Chapter Fourteen
SONGS, GAMES, AND STORIES
There are many beautiful songs which can be sung during the weaving. Thomas Carlyle has said:
Songs and games lighten work
"Give us, O give us the man who sings at his work! He will do more in the same time; he will do it better; he will persevere longer. One is scarcely sensible of fatigue whilst he marches to music, and the very stars are said to make harmony as they revolve in their spheres."
Songs for the children
There are songs about the birds' nests, always pleasing to the little folks, and doubly so when they have held in their own hands the wonderful bit of weaving, so strong and yet so soft, woven by the mother-bird for the baby-birds. Mrs. Spider is also very interesting with her lace-like webs which are to be found even in well-regulated schoolrooms, and the songs of the bleating sheep who give us their wool fill every little heart with delight. Miss Poulsson's Finger Play, "The Lambs," gives the restless fingers something to do and the "eight white sheep all fast asleep" afford a chance for a good laugh over the "two old dogs close by" (the thumbs). One has the opportunity, too, of noticing whether the eight white sheep on the tiny hands are really white enough to do the weaving. A smiling allusion to some small black sheep will bring them back clean for the next session.
A weaving game
The following weaving game can be played in several ways. This extract is from the "Kindergarten Guide," by Lois Bates: "Six children stand in a row; a tall one at each end for the border of the mat and the other four representing the strips. The child who is to be the weaver holds one end of a long tape, while the other is fastened to the left shoulder of the first child. The weaver weaves the tape in and out among the children, placing the second row lower down. It will be easily seen that the children who had it passed in front of them in the first row, had it behind them in the second, and vice versa."
The following weaving song in the Walker and Jenks book can be sung during the weaving. To be sure it is not really "over and under" when you think of them as children. Remember that they represent a mat, and they are for the time the strips and border.
(Sung to the tune of "Nellie Bly.")
Over one, under one,
Over one again.
Under one, over one,
Then we do the same.
Hi, weavers! Ho, weavers!
Come and weave with me!
You'll rarely find, go where you will,
A happier band than we!
Kate Douglas Wiggin (Mrs. Riggs) in her "Republic of Childhood" describes the game in this way:
Explanation of the game
"First choose a row of children for threads of the warp, standing at such a distance from each other that a child may pass easily between them. Second, choose a child, or children, for thread of woof. After passing through the warp, each child takes his place at the end and other children are chosen." In this way more children can take part than if a tape were used. Some teachers play it in a different way, using the desks with the seats turned up for the warp and the whole number of children for the woof, winding in and out all over the room. This is very delightful, indeed, if there is enough space for the children to pass easily without tripping on the iron supports of the desks. This is a good game for a rainy day, when there is no outdoor recess.
Bird games
The bird games are beautiful and leave a wholesome impression of home life and home love on the children, which will have a lasting influence. Few children, brought up in this tender and beautiful way, will ever feel an inclination to harm the birds, or indeed any animal.
Interesting stories
The fund of stories of birds and birds' nests is almost inexhaustible. Miss Poulsson's "In the Child's World" contains many stories of the weaver (pages 407-412), and several about birds and birds' nests (pages 292-301). Her talks to teachers with regard to the presentation of each subject are very helpful, as well as her suggestions for the teachers' reading. Stories of the weaving birds, particularly the African weaver, are interesting. It is said that two birds work together, one on the inside of the nest and the other on the outside, passing the grass and twigs in and out, until the home is completed. The children will enjoy, too, stories of weaving in other lands, material for which can be easily obtained. In fact, no one need to be without stories in these days of books and magazines.
Conversation
Never repress the children
Last, but not least, is the conversation during the weaving. Anyone who has attended a teachers' meeting, where the industrial work was being given, has not failed to remark the sociability all over the room. "How are you getting on?" "Let me see yours." "Oh, I cannot get it at all," etc., etc., are heard everywhere, and yet those same teachers go into their class rooms the next day and expect the children to work without whispering. If they will read what Mrs. Wiggin says in the "Republic of Childhood," in her talk on "Sewing," they will never be guilty of it again. A good plan is to have the room perfectly quiet while a dictation is being given, and then allow a period of relaxation when the little folks can compare and admire the work to their hearts' content. Beware of too much repression. A child when asked why a tree grew crooked, replied: "Somebody stepped on it, I suppose, when it was a little fellow." The answer is painfully suggestive. Mrs. Wiggin truly says: "If the children are never to speak except when they answer questions, how are we to know aught of their inner life?"
The following list of songs, games, and stories suggests interesting material to correlate with the work in hand-loom weaving.
SONGS AND GAMES
Songs and Games
Atkinson, Frank H., Jr. Singing Songs for Children. See Coonley.
Beebe, Katherine. Schoolroom Plays. Chicago: Thomas Charles Co. 25 cents.
A Weaving Game.
Brown, Kate L. Stories in Song. See Emerson.
Coolidge, Elizabeth. After Supper Songs. Chicago: Herbert S. Stone & Co. $2.00.
