Fig.25.—Box house, showing roof. Built by summer class, Teachers College, New York.
Fig. 26.—Detail of gable.
Fig. 26.—Detail of gable.
A cardboard roof is in many ways easier to build. In a house similar to the one shown inFig. 25two gables are used, and the roof slopes to front and back. The framework can be very simply made. At the two gable ends place uprights made of two pieces of woodjoined in the form of an inverted T. (SeeFig. 26.) These should be nailed to the box. A ridgepole may then be nailed to the upper ends of the uprights. If the house is not large, no other framework will be necessary. If the slope of the roof is long enough to allow the cardboard to sag, light strips of wood extending from the ridgepole to the outer edge of the box may be added. If a single piece of cardboard of sufficient size is available, itmay be scored[1]and bent at the proper place and laid over the ridgepole, with the edges extending beyond the box to form the eaves. Or, two pieces may be used, one for each slope of the roof, each piece being tacked to the ridgepole. Chimneys may be made from paper and colored to represent bricks or stone.
Fig. 27.—Colonial kitchen. Columbia, Missouri.
The outside of the house may be treated in several ways. It may be sided after the manner of frame houses by tacking on strips of paper or cardboard lapped in the proper fashion. It may be covered with paper marked in horizontal lines to represent siding, in irregular spaces to represent stone, or in regular spaces to represent brick, and finished in the appropriate color. Or, a coat of paint or stain may be applied directly to the box.
A playhouse for its own sake is a justifiable project for primary children and one which may be repeated several times without exhausting its possibilities. Each time it is repeated the emphasis will fall on some new feature, and the children will wish to do more accurate work.
In the lowest grades very simple houses of one or two rooms may be built for story-book friends, such as the "Three Bears" or "Little Red Riding Hood," with only such furniture as the story suggests. In intermediate grades the house may have an historical motive and illustrate home life in primitive times or in foreign countries, such as a colonial kitchen in New England, a pioneer cabin on the Western prairies, a Dutch home, a Japanesehome, etc. In upper grades it may become a serious study in house decoration.
As the motive for making the house changes, the character and quality of its furnishings will change. The block furniture described above will give way to more accurate models in either wood or paper. Some excellent suggestions for paper furniture for advanced work may be found in theManual Training Magazine.
As skill in construction increases, a wish for something more realistic than the box construction will arise, and the elements of house framing will be studied with great eagerness.
The House of the Three Bears.(SeeFig. 28.)—This house was made early in the year by a class of first-grade children. The walls were papered in plain brown paper. The carpets were woven mats of paper. The chairs, table, and beds were made according to the methods already described in the playhouse outline. The stove and the doll were contributed. The bears were modeled in clay. The children played with the house and its contents throughout the year. The bears were broken and made over many times—a process which not only afforded great pleasure, but also developed considerable skill in modeling.
Another Bears' House.—This house, shown in Frontispiece, was made in the spring, near the end of the school year, by a class of first-grade children all of whom were under seven and many of whom were very immature.
The story of the Three Bears was taken up after Christmas, told and retold, read, and dramatized by the children. Teddy bears were brought to school. Many bearswere modeled in clay, each child making the set of three many times.
Fig. 28.—House for the Three Bears. First grade. Columbia, Missouri.
The children laid off spaces on the table for individual Bears' houses and made furniture for these as their fancy prompted. The furniture was made of wood after the general style described above. Later, carpets werewoven for these individual playhouses. Each carpet was woven to a given dimension, making it necessary to use the rule. This was their introduction to the rule as a tool for measuring. Every child in a class of forty made one or more pieces of furniture and wove one or more small carpets from rags. Nearly all made some bedding.
Fig. 29.—Cornstalk house. Built by second-grade class. Franklin, Indiana.
Later, four boxes were secured and arranged as a house. The openings for doors were marked off during school time, but were sawed out by a few children who remained during the noon intermission. This is theonly part of the work which was not done during regular class time. The papering was done by two or three of the most capable children, while the rest were deeply absorbed in weaving. All made borders. Certain borders were selected for the house, and several children worked together to make enough of the same pattern for one room. Selections were then made from the carpets and furniture already made by the children.
The roof was made chiefly by one boy who "knew a good way to make it." The porches were also individual projects by pupils who had ideas on the subject and were allowed to work them out.
The children became very familiar with every phase of the story and attacked any expression of it with the feeling, "That's easy." They wrote stories,i.e.sentences about bears. Each child at the close of the year could write on the blackboard a story of two or more sentences. They made pictures of bears in all sorts of postures with colored crayon and from free-hand cuttings. They modeled the bears in clay over and over again, keeping up a large family in spite of many accidents.
