The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-02-28

"The child's first five years are
lived almost entirely in the realm of
play" said DR.. T. S. er-Schonen,
at a recent conference on THE Effect
of Play" in the domestic science de-
partment of Brooklyn Institute. THE
infant begins to play In his cradle
with his own toes and fingers. A
healthy child Is always playful, and
he wants to play necessarily, except
when he is hungry, sleepy or other
wise uncomfortable. Play is natures
method of educating the child. II is
a natural development and training
of the child's physical, mental and
moral nature.
Almost all a mothers talk to a
child up to school age is in the nature
of play. AS she provides food for the
child's body, so in her play with him
she furnishes food for his mind. 1t
is sometimes asked IL 1t is right to
try to teach very young children any
thing. Positively no mother can help
doing 1t. Consciously or unconscious
ly, she is teaching a child from ear
liest infancy by play. She is teach
ing him language as she talks to him.
She is teaching him motion, form and
direction as she bangles a bright ball
before his baby eyes.
Games train the body and the
mind. In the ceaseless activity of the
little child, so wearing to older per-
cons, he is developing every muscle.
Tossing ball is one of the best gym
nastic exercises ever invented. In
playing with building blocks child
gets no physical exercise, but he is
getting the finest kind of mental
training. He is developing taste,
judgment and ideas of architecture.
Blocks as Teachers.
"a very small child takes great
comfort with nest of blocks, all of
which he can put inside the largest
one, and then take out again. Chill
dren love very much a plaything
which can be taken to pieces and put
together again, horse that can be
harnessed and embarrassed. a doll
that can be dressed and undressed.
Any one who watches little children
must see how they love little, simple,
monotonous actions; how they will
sing the same little refrain or repeat
the same meaningless phrase over
and over again, till an older person
is nauseated with 1t. The child s
mind is simple. A child is overstim-
ulated and worried by the elaborate,
finished toys given him nowadays.
II you do not think so, examine the
hoard a young child will collect for
himself. l examined one such hoard
stored away by little girl who could
have any playthings she liked.
Among her treasures were various
old empty spools, the handle of an
old brush broom, clothespin and
various such things, including one
battered rubber doll, the only toy she
had taken from an elaborate collec-
tion. I do not know what meaning
she attached to these things, but you
may be sure that each old spool stood
for something more than q spool to
her Imagination. The child lives in
an unreal world, the world of play
His imagination is always at work
Sometimes, II we can get into his
world ourselves, he will tell us his
little imaginings, and we can get a
glimpse into the fairy realm where
he lives. But usually the child is
shy with us, because we have left
that fairyland and forgotten what was
there. He knows that the grown-up
will not understand and will laugh
The child does not like to be laughed
at any more than a grown-up. II
makes him ashamed and miserable
Or If he grows to like 1t it is very bad
for him. Then he becomes pert and
self-conscious,