or in regular spaces to represent brick, and finished in
the appropriate color. Or, a coat of paint or stain may be applied
directly to the box.

VARIATIONS IN HOUSE PROBLEM

A playhouse for its own sake is a justifiable project for primary children
and one which may be repeated several times without exhausting its
possibilities. Each time it is repeated the emphasis will fall on some new
feature, and the children will wish to do more accurate work.

In the lowest grades very simple houses of one or two rooms may be built
for story-book friends, such as the "Three Bears" or "Little Red Riding
Hood," with only such furniture as the story suggests. In intermediate
grades the house may have an historical motive and illustrate home life in
primitive times or in foreign countries, such as a colonial kitchen in New
England, a pioneer cabin on the Western prairies, a Dutch home, a Japanese
home, etc. In upper grades it may become a serious study in house
decoration.

As the motive for making the house changes, the character and quality of
its furnishings will change. The block furniture described above will give
way to more accurate models in either wood or paper. Some excellent
suggestions for paper furniture for advanced work may be found in the
_Manual Training Magazine_.

As skill in construction increases, a wish for something more realistic
than the box construction will arise, and the elements of house framing
will be studied with great eagerness.

=The House of the Three Bears.= (See Fig. 28.)--This house was made early
in the year by a class of first-grade children. The walls were papered in
plain brown paper. The carpets were woven mats of paper. The chairs,
table, and beds were made according to the methods already described in
the playhouse outline. The stove and the doll were contributed. The bears
were modeled in clay. The children played with the house and its contents
throughout the year. The bears were broken and made over many times--a
process which not only afforded great pleasure, but also developed
considerable skill in modeling.

=Another Bears' House.=--This house, shown in Frontispiece, was made in
the spring, near the end of the school year, by a class of first-grade
children all of whom were under seven and many of whom were very immature.

The story of the Three Bears was taken up after Christmas, told and
retold, read, and dramatized by the children. Teddy bears were brought to
school. Ma