themselves dressed like the picture. As they looked at the print we asked each in turn, “How are the feet placed?” “Where is the right hand?” “Where the left?” and at every inquiry, the member in question assumed the proper position. A curious detail in the picture is the captive goldfinch whose perch is held by the younger boy. To secure a similar use of the hands we took a school ruler. It occurred to me afterwards that a more pictorial substitute would have been a small flag, or perhaps a whirling paper “windmill.”
The picture of Alice needs but little explanation to the average school girl. Skipping rope is one of the favorite games which never loses its fascination. To substitute a ribbon for a rope and draw it tightly across the back seems a simple matter. Yet the picture is hard to make satisfactory simply because it requires entire self-forgetfulness to free it from stiffness. The original Alice is having a delightful time with no thought of looking pretty. Our little Alice, when practicing privately in the school hall, threw herself into the game with charming abandon and grace, not unworthy of the original. But when the eyes of the schoolroom were focused upon her, she lost her charm. Only a premiere danseuse would feel at ease under such circumstances.
We carried the picture program from grade to grade, and in each room made a special hit with some one subject. With older classes we look more pains to explain the lines of the composition, illustrating the idea by simple diagrams on the blackboard. The
