[2] Stir coffee.
[3] Place spoon in saucer.
[4] Pass bread and butter to each other.
[5] Fold hands in lap.
(For Dinner and Tea Table songs, see Appendix I.)
3. CLEARING THE TABLE (For directions as to laying the table, see game No. 1.)
1. Breakfast over, off we go,
To remove the cloth, you know.
2. Put the napkins on the tray,
And the plates, too, take away.
3. Cups and saucers next we take,
Carefully, lest them we break.
4. Bring the milk and sugar here,
Soon the table will be clear.
5. Shake the cloth and fold it straight,
Then we'll wash each cup and plate.[A]
Instructions.—Verse 1. Children rise from table, and each carries chair to the place where it should go.
Verse 2. A child brings a little tray, and, walking round the table, takes up all the napkins, putting them on the tray one by one. A second child follows with another tray, and takes up the plates in the same manner.
Verse 3. Two children remove the cups and saucers, each having a tray.
Verse 4. The coffee-pot, milk-jug, and sugar-basin are taken away on a tray.
Verse 5. The cloth should be taken off carefully, so that the crumbs are not spilt, or if a toy crumb brush and tray can be obtained, the crumbs may be removed before the cloth is taken up.
Footnote
[A] For song 'Washing Dishes,' see Appendix I.
4. WEIGHING
Scales and weights are required for this game.
Before commencing let the children see the different weights, and hold them one after the other in their hands.
The following rhymes may assist the scholars to remember the various weights:
1. First comes the [1]ounce weight, small and round, Sixteen of these do make a [2]pound. 2. Four ounces [3]quarter-pound will be; [4]Half-pound has eight ounces, you see.
Footnote
[1] Show ounce weight.
[2] Show pound weight.
[3] Show the quarter-pound.
[4] Show half-pound.
The four weights given above will be sufficient at first for little children, but more may be added as they become familiar with these. When the scholars have learnt to distinguish the pound, ounce, &c., they may come out in turn and weigh various objects.
It would be well to explain that solid objects occupy less room than lighter substances—that a pound of feathers, e.g., would take up a large space, while a pound of lead would go into a very small compass.
Guessing Game.—When the object to be weighed has been chosen, a number of children are allowed to come out and hold it in turn, and say what they think is its weight. As the object is handed to the first child, the teacher says:
Can you tell the weight of this?
Mind you do not guess amiss.
Each child takes the object in its hand and guesses. The article is then weighed, and the child who has guessed most nearly its correct weight is allowed to choose the next object for weighing, and to call out the children who are to guess. He hands it to the first child, repeating the words of the rhyme.
5. MEASURING GAME
Before playing this game, the children should be well accustomed to the use of the foot-rule, marked with inches (cost, &c.[1]). Each child should have a foot-rule and measure its book, pencil, desk, &c.; it should also be taught to draw lines of different lengths with the rule on its slate; thus, teacher might say, 'Draw a standing-up (vertical) line six inches long,' or, 'Draw a lying-down (horizontal) line four inches long,' and so on. The children will thus get accustomed to estimating the length and breadth of objects, and will be able to play the game.
Suppose the slate to be the object chosen, the teacher holds it up so that all may see it, and then repeats the lines:
Think it over carefully,
And tell me what the length may be
Of this slate.
The children who are ready to answer then put their hands out, and the one who guesses correctly (or most nearly correctly) has the privilege of asking the next question, and stands in front of the class in readiness. Before proceeding, however, the first object should be measured, so that all may see that the answer was correct.
Perhaps the pencil may be the next object chosen, or a window-pane, ball-frame, desk, duster, book, &c., and instead of length, we may have breadth. The words would then be:
Think it over carefully,
And tell me what the breadth may be Of this window-pane.
The children should be taught to listen attentively, so that they may know whether length or breadth is to be guessed; the meaning of the two terms should, of course, be explained previously.
If circular objects are chosen for measurement, the word 'girth' must be substituted for 'length.' This form of object should only be used for the older children, as it is much more difficult. To measure a circular object, a string should be passed round it, and the string should then be measured with the foot-rule.
Sometimes the word height may be substituted, as, for instance, in measuring the height of a plant or a child. The children will enjoy the latter very much.
Twelve inches make a foot, And nine a quarter-yard, The half-yard eighteen inches takes, To learn this