Page:Indoor and Outdoor Gymnastic Games.djvu/20

12 starts at zero, birth, and terminates at adult life. Its usefulness must depend entirely upon the general characteristics exhibited. Psychological facts, such as we are dealing with, cannot be represented in a graphic way so as to be complete in details. For instance, the games starting at the years seven and twelve, are only approximate. In some individuals these games would be two or even three years earlier, and in others, correspondingly later, than we find them on this chart. Then, again, there is no sharp division between the plays in the three groups, as shown by these two lines; they shade into each other. That which we attempt to characterize by these three groups are the chief interests of the period. I have attempted to arrange them in a somewhat psychological order, but even in individuals this varies so that only the progression from simple to complex, as a whole, can be accepted as expressing the thought.'

"This whole article of Dr. Gulick's cannot be reproduced here owing to lack of space, but should be carefully dwelt upon by every physical director in the country. A brief epitome, giving the main thought as directly applying to our subject, is the best that can be afforded.

"He divides the play life of the individual into three periods (approximately, as stated above). The first, from birth to seven, is distinctively the period when the individual plays alone. To be sure, they grow more complex as the boy grows older, but they are distinctively individualistic. To quote from the article:

" 'This large group of plays, it will be observed in the chart, are arranged in a column growing upward. By this it is meant to infer that these activities, these plays, having once entered into the life of the individual, remain throughout life of a greater or lesser degree of interest, and that further interests of a similar character come in.'

"It will be noted that I have inserted a few tricks of a solely individual nature, which are not distinctively applicable to the period of male adolescence, but which may or may not prove interesting to some individuals who happen to be alone in the gymnasium. The whole subject of gymnastics has its beginning