Coöperative Building.—Figures11,12, and13show three rooms of a four-room house built by the first and second grades working together. The living room and bedroom were furnished by first-grade children. The dining room, kitchen, and bath were furnished by the second grade. Four boxes were used. (See diagram, page 35,Fig. 14.) Each room, except the bath, was a separate box. After a general plan had been agreed upon by the teachers, the boxes were carried to the several rooms and each class worked quite independently.When the rooms were finished, they were assembled on a table in the hall and the roof put on.
Fig. 30.—A flour mill. Built by fourth grade. Columbia, Missouri.
The Flour Mill.—The flour mill, shown inFig. 30, was built in connection with a study of the general subject of milling by a fourth-grade class. The class visited a flour mill. They were shown the various machines, and the function of each was explained to them. They made hasty sketches of the machines and a rough diagram of their arrangement on the floors. They got the dimensions of the floors and height of the ceiling. An empty box was remodeled to approximate the dimensions of the building. Small representations of the machines were made and placed in the proper relation to each other. No attempt was made to show more than the external proportions in the small representation. The work served its best purpose in keeping the children thinking definitely about what they had seen. The attempt to express their thoughts in tangible form deepened the mental impression, even though the tangible results were crude and lacked many details.
The conveyer being of special interest, two boys worked out a larger model which illustrated the band-bucket process. This is shown inFig. 30, at the right of the mill. Small cups were made of soft tin and fastened to a leather strap. The strap was fastened around two rods, placed one above the other. The lower rod was turned by a crank fastened on the outside of the box. Two or three brads driven into the lower rod caught into holes in the strap and prevented slipping. The machine successfully hoisted grain from the lower box to one fastened higher up, but not shownin the picture. The model was very crude in its workmanship, but it showed the ability of fourth-grade boys to successfully apply an important principle in mechanics, and it gave opportunity for their ingenuity to express itself. The work was done with such tools and materials as the boys could provide for themselves, and without assistance other than encouraging suggestions from the teacher. This bit of construction accompanied a broad study of the subject of milling, including the source and character of the raw materials, the processes involved, the finished products and their value.
Playing store is a game of universal interest. Making a play store is a fascinating occupation. These are factors which cannot be overlooked in any scheme of education which seeks to make use of the natural activities of children.
The downtown store stands to the children as the source of all good things which are to be bought with pennies. It is usually the first place outside the home with which they become familiar, and its processes are sure to be imitated in their play. In their play they not only repeat the processes of buying and selling, but try to reproduce in miniature what they regard as the essential features of the real store.
If they are allowed to play this fascinating game in school, it may, by the teacher's help, become at once more interesting and more worth while. Curiosity may be aroused through questions concerning what is in the store, where it came from, how it got there, what was done to make it usable, how it is measured, and what it is worth. In seeking answers to these questions, the fields of geography, history, and arithmetic may be explored as extensively as circumstances warrant and a whole curriculum isbuilt up in a natural way. After such study, stores cease to be thesourceof the good things they offer for sale. The various kinds of merchandise take on a new interest when the purchaser knows something of their history, and a new value when he knows something of the labor which has gone into their manufacture.
Fig. 31.—Box house and stores. Grades one, three, and two. Columbia, Missouri.
Being a subject of universal interest, it may be adapted to the conditions of the various grades. It being also impossible to exhaust the possibilities of the subject in any single presentation, it may profitably be repeated with a change of emphasis to suit the development of the class. For example, in the second grade, the study of the street is chiefly a classification of the various commodities which are essential to our daily life, and a few of the main facts of interest concerning their origin. Those a little older are interested in the processes of manufacture and the geography of their sources. In playing store, weights and measures, the changing of money, and the making of bills take on an interest impossible in the old-fashioned method of presenting these phases of arithmetic. Discussions and narratives supply oral language work, and descriptions, letters, and notes provide material for written exercises.
The class may be divided into groups, each group contributing one store to the street, or the attention of the whole class may be centered on one store at a time, as the immediate conditions suggest. If the former method is used, as each store is finished it may be used as subject matter for the entire class, while the important facts concerning it are considered. The first permits a broader scope; the second a more exhaustive study. In eithercase visits to the real stores studied are important supplements to the work.
Fig. 32.—A village street. Third grade. Columbia, Missouri.
