h the kindergartner has drawn in white or
colored chalk on the child's table. This is much more fascinating work
than the placing of seeds one space apart, three in a row, etc., for
the latter belongs to the "knowledge-acquiring side of the game,"
which, as Froebel says, is the "quickly tiring side, only to be given
quite casually at first, and as chance may provide suitable openings
for it."

The forms drawn in chalk may very well be of curving outlines of
vegetables, fruits, leaves, and flowers to connect with the study of
the first gift, and may include any other simple appropriate object
which the kindergartner is capable of drawing.

The more advanced child can of course make his own Life forms without
the aid of drawing, and if he is given different sizes and kinds of
shells, seeds, or pebbles, often arranges them with great ability to
imitate the shading of the object.

The beginning of the forms of knowledge is in placing the points in
regular order on the squared tables at the intersection of vertical
and horizontal lines. Next, the child lays one space vertical lines,
three points in a line, then two space lines with five points, then
horizontal lines, angles, parallelograms, borders, etc., following out
the school of linear drawing, and in this way progresses in an orderly
manner to the designing of symmetrical forms. Curved lines of course
are quite as easily represented as the straight, and really beautiful
designs are often made by the children with them.

Tenth Gift Parquetry.

Tiny circles and squares of colored paper corresponding to the wooden
lentils are also to be had with this gift, and afford a means of
preserving the designs in permanent form. They are so small, however,
as to give occasion for considerable patience in pasting them, and are
rather difficult to arrange with regularity without first drawing the
design. It is doubtful, in our opinion, if they may be considered to
be of any particular educational benefit, if indeed they are not a
positive harm to the child in that they require a too minute and
long-sustained use of the finer muscles.

Objections to the Gift.

These strictures on the tenth gift parquetry bring us naturally to the
criticisms lately made by eminent authorities upon some of the Froebel
materials. The objection that many of them require too minute handling
and too close attention on the part of children of the kindergarten
age seems, as far as the gifts are co