,,american ,,home ,,series ,,norman ,e4 ,,richardson1 ,editor ,,dramatics ,,in ,,the ,,home ,,by ,,william ,,byron ,,forbush ,illustration ,,third ,,edition ,,the ,,abingdon ,,press ,,new ,,york ,,cincinnati ,copyright1 #aiad1 by ,,the ,,american ,,institute ,,of ,,child ,,life ,,editor',s ,,introduction ,this pamphlet is practically a sequel of ,the ,dramatic ,instinct in ,children1 one of the units in the ,american ,home ,series4 ,the two should be studied together4 ,children are naturally dramatic in giving expression to their ideas and convictions4 ,but they need guidance in order that this inborn capacity for forcefulness1 vividness1 or charm may be realized4 ,supervised practice in controlling the imagination is no less important than is that of controlling impulses4 ,to play a part in a little homemade drama or pageant helps the child to find his place and to do his part in the world's work--and play4 ,this pamphlet seeks to answer the question3 ,how8 as its companion undertakes to show what this disposition is4 ,the dramatic method in teaching has already found its way into the best schools4 ,it will have an increasingly large place in the best homes4 ,it should be carefully noted that this brief study is not concerned primarily with amateur dramatics or theatricals4 ,the author is not trying to tell parents how to train their children to become professional actors4 ,he desires1 rather1 to point out how parents can help their children develop the latent powers of expression4 ,,dramatics ,,in ,,the ,,home 8,i called the little pool a sea2 ,the little hills were big to me2 ,for ,i am very small4 ,i made a boat1 ,i made a town1 ,i searched the caverns up and down1 ,and named them one and all4 ,this was the world and ,i was king2 ,for me the bees came by to sing1 ,for me the swallows flew40 --,robert ,louis ,stevenson4 ,dramatic ,play and ,games--,serial ,dramatic ,play--,folk ,dancing--,dramatic ,parties--,pantomime and ,tableaux--,dramatized ,work--,home ,discipline ,through the ,dramatic ,instinct--,clubs ,based on ,imaginative ,play--,dramatic ,self-,government--,dramatics in the ,church--,summary--,references4 ,,at the outset1 a clear distinction must be made between the teaching of dramatics as made use of in theatricals1 whether private or public1 and the cultivation of dramatic imitation or its use in the enlargement of the child's general knowledge and experience4 ,the main purpose of this essay is to show in what a wide range of activities this dramatic impulse expresses itself wholesomely in a child's life4 ,the earliest of these is through dramatic play4 ,,dramatic ,,play ,,and ,,games ,it is astonishing how large a proportion of play is dramatic in character4 ,mr4 ,george ,e4 ,freeland watched a baby of two and a half years for a whole day and noted that he engaged in fifty-four different imaginative games4 ,it would be pretty hard1 therefore1 to enumerate all the ways in which a child of three1 at the period when imagination seems to awaken1 utilizes this faculty in play4 ,this is the time when the child imitates the acts of older people2 therefore1 whatever tiny implements or apparatus he can use for that purpose are acceptable to him4 ,of the ready-made toys1 toy furniture for the house1 the sand pile for outdoors and the doll for both are most useful4 8,the doll10 as ,sully tells us1 8takes a supreme place in this fancy realm of play4 ,the doll is an all-important comrade in that solitude deux1 of which the child1 like the adult1 is so fond40 ,the complete adaptability of the doll makes it an ideal means for the puppet play of idealism4 8,a good1 efficient1 able-bodied doll1 like the ,american girl's10 says ,joseph ,lee1 8is at home in any situation in life1 from princess to kitchen maid1 to which she may be called4 ,and one doll in her time plays many parts2 she has to1 or lose her job40 ,besides this1 so perfectly does the doll mingle with the child's own personality that it produces and maintains a complete feeling of oneness4 ,says ,sully3 8#8,the dolly must do all and be all that ,i am2' so the child1 in his warm attachment1 seems to argue4 ,this feeling of oneness is strengthened by that of exclusive possession1 the sense that the child himself is the only one who really knows dolly or can hear her cry4 ,it is another manifestation of the same feeling of intimacy and solidarity when a child insists on dolly's being treated by others as courteously as he himself is treated4 ,children will often expect the mother or nurse to kiss and say good-night to their pet or pets--for their hearts are capacious--when she says good-night to themselves40 8,the rimes of ,mother ,goose10 says ,mrs4 ,herts1 8were predominantingly dramatic4 ,a great many of them associate words1 song1 and action4 ,the ordinary printed collections are misleading in this respect4 ,the words1 taken alone1 are not the thing4 ,think of printing #8,pease porridge hot' as a separate and independent poem without the dramatic hand-play6 ,indeed1 it is a pity to have these rimes in books at all40 ,the mother may help the development of this expressive instinct in early childhood4 ,even a baby ought to be treated as a play-mate1 not as a plaything4 ,there is an old-fashioned game known as 8,come to see40 ,the little damsel with her doll1 and perhaps 8dressed up0 in some of her mother's wardrobe1 came to call on mother4 ,her efforts to behave exactly as a lady should were aided and guided by the mother's careful behavior as hostess4 ,it is a training in manners4 ,when the children play visit each other they use all the manners they have4 ,they practice useful lessons without knowing it4 ,the mother who takes these baby games seriously enough to enter into them in the child spirit is teaching her children as truly as is the kindergartner4 ,the child from four to seven is capable of a wide range of imagination4 ,these years are regarded by psychologists as the most active imaginatively throughout life4 ,capable of imitation of the ideas as well as the acts of adults1 the child uses dolls1 soldiers1 ,noah's arks1 carts1 playhouses1 blocks1 sand-piles1 paint boxes1 and stencils to act out a great variety of adult occupations4 ,the imagination seems to engage in freer play the more incomplete are the media provided by others for its expression4 8,nothing10 says ,stevenson1 8can stagger a child's faith2 he accepts the clumsiest substitutions and can swallow the most staring incongruities4 ,the chair he has just been besieging as a castle1 or valiantly cutting to the ground as a dragon1 is taken away for the accommodation of a morning visitor1 and he is nothing abashed2 he can skirmish by the hour with a stationary coal scuttle2 in the midst of the enchanted