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 COF»YRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
KINDERGARTEN 
 ACTIVITIES 
 
 Ci 
 
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 BY 
 
 KATHARINE BEEBE 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "Roger and Rose" 
 
 "Home Occupations for Little Children 
 
 Etc. 
 
 
 Akron, Ohio 
 
 The Saalfield Publishing Company 
 
 NEW YORK 1904 CHICAGO 
 
LIBRARY of CONGBESSi 
 
 Two Copies 
 
 Received 
 
 NOV 30 
 
 1904 
 
 Copyriirnt 
 1 CLASS eu 
 
 1 ^o^% 
 
 \ COPY 
 
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 XXc. Nui 
 
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 Copyright, 1904, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction - - - - - - -7 
 
 Chapter I. — Before School - - - - 11 
 
 II. Calendars - - - - - 24 
 
 ' III.— Music ------ 31 
 
 IV.— Stories ------ 35 
 
 v.- Songs and Games - - - - 42 
 
 " VI. Pictures ------ 54 
 
 ' VII.— Sand ------ 65 
 
 VI!I.— Cutting ------ 73 
 
 IX. - Construction Work - - - 80 
 
 X - Celebrations - - - - - 94 
 
 XL— Christmas Work - - - - 103 
 
 XII. - Gardening - - - - - 115 
 
 XIII — Excursions - - - - 120 
 
 XIV — Intervals - - - - - - 129 
 
Introduction 
 
 IN a recent examination given to kinder- 
 gartners, one of the questions asked 
 was: ''What activities^ outside of the 
 use of the Gifts and Occupations, do you 
 find of value in the kindergarten f With a 
 few exceptions, this question was very in- 
 sufficiently answered. ^' Music, marching, 
 songs, and games,'' was the most frequent 
 response. This seems strange, in view of 
 the fact that kindergartners have been con- 
 stantl}^ improving their methods and giving 
 to each otlier the results of accumulated ex- 
 perience. Every director, out of her own 
 originality and inventiveness (powers 
 which Froebel's system is bound to de- 
 velop in her as well as in the children) , has, 
 during her time of service, been adding to 
 her store of tried and proven kindergarten 
 
activities. These have been passed on to as- 
 sistants and volunteers, and by them to 
 other directors, until every graduate has,* or 
 should have, at her disposal, in addition to 
 her training in the use of the Gifts and Oc- 
 cupations, a very wealth of resource. 
 
 In each monthly meeting of the Chicago 
 Kindergarten Club some few years ago, ten 
 or a dozen members, who were dealing with 
 some practical aspect of the kindergarten 
 work, gave to the club the help of their ex- 
 periences, methods, and resources. None of 
 us felt that we could afford to miss a single 
 one of those meetings. No one could come 
 away from them without having added 
 treasure to her store. All gave gladly and 
 all received thankfully. 
 
 The same process, on a smaller scale, takes 
 place in Evanston, Illinois, where every 
 fourth Friday the directors and assistants 
 of the public kindergartens meet to go over 
 in detail the work of the coming month. The 
 subjects for consideration are agreed upon 
 when the outline of the year 's work is given. 
 At each meeting every one present, from the 
 supervisor down to the newest assistant, 
 gives whatever she has on the subjects to be 
 
studied, used, or touched upon. The result 
 is a delightful morning of the freest possible 
 discussion, and a wealth of material from 
 which the programs of the different groups 
 are made out. Tliis includes music, songs, 
 stories, talks, experiences, games. Gifts, Oc- 
 cupations, and miscellaneous activities. 
 
 As a grateful acknowledgment of the 
 gifts of this sort which the public kinder- 
 gartners of Evanston have received from 
 others, we desire to extend to our fellow- 
 workers some of our accumulated results. 
 That is, we want to put at their disposal 
 those things which we have tried and found 
 good, outside of our work with the Gifts 
 and Occupations. We must not be under- 
 stood as disparaging the technical kinder- 
 garten material, however ; for we flatter our- 
 selves that we occupy the safe middle ground 
 in these days when some of our confreres 
 are asking for the practical discontinuance 
 of the Gifts and Occupations, while others 
 contend that only these should be used by the 
 true disciple of Froebel. We use both Gifts 
 and Occupations throughout the year, find- 
 ing in them for the children the development 
 claimed by Froebel; but we also find what 
 
seems to us as real a development through 
 work with other material, work which is to 
 the child life itself, and which helps to make 
 the kindergarten a natural, healthful, 
 child 's world. 
 
 We shall not try to tell how we do these 
 things, but only what other things we do,— 
 knowing that the average kindergartner's 
 training and inventiveness will help her to 
 ways, means, and details. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 BEFORE SCHOOL. 
 
 WE SAY ^^ before sclioor' in our kin- 
 dergartens because they are a part 
 of the schools whose names they 
 bear. We have the children for one year 
 only, from five to six years of age, and so 
 feel that we must in every way economize 
 and use to the best advantage the time at our 
 disposal, which is entirely too brief for all 
 we want to do. Ostensibly kindergarten 
 opens at nine o'clock. Really it begins at 
 twenty minutes of nine, when the big doors 
 are opened and the children are allowed to 
 come in. We regard this twenty minutes as 
 one of the best *^ periods" of our day, for 
 our work is so thoroughly and carefully pre- 
 pared beforehand that when the children 
 com.e flocking in we are as truly theirs as we 
 are after the nine o'clock bell rings. 
 
12 Kinder gart €71 Activities. 
 
 We get very near them in this 'M3efore 
 school ' ' time. We become really acquainted 
 with the shy ones ; we wash, brush, tie, and 
 pin xvp the disheveled ones ; and Ave play with 
 the riotous ones, helping them thereby to 
 keep within bounds. Each of us makes a nu- 
 cleus of herself, so to speak, every teacher be- 
 ing the center of a group which is drawn to 
 her by a very natural process of human grav- 
 itation. We add to our attractiveness in as 
 many ways as we may, and some of these 
 ways I shall try to set forth, ho])ing that 
 they may prove suggestive, at least to 
 younger kindergartners and to those who 
 are far away or isolated from the centers of 
 kindergarten thought and inspiration. 
 
 First there is our doll, the beloved Daisy 
 Ellen, who ap^Deared in one of our kinder- 
 gartens many years ago and became an im- 
 mediate favorite on account of her unbreak- 
 able head and soft huggable body. She was 
 young then, only a year old, and had to take 
 naps in her hammock while we worked. In 
 May of her second year she was fitted out 
 with a coat and bonnet, and a satchel just 
 large enough to hold her nightgown, so that 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 13 . 
 
 she might make a round of visits among her 
 friends and admirers. Eyery noon, for 
 weeks, slie bobbed gayly down the street 
 with some ecstatic host or hostess. In fact, 
 she was entertained so enthusiastically and 
 constantly that when the last of June came 
 she was almost in shreds. 
 
 After the kindergarten had closed for the 
 year, she was allowed to go to California 
 with one of the children who loved her, in 
 the hope that she might at least last for the 
 child's diversion until the journey's end. 
 Whether she did or not we never heard ; but 
 when the kindergarten opened in the au- 
 tumn, immediate and pressing were the in- 
 quiries for Daisy Ellen. Searching ques- 
 tions were asked by visiting ^^First- 
 Graders," and over and over again in re- 
 sponse to the statement that she had gone to 
 California for her health, came the persist- 
 ent wail: '^But ivhen is she coming back?" 
 
 We straightway took counsel together and 
 decided to get one of the printed dolls just 
 then beginning to be advertised, and invest 
 her with Daisy Ellen's memory and many 
 .virtues. Old friends found the new Daisy 
 
14 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 Ellen just as good to squeeze as her predeces- 
 sor had been, and the new children soon 
 learned not only to love her but to admire 
 her exemplary conduct and to respect her 
 knowledge of kindergarten lore. 
 
 Daisy Ellen is a regular attendant on the 
 morning circle and her gestures are always 
 energetic and appropriate. To be sure she 
 is apt to be careless during the prayer, but a 
 friendly hand often shoots out to the back of 
 her head and holds her kindly but firmly in 
 a devotional attitude. 
 
 She no longer takes naps in the hammock. 
 The kindergarten carpenters have made her 
 a chair, and also k table which is marked off 
 in inch squares ; and she does her work with 
 the rest. She has a sled, too, made of a 
 starch box, in which the children draw her 
 and in which she coasts in the ''before 
 school" time. At the present writing she is 
 having a bedstead made out of the tray of an 
 old trunk. The tray stands on four stout 
 legs and is embellished by a graceful head- 
 board made of a box cover. You need not 
 laugh ! It is all even and straight ; and after 
 the whole is painted a cheerful green it is 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 15 
 
 going to look very well indeed. After the 
 bedstead is finished, we shall make a mat- 
 tress, pillow, sheets, blanket, and patchwork 
 quilt. Next year we are going to make her a 
 wardrobe, with a door which will open and 
 shut on leather hinges. There will be a shelf 
 and dress hooks inside, and this wardrobe, 
 too, will be painted green. 
 
 Daisy Ellen is a simply dressed child. She 
 wears a long-sleeved gingham apron over a 
 red and black plaid dress. She is not har- 
 assed by flopjoy bonnets, scratchy bows, 
 clumsy sleeves, and big collars. She does 
 not have to be cautioned every five minutes 
 not to soil her clothes— although, of course, 
 she is expected to be reasonable. She wears 
 real stockings, and shoes which were bought 
 at Mr. Michael Kelly's shoe shop. Mr. Kel- 
 ly had a little boy in the kindergarten at 
 the time of the purchase and therefore was 
 much pleased when the whole troop of chil- 
 dren accompanied Daisy Ellen to his shop, 
 and breathlessly watched the fitting. The 
 shoes were bought with money taken from 
 the kindergarten bank, which this year was 
 
IG Kindcnjarten Activities. 
 
 opened again that the clear child might have 
 a pair of rubbers. 
 
 She has had a birthday party and a 
 Christmas tree. Slie has gone on every visit 
 and excursion undertaken by the kinder- 
 garten for the last six years. She occasion- 
 ally spends a morning in the First Grade 
 room and once in a Avhile goes to visit the 
 sick. She has a number of cousins who 
 closely resemble her, for in this particular 
 school district many small maidens, have 
 besought Santa Claus to bring them a doll 
 ^^ just like dear Daisy Ellen !" 
 
 Over and over again it happens that a 
 child who finishes his work before the others 
 asks to go and ^^ visit with Dais}^ Ellen" ; and 
 it is a common sight to see the two gravely 
 looking at a pictvire book or playing blocks 
 together. 
 
 So in the ^^ before school" time the first 
 cry is for Daisy Ellen; and happy is the 
 early bird who gets the coveted worm. It is 
 etiquette among us, however, to let some one 
 else hold her at circle time, if we had her be- 
 fore school ; and when we want to be particu- 
 larly nice to a friend, neighbor, or visitor, 
 
Kindergarten Aetivities. 17 
 
 we surrender her for a time to other welcom- 
 ing arms. Many dolls eome. to visit her. 
 These are welcomed, admired, and appre- 
 ciated by teachers who really have some idea 
 of how to play with dolls. 
 
 In another of our kindergartens is^ a 
 cousin of Daisy Ellen's whose name is 
 Jimmy. He is only a baby in long clothes 
 as yet ; but when he is two years old he will 
 wear Russian blouses, and, later, go into 
 trousers. He has a lovely afghan made of 
 many pieces of ''truly weaving" sewed to- 
 gether. 
 
 In a third kindergarten is a doll named 
 Jerushy. She is not as generally popular as 
 Daisy Ellen, but is dearly beloved in certain 
 Italian and African circles which she fre- 
 quently adorns with her presence. She 
 seems especially adapted to settlement work, 
 but will probably extend her sphere of in- 
 fluence in time. 
 
 It is during the 'M^efore school" period 
 that toys brought by the children who wish 
 to share their pleasures and treasures with 
 their mates are enjoyed. Instead of being 
 placed in the middle of the circle and per- 
 
18 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 functorily noticed after nine o'clock, they 
 are examined, sympathetically appreciated, 
 and played with. We have had no end of fun 
 with various mechanical toys, for these give 
 great joy to the poorer children whose own 
 playthings are of the cheapest. The proud 
 owner greatly enjoys this added ^^ something 
 to do ' ' with a possession which soon reaches 
 its limitations if played w4th alone. Espe- 
 cially do we welcome toy animals— dogs, 
 cats, horses, cows, and woolly sheep; and, 
 letting the kindergarten imagination play 
 around them, we are often able to send them 
 home with an added value, making them for 
 their owners more what they should be— 
 centers for widening circles of imaginative 
 plays, points of departure rather than ac- 
 complished ends. 
 
 To one of our kindergartens a friend has 
 given beautiful sets of toy animals with 
 which we have had so many delightful plays 
 that we find ourselves wishing for a further 
 endowment of toys. We hope little by little 
 to accumulate an outfit for educational use 
 of housekeeping implements, such as pails, 
 brooms, dusters, brushes, dishes, tubs, irons. 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 19 
 
 and a stove. We also want a large wagon, 
 carpenters' tools, garden tools, and wheel- 
 barrows, all of wliicli we have faith to be- 
 lieve will be ours in time. The dolls' lie- 
 longings we prefer to make, as well as other 
 toys of which we shall speak later. 
 
 We have a set of ragged story books on 
 which frequent hands are laid and we are 
 often besought to ^^read this one." So again 
 and again we read the dear old tales and 
 verses to children who have them at home 
 and never tire of them, as well as to chil- 
 dren who only get them from us. This does 
 not in any way take the place of the regular 
 story telling ; it is only doing in a very sim- 
 ple old-fashioned way what mothers do, 
 would like to do, or should do, at home. 
 
 We have found this twenty minutes the 
 most profitable time for examining together, 
 in less formal fashion than is possible in the 
 circle, the mam^ outdoor treasures, speci- 
 mens, and curiosities brought in. Without 
 any restrictions, except an occasional cau- 
 tion in regard to polite consideration, we can 
 crowd together to see, taste, touch, or handle 
 our seed pods, birds' nests, wasp and hornet 
 
20 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 Homes, leaves, nuts, grains, evergreens, 
 stones, twigs, and flowers, frogs' eggs, and 
 tadpoles. We can take in our hands the bits 
 of wool and cotton, the tiny loom, the woven 
 cloth, the spinning w4ieel, and the other ob- 
 jects which are loaned to us from time to 
 time. 
 
 It is before school that we make our maple 
 syrup, and churn our butter; that we most 
 comfortably thresh our grain, do our mill- 
 ing, and l)ake our whole-wheat cakes, for 
 while the one necessarily small group ac- 
 tually employed is at work, and the limited 
 number of possible spectators absorbedly 
 looking on, the other children can have the 
 freedom of the black-board, sand table, pic- 
 ture books, and other attractions while wait- 
 ing their turn. 
 
 Sometimes we make an ^^ object picture" 
 on a table or window sill, using such ma- 
 terial as the kindergarten affords, supple- 
 mented by suggested loans from interested 
 participants. We evolve kitchens, dining- 
 rooms, bedrooms, and parlors, barnyards, 
 stables, sheepfolds, x^^^'tures, and camps. 
 Sometimes we erect a telegraph line or oper- 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 21 
 
 ate a telephone system. We have all sorts 
 of blocks which at opportune times are con- 
 veniently placed for free building. At other 
 times there are tools and- bits of soft wood 
 for spontaneous carpentry. 
 
