Child's Way/Volume 2/Issue 1/Text

Child's Way Volume 2, Issue 1

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[Page i]CHILD’S WAY

Jan-Feb

dedicated to children everywhere

BAHÁ’Í YEAR 126 [Page ii]dedicated to children everywhere BAHÁ’Í YEAR 126

1. Friends

by Maxine Roth

4. Sidney House of Worship

5. The Science Corner:

Making a Magnifying Glass

by Carl Hoagland

6. Intercalary Days Song

by Betty Conow

7. ‎Baha'i Bahá’í‎ Calendar Flower

by Barbara Cook

9. Paper Mosaics

10. Fun and Games

14. Holiday: Valentine's Day

15. Crayon Rubbings

16. What's Missing?

18. Adventures of Willie Wiggleworm:

The Big Rainmaker

by Alice Bacon

21. Memory Prayer

24. Beautiful Junk

Ayyám-i-Há Prayer

by Kay Patton

Advisory Board: Carole Allen, Ray Johnson, LeNelma Johnson

Contributing Editors: Barbara Cook, Robert Hart, Molly King, David Lepard, James Nelson

Art Illustrator and Consultant: Diane Paquet

Subscription Service: LeNelma Johnson

Managing Editors: David Lepard, Mildred Lepard

CHILD'S WAY is published bi-monthly in January, March, May, July, September and November in Amherst, Massachusetts. Manuscripts, editorial correspondence and subscriptions should be addressed to: CHILD'S WAY Magazine, Box 551, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002.

Subscriptions: Second Class mail USA, $4.50; Foreign, $5.00. Single copy, $.75.

Application to mail at Second-Class postage rate is pending at Amherst, Massachusetts 01002.

CHILD'S WAY Vol. 2, No. 1

Editor’s Note

Dear Friends of CHILD'S WAY,

Welcome to the hosts of subscribers from around the world! Our long-time friends will note several changes in format---in addition to departmental revisions, we have a new cover design and a new inside cover page. Your reactions to the changes will be greatly appreciated.

As the winter months in the northern hemisphere roll on and the Fasting period approaches, we pray that this will truly be a period of spiritual and physical regeneration enabling us to devote an ever-increasing amount of time to the education of the next generation of children. The first day of Spring will soon herald a new ‎Baha'i Bahá’í‎ year.

CHILD'S WAY is particularly thankful to the many contributors who are helping to provide a valuable bedrock of resources for children, parents, and teachers around the world.

Sincerely,

THE ‎EDITOR'S EDITORS‎ OF CHILD'S WAY Magazine [Page 1]

FRIENDS

by Maxine Roth

Mother was busy cleaning the house. The three children were playing together in the living room. She could hear them laughing and chattering. The happy sounds made Mother smile. "That is nice," she thought; "sisters and brothers should always be friends." [Page 2]But then she heard different noises, not so nice, not so happy. "Oh my," Mother thought, "the children are fighting again."

The children were indeed fighting! Their voices were loud and angry and not sweet at all. Their faces were not lovely and smiling now, but angry and frowning. "Oh dear," Mother sighed.

"Children," Mother called. But their voices were so loud the children could not hear her. "Children," she called again. The angry voices stopped. The children pushed each other in their hurry to rush to the kitchen where Mother waited for them, looking a little bit sad. They expected Mother to scold them for fighting, as she had to do once in ‎awhile a while‎, but instead, she asked gently, "Would you like to hear a story?"

"Okay," said Larry, who was quite grown up, being five and one-third years old.

"Yes," laughed Diana, who was four and dimpled.

"Yah!" shouted little ‎Allen Allan‎ who was two and very cuddly.

"Then sit down and listen very, very carefully. Try to guess what the story means."

"Once upon a time, there were three children, two sweet boys and one sweet girl."

"Just like us," said Larry.

Diana said, "Shh-h-h, don't interrupt the story." She folded her hands and sat very still. Little Allan watched his big sister. Then he folded his hands too, and sat very still. [Page 3]"Once upon a time, there were three children," repeated Mother. "They were best friends. They had been friends for a very long time. Can you guess where they were living?"

"In a house?" guessed Diana.

"No."

"In the jungle?" guessed Larry, who liked to play he was a jungle boy.

