Primary Handwork Part 2

In connection with elementary geography and history, booklets and posters may be made up from pictures cut from discarded papers, catalogs, and magazines, as well as original drawings. A great variety of topics may be profitably ill.u.s.trated in this way. As, for example, land and water forms, famous mountains, lakes, rivers, etc., products and processes of cultivation and manufacture, famous people, costumes and customs of other times and places, utensils and weapons of earlier times.

=Fastenings.=--The simplest method of binding single sheets is by means of paper fasteners and eyelets. Though these are not expensive, some schools cannot afford to buy them. Cords may be used in several ways and serve as part of the decoration.

_The Simple Tie._--Punch three holes in the margin, at least one half inch from the edge to prevent tearing out. Insert the cord in the middle hole, carry through one end hole, then through the other end hole, then back through the middle and tie. (See Fig. 7.)

_j.a.panese Sewing._--Punch holes at regular intervals, as one inch apart.

Sew through first hole twice, making a loop around the back,--repeat the process until a loop has been made for each hole,--carry the cord in and out through the holes back to the starting point, filling in the blank places and making a continuous line, and tie ends together with a small knot. (See Fig. 8.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 7.--Pamphlet sewing.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 8.--j.a.panese binding.]

=Decoration.=--Only the simplest decoration should be attempted. A plain cover of good color tied with a cord of harmonious color will have elements of beauty without further decoration. A single border line well placed may be used and offers opportunity for developing a nice sense of proportion by studying the results to see which borders are neither too near the edge nor too far from it.

A well-printed, well-placed t.i.tle is often the most satisfactory decoration. Printing should be introduced early, and the children encouraged to make good plain letters. In order to get the t.i.tle in good proportion and well placed, it is helpful to cut a piece of paper the desired size and lay it on the cover, moving it about to see where it looks best. Until the children have learned to do fairly neat work it is often helpful to print the t.i.tle on a separate piece and paste it in place. It is discouraging to spoil an otherwise good cover by a bad letter, and this process lessens that danger.

Before the children learn to print, a simple border or band across the cover may take the place of the t.i.tle. The border may be drawn in crayons or be free-hand cuttings.

Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the beauty of simplicity in decoration. Children are inclined to think beauty means fanciness and that beauty increases with the quant.i.ty of decoration. It is necessary to begin early to develop a taste for good design.

CHAPTER IV

CRITICISM AND STANDARDS OF WORKMANSHIP

=Criticism.=--An important feature of all self-directed activity is the ability to judge one's efforts and intelligently measure one's success.

This ability is a matter of slow growth and must be cultivated. It is not enough for the teacher to pa.s.s judgment upon a piece of work and grade its quality. The worker himself must learn to find his own mistakes and how to correct them. Cla.s.s criticism offers the best means of developing this power, but must be tactfully conducted.

Little children are brutally frank in expressing their opinions and need to be taught how to be truthful and yet not unkind. They need to be taught what to look for and how to find it, and how to compare one thing with another and discover why one pleases and another displeases. The first essential in the training is emphasis on the good rather than the bad. It is a gospel of "do" rather than of "don't." The earliest efforts of the cla.s.s may well be confined to comments upon the features they like and, if possible, the reason for the liking. This will forestall any tendency to call undue attention to the poor efforts of weak workers. At first many children will scarcely discriminate between their admiration for a piece of work and their love for the worker and will be apt to praise the work of their special friends. This tendency will gradually disappear through the development of a real basis of appreciation.

The second essential concerns the improvement of the things which are not good. Criticism which merely points out what is bad is of little value.

Helpful criticism must point out what is good and why, and what is weak and how to make it stronger. If, for example, the cla.s.s is considering the success of their efforts to ill.u.s.trate the story of the Three Bears, they should be encouraged to make such comments as, "John's chairs look too small for his table," "Mary's bowls are all about the same size." The criticism should direct the thought to its possible remedy. It is generally better to pa.s.s over defects for which no immediate remedy can be suggested.

=Standards of Workmanship.=--The standard of excellence by which acceptable work is measured must always vary according to the ability of the cla.s.s.

The best the child can do, alone and unaided, should be the only standard of measurement, and his best efforts should always be accepted, no matter how crude. In no other way can real growth be observed and genuine progress made.

In schools where arbitrary standards are set either by supervisors or by the rivalry of teachers, the tendency to _help_ the children by doing part of the work for them for the sake of the _apparent_ results, offers the teacher's most serious temptation to selfishness. In a few cases it is helpful for the teacher to add a few strokes to a drawing or adjust some detail in construction, that the child may see the value of certain small changes in the place where they will mean most to him. Such work should not be exhibited as an example of the child's accomplishment, but should be treated as practice work. As a rule the teacher's demonstration should be made on other material and not on that used by the pupil. In no particular are primary schools open to greater criticism than in the too common habit of setting arbitrary standards of excellence and attempting to force all children to reach them. Such standards are usually too high for honest attainment and tempt or force the teacher to use methods which cannot be defended by any sound principle of pedagogy.