 Pets are often brought in, and we have, in 
 our time, entertained dogs, cats, pigeons, 
 rabbits, and white rats. Once we had hom- 
 ing pigeons sent to us from a distance, and 
 we had the exciting pleasure of setting them 
 free r.t nine o'clock exactly, and receiving 
 word from the owner the next day regarding 
 the moment of arrival at the home cote. For 
 many rsasons these brief visits from our 
 animal friends have l:een more satisfactory 
 th:in o;ir attempts at keeping pets, although 
 we have raised young canaries and had 
 doves, fish, turtles, and cats of our own. 
 These, of course, mu^t be fed and cared for. 
 "We also look out for the sparrows during 
 the winter and feed certain ri^eons that 
 have learned to look to us for frequent 
 treats. 
 
 Then we have housework to d ^. We wash 
 everv Monday and iron every Tuesdav dur- 
 ing the first weeks of kindergarten, and later 
 
22 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 at longer intervals— European fashion. Our 
 kindergarten handkercliiefs, our paste 
 cloths, paint cloths, and cleaning cloths, we 
 can in this way care for ourselves. There is 
 much dusting, sweeping, and cleaning which 
 small hands can do and do well. An equip- 
 ment of overalls, aprons, and sweeping cap 
 adds much to the interest of these occupa- 
 tions. We have, moreover, our plants to 
 care for, the dressing rooms to keep in order, 
 and, in the sirring, our outdoor garden work. 
 Now we should find it impossible to do all 
 of these, to us desirable things in addition 
 to our regular work on the circles and at the 
 tables, if we did not do them l)etween half 
 past eight and nine o 'clock. We have found 
 it not at all impossible so to arrange our 
 time that we are free to do this ^^ before 
 school" work and, looking back over the re- 
 sults, we are more than convinced that it has 
 paid us for our extra effort. Of course, we 
 do not have all the children every morning. 
 Some few early birds are always on hand, 
 but the others vary in attendance according 
 to home exigencies. But anv particularlv de- 
 sirable activity is kept up long enough to 
 
, Kindergarten Activities. 23 
 
 give every one a chance, and the very fact 
 that these morning groups are small and 
 fluctuating gives us all the better opportun- 
 ity for carrying on the various plays and ex- 
 periences which I have tried to describe. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 CALENDARS. 
 
 THE kindergarten calendar is always a 
 source of interest to the children, and 
 goes far toward making their very in- 
 definite notions of time more definite. They 
 learn the days of the week, the months of the 
 year, and learn to realize with more or less 
 completeness the interval of time which must 
 elapse between a present da}" and a future 
 event by means of the symbols which are 
 added to the calendar daily. ' ' How long be- 
 fore Christmas r' asks little Mary. '^ Three 
 weeks," is the answer jierhaps. This does 
 not convey any very clear impression; but 
 when we show her twenty stars and add that 
 after we have pasted these on the calendar 
 it will be the day l^efore Christmas, Mary be- 
 gins to understand. 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 25 
 
 Our calendars vary from month to month 
 and year to year as different ideas and in- 
 spirations seize us. For a September calen- 
 dar one of the teachers cut silhouette pic- 
 tures of 
 
 The mother so kind and dear, 
 
 The father so full of cheer, 
 
 The l)rother so strong and tall, 
 
 The sister who plays with her doll. 
 
 And the baby, the pet of all, 
 and pasted them on a gray background. The 
 symbols added from day to day were the 
 implements of the father's trade, the moth- 
 er's household utensils and the children's 
 toys; and these were placed in the squared 
 spaces prepared below the picture. 
 
 One October calendar consisted of a lar je 
 sheet of gra}^ cardboard on which v:ere 
 pasted, every day, leaves which had pre- 
 viovisly been gathered and pressed. At t'le 
 end of the month it \Yas a very pretty chirt 
 of the leaves of the neighborhood. 
 
 For November we had once a little paste- 
 board storehouse with large doors which 
 were fastened together by a hasp. Inside 
 were squared calendar spaces and in these 
 
26 Kindergarten Aetivities. 
 
 we pasted fruits and vegetables until our 
 harvest was all in. 
 
 A January device was a water-color pic- 
 ture of the tree top visible from the kinder- 
 garten window. On the tree top was repre- 
 sented a Christmas sheaf,— the whole beins: 
 painted against a blue sky. For each day in 
 January we pasted a bird on or near the 
 sheaf so that when the month was over there 
 was a large flock of them enjoying the oats. 
 We used birds again in April, representing 
 them then in flight, on their return from the 
 South, and against a cloudy sky. 
 
 During March we sometimes substitute 
 '^the picture of the day" for the regular cal- 
 endar. Some one draws a picture every 
 morning so that by the end of the month we 
 can see just what progress the spring has 
 made. The first pictures are apt to be snow- 
 covered landscapes; often there is a snow- 
 storm; then little by little the brown earth 
 appears, the geese fly, a few birds come back, 
 rain falls, the wind blows, the willow trees 
 grow yellow, and here and there is a l)it of 
 green. 
 
 Some of us prepare our calendars in ad- 
 
Kindergarten Aetivities, 27 
 
 vanco, making them in orthodox fashion, 
 with an appropriate picture for tlie upper 
 part, and with the lower jjart marked off in 
 squares where parquetry circles, etc., may 
 be placed. Sometimes we get our pictures 
 from various sources, sometimes we make 
 them ourselves, and at other times we have 
 them made, artistic friends often coming to 
 our assistance. 
 
 We have tried the round calendar with its 
 symbolic picture in the center and the 
 months, weeks, and days indicated l)y other 
 circles, but for many reasons we find a 
 monthly calendar more satisfactory. The 
 children notice and care about it as they 
 never do for that more symbolic" embodi- 
 ment of the idea of unity— the round calen- 
 dar. The month's finished calendar is us- 
 ually given to some child whose birthday has 
 fallen within the month, and it frequently 
 becomes a much prized ornament in the 
 home. 
 
 The hanging of the new calendar is an ap- 
 propriate and interesting welcome to the 
 new month, and the pictures are so sugges- 
 tive as to add greatly to our store of inci- 
 
28 Kinder g art 671 Activities. 
 
 dentally acquired songs and verses. For in- 
 stance, we learned the classic ^'Twinkle, 
 twinkle, little star," while completing our 
 December calendar, and ''Sleep, baby, 
 sleep, ' ' in both English and German as well. 
 While the chosen child is pasting on the 
 day's symbol there is plenty of time for the 
 other children to repeat the days and the 
 months, and to recite the suggested song or 
 story. This done every day for twenty da^^s, 
 more or less, results in the children's learn- 
 ing these things without any apparent 
 strain. 
 
 Several lists of subjects are here given 
 which we have found suggestive in planning 
 our calendars. 
 
 Outdoor Scenes for a Calendar. 
 Water -Color Sketches. 
 Sept. Going to School. 
 Oct. In the Woods. 
 Nov. Going to Market. 
 Dec. Buying a Tree. 
 Jan. A Snowstorm. 
 Feb. Skating. 
 Mar. March Wind. 
 Apr. April Showers. 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 29 
 
 May 
 
 May flowers. 
 
 June 
 
 Strawberrying.. 
 
 
 Indoor Scenes. 
 
 
 Water-Color Sketches, 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Our Baby. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Popping Corn. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Thanksgiving. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Christmas. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Toys. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Valentines. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Story-time. 
 
 Apr. 
 
 Watching the Rain. 
 
 May 
 
 Housecleaning. 
 
 June 
 
 Packing up. 
 
 
 A Nature Calendar. 
 
 
 Suggested by Songs. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 The Brown Birds are Flying. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Pretty Brother Johnny. (Orchard.) 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Summer is Gone. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 There's a Wonderful Tree. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Little White Feathers. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Ch, Wind, a Blowing all Night Long. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 To the Great Brown House. 
 
 Apr. 
 
 Pretty Little Dandelion. 
 
 May 
 
 All the Birds Have Come Again. 
 
 June 
 
 The Song of the Bee. 
 
 
 An Apple Tree Calendar. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Tree full of apples. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Tree with leaves tiirning yellow. 
 
30 Kindergarten Activities 
 
 Nov. Tree with leaves falling. 
 
 Dec. Tree with bare branches. Christmas sheaf. 
 
 Jan. Tree with snow and snow birds. 
 
 Feb. Tree in snowstorm. 
 
 Mar. Tree bare. 
 
 Apr. Tree in bud. Birds nesting. 
 
 May Tree in blossom. 
 
 June Tj-ee in full leaf. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 IT IS not necessary to recapitulate here 
 any of the theories of the twentieth cen- 
 tury kindergartner regarding the qual- 
 ity of the music to be used for and with 
 young children, or the proper methods of its 
 presentation. A^e simply want to pass on to 
 any who may be interested some few of the 
 musical ideas of the present day which we 
 have tried and found good. 
 
 Of course we use all of the accepted song 
 books, but we find that we draw most fre- 
 quently from, those of Eleanor Smith, Mrs. 
 Gaynor, and Carl Reinecke. In instru- 
 mental music, those of us whose technical at- 
 tainments are of the simplest have found 
 great help in the Katherine Montz book; 
 while those who have been more fortunately 
 and carefullv instructed revel in the collec- 
 
32 Kindergarten Aetivities. 
 
 tions of Clara Anderson, the two Morans, 
 Marie Ruef Hofer, and others of the same 
 sort. The five simple melodies by Mrs. Cros- 
 by Adams which begin with ''What the Bells 
 Say" have long been a boon to many of us. 
 They are so simple and expressive as to 
 make delightful ''quiet music," and the 
 touch of fitness which we are enabled to en- 
 joy in using "What the Bells Say" at 
 Christmas time, "Singing and Swinging" 
 during bird time, and "The Rocking Chair" 
 and "A Lullaby" during the first weeks 
 when we are emphasizing the connection l)e- 
 tween home and kindergarten, is only 
 equaled by our satisfaction in using "Tlie 
 Happy Farmer" in harvest time and sing- 
 ing "Home, Sweet Home," every day just 
 before dismissal. The children' seem to en- 
 joy and appreciate "piano singing," and we 
 feel that they are learning something ever}^ 
 day of what music should express to them 
 and for them. The little book called 
 "Mother Goose Songs Without Words," by 
 Mrs. L. E. Orth, has helped us and them in 
 a very delightful, simple, and natural way. 
 We keep this book for a birthday treat, and 
 
Kindergarten Activities. . 33 
 
 it is most interesting to watch the lights and 
 shadows on the little faces as the piano tells 
 the story of Boy Blue, King Cole, or Bo- 
 Peep. Some follow the melody with lips or 
 hands, others only with expressive eyes. 
 
 Our friends the Brownies often get into 
 the piano. Of course, whatever we big mor- 
 tals do they love to imitate ; so, when we are 
 learning a new song, the same music softly 
 played on the upper notes tells us that they 
 are at work and following in our footsteps. 
 Often our ten fingers become as many elves 
 and make shoes, march, dance, shoe horses, 
 or shear sheep, as the case may be, without a 
 sound but with great deftness and speed. 
 At the last note they whisk away into the 
 folded hands and are seen no more— until 
 next time. 
 
 Of course we play on various and sundry 
 imaginary instruments. The baby's music 
 box can be easily imitated on the highest oc- 
 taves of the piano, as can the mouth organ 
 on the lower ones, and a drum on two very 
 low bass notes. Everybody knows how to 
 make banjo music by putting sheets of paper 
 on the stretched wires. This we enjoy at 
 
34 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 rare intervals, as well as playing on the vio- 
 lin, the harp, and the humble but familiar 
 hurdy-gurdy. We have had, on occasion, a 
 whole German Band, led by Johnny Schmo- 
 ker of old-time fame and happy memory. 
 We often make use of real drums, and, on 
 gala days, trumpets and even zithers have 
 lent splendor to our processions. 
 
 Our musical guessing game we consider a 
 great success. On a choosing day the name 
 of the song is whispered to the teacher at the 
 piano, and from the first note or chord the 
 other children must guess what the song is 
 to be. Occasionally two or even three notes 
 have to be given, but it is wonderful how of^- 
 ten one note or chord is all-sufficient. The 
 children play this game much lietter than 
 we do, and have never failed to grow very 
 fond of it. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 STORIES. 
 
 OTHER kindergartners ' lists of stories 
 being of great interest to us, we ven- 
 ture to submit our list to other kin- 
 dergartners,— not in its entirety, however, 
 for that would hardly be possible. Our story 
 list necessarily varies from year to year, 
 since each teacher is at liberty to add to or 
 subtract from it, as her reason dictates or 
 her heart suggests, within the limitations 
 which we set for ourselves in council. 
 
 We have decided that stories presenting 
 clear outlines and, accordingly, calling uj^ 
 clear and definite mental images are best 
 adapted for our use. We avoid the mass of 
 detail with which many stories written for 
 children are encumbered, and have sadly 
 but firmly laid aside many tales which ap- 
 peal strongly to our grown-up fancy but 
 
36 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 which seem to arouse little if any response 
 in the children. Many so-called nature stor- 
 ies are of this sort. The graceful utterances 
 of Lady Blue Violet, the maternal admoni- 
 tions of dear Mother Tree, the detailed con- 
 versation of the Grass Blade fairies con- 
 cerning Mr. North Wind, Jack Frost, and 
 Father Winter, do not always charm the 
 children. There are some nature stories, 
 however, such as those in ^^ Among the 
 Meadow People," by Clara D. Pierson, that 
 we have found most useful both at the tables 
 and during outdoor excursions; but as the 
 years go on, we find ourselves holding closer 
 to those stories in which people do things, 
 where something happens, and where events 
 move on to a climax. I have heard the story 
 of Mother Nature's Children told in differ- 
 ent kindergartens many times, l3ut never yet 
 have I seen any genuine interest, attention, 
 or enjoyment called forth by it. What there 
 was of responsiveness was summoned up by 
 the special efforts of the narrator rather 
 than by any inherent interest which the 
 story held for the listeners. 
 
 In regard to the efforts so common among 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 37 
 
 painstaking and conscientious teachers to 
 get the children to ^'tell back the story," I 
 hardly dare express myself for fear that I 
 shall say too much. I have often seen it at- 
 tempted in morning circles, but never with 
 satisfactory results. Often the children had 
 not cared for the story in the first place,— 
 that was plainly to be seen ; there had been 
 so little impression that expression was 
 necessarily forced. Even Aviien a story in- 
 tere^r'ts children to the point of making the 
 desired impression, the expression cannot 
 always l.e called out at a given time, as put 
 down on the progra^.i. There is a pedagogic 
 moment for the child's expression of stories 
 in language, but it oftener occurs at home 
 than in the kindergarten for very simple 
 reasons. Children have more sense than 
 many k:n lergartners suppose. They retell 
 a story glii clly to the people at home who 
 have not heard it— especially at bed-time— 
 but when they are being urged to ^^ express," 
 their faces plainly say, to one who can read 
 them: ^^What is the use of telling you that 
 story when you told it to meV^ The teach- 
 er's coaxing invitation: '^Tell it to the chil- 
 
38 Kindergarten Aetivifies. 
 
 dren just as if they had never heard it," is 
 met with silent contempt, utter indifference, 
 or a very halting obedience. 
 
 So we have concluded to omit this time- 
 honored but harrowing process; 1 ut that 
 does not mean that we do not talk over or re- 
 tell old stories, or that there is no time on 
 our circles when the children express them- 
 selves in story-telling. Some of the children 
 have done this so well that it was a pleasure 
 to listen to them, but this was exceptional. A 
 little child's attempt at telling a story is us- 
 ually so fragmentary, discTirsive, and there- 
 fore uninteresting to his mates, that we are 
 careful not to ask them to listen very often 
 to such efforts. 
 
 In this matter of retelling stories, the 
 mother can be of the greatest practical as- 
 sistance to the kindergartner. Happily she 
 gives this aid more often than not, some- 
 times by instinct, frequently with a knowl- 
 edge of the service she is rendering. 
 
