The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1915-08-14
playroonn
FOR the
Riddles

Because the rich man fits up a play
room with every expensive mechanical
toy that ingenuity can devise or talent
invent there Is no reason why, for lack
OF these luxuries, there should be no
playroOms at all In the home Of the
average breadwinner, a place which
can be in every sense the chIldren's
own special domain.
Very little money viii 60 long way
in fitting up playrOom that will ade-
quately answer all Of the reasonable
demands OF the children.
The first thing to be considered Is
plenty 0f light A room with a south
ern exposure is, of course, preferable,
but not essential.
The walls should be a plain, restful
color with q few attractive pictures,
hung rather low. showing harvest
scenes, country fairs, dogs, horses,
sheep and rabbits.
Some attractive playrooms have da-
does OF Kate Greenaway pictures, with
the upper walls plain. Besides these
there are also charming playroom wall
papers Illustrating Mother Goose
rimes and fairy tales
The stained floor should have its rug
tackled to prevent tripping and falling
over uptuned edges. New furniture
Is an abomination TO the children's
sanctum. and by a little effort Of the
imagination they convert an old sofa
into an automobile, a steam engine or
whatever the moment demands Of It.
A cheap pine table Of the kitchen
variety should have the legs sawed
or five or six inches and the chair
legs reduced to conform to It HAv-
ing these OF a comfortable height is
most restful and satisfactory to the
little ones. The table should be placed
against the side wall and its drawer
contain slate, drawing book, colored
pencils and a box Of paints. Keep
some back number magazines and
weeklies here and offer the children a
prize of bat and ball or doll for the
most artistically colored print, the con-
test to last q month The time spent
In coloring the pictures saves the
grownups many an hour Of nagging.
Even the cheap and commonplace
clothesptn may be converted into an
absorbing playroom diversion for very
little children. With a pen and ink
features may be drawn on their wood
en- heads, movable pastebOard arms
fastened on with pins, and with bodies
clothed In colored tissue paper, assist
ed by the paste pot, they evolve into
beruffied maidens or brave looking sol
diers.
A Kaleidoscope costing a quarter is
a never ending source Of wonder and
entertainment, and the playroom should
also have a checkerboard. Each child
may have his own postcard album for
10 cents, and soap bubble pipe costs
but penny.
But of all inexpensive playroOm treas
ures the lump Of modelling clay is the
most fascinating and holds the atten-
tion of the players longest The pos
sibilities Of the clay as a means Of
amusement are almost infinite. Even
the tiniest child may be paciied and
kept speIlbound with interest if be
may make something" out Of the
plastic material 1t is a delight to
children to illustrate a familiar fairy
tale or nursery rhine by modelling the
characters and grouping them on the
table as If enacting the scene. They
viii consume hours in shaping the
forms of Little Red Riding Hood,
her old grandmother and the hungry
wolf, and in this way many Of the
better stories, like Beauty and the
Beast" Snow White" and The Ugly
DuckIing," may be indelibly impressed
upon the memory.
Inscriptions also serve good purpose
In the playroom- Cut large capital let
tiers from a publication and paste them
on the playroom door in the form OF
this inscription: "Who slams me hurts
everybody" You should paint these
letters red-nay, vermilion-so that he
who runs may read