Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-02-02
COOP NURSERY SCHOOL.
LFrou, C., r. M, Mclean.


inquired about cooperative nursery
schools, perhaps the experience OF
Langley School in Langley, Va.
which has grown from a handful OF
students of the pre-school age to
nearly 100 children ranging in ages
from 8 to 8, will be of some help.
The type of building used does
pose a problem. The Langley School
in it's infancy held classes in the
living room of one of the willing
mothers. Now the school has just
rented vacant house which will be
renovated for use.
Concerning health requirements
the first step for Langley was to de-
termine from the county Health De:
partment exactly whatswas required
AS the school grew it was found
advisable to obtain the advice Of
pediatrician on such matters as the
best way to control the spread Of
colds and to prevent the introduc.
ton of any of the contagious
diseases. Teachers or cooperating
mothers inspect the Threats OF each
child every day before school starts
in order to detect any tell-tale signs
of colds or other illnesses. If there
is any reason to believe that a child
is Ill, he is sent home for the day.
The transportation problem al
Langley School was solved through
the introduction of car pools which
arrive daily from distances ranging
up to about miles from the school
Although the area served by the
school is rather great, the pools
thanks to the cooperation Of
mothers and fathers, have worked
very well in our situation. There il
no reason why the same set-up coulc
not be arranged to meet city condi-
tons where the children could walk
to school under the supervision Of
a parent.
The cost involved can be so vari-
able that no definite information car
be volunteered. The main item Of
expense is and should be the teach
er's salary. 1t is unlikely that q
competent person will be found al
less than 500 per month. Other
costs may include rent, cleaning
fruit Juice, insurance. etc, all Of
which may be relatively high or low
depending upon your specific con-
ditions.
In general, we have found at the
Langley School that the cooperative
idea is a good one and will work
providing that there is a genuine
expression of enthusiasm on the part
of the parents. We pride ourselves
on the fact that we have built ur
the school from a mere handful OF
students to reputable educational
institution serving very useful pur-
pose in the community.
X X u II
CHILD PROBLEM ANSWER.
From Mrs. F. A. S., Arlington)
For Mrs. E. J. S., Washington, and
her 9-month-old daughter. My
child is only 7 months old and
though he can't pull up on the
tables yet, he crawls all over. I
keep him in pen the greater part
of the day, but he has the run OF
the living room short while just
to be trained" I feel he has to
have temptation to learn what not
to do in other homes. So far the
only thing he can reach successfully
are the magazines and newspapers
in the magazine rack. For two
weeks every time he has gone FOL
them I simply tap his fingers and
say, mo, no, they are mommy's,
turn him around and give him q
toy. OF course, the procedure Is re-
peated five times in as many min
utes, but today I was rewarded
when after one such episode he
played the rest of the morning
without so much as q glance at the
forbidden papers. The tap on the
hand is often thought cruel by q
great number of people, but 1t is sc
Slight that I am sure I can't be
accused of beating the child. In
fact, he has never cried because Of
it, but usually smiles, thinking II
some sort of game. When he gets
little bigger I will do the same
thing in regard to tables, ashtrays
ETC., and I hope and trust I will
have the same gratifying results
The system does work, I know, for
have several friends whose children
are joys to have around because
they never touch thing. Nothing
is more embarrassing to a parent
I am sure, than child who trie!
to wreck a friends house.
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