Farm Boys and GirlsMcKeever, William A. (William Arch)
Science
Farm Boys and Girls
McKeever, William A. (William Arch)
Boys; Farm life; Girls
Yes, the hogs may live out-of-doors and the horses get along very well
indeed with a temporary barn thatched with straw, but the places of the
boys and girls must be looked after and that in the interest of making
them happy, of filling their lives with every good, clean sentiment, and
of preparing them for that large sphere of usefulness which may mark
their future. If the house be larger than the one we have described,
then provide accordingly for the children. Give them a good room of
their own. Put their ornaments and playthings in it. If there be space,
provide a library containing a few suitable volumes. And after this
thoughtful provision has been made, see to it carefully that their
schedule for work, schooling, and the other duties allows for ample time
and opportunity for their enjoyment of the apartment set aside for them.
In years to come, that sweet poetic sentiment running back to the home
of one's childhood will be given greater strength and beauty because of
the fact that this thing just urged has been done. And more than that,
the man (or woman) who has the blessed privilege of recalling these
bygone scenes of childhood receives from such contemplation a new sense
of inner strength and new enduement of power to go on with life's
struggle and master the larger problems that come to him.
THE EVENING HOUR
No matter what the cares of the day may have been, how many things may
have gone wrong, how much hay left out in the field unprotected from the
rain, how many acres of corn unplowed and losing in the battle with the
weeds, how many items of household duties unperformed--there is every
justification for laying aside these work-a-day affairs at the approach
of bedtime and for the spending of a precious hour with the problems of
the children. Farm parents as well as other parents can thus preserve
their youth and add immeasurably to the joys of their own lives. This
thing of being with the children at evening may seem slightly awkward
and prosaic at first, but it will slowly grow into a habit and will
become transformed into an experience of great charm and beauty. Best of
all the high refinement, potential in the lives of the children, will
thus be gradually brought to an expression, and the foundation stones of
substantial manhood and womanhood will be laid in their lives. Yes, it
is true, even farm parents may learn to lay aside their cares and
perplexities and enjoy the splendid privilege of getting intimately
acquainted with the hopes and desires and aspirations of their boys and
girls!
REFERENCES
The Outlook to Nature. Revised edition. L. H. Bailey. Page
79, "The Country Home." Macmillan.
Low Cost Country Homes. A. Embury, Jr. _Collier's_, June 10,
1911.
A Primer of Sanitation. John O. Ritchie. Chapter XXXIII,
"Public Sanitation." World Book Company, Yonkers, N.Y.
Recommended for general use.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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