Home Occupations for Boys and Girls Part 1

Home Occupations for Boys and Girls.

by Bertha Johnston.

PREFACE

The plan of this book has special reference to the Mother when comes the woful plaint, "I don't know what to do! Mama, what can I do now?"

Is she busy in the kitchen? She has right there material for the little one's happy employment. Is she mending the stockings? She can give him needle and thread and, with the aid of this book, a word of suggestion.

In spare moments both mother and children can together prepare papers, cards, etc., for future occasions.

It will be found upon examination that although some of the articles described herein require material peculiar to certain localities, very many more may be made of things to be found in every home, whether the city flat or the remote country homestead. Usually a choice is possible.

One may use the cardboard, paper, etc., saved from the sc.r.a.p-basket or may send to supply houses for material partially prepared. It is an undoubted advantage for the child to be trained to see the possibilities in the raw material lying at hand. It stimulates his inventive imagination and makes for efficiency and the power to cope with emergencies.

The child accustomed to looking upon odds and ends of wire, paper, weeds, seeds, and gra.s.ses as hiding delightful secrets which he may learn to unravel and utilize, may be readily trained to regard all Nature as a vast storehouse open to his investigation, and a continual source of inspiration.

The child, habituated to mastering the raw material of his immediate environment, will not be discomfited if thrown upon an unknown sh.o.r.e, whether arctic or tropical. He will recognize everywhere about him possibilities for shelter, food, clothing, and transportation and will know how to use them.

But the child must be trained to perceive the beautiful and the ideal as well as the useful. Into each article here described, even the simplest, enter the elements of beauty, proportion, harmony of line and color, and good, true workmans.h.i.+p, leading surely, even if unconsciously, to an appreciation of the best wherever found.

In making an article as a gift for child or adult, thought for others is cultivated and the frequently needed help of older brother or sister encourages the spirit of goodwill and kindliness.

The festival occasions are especially valuable in developing the sense of interdependence and large-mindedness.

Among a people proverbially wasteful it is certainly the part of wisdom to train the child to economy for the sake of future service. The contents of the city garbage barrel are found by business men to be worth sorting and cla.s.sifying and everything proves to be of some use.

Why should not the child be taught, before throwing away the discarded picture book, to ask if there is not a use for it still? A nation so trained will preserve its forests and save its Niagaras. It will see things material and things spiritual in their true relations.

We would suggest that a little cupboard be placed within easy reach of the child. Here he may keep his own scissors, paste, pencil and papers, ready for use when the propitious moment of inspiration seizes him.

Too much exactness must not be required of the very young child, but as fast as he is able to do good work insist upon the best of which _he_ is capable. Train him always to try to surpa.s.s himself. Above all, let him be happy in the doing.

The ideas offered in this volume have been garnered from various sources. Practical experience in the home has suggested many, and actual daily work in the kindergarten has given rise to others. A few, such as the thimble biscuit party and croquet with peas, are among the recollections of happy childhood.

It is a pleasure to acknowledge the obligation to Miss f.a.n.n.y Chapin, of Chicago, a kindergartner of long experience, for the comrades.h.i.+p of thought which made the book possible. Miss Chapin also contributed the directions for making feather flowers, many of the holiday suggestions, and other items scattered through the book.

The conversion of corks into a set of furniture was learned from a German playmate twenty-five years ago. Imagine the interest with which we discovered a set, almost identical, at the German exhibit of the recent International Kindergarten Union.

The candlesticks of tin or cardboard, brightened with colored tissue-paper, varied to suit particular occasions, is a regular feature of the festival dinners at the Gertrude House, Chicago.

To one and all to whom, consciously or unconsciously, we may be indebted for any suggestions, we express our thanks.

A perusal of this little volume will show that it is far from exhaustive of the topics treated. It is largely a book of suggestion. If it stimulates the child to new investigations and experiments along similar lines; if it reinforces the spirit of brotherly kindness in the home; or if it helps to solve any of the problems of the mother, the hopes of the authors will be accomplished.

BERTHA JOHNSTON.