pleasance1 he can see1 without sensible shock1 the gardener soberly digging potatoes for the day's dinner4 ,he can make abstraction of whatever does not fit into his fable2 and he puts his eyes in his pocket1 just as we hold our noses in an unsavory lane40 ,joseph ,lee says1 8,one of the most petted quadrupeds ,i have known consisted1 to the prosaic eye1 of half a barrel hoop40 ,even young children differ in the vividness and completeness with which they surrender themselves to imaginary situations4 ,it is said that ,stevenson himself was one day watching a boy who was playing that a sofa was a boat4 ,when he had finished he climbed down and walked away4 8,for heaven's sake1 swim ashore60 cried out the imaginative child-lover in genuine distress4 ,it seemed to him a pity that the lad should not carry his drama clear to its proper close4 ,no doubt1 however1 it is clumsy or blind interference by adults which most often cripples the capacity of imaginative enjoyment4 ,sully tells this3 8,a little girl of four was playing #8shop' with her younger sister4 ,the elder one was shopman at the time ,i came into her room and kissed her4 ,she broke out into piteous sobs2 ,i could not understand why4 ,at last she sobbed out3 #8,mother1 you never kiss the man in the shop4' ,i had with my kiss quite spoiled her illusion40 ,the child soon tires of mechanical toys1 talking dolls or elaborate doll-houses with which there is nothing he can do4 ,illustrating this point ,joseph ,lee says3 8,toys1 things of convenient size and shape to play with1 are indeed essential4 ,but it is what you can do with or imagine about them1 not what they themselves can do1 that is important4444 ,it is the child's own achievement1 not that of the clever man who made the toy1 that counts40 ,miss ,nora ,a4 ,smith tells of an old ,german toy-maker who1 8when asked where he got the ideas for his playthings1 answered with a half-smile3 #8,not from the children1 anyway4 ,children seldom get the toys they want1 but those that their parents want them to want4'0 ,the passion for destruction which often manifests itself during these years is simply the perversion of the instinct for construction4 ,being provided with no materials with which he can build he takes apart his too complete toys4 ,a pile of blocks1 a sand-pile1 a paint-box1 some dolls that must be cut out1 a ruined shed that perhaps may be made into a doll-house1 these are ideal materials for childish play4 ,there are a number of old-fashioned games which exercise the dramatic instinct4 ,among these are3 ,kitty ,white1 ,did ,you ,ever ,see a ,lassie81 ,farmer in the ,dell1 ,squirrel in the ,trees and the ,duck ,dance4 ,these are all described in ,miss ,bancroft's book on play and games1 referred to below4 ,let us take her description of one of the less familiar games1 ,kitty ,white1 so that we may notice how the dramatic element is expressed throughout4 ,the accompanying music is not given in this citation4 8,this is an admirable game for very little children4 ,their dramatic tendency should be given full rein in impersonating the soft movements of the kitty and the mouse before the chase begins4 8,kitty ,white so slyly comes1 ,to catch the ,mousie ,gray2 ,but mousie hears her softly creep1 ,and quickly runs away4 8,run1 run1 run1 little mouse1 ,run1 run1 run1 little mouse1 ,for ,kitty ,white is coming near1 ,and she will catch the mouse1 ,i fear40 8,one player is chosen for the mouse and stands in the center1 and another for ,kitty ,white1 who stands outside the circle4 ,the other players join hands in a ring and move around1 while singing the first four lines4 ,meanwhile ,kitty ,white is creeping around outside of the circle1 peeping in at little ,mousie ,gray4 ,when the fourth line is reached1 #8,and quickly runs away1' the circle stops moving and drops hands while the mouse runs out and in through the circle1 chased by ,kitty ,white4 ,for the last four lines1 while the chase is going on1 the players in the circle stand in place and clap their hands while singing #8,run1 run1' etc4 ,when the mouse is caught1 both return to the circle1 and another mouse and kitty are chosen40 ,between seven and nine still wider possibilities are found in the dramatic use of materials4 ,sliced animals and other puzzles which consist of building pictures from sections of cardboard1 dolls furnished with patterns for dressing1 8,magic ,changelings0 7cutouts representing ,mother ,goose characters so pasted together that they may be two or three characters1 according to the way in which they are folded71 pasteboard farms and villages1 a dolly's school outfit1 ,miss ,duncan's pasteboard garden with labeled plants1 stamped patterns of birds and animals to be sewed and stuffed1 the 8,dynamobile10 which goes by being wound up or attached to power1 these are some of the store-made plays that are worth while4 ,a child1 however1 will have equal enjoyment by making a toy village out of blocks1 stones1 and twigs2 he can make a miniature theater out of an old kennel that will satisfy him better than the brightly colored ones which can be bought1 and he can play store1 train1 expressman with nothing more than some boxes and a cart4 ,the larger skill and knowledge of the child gives more content to plays of an earlier period4 ,he now invents and conducts elaborate sieges and defenses for his toy soldiers2 he not merely plays with his pets1 but he harnesses and drives them4 ,he can get up such varied entertainments as a circus1 a ,wild ,west ,show1 a minstrel performance and a ,japanese impersonation4 ,the child continues to play with dolls1 but can now be induced to produce an entire puppet show1 one of the most educative employments1 by the way1 possible to youthful play4 ,he or she is now old enough to be interested also in the simpler festivals1 such as those of the ,may ,pole1 ,halloween1 and the ,fourth of ,july4 ,among the formal games appropriate to these years are ,bird ,catcher1 ,the ,wee ,bologna ,man1 ,fox and ,geese and ,all ,aboard4 ,we may provide an important stimulus to observation by encouraging it in imaginative play4 ,miss ,nora ,a4 ,smith makes this suggestion3 8,half-grown boys and girls too would be delighted to play at #8,scouting1' it being understood that a scout is always a special person1 selected for his special qualifications1 and that he is supposed to be unusually active1 intelligent and trustworthy4 8,the commanding officer1 peacefully seated under a tree meanwhile1 sends out such a child scout to bring him a full report of the country up to a given point1 stating the condition of the roads1 fences and bridges2 giving a description of the rocks or trees behind which the enemy might take shelter2 noting the presence of any