THE HOUSE PROBLEM
The making of a playhouse has long been an accepted feature of primary
work, but we have not always made it yield all of which it is capable,
either in the self-directed activity of the children or in correlated
subject matter. It has, in many cases, been only a bit of recreation from
the more serious work of the school. In a house prepared by the janitor or
older pupils the children have been allowed to arrange and rearrange
ready-made furniture contributed from their playthings at home, but little
creative work has been attempted. In other cases an elaborate house,
carefully planned by the teacher, has been built and furnished by the
children, but, because of the detailed planning, the children's part in it
became merely a mechanical following of directions. In some cases relative
proportions in rooms and furnishings have received scant attention; in
others, color harmonies have been all but ignored. These varying methods
of carrying out the house-building idea are not without value and may
often be justified by local conditions, but their results are meager
compared with the possible richness of the problem.
Playing at house building and housekeeping appeals to an interest so
universal that children of all times and nations yield to its power. It
is therefore necessary to take account of its influence in their
development and to dignify it with the approval of the school. We must
refine and enrich it by our direction and suggestion without robbing it of
its simplicity and charm.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Box house, arranged on a shelf.]
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Medieval castle. Built by third grade. Franklin,
Indiana.
An example of elaborate work which aroused the interest of pupils and
patrons and paved the way for freer work later.]
In the suggestions which follow, an attempt is made to utilize this
natural activity of children in an occupation which appeals to them as
worth while. At the same time it may furnish ample opportunity for the
general development and effective teaching of various phases of subject
matter which are incident to the occupation, _i.e._ number in connection
with measurements, art in the proportions and color combinations, language
through discussions and descriptions.
The work is kept on the level of the children's experience by throwing
them constantly on their own responsibility in every possible detail, the
teacher never dictating the method of procedure and guiding the work with
as few suggestions as possible. The work, being on the level of their
experience, appeals to the children as very real and worth while. It is,
therefore, intensely interesting, and they work without urging.
=General Plan.=--A house may be constructed from several empty goods boxes,
each box forming one room of the house. The boxes or rooms are arranged in
convenient order, but are not fastened together. Adjoining rooms are
connected by doors carefully cut in both boxes so that the holes match.
Windows are also sawed out where needed. The walls are papered, careful
attention being given to color schemes, border designs, and relative
proportions in spacing. Floors are provided with suitable coverings--woven
rugs, mattings, linoleums, tiles, according to the purpose of the room.
Each step is discussed and more or less definitely outlined before the
actual making is begun, furnishing opportunity for oral language of a
vital sort. Completed parts are examined and criticized, furnishing
further opportunity for exercise in oral language while directing
attention to strong and weak points in the work.
The materials needed are easily obtainable and inexpensive, consisting
chiefly of empty boxes and odds and ends of paper, cloth, and yarn,
together with carpenters' scraps.
The tools needed are few, and in some cases may be brought from home by
the children for a few days, as needed. The necessary time is found by
making the incidental problems serve as subject matter for regular
lessons. Making designs for tiling, linoleum, and borders for wall paper,
planning relative proportions for doors, windows, and furnishings will
supply material for very practical lessons in art. The problems incident
to the measurement of doors and windows, tables and chairs, are number
work of a vital sort and may be legitimately used as a regular number
lesson. Discussions, descriptions, and definite statements of plans all
form vital language exercises if rightly used.
HOUSE PLANS IN DETAIL
=Materials.=--_Empty Store Boxes of Soft Wood._--Sizes may vary, but where
several are grouped for a house, they should be near enough the same
height to make a fairly level ceiling. About 10 x 12 x 18 in. is a
convenient size.
_Paper for Walls._--Scraps of ingrain wall papers may be had from dealers
for little or nothing. Cover paper in good colors may be purchased by the
sheet. Tailor's paper and brown wrapping paper serve well, and are sold
by the roll at a low price.
_Pasteboard_ (strawboard or juteboard) may be used for the roof.
_Weaving Materials._--Rugs may be made from carpet rags, rug yarns,
rovings, chenille, or jute; towels from crochet cotton; and hammocks from
macrame cord or carpet warp.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--House arranged on a table. Front view. Built by
first grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
_Wood for Furniture._--Bass, white pine, poplar, or other soft wood. Box
tops, if of soft wood, may be made to serve nearly all needs. If possible,
provide thin wood (about 1/4 in. thick) in various widths, from one inch
to six inches, so that only one dimension need be measured. Provide also
thick pieces 1-1/2 in. or 2 in. square for beds and chairs; 1/2 in. square
for table legs.
_Nails_ of various sizes, chiefly inch brads, are needed.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--House arranged on a table. Side view. Built by
second grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
=Tools.=--The tools actually necessary are few. A class can _get along_
with one saw and still do good work, though there will be times when
several saws will facilitate progress. Some tools are needed only for a
short time and sometimes may be borrowed from the homes. It is more
satisfactory to have the school provided with the essential tools whenever
possible. The essential tools include:
_Brace and auger bit_, for boring holes in doors and windows. Needed for a
short time only.
_Compass saw_, for sawing out doors and windows.
_Crosscut saw_, for sawing off lumber. School should own at least one.
_Miter box_, for holding lumber and guiding saw. An old one, good enough
for children's use, will frequently be contributed by a carpenter. The
miter box should be fastened firmly to a low table or box.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--House arranged on a table. Back view. Built by
second grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
_Hammers_, several of medium size.
_Try-square_, a very valuable tool for setting right angles, provided the
teacher and pupils know how to use it.
=Arrangement of Rooms.=--The sort of house a man can build is governed by
his resources and his site. Considering the number of boxes as resources
and the table or shelf on which they are to stand as the site, the same
big factors which enter into any house-building problem control the size
and style of the schoolroom playhouse. What sort of house is desired? What
sort of house can be built from the materials at hand? What sort of house
can be built in the space at our disposal?
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--House plan.]
The boxes may be arranged on a shelf with all the open sides toward the
class, as in Fig. 9. This economizes space, and all of the rooms are
visible at once. A two-story house is easily built on this plan. If
economy of space is not necessary, the boxes may be placed on a table with
the open sides of the boxes toward the edges of the table, as in Figs. 11,
12, and 13. This permits a more artistic grouping of the rooms. (See Fig.
14.)
The responsibility in grouping the boxes should be thrown as fully as
possible upon the children, the teacher merely suggesting where necessary.
It should be their house, not the teacher's. The planning should not be
hurried but time allowed to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
different plans and reach an agreement. In trying to express individual
opinions convincingly their ideas will become clearer--a factor in the
development of the children which is much more important than any of the
actual details of the house itself. Whether the class decides to have one
or two bedrooms in the house is a matter of small consequence. Whether or
not they are growing in power to appreciate conditions and make an
intelligent decision is a matter of great consequence. Their decisions
when made may not always reach the high standard at which the teacher is
aiming, but if they have really made a decision, not merely followed the
teacher's suggestion, and if their independent selections from time to
time show a higher standard of appreciation and greater refinement of
taste in ever so small a degree, it is evidence of genuine growth upon a
sure foundation.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Arrangement of windows.]
=Doors and Windows.=--The size and arrangement of doors and windows should
be freely discussed. Various possible arrangements may be sketched upon
the blackboard by the children. For example, see Fig. 15, _a_ and _b_.
When a plan is adopted, the doors and windows should be carefully drawn on
the _outside_ of each box, using the try-square to get right angles.
Bore holes in the corners of the doors and windows and saw out with
keyhole or compass saw. In order to avoid mistakes it is well, after
sawing out the opening for a door in one box, to place the two boxes
together and test the measurements before sawing out the second opening. A
mistake of this sort, however, is not fatal, but may prove the most
effective way of impressing the workers with the necessity of careful
measurement.
=Walls.=--The decoration of the walls will furnish material for several
art lessons. The discussion should turn first to the suitability of
different styles for different purposes, such as tiling for kitchen and
bathroom walls, light papers for dark rooms, etc. The division of wall
space will be the next point to be settled, _i.e._ the height of the
tiling or wainscot, the width of a border, or the effect of horizontal and
vertical lines in breaking up wall space. These questions may be discussed
as far as the immediate circumstances and the development of the class
suggest.
