Sunday, April 3, 2011

Tea Parties with Boys


Each week we go to a homeschool co-op. The boys have a lovely teacher for an Early Years class.

She sings with them, does fingerplays, engages them in lots of outdoor activies, and provides a beautiful organic setting for them to explore and play.

A few weeks ago Miss J had a Spring Tea Celebration with the children. They put fresh linens on the picnic table and used china cups and saucers.

My boys were so pleased! They loved the tea and they loved the experience of using fine dishes. We had to recreate their tea party that night at home.

Having tea has become a part of our daily rhythm now. We even went to Goodwill and they picked out their own teapot, cups and saucers.

The boys delight in pulling out a fresh tablecloth, spreading it out on the table, and setting out all of the lovely dishes to have tea together. We have even invited others over to have tea with us.

Most recently we had my nieces over. We baked biscuits, gingersnaps, star-shaped bread, and crackers. We made some lovely cheese spreads to go with our crackers and used the star bread to make tiny sandwiches.

The boys are really getting into tea time. Their table manners are becomming so pleasant. They are speaking so gently and kind during tea. "Button, will you please pass the ice?", and "So, Arbuckle- tell me what you would like to do today?". The lovliness warms my soul!

Our house isn't really conducive to entertaining, but I think it's better to just adapt and overcome instead of missing opportunities to have guests. We make sure our space is tidy and welcoming. That is good enough for me.

I love how the fellas set the table. Totally not perfect, and perhaps Emily Post would be outraged... But, for our family- it was just right.

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