 In the list of stories which follows, we 
 have given those that we have used most fre- 
 quently and that have ]:^roved from year to 
 vear to be the children's favorites. 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 39 
 
 The Potato Baby. (Kindergarten Gems.) 
 
 The Story of Moses. (Bible.) 
 
 The Three Bears. (Robert Southey.) 
 
 Tliree pigs. (Nursery Tales.) 
 
 The Little Sugar House. (Anon.) 
 
 The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats. 
 (Grimm.) 
 
 Charlotte and the Ten Dwarfs. (Kindergar- 
 ten Gems.) 
 
 The Crane Express. (In the Child's 
 World.) 
 
 The Goats in the Turnip Field. (Cniild Stor- 
 ies and Rhymes, Emilie Poulsson.) 
 
 The Pied Piper. (Browning.) 
 
 Dicky Smiley's Birthday. (The Story 
 Hour.) 
 
 The Bell of Atri. (Longfellow.) 
 
 Hans in Luck. (Grimm.) 
 
 The Story of Chusey. (New Year's Bar- 
 gain, Susan Coolidge.) 
 
 The Christ-Child. (Elizabeth Harrison.) 
 
 Piccola. (Hi the Child's World.) 
 
 Mrs. Santa Clans. (Anon.) 
 
 Thumbling. ( Grimm.) 
 
 The Elves and the Shoemaker. (Grimm.) 
 
 Paul Revere. ( Longfellow.) 
 
40 Kindergarten Act i cities. 
 
 Pegasus. (Hawthorne.) 
 The Mouse Who Lost Her Tail. (Kinder- 
 garten Stories and Morning Talks, S. E. 
 Wiltse.) 
 King Midas. (Hawthorne.) 
 The Story of Cedric. (In Story Land, Eliza- 
 beth Harrison.) 
 The Line of Light (In Story Land.) 
 The Little Hero of Haarlem. (In the 
 
 Child's World.) 
 Ehoecus. (Lowell.) 
 The Pot of Gold. (Anon.) 
 Little Ida's Flowers. (Andersen.) 
 The Ugly Duckling. (Andersen.) 
 Philip's Valentines. (Child's World.) 
 George Washington. 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 Freidrich Froebel. 
 The First Thanksgiving. (Story Hour.) 
 
 To these we add, as occasion calls for 
 them, Bible stories, nature stories, hero 
 stories, animal stories, and fairy stories. We 
 tell the story of the burning of Chicago and 
 something of the history of oui' own town. 
 We also touch upon the legends of St. Val- 
 entine and Hallow E'en. As to our sources 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 41 
 
 of supply we depend largely on Grimm, An- 
 dersen, Kate Douglass Wiggin, and Miss 
 Poulsson, but we do not hesitate to draw 
 upon the classics, the poets, our own recol- 
 lections, and upon miscellaneous authors 
 who chance to meet our special need*. 
 
I 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SONGS AND GAIVIES. 
 
 HAVE visited kindergartens in wliieh 
 the morning circle Avas a time of contin- 
 uous sitting still. The fact that later 
 another half lionr more or less of exercise 
 Avas to follow did not mitigate the situation, 
 for the one was as excessive as the other. 
 While some children can remain perfectly 
 quiet for that length of time many cannot 
 without suffering from the want of some 
 l)odily activity. For this reason we have 
 learned to connect various physical expres- 
 sions with the talks and songs of the first 
 kindergarten period. The children take 
 part in these as they will, those whose mus- 
 (les are comfortable often sitting still and 
 looking on while others, who perhaps have 
 l)(^en looking at pictures for twenty minutes 
 or so, gladly welcome the opportunity to 
 
Kinder (J art en jiefi rifles. 43 
 
 move about a little. I can best illustrate 
 this perhaps b} outlining a typical morning. 
 
 When the children come in the chairs are 
 found placed a))out tlie Aarious tables, an ar- 
 rangement which seems to us l)etter than 
 having them on the circle for various rea- 
 sons. To begin with they are often needed 
 about the tables during the 'M)efore sc^iool" 
 period. The floor space is thus left open 
 for free play, and it is better that the child 
 should take his own chair to the circle than 
 that it shoidd ])e placed there for him, just 
 as it is l)etter that he should do everything 
 for himself that he (^an. Besides, after the 
 signal calling the children to their seats, the 
 number of chairs belonging to absentees can 
 be put out of the way without interfering 
 with the uniformity of the circle. Too often 
 these are hastily thrust back against the 
 wall when they are bound to add an element 
 of disorder to a place which should be a con- 
 stant lesson in its opposite. 
 
 A bugle call sounded on the piano calls the 
 children to their places. Books, toys, speci- 
 mens, pictures, and extra chairs are put 
 away and when all are ready our national 
 
44 Kindergarten Aetlvifies. 
 
 hymn, ^* America," is softly played as an ad- 
 monition to perfect quiet. A soft chord 
 calls the children to their feet and each one, 
 carrying his chair, marches to the circle, 
 where he stands behind his chair until tlie 
 piano says to him in two chords, ' ' Sit down. ' ' 
 The morning hymn is played and sung, the 
 short prayer is softly spoken, and then 
 comes the "Good Morning song." This is 
 followed by what we call "an out-door 
 song,"-" Jack Frost," "The Wind," "The 
 Clouds," "Good Morning," "Glorious 
 Sun," or any one of several others. A little 
 talk is bound to accompany this song and if 
 there is a moon its phase must also be dis- 
 cussed in order that we may decide whether 
 to sing the "Moon Boat" or "Lady Moon." 
 The drawing of the moon as we saw it last 
 usually illustrates this conversation. Some 
 of us have to be urged to look more carefully 
 the next time and happily usually do so. 
 
 Our next duty is to our fish, the sparrows, 
 or the pigeons. While chosen ones attend to 
 their feeding the rest of us sing the appro- 
 priate song, for the ceremony varies on dif- 
 ferent days. The fish and pigeons are fed 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 45 
 
 twice a week and the sparrows once. On 
 Mondays and Tlmrsdays the song is ' ' Happy 
 Little Fishes/' after the singing of which 
 the air is played softly several times which 
 means that the circle becomes a pond and all 
 who will are fishes, while others look on or 
 distribute fish food with a lavish hand. On 
 the other days those belonging to the fidgety 
 class become pigeons or sparrows in the 
 same way. 
 
 Then the calendar must be attended to. 
 Of this part of the program I shall speak 
 later only saying here that some one child 
 adds the day's symbol while the others re- 
 peat altogether, or sometimes alone, the 
 days of the week and the months as they 
 come. During the first part of the year 
 when we are trying to teach our children 
 something of times and seasons we enjoy 
 playing a kindergarten adaptation of that 
 old favorite ^ ' We 've come to see Miss Jenny 
 O 'Jones." For this game we have a set of 
 toys which we use dramatically, not every 
 day but often. We have a tub, washboard, 
 wringer, and clothes-rack, a stove and sev- 
 eral irons, bread-boards and rolling pins, a 
 
4r> Kindenjaiicn AvtiviticH. 
 
 work l^asket, brooms, and dusters. On Mon- 
 day, for instance, one child is chosen to be 
 Miss Jenny and one other to be her sister, 
 friend, or helper. The two ladies get out the 
 im2:)lements which the day calls for and set 
 to work. The rest of the children, unless the 
 number is too large, in which case a chosen 
 dozen or so officiate, walk through hall and 
 dressing-room and knock on Miss Jenny's 
 door, her kitchen being conveniently located. 
 The sister or helper opens it and the guests 
 with operatic fervor l)urst into the song : 
 
 ''We've come to see Miss Jenny O 'Jones, 
 
 And how is she to-day?" 
 To which is responded: 
 
 ''Miss Jenny O 'Jones is washing. 
 
 Please call another day." 
 Then the guests, as they move away, reply : 
 
 "We're very sorry to hear it. 
 
 We'll call another day." 
 
 On birthdays and festal occasions the 
 Misses O 'Jones put ])y their work and get 
 ready for their expected and persistent 
 gue'sts, and give them a glad shock of sur- 
 prise by singing, 
 
 "Miss Jenny O 'Jones is waiting 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 47 
 
 To see you all to-day. ' ' 
 Thereupon the guests come pouring in with 
 the gleeful chorus. 
 
 ^^We're A^ery happy to hear it, 
 
 We'll dance with her to-day." 
 Amid much rejoicing and shaking of hands 
 the ball opens and for several minutes there 
 is the sound of joyful music and flying feet. 
 
 Should the day happen to be Friday, 
 which is ^^ choosing day," there will be from 
 fifteen to twenty minutes left after the 
 morning's routine has been gone through. 
 Suppose some small nature lover asks for 
 ^'Milkweed Babies." Several of the dainty 
 seeds are taken from a convenient bunch of 
 pods and passed by the chooser of the song 
 to as many friends. These children blow 
 the pretty babies high up into the air and 
 they are followed by the absorbed attention 
 and interest of the lookers-on from the mo- 
 ment they leave the owners' hands until they 
 softly drop back again and are sent sailing 
 out of the window that the wind may plant 
 them. Then the song is sung with all the ex- 
 pression which a recently awakened or aug- 
 mented concept calls forth. After this, 
 
48 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 to a bit of soft waltz music, all the children 
 who wish to so express themselves can be 
 milkweed babies themselves. 
 
 Perhaps somebody asks for Eeinecke's 
 ** Pretty Brother Johnny." After the song 
 there will be a short adjournment to the or- 
 chard which springs up inside the circle and 
 as many Johnnys and Pollys ' ' shake the ap- 
 ple tree'' as feel inclined to do so. Or the 
 chosen song is ^^ Stark, Stork, Stander"; 
 then after the song a flock of storks appear, 
 they solemnly stalk around, they stand on 
 one leg, they stalk some more, stand again 
 and at last fly away, all to the music of the 
 song. 
 
 If our typical day should be in April or 
 May some one would surely ask for *^The 
 Froggies' Swimming School," and after the 
 song many lively little frogs would be seen 
 in our circle pond whose realistic jumping 
 is always an equal delight to beholder and 
 participant. 
 
 As a result of this plan of allowing much 
 free physical activity to accompany the 
 songs of the morning circle the children 
 show no restlessness at that period or later 
 
Kindergarten Activities, 49 
 
 at the tables, for to clinch the matter and to 
 make sure that those who for reasons of 
 their own have been more passive than ac- 
 tive, have a still further chance to work ofl 
 accumulating steam we have a ten-minute 
 period of play, exercise, or marching after 
 the chairs have been carried back to the 
 tables. Some chosen song which demand.si 
 more room for its expression than the chair- 
 enclosed circle affords is occasionally saved 
 for this period, or there is dancing, or ryth- 
 mic exercise according to the need of the 
 moment or the demand of the occasion. 
 
 We are convinced that it is best to play 
 our more symbolic, dramatic, and rej)resen- 
 tative games on the first circle or in this ear- 
 lier play period, for in the early morning 
 the children are fresher and more receptive 
 than they are at any other hour of the day. 
 While the chairs are on the circle and they 
 are comfortably seated, those games in which 
 necessarily a few take part and many look 
 on are much better played than on the later 
 ring when the children are all standing and 
 when with one accord they are longing for 
 active physical movement. If compelled to 
 
50 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 do much looking on at this time they do so 
 under protest of mischievous hands and 
 shulBing feet. 
 
 Such games as ' ' The Knights, ' ' * ' The But- 
 terfly/' ^'The Barnyard," ^'Farmer," ^^ Mil- 
 ler" '^Wheelwright," ''Blacksmith," "Min- 
 er" and so on, we always play during the- 
 lirst hour of the morning. The dramatiza- 
 tion of such tales as "The Three Bears," 
 "The Elves and the Shoemaker," and "Tlie 
 Rainbow Fairies" is always well done at 
 that time and poorly or perfunctorily car- 
 ried out later. 
 
 For years we have given over the so- 
 called play circle, whi-ch occurs between 
 10:15 and 11 o'clock, to such games as all or 
 many can join in freely, and especially to 
 such as call for unrestricted physical ac- 
 tivity. We use many l^all games, dances, 
 and marches. We play "Skij) Tag," "Go- 
 ing to Jerusalem," "Fox and Geese," "The 
 Farmer and the Bear," and a number of 
 other running games. We make sleighs or 
 picnic wagons with our tables and chairs 
 and all drive "over the river and through 
 the wood" to all sorts of delightful places. 
 
Kindergarten Aetivities. 51 
 
 We have trotting, galloping, and jumping 
 horses, we are little travelers, we have a dog 
 and pony show, circus processions, and vis- 
 its from Santa Clans. We have splendid 
 old-time jousts where one gallant knight af- 
 ter another thrusts his lance through an up- 
 held ring as he gallops by at full speed. We 
 have grand processions and parades, and 
 several Brownie games of which the chil- 
 dren never tire. A favorite one calls for a 
 barnyard in which are sleeping horses, cows, 
 pigs, sheep, and poultry. Night falls with 
 the pulling down of the window shades and 
 the Brownies stealthily enter and set to 
 work. They rub down the horses, milk the 
 cows, feed the sheep and pigs, hunt the eggs, 
 and make themselves so extraordinarily use- 
 ful that the good farmer is paralyzed with 
 amazement in the morning when he finds his 
 chores all done for him. 
 
 We open a toy-shop at Christmas time and 
 all those children Avho are not toys become 
 willing purchasers. We sell dolls that open 
 and shut their eyes and who say ^^Papa" 
 and ''Mamma'' when the right strings are 
 pulled. We have dogs that bark, cats that 
 
52 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 mew, woolly slieep that baa-aa, trains of 
 cars, Jacks-in-tlie-box, balky mules, and 
 dozens of other mechanical toys which we 
 wind up and sell to our customers, who for- 
 tunately are endowed with untold wealth. 
 
 After our annual visit to Engine House 
 No. 1, of course, we play ^^Fire" with great 
 enthusiasm. We use a song beginning : 
 
 ^^Hear the clatter! What's the matter? 
 
 Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! 
 
 ?? 
 
 A large house is drawn on the blackboard 
 with smoke and flame bursting from doors, 
 windows, and roof. The well-drilled fire de- 
 l)artment rushes to the rescue using erasers 
 as hose and the game is to rub out the fire, 
 but to save as much of the house as possible. 
 At other times the play is more elaborate; 
 part of the children go to housekeeping in 
 the devoted building, others are neighbors 
 living near by. The mother smells smoke 
 and discovers a blaze in the cellar. She at 
 once calls up the fire department by tele- 
 phone; they fly to the scene— four times 
 around the circle— while the neighbors rush 
 in to rescue ba]:)ies and furniture. The chil- 
 dren are very apt to gradually add to this 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 53 
 
 game accessories in the shape of hose, har- 
 ness, wagons, ladders, and hats, all of which 
 we consider legitimate in so far as the idea 
 originates with them. 
 
 Dancing is a never-ending delight with us. 
 In answer to the repeated calls for and con- 
 stant choice of this form of play, we have 
 gradually increased our number and variety. 
 We have a one hand dance, a two hand 
 dance, a four-corner dance, the Shaker 
 dance, a skij^ping and running dance, a 
 Brownie dance, jigs, sinix)le quadrilles, and 
 even on great occasions a sort of German. 
 At such times the tables are removed and 
 the chairs put against the wall to secure the 
 largest possible amount of floor space. Be- 
 ginning with a leader we go on until all are 
 dancing, after which we have found it quite 
 possible to introduce certain very simple fig- 
 ures, many of which are more in keeping 
 with the character of five-year-olds than 
 that of the grown people for whom they 
 were intended. 
 
CHAPTER YI. 
 
 PICTURES. 
 
