woven from crochet cotton.

_The fireplace_ may be made of cardboard marked off and colored to
represent brick. A shallow box may be made to serve the purpose. Cut out
the opening for the grate and lay real sticks on andirons made from soft
wire; or draw a picture of blazing fire and put inside. The fireplace may
also be made of clay. Pebbles may be pressed into the clay if a stone
fireplace is desired. If clay is used, several small nails should be
driven into the wall before the fireplace is built up, to hold the clay in
place after it dries.

_Bookcases_ may be made of cardboard, using a box construction, and glued
to the wall. Or a block of wood about one inch thick may be used. In
either case mark off the shelves and books with pencil lines, and color
the backs of the books with crayon.

=The Stairway.=--In a two-story house the hardest problem will usually be
the stairs. Some good work in number may be done while finding out how
many steps will be needed and where the stairway must begin in order to
reach the second floor in comfort. Even quite small children can deal with
this problem if presented in a simple way. For example, if the box or room
is ten inches high, how many steps 1 in. wide and 1 in. high will be
needed, and how far out into the room will they come? The children can
work out the plan on the blackboard. Measurements may be modified to suit
the ability of the class and the needs of the room.

The variety of possible constructions in building the staircase
corresponds to the varying ability of classes. A strip of paper may be
folded back and forth and made to serve with least mature classes. This
paper stair will sag unless it rests on a board or piece of stiff
pasteboard. A substantial stairway may be made by sawing two thin boards
for supports, as in Fig. 24, and nailing on steps of thin wood or
cardboard. There is usually one boy in every first grade who is capable of
as difficult a piece of handwork as this. He is apt, also, to be the boy
who takes least interest in the general work of the class, and often it is
possible to arouse him to special effort through some such problem. The
stairway may be made of heavy cardboard with a construction similar to
that just described, but this requires pasting instead of nailing and is
much more difficult for little children.

[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Detail of stairway.]

=The Roof.=--The making of the roof is another part of the house building
w