Evening star., 1923-07-22
Parent-Teacher Activities.

tTsis column Is conduc,-d uoirr 'at so.p.ccs
OF the District OF ColuMhia 3rarrl al the
SatonRl Congress of Mothsrs s.a rarcnt.
Teachers Associst.o;l1
Only few years ago Washington
contained many vacanl lots which
furnished play space foc the youth OF
our city, nearly every city block had
space somewhere fo- l.. base bali
diamond and there were always
enough shady places where the girls
could play mothers" and where
boy could hide with package of
cigarettes and copy of Mick car
ter" Now our city geography has
changed. Washington has become 1t
real metropolis, the vacant lots have
grown into houses or apartments and
we are confronted with the problem
of what to do with our children dur
ing the summer especially.
The late war taught US many val
liable lessons one Of the most i'm
portant being the necessity Tor CIV
ing our boys and girls healthy boules.
Education Is merely teaching children
/ 10 grow physically as well AS men
| tally and play is just AS important
to the growing body as books are To
the growing intellect both minds and
bodies need teachers in order to make
them clean. healthy and broad. Ihe
municipal plaSerounds are absolutely
unable to handle the children and 1t
seems "A crime to keep the school
Fairgrounds closed during vacation.
With no vacant lots and The streets
made dangerous by speeding auto
mobiles, where are our children TO
get the exercise their growing bodles
need? There is a school in nearly
every neighborhood, many Of them
have some play space around them
IDa -Taarhar Association ma q
contributed to the playground equip
1nent but when vacation comes the
school gates are locked anu the chll-
dren Of the neighborhood look long
ingly through the fence railing at the
useless swings and slides which the!
are only allowed to use for part OF
five days Il week from September untll
June.
Mrs Rhodes. at the head OF the
municipal Fairgrounds. is doing an
she can with the means at her ols
posal and has opened thlrty sShooi
backgrounds this summer. but II she
can get some help she can open
forty-two more school yards. Funds
and volunteer workers are necessary
our citizens can help th:s situation; ,1;
THE milk dealers OF the city VIII
gladly donate milk for the play
grounds but it cannot be nanuler .r
Without ice and either ice boxes OF
! nursery refrigerators. There are ar,
sixty Fairgrounds. now in operation ot,
and ffty mounds of ice daily on edcH
one will enable this department. 10
serve milk to the children who derive
, great benefit from the n.l!k luncnes
] served in &the schools during ihe
Another need is plain white paper
napkins, these are given, TO the chli
] dren 70 use for handkerchiefs. ana
| thousands are needed every uas;
| Many of the plsygrounds are useu
| for small children only ana lhes
! should be provided with saho ooNes
| filled with white sand instead OF tne
, brown sand they now use. whlch Is
not very clean. Every playground
| should be provided with proper shel-
Ter houses and what could be peter
for this purpose than the empty
nnrtables that now ill many OF our
school wards? In one school there
are two pOrtables that have oeeh
enopty since October and the children
are forced to play in the streets be
cause there are no funds to use Tor
moving these empty buildings. when
are doing a serious damage by re-
manning where they are because one
of them is covering the drainage
sewer. consequently after every ram
this yard is sea of mud. won
some of flour successful business men
remember the games they usen 70
play on the old back lot and he!p
,our boys and girls to get as much
fun out OF their youth as their par
,erts did? The District of Columbia
: Congress of Mothers and Parent
Teacher Associations has worked Tor
yaara ia this matter OF school play