Poetry Teatime
The girls and I thought poetry teatime was so fawncy. We just had to do it! I’m not sure how I came across poetry teatime. Probably in the beginning of my homeschool research I stumbled across the idea and thought it would be a fun way to bring in poetry. If you want to know more about poetry teatime, read this post. It’s likely the one I discovered a couple years ago!
WHAT IS POETRY TEATIME?
Poetry teatime is a fun way to introduce your kids to poetry. During teatime, poetry books are set on the table to be looked through and read aloud. Depending on the age of your children, older kids can read the poems out loud and younger kids can pick the poems to be read. This is done while sharing a small treat and/or delicious drink. We usually make hot chocolates. Some families bake a yummy treat and others have actual tea! It’s up to you and your kiddos on how you’d like to celebrate poetry!
MATERIALS NEEDED FOR POETRY TEATIME
You can make poetry teatime as fancy schmancy as you want —tea cups, table clothes, napkins, the whole nine! Or you can keep it simple and use what you have. You’ll also need a handful of poetry books. Here are some of our favorites!
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
The World of Pooh by A. A. Milne
HOW TO DO POETRY TEA TIME
Choose a day and time you want to start poetry teatime. It could be weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Set your space how you like it with decorations, treats, and/or special drinks. Gather all your poetry books and lay them in the area where you are going to do poetry teatime. Invite your kids to look through the books and choose poems to share. Poetry teatime can go for as long as you like. Ours lasts thirty minutes to an hour.
I tried to do poetry teatime monthly but it’s turned into a quarterly celebration. We usually start at eleven because that’s when Paddington has his teatime. He calls it elevenses. Paddington and Mr. Gruber have marmalade sandwiches and a hot drink in Mr. Gruber’s antique shop. The girls like to wear their fancy teatime gloves from their Halloween costumes. and we make hot chocolates. We keep it pretty simple and minimal.
Have you done poetry teatime? How do you celebrate poetry teatime? Leave a comment.
xo L.
