The lower grades had considerable time free of studies. Various types of handi- or busy work were devised by the teachers to occupy their time. Most of the materials needed brightly colored construction paper, sewing cards, plastic modeling clay, raffia, library paste which were supplied by the school. Each child had to furnish his own pencils, crayons and .paints. A couple of pairs of blunt scissors were shared by all.
Sewing cards were a favorite with the younger children and even the clumsiest were able to sew the cards without difficulty. The 4 or 6 inch cards had the outline of a picture or design with the hole punched along the outline at short intervals. A darning needle threaded with a colored yarn was passed through the holes to cover the printed lines. When completed the card was a brightly colored yarn picture to be displayed on the wall or taken home to show the parents. Some of the simple designs had no more than a dozen holes to make the picture of a flower or simple object. The more complicated cards with smaller holes made elaborate pictures of the type illustrating the stories or poems in our readers such as Jack and Jill, Little Miss Muffet and Little Red Riding Hood.
Weaving with strips of paper to make mats was another busy work occupation. Sheets of heavy paper about 10 inches square with slits half an inch apart but not quite to the edges were interlaced with strips cut from a similar sheet but of a different color. Variations in the under and over patterns were possible and sometimes tried.
Plasticine, a non-drying modeling clay, had a somewhat kerosene-like odor. We tried, not too successfully, to form figures of people and animals with the material. More often we shaped small and medium sized balls and ropes which we stuck together to form three dimensional figures. Plasticine left an oily smelly residue on our hands which had to be washed off before we could start on another task.
Raffia, a vegetable fiber, came in long strips which softened and flattened when soaked in water. Flat cardboard rings were wrapped with the strips to make frames for pictures. One year the Christmas presents for our parents were snapshots mounted in raffia wound frames.
Tracing pictures by overlaying a soft sheet of paper with a design, picture or figure was a frequent pastime. Carbon paper, when available, was used to transfer the picture but usually the impression from the pencil along the outline was deep enough to be visible. The faint gouges in the paper were then outlined with a pencil, and the picture was colored or painted as the child desired. Designs to trace were a little hard to come by. We were not permitted to trace the pictures or diagrams in text or library books. The best source was our teacher's "Normal Instructor and Primary Plans" mentioned previously. Every issue contained a double page spread of line drawings by Bess Cleveland. The pictures usually were of animals and children, native and foreign, just right for tracing. The outlines were traced onto white or tan construction paper, colored, cut out and pasted onto a large sheet to make a fair-sized poster.
Painting with water color paints was a somewhat more creative activity but we were never really allowed a free rein. I do not recall ever starting with a clean sheet of paper and depicting whatever my fancy dictated. We used Prang water color paints in boxes containing four cakes of color, black and the three primary hues. With these four we could, at least theoretically, obtain orange, green, purple, and intermediate hues. It never worked quite satisfactorily because the blends of the primaries were always muddy and lacked brilliance. I tried and tried but was never able to get an acceptable brown.
Paper folding of some sort had been familiar to all of us from pre-school days. Everyone knew how to fold an oblong piece of paper into a hat or boat. Miss Roneson, my 7th grade teacher, brought to us some unfamiliar techniques in paper folding starting with a square piece of paper. In her previous training she had prepared a scrapbook containing many samples of paper folding which were different from anything I have seen elsewhere. The final forms were not at all like those made by Japanese origami methods. As I recall the square sheets were folded in the middle and each half folded again. Then the sheet was turned 90 degrees and folded in the same way a second time. The result was a sheet creased with the folds all in the same directions into 16 squares. The other squares on all four sides were folded back to the center mitering the corners. Further manipulation and folding produces picture frames, tables and other designs imperfectly remembered.
Valentines were the one opportunity we had to be creative and get away from the stereotyped busy work activities. On the afternoon of February 14 the Valentine box was opened and the teachers distrusted the Valentines we had dropped surreptitiously in the box. Practically all the heart shaped Valentines were made by the children out of red, pink and white construction paper. Purchased Valentines were a novelty and usually reserved for the teacher, who, of course, got Valentines from everybody. The designs varied but most of them were double red hearts with "Be My Valentine" printed on the outer side and opened to the verse: "Roses are red, Violets are Blue, Sugar is sweet, and so are you." Drawing a free hand heart was difficult; the easiest way was to fold a piece of paper and cut out the heart shape and then make any adjustments to form the conventional symmetrical but somewhat subtle heart shape. The number of Valentines received was considered a measure of the child's popularity.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 414