Monday, September 19, 2016

A New Tradition: Poetry Tea Time

It is so exciting to find ideas for homeschooling online! Bringing them to life though is sometimes overwhelming and difficult. I have tried to be very selective in what I do bring in to our little school so far because I am trying to prevent burn out for myself. Also though, there is time in the future for many ideas to become a reality.

One idea I knew I wanted to incorporate into our year from the start was poetry tea time. First of all, who doesn't love to sit down with fancy little glass teacups and enjoy some down time during the day? Add in a baked good and we're golden. Secondly, poetry... I feel that poetry is a critical part of becoming a well-rounded, cultured person. But introducing children to poetry can be a challenge. Also, if they do not get excited about it from the start, it is so much harder for them to appreciate it later. I know first-hand from my own personal experience. I was never a huge fan of poetry growing up.

So for these reasons, I decided to make each first Thursday of the month our poetry tea time in the afternoon. The first tea we had was last month, and the next one is around the corner. Let me say, we had so much fun! We chose a tablecloth for our tea, and I put out some nice teacups, plus a white teapot. Everyone got a nice piece of cake with their tea. While the kids sipped and munched, I read them poems from Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. This book is wonderful not only for its poetry but for the beautiful illustrations! The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed our first tea. I especially loved that a kindergarten boy could be excited about a tea party and about poetry. Boys can have class, too!

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