at the table and took turns reading poems from our poetry book.
It was amazing to me how much fun we had at our tea party! It was a calming activity and really lightened the mood in our home that day. Tea just seems to have a calming influence! I am excited to make this a regular tradition in our homeschool.
I have also been trying hard to work on etiquette and manners with my kids. Since we were using the nice china and silver, we make sure to be on our best behavior so nothing is broken during our tea parties. It is a great chance for the kids to practice etiquette as well as learn in an enjoyable way!
At first I was tempted to just give them water or douce, but I think the fact that I have gotten them actual tea has made it just a little more special for the kids. There are some great flavors that the kids really enjoy!
Have you ever had a poetry tea party with your kids? What are your favorite special traditions in your homeschool?
Want more poetry ideas? I have a few other posts you may like!
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says
September 21, 2015 at 6:57 pmOooh, I just ADORE this idea! We recently had a poetry reading time but I really like the ambiance you created here.
Definitely going to be doing this in the near future.
Thanks for sharing.
xoxo
JanetGoingCrazy says
September 22, 2015 at 1:16 pmWhat a fun addition to your homeschooling day. Great idea! [client]
Jeani b says
September 24, 2015 at 12:21 amperfect! we love having our tea party tuesdays, and recently, they have waned. what a wonderful way to spice them up!