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There’s something about February mornings that makes me want to slow down. Maybe it is the way that January forces us to begin school again after the Christmas holidays and February is the peak of the hill we have been climbing, or maybe it is the fact that it is finally cold here in Texas!
I’m a huge believer in Charlotte Mason’s approach to education and seeing the child as a whole person worthy of joy and respect. One of the loveliest Charlotte Mason practices is poetry tea time. Poetry makes your homeschool feel fancy, when really it is simply a way to communicate a feeling without the natural restraints of a page or even of complete sentences.
Julie Bogart of Brave Writer popularized the idea of Poetry Tea Time and made it a huge part of the common homeschool vernacular. I love her ideas! You can get her free ebook guide and make anything you want into a tea time for your family. Some people do it once a week, once a month, or whenever the mood strikes!
We have also used Pam Barnhill’s plans for Morning Time! I think we did every single Morning Time plan she has, starting when the kids were little. The only ones we didn’t do were the ones for preschoolers and any new ones she may have come up with now that my kids are older. Morning Time lends itself to Poetry Tea Time and there is lots of crossover.
To me, Poetry Tea Time just means intentional time to read a poem, drink some tea, maybe do a snack or craft – or both! – together in an intentional slowing down.
There is no time limit. There are no rules. It is just a time to focus on one another and break up the normal curriculum you are already covering.
This year, I had the idea of combining two of my favorite things – poetry tea time and American Girl history – into one magical morning time celebration.
And the timing couldn’t be more perfect. American Girl just released their 2026 Girl of the Year, Raquel Reyes – and here’s the beautiful connection: Raquel is Samantha Parkington’s great-granddaughter! She comes with a heart-shaped locket just like Samantha’s. It is not supposed to replace Samantha’s but of course it is easy to pretend it is her grandmother’s, passed down to her.
If your family has been following American Girl dolls, you know that Samantha was one of the original three historical dolls when the line launched in 1986. Seeing her legacy continue through Raquel makes this the ideal moment to revisit Samantha’s world and celebrate her story.
Charlotte Mason wrote: “Let children have tales of the imagination, scenes laid in other lands and other times; heroic adventures, hairbreadth escapes, delicious fairy tales, even where it is all impossible, and they know it, and yet they believe.”
That’s exactly what happens when we step into Samantha’s world. We’re transported to 1904, to a time when electricity was a new invention, of proper manners, of high lace collars and lots of velvet and silk. And Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to make this journey.
Why Samantha Parkington for Valentine’s Day?
Samantha Parkington was one of the original three American Girl dolls when Pleasant Company launched the line in 1986 (along with Kirsten and Molly). For many of us who grew up with American Girl, Samantha holds a special place in our hearts. Her stories of 1904 opened our eyes to history, fashion, and social justice in ways textbooks never could.
While I didn’t have the Samantha doll, I had the “me” American Girl Doll of Today (where you got to choose the hair, eye color, etc.) and since my doll has long dark hair and bangs, my daughter seamlessly transforms my doll into Samantha, using some of her outfits. This was the earlier version of the Truly Me doll or the more expensive and more detailed, Create Your Own doll now.
Samantha’s era – the turn of the century, the Edwardian period – was all about elegance, beauty, and refined social graces. Valentine’s Day celebrations then were elaborate affairs with handmade cards, proper tea services, and careful attention to etiquette.
Setting the Scene
The magic is in the atmosphere. You don’t need to go overboard, but a few Edwardian-inspired touches will transport your children to Samantha’s world.
Pull out your nicest tablecloth (even if it’s just a pretty sheet). Set the table with your good dishes – mismatched vintage teacups from the thrift store work beautifully. Add some lace doilies if you have them. Put fresh flowers in a vase (carnations were popular in the Edwardian era and they’re perfect for Valentine’s Day).
If your girls want to dress up, wonderful! Hair ribbons, lace collars, their fanciest dresses – let them get into character. This is exactly the kind of imaginative play that Charlotte Mason championed.
And speaking of Charlotte Mason, she also wrote: “Poetry is, perhaps, the most searching and intimate of our truth-bearers.” So as we set this beautiful scene, we’re not just playing – we’re creating space for truth and beauty to reach our children’s hearts.
“Poetry is, perhaps, the most searching and intimate of our truth-bearers.”
– Charlotte Mason
The Books
Start by reading (or rereading) the Samantha books. If you’re lucky, your library will carry them, or you can grab them on Amazon.