Values change with the purpose of the work. A thing is well made when it serves its purpose adequately. Toys must be strong enough to permit handling. Mechanical toys must work. Sewing must be strong as well as neat. In ill.u.s.trative problems, in which effect is the chief consideration, technique needs little emphasis, and workmanship may be of a temporary character.

Each thing made should establish its own standard in a way to appeal to the child's common sense.

CHAPTER V

THE HOUSE PROBLEM

The making of a playhouse has long been an accepted feature of primary work, but we have not always made it yield all of which it is capable, either in the self-directed activity of the children or in correlated subject matter. It has, in many cases, been only a bit of recreation from the more serious work of the school. In a house prepared by the janitor or older pupils the children have been allowed to arrange and rearrange ready-made furniture contributed from their playthings at home, but little creative work has been attempted. In other cases an elaborate house, carefully planned by the teacher, has been built and furnished by the children, but, because of the detailed planning, the children's part in it became merely a mechanical following of directions. In some cases relative proportions in rooms and furnishings have received scant attention; in others, color harmonies have been all but ignored. These varying methods of carrying out the house-building idea are not without value and may often be justified by local conditions, but their results are meager compared with the possible richness of the problem.

Playing at house building and housekeeping appeals to an interest so universal that children of all times and nations yield to its power. It is therefore necessary to take account of its influence in their development and to dignify it with the approval of the school. We must refine and enrich it by our direction and suggestion without robbing it of its simplicity and charm.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 9.--Box house, arranged on a shelf.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 10.--Medieval castle. Built by third grade. Franklin, Indiana.

An example of elaborate work which aroused the interest of pupils and patrons and paved the way for freer work later.]

In the suggestions which follow, an attempt is made to utilize this natural activity of children in an occupation which appeals to them as worth while. At the same time it may furnish ample opportunity for the general development and effective teaching of various phases of subject matter which are incident to the occupation, _i.e._ number in connection with measurements, art in the proportions and color combinations, language through discussions and descriptions.

The work is kept on the level of the children's experience by throwing them constantly on their own responsibility in every possible detail, the teacher never dictating the method of procedure and guiding the work with as few suggestions as possible. The work, being on the level of their experience, appeals to the children as very real and worth while. It is, therefore, intensely interesting, and they work without urging.

=General Plan.=--A house may be constructed from several empty goods boxes, each box forming one room of the house. The boxes or rooms are arranged in convenient order, but are not fastened together. Adjoining rooms are connected by doors carefully cut in both boxes so that the holes match.

Windows are also sawed out where needed. The walls are papered, careful attention being given to color schemes, border designs, and relative proportions in s.p.a.cing. Floors are provided with suitable coverings--woven rugs, mattings, linoleums, tiles, according to the purpose of the room.

Each step is discussed and more or less definitely outlined before the actual making is begun, furnishing opportunity for oral language of a vital sort. Completed parts are examined and criticized, furnishing further opportunity for exercise in oral language while directing attention to strong and weak points in the work.

The materials needed are easily obtainable and inexpensive, consisting chiefly of empty boxes and odds and ends of paper, cloth, and yarn, together with carpenters' sc.r.a.ps.

The tools needed are few, and in some cases may be brought from home by the children for a few days, as needed. The necessary time is found by making the incidental problems serve as subject matter for regular lessons. Making designs for tiling, linoleum, and borders for wall paper, planning relative proportions for doors, windows, and furnishings will supply material for very practical lessons in art. The problems incident to the measurement of doors and windows, tables and chairs, are number work of a vital sort and may be legitimately used as a regular number lesson. Discussions, descriptions, and definite statements of plans all form vital language exercises if rightly used.

HOUSE PLANS IN DETAIL

=Materials.=--_Empty Store Boxes of Soft Wood._--Sizes may vary, but where several are grouped for a house, they should be near enough the same height to make a fairly level ceiling. About 10 12 18 in. is a convenient size.

_Paper for Walls._--Sc.r.a.ps of ingrain wall papers may be had from dealers for little or nothing. Cover paper in good colors may be purchased by the sheet. Tailor's paper and brown wrapping paper serve well, and are sold by the roll at a low price.

_Pasteboard_ (strawboard or juteboard) may be used for the roof.

_Weaving Materials._--Rugs may be made from carpet rags, rug yarns, rovings, chenille, or jute; towels from crochet cotton; and hammocks from macrame cord or carpet warp.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 11.--House arranged on a table. Front view. Built by first grade. Columbia, Missouri.]

_Wood for Furniture._--Ba.s.s, white pine, poplar, or other soft wood. Box tops, if of soft wood, may be made to serve nearly all needs. If possible, provide thin wood (about 1/4 in. thick) in various widths, from one inch to six inches, so that only one dimension need be measured. Provide also thick pieces 1-1/2 in. or 2 in. square for beds and chairs; 1/2 in. square for table legs.

_Nails_ of various sizes, chiefly inch brads, are needed.