THE HOME
I--THE DWELLING-HOUSE
1. _The House Desirable_--Where to live; city or country; the most
economical kind of house; necessities and luxuries.
2. _The House Comfortable_--Heat, water, ventilation, sunshine.
3. _The House Beautiful_--The exterior, type of house, harmony with
surroundings, color; lawns, gardens, trees and shrubbery; the vegetable
garden and the drying-ground; out-buildings.
4. _General Discussion_--Living where we do, how can we improve our
houses and their surroundings?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Isabel Bevier: The House: Its Plan, Decoration and
Care. W. M. Johnson: Inside of One Hundred Homes. S. Parsons, Jr.: How
to Plan the Home Grounds. L. C. Corbett: Beautifying the Home Grounds.
(U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 105. 1904.)
Discuss the transformation of old houses; the modernization of the
farmhouse, with porches added, the parlor opened, the bedrooms made
attractive, and heat and a water-supply provided. The village home; its
limitations and possibilities; the advantage of simple lines rather than
cheap and ugly scrollwork and ornate verandas. The city home; the
basement dining-room and kitchen. The modern flat; its advantages and
inconveniences. Modern building-materials, concrete, shingles,
cobblestones; the use of stains. In preparation for this meeting, ask
each member to bring in a sketch of the ground-plan of what represents
to her an ideal dwelling-house.
II--FURNISHING THE HOUSE
1. _Intelligent Furnishing_--Consistency of style throughout. The value
of various styles. How to combine the old with the new. Costly ugliness.
2. _The Study of Special Needs_--Rooms of the family as a whole: the
dining-room, the library, living-rooms. The guest-room. The boys'
bedrooms and den. The room for the grown daughter. Nursery and playroom.
3. _Household Conveniences_--The kitchen as a workshop. (The equipment
for cooking: gas, oil, coal, electricity.) New kinds of utensils (bread
and cake mixers, fireless cookers, etc.). The attractive kitchen.
4. _Art in the Home_--Wall decoration (study of colors). Floor coverings
(carpets, rugs, use of hard woods). Draperies, pictures (choice of
subjects, artistic grouping and hanging of pictures). Bric-a-brac
(selection and artistic arrangement). The beauty of simplicity in the
home.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Lillie Hamilton French: Homes and Their Decoration.
Same author: The Home Dignified. Mitchell: The Fireless Cookery Book.
Reading list on home decoration and furnishing: N. Y. State Library
Bulletin. Bibliog. Vol. I, No. 20. Albany 1899.
Discuss the charm of the colonial style of furnishing; illustrate by
cuts in the catalogues of large furniture-makers and dealers of
four-post beds, Chippendale chairs and tables, Sheraton desks, etc. Take
up the value of cretonnes in bedrooms and living-rooms. Have a practical
talk on making over old things, dyeing carpets, simplifying the outlines
of cheaply made furniture and staining it. Close with an informal
discussion on The Kitchen Comfortable.
III--DOMESTIC ECONOMY
1. _The Housekeeper_--Her training for her profession. Schools of
domestic economy. Lectures. Books and magazines. Practical experience.
The training of our daughters.
2. _The Table_--The family income and cost of food. Economy and waste.
Entertaining. An attractive table for those of small means.
3. _Individual Needs_--Food for the growing child; for the invalid; for
the dyspeptic. The diet of the laboring man and of the professional man.
School luncheons.
4. _The Weekly Program_--The old housekeeping and the new. The problem
of the laundry. The household mending. Sweeping and dusting. Baking and
cleaning. The mistress' personal supervision.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Ravenhill and Schiff: Household Administration.
Herrick: Housekeeping Made Easy. Campbell: Household Economics. Benton:
Living on a Little.
The abundance of material for this meeting will make discussion easy.
Take up as additional topics: How shall we have an abundant table under
present conditions? Is vegetarianism wise? Can entertaining be done
economically? Does it pay to spend time on the esthetic side of cooking
and serving? Are weekly menus a help? Close with a paper or talk on the
Importance of Simplicity in All Branches of Housekeeping.
