Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Management Part 5

2. The geographical sources of our ordinary household materials, their s.h.i.+pping centres, the routes by which they reach us, and the means of transportation.

_Examples_: Fuels, common minerals used in building and furnis.h.i.+ng; timber for floors and furniture; manufactured goods, such as cotton, linen, carpets, china; domestic and foreign fruits; common groceries, such as salt, sugar, tea, coffee, cocoa, spices, rice, cereals, and flour.

3. The preparation of our common household commodities.

_Examples_: Cotton, linen, china, paper, sugar, tea, coffee, cereals, flour.

4. The household products that are exported.

Nature Study.--1. The parts of plants used as food.

2. The natural sources of our common foods, such as cornstarch, flour, breakfast cereals, tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar, salt, cheese, b.u.t.ter.

3. The sources of common household substances, such as coal-oil, gasolene, paraffin, turpentine, was.h.i.+ng soda, whiting, bathbrick, soap.

4. The forms of water, as ice, steam.

5. The composition and impurities of the air.

6. The ordinary woods used in house building and furnis.h.i.+ng.

Hygiene.--The necessity for the following:

1. Fresh air in the home at all times--in living rooms and sleeping rooms

2. Good food and plenty of sleep

3. Cleanliness of the body

4. Cleanliness in preparing food

5. Cleanliness in the home and surroundings.

Physical Training.--1. The value of exercise gained by performing household duties.

2. The importance of correct positions in performing home duties, such as dish was.h.i.+ng, sewing, etc.

3. The value of conveniences to save steps.

Composition.--Topics selected from household materials and activities.

_Examples_: Food materials, cleansing agents, planning a convenient kitchen or bath-room, sweeping day, baking day, arrangement of a kitchen cupboard or clothes closet, etc.

Spelling.--Names of household articles and duties as follows:

Furniture of a special room, such as kitchen or sitting-room, kitchen utensils, contents of a kitchen cupboard, dishes and food used at a particular meal, etc.

Manual Training.--Construction of household furnis.h.i.+ngs and utensils for a doll's house from raffia, paper, and plasticine.

Art.--Designing and colouring carpets, curtains, wall-papers, book covers, dishes, tiles, ribbons, and dress materials.

Sewing.--Making the uniform for Household Management work.

If the Household Management teacher takes the work with this cla.s.s, she should follow the outline of work given in the Course of Study. This outline will make the pupils familiar with the common household materials as to their sources, preparation, and cost, and when, in the next cla.s.s, they deal with these materials, they will do so with more interest and intelligence. It will also draw attention to the importance of economy in time and energy. The convenience of a kitchen and the use of proper utensils to facilitate labour will impress this fact.

The lessons should be taught simply as information lessons and should be of the same length as the other studies--from thirty to forty minutes.

If the usual hour and a half period be set aside for this cla.s.s, the remainder of the time may be devoted to sewing.

CHAPTER IV

FORM III: SENIOR GRADE

LESSON I

SCOPE OF HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

In introducing the practical side of Household Management to a cla.s.s, it is an advantage to let them have a general idea of what the subject includes. They will then work with more intelligence and usually with more interest. Then, too, the prevalent idea that the subject means only cooking will be corrected from the first.

Throughout the introduction, the teacher should not forget that she is dealing with immature minds and that the ideas must be very simply expressed. She might ask what the pupils expect to learn in this cla.s.s, have them name other subjects they study in school, and in each case lead up to the _one_ thing of which a particular subject treats; for example, arithmetic treats of _numbers_; geography, of the _world_; history, of _past events_. She should lead the cla.s.s to see that the one thing of which Household Management treats is the _home_; and that the two great requirements for a home are the _house_, and the people who live in it, or the _occupants_.

To get the details relating to each of these two divisions, let the pupils imagine they are boarding in some locality where they decide to make a home for themselves. The first thing to be done is to choose a building lot. Then they must decide upon the kind of house they want and the plan of the house. After the house is built, it must be furnished.

When the house is ready, it must be cleaned and kept clean. As soon as the family move in, new considerations arise--they must have food, which must be bought, prepared, and served; each member of the family must be clothed and educated; they must receive proper care when sick. Only a few minutes should be spent on this introductory talk.

While the cla.s.s is naturally led to think of and name these details, they should be written on the black-board in the order of development, somewhat as follows:

1. Household Management teaches us about the _home_.

2. A home includes two main ideas:

(1) A house, (2) a family.

3. In connection with a _house_ we must consider:

(1) The lot, (2) the plan, (3) the furnis.h.i.+ng, (4) the cleaning.

4. In connection with a _family_ we must consider: