ALPHABETICAL PLAY.
Cut out a square of cardboard, six inches wide by six inches long. Put an eyelet in each of the two upper corners and run tape or ribbon through. Cut it of sufficient length to go over a child’s head. The children should wear the cardboard as if it was a breastplate.
You should have twenty-six children, and you will therefore require twenty-six pieces of cardboard. In the centre of each piece, paint a letter of the alphabet. Should you have fewer children, paint two or more letters on each cardboard, for you must use the entire alphabet.
The children should first march up and down in alphabetical order, keeping time to music. They may then join hands in couples and skip or waltz or whatever pleasing movements may be suggested.
After these exercises call for words, being careful which words you will require if you have doubled or trebled the letters. As each word is called, the child wearing the first letter steps forward, then the one wearing the second letter comes and stands by her side, and so on, until the word is spelled.
Very short and simple words should be called if the children are not sufficiently advanced to allow for longer or more difficult ones. Dog, Cat, Bird, will furnish just as much amusement as Prodigy, Yclept, Bask.
Intersperse the word exercises with marches and other movements, such as “Right-about-face,” to be done by a chord, or “wheel to the left,” to be done by another. Form squares and circles. Join hands, thus making a ring. Into this ring the letter A goes, the others skip around her, until she makes a motion like something commencing with A; for example, Apple, which she pretends to eat. One or more of the company guesses what word she represents, and then B enters the ring, and so on as long as the game amuses.