Houses For Puritan Village

Material: Strawboard 14 3/4 in. x 15 in.; ruler, scissors and paste.

Place the strawboard on the desk with the 15-inch edge toward you.

Half an inch from the lower right-hand corner, on the lower edge, make a dot. Upward from this dot draw a line 3 7/8 inches long, parallel to the right-hand edge of the cardboard.

Draw a similar line parallel to the left-hand edge of the cardboard.

On the lower edge, 4 1/2 inches from the lower right-hand corner, make a dot. On the upper edge, 4 1/2 inches from the upper right-hand corner, make another. Connect these two dots by a line.

Six inches from this line, to the left, draw a parallel line.

On this last line, 3 1/2 inches from the lower edge, make a dot. On the same line make a dot 3 7/8 inches from the lower edge; another dot 7 3/8 inches from the lower edge; another 10 7/8 inches from the lower edge. The last dot is 11 1/4 inches from the lower edge.

Make corresponding dots on the parallel line to the right.

Draw lines connecting these dots, parallel to the lower edge.

Continue the third line 3 1/2 inches more on each side. Connect the ends of this line with the third horizontal line.

Joining these two triangles on the upper edge, make rectangles half an inch wide. Draw small slanting lines to show where the corners of these rectangles should be cut off. (c, Fig. 1.)

Continue the second line to meet the side edges.

Draw small slanting lines to show where the corners of the half-inch rectangles (at the extreme right and left) should be cut off. (a, Fig. 1.)

Cut out the pattern.

With the point of one blade of the scissors, crease the first and fifth line on the under side. Crease all the other lines on the upper side.

Cut the little 3/8-inch lines, x. Paste a to B; paste c to D.

Cut a door and some windows. Shutters (Fig. 3) can be made by cutting on lines a, b, c, d, e, Fig. 2.

If strawboard 14 3/4 inches wide cannot be secured, use 10 1/2-inch width, leaving the back of the house open.

When the village is arranged in the form of a street, with twigs for trees, and cotton-batting or salt for snow, the back will not be seen. If strawboard cannot be obtained, use stiff paper and color the houses brown.

If fluted strawboard can be secured, it makes a more genuine looking house. If this kind of strawboard is used, make a house without eaves. Children can make the pattern of a simple house by experimenting with paper.

Log House

Material: Board 1/2 in. x 6 in. x 8 in.; twenty pieces of tree branch 1/2 in. x 5 in.; six pieces 1/2 in. x 4 in.; twelve pieces 1/2 in. x 1 1/2 in.; thirty-six pieces 1/2 in. x 8 in.; two pieces 1/2 in. x 3 3/8 in.; two pieces 1/2 in. x 2 1/2 in.; two pieces 1/2 in. x 1 3/4 in.; hammer and nails.

(Two of the 5-inch pieces of branch; two of the 4-inch; the 3 3/8-inch; the 2 1/2-inch, and the 1 3/4-inch, are for the pointed part of the front and back under the roof, and the ends should be slanted to fit the sides.)

Take four 1/2 x 5 pieces of branch. Nail one to each corner of the board, half an inch from each edge. (Fig. 1.)

Take four 1/2 x 4 pieces; slant the ends (s, Fig. 2), and nail them to the four upright pieces.

The twelve 1/2 x 1 1/2 pieces form the front of the house, on either side of the door.

Nail them to the framework so that their ends touch the side pieces. Each nail should pass through the upright pieces and into the round ends of these twelve little front pieces.

Four 1/2 x 5 pieces form the part of the front above the door and below the pointed portion. Nail them to the uprights.

Ten 1/2x5 pieces form the back of the house below the pointed part.

Nail in the pieces, ranging in size from 1/2 x 5 to 1/2 x 1 3/4, to form the pointed part of the front and back

The thirty-six 1/2 x 8 pieces are to form the roof and sides of the house. Nail them to the framework last.

If sufficient material cannot be obtained for a whole class, six or eight of the best workers might work out of school and make enough houses for a village.