Summer will bring kids and their parents to my home which means tea and more tea with painting and more painting plus some history tossed in.
Depending on the country, the ceremony or party, the kids use traditional cups dated as late as the 1940’s. My number of countries represented in tea is down to 38 countries because my Kenyan Ceylon container is empty. It’s on my list of must have. We’ve got so many good stores around here but I can’t seem to find one that will order this tea for me. I want the loose leaf by Safari.
I let the kids use vintage and antique cups without worrying too much about them breaking but I went ahead and retired my English rose tea pot. I’m a bit more protective of that one. No one uses my daily tea pot either. I’m even more protective of it. I don’t fret a lot about the cups being broken but I do expect all to use them respectfully. If one should break then it’ll do well as a planter and I can go to Goodwill and search for a replacement. Goodwill is where many online shops get their tea cups for which they charge exorbitant prices.
Here’s a little article on West African tea ‘ceremonies’. I’ve also started a collection of African recipes on my Pinterest page.
One of the things I was to get before the summer session started was a world map. I never got it. The world map hanging on the wall in the hallway would be perfect because I could show the kids the place we’re discussing in a larger format than on my laptop. Since the main objective is to discuss Bible topics, I like the idea of being able to show them where it was that Job was though to have lived, where it was that the Apostle Paul traveled, so on and so forth. To see that line in front of them is helpful. As we enjoy our tea and treats we can file in the hallway area and look at the country we’re tasting and learning about. I can show them Nineveh, Babylon and modern day territories spoken of in the Bible.
During the season we taste modern and traditional foods, fruits, roots and spices from various places spoken of in the Bible. It’s amazing how many kids have never had a fresh fig. I don’t do elaborate set ups. For example, when discussing Spain and the Bible person Jonah, we would do a modern day Spanish spin to lemonade or when talking about the spices we would simply pass them around then store them for the next group. Figs, raisins, dates and such are easy enough to get but we don’t need a lot. They’re not coming for lunch! The leaves are stored and reused for other visitors. We talk also talk about fish, frogs and various plants as they relate to Bible history. This year I have modern day coins to add to the visits. I now have coins from all over Europe and other territories. Fun. Fun. Fun.
I love doing these visits and look forward to the beginning of a great season.
The art piece seen is called Strawberry Kisses. She was painted with tea, blackberries and other fun things.Â
Faith