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Home » Parenting » Why Tea Parties Rule {Even for Boys}

Why Tea Parties Rule {Even for Boys}

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure .

My boys recently became obsessed with a tea party set my mother originally purchased for friends. She left the set out for them amongst many other items for water play. My sons have come to love making tea, having tea and giving tea parties. In short, the activity is adorable and beautifully organic, driven entirely by their sweet little spirits.

WHYTEAPARTIESRULE e

The Benefits of Tea Parties

Fine Motor Skills -My boys are 3 and 1.5 years old, prime to work on fine motor skills. Slow and steady are two favorite words these days. I love this picture because our 3-year-old is taking such care in pouring the “tea” for his mama. If this set were glass or ceramic, I would definitely encourage placing the cup on a table and supporting the pitcher’s spout with the index and forefingers.

whyteapartiesrules
Grace and Courtesy – So sweet and simple. Practice social skills. Serve your guests first, then yourself. Ask your guests if they would like tea and, if so, what kind would they like. Refill your guests’ teacups if their cups are low. Beginning around 2.5-3 years old children are ripe for this sort of learning. 

Sequence – What do we have to do first? Having a tea party forces your child to think about what he has to do in order to make it happen. We had a great time reading Lott’s Tea Party a few weeks ago. The illustrations are great but also the book and action cards emphasized what it takes to host a party from cleaning to making to greeting. Learning sequence or chronology is essential for a child’s understanding of the flow of his life and linear progression of time (e.g. timeline).

Pretend Play – There is hardly anything more adorable than a child entrenched in preparing a meal or sweeping the floor all for the love of it! I love the focus and positive intent. I love this quote from The Absorbent Mind: ‘It is true that in all these activities, the child may be said to be playing. But this kind of play is effortful, and it leads him to acquire the new powers which will be needed for his future.’ Children have the capacity to understand a lot and to be able to exercise this understanding and to see this greater world through pretend play is great for their development.

So, we are loving our tea parties. Lots of good old fun! Thanks for choosing to read this post today! I hope that we inspired you!

Marnie

Tagged With: Infant & Toddler, Kindergarten, Positive Parenting, Preschool

About Marnie Craycroft

Marnie hails from Maine where she spent summers buried in sand and winters buried in snow. She is the daughter of a nearly four decade veteran of the public school systems. Teaching has always been a part of her life. She founded Carrots Are Orange in 2010.

Carrots Are Orange is a Montessori learning and living website for parents and teachers.

Marnie graduated from Wesleyan University in 1999 with a BA in Economics. She spent nearly a decade working in investment management. In 2006, she earned her MA in business from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.

Marnie moved to the west coast in 1999 and currently lives in Boulder with her husband and three sons. She is Montessori trained. Her work has been featured on Apartment Therapy, Buzzfeed, PBS Kids, BabyCenter, the Melissa & Doug blog, Huffington Post, and WhattoExpect.com. Besides writing, passions include running (usually after her three sons), photography, and outdoor adventures.

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