General Directions.—Discuss the stores on a village street. Which are most important? Why? Decide how many stores the class can build, and choose those most necessary to a community.
If self-organized groups[2]are allowed to choose the part they are to work out, both interest and harmony are promoted and leadership stimulated.
Use a box for each store. Each group is usually able to provide its own box. Paper inside of box with clean paper, or put on a coat of fresh paint. Make appropriate shelving and counters of thin wood.
Stock the store with samples of appropriate merchandise as far as possible. Supplement with the best representations the children can make. They should be left to work out the problem for themselves to a large extent, the teacher giving a suggestion only when they show a lack of ideas.
Suggestions for Details of Representation.—Clay Modeling.—Clay may be used to model fruits and vegetables, bottles and jugs for the grocery; bread, cake, and pies for the bakery; different cuts of meat for the butcher shop; horses for the blacksmith shop and for delivery wagons. Clay representations may be made very realistic by coloring with crayon.
Canned Goods.—Paper cylinders on which labels are drawn before pasting serve well for canned goods. Cylindrical blocks may be cut from broom sticks or dowel rods and wrapped in appropriately labeled covers.
Cloth.—Rolls of various kinds of cloth should be collected for the dry goods store. Figures may be cut from fashion plates and mounted for the "Ready to Wear" department.
Hats.—Hats may be made for the millinery store from any of the materials commonly used. This is a good way for girls to develop their ingenuity and resourcefulness.
The Store Front.—The front of each store may be made of either wood or cardboard, the spaces for doors and windows being left open that the merchandise may be conveniently handled. Brick or stone fronts, second-story windows, offices, etc., may all be indicated as artistically as the capacity of the class permits by the use ofcolored crayons. The sign is an important feature and should stimulate an interest in well-made lettering.
Additional Projects.—In addition to representations of retail shops, various industries, such as the carpenter shop, blacksmith shop, flour mill, ice plant, and other familiar industries, may be represented. Coöperative institutions, such as the post office and fire department, should be included in the study.
Fig.33.—A grocery. Fourth grade.
Excursions.—Wherever possible, the plant should be visited by the class. Before making the visit, the class should discuss what they expect to see, and go prepared to find out definite things. Each child should have at least one question which he is to ask, or one item ofinformation for which he is to be responsible to the class on the return. Often the visit is more worth while to the class after they have tried to make a representation from what they already know and from what they can read on the subject. They are then more conscious of their needs and more alive to the important elements than when they are merely seeing a new thing which is to a great extent foreign to their experience. If they make the visit first, they are apt to feel the need of another when they attempt to work out their representation. If they make a representation first, they are quite sure to be dissatisfied with it and want to make another after they have made the visit. In either case their consciousness of need is a measure of growth.
Correlation.—While the building of a store is in progress the study of the sources and processes of manufacture of the various articles of merchandise will supply valuable subject matter in several fields.
English.—Books containing information on the subject will be read with a definite purpose and more than ordinary interest. Especially if the group method is used, will the members of a group be proud to bring to the class interesting items concerning their particular part of the work. These narratives and descriptions may be made excellent practice in either oral or written English and will be of the sort Dewey characterizes as "having something to say rather than having to say something."
Geography.—This study may also enter as deeply into the field of geography as the development of the class warrants. It will be geography of a vital sort.How these things are brought to us touches the field of transportation, creating an interest in ships and railroad trains, pack mules and express wagons.
History.—The study of the process of manufacture opens up the field of industrial history, and in this, as in the geography, the study is limited only by the capacity of the class.
Number.—In the field of number the possibilities are also unlimited, in studying the weights and measures used for different commodities, the actual prices paid for these things, and the usual quantities purchased.
Playing store will involve the making of bills, the changing of money, and the measuring of merchandise. Different pupils may take turns acting as salesmen or cashier. The common practices of business life should be followed as closely as possible, only in this case each purchaser should make out his own bills. Actual purchase slips may be brought from home and used in number lessons.
An inventory of the stock may be taken and will supply excellent practice in addition and multiplication. After the example ofrealstores, a stock-taking sale at reduced rates may be advertised. The writer answered such an advertisement by a third grade and asked how much could be purchased for one dollar. Pencils were busy at once, and a variety of combinations suggested. One pupil was quickly called to account by his mates for offering only ninety-five cents' worth of merchandise for the dollar. By these and numerous other exercises which will suggest themselves to lively children andwide-awake teachers a vast amount of vital subject matter may be dealt with in a natural way, quite on the level of the child's experience and interest.
