Sylvia's Notebook
I remember seeing my mother's grade school composition book while I was growing up, and I found it again when I moved to this house. She had gone to P.S. 80 in the Bronx, New York. I find no dates inside but she had indicated the 7th and 8th grade, which places this notebook in the late 1930s. She would have been 12 or 13 years old.
Most of its contents have to do with cooking, beginning with recipes for cocoa and milk toast. The directions following the ingredients are called "Order of Work." Homemaking lessons include "Care of Kitchen," "Food Groups," and "Laundry." Near the end of her notes my mother's recipes included those for baked salmon and Waldorf salad.
Her notes here are as written from her section, "Care of Children":
1. Start to train your children when they are very young.
a. be very gentle, reasonable and firm
b. avoid angry scenes or loud scoldings.
2. plenty of undisturbed sleep
a. do not permit people to waken child to see how cute he is.
3. clothing - simple, few buttons, no binding
b. warm enough but not too heavy
c. not too warm in summer and clean always
4. bathing the baby
a. mild soap be careful to wash gently.
b. sometimes use toy soap and gay washcloths
c. take care of his teeth from the start
d. make the child prowd [sic] to be clean, uncomfortable when dirty
5. Food for the baby
a. milk is the foundation for most children. Hide it in other foods if the child doesn't like it. Always take it slowly.
b. orange juice and vegetables
c. if child has no appetite see a doctor
d. Do not allow child to eat between meals or play with his food.
e. Do not force to eat but encourage. use attractive dishes if possible.
6. Train the child to help around the home and to like it and be thoughtful of others.
b. allow him to put silver etc. on the table
c. praise him often and scold him seldom
7. Allowance
a. Give one as soon as possible even when 5 years old (3 or 5 cents a week)
b. Impress upon him the fact it is his to [do] what he wants with it
c. give it every week - be faithful
d. increase it as he gets older
e. it teaches him the value of money, self-respect and reliability
f. correction - be patient and gentle. Never punish a child when angry or unjust
Sylvia's Notebook
I remember seeing my mother's grade school composition book while I was growing up, and I found it again when I moved to this house. She had gone to P.S. 80 in the Bronx, New York. I find no dates inside but she had indicated the 7th and 8th grade, which places this notebook in the late 1930s. She would have been 12 or 13 years old.
Most of its contents have to do with cooking, beginning with recipes for cocoa and milk toast. The directions following the ingredients are called "Order of Work." Homemaking lessons include "Care of Kitchen," "Food Groups," and "Laundry." Near the end of her notes my mother's recipes included those for baked salmon and Waldorf salad.
Her notes here are as written from her section, "Care of Children":
1. Start to train your children when they are very young.
a. be very gentle, reasonable and firm
b. avoid angry scenes or loud scoldings.
2. plenty of undisturbed sleep
a. do not permit people to waken child to see how cute he is.
3. clothing - simple, few buttons, no binding
b. warm enough but not too heavy
c. not too warm in summer and clean always
4. bathing the baby
a. mild soap be careful to wash gently.
b. sometimes use toy soap and gay washcloths
c. take care of his teeth from the start
d. make the child prowd [sic] to be clean, uncomfortable when dirty
5. Food for the baby
a. milk is the foundation for most children. Hide it in other foods if the child doesn't like it. Always take it slowly.
b. orange juice and vegetables
c. if child has no appetite see a doctor
d. Do not allow child to eat between meals or play with his food.
e. Do not force to eat but encourage. use attractive dishes if possible.
6. Train the child to help around the home and to like it and be thoughtful of others.
b. allow him to put silver etc. on the table
c. praise him often and scold him seldom
7. Allowance
a. Give one as soon as possible even when 5 years old (3 or 5 cents a week)
b. Impress upon him the fact it is his to [do] what he wants with it
c. give it every week - be faithful
d. increase it as he gets older
e. it teaches him the value of money, self-respect and reliability
f. correction - be patient and gentle. Never punish a child when angry or unjust