Part 3 (2/2)

Plain papers generally give theeffects Attractive bordersthem at intervals

Almost any motif may be used for the unit Animals, birds, trees, flowers, shi+ps, etc, serve well The process of ood border is not ure The units ether

The shape of the figure used must be such that each unit seereatest pleasure in working fro work can be done with siures Take, for example, the hollow square

Fold a square of paper on both diagonals (See Fig 16) Cut on dotted line Let each child cut several and lay them in order for a border or mount them on a paper of different color Let the work of the class be put up for general criticism (See notes on Criticism) Several points which very small children are able to appreciate will be found to enter into the success or failure of their efforts The hollow square itself may be cut too wide and look clueether and look crowded, or too far apart and look scattered A sensitiveness to good proportions comes naturally to only a few people, but nearly all are capable of a higher degree of appreciation if their attention is directed to the essential eles of this appreciation lie in sirade children

[Illustration: FIG 17--Borders using hollow square]

=Floors=--Many of the considerations which enter into the selection of wall decorations are of equal is What will be suitable to the purpose of each roos in the bedroos or a carpet? What colors must we have on the floor to harns are possible and desirable for theMaterials_--The market offers a wide variety ofthem the s, loose twisted jute, and cotton chenille These, especially the first two, are coarse and work up rapidly, and may be had in very desirable colors Even the cheapest of them, however, will prove an expensive ites may be made to serve every purpose Often these will be contributed by members of the class By a careful selection and combination of colors very artistic results can be produced which are in some respectspractically nothing

[Illustration: FIG 18--Loo]

_Looreat variety of looms for school use, many of them quite simple in construction and ht, theof a loom is an excellent problem either for the weavers the for them If the looms are made by the little weavers themselves, only the simplest possible construction should be used, that the work may be coht of the fact that the purpose is to provide carpet for the house Children lose interest in long-drawn-out processes, and for that reason it is better to provide them with the necessary tools as far as possible while interest in the house building is keen Later, if considerable enthusias, individual looms may be made for home use For the school with scant funds a very satisfactory loo nails one fourth inch apart in the ends of a shallow box of convenient size and stretching the warp threads across the open top

For very ss a cardboard loo holes along opposite edges of a piece of cardboard into which the warpneedle is inserted at each side, the cardboard will be stiffened and the edges of the rug kept straight Weaving needles may be purchased from supply houses Wooden needles cost 50 cents per dozen Sack needles serve well for ss and may be had at any hardware store for 10 cents per dozen

_Weaves_--For first weaving the plain ”over one, under one” on cotton ith rags or other coarse woof is generally best Varietya stripe or border of a different tone near each end of the rug Vertical stripes serve well as another easytoof threads of different tones and weaving first with one and then with the other This weave is very attractive as the body of the rug with a plain border at either end

As soon as the children have mastered the plain weave and have a fairly clear idea of the possibilities in design through varying the colors in the woof only, they ham weave” and allowed to experiment with the variations in warp as well as in woof Cotton rovings is an excellent material for weaves of this sort

This weave -room floor

[Illustration: FIG 19--Box house by second grade Columbia, Missouri]

Paperpaper strips is often an easier process to little children than weaving with textiles, except where very coarse textile materials are used For paper mats select paper of suitable color and cut to the size desired for the mat Fold on the short diae, not less than one half inch apart, to within one inch of edge of the paper (See Fig 20), leaving a in on all four sides of the mat For weavers, cut from paper of harmonious tone, strips equal in width to the slashes in the ]

Variations of the simple over one, under one weave add interest to the work and also give practice in number combinations such as over one, under two, etc Work of this sort is used innu the combinations while the interest of the children centers in the new pattern which develops under their fingers While such work has much to be said in its favor, it is open to criticism, especially in the roup will not ith equal speed Soet behind” and others will lose ti for the slow ones

Accidents are liable to happen in individual cases

Many of these undesirable featuresthe valuable part of the work by writing the directions on the board instead of dictating the as well as in number Each child is thrown more completely upon his own responsibility and can proceed as rapidly and as steadily as his capacity perress will often be a fair ht and action, which is the real

As the hardest feature in thisor oed by allowing the children to work in groups and take turns in _keeping the place_ while the others work In one first grade where this plan was in vogue the children discovered a book on the teacher's desk which contained nuns, many of them much more intricate than she would have attempted to use as classwork Their instinct for exploration led thele with the directions until they had worked out sons which would have proved dismal failures had they been atteed to the persevering group were happy in a new-found sense of strength and independence, while the others had accomplished as much as any would have done under the dictation method

=Furniture=--The problem of furniture for the school playhouse has been discussed in numerous publications, and nearly every writer on the subject of priestions include a range in s in paper to quite complex processes in reeds and raffia andthe various materials and styles in co quickly made The process is of sufficient interest to little children to hold their attention, and in order to secure the desired result they ently and obey them promptly These are desirable habits to form

It is quite possible, however, for the work to be done in a very formal, mechanical way, in which the children merely follow directions, often blindly, without any clear purpose and very little thought Success or failure is due largely to chance; for, if by accident even a good worker ”loses out” on a direction, his work is at a standstill until special help is given He is unable to proceed because he does not knohat to do next There is very little opportunity in such a process for independent thought or action It is not self-directed activity