Archive for the ‘Poetry Teatime’ Category

Tuesday Teatime: Reading aloud

Hi Julie,

We are just getting started with our first “one thing”:  tea time.  It was such a success that I stage-whispered to my husband, “Take some pictures!  I want to always remember this!”

While setting out the tea and treats (pretty simple:  graham crackers and nutella spread) I muttered, “Why don’t you get started…..?” to my daughter.  If I had finished that sentence, I would have said something like, “….with the nutella?”  But I was so surprised to hear my daughter begin reading aloud in an eager voice that I never finished my thought.  Thank goodness I didn’t!

You see, Alexa is a good reader but does not like to read aloud.  I really didn’t think about what we would do during these first tea times, but I figured I’d probably be reading aloud to Alexa, as usual.  It was such a pleasant change to hear her reading!  She was clearly inspired by the whole idea of tea time.

So that’s it, we had a wonderful time and we are looking forward to the next, and the next, and the next.  Thank you for the wonderful yet simple idea of tea time.

Alicia Powell
Jamaica Plain, MA

Posted in General, Poetry Teatime | 2 Comments »

Tuesday Teatime: When it comes together

Hi Julie,

We are just starting with The Writer’s Jungle this fall. The idea of Tea Time caught my fancy and I decided it would be a good excuse to get out the formal tea cups that have been stuck on the shelf, like forever. I knew my 8 yo daughter would be excited about the idea, but I was less sure how to sell it to my 6 yo son. Inspiration hit when I ran out of time to make cookies the day before. We were at the store picking up something else, so I told each child they could pick out one package of cookies for our Tea Time the next day. With pink and white frosted animal cookies in one hand and Nilla wafers in the other, we headed home.

The kids could hardly wait for Tea Time the next day, knowing their cookies were waiting! So, for our first tea time, we had animal cookies and Nilla wafers with formal tea cups and read poetry from a random selection of books I hastily pulled off the shelf. I counted it a success and thought I’d try it again in a couple of weeks.

The next Tuesday came around, and I was quite surprised when my son was the one to ask, “Mom, are we having Tea Time today?” I hadn’t really planned on it, but he insisted he wanted to. (I think his motivation was the animal cookies, which were long gone by this time…) I used your suggestion and made “lady fingers”, and while the tea was brewing both kids found books to read from. My daughter read several poems by Shel Silverstein, and my son read from You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You.

After two weeks, my kids consider Tea Time an integral part of our week, and my good china tea cups are getting more use than they’ve ever seen. I couldn’t be happier!

One more story about Brave Writer Lifestyle and our home… We’ve been doing copywork several times a week. The kids are choosing whatever they want to copy, and there is often a scramble and lots of page turning when I announce it is time to find something to copy. I have been enjoying taking the time to start my own copywork journal alongside them.

Yesterday, as I was reading to them, I came across a particularly descriptive passage that I wanted to call their attention to. I stopped, went back, re-read the passage, and asked for their comments. My son, surrounded on all sides with Legos, looked up and said, “Mom, I know what you can do! If you like that section that much, you can do it for copywork!”

It is amazing how quickly they catch on! Thank you for introducing us to new ways to make Language Arts fun!

Jennifer

Posted in General, Poetry Teatime | Comments Off on Tuesday Teatime: When it comes together

Everyday tea


This is how teatime looks at our house when we aren’t having a fantasy tea. 🙂 Note the jars of jam, the hastily thrown on faded table cloth, the sweaters hanging over the back of the sofa, the knives tossed in the center of the table, the mismatched mugs… and the intent happy faces of the kids.



Posted in General, Poetry Teatime | Comments Off on Everyday tea

No More Fantasy Teatimes

No More Fantasy Teatimes

I got into a conversation with a mom who shared that she never has time for Poetry Teatime. There’s the baby who needs nursing, the toddler who is cranky, the older girls who are working on their math (and shouldn’t be stopped because it’s hard enough to get them started!) and so on… But as I thought about it, I remembered that I have five kids and we’ve been having teatimes longer than I’ve homeschooled.

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases,
Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

So I asked her why she didn’t have her family teatime when the toddler had already eaten lunch, the baby was napping, and the girls had finished math. She paused. “Well, then I wouldn’t have made the blueberry muffins.”

Aha! Another mom falls victim to “Fantasy Teatime Syndrome.”

This mom pictured matching placemats and frilly napkins, a centerpiece of flowers, new candles, and freshly made goodies to eat. She imagined a quiet house and all children happily participating. She supposed that she could bake the treats, set the table and choose the books on behalf of her children while they were occupied elsewhere so that when the teatime began, it would surprise and delight them. And so, being the ordinary mom that she is (like the rest of us) months went by without ever achieving those conditions, and consequently, never had a teatime.

To have a successful tea, however, all you need is hot water, mugs, and teabags. If you insist on treats, toast with butter and jam works great. (A package of cookies is as happily consumed as made-from-scratch brownies, too.) The key to teatime is having one. Poetry can be read by candle light or fluorescent bulbs. A centerpiece is purely optional.


When my youngest was a baby, my toddler had curly red hair and the energy of a power sprayer, and my three older kids were still under age nine, we read the Garfield Shakespeare Stories, It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles, and The Hopeful Trout and Other Limericks all during teatimes. Sometimes I’d be munching cookies and nursing a baby while an eight year old needed help reading a “hard word.” Sometimes the tea spilled all over the tablecloth and we’d have to move to the living room to finish our poetry readings. Other times were pure magic where the baby had fallen to sleep, the toddler became engrossed in Duplos and the three older children took happy turns selecting poems to read or be read.

It didn’t matter. Teatime was sacred time, even when the napkins didn’t match.

What happens in a homeschool when the kettle sings and steamy water is poured over raspberry herbal or Lipton black tea? When the workbooks are cleared and the poetry books are strewn across the table? The pace of the day changes. Sipping hot liquid requires slowing down, blowing across the surface to cool it. Reading poetry means flipping through pages looking for just the right rhyme to share. Reciting the poem simultaneously gets the tongue moving and quiets the buzz of chatter.

  • Don’t worry about the right setting or unhurried moment.
  • Don’t require pretty tea things.
  • Start with what you have.

Put the kettle on, collect the books, and set out mismatched mugs and honey. Add some toast, fruit, or packaged cookies. Let each person pick a tea bag and a poem. Then breathe in, breathe out. Your teatime break is about to begin.

Learn More about Poetry Teatime

Posted in Poetry Teatime | 16 Comments »

Tuesday Teatime


Teatime_Ellen
Originally uploaded by juliecinci

We haven’t officially started our school year yet, but this teatime happened spontaneously, and we all enjoyed it. Mary, my 7-year-old, brought back my old Halloween costume after our last trip to visit the grandparents. She loves to act out Felicity’s tea lessons, from the books and movie about Felicity, the American Girl. It was Mary’s idea to have a colonial tea party. I put on a CD of Handel recorder sonatas and brewed the lemon tea. Since it was nearly lunchtime, we decided to serve savory treats, like turkey roll-ups and cheese and crackers, and Mary learned the word “savory”. Audrey, the 2-and-a-half-year-old, loves to pour (dump), so she had her own pitcher. This will be our first year using The Writer’s Jungle and the Arrow, and we’re looking forward to more fun teatimes, great read-alouds, and growth as writers.

Ellen

Posted in General, Poetry Teatime | Comments Off on Tuesday Teatime