CHAPTER I

THE SECRETS OF THE MARKET BASKET

The busy but thoughtful mother will find in the contents of the market basket many possibilities for happily employing the creative instinct of her child. We give a few suggestions which demand activity of both mind and body.

STRAWBERRY-BOXES

=Seed-Markers= (_No tools needed but the fingers_)

Remove the rim of wood which binds the box into shape, that the little tacks may not injure the child. Then let him tear the sides and bottom into little slats which can be used as seed-markers. Older children can write upon them the names of seeds, and when planted put one of these slats into the ground to indicate where the seeds may be expected to come up.

The little child enjoys the sense of power that he feels simply in being able to tear these boxes apart, but let there be a thought back of the action if it seem to degenerate into pure destructiveness.

=Toy-Fences= (_Employing fingers only_)

Split the boxes with the fingers into pieces wide or narrow, as desired, and the slats thus made can be turned into fences for the play farm in the sand-box, or for borders for small flower beds. (1) Stick them into the sand or earth side by side, to suggest a plain board fence; or (2) Put very narrow ones at short intervals apart to suggest a picket fence.

=Toy-Fences= (_Scissors_, _tacks_)

If old enough to use scissors, let the child cut the boxes apart with long scissors and use for fences as before. (1) Side by side for board fence. (2) Cut into very narrow strips for picket fence. Use the rim of the basket for the rail to unite the pickets, fastening them with the tiny tacks which are already in it. Pickets might be one inch apart.

Cutting the tops of the pickets into points will complete the resemblance to a real fence. Put the rails about one-half inch from top.

=Boxes for tacks, seeds, etc.= (_Scissors_, _paste_, _paste-sticks_, _ribbon, 8-1/2 inches long, 1-1/2 inches wide_, _wall-paper_, _pan with water_)

Take two pieces of a box, each measuring 2 5 inches. Soak in water till soft. Place one directly across the middle of the other, and bend the four projecting ends up perpendicularly into box form. (1) Hold the sides in place by winding the ribbon around the four sides, till they meet, and paste the one overlapping end over the other. (2) Cut a piece of wall-paper (obtainable often from a wall-hanger's shop) into a strip 1-1/2 8-1/2 inches and wind around, pasting one end over the other. If the child is inexperienced the paper may be cut of exactly the height of box. If skillful in so doing, let him cut the strip 1/2 inch wider and turn down over the top to give a little finish. This gives practice in neatness and skill.

Let the child observe how a Swedish matchbox is made--the wood held together by strips of thin but tough paper--and then carry his thought to the far-distant land which sends us the magic wands that give us light with safety. And all carried in a tiny box made of wood and paper.

Decalcomanias might be used for decoration of the plain wooden box.

Let the child experiment in making boxes of different shapes and sizes for his collections of seeds, stones, etc. This cultivates his ingenuity and practical imagination.

=Picture Frames= (_Scissors_, _thumb-tacks_, _gold paint_, _water-colors_, _glue_)

Cut three slats, each 1 8 inches, to make triangular frame. Unite with thumb-tacks, one at each of the three corners. To place them exactly the right way may take a little experimenting, which helps develop the child's sense of proportion and arrangement. When joined, cut off the projecting parts at the top to give pointed effect. Good for pictures of Indians, as wigwam is suggested. Decorate by gilding or painting. Can be painted with Ivory paints or water-colors.

=Chicken-Coops= (_Scissors_, _glue_)

Remove the rim, bottom (in one piece) and two adjoining sides of a berry box. This leaves two sides remaining which are already bent into correct form for coop. Cut the bottom of the box in half from corner to corner.

This gives the triangular back of the coop which must be glued on. The slats must now be made and put into place. Cut three slats each 3/8 inches wide. (1) In each of the two front edges of the coop cut three horizontal slits 3/8 inches deep; slip the slats into these and cut off the projecting ends. The slats at the top will necessarily be shorter than those at the bottom. (2) Or an older child can cut in each of the two edges 3 notches 3/8 inches deep and 3/8 inches high and glue the slats into these, thus: