East Cleveland leader. [volume] (East Cleveland, Ohio) 1942-1970, 1963-02-14

Almost as if it were planned
that way, our next story deals
with the second step up the
calligraphy ladder; the big
change from printed writing to
the cursive or FLOWING" style,
that takes place is the second
half of the second grade and
the early part of the third. By
coincidence, we have this story
from the third grade room Of
Mrs. Nancy Brindza at Prospect
School.
Last September, Mrs. Brind-
za's pupils were asked to make
"a sample of their writing. 1t in
cluded the date, the child's name,
and the statement that it was
a sample. Then it was put away
for safe keeping.
Each month thereafter, the
children wrote out new samples
of their writing, after many
days of practicing on such mat
ters as slant, spacing and let
ter formation. Each sample
bore the date of its writing, and
"a sentence in the students hand,
These too were saved. Then
last week the children got out
all Of their samples and took
IA good look at them.
Surprise. They could see. right
away how lawful" their writ
my was in September. Most sur
prised and pleased of all were
the five children in the class
who had transferred to Prospect
from other cities in September,
and who were still printing their
letters when they arrived. Their
autumn handwriting was really
not very good, you may be sure.
But now they were right up
with the neatest Of them.
Currently, the m 0 n t h-by-
month samples of the children's
penmanship are being displayed
on the walls of the classroom
so that they can see at glance
the improvements that they have
made. The samples will eventu-
ally be bound in a notebook
folder, which the boys and girls
can take home to show their
parents.
We Got Competition
Also as reminder of the
semester just passed, the VIM
ter edition Of Rozelle Schools
newspaper, the Little Leader"
has now appeared.
Many Of the articles in it
do, indeed, furnish the children
with a sort of summary of the
first months of the school year.
Football, the sixt h grade
camp, Halloween, Thanksgiv-
ing, Christmas, snow, visits,
to museums and Severance Hall
all these and other events are
commemorated with sh ort
themes and poems especially
those written by the older chill
dren.
Perhaps because of their
cheers assignments, the
younger children write more
about their families, pets and
homes than they do about
school affairs. They also are
more involved with the ''home"
holidays such as Thanksgiving
and Christmas than are their
older brothers and sisters. (We
may have stumbled upon
natural division of interests
here, without knowing it; we
will have to investigate it fur
ther.)
Many Of the little verses
show a way with words that
would repay cultivation, and an
awareness of things around
them, especially the weather,
that is both accurate and per-
5onal 10 the writer. In short,
he current Little Leader" is
above average in its content,
and is a credit to the school.
Handicraft is Displayed ,
Creative Stitchery" is the
name bestowde on recent handi- !
raft project Of the fourth grade
pupils of Mrs. Nancy Seifert at
School, many of
whose designs are presently on
display in the main hallway
# that building. /
These are really samplers"
# the old-fashioned sort, though
# course not as intricate or !
detailed. Burlap is fastened to I
cardboard backing, a design is
.rawn on the cardboard, and the
child then punches and sews
through the two substances to
produce his picture, working |
rom what a seamstress would
all the wrong side"
The widest variety of sub
ects possible have been selected
or their pictures by the chill
lren. Here is only partial
ist: dogs, mountains, dinosaurs,
rees, houses, cows (or horses?
Iot sure), butterflies, geo.
netrical figures anything
whose characteristic shape can :
,e Mined OUT, these children
lave attempted.
An emphasis was placed on