come any number of other occupations--a sort of a cross between real
play and steady work, what teachers call "busy work"--and here the
suggestions of the Kindergarten may be of practical value to the
mother. For instance, weaving, already referred to, may keep an active
child interested and quiet for considerable periods of time. Besides
the regular weaving mats of paper, to be had from any Kindergarten
supply store, wide grasses and rushes may be braided into mats, raffia
and rattan may be woven into baskets, and strips of cloth woven into
iron-holders. A visit to any neighboring Kindergarten will acquaint
the mother with a number of useful, simple objects that can be woven
by a child. Whatever he weaves or whatever he makes should be applied
to some useful purpose, not merely thrown away; and while it is true
that a conscientious desire to live up to this rule often results in
a considerable clutter of flimsy and rather undesirable objects about
the house, still, ways may be devised for slowly retiring the oldest
of them from view, and disposing of others among patient relatives.

[Sidenote: Sewing]

Sewing is another occupation ranch used in the Kindergarten as well as
in the home. Beginning with the simple stringing of large wooden beads
upon shoe-strings, it passes on to sewing on buttons, and sewing doll
clothes to the making of real clothing. This last in its simplest form
can be begun sooner than most parents suppose, especially if the child
is taught the use of the sewing machine. There is really no reason why
a child, say six years old, should not learn to sew upon the machine.
His interest in machinery is keen at this period, and two or three
lessons are usually sufficient to teach him enough about the mechanism
to keep him from injuring it. Once he has learned to sew upon the
machine, he may be given sheets and towels to hem, and even sew up