Primary Handwork Part 4

A second objection to paper furniture is its lack of stability. Paper which is pliable enough to fold readily will not hold its own weight long when made into furniture, and very soon becomes wobbly. To overcome this tendency to wobble, heavier papers are often used and new complications arise. Heavy papers do not fold readily without scoring. Scoring demands considerable accuracy of measurement--often to a degree beyond the power of a six-year-old. The stiff papers, being hard pressed, are harder to paste, and neat work is often an impossibility, unless considerable a.s.sistance is given.

It is possible to make satisfactory furniture in a great variety of styles from stiff paper, and the processes involve some excellent practice in measurement and design. The processes necessary to obtain these satisfactory results are, however, beyond the ability of children in the lower grades. Even fairly satisfactory results are impossible unless an undue amount of a.s.sistance is given by the teacher. In actual practice, where stiff paper is used a few of the best workers in the cla.s.s are helped to make the few pieces needed in the playhouse and the unhappy failures of the rest of the cla.s.s are promptly consigned to the wastebasket.

Very pretty furniture may be made from reeds and raffia, but the processes are too difficult to be successfully performed by small children. The reeds do not lend themselves readily to constructions small enough to suit the average playhouse, and the larger pieces are out of proportion to the other features of the house.

The use of wood overcomes the most serious of the objections to be made to other materials, besides being the material most commonly used in "real"

furniture. Wooden furniture is stable, and a great variety of processes in construction are possible without introducing complications which prevent independent work on the part of the little people.

The processes necessary to the construction of very simple yet satisfactory wooden furniture may be reduced to measuring one dimension, sawing off, and nailing on. Measuring one dimension is quite within the powers of six-year-olds. _Sawing off_ is not difficult if soft lumber is used, and it becomes very simple by the help of the miter box. _Nailing on_ is difficult if the nails must be driven into the edges of thin boards, but if thin boards are nailed to thick boards, nails may "go crooked" without serious consequences, and the process becomes quite easy.

These processes have the advantage of being particularly fascinating to small boys, in contrast to the girlish character of many forms of primary handwork. (See Figs. 21 and 22.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 21.--Furniture from wood blocks.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 22.--Furniture from wood blocks.]

_Processes._--For the sake of convenience and clearness in these directions it will be a.s.sumed that the cla.s.s is provided with pieces of wood two inches square which will be referred to as 2 2. Also with thin wood in a variety of widths from 1 in. to 6 in. Material of other dimensions would serve the purpose equally well, and for many of the parts odd pieces from the sc.r.a.p box will answer every purpose. The directions are intended only to suggest how to proceed, and it is left to the teacher to adapt them to the material and conditions with which she works.

(1) _To make a chair._

Use 2 2 for seat and thin wood 2 in. wide for back. Children should measure and decide how much to saw off from strip of 2 2 in order to make a square block or cube for the seat. They should estimate the length of the back of the chair, then measure and saw off the thin wood needed.

Nail the back piece to the cube and finish with a coat of water-color paint or color with crayon. An armchair may be made by the addition of shorter pieces of thin wood to the sides of the chair.

(2) _To make table with pedestal._

Use 2 2 for pedestal. Use thin wood 6 in. wide for top. Use thin wood 4 in. wide for base. Measure and saw off 3 in. of 2 2 for pedestal.

Measure _enough_ of the 6 in. wood to make a square top and _enough_ of the 4 in. wood to make a square base. Do not tell the children what they can discover for themselves. They should decide how high the table ought to be and how large to suit the size of the room. Nail the square pieces to the two ends of the pedestal. Finish by same method used for chairs.

(3) _For ordinary table._

Use thin wood for top. Use 1/2 1/2 for legs. Measure and saw off pieces needed. Measure places for legs about one inch from corner of top in order to allow an overhang. Children frequently put the legs flush with the edge of the table, which gives a clumsy appearance. Nail through the top with a comparatively long nail.

(4) _To make a double bed._

Use wood 1/2 to 1 in. thick for body. Use thin wood of corresponding width for head and foot boards. Cla.s.s or individual workers should decide on dimensions for different parts and height of body of bed from the floor.

(5) _For single bed._

Proceed as for double bed, using narrow pieces of wood, or use six or seven inches of 2 2 for body of bed and make head and foot boards after the style of chair back.

(6) _Dressing table._

Decide upon dimensions needed. Use 2 2 for body. Use thin wood of equal width for back. Use tinfoil for mirror. Indicate drawers with pencil lines.

(7) _Couch._

Use piece of 2 2 of desired length and make couch cover of appropriate material, or add back and arms of thin wood to piece of 2 2 and finish to match other furniture.

(8) _Piano._

Use wood 3/4 or 1 in. thick for body. Nail on piece 1/2 1/2 for keyboard. Draw keys on paper and paste on keyboard.

