Putnam County herald. (Cookeville, Tenn.) 1903-1922, 1920-09-23
Training Little Children
ARTICLE LII
By Mrs. Dora Ladd Reyes

| mOtner bond OF understanding and
sympathy with Froebel and his
ideals as they have been worked out
in the kindergarten.
The best modern kindergartens
center their programs largely around
the natural home activities of the
child. Hence even though mothers
may find it impossible TO secure kin.
dergarten privileges for their child.
rem, materials and opportunities are
close at hand with which to provide
to some degree at least for this need
Last February a laddie who was
just half past three, with hands well
scrubbed and nails manicured, cut
out thirtyeight valentine heart cook.
les for his mother. Before he had
finished he learned to be neat, quick
| firm of touch and economical in his
spacing. In addition he was uncon-
sciously gaining a sense of participa-
ton and cooperation and the feeling
of bein a "real help" to mother.
Last autumn the same little laddie
gathered large pailful of scarlet
summer seeds, which we plant every
spring around the lay fence.
Children love to have a place that
is their very own. My husband
and I feel that the eight dollars we
invested in a fence for a play pard
for our two boys were well spent.
the play yard is fifteen feet square
and contains little cherry tree,
some grass and large space from
which grass has long since disap-
peared Here we put a sand pile
which, when wet, supplies dough for
all sorts of delectable bakery prod
ucts, and when dry affords opportu-
mites for constructing bridges and
mysterious tunnels.
The play yard is the place for tea
parties in the hungry middle of the
afternoon" 1t has not only supplied
the needs of our own children, but is
quite the social center of the neigh
borhood-too much SO, one mother
sometimes thinks!
Songs, stories, hand work and ma
ture study are important lines of
kindergarten activity which a moth
er can pursue at home with the help
of a few good books and her own re-
sourcefulness. The child deprived
of kindergarten is not so likely to
suffer for want of these activities as
Tor the lack of the social training
which, to me, is the biggest contri-
button of the kindergarten. The
child needs to play with other child
rem. Here, says Jean Paul, "the
first social letters are woven of flow
ers." And therein lies the unique |
value of the little play-yard. Child |
rem learn there to give and take, to |
adjust themselves to each other and |
They also develop the |
Initiative that makes for leadership.
Play in the play-yard is undirected |
so long as harmony prevails.
The neighborhood is the next |
larger group after the family and |
prepares the child for a conception
Of the larger school group and the
community. In the summer / invite
he children of the neighborhood-I
about sixteen in ALTO come to our
big lawn twice week and join in our
Twilight Play Circle" During the
winter I also invite them to come
once "a week to play indoors. We
,all the winter meeting our Neigh
Fun Club" took my neigh
as ! found it and the child
EN- vary from 3year olds to two
girls. One of the latter
,lays the piano for us and the other
Helps in numberless ways. l .erve
40 refreshments. Last winter we
earned three simple folk dances
md number of the beautiful games
hat are so deeply rooted in the
'arly social experiences of the race,
UGH as London Bridge" and Here
We 60 round the mulberry bush"
We also played other games suit
bile for a large number of children
indoors, and learned about thirty
fddles. Children who could read
prepared special contributions, such
IS child poems of Eugene Field and
robert Louis Stevenson. Two little
iris sang duets for us, and one day
We had little guest who taught us
ONE charming solo dances based on
dother Goose rhymes. l.
The children's love the dramatic
vas shown by their fondness for
Messing pantomines. A child pspal-
y planned Dantomine beforehand /,
nd then invited others to help him
pork it out for the rest to guess. Our
ant0mine material was drawn large
' from Mother Goose. Aesop's Fa- ,
les and well known fairy tales. /,
Our Fun Club" takes some of my
recious spare time, as we'll as a
considerable amount of energy, but ,
eel that It pays for myself as well
s for the children. 1t makes me :
ealize what Froebel's friend meant
hen he said, TT is like fresh bath
Or the human soul when we dare to
e children again with children"
DInooa varc <hic o~<fa1A - |