The question of color combinations demands special attention. Unless the
children come from refined homes their ideas of color will be very crude,
and if contributions of material have been asked for, some gaudy
impossibilities in flowered paper are apt to be presented. If so, it may
require considerable tact on the part of the teacher to secure a
satisfactory selection without casting any reflections on the taste of
somebody's mother. This difficulty may be avoided to a degree by providing
all the materials necessary. It is not enough, however, to cause the
children to select good combinations at the teacher's suggestion while in
their hearts they are longing for the gaudy thing she has frowned upon. It
is better to get an honest expression from them, even though it is very
crude, and endeavor to educate their taste to a love for better things, so
that each time they choose the choice may be on a higher level of
appreciation. Immediate results may not be as beautiful by this plan, and
apparent progress may be slow, but only by some such method can a real
appreciation be developed which will prevent the return to the crude
expression as soon as the teacher's influence is withdrawn.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Detail of hollow square.]
Plain papers generally give the most pleasing effects. Attractive borders
may be made by cutting simple units and repeating them at intervals.
Almost any motif may be used for the unit. Animals, birds, trees, flowers,
ships, etc., serve well. The process of making the border should be a
serious lesson in design. A good border is not merely the repetition of a
pretty figure. The units must not be too far apart nor too close together.
The shape of the figure used must be such that each unit seems to need the
next one. Little children will usually take greatest pleasure in working
from some nature motif, as flower or animal, but interesting work can be
done with simple geometric figures. Take, for example, the hollow square.
Fold a square of paper on both diagonals. (See Fig. 16.) Cut on dotted
line. Let each child cut several and lay them in order for a border or
mount them on a paper of different color. Let the work of the class be put
up for general criticism. (See notes on Criticism.) Several points which
very small children are able to appreciate will be found to enter into the
success or failure of their efforts. The hollow square itself may be cut
too wide and look clumsy, or cut too narrow and look frail. In the
arrangement they may be too close together and look crowded, or too far
apart and look scattered. A sensitiveness to good proportions comes
naturally to only a few people, but nearly all are capable of a higher
degree of appreciation if their attention is directed to the essential
elements which make things good or bad. The beginnings of this
appreciation lie in simple things which are easily understood by
first-grade children.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--Borders using hollow square.]
=Floors.=--Many of the considerations which enter into the selection of
wall decorations are of equal importance in choosing floor coverings. What
will be suitable to the purpose of each room? Why do we use linoleum in
the kitchen and warm rugs in the bedroom? Shall we use small rugs or a
carpet? What colors must we have on the floor to harmonize with the colors
on the wall? What designs are possible and desirable for the materials we
have to use?
_Rug Weaving Materials._--The market offers a wide variety of materials
prepared especially for school use. Among them the most satisfactory for
use with small workers are cotton rovings, loose twisted jute, and cotton
chenille. These, especially the first two, are coarse and work up rapidly,
and may be had in very desirable colors. Even the cheapest of them,
however, will prove an expensive item for the school with limited funds,
and ordinary carpet rags may be made to serve every purpose. Often these
will be contributed by members of the class. By a careful selection and
combination of colors very artistic results can be produced which are in
some respects more satisfactory than any obtained from the so-called
weaving materials, and have the added advantage of costing practically
nothing.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Looms and samples of weaving.]
_Looms._--The market also offers a great variety of looms for school use,
many of them quite simple in construction and moderate in price. In
schools where bench work is taught, the making of a loom is an excellent
problem either for the weavers themselves or for an older class working
for them. If the looms are made by the little weavers themselves, only the
simplest possible construction should be used, that the work may be
completed and the loom put to use before the worker loses sight of the
fact that the purpose is to provide carpet for the house. Children lose
interest in long-drawn-out processes, and for that reason it is better to
provide them with the necessary tools as far as possible while interest in
the house building is keen. Later, if considerable enthusiasm has been
aroused for weaving, individual looms may be made for home use. For the
school with scant funds a very satisfactory loom may be improvised by
driving nails one fourth inch apart in the ends of a shallow box of
convenient size and stretching the warp threads across the open top.