- Meet Samantha
- Samantha’s World
- Samantha’s Cookbook
- Samantha’s Craftbook
- The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha
- Samantha: The Gift
- Happy Birthday, Samantha
Reading these ahead of time (or during the week leading up to your tea time) will give your children context for the era and make the whole experience richer. They’ll understand why we’re doing things a certain way, and it gives you conversation starters about the time period.
I prefer the original unabridged versions, but unfortunately many libraries today choose to house the abridged versions.
The Food
Edwardian tea parties were serious business, but we’re homeschoolers – we can keep it simple while still capturing the spirit.
Heart-Shaped Fairy Bread from Simple Seasonal
This is whimsical, easy, and the kids will love making it.
Use heart-shaped cookie cutters on white bread, butter it, and sprinkle with colorful sprinkles. It’s not period-accurate, but it’s festive and fun.
We choose to use sprinkles made with natural dyes due to various reasons, like that it is better for the neurological health of kids. Amazon carries lots of options! So does HEB, Wal-mart, and Natural Candy Store.
Samantha’s Lemon Ice from Amy at Danridge House Dolls
This recipe comes straight from the American Girl cookbook era and it’s refreshing and sophisticated – and also really easy!
Samantha’s Ice Cream , also from Dandridge House Dolls
These are adorable and impressive-looking but surprisingly simple to make.
Mini Victorian Tea Cakes by Sprinkles by Stacey
Using a mini cake, muffin, or mini donut pan, these tea cakes can be customized to be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be!
This recipe also allows for making doll-sized cakes for your dolls to join in the Poetry Tea Time, too.
And, don’t forget the tea, of course!
For older kids, you may want to let them try caffeinated Celestial Seasonings Victorian Earl Grey for a more authentic experience! Or for smaller kids, Celestial Seasonings Wild Berry Zinger is yummy and lightly pink.
The Poetry
This is the heart of poetry tea time, and for Valentine’s Day, we want poems about love, friendship, and beauty.
School with Mom has an excellent collection of Valentine’s Day poems perfect for tea time!
Some of my favorites for this theme:
“Us Two” by A.A. Milne – About friendship between Christopher Robin and Pooh. Simple, sweet, perfect for younger children.
“A Birthday” by Christina Rossetti – Celebrates joy and love through vivid imagery. Rossetti was writing during Samantha’s era, so this is period-appropriate!
“The Rose Family” by Robert Frost – A delightful poem about how different flowers are related, just like families.
Don’t feel like you need to analyze these poems to bits for them to be effective. Charlotte Mason was very clear that poetry should be enjoyed, not studied for parts.
Read them aloud with expression. Let them sink in. That’s where the beauty lies and where they weave into memories in our minds.
Charlotte Mason wrote: “We see, too, that the magic of poetry makes knowledge vital, and children and grown-ups quote a verse which shall add blackness to the ashbud, tender wonder to that ‘flower in the crannied wall,’ a thrill to the song of the lark.”
That’s what we’re after – not perfect recitation, memorization by force, or deep analysis absent of the curiosity that should drive it, but that moment when a line of poetry lodges itself in your child’s heart and becomes part of how they see the world.
The Activities
After tea and poetry, extend the celebration with some hands-on activities that connect to Samantha’s world.
Make Victorian Valentines – In the early 1900s, handmade valentines were elaborate works of art with lace, ribbons, and handwritten verses. Learn about Victorian valentine traditions and the kit American Girl used to offer as part of Samantha’s collection.
Use these free vintage images from The Graphics Fairy to create beautiful cards to give to friends and grandparents. This combines art, history, and the joy of giving – all Charlotte Mason values.
Play with Samantha Paper Dolls – Paper dolls were hugely popular in the early 1900s. You can find beautiful Samantha paper dolls on Etsy or grab a set on Amazon of Samantha’s paper dolls from American Girl.
This isn’t just play – it’s practicing fine motor skills, learning about historical fashion, and engaging imagination. Plus, it’s quietly absorbing information about what life was like in 1904.
Create a Lapbook – The Homeschool Share has a wonderful free Meet Samantha lapbook that lets kids document what they’re learning about the era in a hands-on way.
Going Deeper: Unit Study Resources
If this poetry tea time sparks a bigger interest in Samantha’s world, here are some resources to extend the learning:
Fields of Daisies has a gorgeous Samantha Turn of the Century Unit Study that covers history, literature, art, and more. It covers everything you can think of! She even has lesson plans that could last you weeks!
