Pretend Tea Party

Alice in Wonderland spent an afternoon with the Maddest of Hatters. Bring learning and imagination together through the silliness of literary nonsense in Lewis Carroll’s infamous tea party!

• 1.

  Read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a novel written by the English author Lewis Carroll. Re-read and discuss the chapter about the Mad Hatter’s tea party. Pay special attention to the riddles that the friends in the story ask each other. While you work on creating your own tea party set, write down ideas for riddles! Alice and her friends had the silliest of all tea parties and now you can, too!

• 2.

  Begin by making cups and saucers out of Crayola Air-Dry Clay for every guest at your tea party. For easy clean up, sculpt on wax paper or paper plates. Use your imagination and think about what the Mad Hatter’s tea set might have looked like. Be creative to make your pretend tea party look like something right out of Wonderland!

• 3.

  Air-Dry Clay is easy to cut into shapes when rolled flat, so use scissors to cut out circles for saucers and details. You may even want to make a sweet make-believe treats such as miniature cup cakes!

• 4.

  Roll balls for the cups. Press your thumbs into the middle to shape the bowls. Roll snakes for dainty handles and press them on the cups. Dampen the clay so it will stick to itself.

• 5.

  Next, create unique cream and sugar containers. Make lids, spouts, and handles. And remember to sculpt the centerpiece of your tea party—the teapot! Teapots look different everywhere in the world, so think of original ways to create one that is imaginativ

• 6.

  To add beautiful color and detail to your artwork, use Crayola Tempera Paint, Markers, and/or Glitter Glue. Be creative! Air-dry the decorations.

• 7.

  If you’d like a shiny glazed finish, mix equal amounts of water and Crayola School Glue. Brush it over your finished pieces. Air-dry your glaze overnight.

• 8.

  For a realistic look, tear brown construction paper into bits for make-believe tea! You’re ready to host a pretend tea party!

Benefits

• Students connect with classical children’s literature by producing an artifact that represents an exciting moment in a beloved story.
• Children create detailed tea party props with which to re-enact a scene from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Adaptations

• Students demonstrate mathematical connections to the story by inventing card games for classmates to play.
• Solve and write riddles to build logic. Children can analyze each other’s riddles. Ask students to vote on the most challenging riddle!
• Some students with special needs can benefit by the motor-skill development that comes from working with clay. Suggest that students take their clay home and connect to the story by working with an adult to hold a unique tea party.
• Students watch the movie "Alice in Wonderland," compare and contrast the movie and the book, and discuss the genre of literary nonsense. Children then write their own stories or plays.
• Children create Alice in Wonderland puppets, write a script for a puppet show, and give a presentation for families at Grandparents’ Day or for younger classrooms.
• Assessment: Children will be successful if they sculpt and decorate an imaginary tea set including a cup, saucer, teapot, and cream and sugar