figures in the distance--dust rising or birds flying--the foot-marks1 wheel-marks1 hoof-prints in the road1 etc41 or the presence of any object by the wayside which would indicate that the foe had passed by4 8,if it is explained that the expedition is a dangerous one1 necessitating great care and discretion on the part of the recruit1 and if it is suggested that it will perhaps be well to make certain marks to guard against losing his way on return1 by breaking small branches1 piling up stones1 #8blazing' trees1 scratching fence-posts1 etc41 the excitement will be great and the game delightful1 as well as preeminently useful40 ,this is about the time when he begins to get up entirely original amateur shows1 dramatizing either the stories he has read or the dramas he has witnessed4 ,in his ,the ,coming ,generation ,dr4 ,forbush gives these illustrations from his own household3 8,on going upstairs in the country1 the author has often been confronted by a large brown paper poster which reads3 ,,great ,,show ,,and ,,feed ,at two o'clock ,admission ,one ,cent4 ,i pay my fee at the door of one of the children's chambers1 and am asked by the youthful ticket-seller if ,i care for a reserved seat4 ,in a stage whisper he adds1 #8,o ,parp1 do take one2 if you don't1 we'll come out short on the refreshments4' ,i deposit the additional penny1 and am ushered to a seat upon the bed1 over which is the placard1 #8,first ,balcony4' ,the rabble is seated on chairs4 8,we are handed programs1 executed with the expenditure of much muscle and saliva4 ,first1 according to this program1 is a #8,p'rad of ,ginruls1' introducing the entire company4 ,then follow recitations1 songs1 shadow pictures1 stereopticon and original plays1 one of border life and the other of conflict with crime in the city4 ,a reminiscence of ,cooper is traceable in these vigorously acted dramas4 ,the manipulation of apparatus and the movements and dialogue behind the scenes are as entertaining to the spectators as the regular acts4 ,at the close a plate of delicious plums is passed1 for which the youngsters must have walked two miles in the hot sun1 and mortgaged all of the proceeds of the entertainment in advance40 ,the superior craftsmanship of the child between ten and twelve enables him to enjoy games which imitate in close detail many adult activities4 ,crepe paper1 beads1 and such plastic materials as clay and plasticine can be used for improving the beauty of constructive articles4 ,the boy now enjoys some of the published games by which he can play conductor1 postoffice1 and banker1 and the girl who plays house does some actual cooking and house-cleaning4 ,there was a description not long ago in ,american ,motherhood of the way a family carried their dramatic representations of literature still further4 ,they made models of the places they read about4 ,an ,esquimau village was the simplest task4 ,the people1 dogs1 sledges1 and seals can be modeled in clay and colored if material is at hand4 ,if not1 they can be made of paper4 ,some oiled paper over blue makes a beautiful polar sea1 in which should float a great iceberg built either from paper1 or modeled from clay and covered with cotton1 over which clambers a polar bear4 ,cotton should cover the rude huts and all the land with its snowy whiteness1 and if a few pennies are available1 a sprinkling of diamond dust makes the scene very realistic4 ,the guidance of an older person is desirable in the matter of reading1 for the children should be encouraged to see that every detail is true to fact4 ,if ,robinson ,crusoe's ,island is attempted and rightly carried out1 the family copy will be worn to tatters before it is done1 as it certainly should be4 ,the same kind of oiled and blue paper will again serve for the ocean2 the sandy beach can be real sand1 in which may be planted the tropical forest4 ,the text itself must be studied for the location of the cave1 the later huts1 the boat1 the animals and birds4 ,in fact1 the story must be made the foundation of it all and its directions followed to the minutest detail4 ,the ,hiawatha story is used in some form or other by almost every primary teacher1 and the working out of ,hiawatha's home is unfailingly interesting4 ,here clay or plasticine is especially desirable4 ,all the characters mentioned in the poem are modeled in it and colored to barbaric splendor4 ,wigwams are set in the evergreen forest1 canoes line the stony beach of the shining lake1 while birds1 squirrels1 turtles and other creatures are fitted into their proper environment4 ,old ,nakomis sits at the tent door2 the fortune teller is in evidence2 ,hiawatha stands at his canoe1 and all the other characters are employed as the story directs4 ,the study for it and the making of ,hiawatha's home should offer occupation for a large part of a winter's leisure4 ,the beginnings of ,american history are studied through the reproduction of a street in the ,dutch village in which the ,puritans took refuge from persecution in ,england4 ,its houses with red roofs1 its wind-mills1 its church1 reproduce the character of the place1 while in the street are groups of people clad in the costume of the times1 the men with the broad-brimmed hats1 the women with close bonnets4 ,the next step carries the ,pilgrims across the water to the building of ,old ,plymouth4 ,in the construction of this village small twigs can be used for the making of real log houses4 ,here1 of course1 must appear the homes of ,priscilla1 of ,john ,alden and ,miles ,standish1 the ,common ,house and other places which any simple story of the ,pilgrim ,fathers will give4 ,someone must hunt in the yard or in the street for a real ,plymouth ,rock to place upon the seashore4 ,if possible1 it is well to have two or three children work together if a village is attempted4 ,the work then moves rapidly enough to escape discouragement1 and the many discussions that are bound to arise over the right way of doing this or that are bound to be instructive4 ,there is a great interest among boys at this time in such toys as ,meccano and the ,american ,model ,builder1 in which materials are furnished for making miniature bridges and structures and machines4 ,the great outdoor and cooperative games of baseball and football1 which are intensely dramatic1 are now played by boys1 while both boys and girls enjoy more elaborate joint impersonations than ever before1 in acting charades and playing ,dumb ,crambo4 ,the years beyond thirteen introduce a second period of imitation4 ,the boy now thinks he is a man and the girl wishes to be a woman4 ,this play-adultism manifests itself1 of course1 in the insistence upon wearing adult clothes and entering into adult experiences4 ,now is the time for the