The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-02-04
How Children's InterestW
Developed in a Yer
mont Town
MRS. J. B. CHASE GIVES
OPPORTUNE ADDRESS
Teachers, Pupils and Parents in
Brattleboro - Valuable Results Ac-
compEshed in Lyndonville.

complished in Lyndonville.
Especially opportune was the address
| yesterday afternoon in the assembly |
room of the Main street school build |
| ing by Mrs. John B. Chase of Lyndon |
ville who came under the auspices of
the Parent-Teacher associations of this
town. She discussed from the view
point of a woman, who originated the
| idea of interesting children in things
worth while, the development of that
idea in her home town from u class of
a few girls in sewing to its present
dimensions of over 300 children, repre-
senting 130 homes whose varied inter
ests range from making maple sugar to
| darning socks; from raising vegetables
to canning fruits.
1t is Just this sort of thing that the
teachers of the public schools here have
started and which they plan, with the
Ibacking of the Parent-Teacher associa-
tions and the parents of children gen
orally, to develop.
Mrs. Chase, a former school teacher,
said that nine years ago she and others
determined to try TO remedy the con-
ditions in their town which found chill
dren wasting their time and being edu-
lcated by schools and parents directly
away from home opportunities, and be-
lcause, after her experience as a teacher,
she felt that in many instances the
lessons were not correlated with home
: life.
; They started their organization there
with as few rules as possible and first
gave only garden training after having
? failed dismally in an attempt TO have
| q school garden The nearest approach
!, they have now to a school garden are
, school hotbeds. Most of the work at
: the present time is among the children
: in the rural schools but in another year
5 they expect to take in the 800 children
;, in the village schools
5 In the first year of the attempt to
f interest children in gardening only four
$ or five of the Is who started finished.
i The number was doubled the next year
f and now there is not one child in the
!. II rural schools who is not doing some
: work in one or more of the ID depart
ments which have been developed from
e the original start.
!. While the science of marketing the
|. product was early considered an effort
Q is made constantly to have the child
keep for home consumption the vege-
tables raised and to this end canning
is taught as an important feature Of
home economics. Last wear out of 525
z spoiled.
The numerous departments of the
work that have been developed have
: nearly all been suggested by the chill
: dren. The annual exhibitions grew Will
the increased interest and in the fourth
year the grown-ups of the town became
generally interested and a specia
: teacher was secured. At first it wa,
it necessary, because of the opposition Of
= 10 L Il.
e children during recess or at the nooI
If hour, but now this special teacher i
al regularly enrolled and has special pc
riods for her lessons in each school.
a Mrs. Chase sketched briefly the out
!. lines of the work for the year as i
y has been planned for 1916. She tolt
of the methods adopted in orderin;
% seeds, in buying the necessary supple
4 in bulk and selling them to the chill
n dren, for nothing is furnished withou
- something being paid for it by tn
- recipient Some of the children hav
- developed their poultry business to tn
- point of having incubators. An exper
aa1e IN poultry work was secured, who CAV
= demonstration of the proper method
of caring for poultry
70 In the northern part of the state
ds is impossible to raise corn to full ma
turity, likewise tomatoes, and much o
the time ana energy that might b
el' wasted in trying to defeat nature ha
been turned towards the development
g of the maple sugar industry. In tn
study of the different forest growth
o. the children have waged vigorous wa
ne on the tent caterpillar nests.
She said that they now serve he
'et lunches to all of the rural schools, al
he other development of the original plal
rs They do not allow the children to bu
anything which they can, and the goV
10 ernment method of canning is followe
Id exactly A special elementary ibrar
ST was prepared by the university exteI
av sion service and the society at Lyndol
vile has a constantly increasing or
of its own, and these books are in col
e slant circulation among the childre
ay and are eagerly read.
They have found that the adults
lch the families have become intereste
M and they are able to trace much cor
me munity good from the varied work
the organization which has helped
ggs keep the children out of mischief al
lay give them a start in the developmel
the of their careers.
ny. After the meeting, in conversatit
of with some of those present, Mrs. Cha
lile said that the town would not perm
ub, the work to be abandoned as last We
les the children banked over $4,000
their own money. This was in adj