Anyone can enjoy a Shakespeare Teatime and explore the poetry of The Bard with their kids.
Hosting a themed Homeschool Teatime is one of our favorite homeschool activities. We don’t usually get to it weekly, but once a month we like to enjoy tea time together and a theme makes it extra special.
This time we decided to celebrate The Bard with a Shakespeare-inspired Homeschool Teatime.
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Shakespeare Teatime
Hosting a themed teatime is a ton of fun and it is easy to do. The options for teatime themes are endless.
You can focus on a specific poet, as we did with our Marilyn Singer Teatime, a specific subject, a specific country, or even specific types of poetry.
After you choose your theme, then it’s time to gather a few simple decorations, books, and food. This doesn’t have to be complicated. Even the simplest decor and food will make delightful memories for your family.
Shakespeare Teatime: The Decorations
Our family used A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare and used it as the inspiration for our decorations.
We created the feeling of being in a forest, so we covered the table with 2 yards of a grassy print fabric. Now our table felt like a forest floor.
The fairy figurines were a perfect option to decorate the table. The fairy king, queen, and little sprites were seated at teapots and around the center of the table.
Use your favorite Shakespeare play as inspiration for your decorations. Or just use elements of Shakespear plays that you have around the house, though maybe avoid Hamlet. (*wink)
Shakespeare Teatime: Poetry Books
While enjoying your tea and treats, take turns reading from Shakespeare poetry books. We kept it simple with two poetry books, but there are many titles available, including sonnets.
Poetry for Young People: William Shakespeare features many famous sonnets and soliloquies.
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream contains short excerpts and famous lines from a variety of Shakespeare sources.
In addition to these poetry books, a Shakespeare teatime offers a wonderful opportunity to read an adapted version of a Shakespeare Play. There are plenty of kid-friendly story versions of Shakespeare’s plays.
Illustrated Stories from Usborne by Rosie Dickens
A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister
Shakespeare Can Be Fun by Lois Burdett
Leon Garfield’s Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield
Shakespeare Teatime: Themed Food Ideas
At any teatime gathering, you have the option to serve typical teatime food. Finding recipes that match your theme is simply a bonus.
I decided to attempt a recipe from the 16th century. Unfortunately, most Elizabethan-Era desserts I found online had Elizabethan-Era instructions, which are very vague.
Thankfully I discovered a few English desserts on Cooks.com. I am pretty certain they are not from the 1600s but they worked to provide an English flair for our teatime. The kids and I enjoyed this English Toffee Dessert quite a bit.
If you don’t find an English dessert that works for you, just whip up a few classic teatime goodies. I typically turn to strawberries and delicious scones.
There is always this Shakespeare cookie cutter for perfectly themed Shakespeare cookies.
Fun Activity: Quotes on a Canvas
For one of our book club celebrations, we painted quotes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” onto a canvas.
This activity requires:
a blank canvas for acrylic painting
acrylic paints
paint pens
graphite paper
Your favorite quote printed in the font you want to use (I use Canva for designing)
You can watch exactly how to do it here:
NOTE: I am wearing my Romeo and Juliet scarf, which I love. The entire text of the play is printed on this scarf.
Have some fun with your teatime. Wear a Shakespeare shirt and drink from your Shakespeare mug. Cheers!
Want to Enjoy Shakespeare with Your Kids?
The Best Books to Introduce Your Kids to William Shakespeare
Reading Shakespeare Plays with my Kids
Introduce Your Kids to Shakespeare by Playing with Words
Plan Your Poetry Teatime
Valentines Day Teatime
Winter Poetry Teatime
Teatime Ideas When You Need a break from Poetry
How to Plan a Poetry Teatime in Your Homeschool
Enjoy Poetry with Your Kids
Haiku Poetry Books for Kids
The Ultimate Guide to Poetry Collections for Kids
Ten Children’s Poets Your Kids Will Love
Poetry Writing with Kids: Found Poetry
A Marilyn Singer Themed Poetry Teatime
She believes that creativity, laughter, and fun are the backbone for engaging and inspiring homeschools. You can find her encouragement and tips on this blog, Mary Hanna Wilson.
She is an enneagram 7 and an extrovert. She enjoys traveling, tea (iced or hot), good conversations, and books. You can connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
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Thanks for this! You inspired me to do a Shakespeare-themed teatime today. We read “To Sleep, Perchance to Dream,” a tiny bit of “Poetry for Young People: William Shakespeare,” and the babylit board book “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” (I loved that one, to my great surprise, as I thought it was odd to put Shakespeare into board-book format.)
I love this. I will definitely have to check out that board book. That is so interesting! Glad you all had fun.