Home Occupations for Boys and Girls Part 21

=Sponge Garden= (_Small, clean sponge_, _birdseed_)

A few days before Easter, sprinkle the sponge with birdseed. Keep damp and the seeds will sprout and cover the sponge with growing blades of green.

=Easter Eggs= (_1._ _Diamond dyes_, _a dozen eggs_. _2._ _Small figured calico_, _lye_, _boiling water_)

1. Boil the eggs hard and dye with the colors according to directions on package, which may be had at drugstore, price five cents.

2. Wind strips of the bright calico around the eggs and boil in water strongly saturated with lye. The lye extracts the color, which will be found printed upon the eggs.

=Place Cards for Easter Breakfast= (_1._ _White paper_, _scissors_, _paints_. _2._ _Plain white cards_, _paints_)

1. If possible secure a real Easter lily for a model. If this cannot be obtained, a picture of one will answer. From the paper cut, freehand, if possible, the shape of the lily and paint it lightly; just a little shading and the golden center. Place the guest's name upon the reverse side. It may be necessary to draw the lily first before cutting, but the freehand cutting is a good exercise.

2. Decorate a white card with the picture of a lily, or a tulip, using water-color paints. Below the flower write an appropriate flower motto.

=Celluloid Place Cards= (_White celluloid_, _scissors_, _pencil_)

Get from a dictionary or natural history a good picture of a b.u.t.terfly with open wings. Draw a pattern from this and then outline a number of these on the celluloid and cut out. These dainty, spirit-like b.u.t.terflies will make suitable place-cards, having the name of guest on the reverse side.

Cut Easter lily of celluloid in same way.

=Easter Chicken= (_Yellow worsted_, _black beads_, _quill toothpick_, _cardboard_, _wooden toothpicks_, _or picture-wire_.)

Make a yellow ball as described on pages 96-7 for the body of the chicken. A smaller ball makes the head. Sew on the beads for the bright black eyes; cut the quill into shape of a bill and sew into place. Let wooden toothpicks form the legs; or, better still, take picture-wire made of several strands. Wind some of this around the body, letting the ends of the wire extend about 1-1/2 inches below the body; sew to the body to keep in place. Then pick out the ends of the wire a little to suggest toes and wind the legs with worsted. Sew chicken to a card.

=Easter Card= (_Parquetry circles used in kindergarten_, _paste_, _gray card_, _scissors_)

The little child may make an Easter card by pasting upon a neutral-tinted card pictures of tulips made of the kindergarten parquetry papers. Cut in half either red or yellow circles. Place so that the lower ends touch and the upper ones are a little apart, suggesting a tulip. A strip of green paper will represent the stem and an older child can cut leaves of the green paper and paste on. Have a real tulip from which to copy. Child may give this to Father on Easter morning.

=Toy Screen= (See page 63)

Make dainty screen as described, and paste on each panel a tiny _Easter_ picture (Perry pictures may be had by addressing firm in N. Y. City).

Give to Mother on Easter morning.

=Church Window Transparency= (See page 77)

MEMORIAL DAY

We give no special suggestions for the celebration of Memorial or Decoration Day. The ideas given under the headings of the other patriotic holidays, as Washington's Birthday and Fourth of July, may be used also for this holiday, but it is not a day for mere play.

If the parents plan to go to the cemetery let the child accompany them and carry flowers, preferably those of his own raising or plucking.

=Reading=

It would be well also on this day to read some great piece of patriotic literature, either prose or poetry, which will help the older children to realize the great debt which we owe to the preservers of our country, to whom we dedicate this day. Lincoln's Gettysburg address should be read. Also Lowell's "The Present Crisis." "Bugle Echoes," compiled by Francis F. Browne, contains 150 poems of the Civil War, both Northern and Southern.

=Badge= (_Sheets of red, white, and blue paper_, _scissors_, _paste_)

A simple badge may be made for the children to wear in this fashion:

1. Cut a circle 3/4 inches in diameter out of the red paper. Cut also from the red, white and blue sheets strips of 2 5 inches. Paste the three strips together at the upper end like ribbons, letting them spread a little apart at the lower end. Paste the circle at the upper end to finish off.

2. Another style may be made by placing the three colors so that one lies directly above the other. In this case the blue is 5 inches long, the white four inches, and the red three inches. Fasten to dress or coat with a safety pin.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

=Firecrackers= (_Red paper_, _hemp_ _string_, _paste_)

Get large sheets of red paper to be found at department stores or wholesale paper houses, measuring about 35 inches in length and 26 inches in width. From each one cut thirteen 2-inch strips, cutting the length of the sheet. Fold each strip once across the width of the strip, and cut through the center at the fold. This gives twenty-six 2-inch strips of paper, the width of the small sized firecrackers.

Hold a strip of paper between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand.

Moisten the thumb of the right hand a very little, and roll the end of the strip towards the left, as one does in rolling a paper taper. Keep the strip rolled tightly until the other end of the strip is reached. If the cracker seems too loosely rolled unroll it a short distance, and gently pull the strip into form again.

Place a little paste on the under side of the loose end of the strip, and press the pasted end firmly on the rolled surface of the cracker.

Hold this until it adheres to the surface of the cracker. Cut the hemp string into three-inch pieces. Dip one end of the string into the paste, then insert this pasted end into one end of the cracker at the little opening which is found at the very center. Hold this firmly for a moment, or until the string is securely fastened.

Tie six or eight firecrackers into bunches with red, white and blue ribbons, and lay them over the white surface of the luncheon or supper table.

=Firecracker Card= (See page 55)

=Drums= (_Small wooden boxes_, _liquid gold paint_, _Spaulding's glue_, _red, white and blue baby ribbon_, _small sticks for drum sticks_)

The market basket will, from time to time, furnish the housekeeper with small circular boxes labeled: Electro-Silicon Silver Polish. These wooden boxes, measuring 8 inches in circ.u.mference and 12 inches in height, make, when prettily ornamented, very attractive drums.

Remove the cover of box, and place on its inner rim a coating of Spaulding's glue. Place the cover on the box again, and put aside until it is fastened. Place the box on a sheet of stiff white paper, and holding it firmly, draw a pencil line around its edge. Now remove the box, and you will see that you have outlined a circle. Using this circle as a model, draw a second circle. Cut out these circles, following the pencil very accurately. These two circles form the two heads of the drum, and are to be pasted on the top and the bottom of the box. Gild the circular surface of the box. Cut strips of red or blue paper, measuring 8-1/2 inches in length and 1-1/2 inches in width. Brush the under surface of these strips with paste, and place one strip at the top and one at the bottom of the drum, 3/4 of an inch above the rim of the drum. These strips answer to the wooden bands which hold the drum heads in place. Red, white and blue baby ribbon may be carried from the upper to the lower edges of the drum if desired to represent the cords which hold the drum securely.

Little wooden sticks, gilded and tied at the side of the drum form the drumsticks.

The smaller Electro-Silicon boxes, measuring 2-3/4 inches in circ.u.mference and 1-1/3 inches in height, may be used in the same way.

=Rosettes= (_Red, white and blue tissue paper_, _a strong needle_, _white sewing silk_, _white library paste or well-made flour paste_)

Lay nine sheets of tissue paper one upon another, alternating the colors, red, white and blue. Fold these sheets together very smoothly once, thus making 18 smaller sheets if they were cut apart, but do not cut. Lay a silver dollar or fifty-cent piece (depending upon the size required) at the upper left-hand corner of paper. Draw a pencil line around the rim of the silver piece. Move the piece of money to the right and draw another circle. Continue this drawing circles until you have covered the surface of the paper.