For very small rugs a cardboard loom will serve. This may be made by
cutting notches or punching holes along opposite edges of a piece of
cardboard into which the warp may be strung. If a knitting needle is
inserted at each side, the cardboard will be stiffened and the edges of
the rug kept straight. Weaving needles may be purchased from supply
houses. Wooden needles cost 50 cents per dozen. Sack needles serve well
for small rugs and may be had at any hardware store for 10 cents per
dozen.
_Weaves._--For first weaving the plain "over one, under one" on cotton
warp with rags or other coarse woof is generally best. Variety may be
introduced by weaving a stripe or border of a different tone near each end
of the rug. Vertical stripes serve well as another easy method of
variation and are produced by using two woof threads of different tones
and weaving first with one and then with the other. This weave is very
attractive as the body of the rug with a plain border at either end.
As soon as the children have mastered the plain weave and have a fairly
clear idea of the possibilities in design through varying the colors in
the woof only, they may be initiated into the mysteries of the "gingham
weave" and allowed to experiment with the variations in warp as well as in
woof. Cotton rovings is an excellent material for weaves of this sort.
This weave may also be used with raffia to make matting for the
dining-room floor.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Box house by second grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
Paper mats may also be used as carpets with good effect. Weaving paper
strips is often an easier process to little children than weaving with
textiles, except where very coarse textile materials are used. For paper
mats select paper of suitable color and cut to the size desired for the
mat. Fold on the short diameter. Cut slashes from the folded edge, not
less than one half inch apart, to within one inch of edge of the paper
(See Fig. 20), leaving a margin on all four sides of the mat. For weavers,
cut from paper of harmonious tone, strips equal in width to the slashes in
the mat.
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--Detail of paper weaving.]
Variations of the simple over one, under one weave add interest to the
work and also give practice in number combinations such as over one, under
two, etc. Work of this sort is used in many schools as a method of
teaching number, the teacher dictating the combinations while the interest
of the children centers in the new pattern which develops under their
fingers. While such work has much to be said in its favor, it is open to
criticism, especially in the matter of dictation. All the children in any
one group will not work with equal speed. Some will undoubtedly "get
behind" and others will lose time while waiting for the slow ones.
Accidents are liable to happen in individual cases.
Many of these undesirable features may be eliminated while still retaining
the valuable part of the work by writing the directions on the board
instead of dictating them to the children. It then becomes a lesson in
reading as well as in number. Each child is thrown more completely upon
his own responsibility and can proceed as rapidly and as steadily as his
capacity permits. His rate of progress will often be a fair measure of his
ability for independent thought and action, which is the real measure for
successful teaching.
As the hardest feature in this method is in keeping the right line and not
repeating or omitting any direction, a social spirit may be encouraged by
allowing the children to work in groups and take turns in _keeping the
place_ while the others work. In one first grade where this plan was in
vogue the children discovered a book on the teacher's desk which contained
numerous designs, many of them much more intricate than she would have
attempted to use as classwork. Their instinct for exploration led them to
struggle with the directions until they had worked out some designs which
would have proved dismal failures had they been attempted as class
lessons. In this instance those who belonged to the persevering group were
happy in a new-found sense of strength and independence, while the others
had accomplished as much as any would have done under the dictation
method.
=Furniture.=--The problem of furniture for the school playhouse has been
discussed in numerous publications, and nearly every writer on the subject
of primary handwork offers suggestions on this topic. The suggestions
include a range in materials and processes from very simple foldings in
paper to quite complex processes in reeds and raffia and methodical
construction in wood.
Among the various materials and styles in common use, folded paper
furniture has the advantage of being quickly made. The process is of
sufficient interest to little children to hold their attention, and in
order to secure the desired result they must hear the directions
intelligently and obey them promptly. These are desirable habits to form.
It is quite possible, however, for the work to be done in a very formal,
mechanical way, in which the children merely follow directions, often
blindly, without any clear purpose and very little thought. Success or
failure is due largely to chance; for, if by accident even a good worker
"loses out" on a direction, his work is at a standstill until special help
is given. He is unable to proceed because he does not know what to do
next. There is very little opportunity in such a process for independent
thought or action. It is not self-directed activity.