 IT TOOK us some time to find out wliat 
 we wanted in the Evanston Ivindergar- 
 tens in tlie way of pictures, and we are 
 not altogether at one on the suljjeet yet. In 
 fact, we have agreed to disagree on certain 
 points and to perform each her own experi- 
 ments from time to time. Some of us prefer 
 to hang what pictures we liave in Septeml)er, 
 making the room as attractive as may be 
 within certain limitations. One, possessed 
 of the Japanese idea, hangs in a chosen spot 
 a single picture, replacing it by a new one as 
 the thought and feeling of the kindergarten 
 is centered on a new subject. Having a few 
 pictures of her own, she exchanges tempor- 
 arily with otlier teachers whose treasures 
 she wishes to l)orrow. Since that ]:)articular 
 school, taken as a whole, has a very good col- 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 55 
 
 lection, she lias a wide range of choice. The 
 children notice the new X3icture at once when 
 it appears in the place of the old, and seem 
 to value it all the more highly because they 
 know it will disappear in time to make way 
 for another. Another kindergartner pre- 
 fers to husband her resources,— to start with 
 one or two and build up her decorative ef- 
 fect as the year goes on. 
 
 On other points, however, w^e are abso- 
 lutely agreed. We believe that each kinder- 
 garten should own a large and growing col- 
 lection of mounted pictures for the children 
 to pore over, study, and dream about. We 
 believe that the "before school" time is a 
 golden opportunity for giving this particu- 
 lar experience. So, as each new subject is 
 broached, the children find when they come 
 to the kindergarten in the morning a table 
 full of pictures which they may handle 
 freely. To these w^e add from time to time 
 various picture books. We believe that our 
 personal and active participation with the 
 children while they are looking at these adds 
 greatly to their value and to the children's 
 enjoyment. So long as a ^^ grown-up'' will 
 
56 Kindergarten Activities., 
 
 look on, sympathize, explain, and comment, 
 a group of children will look at pictures con- 
 tentedly. If left to themselves, a few may 
 become absorbed, but the very ones who 
 need most to learn to look at pictures will 
 wander away to the sand or blackboard,— 
 good things both, but there are times when 
 the pictures are of greater educational value. 
 Many of a child's mental images have to be 
 strengthened by pictures, some have to be 
 formed by this means chiefly, others are so 
 clear because of familiarity with the objects 
 themselves that pictures of these objects be- 
 come luxuries rather than necessities. This 
 is not saying that these mental images can- 
 not be enlarged and improved upon by 
 means of pictures which lead from the 
 known to the unknown. I am only main- 
 taining that every kindergartner should en- 
 deavor to supply herself with the pictures 
 that are most needed. For instance, it seems 
 to me that in our city and suburban kinder- 
 garten we need many pictures of animals, 
 farm life, mills, factories and machinery, 
 forests, mountains, cotton fields, planta- 
 tions, and lumber and minilig camps. If we 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 57 
 
 are going to touch on the historical side of 
 our national holidays, we need pictures of 
 the sea, ships, Indians, pioneer settlements, 
 soldiers, and military camps. If we are go- 
 ing to have songs, stories, and plays about 
 the knights we must have pictures of 
 knights, castles, kings, queens, and various 
 phases of mediaeval life. When we use fairy 
 stories, legends, and folklore we need pic- 
 tures of elves, brownies, fairies, dragons, 
 winged horses, and so on. This seems to me 
 a very important part of public kindergar- 
 ten work, for while a few of our children see 
 pictures at home, many see almost none, and 
 we have but to look back into our own child- 
 hood and realize what pictures did for us to 
 become convinced that we ought to provide 
 them for our little Germans, Swedes, Ital- 
 ians, and other children. 
 
 Our pictures are mounted upon manilla 
 or cheap felt paper. They are used by suc- 
 cessive groux^s of children until worn out; 
 but the collection is an ever-growing one, 
 for in this day of cheap literature and copi- 
 ous advertising, good pictures are fairly 
 showered upon us. 
 
58 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 The blackboard is, of course, very useful 
 in the kindergarten, but especially so when 
 any of the teachers have skill in drawing 
 and sketching upon it. Many, unfortunately, 
 have not, and few harve both skill and time ; 
 it is amazing how much time one can. spend 
 on a seemingly simple blackboard sketch. 
 We have discovered a much neglected 
 resource in our older school • children, 
 however, many of whom draw very well. 
 Through them we have had many black- 
 board illustrations which we could have se- 
 cured in no other way. We like to begin 
 with a farmhouse, around which center cer- 
 tain simple home activities. To this we add 
 from week to week barns, cow sheds, a barn- 
 yard, fields, and orchards. This picture dis- 
 appears under a blinding snowstorm after 
 Thanksgiving to make way for a forest, sin- 
 gle pine trees, and Christmas pictures. 
 These give x^lace to special illustrations of 
 trade and state life, which, as spring comes 
 on, are superseded by a large bare apple 
 tree. To this are added birds, a nest, leaves, 
 and blossoms, while at its base grass, dande- 
 lions, clover, bees, butterflies, and children 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 59 
 
 flourish. These blackboard pictures are in 
 white or in color, as the artistic conscious- 
 ness of the individual director dictates. 
 
 Certain subjects lend themselves so wil- 
 lingly to blackboard drawing by the chil- 
 dren that we try to take advantage of them 
 as they come along, adding special work to 
 the spontaneous illustration of stories, facts, 
 and experiences. With a little help children 
 soon emerge from the scribbling stage and 
 pass on to where drawing is a delight. After 
 some originality of expression has been de- 
 veloped, they are ready for the little instruc- 
 tion in perspective that we find gives such 
 satisfactory results. 
 
 A child who will tire of his own 
 scribbling in a very few moments, if 
 left alone, is delighted if you detect in his 
 haphazard markings anything that bears 
 any resemblance to an object within his ex- 
 perience. He often tries to reproduce this 
 and begins to scribble with a little more pur- 
 pose. After this, one of the first things we 
 do with such children— those who seem to 
 have neither aptitude nor inclination for 
 drawing— is to outline on the blackboard a 
 
60 Kinder (J art en A ef iv it ies. 
 
 house with the suggestion that it be 
 ^^ painted" white, by using tlie side rather 
 than tlie end of the crayon, and using it 
 gently. We give them other outlines to fill 
 in, leaves, fruits, vegetables, kitchen uten- 
 sils, clothes on the line, and so on. Some- 
 times after filling outlines in with white, the. 
 children are allowed to fill them in with 
 color as an added lesson in the use of mater- 
 ial. Sometimes the children color a church 
 window, a plaid shawl, a flag, a shield, a ban- 
 ner ; but, as a rule, we use colored chalk spar- 
 ingly and never give it except when the chil- 
 dren using it are under supervision. Tho 
 reason for this will be obvious to any one 
 who has had occasion to witness the devas- 
 tation an industrious five-year-old can 
 work with a bit of red chalk. He always 
 chooses red and decorates not only his own 
 face, hands, and clothes, but the countryside 
 generally, and all in the space of two min- 
 utes with a piece of crayon about a quarter 
 of an inch long. 
 
 There are drawing teachers who object 
 to the use of outline on the part of the chil- 
 dren, and probably some who would not ap- 
 
Kindergarten Activities, 61 
 
 prove of their filling in given boundaries 
 with chalk or paint. Doubtless, good theo- 
 retical reasons would be given for this dis- 
 approval, but 'practically I have found, the 
 results good. It certainly helps the child to 
 control his material— especially the "paint— 
 and that ground gained, he can be led on 
 rapidly. In our schools the drawing teacher 
 is most grateful to us for carrying the chil- 
 dren through and beyond what is known as 
 *'the mussy stage," which is so often a bar- 
 rier to progress in the lower grades. We 
 teach our children how to use a paint brush 
 as well as the chalk, then how to put on 
 paint, and after that to ' ' express themselves 
 in color." One of our first lessons is given 
 with little pails of water and real painters' 
 brushes. With these we paint tables, chairs, 
 woodwork, or anything else conveniently at 
 hand. Next we use a small brush, water, 
 and a slate. We learn that a paint brush is 
 not a scrubbing brush; and, playing that 
 the slate is the side of a house or a kitchen 
 floor in need of being painted, we learn to 
 handle our new implement with some degree 
 of skill. After this, Ave progress to the use 
 
62 Kindergarten Aefivifies. 
 
 of paper, on which we paint Ijhie sky, l^hier 
 water, colored tiles, and green grass. We 
 fill in outlined fruits, flowers, vegetables, 
 leaves, birds, stockings, and mittens. By 
 the time spring comes we are ready to try 
 our hands on twigs, buds, and blossoms right 
 from nature, for we have learned not only to 
 handle our tools, but to circumscril)e our ef- 
 forts within the outline of a definite con- 
 ception. 
 
 One of our pleasantest activities is the con- 
 struction of a panorama or group-work pic- 
 ture which extends the full length of the 
 blackboard. This at times becomes a field; 
 and, from twelve to fifteen children being 
 set to work under direction, the field is soon 
 filled with waving grain or sheaves of wheat, 
 or it is a cornfield with pumpkins lying 
 about among the shocks. Again, we have a 
 chicken-yard represented where there are 
 several triangular hencoops and many little 
 yellow chickens. Sometimes there is a snow- 
 storm and at other times softly-green hills 
 and a blue sky. We have pictured our own 
 blue lake, a clover field, and the Northwest- 
 ern Railroad track in this comprehensive 
 
Kindenjarten Activities. 63 
 
 fashion. To attain any sort of result, how- 
 ever, tlie teaclier wlio gives these lessons 
 must, it is needless to say, have some con- 
 siderable knowledge of drawing herself. 
 
 After a story has been told to them the 
 children go to the board to draw any pic- 
 tures it has suggested to them. This, when 
 conscientiously persisted in, we have found 
 of great value, for not only do they learn to 
 express more skilfully, but they retain more 
 and more ideas to express. Where at first 
 only one or two objects spoken of in the 
 story appear on the board, a little later the 
 entire tale will be sketched in a way that can 
 be easily interpreted with a little help from 
 the artist. A visit to the blacksmith's, the 
 engine-house, or the frog pond is often re- 
 produced in this way. The stories of our 
 various holidays, of what we did last Sun- 
 day, where we are going next summer, have 
 been subjects for illustration at different 
 times. 
 
 One of our guessing games is a drawing 
 exercise. On *^ choosing day," the child who 
 has the choice of a song drawls a picture of 
 wdiat he wants, and we must guess what the 
 
64 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 picture means. This game is almost as pop- 
 ular as guessing the songs from one note, or, 
 at most, two, on the piano. 
 
 Let me add to this chapter a list of sug- 
 gestions for those children who reply when 
 asked if they do not want to draw, ^^I don't 
 know what to make." Suggest, as the oc- 
 casion calls for it, any such simple objects 
 as pennies, silver dollars, sticks of candy, 
 cookies, crackers, cakes, pies, wheels, dishes, 
 milkweed pods and seeds, boxes, barrels, 
 fruits, vegetables, cats, ladders, fences, 
 tents, flags, moon and stars, snow, rain, etc. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SAND. 
 
 IN ONE of our schools we have our large 
 sand table in the kmclergarten room, in 
 another we are obliged to keep it in the 
 basement play room, in the third we have 
 none at all. There is much to be said in 
 favor of the first arrangement, something 
 for the second, but nothing beyond an exhor- 
 tation to the ''patient perseverance" that 
 "worketh wonders" for the third. 
 
 With the sand in the room we can do 
 many delightful things. The children, of 
 course, have all the free play they want with 
 it; they can be led to express themselves 
 along definite lines, and they can receiA^e 
 new impressions by means of it. It often 
 proves a boon to new children, shy children, 
 and tired children as well as to certain ex- 
 peditious young persons who have a way of 
 
66 Kindergarten Activities. ' 
 
 finishing allotted tasks before their fellows. 
 
 The sand that is downstairs in the base- 
 ment play room and which therefore is not 
 seen and handled every day has all the 
 charm of novelty to the children when they 
 are taken to it for special work or play ; bnt 
 of the two arrangements we much prefer 
 the first. 
 
 When the children are to have the sand 
 for free play we take care to present it to 
 them under varying conditions. At one time 
 it is moistened and hands are the only acces- 
 sories; at another, it is dry and dishes and 
 bottles are furnished. The Second Gift 
 spheres, cubes, and cylinders are often left 
 conveniently at hand as an incentive to im- 
 pression work. Sometimes a little sugges- 
 tion leads to the use of the cylinders as lawn 
 mowers or rolling j^ins. Real shovels are 
 occasionally used for large enterprises, such 
 as working the sand into mountains, farms, 
 or castles. The little penny tools— rakes, 
 hoes, spades, and pickaxes— are used for 
 gardening and mining. Tin dishes of var- 
 ious and fascinating shapes are brought out 
 when the making of sand pies is in order. 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 67 
 
 We have sets of these which include animal 
 and vegetable forms as well as the usual 
 stars, hearts, and fluted pyramids. 
 
 Sand houses are, of course, the first con- 
 structions offered to our admiring gaze by 
 amateur builders. These are usually round- 
 ed, with doors that would appeal strongly to 
 an Eskimo's sense of fitness, and with win- 
 dows most simply made by a finger or thumb. 
 As an evolution from these, we take our 
 rulers and cut oif curved sections in such a 
 vVay as to give our structures something of a 
 square effect. Windows and chimneys are 
 made to match, and fences and doorsteps, 
 which are a great improvement on the orig- 
 inal attempt, can be fashioned by means of 
 our one tool. 
 
 Eskimo houses and the homes of the Cave 
 Dwellers have kept many little fingers busy 
 in the happiest sort of way. The bank swal- 
 lows ' nesting places also add themselves to 
 our list and a prairie dog village as well. 
 
 When cake baking is in process we like to 
 liegin with dry sand, some of which is re- 
 served for sugar and frosting. We bring 
 out our tin dishes and with them *^play i^-^ik- 
 
68 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 man.'' This familiar personage arrives 
 with a watering can of liquid and leaves it 
 in gallons, quarts, and pints (gallons pre- 
 ferred) at the various back doors. Since it 
 is baking day and a large quantity of milk is 
 needed, he calls again and again until the 
 sand and water are sufficiently mixed and a 
 dough is produced which can be moulded 
 into pies, cakes, doughnuts, biscuits, and 
 loaves of bread. This is much better fun 
 than having the sand prepared ahead of 
 time. 
 
 It is well to have a few old saucers in your 
 collection of utensils, as they are especially 
 valued for the making of pies. It is a joy 
 to watch certain small cooks trim the edges 
 of their pies and make more or less elaborate 
 designs in the middle of them. Cakes are 
 frosted with the dry sand, and cookies are 
 cut out with a collection of old thimbles. 
 
 We make gardens of every description. 
 Sometimes we erect fences of slats, sticks, or 
 toothpick^, and plant inside the fences rows 
 of lovely flowers which are of every hue 
 found in a box of pegs or Hailmann beads. 
 Again, we lay cement walks with tablets or 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 69 
 
 tiles. Often Ave use shells or stones for bor- 
 ders, and occasionally we design and set np 
 a fountain or a summer-house. We have 
 made beautiful parks with flower-beds, 
 lakes, benches, and bridges, and with cages 
 for wild animals. 
 
 Every year we make a farm. It is of 
 course a hill farm with trees on it. Differ- 
 ent animals are assigned to different parts 
 of it and carefully kept out of the cornfield 
 where pumpkins lie thick upon the ground. 
 There is a house, barn, corncrib, windmill, 
 and chicken house. Once there was a well 
 with an old-fashioned sweep made of twigs 
 with a thimble for a bucket. There is a 
 plowed field where winter wheat is 
 planted, and, of course, several pigpens and 
 sheepf olds. It takes a long tim.e to build up 
 a really good farm, but by doing something; 
 to it everv day before school it gradually 
 reaches completeness, and then we play with 
 it as we please. We move the animals al^out, 
 feed and water them, change or add to the 
 buildings, mend the fences, plow, rake, or 
 dig, and otherwise busy ourselves about the 
 premises, as good farmers should. 
 
