[Gutenberg 43635] • Educational Toys / Consisting Chiefly of Coping-Saw Problems for Children in School and the Home

Toy-making incorporates this method, with several vital elements added. It takes into account the child's view-point, his proclivities and his emotions. It is a form of activity that appeals strongly to his fancy, has a direct relation to his environments, and is within the range of his mental grasp and constructive ability. His wonderful imagination endows the creatures of his handiwork with life, individuality and cunning. The toy problem is in harmony with the child's resourcefulness, his powers and his interests. The problems contained in this book have been selected from those worked out in the Normal Model School. They have been tested under ordinary class-room conditions. To survive the weeding-out process, a toy has had to meet the following requirements: It must be within the child's power. It must excite and sustain interest. It must possess educational value. It must be adaptable to light-wood construction. It must conform in size and complexity to the limited space and equipment of class-room conditions. In his early years, the child begins tinkering with what materials and tools he can find, making something. The wise parent and teacher will turn that healthful, happy, creative instinct into good, useful channels. He will encourage and guide the child, in these early attempts, by surrounding him with congenial conditions, by furnishing him suggestions, pictures, drawings and such other aids as will direct him to occupational problems of educational value, and by providing him with a place to work, the tools, wood, nails, wire and other necessary equipment. One advantage in connection with the kind of educational hand work presented in this book is that it can be carried on with a very small and inexpensive equipment. Moreover, it is light, clean and agreeable in every respect. The tools are safe for a child to handle. The material is substantial and durable. The articles made are firm, strong and of lasting quality. They become an excellent means for providing an abundance of entertainment, and constitute most acceptable gifts, promoting as much genuine happiness for the industrious donor as for the fortunate receiver. Toy-making may readily be adapted to class-room conditions and a period be devoted to it each day. Members of the class may be appointed to distribute the tools and material at the beginning of the period, and collect them at the end. While at work, each pupil should stay at his desk and keep it neat and orderly. When not in use, the equipment should be locked up in a box having suitable compartments for the tools and materials. The teacher who is to conduct the class should be thoroly familiar with the work and should have made each model before taking it up as a class problem. The work as a whole should be conducted in a systematic and quiet manner; concise planning, prompt action, and accuracy in details should be insisted upon. The cheerful spirit, the formation of correct habits, and the proper regard for everything and everybody should be cultivated along with skill in constructing and good taste in coloring the toys. If for any valid reason this work can not be carried on in the school, the teacher should encourage the pupils to do it as home work. The child can buy his own scroll saw and colors, and furnish his own wood. The work can be done outside of school, but still be under the supervision and guidance of the teacher. The training that comes thru reading and interpreting directions and drawings, and carrying out the instruction in every detail, is of value to every child, no matter what his future career may be. The child should, therefore, have a book of his own, giving directions and drawings. Furthermore, the teacher should give the proper amount of credit for the home work.