THE "GOING TO SCHOOL" CHILD
First of all we must decide upon the bedtime hour, as well as the hour for rising. Between the ages of six to twelve, the bedtime hour should be eight o'clock, or not later than eight-thirty, and the rising hour at seven, or seven-thirty in the morning, for children of this age require eleven to twelve hours sleep.
Again, there must be taken into consideration the home work that the children at school are asked to do by their teachers. While this home work is not usually taxing, yet the time spent in doing the work must be taken account of. In our opinion the best time for home work is an hour and a half to two hours after the little fellow gets home from school. He should be allowed to relax for one and a half or two hours, to play out of doors whenever the weather permits, and then with either his mother or his caretaker from one-half to three-quarters of an hour should be spent on the lesson for the following day. Following this, the dinner hour is enjoyed with the parents, and after that there should always be provision in the daily duties of the father and mother for at least a half hour for the evening romp; so that play and recreation during the school age occupies possibly not more than two or two and one-half hours a day outside of school hours.
The playgrounds of schools are of inestimable value, and we quite agree with one who said: "If we can only afford one of the two—the playground or the school—have the playground first and afterward the school." The small parks and playgrounds of the cities are a great blessing to the little folks.