The Educative Value of Holidays for Children

Ladies' Mirror, Volume V, Issue 6, 1 December 1926, Page 78

The Educative Value of Holidays for Children

A Qipsy Tea s Qirl Quides Enjoy Life in the Open

'JThere was a time when holidays were considered merely as necessary periods of cessation from work periods when over-driven teachers, fatigued to the point of exhaustion, were forced to give their tiresome pupils a rest that they themselves might recuperate from the strain of the term’s work. But it is realised to-day that holidays are of much more importance than this from the educational point of view. They have a positive part to play in the education of the child. They are to be considered, not as a necessary evil, but as times of great opportunity. In the holidays children have a chance to develop as individuals and to follow up their own particular interests in their own way. The interests of the modern child are many. They include subjects taught in school as well as hobbies and recreations. In the old days, when children were taught parrotfashion from a book, the healthy child would have scorned to work ip his own time on any subject

taught at school. Arithmetic, geography, science held merely an academic interest for the clever child and no interest at all for the dull one. But now arithmetic is taught on practical linesone actually meaures out the number of tiles required to pave the playground and perhaps even actually helps in the paving before being expected to work sums involving the problem; geography is taught on practical lin.s as rlst is science. Naturally enough the child enjoys subjects which he sees have to do with real life. Naturally enough when he has taken an active part in the learning process at school, he often continues with it in the holidays. He follows up the school physics by studying clouds and weather, school zoology by adding to his collection of butterflies, school geometry by getting out plans and models of his ideal house or garden. For the clever child educated on constructive modern lines holidays are generally both busy and happy.

Some children, however, appear to do nothing connected with school work at all. They dream their time away or fill it up with games and picnics. But for all that their actual school education may be progressing very satisfactorily. With the advance in knowledge of the new psychology we have learned what an important part the unconscious mind plays in all mental processes. Most subjects of study need an incubation-time— time during which facts learned at school may be thoroughly absorbed by the unconscious mind. The summer nolidays, coming as they do after the end-ot-term examinations, are parucularly valuable in providing leistire tor tins period of incubation. Very often the child goes back to school alter the holidays far brighter tl™ ho keener on a certain subject than he was before, simply because during all the weeks of rest certain facts have been grouping and synthesising themselves in his mind, although he has made no conscious effort and done no conscious work,

Holidays, too, give the child a chance to follow up his own individual interests. Any knowledge acquired by the child spontaneously is usually acquired at the cost of great effort. This is true of children of all ages. Babies teaching themselves to walk practice walking far more persistently- than we should have the heart to make them practice; toddlers plaving voluntarily with the Montessori apparatus repeat their exercises more often than grown-ups would ask them to do. Spontaneous work like this ; s the work that makes for charactcr. During the hours of wholesome effort the child's power of concentration. his will-power, his purpose grows. There are ever so manv interests that children will choose to follow up in the holidays. There arc Spedal opportunities for Nature . , , f" y ™ T ° T garden ' in U,C hel(ls ' or . by lhc seashore. There arc lobbies to be strenuously pursued—collecting stamps or shells, birds' eggs, or butterflies, pebbles, keeping pets, gardening, and so on,

There arc handicrafts of all kinds tor which there is little time at school. There are books without number for reading. It is imperative that we should understand enough oi our children’s interests and enthusiasms to help them to make their holidays a success. Holiday time is growing time, the time ot educational opportunity for the parent, as term time is the educational opportunity tor the teacher. "It seems to me that this pleasure-mad generation has lost the art of enjoyment. It is the condition of a child who has made the discovery that it likes jam, and has invaded the housekeepers’ room to fill itself from the pots on the shelves. Now, a stomach full of raspberry jam is not a happy stomach. In my childhood a treat was a great event; it stood out from a background of, I will not say dullness, but of duties, discipline and general uneventfulness. It was, in consequence, extraordinarily delicious when it came. it stirred the waters of routine. And because one lived in such an atmosphere one was always expecting something marvellous to occur, like Uncle Jehosaphat suddenly descending irom the ceiling. But nowadays you hear children comparing cinema with cinema ! Yes, indeed. Such a childhood is almost inconceivable to men of our years. it is as if we had compared Father Christmas with Father Christmas." These arc the words of G. K. Chesterton, and are wondcrous wise words. At this season, particularly, Mr. Chesterton’s words give plenty of food for thought. The stomach full of raspberry jam is not a happy stomach, nor is the young mind happy that is satiated with cinemas and pantomimes and toy bazaars. Treats should occur seldom enough to give the child pleasurable little shocks of excitement when they do come. Again, if the child lives too fast and is allowed to experience too much in the early years of his life, he has not time to sort out his real impressions. The nature of the child is, normally, profoundly serious; he is an excellent little workman, willing to spend time and effort and thought on all he does he does not crave continual excitement. But if his whole life is planned as a series of treats and thrills, he is forced into the habit of superficial living. He has no chance and no leisure to apprehend the full significance of anything. When he is older lie becomes, of course, the most miserable of creatures —the bored human being. Thus far, I imagine, all sensible: parents will agree with me. But '■hey will not unnaturally enquire : What is Christmas to a child if all. treats arc taboo ? It would seem perfectly possible to give him his full measure of Christmas delights without vitiating his appetite for simple pleasures and without disorganising his daily life. Why not.

follow the custom of the continent and plan a season to extend over three or four weeks, instead ot condensing all the treats into a hectic tew days i In many countries the Christmas festival is inaugurated by tne visit 01 a banta Claus some time during the early weeks of December, and is closed on me Tweltth Night, when the Christmas tree is taken down with great ceremony, and the nuts and appies and oranges still hanging on its branches are shared out. During these weeks life may be made specially delight lul to the nursery tolk. From time to time Christmas dainties may appear on the tea-table sponge cakes, iced m various colours, with the Christian name of one particular child written in sugar on each cake; mannikins cut out 01 dough with currants for eyes and mouth; simple biscuits decorated with hundreds-and-thousands. Sometimes little figures ot banta Claus may appear standing betore each plate, with a chocolate or two inside each. Occasionally there may be crackers or tinsel decorations. But the greatest delight of children is to do things for themselves, it is a good plan to let them cut their own biscuits out of dough, and then to send them down to the kitchen to be baked; to decorate their own cakes with comforts, and so on. Pretty crackers—the terrifying “bang-stick”— can be made out of coloured paper, and ornaments for the Christinas Tree can be cut out in the shape of stars and diamonds and crescent moons. Nuts can be wrapped in silver paper to glower among the dark green branches, and paper chains threaded to wind in and out around the trunk. The little girl of seven is quite capable, with help, of dressing a waxen fairy doll to adorn the top of the tree. Then there is the delight of making presents. There are ever so many articles within the power of the youngest child. Little baskets woven of raffia can be made by five and six-year-olds. Children of seven and eight with stronger fingers can turn out good baskets of cane —wastepaper baskets, workbaskets and the like. The work is not difficult, and the children love it because they can see so quickly a tangible result of their labours. Blotters with leather covers or with covers of strong cardboard and wallpaper or cretonne are easy enough to make. So are lavender bags and sweet bags and stuffed bunnies or rag dolls for babybrothers and sisters. In this article I have stressed the activities of children at Christmas time. Too often this side of the festival is neglected and children are forced all the time into the position of recipients. This is unfortunate, for nothing bores a child so much as inactivity. At the same time, it is good to show children that we are trying to give them pleasure also. —Muriel Wrixch in “Eve.”