Are you thinking of having a regular teatime in your homeschool? It's a very worthwhile thing to do, even if you have boys. The article below contains ideas for how to start having teatime with either boys or girls and will especially give you confidence if you are wanting to have a teatime with your sons.

The "Girlie" Thing I Did For My Sons

Long, long ago, before I had a daughter (5 years, to be exact), I was longing for pink frills and tea parties in my house full of boys. What a joyful day when I found out that my fourth child was to be a little bundle of pink! Alas, I could buy tea sets, paint a room pink, and plan to my heart's content for little girl things. I found myself feeling very feminine and wanting to make everything in my home look like the cover of Victoria magazine, not an easy task in a house with four "men."

Setting up a tea room.

I set to work in our living room, which is mostly "my" room because it is one of the few rooms in the house that stays relatively neat. We live in an 80-some-year-old house with very high ceilings, so I thought a wallpaper border would be nice around the tops of the walls. I purchased a lovely border decorated with teacups, violets, and a light stripe in the pattern. It had an overall Victorian appeal, and it went up like a charm. This did not satisfy, however. I wanted something wicker, and you know how hormones are. I purchased an old wicker hutch to store teacups in and I set up a coffee table on which to put my tea tray. I had not had this much fun in years!

As I talked with a friend via the internet about looking forward to having tea parties with my daughter, she expressed surprise that I was not already having tea parties with my boys. Well, to be truthful, it had never crossed my mind. Tea parties with boys? They would have to take their pretend holsters off at the door! What happened next turned out to be one of the best things I have ever done with my three sons.

Tea cups from the thrift store.

First, we went shopping for teacups. I took the boys to our local thrift shop, a nice store supported by many of the local churches. I let each son pick out their favorite teacup and saucer. They really enjoyed it, and I felt at ease taking the teacups home to use because we did not have much money invested in them. If they broke, we would just shop again and start over with new ones. One son picked a small, oriental-looking cup. One son picked out a bright pink and black, very modern-looking cup with a square saucer. (I think it was the saucer that did it!) My youngest son picked out a clunky-looking brown cup and saucer set that looked as if it belonged in a cabin in the mountains. That was the beginning of what is now a large and varied teacup collection.

Teatime teaches important lessons.

To make a long story not so long, I will finish by saying that my sons and I made a tradition of afternoon tea in our little homeschool. I began to look for books to read to the boys during our teatime. The boys had found their "favorites" of the different teas we sampled. My sons loved helping me prepare the tray and choose our light snack to go with our tea every day. We bonded in a way I never would have thought possible and I feel I have given each son a gift to carry into adulthood and even into marriage one day--the ability to sit down with the lady in his life and converse. Of course, as a concerned mom, I will say up front to always supervise so no one gets burned with the hot water. And last, but not least, get out those teacups!

Recommended Teatime Reading

One of the best sources for good read-alouds we have found is the free reading portion of the booklists for Ambleside Online's various years' studies. Just click on a booklist for any year (a year is roughly the same as grade) and scroll down to free reading.