70 Kinder [fart en Activities. 
 
 There are times when the whole sand table 
 becomes one great sheep pasture with ac- 
 companying folds and troughs. Again, it is 
 a lumber camp in the heart of a pine forest. 
 A river flows through this and is carefully 
 bridged with fallen trees. There are shel- 
 ters in the woods for the men, logs and rafts 
 in the river, horses or oxen at work on the 
 banks, and, many miles away, a sawmill. 
 
 There are other times when the sand table 
 represents a camp at the foot of a hill on the 
 crest of which is a fort. Here you will see 
 numerous tents, rows of well-drilled sol- 
 diers, pyramids of cannon balls, mounted 
 guns, camp-fires, and, waving over all, the 
 stars and stripes. 
 
 Last March there was a chain of moun- 
 tains in which were gold, silver, coal, and 
 copper mines. As I Avrite the sand table in 
 one kindergarten is being made into a pic- 
 ture of our town. There is the lake with its 
 lighthouse, life-saving station, piers, and 
 boats; the high ridg"^ of land to the west 
 where some of us live; many houses, 
 churches, stores, and schools; the factory 
 where Jimmy's father works; the parks 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 71 
 
 where the squirrels are to be found. 
 
 A little later all the sand will be heaped 
 together to form a grand castle, and not long 
 after that we shall build schoolhouses with 
 playgrounds, gardens, and trees, under 
 which will be many bead children— for the 
 half inch sphere, cube, and cylinder slipped 
 on a two-inch stick makes a very nice child, 
 especially if you crown his attractions with a 
 clay hat or one made of an acorn cup. 
 
 We have made '^Brownie Land" in our 
 sand pans— a land of hill and dale, trees and 
 flowers, lakes and rivers. Here a'corn 
 Brownies, and sometimes other fairies, 
 lived, danced, and worked. 
 
 In addition to this indoor work with sand 
 we have yearly excursions to the lake shores 
 where we play in the sand to our hearts' con- 
 tent. From these trips we bring home in 
 pails and jars as much of it as we can carry, 
 and this, especially in the kindergarten 
 which has no sand table, is used much as we 
 use our clay, that is, we cover the table with 
 oilcloth and give each child a quantity of 
 sand. The children greatly enjoy this even 
 when they have a sand table. A favorite 
 
72 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 play with them seems to be the smoothing out 
 of the sand with a cylinder and the making 
 of marks or pictures in it with a wooden 
 toothpick. 
 
CHAPTEE YIII. 
 
 CUTTING. 
 
 I^HE various training classes have, of 
 course, given to their pupils schools 
 of cutting, many of which are in use 
 to-day, while others have been laid aside as 
 too complicated or too difficult for children 
 of kindergarten age. We are all of us sure 
 that children lo^^e to cut, and that they can 
 by x)ractice learn to use scissors more or less 
 skilfully ; but just how that practice, espec- 
 ially in its first steps, shall be given them is 
 to some of us an open question. Many chil- 
 dren must be taught to hold and handle the 
 scissors, after which they need much ex- 
 perience before their work brings them any 
 sort of definite result. It is all very well to 
 recommend free-hand cutting in a general 
 way; but the fact of the matter is that the 
 children for a long time cut so crudely that 
 
74 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 they are unable to get much satisfaction out 
 of their efforts. They need some sort of in- 
 spiration, some reason and incentive for 
 keeping on until acquired skill brings pleas- 
 ure in its exercise. The schools of cutting 
 lie beyond this point, so it is of the prelimin- 
 aries that I wish to speak in this chapter. 
 
 One of our teachers devised for her smal- 
 lest children a simple plan of work with 
 scissors which she followed with such suc- 
 cess that I give it here :— 
 
 1. Free-hand cutting, to find out each 
 child's degree of ability and to enable him 
 to discover his own limitations. Suggest 
 sticks of cand}^, fringed towels, trousers, 
 shawls, and little scraj^s for chicken feed. 
 
 2. Cutting out pictures with straight 
 edges. 
 
 3. Cutting out pictures with curved 
 edges. 
 
 4. Cutting on folded lines. 
 
 5. Cutting on drawn lines. 
 
 6. Cutting from drawn pictures of sim- 
 ple objects. 
 
 7. Cutting from objects themselves. 
 
 8. Free-hand cutting. 
 
Kinder (jart en Aetivities. 75 
 
 In addition to this, we have given the 
 older children various cutting lessons which, 
 connecting with the subject in hand and fur- 
 nishing the required incentive, have seemed 
 to us good. For instance, we classify our 
 cut-out pictures and put them into a scrap- 
 book, the index of which, if it had one, would 
 read as follows :— 
 
 1. The Family. 
 
 2. The House!! 
 
 3. The Father's Work. Home Work. 
 
 4. Kitchen. 
 
 5. Dining-room. 
 
 6. Bedroom. 
 
 7. Clothes Closet. 
 
 8. Parlor. 
 
 9. Pla}^ Room. 
 
 10. Out of Doors.. 
 
 11. School. 
 
 12. Church. 
 
 13. The Long Vacation. 
 
 The advertising pages of magazines, old 
 i)amphlets, papers, and circulars are our 
 '"ources of supply. The children can be led 
 to bring pictures in quantity, and we our- 
 selves are alwavs addino; to the store. This 
 
76 . Kindergarten Aetivities. 
 
 scrapbook in its construction gives the chil- 
 dren great pleasure, and has the advantage 
 of being a work which can be completed at 
 home in case a child is ill or for any reason 
 forced to leave kindergarten before the year 
 is out. In fact, we paste only on the right- 
 hand page, purposely, leaving the left blank 
 for the children to paste pictures on at home. 
 
 To meet various needs we have evolved a 
 series of poster-like pictures made by a com- 
 bination of folding, cutting, and pasting. 
 Sometimes these are put into a book, and 
 again they are mounted on separate sheets 
 of paper or cardboard. A bit of green or 
 brown background is painted or pasted on, 
 and to this is added a picture of simple per- 
 spective which is usually an illustration of 
 a thought, story, or experience. Here are 
 some of them : — 
 
 House with doors, shutters, and chimney ; 
 cut out and add figures of people. 
 
 Kitchen picture. Add stove, cupboard, etc. 
 
 Dog house and dog. 
 
 Cow shed and cow. 
 
 Bird hou?e and birds. 
 
 Barn with horses, men, and wagon. 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 77 
 
 Chicken coop and chickens. 
 
 Mill and miller. 
 
 Wigwam, Indians, and camp-fire. 
 
 Blacksmith shop. 
 
 Tents and soldiers. 
 
 Shoemaker's shop and Brownies, illus- 
 trating story of Elves and Shoemaker. 
 
 Most children at home or in kindergarten 
 have had the pleasure, by means of paper 
 and scissors, of hanging out a mimic family 
 washing. 
 
 One fine incentive to careful cutting was 
 a large manilla pax3er pantry with many 
 shelves which one of the teachers made and 
 brought to the children. It was only a flat 
 piece of paper with the two outside edges 
 folded in to the middle line to form the 
 doors, but a little paint had made doors, lock, 
 and shelves sufficiently realistic. This was 
 fastened to the wall, and the children were 
 provided with leaves of a hardware cata- 
 logue from which good-sized dishes and 
 cooking utensils were to be cut. As only 
 good dishes could go into so fine a cupboard, 
 the incentive to do one's little best was very 
 great. Even after three groups had worked 
 
78 Kindergarten Aetivities. 
 
 on it there was still room for more dishes; 
 so it was sent to a sick child to be finished. 
 
 At Thanksgiving time a storehonse was 
 made in a similar manner, and filled with 
 fruits and vegetables from flower catalogues. 
 We have also made show windows for the 
 florist and the grocer, not to mention a fine 
 outside showcase which was filled with taste- 
 fully arranged shoes. During Christmas 
 week we filled large paper stockings with 
 toys cut from newspapers, magazines, and 
 catalogues. From old pattern books we 
 filled the clothes closet in the scrapbook. 
 We also cut out clothes enough to fill a trunk 
 we had made. While we were playing baker 
 we had lessons in cutting on folded lines, 
 making square, oblong, and triangular 
 crackers which we pasted into little baking 
 pans or packed into cracker boxes. 
 
 Daring the year we get more or less prac- 
 tice and experience in the course of the con- 
 struction of our cardboard furniture, toys, 
 and Christmas gifts. In addition to this we 
 have free-hand cutting from time to time, at 
 first with some carefully planned incentive, 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 79 
 
 but later in an absolutely free and unre- 
 strained fashion. 
 
 One of these incentives took the form of a 
 Thanksgiving dinner table, which had to lie 
 furnished with cloth, napkins, centerpiece, 
 and dishes ; another was a chest to be filled 
 with tools; still another a bureau whose 
 drawers must be put to use. Fish were 
 made to congregate in a strip of blue water 
 and birds to appear against a bluer sky. A 
 chart of leaves cut from freshly gathered 
 models was one of the prettiest things we 
 made last spring. 
 
 We make use of these ideas as we have 
 need of them, and add to them any of the 
 schools of cutting which aj^peal to us. We 
 make a point of this work for many" rea- 
 sons, one of which is that our children should 
 go into the first grade with the ability to 
 handle scissors skilfullv and to do free-hand 
 and other cuttinoj with some degree of orig- 
 inality and intelligence. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CONSTRUCTION WORK. 
 
 IT WOULD be impossible to give with- 
 in the limits of this chapter a list of 
 all that can be done in the kindergarten 
 in constructive work, or even of all that we 
 ourselves have accomplished. We can only 
 give a partial idea and but a few of the most 
 successful examples. Most of this work 
 has been done as regular table work, but the 
 making of some articles fitted better into the 
 *' before school" time. 
 
 Most of the kindergartens, even the most 
 conservative, make a free use of cardboard 
 modeling. The more we use it the more both 
 we ourselves and the children seem to like it. 
 They have such a strong sense of '^making 
 something" in this occupation that they are 
 constantly asking for it. Our cardboard is 
 cut into squares 10 x 10 and 8x8, and we 
 
Kindergarten Activities, 81 
 
 also have it in large sheets. Library paste 
 is much better for this work than gum trag- 
 acanth which, however, does well enough for 
 lighter paper. 
 
 Of course we make furniture,— every])ody 
 does ; and we upholster it with beautiful bits 
 of wall paper, to be had for the asking. 
 Sometimes we work persistently at it until 
 we each have a set to play with at home or to 
 give away, but oftener, we make a single 
 piece and play with it after it is made. For 
 instance, there is a cradle like the one 
 Oceanus nnist have had, which we make 
 about Thanksgiving time. It is great fun to 
 furnish it with soft flannel l)elongings; and 
 when one of the tiny dolls (a dozen of which 
 can be bought for a few cents) is put into it, 
 we are able to sing ^^ Stork, Stork, Stander," 
 with great significance. 
 
 We make trunks with collar-button locks, 
 and we fill them with clothes packed for a 
 journey. We make money, and strong 
 purses to keep it in. Then there are car- 
 penters' chests to be filled with tools; fold- 
 ing beds that really fold ; little churns with 
 which we play at butter-making, reproduc- 
 
82 Kindergarten Aetivities, 
 
 ing our experiences with the large wooden 
 churn; bellows which blow; strong sleds; 
 wagons of every sort with wheels made of 
 milk-bottle tops ; windmills with little doors 
 and fine wheels on top that turn around; 
 dwelling houses, dog houses, ]3ird houses, 
 and barns. There is a way of making a coal 
 chute with which a delightful game of coal- 
 man can be played ; and one of our teachers 
 helped her children to make a whole barn^ 
 yard. First came a strong fence, then a 
 gate, a barn, a trough, and a chicken coop. 
 Indeed, there seems to l;e no end to the 
 things that can be done with this delightful 
 material, for it develops inventiveness in 
 both children and teachers. 
 
 There is something exceedingly attractive 
 in the idea of a corn-husk doll, l)ut this is 
 one of the things that is better made for and 
 with the children before school. Full direc- 
 tions for making these dolls are given in The 
 American Girl's Handy Book, and these di- 
 rections can be simplified and adapted to 
 one's own resources and necessities. 
 Clothespin dolls gayly dressed in crimped 
 t^!^'^ue paper are easier to make and potato 
 
Kindergarten Aetivitles. 83 
 
 babies easiest of all. A few bits of cloth and 
 some pins, together with a doll-shaped po- 
 tato, are quickly transformed into a very 
 satisfactory, if dark complexioned child, 
 whose urgent need of a copious bath only 
 adds to her charms. Keal rag dolls can be 
 made, and often fill an aching void in some 
 yearning mother-heart, for those cheap 
 abominations in bisque, known as dolls and 
 lavishly bestowed on children, rich and poor, 
 at Christmas time, are so soon broken that 
 many a child is without a doll except for a 
 few all-too-brief weeks. 
 
 It is because children so love to string 
 things that we have the stringing of beads 
 and of straws and paper discs. To these 
 we have added adornments, beautiful to be- 
 hold, made by stringing red corn with the 
 inch straws, as well as necklaces of haws, 
 thorn apples, and mountain ash berries. In 
 dandelion tin-ie we string the yellow heads 
 with needle and thread and make ourselves 
 golden crown<=5, that we may be kings and 
 queens; and one of the prettiest of our 
 yearlv kindergarten pictures is that of a 
 group of children coming in from a glorious 
 
84 Kindergarten Aetlvities. 
 
 morning out of doors, wearing garlands, 
 fashioned by themselves, of big red clover 
 heads. These flower wreaths are greatly 
 prized by the children and can be made of 
 all sorts of field and garden blossoms. 
 
 Among the toys which we have made for 
 ourselves are pin wheels, color-tops, kites, 
 little tubs and washboards, pails and dishes 
 of tea-lead, baskets, brooms, dusters, and 
 parasols. 
 
 We have learned to make real candles 
 and real iron holders ; and once, when play- 
 ing horse, we manufactured nosebags big 
 enough to wear as we munched our oats at 
 noon. 
 
 The weaving of our paper mats taught 
 us how to do cloth weaving on the frames we 
 made in our carj^enter shop. We wove rugs 
 for the doll house, mats of felt, and the 
 woolen part of a needlebook which we made 
 for our mothers. We learned how to make 
 mats out of strips of wrappins; and news- 
 paper, so that we could weave at home when- 
 ever we wanted to ; and some of us, the older 
 ones, hammered four nails into a spool and 
 learned how to do old-fashioned spool work 
 
Kindergarten A ct i v if ies. 85 
 
 or knitting. We also braided strong string 
 into reins with which to play horse. 
 
 Last summer me made ''Pinny, Pinny, 
 Poppy Shows/' such as our grandmothers 
 used to play with when they were little girls. 
 First you have to go out of doors and gather 
 grass, leaves, and flowers, and you must not 
 forget that weed flowers are often very beau- 
 tiful. These are laid flat on a i^iece of glass 
 over which is a paper covering, so fashioned 
 that a little door opens on the face of the 
 glass disclosing the carefully arranged bou- 
 quet. Before you open this door you say— 
 
 'Tinny, Pinny, Poppy Show! 
 
 Give me a pin and I'll let you know!" 
 
 and whoever wants to see must give you a 
 pin. One of the teachers made a little flower 
 lady for her Poppy Show. Its head w^as a 
 daisy and its skirt was made of a hollyhock. 
 
