Our tagline at Tea is “for little citizens of the world”, which has been our inspiration from the start. We want to bring the beauty found in cultures around the world into the lives and homes of families in our own backyard. It helps us remember that we are all more alike than we are different.

With that in mind, we would like to invite our customers, fans and the TwitterMoms community to participate in our ‘Little Citizens of the World’ contest!

The Rules

Please read carefully as all are required in order to enter!

1)    Write a post about what you and/or your children think it means to be a “Little Citizen of the World”. Feel free to post pictures or tell a story that illustrates the “Little Citizens of the World” concept.

2)    Link back to http://www.teacollection.com within the post, using either “children’s clothes” or “children’s clothing” as the link text.

3)    Return to this page and in the comments field below let us know you entered with a comment and link to your post.

The Prizes

Winners will receive TeaCollection.com gift certificates in the following amounts:

• 1^st Place: $500
• 2^nd Place: $200
• 3^rd Place: $100

All three winners will also receive the “Be My Neighbor Book”, a Little Citizens Hoodie in the size/color of their choosing, and a mention and link back to their post on the Tea blog!

We will make our selection on November 20^th and announce the winners on November 24^th.

To show our own support for the Little Citizens of the World, we will also be donating 15% of ALL sales to the Global Fund for Children from November 4 through November 6. The Global Fund for Children reaches the most vulnerable children and youth worldwide by investing in grassroots initiatives in 72 countries. With a focus on education, health, safety, and enterprise, their support addresses the most critical areas needed for children to reach their full potential.

Please feel free to share this contest with any friends that you think might be interested.

You must have a personal blog and be over 18 to enter.

There was recently alot of buzz at the school over International Peace Day, and the elementary grades participated in Pinwheels for Peace.

The campus of school was colorful and the breeze nicely complimented the mission of the day … pinwheels galore were spinning and whirling

The Pinwheels for Peace folks estimate that over 3 million pinwheels were spinning around the world on September 21st.  Cool!

Near the middle school and high school part of the complex, these banners were also displayed.

I may not be the most adventurous eater around, but I have come a long way from my childhood when I thought that iceberg lettuce was exotic and that potato pancakes were the height of ethnic cuisine.  In Bratislava, I have blindly ordered from a menu written in Slovakian only to be presented with a dish that might have been goose liver or honestly could have come from any other related species. I’ve smiled politely while dining at a Korean professor’s home and happily munched on whatever delicacy he presented. While I may not seek out the most outlandish dishes that various cuisines have to offer, I’m not dining on pot roast and potatoes every night either.

My four year old son, however, has recently shown me up. On a recent trip to Baltimore the whole family sat down for a late lunch outside on a sunny afternoon. While the adults dined tapas-style, the children grazed on their grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit. Suddenly my son looked up from his plate, pointed across the table, and exclaimed, “What are those shells doing over in that??”

Calmly, his grandmother responded that that was paella and those shells were actually mussels that you could eat. Disbelieving, my son reached for a mussel and looked inside the ridged dark shell. My heart stopped and my eyes bulged out when my mother-in-law explained how to eat mussels, and my son deliberately put one in his mouth, began to chew, and ate it.

Clearly, I have been underestimating my son. While I know that given enough exposure to different foods children will eat almost anything, I have never seen my son so deliberately choose to try something new and to stretch himself. You couldn’t pay me enough to pop a mussel into my mouth, and here is my young son tossing one back like it was no big deal and then telling everyone that it was truly delicious. I am in awe of his spirit.

Back at home and preparing his uninspired breakfasts and his lackluster dinners, I am reminded of this lunch in Baltimore when my son proved to me that at the tender age of four he is capable of so much more than I suspect. His palate is not yet locked; his destiny is far from written. Given a little encouragement and opportunity, he will continue to surprise and amaze us with what new snacks he might munch on and with what wild, new adventures he might choose to embark on. Not only is it time to start sharing my curry dishes or my husband’s favorite okra and tomatoes with him, but it’s time to start challenging myself and moving out of my comfort zone just like my son is.

Tea Collection has introduced a new collection of sleepwear for little citizens.

The baby pajamas and kids pajama sets are currently available online and in boutiques across the country. The collection of boy’s pajamas and girl’s pajamas is made of close-fitting, luxurious Pima cotton that is brushed inside for extra softness. The cozy knit rib on these pjs will make bedtime your child’s favorite hour. Available in five inspired prints in sizes 6 months to 6 years.

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One thing I love about being a mom, I admit, is all the fun stuff I get to do with my son. I am one of those parents that likes to play with all the kids’ toys, likes to go to the zoo, kids’ museums, and so on. Part of it is probably because growing up, we didn’t really have the same types of toys and places to go to; certainly, I didn’t play with things like drums or even a lot of play dough. (I had a lot of dolls to play with, mostly hand me downs or toys I shared with my older sister).

One activity that I love and find super therapeutic is making and playing with homemade playdough.  I found this online recipe through a friend and have been making batched since my son was around 1 year old.

When I say therapeutic, I do mean it.  The squishy material is soothing for harried souls, and that includes adults and children.  People often say that babies and tots have it easy; everything is done for them, they can sleep whenever they want, they have no worries, etc.  But I think children actually go through a lot, from small to big changes that they are not in control of.  So for whatever it’s worth, some play dough,  I think, is relaxing for the child too.

Our play dough play has changed over time. Before, we’d just make balls of colored dough. Then we would “cook” stuff like pretzels, bread, hot dogs (which is funny, because he’s never had a hot dog), etc. Then my son really got into statues, so I would make Buddha (is that sacrilegious?), lucky cats, dogs, and other figures from play dough. Nowadays I give him a muffin pan and he makes muffins, cupcakes or mooncakes. We don’t even have the plastic gear that kids often use with play dough, like the noodle maker and cookie cutters or things like that, though I should invest in some.

The options are endless, really. When we have our adult friends over, I usually give them some dough to see what they end up making; it’s actually an interesting experiment to see what people come up with, and how creative they get! It really brings out the inner child in all of us, I think, and is a soothing activity, to boot.

What are some other simple and fun activities that you do with your child at home?