IV--SERVANTS
1. _The Problem as a Whole_--Reasons for the change in the present
situation as compared with the past: shop and factory labor, education,
social advancement.
2. _The Problem as Seen by the Mistress_--The rise in the scale of
wages. Increased demand for short hours. Constant desire of servants to
change. Independence of spirit.
3. _The Problem as seen by the Maid_--Her comfort; the sleeping and
sitting rooms. Her leisure; afternoons and evenings out. Her society;
callers. Her wages. Growing tendency to specialization of work. Uniforms
and caps.
4. _Possible Solutions_--The American girl, the foreigner, the negro,
and the Japanese as servants. The working housekeeper. The visiting
servant. The eight-hour day. Cooeperative housekeeping. The servantless
apartment.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Salmon: Domestic Service. Terrill: Household
Management. Addams: Democracy and Social Ethics. Herrick: The Expert
Maid Servant.
For this meeting the chairman can arrange in advance for the brief
presentation of personal experiences, each limited to three minutes.
Other interesting and valuable topics might be: The Relations between
Employers and Employed; Employment Offices and Their Regulation; The
Ethics of References; Advertising and Answering Advertisements for
Servants; What Shall We do for Sick and Elderly Servants?
V--FINANCING THE HOME
1. _The Income_--The husband's share. The wife's share. The children's
share. Special expenditures: the doctor and the dentist, church,
benevolences, etc. Discussion of the proper division of the income.
2. _Family Expenses_--Renting or owning a home. The cost of living:
food, fuel, service, etc. Dressing the family. Education: private or
public schools.
3. _Necessities and Luxuries_--The comfortable home. The place of
recreation. Books, music, and travel. The college education. The use
and the abuse of luxury; the automobile, the theater, dress.
4. _Savings_--Proportion of savings to expenditures. Ways and means of
saving. The savings-bank, life insurance, investments.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Haskins: How to Keep Household Accounts. Curtis: The
Making of the Housewife. Babcock: Household Hints. Hewitt: How to live
on a Small Income.
A discussion can be planned for this meeting on the comparison of men
and women as economists. A brief talk may be given on The Change in the
Scale of Living To-day, and another on Is a Return to the Simple Life
Possible? The training of children in the use of money should also be
taken up, and the meeting can close with a consideration of the
question, Is a College Education a Necessity or a Luxury?
VI--SOCIAL LIFE
1. _The Home Circle_--Planning the home life. Delightful meal-hours.
Evening amusements: music, games, reading aloud. The happy Sunday.
2. _Neighbors_--Who is my neighbor? The spirit of neighborliness. The
ethics of borrowing. Helpfulness in the community.
3. _Hospitality_--The fair exchange. Social life for all ages. The open
house and the small income. Simple entertaining.
4. _Social Organizations_--The grange, the lodge, the club. Church
societies: men's leagues, women's aid societies, boys' brigades, guilds
for girls. The woman's club: intensive and extensive work.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Gilman: The Home, Its Work and Influence. Modern Home
Life: edited by Edward Everett Hale. Hall: Handbook of Hospitality.
Abbott: The Home Builder. Holt: The Successful Hostess.
Emphasize in these papers the beauty and charm of a simple, free
hospitality as distinguished from formal and costly entertaining. The
welcoming of a child's playmates after school should be considered, the
opening of the doors to the young people of the neighborhood, the
planning of afternoon parties for elderly women, the bringing together
of congenial groups of people, the drawing in of strangers, and the
spirit of cordiality in church life.
VII--RECREATION IN THE HOME
1. _For the Children_--Simple amusements: candy-making, hide-and-seek,
and other old-fashioned games. Value of an attic. Tenting in the back
yard. Gardening. Children's parties.
2. _For the Young People_--Small group games: checkers, card-games,
chess, etc. Games of mental skill: twenty questions, guessing contests,
writing of topical poems and jingles. The billiard-room in the house.
Social advantages of the chafing-dish. Young people's dances.
3. _For Adults_--Reading aloud. Home carpentry. Entertaining: cards,
music, dinners, etc.
4. _For Everybody_--Charades. Tableaux. Plays. The home orchestra.
