ClassX Video Lessons Grade Grade 2 Teatime Around The World | All the wonderful ways to enjoy a cup or two around the world!
Hi everyone! Welcome back to the Storytime Family. How are you today? Did you have a fun day? Did you get to play outside and enjoy the sunshine?
Today, we’re going to read a book called “Tea Time Around the World” by Denise Weisbluth and Chelsea Auburn. Can you guess what this book is about? That’s right, it’s all about tea from different places!
Let’s start our tea adventure! In Morocco, people make sweet mint tea with sugar and spices. They serve it in three cups, each tasting a bit different.
In India, you can find masala chai on almost every street. It’s made with strong tea, spices like cinnamon and ginger, milk, and sugar. Yum!
In Tibet, there’s a special tea called pocha or butter tea. It’s thick like creamy soup and sipped from a wooden bowl.
In Thailand, people love Thai iced tea. It’s sweet and cold, perfect for a hot day!
In North America, some people make tea from berries and plants to help with colds or to sleep better.
In South Sudan, they make hibiscus tea called karkade. It tastes like cranberries and can be hot or cold.
In Japan, matcha tea is part of a special ceremony. It’s all about enjoying the moment and being calm.
In Russia, they serve strong black tea called zavarka. It’s brewed in a special pot and enjoyed with snacks like cookies.
In England, afternoon tea is a fun tradition with sandwiches, scones, and cakes.
In Malaysia, pulled tea is made frothy by pouring it from high up. It’s a fun drink to watch being made!
In Pakistan, pink chai is made with nuts and spices. It’s a pretty pink color!
In Iran, tea is served all day with sweet rock candy.
In Hong Kong, they make silk stocking tea by straining it through a special filter.
Tea is called cha in China and has been loved for thousands of years. There are special tea ceremonies with tiny teapots and lucky tea pets!
Bubble tea from Taiwan has chewy tapioca balls that make it extra fun to drink.
In Argentina and other countries, mate is a popular tea made from special leaves.
In the Caribbean, they make a festive drink called sorrel with hibiscus buds and spices.
Tea is loved all around the world! Which tea sounds the most fun to you?
Now, let’s explore “Read Island” by Nicole Magistrale. It’s a magical place where books are everywhere!
On Read Island, animals gather for storytime. There’s a sea wolf, a grizzly bear, and even a rare spirit bear!
Books can take you on amazing journeys. You can travel to the city, into space, or even to a rainbow!
Remember, books are always there to welcome you. Just be still, breathe, and listen to the stories they tell.
Wasn’t “Read Island” beautiful? Books are so special because they can take us anywhere!
If you enjoyed these stories, you might want to get your own copies. And don’t forget to tell your family you love them lots!
Until next time, have lots of fun and take care!
Tea Tasting Adventure: With the help of an adult, try making a simple tea from one of the countries mentioned in the story. You could make sweet mint tea like in Morocco or try a simple iced tea like in Thailand. Talk about the flavors you taste and how they might be different from other drinks you have tried. What do you like about it?
Tea Time Art: Create a drawing or painting of your favorite tea story from the article. Use colors and shapes to show what the tea looks like and where it comes from. Share your artwork with your family or friends and explain why you chose that particular tea.
Tea Around the World Map: Use a world map to mark the countries mentioned in the story. With the help of an adult, find pictures of the different teas online and print them out. Place the pictures on the map where each tea is from. Discuss with your family how each tea might be influenced by the culture and climate of its country.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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[Music]
Hi everyone! Welcome back to the Storytime Family. How are you today? Did you have a good day? Did you have time to get some exercise outside, some fresh air, and some sunshine?
[Music]
Thank you for sitting down and reading with us; I always appreciate it! Today we have a book called “Tea Time Around the World” by Denise Weisbluth and Chelsea Auburn. Can you take a guess what this book is all about?
[Music]
That’s a pretty good guess! Well, let’s have a look at what’s on the inside.
“Tea Time Around the World”
T for one, T for two, T for me, T for you.
With sugar or spice, green tea, mint, and sugar are mixed to make sweet Moroccan mint tea. Guests are served three cups, each with a slightly different taste.
On almost every street corner in India, masala chai is sold by vendors called chaiwalas. Strong tea and spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and pepper are boiled with milk and sweetened.
Pocha or butter tea is traditional in Tibet. A brick of dark tea is simmered in water, then milk, butter, and salt are added. The mixture is churned until it’s thick like creamy soup, then sipped from a wooden bowl.
Thai iced tea, my personal favorite, is popular with locals and tourists in Thailand. Strongly brewed sweet tea is poured over ice and drunk from a bag through a straw. Street vendors sell it from their carts with berries or flowers.
Indigenous cultures in North America prepare tea from berries, plants, and roots. These can be used to treat fevers, colds, sore backs, or even help people sleep.
