Tell me about your Poetry Teas

[birchbark]

How often do you have them?

What time of day?

What do you serve?

What do you use for decor/special trimmings?

Do you have a favorite pot/cups?

How long are they?

How do you incorporate poetry?

Has anyone dropped them?

 

Yes, I perused the website. Just wondering what has worked out in real life. Pictures are always fun.

[nixpix5]

We schedule it for once per month. We have a Peter Pan tea set we love. We don't really drink tea it is usually juice. We have treats that we make as a group and it varies. Cupcakes, or granola bars, cheese, fruit, small sandwiches sometimes. It just depends. We use it to read a poem each of our choosing outloud while standing up in presentation form. Then we use it as rime to practice other recitation of memory work...whatever we choose to recite that we are proud of. It usually lasts 45 min to an hour roughly.

 

ETA: sometimes my daughter makes place cards and other decorations. She loves to plan them and give them themes but I let them own it. We tend to do it late morning...around 11am ish.

Edited August 23, 2017 by nixpix5

[Pegs]

We just read a poem each day as part of our morning time.

[athomeontheprairie]

My kids would be happy if it happened once a week. I'm happy for every other week.

 

We have it at snack time (330). I serve fancy snack food 😠coffee cake, scones, fresh fruit, etc.

 

I've tried decorations, but it's just not me.

 

 

I bought a tea pot and cups and saucers at goodwill. I'd love them to match, but that's not in the budget right now. ðŸ˜

 

Usually 45 minutes to an hour.

 

I put out 8-12 poetry books. Everyone has to choose a poem and read before we serve tea. Then we just take turns. I put out a variety of books, at different levels-so everyone can read. The little ones up to the oldest. I chose new poems/poets for ME to read-ones I want them exposed to.

We talk some about them while the siblings choose the next one. But nothing formal-all just fun.

 

Tea time is an absolute favorite. Everyone loves it. Im so glad we added it

[Jackie]

Our first few were extraordinary, well-decorated spreads. DH, who works from home, even would come out and join. Then we rarely ever got around to them and I eventually realized that if DD wanted fun with poetry, we needed to vastly simplify or it just wouldn't get done in my home.

 

I currently aim for once or twice a month. We bake something super simple, often from a boxed mix. We usually have a snack around 3:00, so we have our poetry tea then. There is no decor or trimmings any more. We have a variety of drinks - tea, herbal teas, chai, lemonade, smoothies, lattes, etc., and drink them in our usual cups. DD and I each grab a few poetry books to read from and trade off reading for 20-30 minutes. If I'm on top of things, I might have read a section from an MCT poetry book earlier in the day/week, and we might relate that to what we're reading, but usually we just enjoy what we're reading.

[desertflower]

Mine is a poetry party.  We have cookies and cocoa.

 

It's once a week.  usually Thursday or friday night.  Yes right before dinner, unfortunately.  but this way hubby gets to participate.  :)  It may change once fall schedule starts up.  I just check out books from the poetry section from the library.  It lasts for however long it takes them to eat their snacks. 

 

Have fun!

[Rosie_0801]

We used to go to a cafe on a Monday morning. We'd order a kombucha each, I'd read a poem, she'd recite one she'd been memorising and we'd do a free write.

[vaquitita]

We do it once a week, it lasts about 30 minutes. I spread a tablecloth, but that's it for fancying up. We will have a special drink or snack (anything beyond water or a piece of fruit counts as special here). I put out a variety of poetry books, and everyone picks three to read out loud. I do it too. I also read three poems for my 3yo, once he picked them by the pictures but usually I just read a couple from a book for young kids. And that's it. My kids love it, especially my 6yo son. Sometimes we do mad libs afterwards.

[Soror]

I do weekly poetry teas but they are very simple.

 

On Tuesday afternoon we put out the little table and sit on the floor. DD1 my resident baker makes us a homemade treat. We gather around eat snacks and read poetry, tada! I would gues tea time is around 30-45 minutes total.

 

Every week my older 3 fight over Favorite Poems Old and New. My youngest 4 (5 in Nov) can't ready yet but still demands to have her time to recite her poetry. She grabs the nursery rhyme book and makes up poems based on the pictures and then ends with, "by William Shakespeare or Christina Rosetti." It is adorable. I also started reading A Children's Introduction to Poetry last spring and try to read a section each week.

Edited August 23, 2017 by soror

[barnwife]

Mine is a poetry party.  We have cookies and cocoa.

 

It's once a week.  usually Thursday or friday night.  Yes right before dinner, unfortunately.  but this way hubby gets to participate.  :)  It may change once fall schedule starts up.  I just check out books from the poetry section from the library.  It lasts for however long it takes them to eat their snacks. 

 

Have fun!

