Many teachers prefer to make the practice mats of paper because they are cheaper. Heavy paper, in desirable colors, can be obtained at the wholesale paper houses, and for a small sum can be cut in squares of any required size. Mats can be made more durable by pasting them on heavy muslin before cutting. In many schools children in grades above the entering room prepare their own mats by measuring with tablets or rulers and then drawing and cutting on the lines. When they have learned to do them well, let each child make one for the entering room. Nothing strengthens the community feeling so much in a school as to encourage the older pupils to help the younger.
Mat weaving in the kindergarten
The mat-weaving, as it is done in the kindergarten, is very beautiful and fascinating work. The mats can be obtained in any size and any width of strips at the supply stores. The weaving is done with a long steel needle which has a spring at one end to hold the strip. After preliminary work with the felt mats and slats the children find themselves able to weave quite independently, particularly if demonstration cards or sample mats are placed before the class. An infinite variety of patterns, which later will be useful in wool-weaving, can be found in the "Kindergarten Guides." In weaving patterns having a center, it is better to weave two strips at once, pushing one to the top and one to the bottom of the mat. The old numbers of the Godey and Peterson magazines have patterns for Berlin wool and bead work which can be used for the paper mats with good effect. Mrs. Kate Douglas Wiggin (Mrs. Riggs) has some good suggestions for invention in weaving, in her "Republic of Childhood" (Occupations). The value of weaving in number work is also admirably set forth in this book.
Gifts
At Christmas time many charming little gifts can be made of these mats. Sachet cases made of a six or eight inch square, with four corners folded to the center, are attractive. Inclose a square of wadding, in which a pinch of heliotrope or white rose perfume powder has been hidden, and fasten the corners together with a scrap picture of old Santa Claus.
Slat work is useful in learning the fundamental principles of weaving, although this work is more closely related to basket than to rug weaving. It is an excellent preparation for the free-paper weaving, and is also a step toward basket work.
Interlacing slats
In interlacing slats the mystery of "over and under" is solved and the dependence of one slat upon another in making a perfect whole is shown in a forcible way, particularly when the form falls to pieces in the attempt to lift it from the table. Edward Wiebe says in his "Paradise of Childhood": "It was the one slat which, owing to its dereliction in performing its duty, destroyed the figure and prevented all the other slats from performing theirs." One experience of this kind will teach more than a thousand precepts. The geometrical forms learned in the sense-training lessons can be reproduced with the slats and will thus be impressed upon the mind during the period of busy work at the desk. A series of beautiful designs is published by E. Steiger, New York. Many designs may be grouped for decoration, and single symmetrical figures can be mounted upon heavy paper.
Free-paper weaving
Sequence