Part 12 (1/2)

Let the child paint an empty spool green, to be used as a tree box.

Insert a burnt match to which has been pasted some green paper, previously fringed, to represent foliage. The child can make a row of such trees as a little boulevard up which he can draw an empty match box for a carriage.

=Spool Tower Target= (_A number of spools_, _ball_)

Pile a number of spools one on top of another and let the child try to knock them down with his ball.

=Toy Road Roller= (_Spool_, _cord_, _toy horse_)

Tie a cord through a spool and hitch it as a road roller to the Noah's Ark horse.

=Pulley Elevator= (_Narrow cardboard box, such as a corset box or shorter one_, _spool_, _cord_, _another small box, either saved or made, narrow enough to fit inside the larger one_, _skewer_)

Stand the large box on its narrow end and near the top punch a hole on each side so that the holes are opposite to each other. Take a spool and run through it an axle made of a slender piece of wood like a skewer.

Then put the ends of the axle in the holes in the box. This makes the pulley. Use the smaller box as an elevator. Tie a string to this little box in such a way that you can hold it up evenly. To do this you must punch a hole in each of the opposite sides. Then tie one end of a longer string to the middle of the first named, and put the other end over the pulley. Revolve the spool by pulling one end of the string and the box will be raised.

=Matching Colors= (_Spools of silk or cotton of various colors_, _silk and cotton fabrics of different colors_)

Have a color game, asking the child to try to match the colors on the spools with those in the fabrics.

NEEDLES

=Breastpins= (_Broken needles_, _sealing wax_, _candle_)

Take a large broken needle, such that it is intact except for the eye.

Show the child how to make a pretty pin for dolly by melting the wax a little in the candle flame, inserting the head of the needle, and molding into shape the bit of wax that adheres.

=Threading Needles= (_Needles_, _thread_)

If eager to do something, give the child a number of needles with thread of white and black, and let him thread them and put them into a cus.h.i.+on so that they will be all ready for your use some morning when you are in a hurry to sew on a b.u.t.ton or take a st.i.tch in Tommy's little s.h.i.+rt.

MISCELLANEOUS

=Thimble Biscuits= (See page 104)

=Drawing Scissors= (_Scissors_, _paper_, _pencil_)

Give the child scissors and paper and let him place the scissors on the paper and draw the outline around them. Then tell him to cut out this outline. Make several such and play at keeping cutlery store. Draw scissors open at different angles and tell names of angles; right, acute, obtuse.

=Guessing Distances= (_Ruler or tape measure_)