gymnastics
Standing erect on the ball of the foot, grasp the handkerchief by diagonally opposite corners, so that the hands will be about an arm’s length from each other. At the beginning and end of each exercise the handkerchief is to be only lightly stretched. A towel may be used instead of the handkerchief if that should be preferred, holding it by the ends instead of by the corners.
The following directions will show the different positions to be taken. Do not overdo the matter; some of the little girls will require frequent rests, and some will be eager to go on; hence it is sometimes well to divide them into classes. While most of these positions are easily understood from the directions, a few are more difficult to describe in words. We illustrate certain ones.
gymnastics
1. Arms extended straight forward, on a level with shoulder.
2. From position 1 bend the arms, and rise onto the toes. Extend the arms and sink back from the toes. Repeat from five to ten times. This exercise is especially adapted to produce deep breathing. The mouth must be kept closed.
gymnastics
gymnastics
3. From position 1 bend the left leg at the knee, and raise it till it touches the towel. Same with right leg.
4. From position 1 extend the left leg sideways and swing the arms to the left. Return to position 1.
5. Arms raised high above the head.
6. From position 5 bend the body at the hips, and lean as far forward as possible, the body and the arms remaining in a straight line, the head raised slightly, and the weight of the body resting on the toes.
7. From position 5 bend and extend the knees, keeping the body upright.
gymnastics
8. From position 5 bend the left arm, and lower sideways the right one, which is extended. The towel passes across the back. The left hand holds the upper end of the towel back of the upper part of the arm, close to the shoulder. Raise the arms back to position and repeat to the left, the right arm being bent and left extended.
9. Arms lowered in front of the body.
10. From position 9 twist the body to the left, the feet remaining unmoved, and at the same time raise the arms, keeping them extended, until they are high above the head. In the same way repeat the exercise, turning the body to the right.
gymnastics
11. From position 5 bend the body forward,swinging the extended arms as low as possible without bending the knees.
12. Towel directly in front of the forehead, the head and elbows back.
13. From position 12, with toes apart, charge forward with the left foot, keeping the right knee straight, bringing the weight on the forward foot; return to position by rising on the toes of the forward foot and giving a slight spring.
14. From position 5 swing the arms forward, bending the body at the hips and bending the knees. The feet, with toes apart, remain with the soles flat on the floor; the arms rest on the knees; and the towel is near the floor directly in front of the feet and as far forward as possible.
15. From position 9 the left arm, bent, is raised over the head in order to raise the towel upward directly behind the back. The right arm remains extended downward. The towel is raised by bending the right arm and extending the left.After raising and lowering the towel some five times reverse the process, the right arm bending above the head and the left arm extending downward. Finally the towel moves up and down behind the back, while deep breath is taken and held.
When the exercises are once learned, they are the best of tonics, and all the more exhilarating if done to music when the class is together. The children should also be encouraged to practise them regularly at home for perhaps five minutes just after the daily sponge-bath. The older ones especially, whose increased school studies are beginning to suggest round shoulders, will find the plan a great help. Their lessons will be learned more quickly and easily because with the blood in active circulation the brain will be clearer.
Choose a pleasant, sunny room for your bird social, deck it with green boughs and foliage, and provide places for a number of cages. Invite the Juniors all to come, and ask those that have canaries or other pet birds in cages to bring them. Of course this social must be held in the daytime, and in mild if not warm weather. If the moving is done gently, the birds will enjoy the social as much as the Juniors, or even more, and you will have a gay concert. Let some experienced bird-owner give a little talk to the Juniors on the best ways of caring for their birds. It will be likely to save the life of some feathered songster, fornot every one, however careful and tender-hearted, understands just how to keep the pets happy and healthy, as birds should be when at their best.
It may interest the Juniors to know that one of King Edward’s latest fancies is improving the singing of English canaries. He has had fitted up in Windsor Castle a large aviary to which hundreds of English canaries have been sent. Here bird-trainers from Germany are busy improving the voice of the English canary by means of “bird-organs” and the suggestion found in hearing the better-voiced German canary sing. The birds pass through a regular course of singing-lessons, and take from three to six months to “finish.”