Fig. 34.—A grocery. Third grade. Columbia, Missouri.
Art.—The art side also may receive due attention in the general proportioning and arrangement of the stores, in the modeling of certain features from clay, as enumerated above, in the making of labels for boxes and cans, in the writing of signs and advertisements, and in the color combinations. These features are to a great extent incidental to other problems just as the use of goodtaste is incidental to all the affairs of life and should receive corresponding emphasis.
Figure32shows about half the stores built by one third-grade class. Some of the subject matter drawn from the various stories was as follows: in connection with the grocery, a study of the source of various articles of food with oral and written descriptions of processes of manufacture; the common measures used in the grocery, and ordinary amounts purchased.
In connection with the meat market, the names of various kinds of meat, the animals from which they are obtained, and the part of the animal which furnishes certain cuts; as, for example, ham, bacon, chops. The current prices and approximate quantity needed for a meal made practical number work.
The bakery called for an investigation of the processes of bread making and a study of the material used. In all of the processes the teacher had opportunity to stress the necessity for proper sanitation.
In connection with the dry goods store, the distinguishing characteristics of cotton, wool, linen, and silk were emphasized and illustrated by the samples collected for the store and by the clothing worn by the children. Common problems in measuring cloth enlivened the number lessons.
The millinery store disclosed considerable ingenuity in the field of hat manufacture, and a lively business in doll hats was carried on for some time.
In connection with the post office, registered letters, dead letters, money orders, rural free delivery, etc., were discussed, and the advantages of coöperation touched upon.
Fig.35.—A dry goods store. Third grade.
The other stores of the village street offer further opportunity for becoming better acquainted with the common things which lie close at hand and touch our daily lives.
Fig. 36.—Home in a hot country.
Fig. 37.—Home in a cold country.
A sand table should be considered one of the indispensable furnishings of every schoolroom. Its possibilities are many and varied. It may be used merely as a means of recreation and the children allowed to play in the sand, digging and building as fancy suggests. Or it may be used as the foundation for elaborate representations, carefully planned by the teacher, laboriously worked out by the children, and extravagantly admired by the parents on visitors' day. While both of these uses may serve worthy ends on certain occasions, the most valuable function of the sand table strikes a happy medium between the two, as means of illustrating and emphasizing various features of the daily lessons. In this capacity the laborious efforts of the show problem on the one hand and purposeless play of the other are both avoided. In this capacity the work on the sand table goes along hand in hand with the regular work in geography, history, language, or any subject in which it is possible through an illustration to teach more effectively.
The purpose of this work is not so much to produce fine representations as to help the children to clarify and strengthen their ideas through the effort to expressthem in concrete form. The value lies in the development which comes to the children while they work. The technique of processes of construction is of secondary importance, though careless work ought never to be permitted. The completed project has little value after it has served its purpose as an illustration and may be quickly destroyed to make way for the next project. For this reason emphasis is laid on the general effect rather than the detail of construction. The work should be done well enough to serve the purpose, but time should not be spent on unnecessary details which do not add to the value as an illustration. In most cases speed is an important element. The project should be completed while the subject it illustrates is under discussion, if it is to be of most service. The first essential is that the work shall be done wholly by the children. The teacher may by skillful questions help them to build up in imagination the project they intend to work out, so that they may work with a definite purpose. She may sometimes suggest improved methods of working out various features when the improvements will add to the value of the illustration, but she should seldom, if ever, plan a project definitely or dictate the method of procedure.
Not least among the possible benefits to be derived from work of this kind is the development of resourcefulness. The necessity for expressing an idea in concrete form with whatever materials are at hand often calls for considerable ingenuity. Ability of this sort will show itself only when the children are expressing their ideas with utmost freedom and feel the responsibility for the success of theirwork. The more earnestly the children try to express their ideas, the greater will be their development. The teacher should feel that she is hindering the growth of the children and defrauding them of their legitimate opportunity for development when she allows an over-anxiety for tangible and showy results to make her take the responsibility upon herself.
The details of method are best presented through a detailed description of typical illustrations actually worked out in the classroom.
The study of home life as a general subject will include "our home" and the homes of other people who live under different conditions. To the town child the country will often be somewhat familiar and hold the second place in his interest. In the country school the farm may often be the best place to begin.
Various questions will arise as soon as it is decided to make a sand-table farm, the answers to which will be governed by the habits of the locality. What sort of farm shall we have? Shall we raise stock, fruit, corn, wheat, vegetables, or a little of everything? What shall we need to plant in each case, and in what proportion? How much pasture land shall we need? What buildings? What machinery?
