The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1921-06-02
Child Activity


Children like to be active. Of
course there are things that the child
must do whether he likes to or not,
but there is much Of entertainment
and development that he can gain
through the activities which he nat
urally Graves.
Training comes through activity.
The use Of tools may furnish end
less opportunities for helpful, hap
py activity. The remark Of one little
girl who used to visit me is signifi-
cant, 81 like to come up here, be-
cause / can do things"
Because the child does enjoy
creating and doing he learns uncon-
sciously and how much there is to
be learned through the ends of the
fingers; Skillful hands, concentra-
ton, observation, forethought, and
Judgment, are all developed, and
best of all, respect rather than scorn
for manual labor is implanted in the
child when he is young and impress
sionable.
In making gifts to children, give
them toys or tools with which they
can create. Most children cannot
have a complete work bench nor join
a class in manual training, but any
normal child can get hours Of help
full, happy activity from the use Of
such aids as can come within his
reach. A hammer, saw, some nails
and few small pieces of wood; pa
per, scissors, paste, colored cray
ons, or water color paints are all
splendid mediums for self EXPIRES
sion. Let the child's work be super
vised sufficiently to guide his ac-
tivity into doing whatever he does
well, and for some definite object.
Method in activity is Of the greatest
Importance, whereas aimless activity
neither entertains the child for any
length of time nor does it help him
to develop skill and concentration.
Let whatever the child makes be
something which, from his viewpoint,
is worth while.
Not long ago l bought playtime
circus for boy; it consisted of sew
eral sheets with the outlines of diff
ferent animals. l gave him a box of
the best colored crayons, a pair of
scissors and some paste. With little
supervision he cut, put together and
colored one animal at a time and
then we began frieze for his room
by pasting them onto strip of neu-
trail tinted paper about ten inches
wide. He was delighted with the oc-
cupation. 1t called for careful ex-
ecution with scissors, appreciation
for shades of color, Imagination, and
best of all, he felt that he was Great
ing something worth while.
OF course there are children who
are not interested in making toys
household objects, but any child
should learn to use his hands by
having certain regular home duties
and responsibilities. Even a small
child feels the pleasure of self-re-
lance and self-respect that come
from responsibility for some regular
duties. A child of three or four can
put away and care for his own toys
even when it might be easier for his
mother to do so. Ownership entails
responsibility and it may also de-
velop generosity; for without pos
sessions how can we shareq As
soon as a child has a little respon-
sibility placed upon him he begins to
develop self confidence and self-re-
spect; he becomes an intelligent in
dividual who thinks for himself and
feels for other people, who senses
and respects the rights of others.
Only as our children are taught
to appreciate the feelings and re-
gard the rights of others can the cit
teens of the future become more hui
name and lawless reconsideration be
relegated to the past.