Part 4 (1/2)

A second objection to paper furniture is its lack of stability Paper which is pliable enough to fold readily will not hold its oeight long when made into furniture, and very soon becomes wobbly To overcome this tendency to wobble, heavier papers are often used and new complications arise Heavy papers do not fold readily without scoring Scoring deree beyond the power of a six-year-old The stiff papers, being hard pressed, are harder to paste, and neat work is often an iiven

It is possible to reat variety of styles from stiff paper, and the processes involve son The processes necessary to obtain these satisfactory results are, however, beyond the ability of children in the lower grades Even fairly satisfactory results are iiven by the teacher In actual practice, where stiff paper is used a few of the best workers in the class are helped to make the few pieces needed in the playhouse and the unhappy failures of the rest of the class are proned to the wastebasket

Very pretty furniture may be made from reeds and raffia, but the processes are too difficult to be successfully performed by small children The reeds do not lend theh to suit the average playhouse, and the larger pieces are out of proportion to the other features of the house

The use of wood overcomes the most serious of the objections to bethe material most commonly used in ”real”

furniture Wooden furniture is stable, and a great variety of processes in construction are possible without introducing complications which prevent independent work on the part of the little people

The processes necessary to the construction of very simple yet satisfactory wooden furnitureoff, and nailing on Measuring one di off_ is not difficult if soft lumber is used, and it beco on_ is difficult if the nails es of thin boards, but if thin boards are nailed to thick boards, nails o crooked” without serious consequences, and the process becoe of being particularly fascinating to sirlish character of s 21 and 22)

[Illustration: FIG 21--Furniture from wood blocks]

[Illustration: FIG 22--Furniture from wood blocks]

_Processes_--For the sake of convenience and clearness in these directions it will be assumed that the class is provided with pieces of wood two inches square which will be referred to as 2 2 Also with thin wood in a variety of widths from 1 in to 6 in Material of other dimensions would serve the purpose equally well, and for many of the parts odd pieces from the scrap box will answer every purpose The directions are intended only to suggest how to proceed, and it is left to the teacher to adapt them to the material and conditions hich she works

(1) _To make a chair_

Use 2 2 for seat and thin wood 2 in wide for back Children should measure and decide how much to saw off from strip of 2 2 in order to make a square block or cube for the seat They should estith of the back of the chair, then measure and saw off the thin wood needed

Nail the back piece to the cube and finish with a coat of water-color paint or color with crayon An armchair may be made by the addition of shorter pieces of thin wood to the sides of the chair

(2) _To make table with pedestal_

Use 2 2 for pedestal Use thin wood 6 in wide for top Use thin wood 4 in wide for base Measure and saw off 3 in of 2 2 for pedestal

Measure _enough_ of the 6 in wood to h_ of the 4 in wood to make a square base Do not tell the children what they can discover for theht to be and how large to suit the size of the room Nail the square pieces to the two ends of the pedestal Finish by same method used for chairs

(3) _For ordinary table_

Use thin wood for top Use 1/2 1/2 for legs Measure and saw off pieces needed Measure places for legs about one inch fro Children frequently put the legs flush with the edge of the table, which gives a clu nail

(4) _To make a double bed_

Use wood 1/2 to 1 in thick for body Use thin wood of corresponding width for head and foot boards Class or individual workers should decide on diht of body of bed frole bed_

Proceed as for double bed, using narrow pieces of wood, or use six or seven inches of 2 2 for body of bed and make head and foot boards after the style of chair back

(6) _Dressing table_

Decide upon dimensions needed Use 2 2 for body Use thin wood of equal width for back Use tinfoil for mirror Indicate draith pencil lines

(7) _Couch_