Busy Work

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jan 4, 1906

It is often a difficult matter to provide sufficient busy work for the little ones. The following selections from the Normal Instructor and Teachers’ World show what a little thought will do in this line. May we not have other suggestions from our own teachers?—

“Every teacher knows that when a definite amount of work is assigned the class, the brightest, quickest children will get through before the others, and be left with nothing to do, unless some provision is made especially for them. The amount of time which our children thus quietly waste is something appalling; and still more appalling is the habit of idleness which they form in this way. Yet only so it is quietly done, too often the teacher has no word of remonstrance.”

“A ‘busy work table’ goes a great way toward solving this problem. It contains reading-matter of various sorts, cut up problems and pictures and questions to be answered, a box of pasted letters, another of words, an amount of toy money, some good picture-books, and half a dozen numbers of Babyland. Sometimes it is stipulated that they shall touch only the number work cards, or the question box; always, that they shall never go to this table until they have finished and carefully looked over the work which was first given them to do. If any one fails to fulfil this condition, it is easy to bring him to terms by depriving him for a short time of the privilege.”

“Last year I found myself in a position where I had great need of material for busy work, and no opportunity and no money to procure it. But near by were quantities of dried prairie grass, and the children liked to gather the long golden straws, and breaking them into equal lengths served to keep active hands and minds busy. The older children used these in their arithmetic work, as counters and for making bundles of ten, etc. The little ones enjoyed making letters and forms with these straws, making squares, hexagons, pentagons, triangles, etc. Some of them built a home, making house, fence, etc., of the straws.”

“An ordinary bit of printed paper and a pin were used by very little tots, who were told to stick the pin through the a’s or the o’s.”

“Forest leaves serve as patterns for little ones to draw.”

“For busy work to give the little ones during their first days in the primary department, cut from pretty cardboard many designs. Have as many various shapes as possible, but do not let the children see them all at once. There should be patterns of elm leaves, maple and oak leaves, a woodbine leaf, triangles, circles, birds, cats, dogs, sheep, cross, heart, apples, cherries, clover leaves, and others.”

“Let the little ones place these patterns upon pieces of blank paper which you give to them, and trace around the edge of them with pencils. Then, if nicely drawn, they may be allowed to color their leaves red, yellow, crimson, or green, with colored pencils, or if older, with water-colors.”

“When they can do this neatly, give to them papers five inches wide and eight inches long. Let them place these papers with long side next to them, and draw two horizontal lines two inches apart from end to end. Then give to them patterns which take up two inches in width and height. Tell them to lay these on so that they will touch, thus making a pretty border, which they will be delighted to color with crayon or water-colors.”