Home Occupations for Boys and Girls Part 30

When he begins to see differences, give him two forms only and let him arrange. Later give him others. Too many at first will be confusing.

Besides the stringing, these beads may be used in other ways. Make a fence by putting two cubes and a sphere, one on top of the other for a post, and then join these to similar posts by running toothpicks or burnt matches through the perforations.

Place cubes and cylinders, one on top of another, and use as tree box with tiny twig or elderberry branch for tree. If making a toy village of blocks or cardboard, these little beads will make good lampposts.

=The Pegboard=

The pegboard, an additional gift devised by Mrs. Alice H. Putnam, can also be had in two sizes, the large one to be preferred. The board is perforated with holes at regular intervals and is accompanied with colored pegs, which the child loves to insert in the openings.

He may arrange them in ranks for soldiers, according to color, two and two, or four and four, learning thus to count.

A flower-bed with red flowers in one corner and green bushes in another may be made.

He may play that the pegs are kindergarten children playing follow the leader, some with red dresses, some with blue waists, etc.

A birthday cake with candles may be represented, or a line of telegraph poles, if father has gone on a journey, and over the imaginary wires a message may be sent.

The pegboard is also loved by very young children.

=Plays with the Other Gifts=

The third gift cubes may be built by the little child into houses, furniture, wagons, etc. It is very simple, and yet when handling it the child learns something of form and number and gains skill with his tiny hands.

The fourth gift expresses "proportion." Each block is twice the length of those in the preceding gift and half as high. He can build with it objects impossible with the first divided cube. The two may often be used in conjunction.

The fifth gift requires a decided increase in the child's powers of coordination. He can make with it a very great variety of objects. Only a kindergartner can appreciate its many possibilities.

The sixth gift lends itself peculiarly to buildings of a certain type.

It expresses less strength and more grace than the preceding ones.

In playing with these "gifts" under direction of a teacher, the child, if making the grocery store, proceeds to make the counter, the scales, the money desk, etc., in succession, and is not allowed to take the first structure apart in disorderly fashion and then make the next one, but is supposed to build the counter, or other article, by gradually transforming the thing already made, removing the blocks in ones, or twos, or threes in an orderly way. Each block is supposed to have some relation to the whole. For instance if a shoe store has been made and one unused block remains, it may represent the footstool used in such a store.

Froebel thought in this way through simple play to help the child little by little to feel the relatedness of all life.

=Seventh Gift Plays=

With the seventh gift tablets the child makes designs or "beauty forms,"

becoming familiar with certain geometrical forms and exercising his powers of invention in pleasing design.

In using the tablets, which are in both light and dark stains, do not give too many at first. Give him for instance one circle, representing a picture of a ball, and let him lay a row of such for a frieze design for a gymnasium.

Give a circle and four squares, and let him place one above, one below, one to the right and one to the left, touching the circle. This will suggest a unit for a tile for a playroom fireplace.

Tell him to change the top square so that its angle touches the circle; then change the lower one in the same way; then the right, then the left. This transformation gives an entirely new design.

The other tablets may be employed in the same way, the different kinds of triangles offering opportunity for much variety.

=Eighth Gift Plays=

The sticks may be used in representing designs in which the straight line prevails. The lines may be placed in vertical or horizontal position. Sticks may be arranged as soldiers, standing two and two in straight vertical lines; or as fences in horizontal position.

They may be cla.s.sified as to length. Let the child sort them as wood for the woodpile, putting together those of same length. Or play he is in the store to buy a cane and sees those of different lengths, some for men, some for children.

For designing give the child four sticks of one length and let him make a square. Give him four of another length and let him make a larger square. Then with these eight sticks let him make two oblongs of the same size. Give him these exercises as puzzles, but do not let him play with the sticks until he gets nervous in trying to keep them in position.

=Play With Lentils=

These are necessarily few and simple. Let the child make circles, squares, etc., by putting the lentils in rows. He can also represent the ma.s.s of a tree's foliage by placing a number of the lentils in a ma.s.s.

CHAPTER XII

KINDERGARTEN MATERIALS

The Kindergarten Occupations

The kindergarten gifts proceed, as will have been observed, from the solid through other forms to the point. The objects made with these are but temporary, and the same material may be used again and again.

Parallel with these Froebel devised what he calls the "occupations,"

which put into permanent shape the ideas expressed by the gifts.

Among the occupations (we will not name all) are: Peaswork, p.r.i.c.king, sewing, weaving, parquetry, pasting, cardboard modeling, sand and clay modeling.

These are arranged in reverse order to the gifts; that is, they proceed from the point to the solid.

=Peaswork= (_Good well-dried peas_, _wooden toothpicks or hair-wire_)

Soak the peas for 10 or 12 hours till soft. Then make a cane of one pea and one stick.

Two peas and one stick will make a dumb-bell.

Three of each will make a triangle.

Make a square in the same way, and then by adding to this other peas and sticks a skeleton chair can be made. All kinds of furniture and geometrical forms may be thus manufactured. The wire or toothpick must be inserted in the cheek of the pea. Watch the child carefully to see that he does not get nervous over the work. a.s.suming that the peas are in good condition, there should be little trouble if the forms made are simple.

=p.r.i.c.king= (_Thin white cardboard_, _long pin_, _several folds of cloth or a piece of felt_)

Froebel recognized the appeal this pastime makes to the mystery-loving child. As sometimes used it may be injurious to nerves or eyesight; but used judiciously the child of five or six will find it a source of harmless entertainment.