The Dolores star. [volume] (Dolores, Montezuma County, Colo.) 1901-current, 1919-03-07
Kindergarten
Helps for Parents
Articles Issued BY fhe Department
OF the Inferior. Bureau OF Education
and fhe
National X fndergorfe ASJocidfion
KlDDIEs LIKE TO USE HANDS
BY DOROTHY cANFlELo FISHER.

l
houses are situated In very rigorous
climates that II good many mothers
will not think the out-of-doors n posi-
Bile playground in wintertime. This Is
less true than they are apt to think.
On almost any sunny day in winter.
little children, IL warmly dressed, Will
benefit far more by n brisk. romplng.
active half-hour's running and jumping
than city babies do in their swathed,
motionless outing in baby carriage.
And when really bad weather drives
them In, rs it should do very seldom.
the country mother has n great advan-
tage in space over n city one. For
| there Is about farm nearly always
some corner, woodshed, corner OF
| the barn. an attic. or an unused room
| where the little folks may romp and
play actively If necessary the sacred
spare room is better used for this pur-
pose than kept in idle emptiness. And
all the varieties of handwork are re.
sources for rainy days.
For, ms the children advance beyond
real babyhood and the mere need for
constant romping and climbing and
running like little animals. their In.
stinctive desire to use their hands in.
creases, and this is an instinct which
should be encouraged in every posi-
bic way. Just as the wise mother sees
to 1t that they are provided when ba-
bies with ample chance to roll and
Kick and tumble, so when they are
older she is never more pleased than
when they are doing something with
their hands; and she has all around
her ample material for beginning this
handwork. A pan of beans or shelled
corn, with wide-mouthed bottle and
spoon, will keep two or three-year-
old happy and absorbed for n long
time. A pack of cards to be shufiled
| or used to build houses is another
| "plaything" which does not need to
be specially bought. A pap of bran
and handful of clothespiIls occupy
even baby of fourteen months as he
pushes them into the closely packed
bran and pulls them out. A big rag
| doll, the size of II small child. is easy
to make and stuff with cotton.
Many Home Made Toys.
And then there are blocks, peren-
NAL blocks, which need not mt all be
bought from store. A father with a
| plane and n saw can plane couple
of two-by-four pieces and In about
| half nm hour make rs many square or
| oblong blocks (two by four by six
| inches is n good sZe) as any child
needs to play with. These large blocks
not only cost practically nothing. but
are much better for the little children
to use than the smaller expensive
kind that are sold; and the set will
outlast family of most strenuous chill
dren.
A collection of empty spOOls of diff
ferent sizes Is a treasure for the child
of three. who Will rejoice in stringing
them on cord passed through Il
bOdkin. When he is little older and
has acquired skill In this exercise he
may graduate to stringing buttons
with real needle and thread. On
baking days small lump of dough,
| (made less sticky by working more
-four into it) which can be rolled and
played with on bit of smooth boacd
is great fun for little folks; and let
the mother constantly remember tnot
any fun which is secured by using
the hands does not only make the
child happy. but Is of educational
value.
on washing day basin of soapy
water and some bits of cloth to be
washed out will fill many happy
minutes. The oilcloth apron is MS in
dispensable for this play rs for the
outdoor water play and for clay mod.
cling. This last is perhaps the most
eternally interesting Of the indoor oc-
equations for little children. If the
clay is kept on a bit of oilcloth on
low table. it is not an untldy ele.
ment in n kitchen.
If dried peas are soaked for few
| hours they are soft enough IN no