ChariTea Bear's Tea Party

On a fine sunny springtime Sunday, The Family Center of Grosse Pointe and Harper Woods hosted an enrichment program: ChariTea Bear's Tea Party. All the moms and dads and all the children came dressed for a party, with suits or sweaters for the guys and dresses with hats and gloves for the gals. Proceeds from the day supported its Early Childhood programs.

There was tea and juice and scones and little sandwiches to eat. There were outdoor games to play and a storytime too. The children even had a place to create their own thank-you cards with paper and markers and stickers. (That's it above) Pictures with a live ChariTea Bear were also a favorite.

But the most fun was that the children each received their own bear or dog to stuff and dress and take home. Once animated by stuffing the empty forms, each animal was never far from its new owner. I see two bears carefully kept on little laps in the photo above.

Another component of the event was a request for donations of "comfort bears" to be distributed to local pediatric cancer & hospital programs. So many were donated - over 100 - that each center will receive an impressive contribution.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible. I had a great time following the children around and documenting the day's festivities.

Consider a gift to The Family Center to support its enrichment programs. Events like this are not just a happy diversion for a bunch of cute kids - the activities utilized both fine (bear-making) & gross motor skills (games), socialization skills and encouraged children to read (the storytime element), write and create (the thank-you notes component).