A second objection to paper furniture is its lack of stability. Paper
which is pliable enough to fold readily will not hold its own weight long
when made into furniture, and very soon becomes wobbly. To overcome this
tendency to wobble, heavier papers are often used and new complications
arise. Heavy papers do not fold readily without scoring. Scoring demands
considerable accuracy of measurement--often to a degree beyond the power
of a six-year-old. The stiff papers, being hard pressed, are harder to
paste, and neat work is often an impossibility, unless considerable
assistance is given.
It is possible to make satisfactory furniture in a great variety of styles
from stiff paper, and the processes involve some excellent practice in
measurement and design. The processes necessary to obtain these
satisfactory results are, however, beyond the ability of children in the
lower grades. Even fairly satisfactory results are impossible unless an
undue amount of assistance is given by the teacher. In actual practice,
where stiff paper is used a few of the best workers in the class are
helped to make the few pieces needed in the playhouse and the unhappy
failures of the rest of the class are promptly consigned to the
wastebasket.
Very pretty furniture may be made from reeds and raffia, but the processes
are too difficult to be successfully performed by small children. The
reeds do not lend themselves readily to constructions small enough to suit
the average playhouse, and the larger pieces are out of proportion to the
other features of the house.
The use of wood overcomes the most serious of the objections to be made to
other materials, besides being the material most commonly used in "real"
furniture. Wooden furniture is stable, and a great variety of processes in
construction are possible without introducing complications which prevent
independent work on the part of the little people.
The processes necessary to the construction of very simple yet
satisfactory wooden furniture may be reduced to measuring one dimension,
sawing off, and nailing on. Measuring one dimension is quite within the
powers of six-year-olds. _Sawing off_ is not difficult if soft lumber is
used, and it becomes very simple by the help of the miter box. _Nailing
on_ is difficult if the nails must be driven into the edges of thin
boards, but if thin boards are nailed to thick boards, nails may "go
crooked" without serious consequences, and the process becomes quite easy.
These processes have the advantage of being particularly fascinating to
small boys, in contrast to the girlish character of many forms of primary
handwork. (See Figs. 21 and 22.)
[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Furniture from wood blocks.]
[Illustration: FIG. 22.--Furniture from wood blocks.]
_Processes._--For the sake of convenience and clearness in these
directions it will be assumed that the class is provided with pieces of
wood two inches square which will be referred to as 2 x 2. Also with thin
wood in a variety of widths from 1 in. to 6 in. Material of other
dimensions would serve the purpose equally well, and for many of the parts
odd pieces from the scrap box will answer every purpose. The directions
are intended only to suggest how to proceed, and it is left to the teacher
to adapt them to the material and conditions with which she works.
(1) _To make a chair._
Use 2 x 2 for seat and thin wood 2 in. wide for back. Children should
measure and decide how much to saw off from strip of 2 x 2 in order to
make a square block or cube for the seat. They should estimate the length
of the back of the chair, then measure and saw off the thin wood needed.
Nail the back piece to the cube and finish with a coat of water-color
paint or color with crayon. An armchair may be made by the addition of
shorter pieces of thin wood to the sides of the chair.
(2) _To make table with pedestal._
Use 2 x 2 for pedestal. Use thin wood 6 in. wide for top. Use thin wood 4
in. wide for base. Measure and saw off 3 in. of 2 x 2 for pedestal.
Measure _enough_ of the 6 in. wood to make a square top and _enough_ of
the 4 in. wood to make a square base. Do not tell the children what they
can discover for themselves. They should decide how high the table ought
to be and how large to suit the size of the room. Nail the square pieces
to the two ends of the pedestal. Finish by same method used for chairs.
(3) _For ordinary table._
Use thin wood for top. Use 1/2 x 1/2 for legs. Measure and saw off pieces
needed. Measure places for legs about one inch from corner of top in order
to allow an overhang. Children frequently put the legs flush with the edge
of the table, which gives a clumsy appearance. Nail through the top with a
comparatively long nail.
(4) _To make a double bed._
Use wood 1/2 to 1 in. thick for body. Use thin wood of corresponding width
for head and foot boards. Class or individual workers should decide on
dimensions for different parts and height of body of bed from the floor.
