Weaving with splints
This free weaving leads directly to weaving with splints. These are much thinner than slats and can be obtained at the kindergarten supply stores. Many beautiful things can be made with splints. They are easily dyed at home and many pleasing combinations of color can be obtained in this way. Celluloid strips make beautiful boxes and baskets.
"Jacob's ladder"
A delightful exercise with the small children is the making of a "Jacob's ladder," or "Pussy-cat stairs," as they are often called. Fold a forty-inch strip of paper, one inch wide, so as to form a right-angle in the middle. Or, if a longer ladder be desired, place one end of a forty-inch strip over the end of another one, at right angles, and fasten with a drop of paste. Fold from left to right, one strip upon the other, until you come to the end; then pull out, and behold the stairs! The fat and clumsy little fingers will work patiently a long time to achieve this charming result, and much skill of hand will be gained in the doing. Use colored paper for this whenever possible.
A skirt for winter
A mitten and a cap
The illustrations on this and on the following page show some fascinating work for little hands. The looms are made of heavy pasteboard cut in notches, in which the warp of the same material as the woof is strung. Care should be taken to keep the warp straight, and to finish all the edges well. The articles in the illustrations were made by first-grade children in the Ericcson School, St. Paul, Minn.
