Julianna Swinesburg, Aurora Melendez, Henry Melnik, Elizabeth Clocker and Violet Bartleson stand onstage and sing with their kindergarten classmates during the Wyoming Valley Montessori School’s annual Mother’s Day Tea.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Henry Melnik of Wilkes-Barre escorts his mother, Irina, to one of the tables where the children will serve their parents tea, sandwiches and other treats.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Elizabeth Swinesburg of Mountain Top is all smiles as she hugs her daughter, Julianna, during a Mother’s Day Tea at the Wyoming Valley Montessori School.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Elizabeth Clocker, at right, carefully carries a teapot on a tray to a table where she will pour some for her mother, Amy Margavitch of Wilkes-Barre. ‘I didn’t spill a drop,’ the little girl will proudly report.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Sitting down to tea at one of the tables are, clockwise from left, Violet Bartleson, with her dad, Sean; Henry Melnik with his mom, Irina; and Elizabeth Clocker with her mom, Amy Margavitch.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Evan McClennen hugs her daughter, Ainsley Metza, as they prepare to taste the goodies at the Wyoming Valley Montessori School’s recent Mother’s Day Tea.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Alex McKitish of Dupont and daughter Layla break a cookie in half to share it at the Mother’s Day Tea held recently at Wyoming Valley Montessori School in Kingston.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Daughter Aurora will soon become a big sister, according to her mom, Michelle Melendez of Taylor.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Violet Bartleson’s mother, Amanda Bartleson, works at the Wyoming Valley Montessori School, and Violet sees her there on a regular basis. So the little girl decided to invite her dad, Sean Bartleson, to the Mother’s Day Tea.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Mom Evan McClennen embraces her daughter, Ainsley Metza, after the little girl handed her a bouquet of flowers.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Abby Stinson of Mountain Top brings a bouquet of flowers to present to her mother, Jessie Stinson, during the Mother’s Day Tea.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
“I’m the mom who ‘likes to clean for fun’,” Alex McKitish of Dupont told the other mothers at her table, laughing as she admitted that was how her daughter, Layla, had described her.
“I’m the one who ‘won’t play with Play-Doh’,” said Michelle Melendez of Taylor, whose daughter, Aurora, had described her that way. “I don’t like the way it smells.”
As the annual Mother’s Day Tea at Wyoming Valley Montessori School in Kingston progressed to the part where kindergarten students served refreshments, some moms were still chuckling about the way their children see them. They’d recently learned more about that from the collection of quotes lead teacher Jonelle Kime had read aloud during the entertainment portion of the event.
The annual tea, a long-time tradition at the school, also included songs by the children, a story read by head of school Justin Kleinheider, and a poem from a teacher about experiencing “the last time” you hold your baby on your hip or take your child’s hand to cross a street.
The sentiments of the poem seemed to inspire a few tears, as did the children’s presentation of flowers to their parents.
Noticing tears on her mom’s face, kindergarten student Julianna Swinesburg, of Mountain Top, gently dabbed Elizabeth Swinesburg’s cheek with a tissue before scampering back to the stage.
The tea, which took place early Thursday afternoon, was filled with tender and fun moments — as Alex and Layla McKitish broke a cookie to share, as Evan McClennen and daughter Ainsley Metza shared a cup of orange sherbet, as Elizabeth Clocker asked her mom, Amy Margavitch, what kind of tea sandwich she wanted. (Turkey and cheese).
“Please allow your child to serve you,” co-teacher Emily Piazza had said when it was time for refreshments, stressing that the children “know what to do” and wanted to show what they had learned about grace and politeness.
“I didn’t spill a drop,” Elizabeth Clocker said, sounding pleased after she carried a tray with a small teapot and poured some for her mother.
“Just seeing how they’ve grown in maturity, ” mom Evan McClennen said. “It shows they’re ready to move on to first grade … and it’s bittersweet.”
While most of the children in the class served their moms during the Mother’s Day Tea, Violet Bartleson served her dad, Sean Bartleson.
Mom Amanda Bartleson was actually in the same room, watching from a distance. “I work here. I teach (physical education),” she said. “So I’m here all the time.”
That was why Violet had wanted to give her dad a chance to come and see her at school.
As for the children, now some of them are confident they know how to make tea.
“You put it in the cup,” Abby Stinson of Mountain Top said. “And fill it half full.”