After the talk about caring for birds, which should be so informal that the children should feel free to ask questions, a little fun is introduced in the way of a bird-guessing game, conducted as follows:
Write on a blackboard, or blackboards, part or all of these twenty-four questions, which are plays on the names of well-known American birds. The guests should be provided with paper and pencils. Half an hour should be allowed for the guessing. At the end of that time everybody should pass his list to his right-hand neighbor and correct the list which has been handed to him. Some one should read the answers slowly.
1.The way some English people pronounce a word which means “yell.” (Owl—howl.)
2.A letter of the alphabet. (Jay—J.)
3.The bird that chews its cud. (Cowbird.)
4.A bad-tempered William. (Crossbill.)
5.The royal bird that is fond of a hook and line. (Kingfisher.)
6.A good time in a field. (Meadow-lark.)
7.The bird that ought to win every race. (Swift.)
8.The bird that is like a baby before it can walk. (Creeper.)
9.The bird that Yale ought to like. (Bluebird.)
10. The bird that whacks everybody. (Thrasher.)
11. The bird that is almost as important as the Pope. (Cardinal.)
12. The bird that you mustn’t stroke the wrong way. (Catbird.)
13. The bird that is “talk.” (Chat.)
14. The bird that you never ought to do just because you have beaten your friend at checkers or something. (Crow.)
15. An unusually small sample of a well known vegetable. (Peewee—pea wee.)
16. A bird that is almost “her glove.” (Hermit.)
17. A bird that can fly when there is plenty of wind. (Kite.)
18. Where bread is baked. (Ovenbird.)
19. Something found on a tree and then put in a nest for a certain purpose. (Nuthatch.)
20. A bird that is always thieving. (Robin—robbin’.)
21. A bird that makes good coasting. (Snowbird.)
22. A bird that spanks an unfortunate boy having a common first name. (Whip-poor-will.)
23. The bird that is a sweet-smelling tree. (Cedar-bird.)
24. The sparrow that the hounds like to chase. (Fox-sparrow.)
Most of the time will be spent in comparing experiences and pets, and the Juniors will go away more than ever resolved to be kind to their little feathered friends, which are among the most beautiful and most helpless of God’s creatures.
A strawberry luncheon given at the summer home of one of my Chicago friends reminded me that the Juniors would delight in a strawberry festival all their own. Where there is a hospitable farm or garden with a large strawberry-patch, whose owner agrees to give the berries for the festival if the Juniors will pick them, the way is open.
Usually in our northern latitudes the strawberries ripen just in good time for the beginning of vacation, so that without interference with school preparations the Juniors can pick the berries in the morning while the dew is still on them. Twenty Juniors, each with pail or basket, will make short and merry work of the picking. Then the fruit should be kept in a cool place until afternoon, when it is taken to the church basement or wherever the festival is to be, and hulled.There might be a slight reward given to the Junior who picks the most berries, also to the one who hulls the most, provided that the hulling is done carefully.
Cake and ice-cream should be previously engaged, and some of the boys may call for the cakes at the various homes in the afternoon. The ice-cream, of course, will be delivered by the dealer, unless that, also, is home-made and presented. Sugar for the berries must not be forgotten.
With a few hints from the Junior superintendent the older girls can arrange the tables, decorating them as prettily as they please with flowers and ferns brought by the younger ones; and the boys may help prepare the checks or tickets, with prices plainly marked. There should be separate checks for the berries, ice-cream, and cake, so that, whatever the order, the checks may be ready to send with each plate.
If the occasion has been well advertised, as itwillbe—trust the Juniors for that!—people will come in large numbers; and the Juniors, previously drilled, may wait on them, the larger ones attending to the “dishing out” in another room, while the smaller ones, dressed in fairy and brownie costumes, act as waiters. Two of the Juniors, a boy and a girl, might serve as cashiers.
When all have been served, toward the close of the evening there may be several songs and recitations, ending with a fairy drill, following the plan of the “holly and mistletoe drill” described elsewhere in the book. If the room, or at least the wall back ofthe platform, be decorated in green or in pink, with roses and ferns in profusion, the drill will appear to better advantage.
