HOLIDAYS
The various holidays which come during the year mean so much to little
children that they should receive special notice and should suggest the
form of handwork to be done at the time.
=Thanksgiving= suggests attention to harvest products, to be modeled in
clay, cut from paper, or drawn with crayon; the making of sand-table
scenes showing early New England life in various phases; the making of
various utensils and commodities of the primitive home which differ from
our own; as, for example, the making of candles, the hour glass, and the
sundial.
=Christmas= suggests the making of toys and all sorts of things suitable
for gifts. If the work centers around the Christmas tree, it offers
opportunity for cooperation in making trimming such as paper chains,
pop-corn strings, etc., as well as individual gifts. If a tree is not
obtainable, a box may be dressed up in imitation of Santa's sleigh drawn
by cardboard reindeer. Whatever else is done in honor of the visit of St.
Nicholas, the spirit of giving should be cultivated by making gifts to
some younger or less fortunate groups. Picture books may be made for sick
children, doll furniture and other toys for the orphans' home or some
family of unfortunates. A sack might arrive a week or two before
Christmas accompanied by a telegram from Santa requesting contributions
to help him out in some specific way and stating that it would be called
for at a certain time. When a "real Santa" calls for the sack, he may
leave in its place another containing some unexpected treat for the
children themselves. The gifts which the children contribute should be of
their own making, that they may have a full sense of real giving and not
merely the pleasure of delivering the parcels mother has provided.
=Valentine's Day= offers an opportunity for developing appreciation of a
higher form of art than the shop windows frequently offer, and also
investing with pure, sweet sentiment a day which means, in some quarters,
only vulgar sentimentality and coarse jests.
=Easter= offers a similar opportunity for emphasis on the fine things in
color and subjects for greeting cards. The season also suggests emphasis
on study of budding plants and young animal life by means of cutting,
painting, and modeling.
=Hero days= suggest a variety of forms of handwork, such as picture making
with crayons or cuttings, or pictures in three dimensions on the sand
table, for intensifying important phases of the hero's life; illustrated
stories in booklet form; and the making of "properties" for dramatic
representations. These things offer a welcome change from the stereotyped
"Speaking day," and stimulate originality and self-reliance.
So much has been written and so many suggestions are constantly being
offered in school journals that specific suggestions for _things to make_
seem superfluous here.
=Individual Problems.=--While community problems must form a large part of
the handwork in the lower grades, it is desirable to have, from time to
time, projects which seek a definite result from each pupil. In the
community problem it is possible for the strong pupil to monopolize the
values of the work by imposing his ideas upon his fellows and by doing all
the work while the slower pupils are getting ready to begin. In the same
way it is possible for the lazy pupil to shirk much of his responsibility
through the eagerness of his companions. It is therefore necessary to
maintain a balance by the use of individual problems of a more definite
type. These may often be specific parts of the community problem, but this
will not meet all the needs of the case. The special days offer excellent
occasion for work of this sort in addition to the cooperative problems
which are undertaken by the class as a whole.