(5) _For single bed._
Proceed as for double bed, using narrow pieces of wood, or use six or
seven inches of 2 x 2 for body of bed and make head and foot boards after
the style of chair back.
(6) _Dressing table._
Decide upon dimensions needed. Use 2 x 2 for body. Use thin wood of equal
width for back. Use tinfoil for mirror. Indicate drawers with pencil
lines.
(7) _Couch._
Use piece of 2 x 2 of desired length and make couch cover of appropriate
material, or add back and arms of thin wood to piece of 2 x 2 and finish
to match other furniture.
(8) _Piano._
Use wood 3/4 or 1 in. thick for body. Nail on piece 1/2 x 1/2 for
keyboard. Draw keys on paper and paste on keyboard.
(9) _Kitchen stove._
Use 2 x 4 or any scrap or empty box of appropriate size and shape. Color
black with crayon. Add chalk marks or bits of tinfoil to indicate doors
and lids. Make hot-water tank of paper. Pieces of reed, wire, or twigs
covered with tinfoil make good water pipes. Macaroni sticks and lemonade
straws have served this purpose.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Home of White Cloud, the Pueblo girl. Second
grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
=Clay Furnishings.=--For such articles as the kitchen sink, the bathtub,
and other bathroom fittings clay is a satisfactory material. These
articles may be modeled by the children, in as good an imitation of the
real fittings as they are able to make. Various methods may be used for
holding the kitchen sink and the bathroom basin in place, and it is much
better for the children to evolve one of their own than to follow the
teacher's dictation from the start. If they meet serious difficulties, a
suggestion from her may help clear the way. Two long nails driven into the
wall will give a satisfactory bracket on which the sink may rest. Two
short nails may be driven through the back while the clay is moist and may
serve also as a foundation for faucets. The basin, bathtub, and stool may
each be built solid to the floor.
The teakettle and other stove furniture may be modeled in clay. Electric
light bulbs of clay suspended by cords from the ceiling have a realistic
air. Paper shades of appropriate color add to the general effect.
=Miscellaneous furnishings.=
_Bedding._--Paper or cloth may be used for bedding, as circumstances
suggest. If interest in _real_ things is strong, the making of the sheets
and pillow cases offers an opportunity for some practice with the needle.
If time is limited, paper may be used.
_Curtains._--Curtains also may be made from either paper or regular
curtain material. If paper is used, it should be very soft, such as plain
Japanese napkins. Scraps of plain net or scrim are most desirable. Some
child is apt to contribute a piece of large-patterned lace curtain, but
the tactful teacher will avoid using it if possible, and direct the
children's thoughts toward a better taste in draperies.
_Portieres_ may be made of cloth, of knotted cords, or chenille.
_Couch pillows_ may be made from cloth or may be woven on a small card.
_Towels_ for the bathroom may be woven from crochet cotton.
_The fireplace_ may be made of cardboard marked off and colored to
represent brick. A shallow box may be made to serve the purpose. Cut out
the opening for the grate and lay real sticks on andirons made from soft
wire; or draw a picture of blazing fire and put inside. The fireplace may
also be made of clay. Pebbles may be pressed into the clay if a stone
fireplace is desired. If clay is used, several small nails should be
driven into the wall before the fireplace is built up, to hold the clay in
place after it dries.
_Bookcases_ may be made of cardboard, using a box construction, and glued
to the wall. Or a block of wood about one inch thick may be used. In
either case mark off the shelves and books with pencil lines, and color
the backs of the books with crayon.
=The Stairway.=--In a two-story house the hardest problem will usually be
the stairs. Some good work in number may be done while finding out how
many steps will be needed and where the stairway must begin in order to
reach the second floor in comfort. Even quite small children can deal with
this problem if presented in a simple way. For example, if the box or room
is ten inches high, how many steps 1 in. wide and 1 in. high will be
needed, and how far out into the room will they come? The children can
work out the plan on the blackboard. Measurements may be modified to suit
the ability of the class and the needs of the room.