The Juniors and their superintendent will find plenty of work, as well as profit and play, in connection with this occasion, as is the case with most strawberry festivals; but all will enjoy it; and, if thought out well in advance, the details may be so divided as to make the labor light. The flower committee of the older society will readily lend a hand with the decorations if they are asked; and the fancy drill could of course be omitted, although it is a very pretty feature. If given, it should be by the smaller Juniors, both boys and girls, in their fairy and brownie costumes, and all carrying small, light trays instead of half-hoops.
From the colored plates in flower catalogues, and from advertising and other picture cards, select those having pansies, the prettier the better. Let the Juniors help collect them. This in itself would seem to be a “pansy-hunt,” but it is only the beginning.
When there are several hundred pansies, not as yet cut out, the Juniors may meet for their work. The first thing to be done is to cut out the pansies. This will not take long, and as the fingers fly some one may read aloud an entertaining story, perhaps a short one by “Pansy”; or, if that is not at hand, a bright onefrom the latestChristian Endeavor Worldis always in order at such times.
Next, the pansies are all placed in small, numbered envelopes, ten pansies in each, preparatory to playing the game of “butterfly pansy-hunt.” Half of the Juniors go out of the room, and the rest proceed to hide the envelopes. When called in, the hunting party, who are the “butterflies,” have a grand rummage, and the “butterfly” that finds the most pansies is made the leader of the hiding party next time. The divisions are reversed so that the hiders become the butterflies each time that the pansies are all found. As the envelopes are numbered, it is easy to determine when this is the case. Quick wits in thinking of new places, and sharp eyes for discovering them, are thus kept busy, and when tired of this game the Juniors may all be seated again around a long table while the superintendent produces a large pasteboard box with a pansy-decorated cover. Explaining that pansies mean “thoughts,” and that this box is full of bright and sweet thoughts to be used for people who have not quite so much to make them happy as the Juniors, she invites the children to a new kind of pansy-hunt, which is not entirely for themselves.
The box is passed around, and each Junior takes out a handful of the clippings, which, needless to say, have been carefully gathered by the superintendent and her friends, so that each one contains a thought worth reading, and within the comprehension of the Juniors. Selections found in books could be used alsoby typewriting them on slips of paper, and might include a number from the Bible. Several rolls of baby ribbon, one each of all the different pansy colors, should be in the box.
When the Juniors are supplied with a handful of thoughts apiece, give to each a pen and ink and a package of little cards. These cards should be a trifle larger than visiting-cards, or just large enough to contain one of the short written selections and a pansy. Let the children copy on the cards, in their own handwriting, from the clippings the ones which they like best; this will leave the original clippings to be used again for other purposes. Each Junior may write seven, one for each day in the week, after pasting a pansy on each card; then tie a ribbon a few inches long through a hole in one corner, leaving one end free, and tie the free ends of all seven ribbons together so that they can be hung up. If the ribbons used are as many as possible of the different pansy colors for each bunch, the effect will be extremely pretty. Some of the more skilful workers may find that they have time to prepare a second bunch in the same way.
These handfuls of thoughts may then be sent where they will be most appreciated, and the pansy-hunt will have served, at the very lowest estimate, a double purpose.
There are bright possibilities in every cloud, and even a rainy Fourth of July is no exception. So theJoyville Juniors discovered. Of course, they were intending to have a picnic, besides enjoying the regulation fireworks; and here was a cold, steady drizzle, for all the world as if it were November.
Great were the lamentations; but just as the “Sultan of Sulkydom” was about to have everything his own way he was put to rout by a big covered wagon driven around from one house to another where the Joyville Juniors lived. There were twenty-three of them in the society; but sixteen houses contained them all, and fourteen of these were quite close together; so it was not more than an hour before the last youngsters were collected and all were landed in the big upper room of Judge Elsworth’s house. Miss Elsworth, the Junior superintendent, welcomed them with a certain twinkle of the eyes which made every Junior instantly conclude that in spite of the rain they would manage to have a good time.
“Just wait a minute until the Independence Wizard comes in,” said Miss Elsworth mysteriously, “and then the best part of the fun will begin.”
The children were breathless. Presently there were three sharp raps at the door, and the Independence Wizard was ushered in.
