end there is in my didactic material a collection
of frames to which are attached pieces of stuff, leather, etc. These
can be buttoned, hooked, tied together--in fact, joined in all the
different ways which our civilization has invented for fastening our
clothing, shoes, etc. (Fig. 3.) The teacher, sitting by the child's
side, performs the necessary movements of the fingers very slowly and
deliberately, separating the movements themselves into their different
parts, and letting them be seen clearly and minutely.

For example, one of the first actions will be the adjustment of the
two pieces of stuff in such a way that the edges to be fastened
together touch one another from top to bottom. Then, if it is a
buttoning-frame, the teacher will show the child the different stages
of the action. She will take hold of the button, set it opposite the
buttonhole, make it enter the buttonhole completely, and adjust it
carefully in its place above. In the same way, to teach a child to tie
a bow, she will separate the stage in which he ties the ribbons
together from that in which he makes the bows.

In the cinematograph film there is a picture which shows an entire
lesson in the tying of the bows with the ribbons. These lessons are
not necessary for all the children, as they learn from one another,
and of their own accord come with great patience to analyze the
movements, performing them separately very slowly and carefully. The
child can sit in a comfortable position and hold his frame on the
table. (Fig. 4.) As he fastens and unfastens the same frame many times
over with great interest, he acquires an unusual deftness of hand, and
becomes possessed with the desire to fasten real clothes whenever he
has the opportunity. We see the smallest children _wanting_ to dress
themselves and their companions. They go in search of amusement of
this kind, and defend themselves with all their might against the
adult who would try to help them.

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--CHILD BUTTONING ON FRAME. (PHOTO TAKEN AT MR.
HAWKER'S SCHOOL AT RUNTON.)]

In the same way for the teaching of the other and larger movements,
such as washing, setting the table, etc., the directress must at the
beginning intervene, teaching the child with few or no words at all,
but with very precise actions. She teaches all the movements: how to
sit, to rise from one's seat, to take up and lay down objects, and to
offer them gracefully to others. In the same way she teaches