den or the clubhouse or the workshop1 in which the maturing boy or girl entertains his friends and executes his craftsmanship projects4 ,the would-be athlete now constructs his rude outdoor gymnasium4 ,indoors the amateur magician performs tricks to his more or less astonished family4 ,a valuable device1 which is far more than a toy1 for this period is the stereoscope4 ,if supplied with stereoscopic photographs carefully selected and explained1 the sense of perspective1 size1 and life which this optical instrument gives enables the imaginative youth1 or adult even1 to enter so vividly into foreign experiences and customs as to constitute1 if but briefly1 actual experiences of travel4 ,there is no material or device which has been mentioned above that is not available to the most modest household4 ,the majority of them consist of articles already in the house and the others of tools or materials which are inexpensive and of permanent value4 ,,serial ,,dramatic ,,play ,by serial dramatic play is meant a dramatic game which is taken up day after day for a considerable period1 until it becomes a continued story4 ,the children who engage in this sort of play are1 of course1 getting a much finer intellectual stimulus than those who play entirely in a desultory and disconnected fashion4 ,not all children have the capacity to sustain games of this sort4 ,here comes one of the great fellowship opportunities of parenthood4 ,a good illustration of this sort of play is the war game which ,robert ,louis ,stevenson used to play with his step-son1 ,lloyd ,osbourne4 ,owing to the tireless resourcefulness of the older play-mate1 the two utilized nearly the whole house for a series of sieges and strategies1 and went so far even as to publish bulletins from the field of war1 which they printed upon a small press4 ,mr4 ,h4 ,g4 ,wells1 the novelist1 has played with his two small children by means of blocks1 ,noah's ,ark people1 twigs and miscellaneous objects1 several series of games of war and peace1 which he has described most delightfully in his book1 ,floor ,games4 ,the parent who tells a continued story to his children1 which they illustrate together by crude drawings1 is engaged in an operation which is fully as much a game as a story1 and which often results in the children acting out the story after it has been told or adding chapters to it of their own composition4 ,so keenly do they visualize the characters of such a story that upon being suddenly called upon to relate what happened in their favorite hero's life after some particular incident they will often reminisce as vividly as if they were telling their own histories4 ,a method of doing this by handicraft is suggested on a previous page4 ,a description is given in another monograph 7,table ,talk in the ,home7 of a method by which a mother secured beautiful behavior at table by naming the children for real personages and teaching them to regard each other as distinguished guests4 ,this device lasted successfully for a considerable time4 ,it is a pleasant custom to relate certain cooperative games and enjoyments of parents and children to the home festivals4 ,it is most enjoyable for families1 at their reunions1 to act out together the family history4 ,this dramatic commemoration of proud events in the family history stimulates the younger generation with the desire for achievement1 and instills a wholesome pride and self-respect which will often prevent them1 through the temptations of youth1 from acting in a manner unworthy of their ancestors4 ,recently two young veterans who had just returned from eighteen months' service with the ,american army in ,france were given a dinner by one of their neighbors who wished to celebrate their home-coming4 ,her six-year-old son1 whose grandfather had served in the ,civil ,war1 was much excited for some weeks preceding the long-anticipated welcome dinner4 ,on the memorable evening he was dressed in khaki1 in imitation of the soldier guests1 and wore his grandfather's sword4 ,the double significance of that evening will probably never be forgotten by this six-year-old1 who felt the dignity of his position as grandson of a ,civil ,war veteran and host of two ,world ,war heroes4 ,,folk ,,dancing ,we sometimes forget that all of us use at least two languages1 the language of speech and the language of gesture4 ,the language of gesture is probably as old as the language of speech1 but to-day the language of speech has so largely taken the place of the other that except among the more emotional people of southern climes gesture is largely neglected and frequently meaningless4 ,folk-dancing is the practiced speech of gesture4 ,by this means1 primitive peoples acted out most of the occurrences of the tribe1 the ways of various animals1 the occupations of men1 their wars1 their loves1 their religion1 even the moods of the moment4 ,there is1 of course1 the closest relation between music and the dance1 and the folk-dances and the music that accompanies them have lived on together4 ,the old ballads were all originally written for choral dancing1 so that song and gesture were closely united4 ,the theory that underlies belief in the educational value of dramatic dancing was stated by ,plato1 in the days and among the race that saw and knew lives of unexampled attainment and a record in the arts that has not been approached by any other people4 ,he said3 8,rhythm and harmony are made familiar to the souls of the youths1 that they may grow more gentle and graceful and harmonious1 and so be of service both in words and in deeds2 for the whole life of man stands in need of grace and of harmony40 ,there is no apparent boundary line between singing games1 rhythmic games1 and folk-dancing1 in its simplest and innocent forms4 ,such old singing games as ,london ,bridge2 ,here ,we ,go ,round the ,mulberry ,bush2 ,oats1 ,peas1 ,beans and ,barley ,grow2 ,the ,hare in the ,hollow2 ,king ,william2 and the ,duke and the ,castle embody dancing steps1 though they are games set to music4 ,the historic minuet is an expression of courtliness1 as it was the historic dance of the old courtly days4 ,miss ,jane ,addams and her fellow-workers at ,hull ,house believe that the development of the characteristic national dances of the various countries that are sending us immigrants is going to be1 together with their folk songs1 a valuable contribution to the refinement of our national life1 as well as an important support to the self-respect of these people who1 because of the arrogance of ,americans1 suppose they have everything to learn and nothing to give4 ,,dramatic ,,parties ,to the mother who is at her wits' end in trying to devise something new and good for children's parties1 the idea