Two artistically draped table-covers, a wig, mask, skull-cap, and glasses had transformed Miss Elsworth’s brother into a very presentable wizard, and after entertaining the children for a half-hour with parlor magic he produced from apparently nowhere abundle of bright-colored tissue-paper, some tinsel, a rubber ball, a large potato, a dried sunflower stalk, and several other mysterious things, and said: “Presto! change! The weather is not quite all we expected outdoors; but we are independent, and will make our own fair weather right here. We will make our own fireworks, too, and fire them off without even waiting till night. That is what wizards are good for, if they are Independence Wizards; and every one of you is going to learn the wizard trade, beginning this very minute; that is, if you want to. Do you?”
Of course they did, and the girls were assured that this splendid offer included them too; for would they not make the very best of witches?
With the aid of his sister, who had mysteriously disappeared a short time before, and who reappeared now as the Independence Witch, with a book of magic all her own in the form of a magazine saved for just such an emergency, the wizard soon had the children absorbed in making the charming paper fireworks fully described by Lina Beard inThe Delineatorfor July, 1902. They can be fired off indoors as well as outdoors; and the gorgeous comets, brilliant pinwheels, sparkling calumet with its bright sparks flying all over the hair and clothing of the experimenters, the sunflower-stalk sky-rocket, and the bamboo pistol with potato bullets, were all as fascinating as they were harmless.
After the bright showers indoors had made the revellers quite forget the dull showers outside, a giantfirecracker candy-box was called into use; and with songs, stories, and a lunch which disappeared so rapidly as to convince any skeptic of the acquired magical powers of those present, the fireworks were sorted out, and many of them were found to be quite uninjured. These were carefully packed in a box for the Children’s Home, and the Juniors voted that rainy day the best Independence celebration ever held in Joyville.
Chicago’s one hundredth birthday was the occasion of a celebration interesting to many thousands, and not the least interesting feature was the Indian village in Lincoln Park. Picturesque in their typical costumes, the red men appeared much as their ancestors did a century ago. From Chief No-zu-kah, the medicine-man in his coonskin cap and red blanket, who rattled his medicine-bags as he walked, down to six-year-old Hach-si-acha, the braves and squaws were the centre of attraction; and this, together with an Indian festival once successfully given by a wide-awake older Endeavor society, inclines me to think that the Juniors should have one of their own, improving on all former undertakings of the kind, and perhaps on nature as well!
War-paint and feathers, beads, blankets, and moccasins, should be brought into use for the costumes. Decorate the rooms with plenty of boughs and foliage, to represent a woodland scene; hangcages of singing birds from the branches; and have a wigwam in one corner, with a buffalo robe spread in front of its entrance. Two Junior “Indian” girls who have learned the now popular basket-weaving, may be seated here at their work, with finished baskets for sale. One or more flower-girls may wander about, selling colored grasses and other similar treasures. One of the Junior boys may represent a medicine-man, and sell roots and herbs; another may sell bows and arrows to all who wish to test their skill at the target, which must be so placed that stray shots can do no damage. A loan exhibition of Indian curios will be instructive, if there is some one to explain them; and the Indian portraits, in colors, to be found among the Perry Pictures, will prove interesting. A fancy-work booth may contain feather fans, dainty bags of beadwork, dolls dressed as pappooses and squaws, and birch bark made into all kinds of pretty conceits, from toy canoes to bon-bon-boxes filled with salted nuts instead of candy.
The bows and arrows will play a lively part in the evening’s festivities. A small sum may be charged for each trial, if desired. Archery is said to be the coming sport; and, if it is indeed soon to be revived from its centuries of partial sleep, and thus rival golf and other favorites, one cannot begin to practise too soon! It is certainly graceful, healthful, and fascinating enough to warrant the revival.
Refreshments should be nuts and fruits, delicious in themselves, but served on wooden plates by“Indian” waitresses in the most primitive manner. A programme might be rendered beginning with a reading from “Hiawatha” illustrated with tableaux, which the Juniors, with careful training, can present as well as any one; including also an Indian hunter’s drill with bows and arrows, in which either boys alone, or girls alone, or both boys and girls, might take part; and closing with all the Juniors’ forming in line and uttering a war-whoop, which if not realistic will be at least startling.