The variety of possible constructions in building the staircase
corresponds to the varying ability of classes. A strip of paper may be
folded back and forth and made to serve with least mature classes. This
paper stair will sag unless it rests on a board or piece of stiff
pasteboard. A substantial stairway may be made by sawing two thin boards
for supports, as in Fig. 24, and nailing on steps of thin wood or
cardboard. There is usually one boy in every first grade who is capable of
as difficult a piece of handwork as this. He is apt, also, to be the boy
who takes least interest in the general work of the class, and often it is
possible to arouse him to special effort through some such problem. The
stairway may be made of heavy cardboard with a construction similar to
that just described, but this requires pasting instead of nailing and is
much more difficult for little children.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Detail of stairway.]
=The Roof.=--The making of the roof is another part of the house building
which may often be given into the special care of the two or three
over-age pupils who need special problems. The plan which they evolve from
their study of the needs of the case will usually be of greater value to
them, even though it may not be the best that could be suggested.
The roof may be made of wood as a base, with either wood or cardboard
shingles tacked on in proper fashion; or it may be made of cardboard with
the shingles merely indicated by lines made with crayon. If the wood base
is used, wood gables may be made for sides or ends of the house. To
these, long boards may be nailed to form a solid roof. Shingles two inches
long by about one inch wide may be cut from cardboard or very thin wood
and tacked to the boards. The children should be spurred to study the
roofs of houses and find out how the shingles are arranged, and discover
for themselves, if possible, the secret of successful shingling.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Box house, showing roof. Built by summer class,
Teachers College, New York.]
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Detail of gable.]
A cardboard roof is in many ways easier to build. In a house similar to
the one shown in Fig. 25 two gables are used, and the roof slopes to front
and back. The framework can be very simply made. At the two gable ends
place uprights made of two pieces of wood joined in the form of an
inverted T. (See Fig. 26.) These should be nailed to the box. A ridgepole
may then be nailed to the upper ends of the uprights. If the house is not
large, no other framework will be necessary. If the slope of the roof is
long enough to allow the cardboard to sag, light strips of wood extending
from the ridgepole to the outer edge of the box may be added. If a single
piece of cardboard of sufficient size is available, it may be scored[1]
and bent at the proper place and laid over the ridgepole, with the edges
extending beyond the box to form the eaves. Or, two pieces may be used,
one for each slope of the roof, each piece being tacked to the ridgepole.
Chimneys may be made from paper and colored to represent bricks or stone.
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Colonial kitchen. Columbia, Missouri.]
The outside of the house may be treated in several ways. It may be sided
after the manner of frame houses by tacking on strips of paper or
cardboard lapped in the proper fashion. It may be covered with paper
marked in horizontal lines to represent siding, in irregular spaces to
represent stone, or in regular spaces to represent brick, and finished in
the appropriate color. Or, a coat of paint or stain may be applied
directly to the box.
VARIATIONS IN HOUSE PROBLEM
A playhouse for its own sake is a justifiable project for primary children
and one which may be repeated several times without exhausting its
possibilities. Each time it is repeated the emphasis will fall on some new
feature, and the children will wish to do more accurate work.
In the lowest grades very simple houses of one or two rooms may be built
for story-book friends, such as the "Three Bears" or "Little Red Riding
Hood," with only such furniture as the story suggests. In intermediate
grades the house may have an historical motive and illustrate home life in
primitive times or in foreign countries, such as a colonial kitchen in New
England, a pioneer cabin on the Western prairies, a Dutch home, a Japanese
home, etc. In upper grades it may become a serious study in house
decoration.
As the motive for making the house changes, the character and quality of
its furnishings will change. The block furniture described above will give
way to more accurate models in either wood or paper. Some excellent
suggestions for paper furniture for advanced work may be found in the
_Manual Training Magazine_.
As skill in construction increases, a wish for something more realistic
than the box construction will arise, and the elements of house framing
will be studied with great eagerness.
=The House of the Three Bears.= (See Fig. 28.)--This house was made early
in the year by a class of first-grade children. The walls were papered in
plain brown paper. The carpets were woven mats of paper. The chairs,
table, and beds were made according to the methods already described in
the playhouse outline. The stove and the doll were contributed. The bears
were modeled in clay. The children played with the house and its contents
throughout the year. The bears were broken and made over many times--a
process which not only afforded great pleasure, but also developed
considerable skill in modeling.
