he equipment of these houses is that it
is adapted for children and not adults. They contain not only didactic
material specially fitted for the intellectual development of the
child, but also a complete equipment for the management of the
miniature family. The furniture is light so that the children can move
it about, and it is painted in some light color so that the children
can wash it with soap and water. There are low tables of various
sizes and shapes--square, rectangular and round, large and small. The
rectangular shape is the most common as two or more children can work
at it together. The seats are small wooden chairs, but there are also
small wicker armchairs and sofas.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--CUPBOARD WITH APPARATUS.]

In the working-room there are two indispensable pieces of furniture.
One of these is a very long cupboard with large doors. (Fig. 1.) It is
very low so that a small child can set on the top of it small objects
such as mats, flowers, etc. Inside this cupboard is kept the didactic
material which is the common property of all the children.

The other is a chest of drawers containing two or three columns of
little drawers, each of which has a bright handle (or a handle of some
color to contrast with the background), and a small card with a name
upon it. Every child has his own drawer, in which to put things
belonging to him.

Round the walls of the room are fixed blackboards at a low level, so
that the children can write or draw on them, and pleasing, artistic
pictures, which are changed from time to time as circumstances direct.
The pictures represent children, families, landscapes, flowers and
fruit, and more often Biblical and historical incidents. Ornamental
plants and flowering plants ought always to be placed in the room
where the children are at work.

Another part of the working-room's equipment is seen in the pieces of
carpet of various colors--red, blue, pink, green and brown. The
children spread these rugs upon the floor, sit upon them and work
there with the didactic material. A room of this kind is larger than
the customary class-rooms, not only because the little tables and
separate chairs take up more space, but also because a large part of
the floor must be free for the children to spread their rugs and work
upon them.

In the sitting-room, or "club-room," a kind of parlor in which the
children amuse themselves by conversation, games, or music, etc., the
furnishings should