The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-07-05
EDUCATE CKIL LDREN TO BE SIMPLE
 AND NATURAL

Some parents bemoan the fact | that Susie or Johnnie have Ito be | entertained every minute" Chil- 1 . dren of these parents usually re- quire comparatively expensive en-
 tertainment, too. They prefer the
 movies to their own home plays, |
 and are apt to whine for a candy and
 ice cream whenever at a public amusement place.
 To educate children to be simple
 and natural in their tastes they
 should be guided toward develop
 ing their own ingenuity in devising
 entertainment for themselves from
 the resources about them that act
 uaIly cost nothing. A child who
 has been encouraged to invent plays
 for himself rarely begs for more
 expensive amusement, and is, when outside entertainment is given him, delightfully."- appreciative. During the summer, when all children should play out of doors, as much as possible, flowers, seeds, shells and pebbles suggest many absorbing plays for them. If the children become interested ih both the curious and beautiful in grow ing things the door is open to teaching the love of nature.
 Among the things that will ap- peal to the little girl who likes to set a tea party in the garden, for her dolls, are acorn cups, hollyhock and mallow cheeses, and half-ripe
 milllweed seeds that collectively re- semble a tiny fish before dry l enough to separate and fly away. Shells and pebbles of all sizes
 are not only fun a the seashore but should be brought home for more play. Shells make nice dishes l for dolls. Pebbles will mark off, rooms in the back yard for a play house. The writer has seen chil- dren entertain themselves playing house by hours in very barren
 back yard by imagining that a few tiny pebbles had made a house. Dandelions are fun in several
 ways. Blowing off the fluffy seeds will tell what o'clock it is by the re- l maining seeds after three blowings 1 have been given, of coursel Split ting the stems and curling them in l the mouth by drawing the stem end back and forth through the lips 1 several times will make all kinds of l pretty "curls" Blowing through | the hollow stem of a large sized 1 dandelion makes a nice horn that | blows according to the breath pres ! sure eXerted upon it. Dandelion l blossoms make pretty wreaths and
 trimming for mud pies. And if a l mother is clever enough to give play practical turn she can set
 the kiddies to work digging dande- | lion greens for dinner.
 In the autumn maple leaf wings l and the beautifully colored maple
 leaves also will furnish hours of
 amusement. The imaginative child l will make wreaths, hats and even | dresses of leaves woven together. l The imaginative child will even pre-
 tend that pine spills are boats if | there is any water to sail them up- 1 on.
 Soft green moss may be a variety ! of things to admir.ng kiddies-fairy | carpet, dolIs' lawn or a velvet pin | cushion.
 Even so called "dirt' has great l possibilities for the children's play | hours. Making mud pies is surely
 part of every child's education. The
 artistic little baker will trim her cakes with daisies, nasturtium 1 leaves and other flowers and green | cry, according to her fancy. and
 the domestic girl will probably go
 in for elaborate array of layer cakes, cookies, doughnuts and pies. To make the mud pie game last. a | suggestion is to have a bakery. and
 after 'thes cooking is done to dis | play the products on a plank or 1 some sidewalk for a window and then play store buying and selling l them. And from start to finish the l children are actually learning l grown-up life.
 Both mud and sand are forms of
 dirt enjoyed by boys who can con Struct wonderful towns bridges dams and trenches that perhaps | foreshadow an interest in engineer | ing when they become adults.