Library parties for grown people are common enough, but the boys should have a costume book party of their own. The more boys present, the better. The following suggestions for costumes may be helpful:
1. “Black Beauty.” A good-looking boy in burnt cork.
2. “Little Men.” Two or more brothers or friends wearing high hats, long-tailed coats, etc.
3. “Pilgrim’s Progress.” A boy wearing a gown and carrying a staff. The word “Mecca” should be printed on a label fastened to his breast.
4. “Tom Saw-yer.” A boy whose real name is Tom should raise a telescope to his eyes every few minutes.
5. “Rob Roy.” A red-haired boy in Highland costume. The plaid should be correct.
6. “Kenilworth.” (Kennel worth.) A boy leading his pet dog.
7. “Under the Lilacs.” A boy wearing a garland of real or artificial lilacs.
8. “Under Drake’s Flag.” A boy wearing the British flag as a turban.
9. “Merry adventures of Rob-in Hood.” A boy named Robert wearing his sister’s hood.
10. “St. Nicholas.” A boy dressed as Santa Claus.
11. “The Pirate.” A boy dressed as a typical pirate.
12. “Story of a Bad Boy.” A boy wearing a placard on which is printed “The History of My Life.”
13. “Boys of ’76.” Two boys, each wearing a placard marked, “100-24.”
14. “Recollections of a Drummer-Boy.” A boy with a drum. On a placard is written, “Forty Years Ago.”
15. “Sketch-Book.” A boy carrying a drawing-book under his arm.
Thirty is a good number to be present at a book party. All the guests should send their book-titles to the host of the evening two or three days before the party. At the door each boy should be handed a pencil, a blank sheet of paper, and a numbered card which he should pin to his back or sleeve. Half an hour should be allowed for guessing the names. One reward might be a book like Kipling’s “Barrack-Room Ballads,” or “Seven Seas;” another, a paper-cutter; and, for the shortest list, a blank book. Ice-cream andcake have nothing to do with books, but should be served just the same, if possible, to comfort the losers.
A good variation from making scrap-books for a children’s hospital, especially if the workers happen to be few, is to use large cards, preparing them like the different pages of a picture scrap-book, but leaving them separate. Then they can be easily handed from one bed to another; and, as they can be divided among the different children, they can be seen by many at once without waiting till enough whole scrap-books can be filled. Ten Juniors can easily prepare fifty cards in a single afternoon, but the pictures will be most interesting if weeks are spent in collecting them.
Take large white or delicately tinted cards about eighteen inches long and twelve inches wide. Paste on them gay pictures cut from advertising cards and other sources, arranging them according to taste. One card could be a menagerie, or a “Noah’s ark,” with a long procession of animals winding all around from top to bottom. Such a card once made had an array that would have astonished Noah. There were dancing bears, and elephants with howdahs on their backs, and circus horses, and monkeys dressed like Italian lazzaroni, and pigs with apples in their mouths, and even a Christmas turkey carried on the heads of three geese. Another card could be made up entirely of flowers or of flowers, birds, and butterflies. Anothercould contain ships, sea-gulls, fishes, and some shells on a supposed beach at the bottom. Funny groups of people doing all sorts of things can be arranged.
Some of the figures can be cut from newspapers or old magazines; if bright colors are desired, a paintbox can be brought into service, but usually the uncolored pages are very acceptable mixed in with those cut from colored plates and cards.
Sometimes figures cut from stiff cards will not be easy to paste, but by spreading them (on the wrong side, of course) with a rather thin boiled flour paste, and letting them lie for a few moments, they become softer and more pliable.
A barn with a captivating hay-loft, a stout ladder with a vine thickly twined around it, some croquet-balls, four Indian clubs, a pointer, and a supply of apples, oranges, and small bags of nuts or cracker-jack, are all that you will need—except the Juniors, who are most necessary of all.
“Climbing the bean-stalk” consists of going up the ladder to the giant’s castle,—the very same castle, in imagination, explored by the immortal Jack,—and finding and taking possession of the treasures. This means a hunt in the hay for the apples and other things previously hidden there. The pointer, croquet-balls, and Indian clubs may be tucked in to add variety to the store.
