Homeschooling: Poetry Tea Time
I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I ventured into the PTT waters, but we found that our family personally LOVES IT.
What is Poetry Tea Time?
Originally an idea by Julie Bogart, Poetry Tea Time is meant to be a time to unwind as a family, with a positive atmosphere towards poetry or literature. Tea, poetry to talk about, and maybe a snack. From there it evolved into something beautiful that homeschoolers were quick to adopt and make their own. After all, part of the allure of homeschooling is that precious family time together - and what better way to implement some language arts than with family time?
How do you do it?
There isn't a rulebook when it comes to PTT, but typically it revolves around a piece of poetry or literature. The basic concept, is to choose a poem, and create a themed teatime around it that makes it enjoyable and engaging to study. Some people like to have their kids memorize a poem to present at the tea time, while others will simply read something out loud during tea time. Some have turned it into something of a book club, where they will read a book and then have a themed tea time where they can discuss it with family or peers. Others have created tea time co-ops where multiple families get to participate in larger tea times. The ideas and possibilities are really endless, and up to your imagination.
My family personally chose to keep it simple, since my kids are younger. I chose a poem to read to them, made a snack that went along with it, and came up with a small craft. Even if its just exposure to poetry, it can be beneficial to your kids, but older ones might enjoy a good discussion about it, or even writing their own poems based on the one studied. My kids loved the atmosphere of it the most. We got a nice tea set so that it felt special, and designated Mondays as our PTT day for something to look forward to with the beginning of the week.
Our Poetry Tea Time Example
You can find so many amazing ideas on Pinterest and the Poetry Tea Time Website, or you can just wing it - open up a book of poetry, and set out a snack. It's totally up to you. I was somewhere in the middle.
Our very first tea time, I looked through a poetry book I had and selected at random. It happened to be Lord Byrons poem, "She walks in beauty". What stuck out to me most in this poem was the parallel to starry skies in his description. It seemed like the perfect way to theme it, and after consulting Pinterest, I found a craft and snack that worked together.
To prepare, I took black construction paper and a white pen, and drew some constellations (as seen in the first picture on this post). I put marshmallows and pretzels on the table and filled the teapot with lemonade since my kids don't like tea the way I do. I made a playlist of classical and instrumental music for some aesthetic, and we were ready to go! It can be as simple or decorative as you want it to be - all that matters is that your kids enjoy it.
To recap;
Poem: "She walks in beauty" by Lord Byron.
Snack: Pretzels and Marshmallows that we formed into constellations.
Craft: Creating constellations out of our yummy snack!
So easy, simple, fun, and engaging for the kids! We talked about the poem and what we thought the author meant, and then they had a blast crafting their snacks.
A few other ideas that we came up with:
Poem: "Early Bird" by Shel Silverstein
Snack: Rice crispy "nest" with m&m "eggs", and gummy worms!
Craft: Making the nests from scratch - they got to help prepare their snack.
Poem: "Monsters" by Shel Silverstein
Snack: Rice crispy monsters - (rice crispy treats, icing, sprinkles, m&ms)
Craft: Creating our monsters!
In conclusion...
Poetry Tea Time was such a big hit with my kids, that they've been begging me to do it again this year - so it looks like it will become a staple in our homeschool routine!