Coonley, Lydia A.; Smith, Eleanor; Gaynor, Jessie L.; Root, Frederick W.; and Atkinson, Frank H., Jr. Singing Verses for Children. New York: The Macmillan Co. $2.00.
Davis, Katherine Wallace. Singing Rhymes and Games. Chicago: Clayton T. Summy Co. 35 cents.
Emerson, Elizabeth U., and Brown, Kate L. Stories in Song. Boston: Oliver Ditson Co. $1.00.
The Oriole's Nest.
Forsythe, Clarence. Old Songs for Young America. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co. 1901. $2.00.
Needle's Eye.
Gaynor, Jessie L. Songs of the Child World. New York: The John Church Co. $1.00.
The Bird's Nest.
The Happy Lambkins.
Song of the Shearers.
Spinning the Yarn.
Grandma's Knitting Song.
Weaving Song.
Songs and Games
Gaynor, Jessie L. See also Coonley.
Hill, Patty S. Song Stories for the Kindergarten. Chicago: Clayton T. Summy Co. $1.00.
The Children and the Sheep.
Hofer, Mari Ruef. Children's Singing Games Chicago: Published by Mari Ruef Hofer, Kindergarten Magazine Co. 50 cents.
Hubbard, Clara Beeson. Merry Songs and Games. St. Louis: Balmer & Weber Music Co. $2.00.
Jenks, Harriet S. Songs and Games for Little Ones. See Walker.
Neidlinger, W. H. Small Songs for Small Singers. New York: G. Schirmer. $1.00.
The Spider.
The Bee.
The Rainy Day.
Nursery Stories and Rhymes for the Kindergarten and Home. Springfield, Mass.: Milton Bradley Co. $1.00.
The Song of a Baby's Blanket.
The Song of a Baby's Shirt.
Pratt, Waldo S. St. Nicholas Songs. New York: The Century Co. $2.00.
Root, Frederick W. Singing Songs for Children. See Coonley.
Smith, Eleanor. First Book in Vocal Music. Chicago and New York: Silver, Burdette & Co. 30 cents.
Oriole's Nest Song.
Spinning Song.
Songs and Games
Smith, Eleanor. A Primer of Vocal Music. Chicago and New York: Silver, Burdette & Co. 25 cents.
The Lazy Sheep.
The Spider.
The Silkworm.
---- See also Coonley.
Songs in Season. Plan Book. Chicago: A. Flanagan. 50 cents.
The Lambkin.
Walker, Gertrude, and Jenks, Harriet S. Songs and Games for Little Ones. Boston: Oliver Ditson Co. $1.50.
Birdies in the Green Wood.
Fly, Little Birds.
In the Branches of a Tree.
Eight White Sheep.
Weaving Song.
STORIES
Stories
Andrews, Jane. Each and All. Boston: Ginn & Co. 50 cents. Boston: Lee & Shepard. $1.00.
New Work for Pense.
Chase, A., and Clow, E. Stories of Industry. Boston: Educational Publishing Co. 2 vols. 60 cents each.
Stories of Cotton, Wool, Silk, and Carpets.
Clow, E. Stories of Industry. See Chase.
Farmer, Lydia Hoyt. Boy's Book of Famous Rulers. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. $1.50.
Stories
Miller, Olive Thorne. Little Folks in Feathers and Fur, and Others in Neither. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. $2.50.
The Spider Speaks for Herself.
Stories of Caterpillars and Butterflies.
A Funny Little Log House.
Pierson, Clara Dillingham. Among the Farmyard People. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. $1.25.
The Lamb with the Longest Tail.
The Twin Lambs.
Why the Sheep Ran Away.
Poulsson, Emilie. Nursery Finger Plays. Boston: Lothrop Publishing Co. $1.25.
The Lambs.
---- Child Stories and Rhymes. Boston: Lothrop Publishing Co. $1.25.
The Story of Baby's Blanket.
---- In the Child's World. Springfield, Mass.: Milton Bradley Co. $2.00.
Stories of Caterpillars and Butterflies.
A Visit to the Weaver.
John's Trousers.
How a Little Boy got a New Shirt.
Molly's Lamb.
Sequel to an Old Story.
Cotton Field Stories.
The Flax.
The Flax Flower.
The Silk Worm.
The Sparrow's Nest.
The Life of a Silk Worm.
The Goddess of the Silk Worm.
The Nest of Many Colors.
The Little Worm that was Glad to be Alive.
Stories
Smith, Nora A. The Story Hour. See Wiggin.
Stories in Season. Plan Book. Chicago: A. Flanagan. 35 cents.
The Bramble Bush and the Lambs.
Wiggin, Kate Douglas (Mrs. George C. Riggs), and Smith, Nora A. The Story Hour. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. $1.00.
The Child and the World.
Wiltse, Sara A. Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks. Boston: Ginn & Co. 75 cents.
Stories of Wool, etc.