Fig. 38.—A sand-table farm. First grade. Columbia, Missouri.
Fig. 39.—A sand-table farm. Second grade. Columbia, Missouri.
Fences.—As soon as the question of crops and the division of the table into fields is settled, the problem of fencing presents itself. What sort of fence is needed, wire, boards, pickets, rails, or hedge? How far apart shall the posts be set, how tall should they be, and howmany will be needed? How many boards? How wide? How long? How many wires?
Fig.40.—Detail of chicken fence.
Fig.40.—Detail of chicken fence.
The making of the fencing will supply material for one or more number lessons. Various materials may be used.
Twigsmay be cut to given lengths and set in concrete (clay) posts.
For wire fence, cut posts from small wooden sticks. Drive small tacks in each post—one for each wire. Use fine spool wire or wire raveled from fly screen. Twist wires once around each tack, or drive the tacks in firmly so that the wire is held by the head of the tack. This is not an easy fence for very little children to make.
To make board fence.Cut posts required length, and decide upon distance between posts. Make boards of thin strips of wood or of pasteboard. Nail boards to posts with tacks or small brads. This is a very easy fence to make and gives some good exercise in measuring.
Rail fencesmay be made from toothpicks or burnt matches.
Picket fencefor the dooryard may be made on wooden foundation with cardboard pickets.
Hedge fenceshould be made from some fine-leafed plant. Cedar twigs serve well.
Chicken fencemay be cut from paper as per illustration. Fold paper several times, lengthwise. Cut across the fold as indicated by arrows. Stretch lengthwise as shown inFig. 40,aandb.
Buildings.—The class should decide on the buildings needed. Each building should be assigned to a group of two or three workers. Each group should be held responsible for its contribution and should work out its problem with as little help as possible. If the children are able to plan a barn and make it, even though it is a very crude affair, more has been accomplished than if a very cunning structure had been made after plans, dictated and closely supervised by the teacher.
Woodis the best building material for general use.
Pasteboardserves well, but it is less substantial. It is also harder to cut and paste heavy cardboard than it is to saw and nail thin wood.
Claymay be used for all buildings which are commonly made of concrete.
Stock.—The different kinds of animals needed on the farm and the number of each will furnish profitable subject matter for class discussion. The animals may be modeled from clay. While the animals will of necessity be very large in proportion to the acreage of the farm, attention should be directed to the relative proportions between horses and hogs, cattle and sheep. Differences of this sort do not trouble little people, as their work is sure to show. The point should be stressed only sufficiently to help them to see a little more clearlyand express their ideas a little more adequately each time they try. The accuracy of the result is important only as an index that the children are steadily developing in power to see and do, and gaining self-reliance.
The Modeling Process.—The best method seems to be simply tobegin, and, for example, model as good a horse as possible; then discuss the results, note a few serious defects, and try again, endeavoring to correct them. Encourage rapid work which gives the general proportions of the animal in the rough. Beginners are apt to waste time in a purposeless smoothing of the clay, in mere tactual enjoyment. Discourage the tendency to finish the details of a horse's head, for example, before the body has been modeled. Repeat the process as often as time and the interest of the children warrant, but be satisfied if the children are doing the best they can, even though the results are crude and not so good as some other class has produced. The children should always feel that the work is their own. For this reason the teacher's help in clay modeling should be through demonstration rather than by finishing touches to the child's work. Imitation is a strong instinct in little children, and watching the teacher model a better horse than he can make will help a child to improve his own. One thing to be especially avoided is the attempt to bring every class to a uniform degree of excellence according to adult standards. Such an ideal encourages the giving of help in a way which hinders real development though it may produce immediate results.
Fig.41.—Detail of paper tree.
Fig.41.—Detail of paper tree.
Trees.—This topic will call out a discussion of the uses of trees; which trees are shade trees, which arecultivated for their fruit, the distinguishing characteristics of the different varieties, and the ones best suited to this particular farm.
Twigs from the real tree should be used wherever possible. In other cases the trees may be cut from paper. If a good green paper is not at hand, use drawing paper and color with crayons. A realistic effect is gained by cutting the tree from folded paper. (SeeFig. 41.) Cut three pieces for each tree and paste together at the fold, then open out. Make the trunk long enough to be driven an inch or more into the sand.
The making of the trees will furnish material for both art and nature study lessons. As far as circumstances permit the real trees should be studied, giving the children first-hand experience whether it be much or little. They should test the trees they cut by comparing them with real trees of the same variety. If this is impossible, the best pictures available should be used. (See notes on paper cutting.)