The Samantha American Girl doll herself can become a living history lesson. There is also a new cloth doll version of Samantha for younger girls.
Having her present during read-alouds, tea times, and history lessons makes the era come alive. And with the new Raquel doll connecting to Samantha’s legacy, it’s the perfect time to invest in your Samantha doll and explore her world together, find a used one online, or share it with your daughter, if you’re lucky enough to have an original one!
For a more comprehensive study, Little School of Smiths offers an American Girl History unit on Samantha covering 1904 in depth. It does cost $10 but looks fantastic!
There is also Samantha: An American Girl Holiday the movie on Amazon Prime Video! While it is Christmas themed and not Valentine’s Day, but it lets kids explore the clothing and style of the era in a tactile, visual way.
Why This Matters
I know some people might think this is elaborate or unnecessary. Can’t we just memorize poem, check it off, and move on? Sure, we could.
But here’s the thing – we’re not just teaching facts and dates. We’re cultivating souls.
We’re creating an atmosphere where beauty matters, where history comes alive, where poetry isn’t something you endure but something that delights.
A.A. Milne (yes, the Winnie the Pooh author whose poetry we might read at this tea time) wrote: “Poetry and Hums aren’t things which you get, they’re things which get you. And all you can do is go where they can find you.”
That’s what we’re doing with this Valentine’s Day poetry tea time. We’re putting our children in a place where poetry can find them. Where beauty can surprise them. Where they can step into another time and place and come back changed.
When we set a beautiful table, serve special treats, read lovely words, and create handmade valentines together, we’re not being frivolous. We’re building memories.
We’re showing our children that these things – beauty, poetry, celebration, friendship – matter.
We are also showing them that they matter to us enough for us to go to an effort to give them a special day.
Years from now, your children might not remember every math lesson or grammar rule. But they’ll remember that February morning when you all dressed up, drank tea from fancy cups, listened to poetry, and made valentines together.
They’ll remember that learning can be beautiful. That history isn’t just dates in a textbook but real people with real lives who loved and laughed and wore pretty dresses and fought for what they believed in.
They’ll remember that their mother thought poetry mattered enough to slow down and create space for it.
Making It Your Own
Here’s the beautiful thing about this plan – you can adapt it to your family.
Maybe your kids are too young for all the historical depth, so you focus on the tea party and simple poems. Maybe they’re older and want to dig deep into the Progressive Era and women’s suffrage. Maybe you have boys who think princess dolls are boring, so you pivot to talking about what boys were doing in 1904 or what new inventions were changing the world! Ice cream cones were invented in 1904! What is more exciting than that?!
The framework is here: beautiful setting, good food, lovely poetry, hands-on activities, historical connection. But the details? Those are yours to shape.
Maybe you don’t do the full tea party but just read one poem over breakfast. Maybe you skip the recipes and buy bakery treats. Maybe you focus entirely on making valentines and save the deeper historical study for another day.
All of that is perfect. The goal isn’t Instagram-worthy perfection. The goal is creating space for beauty, wonder, and connection in your homeschool day.
And if your kids are more into modern comfort than Edwardian elegance, check out my guide to Squishmallow Valentine’s Day ideas and free printables – because homeschool joy looks different in every family!
The Magic of Slowing Down
In our rushed, overscheduled world, poetry tea time is an act of rebellion.
We’re saying no to hurry and yes to lingering. We’re choosing beauty over efficiency. We’re making room for things that can’t be measured or tested but that feed our souls anyway.
And on Valentine’s Day – a holiday that’s become so commercialized where we slap a card on it and call it a day – we’re reclaiming it for something deeper. Not just candy and cards (though those are fine, too), but genuine connection. Time together. Shared experiences. Love expressed through attention and presence.
That’s what Samantha would have understood. In her world, relationships mattered. Courtesy mattered. Taking time to do things properly mattered. And while we don’t want to romanticize everything about the early 1900s (there was plenty wrong going on in that era, too), we can still learn from the intentionality, the emphasis on beauty, and the value placed on human connection.
So this February, slow down. Set a beautiful table. Pour the tea. Read the poetry. Make the valentines. Step into Samantha’s world for an afternoon and see what happens.
I’m willing to bet it will be magical.
Homeschool With Joy 