We decided to have a Valentine’s Day tea party at my preschool.  The kids were very excited about the idea and had fun planning the menu.  Our color scheme was pink and red with heart shaped food.  But it was more than just a Valentine’s celebration.  It was a way to teach the children about friendship, sharing, and manners.  

The table was set with colorful  flowers and a tea set  gifted to our Lead teacher from her mother.  Yes, we trusted our littles with handling the shared tea cups with care.  As we sat down at the table we reminded the children to place their decorated napkins on their lap.  We each took a turn passing around plates of heart shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, heart shaped cucumber sandwiches, heart shaped vegetable quiches, tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries.  The children were reminded to say  “no thank you” when they didn’t want a certain food and “yes please” to their favorite. Most importantly, we talked about sharing the different foods and not taking more than what their preschool tummies could handle.

It was a lot of fun watching them drink their pink strawberry milk from a tea cup with their pinkies extended in the air.  “This is how a princess drinks her tea,” one girl explained to the group.  We had fun eating our food and talking about sharing our Valentine’s card with our family and friends.  There were lots of laughing and smiling and anticipation of the dessert to follow.  They nearly jumped out of their seats when they saw the assortment of heart shaped cookies, chocolate and a Valentine chex  mix. 

Saying our tea time was a success would be an understatement.  It was a chance to have fun and to reiterate the importance of good manners, sharing and taking turns talking too.  We only had one complaint.  “I was a bit disappointed we didn’t have real tea today.”  You see, even teachers can learn something.  Our next tea time will definitely have tea!