=Another Bears' House.=--This house, shown in Frontispiece, was made in
the spring, near the end of the school year, by a class of first-grade
children all of whom were under seven and many of whom were very immature.
The story of the Three Bears was taken up after Christmas, told and
retold, read, and dramatized by the children. Teddy bears were brought to
school. Many bears were modeled in clay, each child making the set of
three many times.
[Illustration: FIG. 28.--House for the Three Bears. First grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]
The children laid off spaces on the table for individual Bears' houses and
made furniture for these as their fancy prompted. The furniture was made
of wood after the general style described above. Later, carpets were
woven for these individual playhouses. Each carpet was woven to a given
dimension, making it necessary to use the rule. This was their
introduction to the rule as a tool for measuring. Every child in a class
of forty made one or more pieces of furniture and wove one or more small
carpets from rags. Nearly all made some bedding.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Cornstalk house. Built by second-grade class.
Franklin, Indiana.]
Later, four boxes were secured and arranged as a house. The openings for
doors were marked off during school time, but were sawed out by a few
children who remained during the noon intermission. This is the only part
of the work which was not done during regular class time. The papering was
done by two or three of the most capable children, while the rest were
deeply absorbed in weaving. All made borders. Certain borders were
selected for the house, and several children worked together to make
enough of the same pattern for one room. Selections were then made from
the carpets and furniture already made by the children.
The roof was made chiefly by one boy who "knew a good way to make it." The
porches were also individual projects by pupils who had ideas on the
subject and were allowed to work them out.
The children became very familiar with every phase of the story and
attacked any expression of it with the feeling, "That's easy." They wrote
stories, _i.e._ sentences about bears. Each child at the close of the year
could write on the blackboard a story of two or more sentences. They made
pictures of bears in all sorts of postures with colored crayon and from
free-hand cuttings. They modeled the bears in clay over and over again,
keeping up a large family in spite of many accidents.
=Cooperative Building.=--Figures 11, 12, and 13 show three rooms of a
four-room house built by the first and second grades working together. The
living room and bedroom were furnished by first-grade children. The dining
room, kitchen, and bath were furnished by the second grade. Four boxes
were used. (See diagram, page 35, Fig. 14.) Each room, except the bath,
was a separate box. After a general plan had been agreed upon by the
teachers, the boxes were carried to the several rooms and each class
worked quite independently. When the rooms were finished, they were
assembled on a table in the hall and the roof put on.
[Illustration: FIG. 30.--A flour mill. Built by fourth grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]
=The Flour Mill.=--The flour mill, shown in Fig. 30, was built in
connection with a study of the general subject of milling by a
fourth-grade class. The class visited a flour mill. They were shown the
various machines, and the function of each was explained to them. They
made hasty sketches of the machines and a rough diagram of their
arrangement on the floors. They got the dimensions of the floors and
height of the ceiling. An empty box was remodeled to approximate the
dimensions of the building. Small representations of the machines were
made and placed in the proper relation to each other. No attempt was made
to show more than the external proportions in the small representation.
The work served its best purpose in keeping the children thinking
definitely about what they had seen. The attempt to express their thoughts
in tangible form deepened the mental impression, even though the tangible
results were crude and lacked many details.
The conveyer being of special interest, two boys worked out a larger model
which illustrated the band-bucket process. This is shown in Fig. 30, at
the right of the mill. Small cups were made of soft tin and fastened to a
leather strap. The strap was fastened around two rods, placed one above
the other. The lower rod was turned by a crank fastened on the outside of
the box. Two or three brads driven into the lower rod caught into holes in
the strap and prevented slipping. The machine successfully hoisted grain
from the lower box to one fastened higher up, but not shown in the
picture. The model was very crude in its workmanship, but it showed the
ability of fourth-grade boys to successfully apply an important principle
in mechanics, and it gave opportunity for their ingenuity to express
itself. The work was done with such tools and materials as the boys could
provide for themselves, and without assistance other than encouraging
suggestions from the teacher. This bit of construction accompanied a broad
study of the subject of milling, including the source and character of the
raw materials, the processes involved, the finished products and their
value.