After the treasures are all discovered and safely brought down the bean-stalk, the Juniors will enjoy a game of “croquet-bowling.” A sufficient space should be cleared on the barn floor, and the four Indian clubs should be set up at one end as pins, three in a row behind the king-pin. The bowling is then done with the croquet-balls.
The party may conclude with an impromptu “freak show,” using the hay-loft as a pedestal from which to display the “freaks.” This is where your pointer comes in. The amount of fun to be had from a “freak show” can be best understood if I give you the description of Vincent Van M. Beede’s, in his own words, only remarking that the barn adds to the general hilarity, and that one of the Indian clubs would do very well instead of the suggested andiron.
“One rainy morning last summer the children and I had great fun getting up a freak show. As we had not thought out beforehand what we were going to do, things were all the funnier. Little Marvyn, seven years old, stood on a table and chose to be Pullaway, the Boy with the Rubber Skin.
“I was asked to be lecturer, so with a pointer in my hand I explained as glibly as I could how marvellous a boy this was. Why, he could stretch out the skin of his cheeks two feet, and then let it snap back again! (Pullaway now showed his power.) Martin, a handsome fellow of twelve, was Stickeminus, the Human Pincushion. I showed the (imaginary) audience that pins had no effect on the feelings of thiswonder. ‘I will stick a pin into his arm this very minute,’ I said. Strange to say, the Human Pincushion squealed! Fritz, thirteen years old, who has a beautiful physique, was Lomposo Musculario, the Strong Man. ‘See him lift that mighty andiron,’ I remarked. ‘It weighs 5551⁄5pounds.’ Lomposo puffed and groaned under his heavy burden. Essie wanted to be the Fat Lady; I suppose because as a matter of fact she is very slender. It was surprising how much she succeeded in blowing out her cheeks. Madeleine, Champion Pie-Eater of the World, gobbled up anywhere from fifty to seventy-five (imaginary) mince pies, and Jolliby, as Burroo, the One Armed Wild Man of Borneo, seized my arm in his teeth while I was telling what a dangerous creature he was. The other freaks set up a chorus of alarm, and I do not know what would have become of me if Winkles, who was theVeryWildest Man, had not grappled in deadly combat with Burroo; and, if Madeleine had not offered them her best (imaginary) pies, they would, I fear, have devoured each other on the spot.”
Having made out a list, for your own convenience, of well-known business firms, local or otherwise, whose names could be represented by costumes, let each Junior come dressed to represent one of the firms. For instance, Marshall Field’s might be portrayed by a boy in a soldier’s uniform, with dried grasses and other field treasures extending frompockets and buttonholes; Macy’s, by a girl named May, or dressed as queen of the May, with a placard attached bearing the letter “C.” The same letter, worn by a boy carrying a gallon can, a hammer, and a barrel-hoop, would answer for “Siegel and Cooper.” “Tiffany” might be portrayed by a picture of two people having a slight quarrel, the picture being fastened to the costume of a girl named Fannie or Annie, or to that of a boy carrying a large palm-leaf fan and limping as if one knee were affected.
Local firms, however, should predominate, and the utmost secrecy should prevail in all the preparations. When the evening of the carnival has arrived in all its glory, give each guest a pencil and paper, and reward with some gift the one who can without assistance make out the longest correct list of firms represented. Such an occasion would be interesting to others besides the Juniors; and a charge for admission might be made, in which case a light repast should be served, and a fancy march of the various “walking advertisements” should add to the attractions.
This occasion might be combined, if desired, with the “evening with ads” described elsewhere in the book.
Most boys and girls are somewhat familiar with golf, and the Juniors will probably prove no exception. Any kind of “parlor golf” may be introduced, as simple or as elaborate as you please. Here is one kindthat must be interesting, called “Quiet Go-lol-uf,” and explained by Vincent Van M. Beede as follows:
“This game is meant especially for boys and girls who know something about the royal and ancient game of ‘golf’ sometimes called ‘go-lol-uf’ just for fun. Seat your friends about a table, pass around pencils and paper, and then say:
“‘We are going to play go-lol-uf. I hope you won’t squabble much. This game is a little different from the outdoor kind. Here you are expectednotto get into a hole. I shall pass to each of you a card on which is written something about golf. Write your answers on the large sheets; and don’t forget, please, to write your names at the bottom of the sheets. Number the answers, of course. At the end of every two minutes I shall yell “Fore!” and everybody must pass his card to his left-hand neighbor.’
