One of the highlights of the school calendar is the annual Spring Tea hosted by the Lower Elementary for the past decade. Ustadha Sumayyah describes what the practice entails.

The Lower Elementary hosts their annual Spring Tea typically in May. This is a practice which brings together two areas of learning in the Montessori curriculum: Grace and Courtesy and Practical Life. It is an opportunity for children to practice practical life skills, manners and socialisation as they invite their special guests - parents, grandparents, or other relatives - and serve them in a tea party at school. They prepare, host, serve, chat, and then tidy up. The preparation energises the Lower Elementary classroom with an atmosphere of fruitful collaboration, excitement and joy ma sha Allah.

Spring Tea is a joyous time for parents, loved ones and students alike, as well as a period involving much hard work. The students create invitations, menu cards, shop for their own ingredients and of course, make all the delicious food from scratch.

They also learn the art of mastering tablescapes, making individual flower bouquets the etiquettes of serving and hosting guests, and hone their wider skills of events planning and organisation - which entails meticulous attention to detail and logistics.

Beyond the preparation and execution, the children shoulder full responsibility even in the rather unpleasant and anti-climactic post-event cleanup process. This demonstrates the wilful enthusiasm with which the children are determined to follow through with their responsibility from beginning to end. The cultivation of practical life skills is an integral part of the Montessori curriculum, which ultimately aims for the holistic development of children in all their capacities as human beings.

As such, the Spring Tea is an opportunity for nurturing their independence, creativity, confidence, team working, fine motor and social skills. In meeting these aspirations, the LE students typically succeed with grace and excellence- a fact many parents and loved ones who are in attendance typically attest to- and for this reason brings much delight to teachers.

We pray that Allah blesses the children for their efforts and allows many successful returns of the Spring Tea! We hope it continues to help boost the confidence, sense of coordination, order, independence of the children, and allows them to experience the joy of seeing the finale of such a great task.