Yesterday afternoon I deliberately set aside time to enjoy some tea and poetry with my children at the end of our school day.
This is a practice of Poetry Teatimes is recommended by Brave Writer to “offer you and your children a break from the fast-paced demands of homeschooling, parenting and household running.” Brave Writer also states that the pairing of poetry and tea “creates a connection between contemplation and rest, while also creating memories of serenity and joy.”
This is something that I greatly desired to implement in our homeschool routine this year.
And then the year got started and I got overwhelmed with ALL the other stuff that has to be done. I focused on following the curriculum and checking off the to-do lists of all that we had to accomplish.
I did not make time to sit and enjoy a cup of tea, sweet treats, and beautiful words of poetry with my children.
Every week, I would internally sigh and say to myself, “maybe next week…”
And the next week I was a repeat of the one before.
We just began school after taking a scheduled two week break. During the break I sat down to plan out our next nine weeks of school. I wrote out lesson plans and made goals. I reevaluated what we were doing, taking stock of what was working for us and what was not.
During this planning time, I determined even more to set aside time on Tuesdays for tea and poetry with my children.
We needed a respite from the demands of our days.
We needed some slow and quiet time to breath in deeply, to enjoy each other and to just slow down and relax a bit.
I needed to see more smiles and laughter.
I needed to remember why I’m doing this.
It meant that I had to be more purposeful and that some things may not get done, but I am okay with that.
Yesterday as we finished up our school work, with my girls having just a few independent assignments left to work on and quiet time ending for my littlest ones, I began preparing.
A full of water kettle was set on the stove to begin boiling.
A special tea, organic apple for this fall day, was picked out.
A red table cloth was placed on the breakfast table.
The polish pottery tea set was brought out of storage.
Cookies were placed on a dessert dish.
Poetry books were placed on the table.
And a candle was lit.
Then the children were called to the table for tea.
The ran with delight and then remembered their “tea time” manners as they sat down to enjoy this respite.
We nibbled cookies, sipped tea, read and discussed poetry, laughed at the funny rhymes and nonsensical words, and enjoyed each other’s company.
We took a needed break to slow down and enjoy each other and I am so grateful that we did.
Tuesday Tea and Poetry is going to be a regular occurrence for us now that I’ve seen how much it was needed and the blessing it was to our day.
I am so thankful for making time in our homeschool day for this important practice!
Barbie says
Monica, I love this idea. As a mom who works full time, this would be a great thing for me to incorporate with my teen girl on Mondays (my only day off). We are struggling, really struggling. We got off to a late start, have one been focusing on two subjects, but will add for more on Monday. She is resisting homeschooling and I am beside myself. This would be a great way to incorporate literature/poetry into our schooling.
Monica says
I’ll be praying for you and your daughter, Barbie! It does sound like you need something like this to connect and incorporate literature and/or poetry. You could do some reading or read aloud time instead of the poetry and discuss whatever book she’s currently reading.
lori says
I Love this! For me and Cameron our wood work shop day every week is a highlight for him and me! I can identify with the need to connect and enjoy what we do! For us its the wood working and I get to scrap book with a friend while we visit the our friends the Raymonds! Love this post!
Monica says
I’ve seen some of your wood working pictures on FB and I love them, Lori!!! I think that’s a great idea for Cameron. And that’s just great that you’re able to get in some scrap book time with your friend. 🙂