Newark post., 1919-06-04
INTRODUCES PLAY
ELEMENTS INTO LES
SONS AND WORK
Y. w. c. A. Expert Tries Ex-
pertinent in Hawaiian
Islands

Miss Edna Geister, play expert for
the Y. w. C. A., who was sent to the
Hawaiian Islands to make survey
and suggest a recreational program,
has had in the past few months the
odd experience of playing with child
rem and grown-ups of some forty ma
tionalities.
Miss Geister visited great many
schools on one of the islands often
going Co one in the morning, another
one in the afternoon to experiment in
adapted graded recreation and then
meeting with mothers, fathers and
teachers in the evening.
The thing which impressed her
most in playing with children and
girls of the island was their respon-
siveness to fun and play. She is most
enthusiastic about the possibilities of
training children in the islands by in
Producing the play element into les
sons and work.
"In one school which l visited" says
Miss Geister, 81 discovered that the
children were using the word "been"
in the wrong place continually. 81
been gone," 81 been .seen," and such
expressions. l organized game and
divided the children into "beens,"
"haves," "seens" and ''gones." Can
you see the possibilities of this, the
beens having bee nprimed to quarrel
in their play with every one except the
haves? It worked splendidly.
II had always heard that Chinese
and japanese children play less than
those of any other nationality in the
world" Miss Geister continues, "but I
found them keenly responsive to
games"
"What we worked toward with
Hawaiian children was to get spon-
taneity and self-expression into their
play. Their, response was like spon-
taneous combustion. Their greatest
delight was in rhythmic games. We
worked definitely with them toward
coordination and concentration of
power"
81 have never seen a finer type of
man and girl recreation than the play
Of the Hawaiian Club, club of Y. w.
c. A. girls who, with their husbands,
make up champion volley ball team
which plays any team on the island
with the courage 20 challenge them.
81 was most impressed with the
first track meet for Oriental girls
ever held in the islands. 1t was put
on by the club leaders of the Y. W. c..
A. and a first prize was won by lit
tie crippled girl. 1t was simply Won
derful to see these girls who would
never before have run races and per-
formed gymnastic feats in public, get
up in front of that big crowd of fell
low students and parents and go thru
with the finest possible standards of
craftsmanship. The audience was
breathless with interest"
Childhood games, which had been
almost forgotten are having renewed
popularity all over the islands since
Miss Geister's visit. Games such as
81 see ghost" She has a collection
of letters from children in the islands
telling her how much they enjoyed
playing with her. When asked about
going back to the islands, Miss Geister
says emphatically, "I'm going back,
I've never seen a more wonderful op-
portunity for recreation. One gets
from working or playing with these
groups something that makes one
everlasting indebted to them. / feel
that must go back"
Miss Geister is author of Ice
Breakers, a book of gSmes which are
guaranteed to provide good times at
any party.