of using the dramatic instinct should come as a godsend4 ,nothing could possibly be more delightful than an afternoon of dramatic games1 varied by more quiet story-telling4 ,playing statues1 getting up tableaux1 performing charades1 and even extemporaneously acting out story-plays are all methods of entertainment which win enthusiastic response4 ,to be ready for such an emergency it might be well for mothers to follow the suggestion of ,miss ,nora ,a4 ,smith that 8a drawer in the playroom closet be devoted to objects and old finery suitable for tableaux and dramatizations1 such as trappings for soldiers1 feathered hats1 trained skirts1 buckled belts1 gold lace1 and old jewelry40 ,to add to the delight of such a place1 ,miss ,smith adds1 8,this closet should be treated in general as a high1 exalted place1 never to be opened in mother's absence or without her consent40 ,,pantomime1 ,,tableaux1 ,,etc4 ,it is a curious fact that that which is the easiest form of dramatic expression to young children is the most difficult to adolescent young people1 namely1 the pantomime4 ,this is explained by the fact that little children enter so unconsciously into action without the use of words1 while the older ones are rendered more self-conscious by being restricted from the use of speech4 ,of pantomime for little children1 the very simplest form is that of 8statues10 in which the children pose1 either dressed all in white with powdered hair or with no change of costume1 to represent scenes from life1 familiar people1 common trades1 form of action1 famous people and well defined thoughts or feelings4 ,the next dramatic step is the tableaux1 in which the children are grouped at least in pairs1 arranged in a frame or behind a curtain1 dressed in costume4 ,here1 as in the statues1 their own inventiveness may be largely depended upon1 as they pose to represent characters in story-books1 characters in poems1 scenes from history1 people of other lands and famous pictures4 ,the third variety is the shadow play1 in which with even simpler properties but with more careful rehearsal the children pose as silhouettes and employ a few dramatic gestures4 ,in ,miss ,perry's ,when ,mother ,lets ,us ,act the details of all these pantomime performances are given quite adequately4 ,the next step in dramatic performances is story-playing4 ,the easiest kind consists of simple character sketches1 in which a child may portray quickly with language as well as gesture such characters as the father1 an old witch1 a newspaper boy1 a school teacher4 ,animals may also be imitated4 ,miss ,perry describes a lovely acting game1 which she calls ,playing ,garlands4 8,garlands10 as she describes it1 8is a little group of plays acted one after the other1 all a part of the same idea and each one acted by one child only4 ,when grandmother comes1 you can have the garland of greetings4 ,encircle grandmother1 hand in hand4 ,then let each child represent something that is glad to welcome grandmother4 ,one represents the chickens and struts and flutters1 one represents the flowers--this one spreads her skirts and acts like a flower2 and so on4 ,a garland of ,robert ,louis ,stevenson's poems1 each child taking one poem and speaking1 or singing1 and acting it1 is charming40 ,doctor ,gesell describes the way this activity develops in the elementary schoolroom3 8,very soon the class will not be content with one player4 ,the boy who is trying to represent the monkey will suggest that he have a hand-organ man2 the hen will want chickens1 and the scene will go naturally and easily without dictation4 ,it is interesting to see how the children grow in power of representation and suggestion1 and how naturally language begins to be the necessary accompaniment of gesture4 ,the language of the children will be pictorial and full of unexpected terms and phrases4 ,at this stage of the work it will be found helpful to put a screen between the player and the class4 ,such a device adds a little mystery to the play4 ,the effect that such work may have upon voice culture is most significant40 ,the next step will be stories with simple plot4 ,in performing these it is not necessary to memorize1 and it is undesirable to do so4 ,miss ,fry in her ,educational ,dramatics describes in a vivid way how a story-play evolves4 ,here is a bit of her monologue1 in which we can easily imagine the interruptions of the children4 ,the play is a variant of the ,cinderella story3 8,good6 ,let's begin with the ,market-,place6 ,and the crowd is there1 as the story says4 ,what will the crowd be doing8 ,buying and selling1 and walking about and gossiping1 as crowds always do anywhere6 ,yes6 ,we can have chairs about1 to be the shops1 and ,cicily will be in the crowd1 of course1 shabby and shy1 because she is poor1 and no one notices her4 ,o1 no6 ,not unhappy1 because she is a merry creature1 even if she is poor6 ,barefoot8 ,i s'pose so6 ,rags8 ,o1 let's plan the whole story first and what they do1 and then think about clothes and other things1 or we never shall be through and doing it6 8,now what happens8 ,the ,bellman's bell can sound outside the ,square just as in the story1 and we can hear him calling1 #8,o1 ,ye's6 ,o1 ,ye's6' and the bell really ringing4 ,then what will happen8 ,the ,bellman will march in1 yes6 ,ringing and calling1 all the people of the place will #8come running1' as the story says4 ,what a lot more fun it will be to be doing it than just hearing about it6 ,o1 yes6 of course they chatter at him4 ,the story does not say that1 but any one would know it40 ,mrs4 ,braucher recommends for story-playing the following stories1 some of which lend themselves to a more permanent form of acting3 ,cinderella4 ,sleeping ,beauty4 ,hansel and ,gretel4 ,jack and the ,beanstalk4 ,snow-white4 ,elves and ,shoemaker4 ,eleven ,wild ,swans4 ,red ,shoes4 ,the ,cat and the ,parrot4 ,the ,golden ,goose4 ,king ,arthur and ,excalibur4 ,the ,hole in the ,dike4 ,we come now to the performing of memorized plays by adolescent young people4 ,before adolescence memorizing is of little value in dramatic performance1 unless it be of poems to be acted1 because it tends to hamper the freedom of original speech and action4 ,here ,frederica ,beard's sensible statement is memorable3 8,the dramatic instinct is not utilized primarily by the seeing of plays1 but by self-expression in the acting out of plays suitable to a particular age40 ,it is the children who have been surfeited by the drama and the moving-picture show who regard dramatic play as tiresome4 ,those who are leading in the ,junior ,drama ,league1 instead of encouraging theater-going among children1 are strongest in their insistence that children ought to be kept from the playhouses4 ,neither