For the Love of Tea

          “Would you like a spot of tea?” My little girl cast a knowing look over to the hostess at the family-owned restaurant we were frequenting for breakfast.  The lady was clearly amused, and in her British accent responded, “That’s what we British are known for, I suppose!”  With an uncanny knowledge of accents and the finer things, my little girl gave all of us a laugh.  But I know how she developed this idea into her schema of life experiences. 

A Tradition is Born

Oh, tea time!  Our tradition was born out of a need for productive, enjoyable time in the afternoons.  As the afternoons become longer and two out of my three children do not nap, we discover that tea time is just our afternoon version of morning time.  I put some water in the tea kettle, let it simmer, then add a little bit of milk and sugar to some tea for all of us.  We use china.  We usually have treats.  It is laid-back, and usually an enjoyable experience.  Keep in mind, the two children are 4 and 6, so I cannot expect them to be attentive longer than 45 minutes, even with food.  Nonetheless, I have come to enjoy this special time to encourage proper manners, treating others with hospitality and grace, and a change of pace. 

What It Involves

The afternoon tea happens once a week, as this is what is manageable for us.  We skip morning time on this day because I need margin in my week.  Morning time happens in the afternoon on the day of tea time.  In our tea time, we usually begin with saying the blessing and passing the food around (ladies go first).  Napkins go on laps.  My children are encouraged to share what they have learned that day, then we practice catechism, review our Bible verse, color stationary around the poem we’ve been reading all week, listen to a song, do picture study, then do some CC memory work (just 1 or 2 subjects).

Future Tea Times

 I hope to make our tea times in the future even more laid-back.  Honestly, this was my survival mechanism for getting to morning time at least 3 times a week! With all 3 kids at home this upcoming year (no preschool drop-off and pick-up), I am banking on more time together, which will translate into more time to do morning time regularly (like 4 times a week instead of just 3).  I also plan to still set aside a tea time, but make it a lot more open-ended.  We can do our read-aloud then, or just talk about our dreams and discoveries!  We can read poetry and jokes from a joke book.  Will my youngest still be napping at that age?  Probably not.  He will have tea-time in his own way with us, if that shall be.  Anyway, I would be remiss to not place credit where credit is due.  Sally Clarkson inspired me to begin a tea time.  It makes so much sense, if your afternoons are slower, and you have nowhere pressing to be, and your toddler is napping!  So, thank you, Sally! I am indebted to you. I want next year’s tea time to be more about discipleship, less about getting things checked off a list!