Projects in the Primary Grades; A Plan of Work for the Primary Grades and the Kindergarten (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 edition. Excerpt: ... CONSTRUCTIVE ACTIVITIES AS PURPOSEFUL ACTIVITIES In determining in what the constructive activities or projects of little children shall consist, the motive prompting the children in the doing of any special task is of greatest importance, also the fact that the activity shall wholesomely and naturally form an intrinsic part of the life of the child at any given time. The motive may vary considerably and yet be acceptable. It may be social and cultivate the growing and sharing spirit, as when gifts are made for different seasons of the year, or refreshments served for special occasions at school; it may be the expression of the love of beauty and show itself in a desire to decorate the schoolroom, or to make covers and portfolios for the preservation of school work; it may answer a special need, as when costumes, spears, helmets and other accessories are simply made in order to lend to dramatic expression an added sense 31 of reality, or when material is needed for nature study; it may furnish a fitting climax to industrial studies, leading to an understanding of actual conditions, as when jelly or biscuits are made from the fruit and grain harvested. Insistence upon a genuine motive there should be; otherwise constructive activity loses its educational significance and becomes barren of its best results. The love of beauty being essential to all appreciation and adequate expression, it may be considered a dominant factor which permeates and accompanies all other motives in their attempts at realization. Hence the artistic training in design and color must be kept in mind. Crude results should be accepted and given due credit, providing only that they represent the best effort of the child at any given time, and that conditions exist for...