is it believed that the development of dramatic expression among children is likely to increase the number of young who go into that profession4 ,development through patient drill of some capacity in the taking of parts1 on the other hand1 tends to help a child to discriminate between good and poor acting1 and to appreciate all his life that which is truly fine in this great and ancient art4 ,but the greatest difference between the spirit of the mother or teacher who coaches some young people in their amateur plays and the teacher of dramatic art is that the latter works almost entirely to specialize the actor for his business and art of acting1 while the leader of amateurs is concerned chiefly with the results of the acting in developing the characters of the children through this exercise of the dramatic instinct4 ,something more than the dramatic instinct may be exercised through these amateur home plays4 ,one writer describes how once he started out with a group of young folks to give a pantomime of ,hiawatha4 ,the boys were to do the acting while he read part of the poem aloud4 ,this seemed to be such an easy thing to do that they had not planned to have the preparations last more than a month1 but they took all winter4 ,the boys got so interested in making the costumes and painting the scenery that they worked enthusiastically week after week in doing so4 ,they made their costumes out of brown cambric or denim1 which was easily fringed4 ,their moccasins were made of the same material1 and beads were liberally used on the moccasins and the bracelets4 8,scalps0 were made of old switches of false hair1 and the blades of the tomahawks were very realistic with red paint4 ,they secured old ,christmas trees from the public gardens1 they set up a tent of their own devising1 they had a camp fire1 lighted by red electric bulbs1 they had scenery of their own painting and they even had a moon of their own which rose more or less spasmodically4 ,when the boys put on their warpaint and performed their dance1 to an ,indian chant of their own invention1 under red fire1 they were positively gruesome1 and the dramatic climax of ,hiawatha's wedding was glorious in the extreme4 ,evidently1 in these exercises it was not the dramatic instinct alone that counted1 though that was central throughout1 but the gang spirit was behind it all1 and the handicraft instinct became involved1 while music1 art and the love of literature all found their place4 ,miss ,cora ,mel ,patten1 who has had a varied experience in coaching young people in connection with the playgrounds and social centers of ,chicago1 advises that for the best results the leader should deal only with small groups4 ,she believes that intensive work carried on patiently and for a long time with a moderate-sized dramatic club is more effective than the ambitious endeavor to deal with a large company4 ,as in all social work that amounts to anything1 it seems better to get somewhere with a few than merely to start with the many4 ,in the small group the mob spirit is entirely absent1 and if it be a selected company1 everybody is in earnest4 ,these statements suggest that the pageant1 which is becoming so popular1 is worth while for its patriotic and inspirational rather than its dramatic opportunities4 ,,dramatized ,,work ,the chief difference between work and play to a child seems to be that in work a definite creative result is kept in mind1 so that the end1 rather than the means1 is the central purpose4 ,in play the means is everything and the end is a matter of indifference4 ,until the child is old enough to become something of a creator and inventor he does not instinctively perform much work4 ,sometimes before that period arrives1 however1 it is possible to interest him in profitable tasks if he can engage in them with his imagination2 and all through childhood1 and1 indeed1 all through life1 imagination is the ,shekinah that leads the host of toil through its wilderness toward the promised land4 ,a pleasant device to encourage young children to work is to denominate them as 8soldiers10 8watchmen10 or 8little partners40 ,the addition of a paper cap or a wooden sword or a policeman's club will carry many a small youngster through a task which would otherwise seem intolerable4 ,one mother has strengthened her family discipline by assigning each of her children in turn to be 8the captain of the day10 giving each in turn special privileges and the responsibility of keeping the other children in order4 ,if a boy or girl can only turn something into something else more to his liking1 he will develop considerable industry4 ,if the woodpile and the dishpan can be utilized as enemies to be destroyed and the untidy room as a province to conquer1 these tasks are fulfilled with a complete1 though furious1 equanimity4 ,in one home where there were many humdrum tasks to be performed by the children the oldest won the enthusiasm of the rest by printing the names of all the tasks upon slips of paper and letting each draw lots4 ,the uncertainty of the lot and the chance to relieve the tedium by entering for a time into the work of another changed the aspect of the whole situation4 ,the idea of partnership may be profitably employed all through childhood4 ,the writer remembers an investment in hens in which the drudgery was completely lightened by the fact that he entered into equal partnership with his father1 which involved the keeping of a leather-bound account book and the rendering of weekly balance sheets4 ,it seems probable that during the years of youth1 when imagination no longer disguises the task1 the growing boy or girl meets it with complaisance and success because he still thinks of himself as a skilled craftsman who has pride in doing his work well4 ,,home ,,discipline ,,through ,,the ,,dramatic ,,instinct ,what has just been said indicates some possibilities which may be worked out in the direction of governing children through the playful use of this instinct4 ,sully reports this3 8#8,when ,r4 is naughty and in a passion' 7writes a lady friend of her child1 aged three and a half7 #8,i need only suggest to him that he is some one else--say1 a friend of his--and he will take it up at once4 ,he will pretend to be the other child1 and at last go and call himself1 now a good boy1 back again4' ,this mode of suggestion1 by helping the #8higher self' to detach itself from and control the lower might1 one suspects1 be much more widely employed in the moral training of children40 ,one mother1 when her little boy sulked upon being requested to do some little thing for her1 would pretend to telephone for a messenger boy with certain characteristics which were not much in evidence in her own son at the