While the hibiscus plant is originally from West Africa, it has inspired tisanes around the world. In South Sudan, karkade or hibiscus tea is made with hibiscus petals. It tastes tart like cranberries and is served hot or iced, sometimes sweetened.
Matcha or powdered green tea is carefully prepared and served during the Japanese tea ceremony. Each part of the ritual helps create a harmonious atmosphere and ensures guests enjoy the experience.
In Russia, guests are served a strong black tea called zavarka, brewed in a special pot called a samovar. They can add extra hot water, milk, sugar, or jam to taste, and it would be rude not to offer guests a snack like cake or cookies.
After an English duchess once complained of being hungry between lunch and dinner, the tradition of afternoon tea was started. This custom involves serving trays of goodies like finger sandwiches, scones with butter, jam, and cream, and cakes, along with tea.
Another one of my personal favorites is pulled tea, a national drink of Malaysia made with strong black tea and condensed milk. It’s poured from up high or pulled between two mugs to make it frothy.
In Pakistan, a luxurious pink chai is made with pistachios, almonds, salt, milk, and spices. Baking soda is added, enhancing the flavor and pink color.
In Iran, the samovar bubbles from morning prayers until the sun sets, so that the reddish-brown tea can be enjoyed all day. It is usually served on a silver tray with bright yellow rock candy called nabat.
In Hong Kong, a popular drink is made by slowly straining tea and milk through a special filter that looks like a sock. Because of this, it is often called silk stocking tea.
As you can tell, I love tea!
Tea, known as cha in China, was first discovered thousands of years ago and is still an important part of life. A traditional preparation for the kung fu tea ceremony involves several steps and special utensils. Guests sit around a host who serves multiple infusions of tea in a small teapot.
Tea pets, which are miniature figurines, are used for good luck.
Bubble tea, or boba, was created in the 1980s in Taiwan. This tasty drink is made with different kinds of tea, powdered milk, and syrup. What makes it extra special are the tapioca balls mixed in, which are like chewy bubbles and give the tea its name.
Mate is popular in countries like Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. True mate is made from leaves steeped in hot water, but they are from the yerba mate plant. It is served in a hollow gourd and drunk through a special straw called a bombilla.
In the Caribbean, roselle hibiscus buds are harvested from early fall to winter. In Jamaica, the festive drink is known as sorrel, deep crimson in color, and often spiced with ginger, cloves, and sugar.
Tea for one, tea for two, loved by all the whole world through.
And that was “Tea Time Around the World.” How did you like the trip? It’s pretty fun, right? Which one do you think is your favorite type of tea? Well, other than bubble tea, obviously! Leave us a comment and tell us about your favorite tea beverage, or that’s if you’re allowed to have tea.
If you enjoyed this story, it’s probably a good idea to get your own copy. The links are in our description below. If you haven’t, do subscribe and click on the bell for more stories like this. You can also give us a like if you enjoyed this story.
Till we see you again, take care of yourself and your family. Bye!
[Music]
Today we have “Read Island” by Nicole Magistrale. Let’s have a look.
“Read Island”
There is a place beneath the stars that welcomes friends from near and far. Just after dawn, the sun peeks through the mighty sea, making way for you.
Past rocky cliffs and cozy nooks, you’ll find an island made of books.
A sea wolf howls; her little cry is like a soothing lullaby. Every creature knows that sound; they know it’s safe to come around.
Each one comes here for story time, for books with pictures, prose, and rhymes.
Starfish dance and salmon rain; the raven circles his domain. A grizzly lumbers from her cave; an eagle lands, a humpback waves, a moose sniffs at the salty air.
Who comes now? Rare spirit bear!
From high up in the snowy peaks, a gang of elk can hear wolf speak. Cascading down hill, young and old, quick before the tale unfolds.
Snow fox arrives with cougar, mouse, and butterflies to fill the house. Joyfully they congregate, circling in to celebrate.
Can you join them? Just be still, breathe in, breathe out, listen well.
Relax, observe, explore, let’s go!
Remember this: a story flows from out to in, from here to there. Books can take you anywhere: to the city, into space, to a very quiet place, to a rainbow reaching high, to the deepest, darkest sky.
Back to the sea where stories float, set sail upon your tiny boat. The map inside is all you need; it brings you here each time you read or make believe.
Though it may look, there’s an island made of books.
This world, story safe and true, is always here to welcome you.
Be still, breathe out and in again, and listen for your island friends.
And that was “Read Island.” That was quite beautiful, don’t you think? Books are so special!
If you’d like to own a copy of this special book, the links are in the description below.
And if you haven’t, do subscribe and click on the bell for more stories like this. Give us a like or leave us a comment about your favorite book; we always love to hear from you.
[Music]
Till we see you again, take care of yourself and your family. Have lots of playtime, have lots of fun, and tell your family you love them lots. We’ll see you back here soon. Take care!
[Music]
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