Thanks for this. We've been doing "popcorn and poetry" for a while now. We usually do it twice a month. However...one of mine doesn't like popcorn. So I'd like to switch out the snack. But without popcorn I need a new name for it. "Poetry party" is perfect! I also like soror's idea of having "favorite poems old and new" as part of it.

I pull out our poetry stash. They snack while I read them. I read anything they ask for.  Sometimes that's only 3 poems. Sometimes it's way, way more.

[73349]

How often do you have them?

What time of day?

What do you serve?

What do you use for decor/special trimmings?

Do you have a favorite pot/cups?

How long are they?

How do you incorporate poetry?

Has anyone dropped them?

 

Yes, I perused the website. Just wondering what has worked out in real life. Pictures are always fun.

 

We do poetry teas on Tuesdays in April (national poetry month), mid-afternoon. I don't think I could sustain the practice year-round with all the other stuff in our week, and we don't get bored with just four or five of them.

 

I serve a sweet snack, such as chocolate zucchini muffins, and a savory snack, such as veggies with hummus. I make chamomile tea for DS (and any kids who may be visiting) & a different type for myself (and any adults who may be visiting). Chilled water is also available; sometimes it's quite warm here by April.

 

I use the good china & our usual black twill napkins, no other decorations. No special teapot. The tea lasts until we're done, definitely less than an hour.

 

We have some poetry books and also get some from the library. The Poetry Speaks to Children series is nice because with the audio CDs, we can both listen and eat; otherwise we read aloud from the books. My favorite book that we own is Poems to Learn by Heart (Kennedy/Muth).

[Hobbes]

Last year, sporadically. They loved them every time. Tablecloth, nice dishes, herbal tea, some kind of snack. A pile of poetry books. Everyone would contribute what they wished - recite a poem we had memorized, or read one from a book.

 

This year, because they loved them so much, I have it planned for every Wednesday afternoon (after our one morning out at a fun co-op-ish-program), after quiet time. I told them they can either find a poem they plan to read and share, or write one to share. They like "inventing" poems, so this actually might happen. We will see!

[newhsmom]

We have had weekly poetry time for years, but two years ago we added in Poetry Teatime every other week.  This year they are begging for Poetry Teatime every week, but I let them know they will have to help with the snacks.  We don't decorate or do anything fancy, but I did buy a little tea pot.  We don't even use it every week, but we have it.  Sometimes there is a homemade treat, but most of the time it is whatever I can pull together like crackers, cheese, fruit, nuts, and maybe a few M&Ms. I would also say that some kids don't like tea, so lemonade, hot chocolate, juice or whatever works for you is great.  My kids are big poetry lovers so I usually have to cut things off at 30 minutes or it would go on forever. For starting out, I would have everyone share a poem if they are comfortable or you can just share a few poems while they are eating.  

 

 

I personally think that the choice of poetry is more important than all the decorations and snacks.  My kids love to eat, so really anything I serve is fine with them.  Some of our favorite poets include:  Bruce Lansky, Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Kalli Dakos, Douglas Florian, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Jane Yolen, Marilyn Singer, and Eve Merriam.  

 

Edited August 25, 2017 by newhsmom

[EKT]

Poetry Teatime is probably my kids' favorite thing that we do in our homeschool! We did it all last year and it was a hit, so we will definitely continue. We do it a couple times per month and even weekly when I'm on top of my game. Our teatimes are not super fancy, but they're just special enough for my kids to feel like Poetry Teatime is an event. They don't actually care for tea, so we drink hot chocolate in the winter, and juice, lemonade, or just plain water at other times of the year. We have a little set of pretty plates* we put out and everyone gets a little treat. Ideally, the treat is something we've recently baked, but sometimes it's sliced fruit or a store-bought granola bar taken out of its wrapper and lovingly cut into dainty pieces that are arranged nicely on the plate. Before we begin, I light two tea lights (so the kids each have their own candle to enjoy and blow out at the end). I usually start reading poems while the kids eat, and then when they are finished eating, they like to take turns reading poems as well. We usually just get a new poetry book from the library each week, but we often return to favorite books we own, like A Child's Garden of Verses. If it's a library book, we typically read the entire book of poems in one session. That's it! (About 20-30 minutes.) I might do an extra special version of Poetry Teatime during Christmas, etc., but I generally find that simpler is better. (Too fancy/fussy, and I can't get it done. Better to keep it simple enough that you actually do it!) I think the most important thing is to set the mood with your attitude. If we take a moment to breathe together at the beginning (usually right after I've lit the candles), and go into it with peaceful minds, then the session is great. (This is one place where a rushed or impatient atmosphere kinda ruins the spirit of the whole thing.)

 

*Goodwill or Salvation Army is the BEST place to find pretty plates for Poetry Teatime! I took my daughters there to look, and we found the prettiest little set of dishes with purple flowers on them that I bought for literally $2.00. We also found pink cut-glass cups with matching saucers that they use for their "tea." (The girls think they are crystal, lol, and they love them! I bought them for pennies!) We only use these dishes for Poetry Teatime, so it makes it very special. I love the idea of getting each of the girls their own mini teapot for their water, so I think for Christmas, we will try to get them those. 