“Here is a list of terms:
“1. A dancing-party. (Ball.)
2. A drink. (Tea.)
3. A box in which to keep the vegetable from which this drink is made. (Caddie—Caddy.)
4. A society. (Club.)
5. The man who rows next the coxswain in a racing-shell. (Stroke.)
6. A common color. (Green.)
7. Bold. (Brass(e)y.)
8. The man who holds the reins. (Driver.)
9. A number. (Fore—four.)
10. A guess. (Hazard.)
11. Used for smoothing clothes. (Iron.)
12. A story that is not true. (Lie.)
13. A piece. (Slice.)
14. Something with which one eats. (Spoon.)
15. The noise made by an animal that does not like Thanksgiving. (Gobble.)
16. A place where hay is kept. (Loft.)
“The rewards might be a golf-club, a scarf-pin, a score-book, a pair of balls, or a rubber tee.”
Another game of golf is the one played on a table wound with a somewhat crumpled cloth. Each player is furnished with a pea and a pin by way of ball and stick. It is very good fun when there are players enough to make the contest exciting; for the winner is the player who is first to roll the pea up to goal. The pea that collides with another, or pushes it, or even touches it, is sent back to the starting-point.
Other games mentioned elsewhere in the book may be substituted for one or the other of these, in case not all present are enthusiasts on golf; but the second one could be adapted to the veriest novice, while interesting to all. Refreshments of cake and chocolate may be served, and it would add to the fun if the small iced cakes were decorated with various golf emblems.
Collect the materials, either with or without the Juniors’ help, beginning some time in advance. Whenthe time comes to have the “ball,” the more mystery the better.
Place a large basket or clothes-hamper in the middle of the room. This is the “mysterious basket” part, and each Junior is then told to help himself to his “ball,” one of the many bundles wrapped up to look as nearly like balls as possible, all the way from the size of a baseball to that of a basket-ball.
Have ready plenty of scissors, paste, glue, needles, thread, and the celluloid thimbles that can be bought for a cent or two apiece. As each “ball” is opened, it proves to hold the materials for making a small Christmas gift or article for a fair to be given by the Juniors, or for a Junior fancy-work booth at a “grown-up” fair.
Many simple and inexpensive articles, both pretty and useful, can be made by children of Junior age, both girls and boys. If a piece of work which is all sewing happens to be drawn by a boy, so much the more fun. The Junior superintendent acts as “umpire,” answering questions and explaining the rules of the game. A thimble worn on the thumb is “foul,” even if the fingersdoseem to be all thumbs, which is often far from being the case.
Here is a partial list of articles which might be made:
1. Stamp-box, of heavy water-color paper, ready cut out. The one who draws this bundle will have an easy task; merely to fold the box into shape, paste the flaps on the inside, decorate the cover with a two-cent stamp, and tie it in place with a ribbon.
2. Chamois spectacle-cleaner, cut in any fancy shape; two pieces buttonhole-stitched around the edge with colored silk, and caught together with fancy ribbon.
3. Pocket pincushion made of two pieces of stiff cardboard covered first with a thin layer of cotton batting, then with wide fancy ribbon; sewed together around the edge and filled with several kinds and sizes of pins.
4. Chinese pen-wiper made of two nutshells glued together to make a head; a pigtail of braided horsehair; a Chinese costume of red cloth with several flannel leaves under the loose, short coat; ink features for the face; and, if one likes, Chinese hieroglyphics in ink decorating the costume.
5. Match-scratcher. Cardboard foundation, with a strip of blue paper pasted across the top to represent sky; a strip of green paper of the same width, pasted across the bottom for grass; a larger strip of red paper between, marked off with ink to represent a brick wall; a cat made of emery paper seated on the grass facing the wall.
6. Recipe-holder, of two teapots or teakettles cut from celluloid, tied together with ribbon and decorated with water-colors in lettering or other design.