 Those latter-day fairies, the Brownies, 
 are very useful folk in the kindergarten. 
 They are responsible for all sorts of games 
 and play«, and lend themselves suggestively 
 to many kinds of handwork. At Hallowe 'en 
 time we made acorn Bro^^nies which were 
 very much enjoyed. Then, in order to play 
 
86 Kindergarten Act i rifles. 
 
 Brownies ourselves, we made masques of 
 paper and string wliicli we wore when we 
 went on our mysterious l)ut always friendly 
 quests. These we wore only for the Hallow- 
 e 'en play ; for use during the rest of the year 
 we made caml)ric Brownie caps, and shoes 
 of strong cloth with funny pointed toes, 
 which were large enough to go on over our 
 shoes. 
 
 During shoemaker week we made our- 
 selves ^'real" slippers. These had denim- 
 covered pasteboard soles, and the upper 
 part was of bright colored flannel. The 
 stitches that fastened them together were 
 clumsy, but the thread was strong and they 
 held together very well. 
 
 The same little fingers that make shoes 
 can make mittens as well. Each child draws 
 around his own hand and cuts out a paper 
 pattern— his size. By these patterns the 
 gray eider-down flannel is cut. Next winter 
 we shall make ourselves little muffs. 
 
 We have made flags of various nations, 
 and beautiful knightly banners, and shields 
 of white and gold, not to mention castles, 
 spears, helmets, and breastplates. 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 87 
 
 While neither sewing nor folding with 
 kindergarten material comes properly un- 
 der the heading of constructive work as the 
 term is here used, I want to mention a men- 
 agerie we made after the universally en- 
 joyed visit of a traveling circus. Each child 
 outlined a square in half -inch stitches on 
 one of the Q^^ sewing cards. Inside of this 
 square was pasted a ^'scrap-picture" lion, 
 tiger, elephant, or other beast, then long 
 stitches were sewn across the card to repre- 
 sent the bars of the cage. When the ten or 
 twelve cards made by a group of children 
 were mounted together, the effect was con- 
 sidered very fine. 
 
 We have sewed red, wdiite, and blue bor- 
 ders on our sewing cards to make appro- 
 priate frames for our little pictures of Lin- 
 coln and Washington. We often fold a 
 piece of paper into a form of beauty, thus 
 making a pretty frame for a picture that 
 has to do with some special subject;— as, for 
 instance, a set of farm and barnyard pic- 
 tures. We found it quite possil)le to get a 
 dozen or more photographs of Daisy Ellen 
 from the advertising pages of various maga- 
 
88 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 zines, and these were framed with great en- 
 thusiasm. 
 
 At the very interesting and suggestive ex- 
 hibit held at the Kindergarten College dur- 
 ing the meeting of the I. K. U. in Chicago 
 (1901), we made note of several new things 
 which we shall try at some future time. 
 Among these are various ol)jects woven of 
 hat straw^, a floor brush of raveled haircloth, 
 and a table, the legs of which were made of 
 three small spools glued together. There 
 was also a good elevator made of a corset 
 box. Hats and sunbonnets of tea-straw we 
 have, some of us, already tried, so these 
 should be added to our list. 
 
 The making of a playhouse is a complex 
 but altogether profitable piece of work. Af- 
 ter a suitable box is found, some older car- 
 penter will probably have to lend a hand in 
 the making of windows and partitions ; but 
 after these are rightl}^ placed, kindergarten 
 w^orkmen can do the rest. Painting a house 
 is one of the most absorbing of occupations. 
 The day before it is undertaken, the chil- 
 dren are asked to bring their overalls and 
 working aprons. These, or other protective 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 89 
 
 adjuncts, are very necessary, and not until 
 well equipped can the Painters' Union go 
 safely to work. Only a few can paint at one 
 time, but as the watching of processes is so 
 natural and so important a part of a child's 
 education, there is no difficulty about the un- 
 avoidable ^^ taking turns." Almost all of 
 our larger pieces of carpentry have been fin- 
 ished in this way. In one of the neighboring 
 kindergartens the children give their own 
 red chairs a fresh coat of paint from time 
 to time as they seem to need it. 
 
 After the house is perfectly dry and the 
 papering of walls and ceilings completed, 
 the floors must be carpeted and the windows 
 provided with shades; so another industry, 
 the making of rag carpet, must be under- 
 taken. This is a simpler process than one 
 might at first suppose. The children love to 
 tear the cloth into strips, and their clumsy 
 stitches are quite sufficient to fasten the 
 strips together. When a number of balls 
 have been made of the strips, it is time for 
 the carpenters to construct a small hand- 
 loom consisting of a strong wooden frame 
 with a row of nails on each of two opposite 
 
90 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 sides. A warp of strong string is stretched 
 across and then tlie rag strips are woven in. 
 Small rugs are woven on our 6x6 sewing 
 cards,— long stitches from end to end form- 
 ing the warp, and the woof being woven in 
 with needles or fingers, as one prefers. 
 
 The kitchen fioor covering is made of our 
 leatherette mats. Bits of fringed paper 
 shade the windows and an appropriate se- 
 lection of pictures, framed by our own hands 
 with gold paper is hung in each room. The 
 furniture is made of cardboard and some of 
 it is upholstered with wall paper. The stove 
 is painted black, of course. The inventory 
 would read about as follows:— 
 
 Bedroom. 
 
 1. Bed. 5. Washstand. 
 
 2. CYadle. 6. Bathtub. 
 
 3. Folding Bed. 7. Couch. 
 
 4. Bureau, 8. Chairs. 
 
 Kitchen, 
 
 1. Stove. 5. Chairs. 
 
 2. Sink. 6. Wash Bench. 
 
 3. Cupboard 7. Tubs. 
 
 4. Table. 8. Clothes Basket. 
 

 
 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 
 
 Dining-room. 
 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 Table. 
 Chairs. 
 
 3. Sideboard. 
 
 4. Serving Table. 
 
 Sitting-room. 
 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 3. 
 
 Piano. 
 
 Sofa. 
 
 Table. 
 
 4. Screen. 
 
 5. Chairs. 
 
 6. Fireplace. 
 
 91 
 
 To these items must be added a list of ex- 
 tras, suc4i as clocks, shelves, brooms, dusters, 
 bird cage, flower pots, etc. 
 
 During the early autumn, when flies are 
 troublesome, we make fly-chasers of news- 
 paper strips fastened to stout wooden han- 
 dles. These we give to our mothers or to the 
 cooks, well knowing that they will be useful 
 in the home kitchens. 
 
 In the spring we make bird houses, one 
 kind being simply a closed starch box with a 
 large auger hole hj way of a front door, 
 which is placed near the roof, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bluebird, Mr. and Mrs. Wren, and other 
 prospective tenants having a decided prefer- 
 ence for such entrances. A house for Mr. 
 nnd Mrs. Sparrow is made on more conven- 
 t'onal lines. 
 
92 Kindergarten Activities, 
 
 For our own kindergarten we construct a 
 wash bench, a clothes pole and a clothes bas- 
 ket. The basket is woven of rattan by one of 
 the teachers in the ''before school" period. 
 She is assisted b}^ many willing fingers be- 
 longing to interested spectators, who cry out 
 from time to time, ^'I can do that! Let me 
 try!'' 
 
 We make rakes, using nails for the teeth, 
 for use in our gardens. We make hurdles 
 with which- to play our game of Jumping 
 Horses, and ladders with which to play Fire- 
 man,— these last, of course, just after our 
 visit to the engine house. 
 
 In addition to the toys already mentioned, 
 w^e have made tops, kites, boats, sleds, and 
 wagons. For the kindergarten dolls we have 
 constructed tables, chairs, beds, and sleds. 
 Once in a while we are turned loose among 
 a lot of odds and ends of boards, shingles, 
 and blocks, and we make whatever we like. 
 As a rule, on these occasions, we run to fur- 
 niture and ladders. 
 
 With blocks, boards, spools, and good 
 glue, we can make some excellent household 
 articles. To these we add sometimes a 
 
Kindergarten Activities, 93 
 
 cherry or mahogany stain, with good re- 
 sults. We also know how to make very good 
 snow shovels— not play ones, but real ones 
 for home use. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 CELEBRATIONS. 
 
 OUR Thanksgiving celebration is a sim- 
 ple one. For weeks we have be^i 
 working with the farmer and storing 
 away our harvest, so by the end of Novem- 
 ber we are quite ready to hear the story of 
 '^The First Thanksgiving" and work it out 
 with Gifts, Occupations, and plays. With 
 the older children we give more time to the 
 historic side of the occasion, allowing them 
 to go with the Pilgrims to Holland, that 
 land of windmills, canals, and dikes. In 
 pursuance of this idea, we once made a 
 little Dutch house with an open fire-pla(:'e, 
 quaint furniture, and sanded floor. It also 
 had a stork's nest on the chimney. From 
 Holland we put to sea and live for a while on 
 shipboard, where we make acquaintance with 
 little Oceanus. I^ext comes a sojourn in the 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 95 
 
 new country among the Indians, and their 
 songs, stories, and occupations become the 
 order of the day. We make beautiful bh\n- 
 kets, canoes, and wigwams ; we are fine to be- 
 hold in our feathered headdresses; and we 
 learn a real Indian song. Then we are Pil- 
 grims again and become early settlers. We 
 make log cabins, corncribs, barns, stone 
 walls, and rude furniture. We x)low, plant, 
 sow, and reap, celebrating our first Thanks- 
 giving with grateful hearts. 
 
 During the last three days of the school 
 month we dwell upon our own Thanksgiving 
 experiences. We prepare for company; 
 make journeys by rail, boat, or wagon to see 
 beloved relatives ; we go to church and, later, 
 sit down and feast together. Sometimes the 
 day closes with '^dancing in the barn." 
 
 In one of our schools it is an annual joy 
 to bring the janitor his Thanksgiving din- 
 ner. Everybody contributes, even our 
 youngest, and the table, set in the hall, 
 loaded down with good things and presided 
 over by an enormous turkey is one of the 
 sights of the year. 
 
 Sometimes an offering is made in the 
 
96 Kindergarten Aetivities. 
 
 shape of fruits, vegetables, or other pi'o- 
 visions to some one in need. In this matter, 
 liowever, we try to use great discretion. 
 
 After Christmas we always have a doll 
 party and cordially welcome the new dolls, 
 who arrive arra^^ed in Christmas splendor. 
 On the circle we sing for our guests the 
 songs we think they will most appreciate. 
 They frequently take part themselves, imi- 
 tating our gestures with impressive earnest- 
 ness. AVe play games in which they can join, 
 and, when we go to our tables, are careful to 
 23lace them in an advantageous position for 
 vievvdng our work, and where collectively 
 they present a most spectacular appearance. 
 We make things for them to take home, doll 
 chains, doll furniture, doll clothes, and doll 
 scrapbooks. To this festivity those boys 
 who have no dolls lia^'^e been iuAdted to bring 
 other toys, musical instruments, miniature 
 rolling stock and the like, for the crowning 
 event of the day is a grand procession 
 through some of the other rooms. First 
 comes the band, — drums, trumpets, mouth 
 organs and zithers; tlien the dolls, borne 
 proudly on their owners' shoulders or seated 
 
Kindergarten Activities, 97 
 
 in carriages ; these are followed by an array 
 of carts, cars, ''liookin' ladders," woolly 
 sheep, and other toys. This parade is so en- 
 thusiastically received by the older children 
 that we return to the kindergarten proud 
 and happy, and are quite ready to sit down 
 to the. old-fashioned dolls' tea party which 
 follows. We have l^rought or ])orrowed sets 
 of dishes, and we serve tea made of hot 
 water and milk with lots of sugar in it. We 
 have tiny crackers to eat with it and some- 
 times California grapes or sliced bananas. 
 At Daisy Ellen's kindergarten this party is 
 given on her birthday and she has a cake 
 with candles on it. 
 
 Lincoln's Birthday, being a school holi- 
 day, must 1)0 celebrated by all school chil- 
 dren great and small; so we hear the story 
 of this hero's brave and noble life, and we 
 have drills and marches in our playtime. 
 These are all the more enjoyed because they 
 are not an inevitable part of each day's pro- 
 gram, but are used onh^ when occasions call 
 for them. We each make a picture frame 
 in red, white, and blue, on one of our school 
 sewing cards, the youngest children sewing 
 
98 Kindergarten Aetivities. 
 
 simple lines and the older children invent- 
 ing borders. In the center we ^ paste a pic- 
 ture of Abraham Lincoln, and, after a 
 hanger is put on, the whole makes a very 
 satisfactory souvenir of the day. 
 
 To George Washington we give more 
 time, and on the twenty-first of February 
 celebrate by the grandest procession of our 
 year. We have made our own caps, epaulets, 
 and badges; we have drilled until we can 
 obey so promptly as to give a very good 
 exhibition of military maneuvers; we have 
 brought from home soldier suits, drums, 
 trumpets, guns, and swords, and we have 
 plenty of flags. Oh, but it is fine to see a 
 kindergarten brigade march down a long 
 hall with colors flying! to see it respond on 
 the instant to halt! face! wheel! salute! for- 
 ward march! or at the command Charge! 
 dash away on the double quick. 
 
 This same brigade knows many of the 
 bugle calls and if you should chance in upon 
 us some February morning you might see 
 groups of men and officers strolling about, 
 reading papers, building camp-fires, or cook- 
 ing their food; but as the bugle began to 
 
' Kinderyartefi Activities. 99 
 
 sound ^^taps" you would see every man get 
 into his tent, into his bed, and fall asleep, all 
 before the last notes of ''lights out" were 
 sounded,— every man, that is, excepting the 
 faithful sentry who must pace up and down 
 the long night through. A little later you 
 would hear "reveille" ring out, and such a 
 dressing, washing, and splashing as there 
 would be before the hurried breakfast. An- 
 other call would bring each company to a 
 line before its own quarters, heels together, 
 arms down, heads up, ready for inspection. 
 Then the colonel arrives, gorgeous to behold 
 with his helmet and sword, to juit each com- 
 pany through its drill. 
 
 All kindergartens make valentines, but 
 I wonder if they have the fun we do sending 
 them to our friends in the other rooms. We 
 find a carefully concealed point of vantage 
 from which we can see. our chosen messen- 
 ger leave the envelopes at the door, knock 
 and run, as for his life. We like poster val- 
 entines pretty well, bait are fondest of those 
 we make of scrap pictures and paper lace. 
 
 Froebel's Birthday we celebrate in many 
 ways, our favorite way being to com1}ine the 
 
 LofC. 
 
100 Kindergarten Aetivities. 
 
 kindergartens when we can. It is great fun 
 to liave such a big circle, such a grand 
 chorus, and such clapping with the dance 
 music. We have to take all the tables out of 
 the room and sit l^ack against the wall. Each 
 kindergarten has learned certain games, 
 songs, and dances that the others do not 
 know. These are intersj^ersed with the 
 songs and games in which all can join. 
 
 On one Froebel's Birthday we serenaded 
 all the mothers for blocks around to their 
 very great surprise and pleasure. Unusually 
 beautiful weather tempted us to this exploit. 
 At other times we have picnics or feasts 
 indoors. Once we brought out all the Gifts 
 and Occupations and had a grand choosing 
 day. Always we hear the story of Froebel's 
 noble life and for weeks before and after we 
 sing with tender feeling that Ijest of songs 
 for this occasion, 
 
 "Across the sea in Germany, 
 A hundred years ago." 
 
 When a kindergarten child has a birthday 
 and a cake is sent from home we set in the 
 center of the room a little table on which is 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 101 
 
 spread a white cloth and artistic decorations 
 of vines, pressed leaves, flowers, or flags, ac- 
 cording to the season of the year or the re- 
 sources of the moment. The cake is placed 
 on the table and its crowning attraction, the 
 candles, added. When we have gathered to- 
 gether on the circle the room is darkened 
 and they are lighted. This, of course, sug- 
 gests Brownies, and as many are chosen as 
 the birthday child is years old. They come 
 skipping in from Wonderland, they sing 
 their song, they dance around the cake, and 
 then, gathering about the hero of the occa- 
 sion, present him with the cap and slippers, 
 thus admitting him as a member of the 
 charmed circle. Then there is more danc- 
 ing and much hilarity. 
 