College songs. Discussion: What are the best books for family reading
aloud?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Mrs. Hamilton Mott: Home Games and Parties. Bancroft:
Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gymnasium. Benson: Book of
Indoor Games for Young People of All Ages. Hoyle's Games (many
editions).
The great point to be emphasized in this meeting is that parents should
deliberately make a place in the home life for amusements, from
childhood up. Discuss: In how many ways can parents and children share
their pleasures, and how may the spirit of mutual enjoyment be
fostered?
VIII--VACATIONS
1. _Travel_--Should we see our own country before going abroad?
Preparations for travel. Advantage of reading in advance about places to
be visited. How to travel with children. Travel as an education.
2. _In the Country_--On the farm. In the camp. Among the mountains. By
the sea. Comparison of experiences by members of the club.
3. _Vacation and Study_--Is it a good plan to combine the two? Summer
schools. Chautauquas so called. Conventions (religious, sociological,
scientific, musical, pedagogical, etc.).
4. _Vacations at Home_--The opportunity of a delightful summer. The
possibilities of the yard: tents, out-of-door meals, the arbor, the
garden, etc. City roof-gardens for families. Trolley-rides. Trips and
picnics.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--M. L. Pool: Vacation in a Buggy. F. H. Winterburn:
Vacation Hints. Talfourd: Vacation Rambles and Thoughts (1845).
Discuss these questions: What proportion of one's income is properly
spent in a vacation? What is the influence of life in a summer hotel on
parents and children? Is the rest from housekeeping and the change of
life compensation for the drawbacks there? Is the enlarging of the
social circle of one's grown children a duty? Saving versus travel.
IX--CHILDREN IN THE HOME
1. _The Children's Rooms_--The nursery and its furnishings. Rooms for
the older children: seclusion, comfort, individuality. The playroom and
the workshop.
2. _Children and Parents_--The ideal relationship: parents as friends.
When should discipline end and personal freedom begin? Children at
table. The bedtime hour and how to make the most of it. The blessing of
grandparents in the home.
3. _Brothers and Sisters_--Mutual interests: work and play together.
Cultivation and maintenance of the ideal of friendship between brothers
and sisters. The spirit of chivalry and the spirit of service.
4. _Children and Servants_--Overfamiliarity versus dignity in the
relation. Respect for a servant's rights and belongings.
5. _The Children's Playtime_--Team-work in the home. The family group:
mutual interest of parents and children. Hospitality and entertaining
for children.
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Ellen Key: The Century of the Child. E. S. Martin: The
Luxury of Children. Gertrude Jekyll: Children and Gardens. S. D. and
M. K. Gordon: Quiet Talks on Home Ideals.
One of the most delightful ways of making home interesting is to
encourage the children to give little plays, illustrated poems and
shadow pictures. Miss Alcott in Little Women gives the outline of one
play which may be prepared easily, and there are others to be had.
X--THE FAMILY AND TRAINING FOR LIFE
1. _Training in Work_--The spirit of industry. Faithfulness to tasks.
Making domestic duties interesting. Study of domestic economy for girls.
2. _Training in Culture_--Books, music, and pictures. Education in
taste. Table-talk about things worth while. Outlook on the world's life.
3. _Training in Character_--The fundamental virtues: truth, honesty,
fortitude, unselfishness. Teaching by reading, by counsel, and by
example.
4. _Training in Citizenship and Social Usefulness_--Discussing politics.
The father's politics and the boy's. Active philanthropy. Committee
meetings in the home, and their effect on the children.
5. _Training in Idealism_--The steady ideal. Heroes and hero-worship.
Stories of bravery and unselfishness in the daily press. What sort of
politician shall boys be taught to admire? Lives of devotion in science,
medicine, social service, and missions. Discuss the question: Are our
children being really prepared for a broad and useful life-work?
BOOKS TO CONSULT--Lyman Abbott: The Home Builder. Newell Dwight Hillis:
The Home School. Theodore T. Munger: On the Threshold. Kate Upson Clark:
Bringing up Boys.
A talk may follow the fifth paper of this meeting, taking up the
subject: How best to utilize the home as a training school, and yet to
keep it cheerful.