My 5 yr old doesn’t like poetry, but my 3 yr old does. Neither of them has found a tea they like, so we just had apple juice and homemade peanut butter cookies. The flowers are Wild Lantana picked from outside by our gate. Our poetry book was purchased from a garage sale for fifty cents.
Jessica
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“A poem will live or die depending on how it is read.”
~Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate
Before reading poetry aloud:
When reading aloud:
Our family has been richly blessed this year by adding Poetry Teatime to our routine. The blessings have been immeasurable, from making great memories, learning new recipes, researching the history of tea time, developing a new love of poetry (and sharing it with great friends) to even brushing up on our manners at the table!
Each month, we try to invite another family to join us for our teatimes. Generally we “fancy” things up when we have guests. We get out the good linens and fine china and make special foods such as Irish Scones and pretty fruit skewers. It has been so rewarding to see my children and other children excited about poetry.
Andrea
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I wanted to drop a line about our poetry teatime, which is certainly the yummiest part of our Language Arts program. We don’t usually manage more than to bake something and sit down with our poetry books (no pretty table arrangements here, sorry). When we started last year, I did most of the reading and didn’t get to eat our goodies until the end. Now, my little guy will happily read some of the shorter verses and I get to enjoy my cake. The side benefit of all our baking is that, at six years old, he’s remarkably proficient at cracking eggs. My husband is also happy that he’s guaranteed cakes once a week.
I’m also pleased that Ciaran will insist on getting out the books. On one occasion, when we didn’t have much time, I was going to skip the reading, but he told me to ‘wait there,’ strode off to the bookcase and came back with a poetry book, telling me sternly that ‘it is poetry teatime’!
So thank you. I love the richness and variety of our Brave Writer lifestyle and feel (somewhat) comforted that it involves broader experiences than ‘just’ writing (which we don’t do well at yet!).
Thank you!
Elly
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Learning about Bravewriter from a home school friend, I was intrigued by the idea of mixing reading with a special teatime for my young scholars (age 6, 4 and 2). I am always on the look out for ways to use our school time to intentionally build in more moments to enjoy one another and learn. As an avid tea drink myself who plans out the right temperature of the water and correct steeping time, I was elated to introduce my kids to the art of the tea ceremony. We set out a special silver tea tray to serve the tea, offer the treat, all the time trying to use our best posture, manners and conversation at the table. My kids thought only of apple juice as the ultimate in beverages, so I set out with a plan to introduce new flavors to their palates. We started in September with lemonade in a tea cup, then we moved on to trying iced raspberry tea, later they tried tepid peach, blueberry, and sweet wild orange tea.
As excited as I am about sharing tea with my kids, their favorite part is the treats. At first, Tuesday would slip up on me and I wouldn’t have the time or energy to bake a special treat and set up tea. It was my oldest daughter’s idea to buy store bought cookies as “back up” and store in the freezer (our special hiding place from daddy’s nighttime raids) so we could be prepared for Tuesdays. This arrangement sealed the deal. Tuesday Teatime became so popular the kids voted for teatime every day. So now we enjoy reading circle and poetry teatime each day around 2pm.
Word somehow spread to the neighbors that we had cookies and tea each day. Now on the early release days from the public school up the street, two neighbor kids arrive at our door promptly at tea time, eager to join us. At first, the neighbor girl and her brother seemed to only want the cookie, but then she heard the stories and often asks for more, or asks what we will read next time.
As for the poetry selections, we have hovered a long time on nursery rhymes and silly poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends. The day these pictures were taken, we read from the “A Child’s Introduction to Poetry” by Michael Driscoll focusing on reading all 14 verses of “Old Mother Hubbard” by Sarah Catherine Martin. My son climbed onto my lap and placed his hand on mine as I held the book open. Our neighbor friend leaned forward to hear more as she enjoyed the easy rhyme and the silly story of the poem, sharing with me how much she likes our family school compared to her. My daughter, who is a timid reader, chiming in proudly with the words that she could read herself. I treasured that moment, soaking up their cuteness and excitement over poetry and tea with me.
So thank you Brave Writer for sharing this special tradition that has helped me enjoy a special time with my kids and reach out and bless the neighbor kids too.
Katelyn
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