 After the Brownies have whisked them- 
 selves away, we sing ^^ Stork, Stork, 
 Stander, ' ' in memory of the happy day 
 when the new bal)y whose birthday we are 
 celebrating came to Iris brothers and sisters. 
 He chooses what he Avants to have played or 
 sung, and we do our best for him, all in the 
 soft pretty candlelight. It lasts just about 
 until work time comes, and while all are 
 
102 Kindergarten Aetivities. 
 
 bus}^ at the tables the cake is made ready for 
 distribution. 
 
 When no cake is forthcoming, and we 
 never regard it as indispensable, we get up 
 picnics, excursions, or bubl)le parties, ac- 
 cording to wind and weather. We go to see a 
 wonderful music box, to a garden, the green- 
 house, the factory, the park, or the lake. 
 Sometimes the birthday child's group goes 
 to visit another kindergarten, or the child's 
 own home. We keep a list of the birthdays 
 and try to plan in advance the sort of cele- 
 bration that will best fit the individual. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CHRISTMAS WORK. 
 
 IN OUR celebration of Christmas we have 
 learned to take advantage of the early 
 days of its anticijjation, and at the time 
 when the holiday seems to the children a 
 beantifnl bnt remote occasion and the glam- 
 our of recollection is upon them, to present 
 to them the sweeter and more sacred aspect 
 of Christmas. Before the visions of Santa 
 Claus, trees, stockings, and toys become in- 
 sistent, as they are sure to do later, we tell 
 the story of the shepherds who ^Svatched 
 their flocks by night," of the '^star in the 
 East" which the wise men followed, of the 
 ^'Babe of Bethlehem"; we learn our hymns 
 and carols; we get out our pictures of Ma- 
 donnas, saints, and angels; we ring our 
 Christmas bells, and hear once more the leg- 
 end of the Christ Child. Then, as the tide 
 
104 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 of Christmas merriment and cheer rises 
 higher, we float along with it and live in pine 
 forests and among the reindeer; we become 
 helpers in Santa Ciaus's workshop ; we deco- 
 rate the kindergarten with evergreen and 
 holly; we huy, transport, and trim onr own 
 tree, and make ready for the event of the 
 year, onr Christmas party. 
 
 The big boys and girls are onr friends and 
 helpers in the matter of evergreens. They 
 can go farther afield than we can, and mem- 
 ories of their own kindergarten days and 
 Christmas parties seem to give extra zeal 
 and good will. Onr smallest children make 
 red and green chains to hang on the walls, 
 and,, last year, all of the children worked on 
 the Japanese lanterns which were festooned 
 across the room. We had at first expected 
 to make these like the lanterns we saw in 
 a second grade room, of water-color paper 
 painted by hand in rainbow stripes; bnt a 
 timely gift of some beantifnl sample books 
 of wall paper made ns change onr minds. 
 
 Onr Christmas calendar is nsnally an ob- 
 long piece of l)lack card})oard on which 
 shines a crescent moon of gold paper. Every 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 105 
 
 day we xjaste on a little gold star, sometimes 
 outlining the great dipper and other easily 
 known constellations. On our day of cele- 
 Ijration we add a larger star— ''the blessed 
 star/- the children call it who know the 
 song of ''Ring, Happy Bells""— and the 
 child who adds this crowning touch feels 
 honored above his fellows. 
 
 For a number of years we have observed 
 ^he Swedish custom of making "a Christ- 
 mas house." This is fashioned out of shoe 
 boxes. Little doors and windows are cut, 
 and red tissue paper is pasted over the open- 
 ings. A chimney is prominent, and the roof 
 is covered with soft, fluff}^ cotton to repre- 
 sent snow. The house rests upon a pane of 
 glass with heaped-up cotton around the 
 edges. The whole adorns a window sill, 
 shelf, or table until The Day ; and then the 
 kindergarten room having been darkened, 
 a small lighted candle is placed within the 
 miniature house, its radiance gleaming rud- 
 dily through the tissue paper windows on 
 the ice and snow outside. This ceremony is 
 usually coincident with the lighting of the 
 tree. 
 
106 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 At one Christmas eele]j ration onr atten- 
 tion was called to a masterpiece of this sort 
 by woeful wails from some of the children, 
 while other accusing voices cried: '^It was 
 William ! " ^ ' William did it ! " ' ' Oh, see what 
 William has done ! ' ' and many little fingers 
 pointed to a broken tissue-paper window 
 through which William had thrust his pencil. 
 William answered his teacher's look of re- 
 proach by a mischievous glance, a wink and 
 the jocular statement that Santa Clans had 
 done that trying to get in. His teacher was 
 wise enough to meet him on his own ground 
 and laugh at his joke before saying: '^ Never 
 mind, children ; William will put in another 
 pane of glass, won't you, William 1" He as- 
 sented gladly and then evidently regarded 
 the incident as closed; but, later in the 
 morning, he came willingly to a little side 
 table where some paper, paste, the scissors, 
 and the house had been placed for him. He 
 went manfully to work, apparently well sat- 
 isfied with himself in doing so; but, glanc- 
 ing at the table he had just left, the iron en- 
 tered into his soul, for the children were 
 painting eggshells with gold paint and he 
 
K hide r (J art €7 Activities. 107 
 
 was not there! A realization of the jnstiee 
 of his sentence kept him at work although 
 he asked anxiously if he might go back to 
 his own place after the window was mended. 
 His teacher cordially responded that, of 
 course, he could do so, and divided her at- 
 tention between the two tables, giving him 
 what little help he needed, but alas ! his task 
 was not such a simple one after all, for the 
 paper had to be put in just as well as it was 
 at first, and the folding, cutting, and past- 
 ing took a good while. When at last the 
 house was finished so were the eggs. I think 
 this Avas William's first experience in taking 
 the full consecjuences of his own rash acts 
 which were many, l:ut as long as we knew 
 him he never needed a second lesson of the 
 sort. 
 
 By beginning fully four weeks l^efore 
 Christmas we have plenty of time both to 
 hear and work out the stories of Piccola, The 
 Little Pine Tree, Christmas in the Barn, 
 Mrs. Santa Clans, or others that may ]]e se- 
 lected. We have beautiful times with our 
 blocks, Iniilding houses with large chimneys, 
 fireplace*^, toys, and useful gifts. We make 
 
108^ 
 
 K inde rgart en A cfivities. 
 
 presents for our friends out of the tab- 
 lets, sticks, and rings, and invent many 
 forms of beauty which we play are orna- 
 ments for the tree ; we paint pine trees and 
 stockings; we draw Christmas pictures; we 
 make toys and gifts out of clay. We cut out 
 toys from catalogues and newspapers, and 
 paste them on (we play that it is in) paper 
 stockings; we also work every day on the 
 gifts we are making for the dear home peo- 
 ple, all of whom are to be invited to the 
 party. What do we make? Oh, many 
 things ! Here are some of them : — 
 
 Pin trays, 
 Bookmarks, 
 Match scratchers. 
 Blank books. 
 Letter pockets, 
 Post card pockets. 
 Sachet bags, 
 Christmas pictures, 
 Workbaskets, 
 Wastebaskets, 
 Penwipers, 
 Iron holders. 
 Receipt books, 
 
 Blotters, 
 
 Stami3 cases, 
 
 Needlebooks, 
 
 Calendars, 
 
 Shaving balls, 
 
 Picture frames, 
 
 Rattles, 
 
 Napkin rings, 
 
 Jelly, 
 
 Dusters, 
 
 Scrapbooks, 
 
 Reins, 
 
 Etc. 
 
Kindergarten Actiulfie,s. 109 
 
 Something new in calendars was brought 
 by a child last year which furnished a sug- 
 gestion for another gift. It was only a 
 kodak picture of the child himself pasted 
 above the necessary figures on a bit of dark 
 green cardboard, but his teacher was so glad 
 to get it that she immediately had visions of 
 her own kodak being brought into play for 
 the delighted amazement of the mothers of 
 her *^this year's flock." 
 
 One of my own most welcome gifts last 
 year came to me from a child who had made 
 it herself. On twelve pieces of blotting 
 paper was pasted the calendar for each of 
 the twelve months, and a bit of blue ribbon 
 tied the whole together. No one who has not 
 had a present of this sort can appreciate the 
 convenience of a clean blotter every month 
 on which one can find the date at a glance. 
 
 Of course we string popcorn, cranberries, 
 and straws as well as small rings of gold 
 paper; we also make cornucopias, tiny lan- 
 terns, folded beauty forms, and paper bas- 
 kets for the tree ; we gild nuts and eggshells, 
 and make birds' nests, out of ravelings, into 
 which we put clay eggs. Sometimes, at the 
 
110 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 last moment, we ])low a podful of milkweed 
 seeds over the tree, w4iere they look like 
 snowflakes. 
 
 A chosen few go dow^n town to buy the 
 tree. We insist on having a spruce, for w^e 
 must have that delicious Christmas odor 
 which always carries the teacher back to her 
 own childliood and forms like associations 
 for the children. How we love to sing 
 ^'There's a Wonderful Tree" as we trim it 
 ^'the clay before"! This is a great occasion. 
 Not a mother would be allow^ed inside the 
 room under au}^ condition. Every child 
 must, of course, share in the work of decor- 
 ation, and we flatter ourselves that we have 
 learned how^ to manage this with comfort 
 and satisfaction to all. The trimmings are 
 divided among the children, each having 
 from ten to a dozen fragile treasures to 
 guard ; the big step-ladder is l^rought in and, 
 six at a time, they come and go, bringing 
 som.e one thing which they put where they 
 think it will look best. The bolder spirits 
 mount the ladder and trim from the top 
 down, while the more conservative keep to 
 the lower branches. 
 
Kindergarten Activities. Ill 
 
 When everything is done and kindergar- 
 ten is over for the day, the children from 
 tlie higher grades ckister about the tree like 
 flies around a honey pot. They never seem 
 to tire of the kindergarten Christmas tree, 
 and overwhelm us with offers of help, many 
 of which we are glad to accept since the tree 
 must do duty not only for us but also for the 
 first grade children in the afternoon, and 
 later be carried to somebody's house— some- 
 body having seven children, more or less, 
 apt to be overlooked by Santa Claus. 
 
 Experience has taught us that our cele- 
 bration proper cannot begin until half past 
 ten, although the children and a few coerced 
 parents are at the door long before nine. 
 For obvious reasons the busy mothers, many 
 of whom must bring babies with them, must 
 drift in one by one from the opening of 
 school to the middle of the morning. So we 
 have our morning circle as usual, singing 
 some of our best songs for those who have 
 come, but saving our Christmas program 
 for a later hour. Then we go to our tables 
 for a half hour's work, for we are glad to 
 show our friends not onlv what kind of work 
 
112 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 we do in kindergarten but how well we can 
 do it. After this the tables are taken out of 
 the room and we move our chairs back 
 toward the wall where our guests are sitting, 
 having the privilege of placing ourselves 
 close to our dearest and best. Then comes a 
 half hour's exercise and play, and our care- 
 fully prepared ' ' Christmas Dance. ' ' By the 
 time this is over everyl^ody has come and we 
 can close the doors and pull down the shades. 
 Amid a breathless silence the candles are 
 lighted, and as the last tiny flame adds its 
 glow to the rest, forty little voices burst 
 forth into 
 
 "Oh! this Wonderful Tree 
 
 With its branches wide 
 Is always, is always 
 
 Blooming at Christmas-tide !" 
 
 ' Our Christmas program follows this, be- 
 ginning as we began weeks ago with ^^In 
 Another Land and Time." Then the piano 
 plays softly '^What the Bells Say," and a 
 bell-ringing takes place— A -flat and F nat- 
 ural being used with an echo on D -fiat. We 
 sing ^' Ring, Happy Bells," ''Alone in a Man- 
 ger," the whole of the Christmas tree song, 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 113 
 
 and our beloved ''Up on the House-top." 
 This song of St. Nick preludes the recital, by 
 us all, of part of " 'Twas the Night Before 
 Christmas." Then comes a pause. Very 
 soft but very lively music is played. What 
 does it mean"? Out from somewhere come 
 the Brownies, a few of our chosen ones, wh') 
 with peaked caps and felt slippers look their 
 parts well. They dance about the tree and 
 sing : 
 
 "Brownies are we, etc.," 
 
 until a particular chord on the piano sends 
 them flying. 
 
 The shades are raised, the candles Ijlown 
 out, and the kindergartner makes a little 
 speech to the mothers, telling them how wel- 
 come they are and warning them on no ac- 
 count to feel of the dainty white packages 
 which are to be carried home to-day but not 
 opened until Christmas morning. We sing 
 our good-bye song and after that— the del- 
 uge! Informal greetings are supposed to 
 follow, but our own children as well as the 
 little brothers and sisters, all of whom have 
 kept the peace as long as possible, pervade 
 
114 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 the place, and there is always a general 
 mix-up of laughter, conversation, wraps, 
 rubbers, babies, and Christmas hilarity ; but 
 everybody is happy and the party breaks up 
 Vvdth joyful choruses of the dear old words: 
 ' ' Merry Christmas ! Merry Christmas ! ' ' 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GARDENING. 
 
 STARTING with very little we have 
 gradually accumulated considerable 
 knowledge of the exigencies of kin- 
 dergarten gardening. We have come to the 
 conclusion that such window plants as we 
 want we will slip and pot during the sum- 
 mer, or witli the children early in Septem- 
 ber. We tie closely to geraniums and Wan- 
 dering Jew, although English and other 
 ivies have proved responsive, as have some 
 of the various plants contributed by the chil- 
 dren. We enjoy planting an orchard, using 
 apple, orange, lemon, peach, pear, and plum 
 seeds. A vegetable garden consists of a 
 grain of corn, a bean, a pea, a potato, an on- 
 ion, a turnip, and a carrot also inspires 
 much interest. We buy, as Ave can afford 
 them, Chinese lilv and other bulbs, and some 
 
116 Kindergarten Aetivities, 
 
 blooming plants, such as daffodils and cliry- 
 santliemums. We get these treasures often- 
 times by means of our unique system of 
 banking. In .each kindergarten is a toy 
 bank; one bears the semblance of dog with 
 an open and hungry mouth, another of an 
 owl, and the third of a mother eagle who 
 drops pennies placed in her beak in the gen- 
 eral direction of two eaglets, who give a fas- 
 cinating squeak at the dramatic moment. 
 These birds and beasts are all fond of gum 
 and candy pennies, in fact, they care for no 
 other kind. They never under any circum- 
 stances eat Sunday school money, and have 
 an aversion for that which is being saved up 
 at home for any good purpose. Since most 
 children who go to public schools, and es- 
 pecially those from the poorer classes have 
 many ^^gum and candy pennies" given to 
 them, we are, in the course of a year, able to 
 divert quite a considerable sum from the lit- 
 tle shops full of alluring prize packages, 
 candy cigars, and yards of licorice, into the 
 hollow and ever-yawning interiors of our 
 menagerie. The animals are always very 
 p-r^teful when fed and clank their thanks in 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 117 
 
 a way that fills the small benefactor with 
 pride and joy. 
 
 One of our earliest purchases was a load 
 of black earth which was placed in one cor- 
 ner of the schoolyard. In the fall we add 
 street scrapings and leaves to this, so that 
 it grows richer from year to year and is just 
 so much the better for filling pots and boxes. 
 From this heap, in small wheelbarrows and 
 wagons, we carry a top dressing to our out- 
 door garden beds. 
 