Edited August 26, 2017 by EKT

[mamaraby]

We do it once a week, but it's called Tea & Art. At this point, I couldn't end it if I tried without a full scale revolt. Back when I started it, it sounded like such a good idea. With the kids getting older, and the other things in the schedule taking up more time it has gotten challenging, but press on we must.

 

I don't get super fancy, but there's always tea and some sort of treat. I try to bake something, but when ot gets really busy, dh intervenes and strongly encourages me to buy something at the store. Sometimes it's just digestive biscuits or other selections from the "international aisle" at the grocery store. I suppose I could just get regular American vegan cookies, but the kids feel they are too ordinary. Whatevs.

 

We bring out the books and each kid takes turn selecting and reading (or if they're younger having someone else) their chosen poem. My youngest really likes two or three poems which everyone gets sick of reading. Sometimes we bring in poems from online or I check a book outfrom the library. Otherwise, I picked a bunch of poetry books up from Half Price Books. If the kids are currently working on memorizing a poem, we also recite that.

 

After that comes the art - usually an artist/picture study followed by a project inspired by that artist or piece. We might also listen to a classical music podcast while working on our art or listen to selections from a composer. This year instead of doing that we're focusing on the opera. We're doing one part "this is what happens behind the scenes at the opera" and one part music history. We're also listening to selections both vocal and otherwise from well-known operas with a plan of going to the opera this year.

 

My mom often joins us as do other family members. In the past it was on Tuesday. This year and last it's on Monday. We spend 2-3 hours depending on the week. On the one hand, it can be tough to get everything in. On the other hand, by doing it this way it's pretty much guaranteed art, poetry, and music happen regularly. My only caution is that like all things with children, be careful what you start, lol. Of course, ds goes to public school for 9th grade so I really should stop my whining and enjoy this because in two years, it will just be the girls and myself.

[Petrichor]

Hang on, huh? I have never heard of this before!

 

What? There's a website? Off to google.

[Petrichor]

Ah, I see, it's a Brave Writer thing.

 

But I'm in <3 with the poetry tea idea!

[TracyP]

We don't get super fancy. I spread a tablecloth and we use coffee mugs. We usually have homemade cinnamon toast, but occasionally somebody will bake something. We did these weekly (snack time on Tuesdays) for several years, but they got crowded out last year - we only did 3 or 4 all year. They are coming back this year by popular demand. We are aiming for weekly, but I'll be pretty happy if we do 2 per month.

[desertstrawberry5]

We have tea parties often, with or without poetry  :D

 

Table cloth, candles, pretty tea cups with saucers, I have lovely tea pots, a pretty creamer. No sugar. I don't encourage that. 

 

Usually we drink tea. I have a tea cupboard. It also includes hot cider, cocoa, herbal teas, mocha. I let them choose. I put out trays of snacks, finger sandwiches, cakes, cookies, whatever we have on hand. 

 

I pick a few pretty books from the library, lay them out on the table, and let them read them silently or aloud. It's all very laid back. Fancy manners are required. 

 

We last about an hour. 

 

[kiwik]

We used to go to a cafe on a Monday morning. We'd order a kombucha each, I'd read a poem, she'd recite one she'd been memorising and we'd do a free write.

That is a great idea (not the kombucha for me though). It looks like I am going to homeschool so I might borrow that idea.

[Trilliumlady]

Oh, how I would love to start this! We shall see. The combining it with art and music idea from above is a possibility.....

[KSinNS]

We didn't do it last year (last year was nuts) but we did it the year or two before. We'd keep it simple. Make a pot of tea, eat some cookies, and I'd read a poem (or two if they asked for more). That was it. Tons of fun. A couple of times/month was perfect for us. 

Edited September 9, 2017 by KSinNS

[happi duck]

I'm done homeschooling but we used to have poetry teas every week.

 

Tea is normal around here so we already had that part set. The kids and I would take turns sharing a poem. Later I would print out each poem and the kids would illustrate them. They were saved in a binder to revisit.

 

Sweet memories!

[lavender's green]

We do storytime tea as often as the kids ask for it - sometimes everyday if they're really on a roll. I keep it very simple. Pot of tea, the kids get to use my china (everyday china so it's pretty hard-wearing), toss some cookie dough in the oven or slice up some fruit. The kids get a big kick out of sugar cubes and mini drink umbrellas. :lol: It's just not tea-time without an umbrella sticking out of your cookie. Oh, and I have a 3 tier stand that we set the treats on. It was part of an Easter set so I got it at a steep discount after the holiday, but it's not Easter-y, other than being white with simple gold-tone trim. It really fancies up the experience.