Indoor Amusement for Children by VINA SHERWOOD-ADAMS

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 9, 1915

Indoor Amusement for Children

By VINA SHERWOOD-ADAMS

VINA SHERWOOD-ADAMS

The season will soon arrive when we must furnish more indoor amusement for the little folks. Our little boy so enjoyed playing in an outdoor sand pile that a year ago this fall, before the ground had frozen, he and I went to a near-by sand hill, and filled a box with sand. After sifting out the coarse gravel, leaves, etc., the sand was spread out in thin layers, and baked at a high temperature to destroy all germs and insect eggs. The sifted sand then half filled a box twelve by fifteen inches in size. This box was set in a warm corner of the kitchen, and placed on a piece of old carpet, doubled so it extended some distance from three sides of the box, to catch any sand which might fall on the floor. The carpet could be quickly lifted, and the sand shaken back into the box; moreover, it made a warmer spot for play.

Some might think it untidy to have sand in the house, but our grandmothers did not think so. My grandmother was a very tidy housekeeper, and I remember how, as a child, I enjoyed walking on her floors; for after scrubbing them, she sprinkled them with white sand. They certainly were much more sanitary than the dusty carpeted floors we still find in so many homes today.

To avoid the sand dust flying about the room, it should be kept moist enough to pack readily. Each morning it will be too damp and cold for a small child to handle safely, but a little hot water stirred into it will make it quite safe. A large spoon, a small sieve, a funnel, and two or three milk bottles or jars of heavy glass will furnish happy occupation for a child many hours each day. A towel should hang conveniently near, with which the children may dust off what sand clings to their hands when through playing.

Our indoor sand box was made especially for the baby of eighteen months, but all the children enjoyed it, and it often proved a source of amusement for the neighbors' boys and girls up to eleven years of age.

While we are speaking of indoor sand boxes, I should like to mention the delights to be found in an outdoor sand pile. Ours is about three feet deep at the highest point. It was made by taking wide boards and forming a large box, or pen, about nine by fifteen feet in size. Into this a load or two of sand was placed. Of course a smaller inclosure would answer. All summer long the children played in this sand pile, often whole forenoons at a time. The older children dug caves; made bridges; formed landscapes of mountains, lakes, and rivers, using real water; built cities; planned whole counties of farms, gardens, and forests, together with the necessary farm buildings. Small wheelbarrows, wagons, and shovels made the play more real. It was a pleasure, at the close of several hours' play, to look over some of the ideas the children had developed with the sand. I used to wonder if they would not some day complain that they were tired of the old sand pile; but no, just as long as the ground remained unfrozen, they and their little friends were busy and happy.

Boys and girls alike enjoy the sand box. The smaller children sift the sand into bottles and cans, or play cook. Often they do the hauling of the sand, while the older ones do the more complicated tasks.

Although I could not always be out to play with them, the sand pile was situated

at such an angle that I could overlook it, and hear their chatter through the open window. In this way I could give some of the neighbor children the enjoyment of our sand pile and still know, while about my housework, that the moral tone of our play spot was what it should be.

If you wish an educational game of interest to children from two to four years of age, allow me to suggest the “Meteor,” which consists of hard, fast-colored balls with a black laying board pierced with holes. A book of designs is also furnished as a guide, but the children will largely use their imagination in forming designs from the brilliantly colored balls. The “Meteor” games range in price from twenty-five cents to five dollars, but the fifty-cent size is interesting for any child.

Again, I will suggest the value of modeline, which has been described in former articles, not only for its use as an indoor amusement, but as an educational factor as well.