7. Blotter, calendar, and pen-wiper combined. A dozen pieces of colored blotting-paper tied together with a ribbon; the outer one with a picture and a small calendar pad pasted on; or there may be a cover made of white cardboard decorated with goldor silver paper bells, or with flowers or leaves carefully andseparatelycut from Japanese tissue-paper napkins and pasted on. A tiny pen-wiper made of several circles of chamois is to be tied in one corner.
8. Cover for a kodak album, made of rough, heavy tan or brown writing-paper with a target in the centre. The target is made by pasting four paper circles of contrasting colors, one over the other, each smaller than the last, the smallest one in the centre being the bull’s-eye; and printing, each side of the target, in gold or white, the words “Snap-Shots.”
9. Court-plaster case of water-color paper, tied together with ribbon, the cover decorated with a picture, the leaves of court-plaster.
10. Shaving-paper “snowballs.” These are very pretty, and are made of many circles of white tissue-paper caught together in the same way as a ball pen-wiper, and furnished with a hanging loop of red ribbon.
11. Pen-wipers of several thicknesses of felt, cut out leaf-shape or flower shape, and held together with a bow and ends of ribbon.
12. Junior “comfort-powders.” Tie a cheery Bible verse or other pleasant message in a piece of fringed tissue-paper; then tie fifty-two of these in a bunch, one for each week in the year. Or the Juniors might combine in this, and make the powders daily ones.
Other articles, as simple or more elaborate, will bethought of in abundance; pretty ironing-holders, hair-receivers, dusters and duster-bags, sweeping-caps, lamp-mats, dinner cards, whisk-broom-holders, etc. The work, if well prepared in advance, could probably be done by the Juniors in an hour at the longest; some of it in much less. Rewards should be given, not for the most rapid work, but for that most neatly done. The “umpire” may enlist the aid of one or more of her friends in preparing the work, giving instructions, and assigning rewards, especially if there are many of the small workers; and the Juniors may be allowed to exchange tasks if thought desirable.
After the work is done, and while the committee is deciding as to its merits, the “ball-team” may indulge in refreshments in the appropriate globular form of doughnuts, oranges, or pop-corn balls; after which the afternoon may close with the award of the gifts and a stirring game of real basket-ball; or, if it is in the evening, or too late in the season for this out-of-door sport, try a game of “Little Queen Fluff” instead. “Little Queen Fluff” is a ball of cotton covered with colored crape paper. Place the chairs two feet apart in a line across the centre of the room; arrange the Juniors one opposite each chair, against the wall on both sides of the room; give one of these balls and a palm-leaf fan to each; and let them see which can most successfully send his own particular “Little Queen Fluff” through her castle underneath the centre of the chair, to the opposite side of the room. The side which gets all its balls across the room first,fanning them by way of the “castle” underneath the centre of the chair, wins the game.
This is a combination affair, enlisting Endeavorers of all ages; but the Juniors’ part in it is an important one. The main idea is to make it a pleasant occasion, not only for those who would have a Thanksgiving feast anyway, but for as many as possible who would otherwise go without. The very poorest should be hunted up and included in the invitations.
Let me tell you how the plan was once carried out by a lady and her little fourteen-year-old niece, whom we will call Priscilla. The writer says:
“With the help of kind friends and faithful Bridget we made very much of a success of our dinner, and many a poor soul was made happy for one day at least. For several weeks previous, Priscilla and I spent our evenings by the great fire in the big kitchen, dressing Puritan dolls for the children, and making other gifts. Priscilla asked old sailor Hogan to make for her a small model of the Mayflower such as she had seen in Pilgrim Hall at Plymouth, and after we had stretched the old mahogany table to its fullest extent, which reached almost the entire length of the kitchen, and covered it with Grandmother Alden’s white damask banquet-cloth, Priscilla placed the little ship in the centre on a large mirror. The frame of themirror we concealed with sea-sand, shells, and pebbles; and on one side we placed a large stone which John had carved into the shape of the dear old rock on which our Pilgrim Fathers landed. We scattered over all this thin flaky cotton sprinkled with crystallized alum to imitate snow, and the little Puritan dolls on deck made the scene very realistic. The body of the ship we filled with our gifts.