The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-05-02
FOR
LITTLE ONES

A prettier sight than the kindergar-
ten picnic on the Capitol grounds yes
| terday morning it would be a hard
thing to find in a long days travel
The little ones, very little ones they
/ were, too, came with their teachers to
make merry on May Day. which has
been one OF the. childrens' days ever
since the first spring was born in Mer-
RE England so many years ago that
nobody knows when it was, now. But
it is always a new day to the children,
and those who go to school at the Ka-
waiahao and Kamehameha primaries
even came in special cars so that they
might observe the day with the rest of
the little ones.
And didn't they have a good time,
though. There were children from all
the kindergartens in town, and that
is a lot, and each one had its own col
ors, and they decorated themelves with
paper leis and with flowers, and the
Chinese little ones wore their national
dress. and that gave the thing an
added touch of the picturesque. OF
course, though, no dress could be
brighter than the faces of the little
children. They don't put anything
brighter in a tropic sunset, and that is
about the brightest thing child can
look at without blinking.
AS to the colors, the children of Pa
lama carried red, white and blue. Not
that they are any better Americans.
you know, but they made lucky
choice. The children of the Castle kim
dergarten had palm and that was
pretty idea in a place where there are
so many palms. The Kauluwela car
ried lima. and the Portuguese children
were loaded down with red hibiscus,
and the Chinese color was pink and the
Kawaiahao youngsters had red and
green leis. And those are pretty colors,
too. and are the ones nature does the
most with. really.
The children carried lunches. and
spread them under the trees and made
merry over them-and after that they
carried them under their belts, which
is the really best place to carry a lunch.
Any boy will tell you that, if it is a
good Iunch-like his mother puts up.
And while they ate and played the band
played to them, the music that the little
folks like-and then, presently, just to
show Captain Berger that they appre-
ciated it, the children formed in a line
and took hold of hands and went cir
cling like lot of merry elves around
the band stand. And you better be-
lieve that Captain Berger liked that.
1t was music without notes. and he is
a music man, and he knows.
There were about $50 little ones at
the picnic, altogether and it was one
of the pleasantest May Days they have
ever had, what with all the kindergar-
tens and the children of Kawaiahao
and Kamehameha primaries thrown III.
The kindergartens. in fact. are a
most important feature of the school
system of Honolulu, and are doing a
noble work. They start at the very
starting point. in this work. and who |
ever has TO do with children knows how |
important it is to have the foundation |
laid right. You cannot erect a straight |
building If the foundation stones are !
put in wrongly. and you cannot create !
a noble character, either. unless the
first work is noble work the instinct of |
right principles. For children do pick
up so much. and are not knowing
enough TO discriminate between the
good things and the bad things that
ie in the path. The work of the kin
iergarten is to remove the bad and
iireCt the young mind to the good
md they do that in the schools here
'Onscientiously and constantly.
Besides the kindergarten picnic at the
'apitol grounds, several Of the primary
chools yesterday had a picnic at Ka- f:
'iolani Park.