(9) _Kitchen stove._

Use 2 4 or any sc.r.a.p or empty box of appropriate size and shape. Color black with crayon. Add chalk marks or bits of tinfoil to indicate doors and lids. Make hot-water tank of paper. Pieces of reed, wire, or twigs covered with tinfoil make good water pipes. Macaroni sticks and lemonade straws have served this purpose.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 23.--Home of White Cloud, the Pueblo girl. Second grade. Columbia, Missouri.]

=Clay Furnishings.=--For such articles as the kitchen sink, the bathtub, and other bathroom fittings clay is a satisfactory material. These articles may be modeled by the children, in as good an imitation of the real fittings as they are able to make. Various methods may be used for holding the kitchen sink and the bathroom basin in place, and it is much better for the children to evolve one of their own than to follow the teacher's dictation from the start. If they meet serious difficulties, a suggestion from her may help clear the way. Two long nails driven into the wall will give a satisfactory bracket on which the sink may rest. Two short nails may be driven through the back while the clay is moist and may serve also as a foundation for faucets. The basin, bathtub, and stool may each be built solid to the floor.

The teakettle and other stove furniture may be modeled in clay. Electric light bulbs of clay suspended by cords from the ceiling have a realistic air. Paper shades of appropriate color add to the general effect.

=Miscellaneous furnishings.=

_Bedding._--Paper or cloth may be used for bedding, as circ.u.mstances suggest. If interest in _real_ things is strong, the making of the sheets and pillow cases offers an opportunity for some practice with the needle.

If time is limited, paper may be used.

_Curtains._--Curtains also may be made from either paper or regular curtain material. If paper is used, it should be very soft, such as plain j.a.panese napkins. Sc.r.a.ps of plain net or scrim are most desirable. Some child is apt to contribute a piece of large-patterned lace curtain, but the tactful teacher will avoid using it if possible, and direct the children's thoughts toward a better taste in draperies.

_Portieres_ may be made of cloth, of knotted cords, or chenille.

_Couch pillows_ may be made from cloth or may be woven on a small card.

_Towels_ for the bathroom may be woven from crochet cotton.

_The fireplace_ may be made of cardboard marked off and colored to represent brick. A shallow box may be made to serve the purpose. Cut out the opening for the grate and lay real sticks on andirons made from soft wire; or draw a picture of blazing fire and put inside. The fireplace may also be made of clay. Pebbles may be pressed into the clay if a stone fireplace is desired. If clay is used, several small nails should be driven into the wall before the fireplace is built up, to hold the clay in place after it dries.

_Bookcases_ may be made of cardboard, using a box construction, and glued to the wall. Or a block of wood about one inch thick may be used. In either case mark off the shelves and books with pencil lines, and color the backs of the books with crayon.

=The Stairway.=--In a two-story house the hardest problem will usually be the stairs. Some good work in number may be done while finding out how many steps will be needed and where the stairway must begin in order to reach the second floor in comfort. Even quite small children can deal with this problem if presented in a simple way. For example, if the box or room is ten inches high, how many steps 1 in. wide and 1 in. high will be needed, and how far out into the room will they come? The children can work out the plan on the blackboard. Measurements may be modified to suit the ability of the cla.s.s and the needs of the room.

The variety of possible constructions in building the staircase corresponds to the varying ability of cla.s.ses. A strip of paper may be folded back and forth and made to serve with least mature cla.s.ses. This paper stair will sag unless it rests on a board or piece of stiff pasteboard. A substantial stairway may be made by sawing two thin boards for supports, as in Fig. 24, and nailing on steps of thin wood or cardboard. There is usually one boy in every first grade who is capable of as difficult a piece of handwork as this. He is apt, also, to be the boy who takes least interest in the general work of the cla.s.s, and often it is possible to arouse him to special effort through some such problem. The stairway may be made of heavy cardboard with a construction similar to that just described, but this requires pasting instead of nailing and is much more difficult for little children.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 24.--Detail of stairway.]

=The Roof.=--The making of the roof is another part of the house building which may often be given into the special care of the two or three over-age pupils who need special problems. The plan which they evolve from their study of the needs of the case will usually be of greater value to them, even though it may not be the best that could be suggested.

The roof may be made of wood as a base, with either wood or cardboard shingles tacked on in proper fashion; or it may be made of cardboard with the shingles merely indicated by lines made with crayon. If the wood base is used, wood gables may be made for sides or ends of the house. To these, long boards may be nailed to form a solid roof. Shingles two inches long by about one inch wide may be cut from cardboard or very thin wood and tacked to the boards. The children should be spurred to study the roofs of houses and find out how the shingles are arranged, and discover for themselves, if possible, the secret of successful shingling.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 25.--Box house, showing roof. Built by summer cla.s.s, Teachers College, New York.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 26.--Detail of gable.]