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CHAPTER VI.

MANIPULATIONS.

BLOCK-BUILDING, stick-laying, and pea-work follow the more violent kinds of exercise, and seem to the children only forms of playing. While the former cannot fill up more than a quarter of each hour, the latter should not do more than fill up another quarter. Some form of manipulation can take up another quarter.

First is SEWING. On perforated board should be drawn (both sides) simple rectilinear forms, such as spades, shovels, saws, watering-pots, bee-hives, wigwams, guns, drums, barracks, the United States flag, &c., and the children will learn to use a needle and thread with great pleasure, especially if different colored threads are used. As they become more skilful, more complicated forms and cross-stitches can be taught; and by and by canvas can be substituted for the perforated board. Plain sewing can also be taught, the girls having dolls' clothes to sew, and the boys bags for their fishing-fackle, pincushions, &c.

2. WEAVING. - Another quiet amusement is to weave into paper, cut for the purpose, narrow strips of card-board of different colors. Colored cards of various colors can be bought by the thousand, and cut up carefully into strips an eighth of an inch broad. Each color should be in a different compartment of the teacher's box, and the children be allowed to choose their own colors. For a time, a simple checker-work is all that can be accomplished. By and by different patterns may be proposed by the teacher for imitation by the children. It will be necessary to cut the paper into which the card

board is to be slipped, which is a nice process, as the cuts must be very exact. Possibly it might be done by machinery. But in my own Kindergarten we have done it ourselves, doubling the paper and using the scissors, and making the cuts correspond in size with the strips of card-board. Any colored paper may be used, but I have always used white. Among Froebel's Gifts is a box of papers already cut, and strips of paper which he proposes should be slipped into thin pieces of wood and drawn through according to the pattern proposed. But we found that it was much better to have stiff slips than to have paper with the apparatus of the wooden needle.

When Kindergartens become as common as they certainly will, as soon as the method is known enough to be appreciated, prepared boxes of cut paper and slips of colored card-board will doubtless come into commerce, and boxes of perforated board, with the patterns already drawn on both sides, all ready for the needle.

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3. PRICKING. Another very attractive thing is for the teacher to draw the forms of birds and animals on paper for children to prick. They are greatly delighted to hold these pricked forms upon the window-pane, and see the lines of light which they have made, and also to see the raised work on the other side of the paper.

A teacher can easily furnish herself with a large quantity of patterns by tracing, with a fine pen, upon engineer's cambric, from "Jardine's Naturalists' Library," or, still better, from "Routledge's Illustrated Natural History," edited by Woods, the forms of beasts and birds, with more or less detail of feathers in the case of the birds. From these patterns, tracings can be made upon paper. If children are taught a good deal about the habits, &c., of birds and beasts, it will be a very good plan to choose for the pricking the forms of what has been talked about, so that they may have exact ideas of these forms; and while they are pricking, what has been taught may be brought again to their memory by the

teacher. A good deal of care should be given to meet the fancies of the children, in distributing the forms to be pricked, so that the interest may be kept vivid; and I suppose it is needless to say, that not only must they weave, prick, or sew but a quarter of an hour at a time, but they should not do all these things on the same day, or oftener than twice a week.

To make the interest of the pricking greater, I color the forms on the patterns which I make for them, according to Nature, and allow my children to have them before their eyes while they are pricking. This coloring is very simple and unshaded; and I find that some of the children, who have paint-boxes at home, color the pricked forms, when they get home, according to their recollection of the pattern. It would be a formidable thing to undertake to superintend the coloring at the Kindergarten; but if one had assistants enough this also could be done, at least in the case of the older ones. Newton's albumen colors, if they were a little cheaper, would serve nicely; but, at all events, it would be a very great task for the teachers, and small children would succeed so indifferently that it is quite a question whether it would be worth while for them to attempt anything so difficult. Nothing should be undertaken, in the Kindergarten, in which there is not a fair chance of some considerable success, for it is not a good habit to fail in anything which is seriously attempted; and one great reason for superintending children in what they do is, that an adult's judgment is necessary for the choice of what is attempted. The habit of success produces perseverance.

4. PAPER FOLDING AND CUTTING.-This is an amusement which may lead to beautiful results. Billings, one of our most gifted artists, first developed his genius with paper and scissors. Exquisite delicacy and rich invention were displayed in his paper cuttings, even when he was but five or six years of age. Let each child be provided with a pair of scissors, and a square piece of thin paper. Also

have the same yourself, and let them imitate you, as you go through the following process:

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1. Lay the paper straight on the table. 2. Unite two opposite corners and crease the fold, which will make a triangle. 3. Hold the doubled corners in the fingers and unite the other two corners, by which a smaller triangle is produced with one side closed and the other open. 4. Turn one of the folds to the right, the other to the left, keeping the corners, where they are all united, between the forefinger and the thumb, and cut the paper at the base, so as to form an acute-angled isosceles triangle. 5. Now cut into all the creases as they are folded together, and into the edges, making little diamonds, or any kind of cuts, and gouging out small pieces. 6. Unfold, and a symmetrical pattern will be found to be cut.

These first manipulations can be easily performed by the youngest children. When done, the little figures are collected, put into an envelope, and taken home.

It can be proposed that a child should cut in paper shapes of ivy leaves, and other flowers; of birds, animals, &c. At first, models for imitation can be given; but from the first, children should be incited to invent forms. Upon a paper simply folded once, cups, vases, beautiful bowls, with two handles, can be produced; and where there is genius for producing forms of beauty, it will not fail to show itself very soon. Symmetrical forms being insured by the folding, the smallest child can accomplish something, which will please the eye and encourage to new efforts.

Paper folding can be made the means of developing geometrical power in children, as will be shown in the proper place.

5. MOULDING. - This is the highest form of manipulation, and one which is very fascinating to children, who often make forms with mud and snow in their out-door play.

The material, whether clay, rice, wax, or whatever else may be employed, must be previously prepared, and always kept in a plastic state.

Clay is the least expensive material, but it must always be kept wet, and it is cold to the hands. Wax, prepared with oil, is more expensive, but far cleaner than clay; and it has the advantage of preserving the forms moulded, while the clay shrinks and cracks when it dries.

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The material being prepared, each child is supplied either with a small flat board, slate, cloth, or strong paper, to cover the part of the table used; a small blunt elastic knife, and a portion of the plastic material. The child is first left to pursue the bent of its own inclinations, generally the roller and the ball are the first objects attempted, in their formation the child finds great delight. Irregular forms are, however, the easiest. The children are encouraged to imitate birds' nests, baskets, candlesticks, and various fruits : apples, pears, strawberries, also some vegetables, and especially flowers; - whenever it is possible let them have the natural objects before them. Afterwards models of animals are given for imitations; and they are encouraged to make parts of the human figure, fingers, hands, ears, noses, for which they have models in each other. I have known a boy not twelve years old, who would take an engraved head, and mould one by it, in which the likeness would be remarkable; he used wax and a pin.

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To make forms from the hint of an engraving, is a little above imitation; and it is to be remembered that we do not wish the children to stop with imitations. Let them go on and invent forms, beautiful vases, pitchers, &c. When they begin to make heads and human figures, a teacher, who understands the principles of drawing, can bring to their notice the proportions of the human figure and face found in nature, which make ideal beauty. Many a heaven-destined sculptor will find himself out, in the Kindergarten.

6. DRAWING AND PAINTING. Mr. Sheldon, in his "Elementary Instruction," has given, in detail, "Krusi's System of Inventive Drawing," which has its merits; but Miss M. A. Dwight, in the pages of "Barnard's Journal of Edu

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