 In the spring our first work is the 
 clearing away of winter rubbish. Some- 
 times this necessitates a bonfire. After 
 the garden beds are made, we are, now, suffi- 
 ciently wily to allow the first growth of 
 weeds to come up before we plant. The 
 main crop consists of wheat, oats, and corn. 
 These are well up before school closes and 
 are reaped for us during vacation, so that 
 when we come back we have sheaves and 
 corn-ears, first for decoration and later for 
 use. The wheat we thresh and grind for 
 a yearly cake-baking festival. Unbolted 
 flour stirred up with a little milk, salt, and 
 baking powder, and fried in butter makes 
 
118 Kindcrfjarten Activities. 
 
 excellent ''panny-cakes," as we have good 
 reason to know. The oat sheaf becomes a 
 birds' Christmas tree on the last day of the 
 winter term, and, when spring comes, is in 
 great demand for sparrows' nests. The corn 
 w^e shell and use for seed work and chains.. 
 
 In our other garden beds we have learned 
 to plant for late results. For seed pods w^e 
 like gourds, wild cucumber, Japanese lan- 
 tern plant, ground cherry, and a l)ean which 
 bears a purple pod. In the flovrer beds we 
 plant asters, dwarf sunflowers, cosmos, 
 marigolds, and snapdragons, because all of 
 these bloom in September or October. For 
 a decorative effect nothing is better than the 
 castor bean, since that impressive plant does 
 not really get down, or rather come up, to 
 business until school opening time. 
 
 After our seedlings are well up we have 
 to do one thorough Job of weeding before 
 school closes, after which the whole planta- 
 tion must be surrendered to the tender mer- 
 cies of the Lord High Janitor. In some of 
 our kindergartens we are most fortunate in 
 finding him a kind and friendly helper. One 
 year we were al)le to leave a little money 
 
Kindergarten Activities, 119 
 
 with one, which he used in giving employ- 
 ment to certain well-known restless spirits 
 in the neighborhood who might otherwise 
 have committed depredations on our cher- 
 ished plot. 
 
 In one of our kindergarten yards we have 
 had for years a real tree nursery. In late 
 May and in June the children dig up tiny 
 elms, maples, box-elders, and other trees, 
 and transplant them to a sheltered spot. 
 Some of these are now such good-sized trees 
 that they have had to be transferred to the 
 open lawn. Willow switches planted in the 
 spring soon become trees, as we have found ; 
 and we have grown to be especially fond of 
 our little cottonwoods, since they, too, make 
 rapid growth. 
 
 A quantity of perennial daisies set out in 
 our gardens is a source of ever-recurring 
 September delight, for in that month the 
 flowers are at their best. Not only do they 
 make beautiful bouquets for the schoolroom, 
 but they seem to nod and smile a cordial wel- 
 come as we come back to begin each new 
 year's work. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 EXCURSIONS. 
 
 DURING the early part of the school 
 year, while we are getting acquainted, 
 we often make visits in small groups 
 to each other's homes. We choose for such 
 expeditions those da^^s which are so beauti- 
 ful that it seems as though one must be out 
 of doors. Fortunately, in our climate they 
 are of frequent occurrence during Septem- 
 ber and October. 
 
 On the way there is so much to see ! The. 
 beautiful trees, the busy squirrels, the mi- 
 grating birds surround us ; we pass gardens 
 bright with fall flowers and brilliant foliage ; 
 we gather mountain ash berries, as well as 
 plantain, chickweed, and catnip for home 
 pets. The little host is always glad to show 
 us his home, his mother, the baby, his gar- 
 den, and his toys ; and he enjoys our interest 
 
Kindergarten Aetivities. 121 
 
 in his dog, the pigeons, the Idttens, or the 
 chickens. We come away laiowing each 
 otlier better and witli that feeling of closer 
 relationship between home and kindergar- 
 ten which is so desirable. 
 
 The teachers secretly take note of the re- 
 sources of these homes, well knowing that 
 they may draw on them in time of need. 
 They know which family keeps a cow, whose 
 mother has a lovely music-box, what father 
 uses tools, and which one owns a team. 
 
 A number of gardens have been open to us 
 for years. To these we go every September 
 for seeds, pods, and berries. Sometimes we 
 bring back seedlings which have come up so 
 late that they will bloom indoors. We make 
 special visits to the places where we are most 
 apt to see the wild birds, and make a point 
 of calling on every family in the neighbor- 
 hood where pets are kept. One boy has a 
 mother goat and a kid; another keeps Bel- 
 gian hares; still another raises white rab- 
 bits; and another owns a little donkey on 
 which we may ride. We have been to see 
 Harold's parrot, Fanny's Angora cat, Don's 
 turtles, and Harlow's Guinea pigs. 
 
122 Efindergarten Activities. 
 
 We are fortunate in living in a town 
 where there are many squirrels. These have 
 been so tamed by the school children that 
 they not only take nuts from one's hand but 
 actually waylay the passers-by and demand 
 food. Numbers of these gray and red ras- 
 cals live in our small parks where there are 
 many oak trees. Here they build their nests 
 and may be seen at almost any time. 
 
 Occasionally we go out with the special 
 purpose of looking at the trees, and we en- 
 joy naming every tree we pass within a 
 given limit, as well as bringing back a sam- 
 ple leaf from each variety with which to 
 play guessing games. We have an outdoor 
 guessing game which is greatly enjoyed. 
 The teacher stops and says: ^^I see a maple 
 tree! One, two, three, runV and the game is 
 to run to a maple tree and stand under it 
 until she comes to assure you that you are 
 all right. All who find the right tree run 
 again, while the rest stay with her, and the 
 game goes on till the last child is puzzled or 
 the time is up. In this way we have learned 
 to know hard, soft, and cut-leaf maples, red 
 
Kindcnjarten Activities. 123 
 
 oak, white oak, ash, ehn, box elder, linden, 
 Cottonwood, and willow trees. 
 
 Only a little way from our kindergarten 
 are fields and roadsides bright with sunflow- 
 ers, golden-rod, asters, and fall daisies. 
 These we gather and send in to the city hy 
 the students who are going and coming al- 
 most every day, and who seem not only will- 
 ing but glad to carry baskets, bundles, or 
 bouquets. We gather acorns and seeds for 
 these city friends, and sometimes send them 
 flowers from our home and school gardens. 
 
 Of course, we make special excursions co 
 the blacksmith's, the baker's, the shoemak- 
 er's, the engine house, the lighthouse, and 
 the life-saving station. On one occasion we 
 were most royally entertained at the Colum- 
 bia Bakery. Not only were we shown the 
 work rooms, the ovens, the ice crushers, and 
 the huge freezers, but each one of us was al- 
 lowed to make a candy cane with his own 
 hands; and as if this were not enough, a 
 luncheon of ice cream and cake was served, 
 in our honor. 
 
 The event of the year, however, next to 
 the Christmas party, is our visit to the en- 
 
124 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 gine house. The men are expecting us for 
 some of them have now or have had children 
 in the kindergarten. They take us first up- 
 stairs to the tidy big bedroom with its rows 
 of beds, chairs, and little closets. They 
 show us the great hole in the floor through 
 the middle of which runs a shining brass 
 pole. They invite us to slide down with 
 them, and after a few gasps of astonishment, 
 amid a breathless interest, some bold spirit 
 volunteers. A fireman takes him on one 
 strong arm, and, twining the other and his 
 legs about the pole, goes wMz down to the 
 floor below. There is a wild shout, and of- 
 fers to follow pour in upon the other men^ 
 who accept as many as possible. They slide 
 down and come upstairs for another load 
 over and over again until the teachers feel 
 obliged to end the fun by suggesting that all 
 go downstairs to see the engines. The mar- 
 shal lets us climb all over the engines, hose 
 cart, and hook-and-ladder wagon. We try 
 on the hats, hang on the steps, and rummage 
 about to our hearts ' content. Then we all go 
 to a safe place and there is a drill for our 
 benefit. Over and over again the alarm bell 
 
Kindergarten Activities, 125 
 
 rings; the horses dash to their places, the 
 men come sliding down the pole ready for a 
 run, all in a few seconds. 
 
 One of the children who had always given 
 her teacher trouble by tardy or reluctant 
 obedience was greatly impressed by this 
 drill. At one word from the marshal the 
 horses wheeled, ran, and backed into their 
 stalls without an instant 's hesitation. After 
 the exhibition w^as over she drew a long 
 breath, looked up at her teacher and ex- 
 claimed, '^My! how they do mind!" From 
 that time on her whole conduct changed in 
 the kindergarten, and, it is to be hoped, at 
 home also. 
 
 Before we leave the engine house we give 
 our hosts a concert which they seem to enjoy 
 very much. Then our good friend the mar- 
 shal presents us each with an orange, and in- 
 vites us cordially to come again. This we 
 promise faithfully to do next year, and we 
 go home happy and grateful, with a tremen- 
 dous amount of stored-up material for fu- 
 ture work and play. 
 
 Several times during the year we visit the 
 other rooms in the school, usually at recess 
 
126 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 time when our coming will be no interrup- 
 tion. We like to see the pictures on the 
 walls, the plants in the windows, the 
 mounted work, and many other objects of 
 interest sure to be found there. We espec- 
 ially enjoy this at Thanksgiving and Christ- 
 mas time, on Washington's Birthday and 
 Memorial Day. 
 
 After our February class has been in the 
 First Grade a few weeks we visit them, tak- 
 ing our chairs with us and sitting politely 
 through a reading and a writing lesson. 
 Then we go l)ack and play school. 
 
 In the spring we go out to hunt the first 
 dandelions, to get twigs or leaves from dif- 
 ferent trees, to visit gardens and chicken 
 yards, and to gather wild flowers. We go 
 out on the prairie when the meadow larks 
 and the bobolinks sing, and we visit the frog 
 pond. We keep watch of certain robins and 
 blue jays that are building nests, and become 
 acquainted with bluebirds, woodpeckers, 
 thrushes, orioles, and warblers. 
 
 When the apple trees are in bloom, we 
 take our work into somebody 's garden where 
 we know we are welcome, .and spend the 
 
Kindergarten Activities, 127 
 
 whole morning where the soft white petals 
 can fall into our laps, where the air is full of 
 fragrance and bird song, and where we can 
 almost see spring turn into summer. 
 
 Our spring songs never sound so sweet as 
 w^hen sung out of doors in the warm sun- 
 shine; so sometimes we go serenading and 
 sing a chosen repertoire under the windows 
 of certain mothers whom we know will be 
 glad to hear us. 
 
 One perfect day, after we had learned to 
 sing that delightful song,— 
 
 "Oh, have you seen the swimming school, 
 Where the froggies learn to swim?" 
 
 we went out on the prairie about half a mile 
 to a good-sized x^ond where ' ' there truly was 
 a froggies' swimming school." There were 
 dandelions, grass flowers, and birds all about 
 us, and when we reached the pond, we stood 
 on its edge and sang the song as we never did 
 before and never have since. After a lunch- 
 eon of crackers and milk, we went fishing 
 with poles found on the way, to which were 
 attached strings and crooked pins. Not that 
 we had any idea of catching anything, — but 
 then we might! The big boys said there 
 
128 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 were crawfish and shiners there; and, any- 
 way, when you sit on the edge of a pond and 
 dangle your hook in the water, it's fishing. 
 
 The crowning joy of that spring day was 
 reserved, however, for the last. A tin pail 
 to which a rope was attached was carefully 
 cast into just the right spot and came out 
 full of pollywogs. There were millions of 
 them to be had for the taking, so we fished 
 up as many as we wanted. These were car- 
 ried back to the kindergarten and made 
 comfortable in our acquarium with ditch 
 water, mud, and weeds. We watched them 
 grow for many weeks, and then, on the last 
 day of school, divided them among the chil- 
 dren, who took them home to keep until the 
 pollywogs developed into frogs. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 INTERVALS. 
 
 IN ANY public kindergarten where there 
 are se^ eral groups of children there are 
 necessarily times when some have to 
 wait for others to put away work or come to 
 order. A wise teacher will make use of 
 these periods in a variet}^ of ways. There is 
 no better time for the Sense Games, which 
 are as a rule too seldom and too lightly 
 touched upon. These should be played over 
 and over again until time enough has 
 been given them to produce a real result. 
 Games of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, 
 and smelling can be devised with all sorts of 
 objects, much material being necessarily at 
 hand. Balls, blocks, sticks, tablets, beads, 
 rings, cloth, minerals, seeds, leaves, flowers, 
 nuts, and fruits are a few of many easily 
 procured articles. 
 
130 Kindergarten Activities. 
 
 During these intervals, the treasures 
 loaned by friends or brought in by the chil- 
 dren can again be handled and examined. 
 The color top can be used. Statistics can be 
 taken regarding birthdays, the fathers' 
 work, the children's home work, what they 
 mean to do when they grow up, what they 
 do on Saturda^^s or Sundays, their journeys, 
 what work or jjlay they like best, and so on. 
 
 We play some of the old-fashioned hand- 
 kerchief games at this time, teaching the 
 children to make the baby's hammock, the 
 jumping rabbit, the grandmother's cap and 
 the dancing dolls. 
 
 There is a mystifying bit of play about 
 ^'Two little blackbirds" which children en- 
 joy greatly when It is new to them and which 
 they like to learn for the sake of mystifying 
 the family at home. Two bits of paper on 
 the extended forefingers become 
 
 "Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill. 
 One named Jack and the other named Jill," 
 
 and at the admonitions 
 
 *Tly away, Jack! Fly away, Jill! 
 Come again, Jack! Come again, Jill!" 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 131 
 
 the birds, in a surprising manner, do ex- 
 actly as they are bidden. The moduH oper- 
 andi is simple. At tlie commands in the 
 third line, the forefingers are raised in turn 
 high in the air, and while there the middle 
 fingers (with no papers on them) are 
 quickly extended in their stead and l^rought 
 down to view, so that no "little birds" ap- 
 pear after having l)een ordered to ''fly 
 awav. " At the commands in the fourth line, 
 the middle fingers are raised, and the fore- 
 fingers quickly substituted for them, so that 
 the "little birds" reappear as the fingers ai'e 
 brought down after the order, "come 
 again. ' ' 
 
 We also at times, armed with a regular 
 school pointer take turns at finding in the 
 room red, blue, yellow, iron, wood, glass, or 
 metal objects. This leads to talks about 
 similar objects seen at home or out of doors. 
 
 Add to these resources the many attrac- 
 tive finger plays, and it would seem that 
 there was material enough and to spare to 
 make use of at these times. In addition, 
 howevei', we have used many songs, rhymes, 
 and verses, teaching the 'children, a little at 
 
132 Kinderfjdftf II Actiritlcs. 
 
 a time, bits of ''Mother Goose" and other 
 nursery classics. From Miss Poulsson's 
 "In the Child's World," we have made good 
 use of the "Johnny-cake Story," "The Tree 
 of the Forest," and other tales. KSometimes 
 we have readings from children's hooks of 
 poetry, or one group surreptitiously learns a 
 song or a finger play that the other groups 
 do not know, in order to overwhelm them 
 with surprise at some dramatic moment. 
 
 Beside all this, we make a point of taking 
 advantage of the oft-presented opportunity 
 to learn certain needed lessons in self-con- 
 trol. While we are playing The Knights 
 and hearing stories of brave deeds, we find 
 it good to practice sitting absolutely still 
 sometimes in a finely stern attitude, with 
 folded arms, while we wait for the others, 
 just to show them that we can do so. This 
 practice is kept up at intervals during the 
 rest of the year for the sake of what will be 
 required in school, church, and other antici- 
 pated situations. 
 
 By providing systematically for these 
 short and too often wasted periods of kin- 
 dergarten time, the teacher will be able to 
 
Kindergarten Activities. 133 
 
 augment lier work of development more 
 than one who has not tried it would tliink 
 possible. 
 
 THE END.