The Benson signal., 1919-03-01
Kindergarten
Helps for Parents
Articles Issued by the Department
of the Interior, Bureau of Education
and the
National Observation-Disclosures
KIDDIES LIKE TO USE HANDS
BY DOROTHY cANFIELD FISHER.

houses are situated in very rigorous
climates that good many mothers
VIII not think the out-Of-dOOrs pOSSi-
bic playground in wintertime. This is
less true than they are apt to think.
On almost any sunny day in winter,
little children, if warmly dressed, will
benefit far more by brisk, -romping,
active half-hour's running and jumping
than city babies do in their sWathed,
mot1Onless outing in baby carriage.
And when really bad weather drives
them in. as it should do very seldom,
the country mother has a great advan-
tage in space over 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, as 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 pOssi-
BILE way. Just as the wise mother sees
to it 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
a spoon, will keep two or three-year-
old happy and absorbed for a long
time. A pack of cards to be shuffied
or used to build houses is another
'plaything" which does not need to
be specially bought. A pan of bran
and handful of clothespins occupy
even a baby of fourteen months as he
pushes them into the closely packed
bran and pulls them out. A big rag
doll, the size Of small child. is easy
to make and stuff with cotton.
Many Homemade Toys.
And then there are blocks, peren-
bought from a store. A father with
plane and saw can plane couple
of two-by-four pieces and in about
half an hour make as many square or
oblong blocks (two by four by six
inches is a good size) 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 a 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 a cord passed through a
bodkin. When he is a little older and
has acquired skill in this exercise he
may graduate to stringing buttons
with a real needle and thread. On
baking days a small lump of dough
(made less sticky by working more
flour into it) which can be rolled and
played with on bit Of smooth board
is great fun for little folks; and let
the mother constantly remember that
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 as in
dispensable for this play as for the
outdoor water play and for clay mod
cling. This last is perhaps the most
eternally interesting of the indoor oc-
cupations for little children. If the
clay is kept on a bit Of oilcloth on
a low table, it is not an untidy ele-
ment in kitchen.
If dried peas are soaked for a few
hours they are soft enough to be
pierced with a needle and can be
strung by four and five-year-OldS into
necklaces and bracelets, or they can
be put together with wooden tooth
picks into many fascinating shapes.
Dried watermelon and sunflower seeds
can be used in the same way. A box
of dried corncobs can convert free
corner of the floor into farm with
log cabin house, rail fences and barns.
Rag Bag Is Help.
A rag bag into which the children
may dive and delve is a resource for
rainy hours, and if the mother is at
hand to keep an eye on the process
and tell what colors and materials
are. to suggest matching these colors
and stuffs which are identical and to
make agreeable combinations with
others, rag-bag hour is as educational
as any exercise in a carefully run
modern school. The country mother
has here again great advantage
over many city mothers in that her
work is always at home, and Of q
nature which allows her to supervise
tbe childrens play without giving W
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