Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-12

Almost all children love pictures
so wise parents are now combining
the educational with the esthetIc III
fitting up the children's playroom
They are collecting lovely colored
prints, and Children and their friends
spend many happy hours together,
pasting the pictures upon the walls
of the playroom or nursery. Frlends
and relatives cooperate with the chli'
dren, and after an interesting discus
sion It is not an unusual occurrence
for a beautiful print to arrive by mall
to add to the collection.
Sometimes almost the entire wall
is covered with the prints, just deep
border being left at the top. When
finished, the surface is either varnish.
ed or else it is left so that changes
NAV be made in the decorations when
desired. The children themselves like
to make frequent changes.
Relatives and friends who have had
interesting trips abroad and at home
present the children with pictures of
places visited, explaining fully about
the places represented in the pictures.
Then the childen later explain the
meaning of the pictures to their little
friends who visit them-"Incle sent
this one after telling us about India, .
"Auntie brought that one from Vel
owstone Park" When a better
picture arrives one of less Importance
is covered up or removed.
Among some collections are pictures
of beautiful gardens. tropical coun-
tries, bird life and popular fairy tales.
Some pictures teach the value of color.
others illustrate various stages of adj
venture in a story. Little poems with
illustrations are very popular Child
rem never become bored in such a
playroom. and even babies who can
only crawl make their way to picture
land and gaze long and admiringly at
a lovely garden or other feature Of
interest.
Children's Toy Zoo.
To make animals for a toy zoo
the cooperation of grown-ups is need
ed at first, but with a helping hand
the children will soon be able to make
the animals themselves. Pieces Of
fine soft felt fro mold hats. or cloth
or other strong material are good to
use for making the animal. The cloth
must match as nearl vas possible the
actual color of the animal to be made
from it.
Secure a picture of an animal, or
draw one in bold outline. A side view
of the animal is absolutely necessary.
then cut it out and place it on the felt
or cloth. Cut two of these patterns,
one for each side of the animal. Make
the ears separately and cut four extra
legs. Sew each extra leg on the inner
side of the animals leg that it match
es. Sew all round the foot and half
of each leg, using an overcast stitch;
then stuff the leg with rags or soft
- nd
the stomach and back, stuff well. then
stuff and sew up the neck. and finally
the head. Sew on the ears last of all.
An animal with broad back. such
as a horse, requires an extra piece of
material cut for the back and stomach.
This should be cut to taper where il
meets the legs.
To make a lions name. use darning
wool or carpet yarn. Sew 1t in loops
along the top of the head and down
the neck before sewing up the head.
Cut through the center of the loops.
Stuff an elephants tusks very firmly
to keep the shape perfectly. Golden
brown or orange felt or cloth striped
with black paint makes an effective
toy tiger. White felt should be used
for polar bears. brown felt for camels.
and gray felt for elephants. Cages for
the dUlIIldlS IctJi bS cut LIOIil
board, the bars being painted black
and glued on.
Special Playthings.
A blackboard on the nursery or
playroom wall is never-failing
Eource of pleasure to the children
and is very easy to make. A good
kind of blackboard is painted onto the
plaster after the paper has been
removed. Blackboard paint, such as
is used in schools, is very easily pro.
cured and should be applied evenly
over the space. The rest of the wall
should be papered in the usual way
and finished off wit ha border where
1t meets the blackboard. This kind
of board will last for years and ordi-
nary chalk will rub off easily with
>dry cloth.
With a small quantity of modelling
clay and a paper matchbox child can
make a little rowboat which will float
as well as one made Of wood. First
of all, take the modelling clay, roll and
knead it around with the fingers until
It Is a fiat sheet, not more than a
quarter of an inch thick. While
kneading it, gradually bring up the
sides to form a clay dish. 1t is pos
sible by making this rough dishlike
boat first to work the clay around
until a pretty little rowboat Is shaped.
Now cut the matchbox apart, and
the sides of the little drawer will make
two fine seats for the rowboat. These
oan Ia mazda finn hy forcing them