time1 explaining that her little son1 who usually ran errands for her1 was not at home to-day4 ,the latter1 in his interest in the 8game10 would immediately forget to sulk1 knock politely at the door of his mother's room1 and upon being invited to enter1 present himself as the messenger boy for whom she had telephoned4 ,when asked how long he could stay1 he would reply 8,all day if you wish10 and in the role of messenger boy1 he cheerfully performed his mother's errands4 ,when her sister's little children seemed averse to washing their hands and faces in preparation for dinner1 ,mrs4 ,chenery tells of how their mother made this duty1 so disagreeable to all children1 really pleasurable through the use of military commands which always appealed to them4 8,attention6 ,forward march6 one1 two1 one1 two4 ,right face--to the bathroom1 march60 ,then1 after their hands and faces were shining and their tangled curls combed out1 8,attention6 ,left face6 ,forward march60--downstairs1 through the hall1 then once more1 8,left face--to the dining-room--march60 ,not only does imagination help a child cheerily to obey1 but it helps an adult wisely to command4 ,throughout childhood and youth can there be a better maxim for government than that which is the very heart of the imaginative instinct3 put yourself in the child's place8 ,,clubs ,,based ,,on ,,imaginative ,,play ,some of the most successful clubs for boys and girls are those in which every activity is made a part of a play-world1 in which the members live during1 and1 to some extent1 between1 the sessions of the club4 ,in the ,boy ,scouts1 for example1 the lad thinks of himself as a pioneer and enacts through a skillful variety of exercises many of the resourceful habits of the early explorers4 ,the imaginative element is conspicuous also in ,mr4 ,thompson-,seton's organization1 ,the ,wood-,craft ,indians4 ,the program of the ,camp ,fire ,girls likewise makes a strong appeal to the imaginative and the play spirit4 ,in the ,order of the ,knights of ,king ,arthur the boys pretend that they are members of the ancient ,round ,table2 they bear the names of knights and heroes2 they carry their initiates from one rank to another2 they engage in quests and tournaments1 and the influence upon an individual is distinctly in the direction of absorbing ideals of chivalric manhood4 ,in a sister organization1 ,the ,queens of ,avalon1 the girls think of themselves as the queens who in the ,king ,arthur legend dwelt upon the magic isle of ,avalon for the healing of mankind4 ,in an organization for younger boys1 called ,the ,brotherhood of ,david1 lads between eight and twelve regard themselves as future kings1 in exile1 dwelling1 like ,david1 in caves and fields and preparing for sovereignty4 ,the ,wolf ,cubs--an ,english organization for pre-adolescent boys--holds before its members the ideal of a pack of wolves4 ,,dramatic ,,self-,,government ,this idea was carried still further in self-governing communities of boys and girls1 such as the ,george ,junior ,republic4 ,in these villages for delinquent children and orphans the young people all the time realize a civic situation through officials elected by themselves1 by legislative enactments which they passed and amended1 through a complete financial and commercial system1 by which1 under as few restrictions as possible1 they solved the problems of the state and of individual prosperity4 ,a similar method has been worked out in the 8school city0 in some of our public schools4 ,,dramatics ,,in ,,the ,,church ,in all ,christian worship the dramatic element survives4 ,it finds its most elaborate expression in the ,roman ,catholic mass1 but even the simple order of service in the church of ,puritan lineage has certain dramatic elements4 ,the sacraments of baptism and of the ,lord's ,supper in those communions are intensely impressive to children simply because of their dramatic elements4 ,in liturgical churches1 where the entrance of the clergy and the choristers in processional is followed by a variety of consecutive and historic ceremonies1 performed by rising1 sitting1 kneeling and going to the altar in turn1 and concluding with the recessional of the celebrants1 children who have been trained in churchly ways find a keen and lifelong delight4 ,surely1 nothing but the dramatic character of such services can explain the joy which little children take in going to church where the sermon and much of the service are incomprehensible4 ,the festival1 even more than the ordinary service of worship1 makes its dramatic appeal to children4 ,no one could have been present in an ,italian city on some high feast day1 when the main street of the village was decorated for the great procession1 when all the treasures of the church were exposed to view1 and when the band1 the crowd of venders1 the best clothes of everybody1 and1 most of all1 the dramatic services themselves1 both in the church and on the street1 were heightening the impression1 without realizing that here is the secret of much of the power of the church in the lives of these imaginative people4 ,to be in such a village at ,christmas time and to go into the lighted church and see before the high altar the ,christmas crche1 with its cardboard scenery and its toy images of ,joseph1 ,mary1 and the ,christ-child1 the shepherds and the ,wise ,men1 thronged1 as it is1 with wide-eyed children1 is to appreciate the wisdom of the ,roman ,church in visualizing for the children the drama of the incarnation4 ,those who have been brought up in a colder atmosphere can hardly fail to remember the thrill which they felt when they witnessed or participated as children in the dialogues1 exercises1 and choruses of ,sunday school concerts4 ,there has been of late the beginning of a revival1 even in ,protestant churches1 of the miracle play1 in which boys as well as girls have been delighted to take part1 and in which the spiritual impression of the enacting of ,scripture stories without scenery has been profound upon both actors and audience4 ,the religious pageant1 as well1 with its simple yet suggestive scenery1 and its appropriate music1 lights the imagination of the children and young people until they themselves live through1 in a measure1 the experiences of those staunch men and women who lived centuries ago in the ,holy ,land4 ,by making these ,bible characters seem real human beings1 who thought and acted much as we do to-day1 we help to make them a real power to shape character in the lives of our boys and girls4 ,the program of the church needs to consider more fully the power of appeal through the dramatic and imaginative instincts of its youth4 ,,summary ,the home may develop the dramatic instinct by encouraging