CHAPTER VII 



PLAY 



A Children's Garden should be conducted in such a 

 manner as to satisfy the wholesome desire for play. 

 The best results will be gained from the work done 

 at the age when this desire to play is strongest. Chil- 

 dren play with a great deal of earnestness and with 

 much activity, and at the time when the garden is 

 most beneficial in their education their plays consist 

 in imitating the pursuits of their elders. The children 

 will heartily enjoy playing at gardening, or house- 

 keeping, or carpentry, so long as the work is well 

 within their strength and limited to short periods of 

 attention. 



Just as the small chick loves to run out into the 

 world and quickly back again to the warmth and pro- 

 tection of the mother wing, so the child loves to play 

 at doing work and imitate grown-ups, especially in 

 the arts and trades, if there is plenty of opportunity 

 for change and rest. 



For the Nation's safety the Nation's children must 

 be educated, but that education would not be nullified 

 by killing the child in the process. The first need of 

 every child is a healthy body. Much mental stimulus 



