Poetry Teatime Tips
My kids and I have enjoyed hundreds of poetry teatimes together. I first heard of this beautiful idea when my oldest was 3 (he will be 8 in a few weeks!). Quite frankly when I first learned about it, the whole idea sounded intimidating. I am not a tea drinker myself, and poetry wasn’t my favorite. I decided to give it a try as a way of connecting with my son while the baby was napping. Based on the fact that we’ve continued for 5 years, I’m sure you can guess we ended up loving our times together bonding over treats and beautiful words.
Through the years and various stages of development, we have celebrated teatime in different ways. The “baby” joined in when he dropped his nap around age 3.5 (he just turned 6, and he took to tea right away, likely to keep up with big brother).
It’s a lot more fluid than the name Poetry Teatime suggests… we don’t ALWAYS have poetry (but probably 98% of the time we do), and we don’t ALWAYS have tea (in the summer we switch to sparkling water or lemonade). In my mind, the goal is connection while enjoying beautiful words. The means to connection is tea and treats. The means to enjoying beautiful words is poetry or other high quality literature.
My kids keep me accountable to actually doing it because it is a treasured part of their routine. They know that when Friday rolls around it’s teatime day! Are they looking forward to the treats, the poetry, or both? I don’t know, and that’s really okay.
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What We Read
Oftentimes I select poetry volumes that correspond to the season or a topic we are studying. Marilyn Singer and Joyce Sidman are wonderful poets for this. You may also enjoy this post Poetry for Changing Seasons. These volumes are lovely for nature poems:
In this post, First Favorite Poetry Books, I shared some wonderful high interest poetry books, perfect for when you need some FUN poems, or for younger/reluctant listeners. Once I Ate a Pie is one of our very favorites.
What We Drink
When my kids were smaller, we used espresso cups for tea. They sipped but weren’t really into it. I learned to add a bit of honey to acclimate their taste buds and gradually tapered back. Now they enjoy fruit teas, and we do take a break from tea for lemonade during the summer.
Fine Art and More
In different seasons I’ve attempted to add more layers to our teatimes, making it more of a fine art appreciation opportunity. I’ve focused on a composer of the month and an artist of the month. I’ve read from Vincent’s Starry Night for art history. I’ve included a weekly poem and art piece tied to our nature curriculum (they’re listed in the curriculum). I’ve encouraged the kids to decorate our table, creating place settings and picking flowers (read: dandelions). We’ve baked seasonal treats together.
But more often than not, I grab a poetry volume, unwrap some store bought cookies or pop some popcorn, and we settle around the coffee table together. Connection and beautiful words, not pomp and circumstance.
There are so many beautiful and accessible poetry books out there. Follow along on Instagram where I share our favorites and the occasional “extra” that we include in our teatimes. Have you tried Poetry Teatime? What questions can I answer? Feel free to connect with me in the comments below or on my social media accounts.
