The materials needed are easily obtainable and inexpensive, consisting chiefly of empty boxes and odds and ends of paper, cloth, and yarn, together with carpenters' scraps.
The tools needed are few, and in some cases may be brought from home by the children for a few days, as needed. The necessary time is found by making the incidental problems serve as subject matter for regular lessons. Making designs for tiling, linoleum, and borders for wall paper, planning relative proportions for doors, windows, and furnishings will supply material for very practical lessons in art. The problems incident to the measurement of doors and windows, tables and chairs, are number work of a vital sort and may be legitimately used as a regular number lesson. Discussions, descriptions, and definite statements of plans all form vital language exercises if rightly used.
HOUSE PLANS IN DETAIL
Materials.—Empty Store Boxes of Soft Wood.—Sizes may vary, but where several are grouped for a house, they should be near enough the same height to make a fairly level ceiling. About 10 × 12 × 18 in. is a convenient size.
Paper for Walls.—Scraps of ingrain wall papers may be had from dealers for little or nothing. Cover paper in good colors may be purchased by the sheet. Tailor's paper and brown wrapping paper serve well, and are sold by the roll at a low price.
Pasteboard (strawboard or juteboard) may be used for the roof.
Weaving Materials.—Rugs may be made from carpet rags, rug yarns, rovings, chenille, or jute; towels from crochet cotton; and hammocks from macramé cord or carpet warp.
Fig. 11.—House arranged on a table. Front view. Built by first grade. Columbia, Missouri.