dramatic play and games4 ,some of the most inexpensive and accessible homemade playthings are the most valuable for dramatic purposes4 ,through serial and cooperative dramatic play1 the parent enters into and retains the pleasantest kind of fellowship with his children4 ,there is excellent opportunity to employ this kind of play in story-telling and at the family festivals4 ,folk-dancing is a form of dramatic play which1 historically1 has been of great importance and is to-day most valuable in stimulating artistic capacity and making the child bodily and spiritually graceful and harmonious4 ,parents will find their best resource for children's parties in inviting all those present to exercise the dramatic instinct4 ,through such dramatics1 the home1 the school and the social center have excellent opportunities to bring themselves close to the children4 ,beginning with pantomime and continuing with originative story-playing1 the child1 by and by1 in adolescence1 comes to the period when he is ready to perform memorized plays4 ,by doing so he gains a new form of expression and becomes capable of recognizing what is really fine in the drama4 ,the parent should crave1 and the social worker plan1 so that every child will have the opportunity during the 8gang0 period of belonging to some social club whose scheme is based upon imaginative play4 ,in such organizations1 young people live out together actual revivals of pioneer activities and virtues and of the days and deeds of chivalry4 ,a similar opportunity is possible in the schools1 through dramatic self-government4 ,the parent ought to be interested in the tendency that is manifest in the church to recognize and revive the sacred drama4 ,both through liturgy and the church festivals it is possible to make the strongest spiritual impression upon children4 ,,references ,,the ,,dramatic ,,festival1 by ,annie ,a4 ,t4 ,craig4 7,containing plays and festivals for successive school periods47 ,,folk ,,festivals1 by ,mary ,master ,needham4 7,very practical and suggestive47 ,,pageants ,,and ,,pageantry1 by ,bates and ,orr4 7,helpful introduction and five pageants47 ,,festivals ,,and ,,plays1 by ,percival ,chubb4 7,for schools and other institutions4 ,valuable suggestions on the use of music in festival work47 ,,the ,,celebration ,,of ,,the ,,fourth ,,of ,,july ,,by ,,means ,,of ,,pageantry1 by ,william ,chauncy ,langdon4 ,,education ,,through ,,recreation1 by ,george ,e4 ,johnson4 99 ,,education ,,by ,,plays ,,and ,,games1 by ,george ,e4 ,johnson4 99 ,,play ,,in ,,education1 by ,joseph ,lee4 ,,education ,,through ,,play1 by ,henry ,s4 ,curtis4 99 ,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,the ,,child1 by ,heinige4 99 ,,the ,,play ,,way1 by ,h4 ,caldwell ,cock4 99 ,,play ,,life ,,in ,,the ,,first ,,eight ,,years1 by ,luella ,palmer4 99 ,,the ,,new ,,kindergarten ,,curriculum1 ,bulletin ,no4 #af1 ,united ,states ,bureau of ,education1 ,chapter on ,games4 ,,how ,,to ,,teach1 by ,norsworthy and ,strayer4 ,chapter #i1 on ,the ,meaning of ,play in ,education4 ,,games ,,for ,,the ,,playground1 ,,home1 ,,school ,,and ,,gymnasium1 by ,jessie ,h4 ,bancroft4 7,gives graded descriptions of many active dramatic games for all ages47 ,,easy ,,games ,,for ,,little ,,players1 by ,margaret ,boughton4 7,an ,english publication1 showing how to turn the nursery rhymes into dramatic form4 ,this would be excellent for a children's party or for any little circle that chances to be meeting in the home4 ,the suggested dialogue does not need to be memorized47 ,,fundamentals ,,of ,,child ,,study1 by ,e4 ,a4 ,kirkpatrick4 ,chapter #i1 on ,play4 ,,the ,,dramatic ,,arts1 by ,caroline ,crawford4 ,article in the ,teacher's ,college ,record1 ,september1 #aiae4 ,,children',s ,,play ,,and ,,its ,,place ,,in ,,education1 by ,walter ,wood4 ,,manual ,,of ,,play1 by ,william ,byron ,forbush4 ,,the ,,rhythms ,,of ,,childhood1 by ,caroline ,crawford4 ,,dramatic ,,games ,,and ,,dances ,,for ,,little ,,children1 by ,caroline ,crawford4 ,,timely ,,games ,,and ,,songs1 by ,clara ,sawyer ,reed4 ,,games ,,for ,,the ,,school1 ,,gymnasium ,,and ,,home1 by ,jessie ,bancroft4 ,,festivals ,,and ,,pageants1 by ,percival ,chubb4 ,,pageantry ,,and ,,dramatics ,,in ,,religious ,,education1 by ,w4 ,v4 ,meredith4 ,,the ,,use ,,of ,,dramatic ,,arts ,,in ,,religious ,,education1 by ,mary ,alice ,jones4 7,an ,m4 ,a4 thesis on file at ,northwestern ,university47 99 ,the volumes that are starred will be found particularly helpful4 ,the volumes listed above may be secured through the publishers of this pamphlet4 ,,the ,,american ,,home ,,series ,,norman ,e4 ,,richardson1 ,editor #a4 ,,the ,,nation',s ,,challenge ,,to ,,the ,,home #b4 ,,how ,,one ,,real ,,mother ,,lives ,,with ,,her ,,children #c4 ,,parenthood ,,and ,,heredity #d4 ,,the ,,roots ,,of ,,disposition ,,and ,,character #e4 ,,the ,,first ,,year ,,in ,a ,,baby',s ,,life #f4 ,,thumb-,,sucking #g4 ,,the ,,education ,,of ,,the ,,baby ,,until ,,it ,,is ,,one ,,year ,,old #h4 ,,first ,,steps ,,toward ,,character #i4 ,,the ,,second ,,and ,,third ,,years #aj4 ,,the ,,education ,,of ,,the ,,child ,,during ,,the ,,second ,,and ,,third ,,years #aa4 ,,the ,,mother ,,as ,,playfellow 7,,years ,,one1 ,,two1 ,,and ,,three7 #ab4 ,,the ,,problems ,,of ,,temper #ac4 ,,the ,,problems ,,of ,,fighting #ad4 ,,the ,,government ,,of ,,young ,,children #ae4 ,,the ,,punishment ,,of ,,children #af4 ,,the ,,home ,,kindergarten #ag4 ,,the ,,religious ,,nurture ,,of ,a ,,little ,,child 7,,years ,,four ,,and ,,five7 #ah4 ,,the ,,nervous ,,child #ai4 ,,on ,,truth ,,telling ,,and ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,children',s ,,lies #bj4 ,,the ,,government ,,of ,,children ,,between ,,six ,,and ,,twelve #ba4 ,,the ,,dramatic ,,instinct ,,in ,,children #bb4 ,,dramatics ,,in ,,the ,,home #bc4 ,,table ,,talk ,,in ,,the ,,home #bd4 ,,sunday ,,in ,,the ,,home #be4 ,a ,,year ,,of ,,good ,,sundays #bf4 ,,the ,,picture-,,hour ,,in ,,the ,,home #bg4 ,,story-,,telling ,,in ,,the ,,home #bh4 ,,music ,,in ,,the ,,home #bi4 ,,training ,,in ,,thrift #cj4 8,,what ,,to ,,say0 ,,in ,,telling ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,life',s ,,renewal #ca4 ,,sex ,,discipline ,,for ,,boys ,,in ,,the ,,home #cb4 ,,youth',s ,,outlook ,,upon ,,life #cc4 ,,building ,,for ,,womanhood #cd4 ,,rhythm ,,and ,,recreation ,,prices ,,will ,,be ,,furnished ,,on ,,application ,transcriber's ,note3 ,hyphenation has been retained as it appears in the original publication4 ,page #i ,did ,you ,ever ,see a ,lassie8 ,farmer changed to ,did ,you ,ever ,see a ,lassie81 ,farmer ,page #be now a good boy1 back again4 changed to now a good boy1 back again4' ,page #bh high altar the ,christmas crche changed to high altar the ,christmas crche