Page:How to show pictures to children (IA howtoshowpictur00hurl).pdf/85

 counterbalancing diagonals in the figure of the Sower, as well as of Alice, the pyramidal outline of the group of the Fruit Venders and Madame Le Brun and her Daughter, the curves of Lavinia’s swaying body and uplifted arm, were all pointed out in the pictures and in the models. A six-subject program is inordinately long, and was permitted only for purposes of experiment. Under ordinary circumstances, in the schoolroom, a single picture at a time, like a single dramatic game or a story, is quite enough for an occasional exercise. A pleasant device for giving all the children a chance to take part is to have the girls all standing together for the Lavinia pose, and the boys all together for the Sower. A single girl and boy may then be called out to pose for the class.

When we see how much can be done with the game of picture-posing in the school, it is easy to imagine the almost endless possibilities for its enjoyment in the home. Here there is no need of haste, as in the schoolroom, and time and thought may go towards perfecting the result. Here, too, are facilities for accessories and costumes to complete the faithfulness of the reproduction. The repertory of subjects can be greatly enlarged. Many pictures, impracticable in the schoolroom for lack of theatrical properties, can be worked out easily in the home. With a large family of children or a neighborhood circle, it may be developed as far as one may wish. The effect is enhanced by the use of a frame.

It is important to hold the children to a strict ideal of accuracy in the essentials. For this reason a single