Crops.—When the various parts of the farm are about ready, the fields may be sown. The sand should be made very wet before the seed is put in and sprinkled frequently (twice a day), as the top dries off very quickly. After the seeds have germinated little sprinkling need bedone, as the roots will find enough moisture in the wet sand underneath, and it is desirable to retard rather than hasten growth. If carefully managed, a table can be kept green for several weeks.
For corn, check holes well into the sand and drop one grain into each hole. See that rows are straight and holes evenly spaced.
Sow wheat, oats, barley, etc.,very thickly, cover lightly with dry sand, and sprinkle.
Timothy serves well for meadow and lawn, as it puts up a fine blade. Blue grass sends up a fine blade, but is very slow in germination. Clover does not make a velvety lawn, but a little in the pasture will make an interesting contrast.
Vegetables may be planted in the garden. They will not develop to any great extent, but will serve to emphasize different habits in germination; as, for example, the contrast between beans and corn.
Correlation.—The opportunity for nature study afforded by the farm problem will prove one of its most interesting and valuable features as the progress in plant growth is noted from day to day. The farm problem combines well with both language and art work in supplying vital material for both. In addition to the interesting discussions which naturally arise concerning the building and planting, a diary may be kept by each child.
Keeping a Diary.—The date of planting may be noted and the date when each variety of seed first appears above ground. With the larger seeds, as corn and beans, a seed may be dug up each day and examined, sothat the children may appreciate what is going on below ground. Drawings may be made of the seeds, showing the changes in appearance from day to day. After the seed leaves appear the daily growth may be measured and noted in the diary. After a few days seeds may be dug up again that the roots may be examined. At various stages of growth different varieties of seeds may be dug up, laid upon a paper, and sketched by the children. The facts they note may be stated in simple, well-formed sentences, either oral or written or both.
Fig. 42.—An Eskimo village and The Overall Boys' Farm. First grade. Columbia, Missouri.
Art.—The sketching will serve well as the day's art lesson, though its chief value is in helping the children to see clearly. Their efforts will be crude but the teacher should constantly keep in mind that the chief aim is notto obtain fine sketches. Its purpose is to help the children to a better appreciation of the plant through the effort put forth in making the sketch. The technique of the drawing should be emphasized only so far as it will help them express better what they see, and not to the point where they attempt to copy the teacher's strokes. The teacher should be satisfied if every child is doing his best and making steady progress, even though that best may be crude and not up to the standard reached by the teacher who struggles for fine results.
Fig. 43.—An apple orchard. First grade. Columbia, Missouri.
English.—For children who are able to write the diary offers a natural means of gaining experience in the use of common forms of punctuation; as, for example, the writing of dates and the use of a comma in a series, as well as the punctuation of simple statements, in such entries as the following:
April 15, 1912.We planted the seeds on our farm to-day.We planted corn, wheat, oats, and beans.
April 15, 1912.
We planted the seeds on our farm to-day.
We planted corn, wheat, oats, and beans.
In all work of this sort it is difficult to overestimate the advantage of separate sheets of paper over a notebook with sewed leaves, in the hands of the children. With the fresh sheet always comes an inspiration, no matter what failures have gone before. Poor pages can be done over when necessary, but do not haunt the workers with their discouraging suggestions, as in the use of a notebook. The leaves may be gathered together into a binding of some sort. Even covers of plain brown wrapping paper can be made artistic with a simple border line well placed or a design cut from a paper of a different tone. Written work which culminates in an attractive booklet, however simple, seems more worth while than exercises written into a commonplace notebook or on scratch paper which goes to the wastebasket soon after the mistakes have been commented on.
Number.—The farm problem also supplies abundant opportunity for gaining experience with number. In addition to the actual measurement of the materials used for fences and buildings, the scope may be widened, where conditions warrant, to include estimates and calculations of the amount of the material used.
For example, how many inches or feet of wire will be needed to make a three-wire fence of given length? How large a piece of cardboard will be needed to cut boards one fourth or one half inch wide for a four-board fence fifteen inches long?
These estimates may be translated,as far as the children are able to appreciate the connection, into quantities and values of the same material in real problems connected with real farms. It is important, however, to becareful not to carry work of this sort so far beyond the experience of the children that it becomes wholly foreign and abstract to them. We are too apt to forget that it isexperienceand notobjects, which is the vital factor in concreteness.