Tea Time

Tea Times offer you and your children a break from the fast-paced demands of parenting, homeschooling, and household chores. Everyone sighs as they settle into their chairs, tea cups or mugs in hand. Stopping to enjoy cup of tea ( hot chocolate or apple juice or even water from a tea pot is nice) creates the perfect time to share a poem or a story. Tea sandwiches and a few cookie treats (known as biscuits in England) make it a special snack and break to your midday. When you share poetry with tea, your children create a connection between sharing and rest, while creating memories. We really have the kids with us for such a short time.

Once everyone has his or her tea and food, reading or storytelling can begin. Use this time to read a favorite series of books. Kids of any age will want to stop in their day and share this time with you. It is a great way to teach manners and proper etiquette. Tea time can be fun and educational. 

This Month for tea time try....

Sun Strawberry Jam 

When strawberries go on sale, it's time to make sun jam, a delightful taste of summer made with solar energy to enjoy any time of year. A very GREEN thing to do. Although it requires patience to prepare sun jam, it captures the fresh flavor of the strawberries. This is a great recipe to do with kids. 

Instructions 
Things You’ll Need:
1 1/2 pounds ripe fruit
1 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
Stainless steel saucepan
cheese cloth
Sterile glass jar (with lid)
string

How To:
Wash the fruit.
Cut it into thin slices.
Mix all of the ingredients together in a stainless steel saucepan.
Cover and let it sit at room temperature for one hour.
Place the pan on the stove and bring to a boil.
Boil for five minutes without stirring.
Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool for 30 minutes.
Pour the cooled fruit mixture into a glass jar.
Cover with chesse cloth and tie with string to allow the moisture to evaporate.
Set the jar outside in full sunshine or in a very sunny window for three to eight hours.
The jam is ready when it has thickened.
Last seal it tightly. Store the jam in the fridge.