IN A VACATION SCHOOL.

Evening Post, Volume LXIV, Issue 131, 29 November 1902, Page 13 (Supplement)

IN A VACATION SCHOOL.

The vacation school which Mrs. Humphry Ward lecently started at the Passmoie Edwards (settlement, m Biooinsuary, has attracted considerable attention, but many ptsopie do »ob quite understand the management ol a school to'which children will come lreeiy of then* own aesire. In New York last "summer A)isU,uOO was spent upon vacation schools^ a thousand teacheis were employed, and over iilty j piadfc were opened where the children might enjoy themtelves. This summer i i\ew York has ninety-one vacation j schools and play-grounds, and an enrolment of over fau,OUo children. Text-books are banned m American vacation schaois, and tue lour tvaLsi of a 1 building are sometimes only the meetingplace lor a country excuision or a trip to an interesting place in the city. For the boys there is manual training in carpentry, fret-sawing, whittling, chip-carv-ing, leather work, and babkeL-nuiking, [ and in constiuctive ■nork with iron or , cardboard. They are taught how to put I up sheives in the kitchen, to put down ! cu,rpets, to hang pictures, to cane chairs, j how to make a duzeu little things of service in me home. Girls are taught to cook, to sew, to make beds, to darn, to knit, to crochet, to scrub, and wash dishes.' They leain I milnnery from the first steps, how tv make the hat as well a** how to trim it. They make dainty little garments for their dolls, and later on they cut out and make their own clothes. The dolls and the material for the hats and garments are furnished, as is everything the ooys work with ; and whatever a child makes can be taken home if it is done satisfactorily. Opening day in the household class is called "moving in" day, and the girls are taken througu every stage of putting the house in order, and in c. ring for the family in sickness and in health. Many of the simple duties of the nurse are taught. One of the class is put to bed and the I others bandage her feet, arms, and head, and give her the care necessury in case of an accident. Nursery duties are not neglected, and babies are brought in to be washed, dressed, and cared ior. Nature study is one of the features of the vacation schools. The children have an aquanum, and there is the school ganden, where ench child can plant his otwi seeds and watch over his own bed of flowers. Then there are frequent excursions to the city parks, to the museums, to art galleries, to the great manufacturing establishments. As often as possible the children are taken for a day in the country, and sometimes for a river excursion. Out-of-door gymnasiums are provided for both girls and boys, and indoor gymnasiums are fitted with complete apparatus, while there are instructors to- teach a variety of exercises. There is basketball for the boys and a dancing class for the girls. Free swimming baths have recently been added in several American cities, and New York has fifteen of them open this summer. — Daily Mail.