Tell the Juniors the story of the pot of fairy gold supposed to be at the end of every rainbow. Then have your “rainbow hunt,” arranged with ribbons as in the “red-line jubilee,” except that the ribbons are of rainbow colors, and at each end is discovered one of their old friends, the mite-boxes, transformed into a treasure of shining gold. The Juniors may exchange them, if they wish, among themselves, until each one has his own; then they are broken and the “gold” inside counted separately and all together. Close the social with a bright missionary song, and later, after devoting the money to the object determined upon, tell the Juniors as much as possible of just how it was used, and why it must have seemed to those receiving it like “fairy gold” indeed. By this time the Juniors’ interest in missions will probably be so enthusiastic that they will want to try it all over again.
Handkerchief Gymnastics.
There are still many girls, even in these hygienic times, who are not fortunate enough to attend schools that have gymnasiums. For these the Junior girls may like to help organize a class for the practice of handkerchief gymnastics. The writer has made a thorough test of every one of these exercises before recommending them, and knows them to be of practical benefit. They are similar to those practised daily at Cornell University.
More breath means more life, and some of these exercises are especially good to promote deep breathing. Let each girl come provided with a large handkerchief and a gymnasium suit, which is easily adapted from an old dress having a loose blouse; nothing but the skirt will require change.
Standing erect on the ball of the foot, grasp the handkerchief by diagonally opposite corners, so that the hands will be about an arm’s length from each other. At the beginning and end of each exercise the handkerchief is to be only lightly stretched. A towel may be used instead of the handkerchief if that should be preferred, holding it by the ends instead of by the corners.
The following directions will show the different positions to be taken. Do not overdo the matter; some of the little girls will require frequent rests, and some will be eager to go on; hence it is sometimes well to divide them into classes. While most of these positions are easily understood from the directions, a few are more difficult to describe in words. We illustrate certain ones.
1. Arms extended straight forward, on a level with shoulder.