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February 20, 2010
Me and Olivia, in Between Tea Parties
First, I have to tell you that I am ever-so-sorry that you cannot see my high-heeled Mary Janes in this photo. It is a rare day when I wear shoes with both backs and heels. Usually I wear clogs, but I felt like I had to break out with something extra-fancy for our tea parties. It says something about my day-to-day attire that almost no one commented on this particular ensemble, which also included a string of pearls.
Second, our Olivia is very postmodern, because Olivia is inside the Olivia costume.
Third, the tea parties that Olivia visited went very well. They were 45-minute programs. I decided that instead of buying tea sets, we should get real tea cups from thrift stores, which we did. (Jason was not sure about this idea at first, but I managed to talk him into it. I think he was sold once he saw the selection at the thrift stores.) The cups were all between fifty cents and a dollar a piece and were a nice balance between fancy and affordable. For the program itself, we played classical music and had the tables all set up when the kids came in with white tablecloths, the tea cups, and red plates and napkins. We also had a handful of red heart confetti on the center of each table. I insisted on going with this white-with-touches-of-red color scheme to recall the Olivia books. It was, I’m sure, lost on the children, but *I* found it very satisfying, and that’s what matters. We served lemonade and animal crackers, and then after a bit, we brought out Olivia. A while after that, Jason read two Olivia books. Then we gathered everyone in a circle and played circle games, including a version of Simon Says called “Olivia Says.” That was the program. The kids and parents really seemed to enjoy it, and we did, too. Many of the children came dressed up—I saw sweater vests and tiaras and Easter dresses and hats and even a kimono. The atmosphere seemed to make the kids a little more subdued than we’re used to seeing them, but in a good way. They were very busy looking at things. I definitely want to run more tea parties; Jason and I are talking about maybe this summer.
Posted by adrienne at February 20, 2010 10:16 PM
Comments
Such an awesome picture! I was afraid I'd knock the ears off getting through the doorways, though!
Posted by: Olivia at February 20, 2010 11:29 PM
Squee! Tea parties. LOVE your outfit. Lemonade and animal crackers and real teacups? Swoon. I was born way too early. We never had any of this kind of stuff.
Posted by: jama at February 21, 2010 08:37 AM
Olivia, :)
Jama, Thank you! I only wish I worked at a time when I could have served the kiddos homemade cookies and lemonade, but that's a no-go these days.
Posted by: adrienne at February 21, 2010 09:53 AM
I wished we lived closer to your library. You really have a lot of fun!!
We will have to make a *special* trip out to see you in action sometime. When the, day I say it, weather gets nicer.
Posted by: Kerri at February 21, 2010 10:32 AM
Real tea cups from thrift stores = a flash of genius.
Posted by: jules at February 21, 2010 11:16 AM
Kerri, I was thinking today that I'm feeling pretty done with winter. Just, what, two or three more months to go? ;) We'll be glad to see you here whenever you visit.
Jules, Thanks--I was so completely nervous about it because they weren't all matchy-matchy and new and whatever, but several parents commented on how nice it was, so that was a big relief. The kids handled them fine, and they looked all pretty and fancy, too.
Posted by: adrienne at February 21, 2010 12:52 PM
Oh, now, that sounds like fun. I love tea parties.
Posted by: Susan T. at February 21, 2010 10:14 PM
I KNEW IT.
I knew you were rockin' some shoes, and didn't show me. I'm going to sit here now and feel all cranky.
My mother actually does this with her school - the oldest students are SIX. Imagine - a tea party with 2-6 year olds. With actual tea things (cheap, unmatched, "oh, well" if it breaks. NONE EVER HAS.) She does it in the Spring, and it's just a real hoot. They dress up, and many parents come as well. It's just adorable. They never had Olivia, though. Wow, you're lucky!
Posted by: tanita at February 22, 2010 02:02 PM
Susan, I'm definitely a fan now.
Tanita, Whenever you tell me about things your mom does with her kids, I think I'd like to work with her. It struck me on Friday that a lot of kids probably don't get so many opportunities to practice being in more formal situations, and that's valuable learning. I was surprised at how comfortable and happy they all seemed doing something that was relatively quiet and tame by our normal programming standards.
Posted by: adrienne at February 22, 2010 02:26 PM
We had a Fancy Nancy party last year and I'm planning to do one every year, it was so popular! It's going to be our annual celebration of Children's Book Week. We didn't actually have a tea party, but I'm hoping to blend that in soon....There's a Fancy Nancy tea parties book, so that would be cool
Posted by: Jennifer at February 24, 2010 08:48 PM
Jennifer, Oh, boy, I bet it was popular! Nancy would be a good compliment to a tea party, in general, I'd say. She's a tea kind of gal.
Posted by: adrienne at February 24, 2010 10:39 PM