Tea Time Tuesday

I have a hunch (and a hope!) that when my kids look back on their childhoods, an event they will recall with fondness is our weekly teatime. Each Tuesday afternoon we set aside time to sit down and enjoy a few poems together. Through the winter we are usually in our dining room with fresh linens, antique plates and crystal. I bake some goody or another for a snack, pour myself a cup of tea, and make cocoa for the boys. But as summer weather beckons us outdoors, we will make the move to a picnic blanket under the trees or a cafe table at the local coffee shop to enjoy a lemonade and fresh fruit. We "study" 2 or 3 poets a year reading through a series of books titled Poetry for Young People. So far Edward Lear and Lewis Carrol have been the boys' favorites. Right now we are reading Emily Dickinson. She is well received, but it would have helped her cause around here had she written a limerick or two. Teatime poetry is never an exercise in over-analyzing the poems. We just read aloud, share our favorites, and comment on anything that strikes us about the language. It is such an enjoyable time for us. Sometimes we set our featured poet aside to read from one of our anthologies of poetry. The 20th- Century Children's Poetry Treasury has been nice to use as each 2-page spread has a theme. Favorite Poems Old and New is also great because it has everything you could possibly want in classic children's poetry. Poetry Speaks to Children is another good one. It includes a CD of some of the poets reading their own work! A real treat. Sometimes I think we have too many poetry books on our shelves, but then again, can you ever really have too many books? Like Emily D. says...

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!