THE EXPRESSIVE WORK OF THE SCHOOL. 245 



Hence they can express with clay the form of solids 

 exactly as they see them. In their sewing or drawing 

 they can only outline solid forms. 



The clay is so plastic that it can be very easily modi- 

 fied, and children are enabled to work readily toward a 

 more nearly correct form. It is more difficult for the 

 children to change their drawings. 



On the other hand clay in the hands of young chil- 

 dren is decidedly limited in its application as a means 

 of expressing ideas. In general, they can only use it 

 to express their form ideas of rather simple and gross 

 objects. It is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, 

 for average children to express with clay anything but 

 form ideas, or to show even the form of those things 

 which are delicate. They can model the bean seed, 

 but not the plant which develops from it. We may let 

 them attempt thus to represent a horse or dog, but we 

 see instinctively that we must not ask them to model 

 a butterfly. The model of flower or butterfly is almost 

 certain to be a caricature, which may be positively 

 harmful in its effects. 



In plant work moulding has the widest application. 

 The form of seeds, buds, stems, roots, leaves, and fruits 

 can be expressed or represented very exactly and clearly 

 by means of clay models. In the study of animals 

 there are not so many opportunities for modelling. This 

 means of expression can be used very little in work 

 with minerals or in physics, because form is of rela- 

 tively little importance in these studies as they must 

 be pursued in elementary schools. 



