e making of a playhouse has long been an accepted feature of primary
work, but we have not always made it yield all of which it is capable,
either in the self-directed activity of the children or in correlated
subject matter. It has, in many cases, been only a bit of recreation from
the more serious work of the school. In a house prepared by the janitor or
older pupils the children have been allowed to arrange and rearrange
ready-made furniture contributed from their playthings at home, but little
creative work has been attempted. In other cases an elaborate house,
carefully planned by the teacher, has been built and furnished by the
children, but, because of the detailed planning, the children's part in it
became merely a mechanical following of directions. In some cases relative
proportions in rooms and furnishings have received scant attention; in
others, color harmonies have been all but ignored. These varying methods
of carrying out the house-building idea are not without value and may
often be justified by local conditions, but their results are meager
compared with the possible richness of the problem.

Playing at house building and housekeeping appeals to an interest so
universal that children of all times and nations yield to its power. It
is therefore necessary to take account of its influence in their
development and to dignify it with the approval of the school. We must
refine and enrich it by our direction and suggestion without robbing it of
its simplicity and charm.

[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Box house, arranged on a shelf.]

[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Medieval castle. Built by third grade. Franklin,
Indiana.

An example of elaborate work which aroused the interest of pupils and
patrons and paved the way for freer work later.]

In the suggestions which follow, an attempt is made to utilize this
natural activity of children in an occupation which appeals to them as
worth while. At the same time it may furnish ample opportunity for the
general development and effective teaching of various phases of subject
matter which are incident to the occupation, _i.e._ number in connection
with measurements, art in the proportions and color combinations, language
through discussions and descriptions.

The work is kept on the level of the children's experience by throwing
them constantly on their own responsibility in every possible detail, the
teacher never dictating the method of procedure and guiding the work wi