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Tea Time …it sounds so idealistic and romantic, doesn’t it? For tea time, pretty tablecloths, vintage teacups, and fancy dresses with proper manners come to mind. But is that really what it’s for?
Tea Time is a widely discussed practice in the homeschool world. The first time I heard of it was someone talking about “Tea Time Poetry” and serving healthy snacks.
It took me a long time to realize that it wasn’t about the tea or the food or what we read.
Like any other meal in the home, Tea Time is more than what’s on the table —it’s about connecting with those sharing at the table.
Here’s what Tea Time is about and how to make it part of your homeschool day.
What’s the point of Tea Time?
I’ve seen the Instagram posts and heard the podcasts about instituting Tea Time into the homeschool. Despite desiring it and wanting to do it, I could never make it work.
Part of that came from the desire to make it perfect and picturesque. But that’s an unrealistic expectation for nearly everything in life.
Now I understand the point of the practice… it’s about connection.
Many times throughout the Gospels, the scene is of Jesus sitting around the table with his friends and followers conversing with them and teaching them. This setting is no accident. I know from personal experience that inviting someone to share in a meal is a profound way of building friendship. This is why sitting down at the table together as a family is brought up time and again as an important pillar in family life.
For us, tea time has become another natural pillar for connecting.
A daily rhythm
The 2024 PowerSheets include a new spread for creating a daily rhythm. This spread has transformed how I think about my time, including how tea time can be a natural part of our day.
I know that around 3pm each day, I begin to get hungry and start dragging on my tasks. My daughter also starts rooting around the pantry for a snack.
Instituting a rhythm at this time of day gives us another connection point after we’ve been away doing our own tasks for the last couple of hours. After all, what’s a more fun way to come back together for a snack than to break out some pretty china teacups and make it a meal?
If you find yourself and your kids getting to a point in the day where you’re fatigued and hungry, Tea Time might be the answer!
What we do
My daughter and I each pick a teacup (I inherited many from my grandmother & great-grandmother), a tea bag, and a little snack. Then we settle in to read a story together.
Many homeschool moms use this time for teaching manners and reading poetry. For me, it’s been a way to read those stories I don’t normally get to during our school hours.
Morning Time has always been toted as the time to fit in all the things you can’t during the homeschool day. Ours has never worked out that way since we use that time to read books for history.
With this ritual, I have a set time to read picture books, poetry, and especially fairy tales that I never seem to get to. (Yes, fairy tales are important —here’s a fun conversation about fairy tales on the Read Aloud Revival podcast.)
Here are some of the books we read (& plan to read):
What to serve
I admit I know hardly anything about tea, so it’s been an experiment. But here’s what I’ve learned:
- Use a pretty teacup
- Use milk & sugar for kids
- Heat the teacups with warm water before brewing tea (it keeps the tea hot longer)
- Try different types of teas
As for snacks, so far we’ve tried everything from muffins and scones to carrots (grown in our backyard) and cold cuts.
Sally Clarkson’s book Tea Time Discipleship has many suggestions for types of teas and different recipes to try during Tea Time …And the beautiful pictures will inspire your Tea Time!
Get started
Are you ready to start your own tea-drinking, snack-eating, fairytale-reading ritual? Choose a natural lull in the day, grab some teacups (or mugs!), and brew your favorite hot beverage —it doesn’t have to be tea! Then settle in with a snack and a book without any expectations except to share in a meal.
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