"In the jungle?" guessed little Allan, who liked to play he was a big boy like Larry.

"No," said Mother. "They had not been born yet, so they were living in the Land of Before. That is where we live until we are born."

The children looked at Mother in a puzzled way. That is a hard thing to understand when you are young.

"Yes, they lived in the Land of Before. Now, these three friends loved each other very much and helped each other and were kind and polite. They loved each other so much that one day they asked the Person-Who-Arranges-For-Mothers-And-Fathers if he would let them be born in the same family. That way they could always be together." "Oh, yes," the Person-Who-Arranges-For-Mothers-And-Fathers answered. "We always send the best friends to live together in the same family."

continued on page 17 [Page 4]

‎Sidney Sydney‎ House of Worship

In the last issue of Child’s Way you read about the first Bahá’í House of Worship to be built on the North American continent---in Wilmette, Illinois near Chicago. The Houses of Worship will always have nine doors and a dome, but otherwise can be of almost any design. The doors are open to people of all religions and races for prayer and meditation.

The proper term for a Bahá’í House of Worship is: Mashriqu’l-Adhkár which is pronounced, mash-reck-ol-as-car, and means "the dawning-place of praises." Can you practice saying, "mash-reck-ol-as-car?" They are to be surrounded by other institutions of a scientific, educational, and humanitarian nature.

Another Bahá’í House of Worship is located near ‎Sidney Sydney‎ Australia. It was finished and dedicated on September 16, 1961. The following words were borrowed from the Bahá’í News, No. 369.:

Like the opal which is mined from the heart of Australia, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is unchanging yet never the same. When the skies are blue the facets of the crushed quartz which encrusts the walls sparkle in the sunlight, and we see a building of dazzling white. On other days it is a soft pearly gray, and the six turquoise stars on each of the wrought-iron doors glow with a peacock brightness.

Australia is a large island continent lying south of the equator between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Can you find it on a map? It has an area of nearly three million miles, about that of the continental United States.

The vast interior of Australia is barren and arid, much of it resembling the Sahara Desert. The raising of sheep, beef, and dairy cattle is the mainstay of Australia’s economy. The stock raising is conducted around the rim of the dry interior of the eastern highlands. Most people live in the southwest---in the fertile farm belt along the Pacific Coast. Many others live in the coastal cities and in the Murray River area.

Australia has many variations in climate. Most of the interior is hot and dry. Parts of the north are tropical. Much of the southern region is warm, sunny weather like southern California and the southeastern part of the United States. Is it like where you live? Snow is unusual. Seasons are just the opposite to those in the United States---summer is from December to February and winter is from June to August. Do you know why?

The Bahá’í House of Worship is located near ‎Sidney Sydney‎ which is the largest city in Australia with a population of over two million people. Can you find ‎Sidney Sydney‎ on the map. What kind of weather do you think they are having now? [Page 5]

THE SCIENCE CORNER

We know that the older boys and girls enjoyed making the Heat Detector which appeared in the last issue. Did you notice what happened when you applied the ice cube near the rubber band? The rubber band got a little smaller (contracted) from the cold and as it did so, it caused the straight pin to roll. Because the pointer was attached to the pin, it turned too. If you heated the rubber band at the same place, the rubber band got a little larger (expanded), which caused the pointer to move in the opposite direction.

In this issue we have another interesting project which you will be able to do with things you have right at home. There are a lot of questions you will want to ask after you have checked the results. By the way, if you have some interesting experiments you would like to share with our other readers, please send them in.

Making a Magnifying Glass

by Carl Hoagland

MATERIALS	PROCEDURE
Newspaper or magazine print	Place newspaper or magazine flatly on table.
Waxed paper	Place sheet of waxed paper evenly over paper.
Eye dropper	With an eye dropper, place different sized water drops on the waxed paper.
Glass of water

Can you tell what little drops do to the print? Large drops?

Use soapy water to see what happens. Try vegetable oil. Compare an oil drop with a water drop of the same size.

The possessors of sciences and arts have a great right among the people of the world.

Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í World Faith, page 189. [Page 6]How are your Hyacinths coming? Directions for preparing the bulbs were on page 24 of the last issue and you might want to refer to them again. If you followed the directions and are keeping the soil moist and the planted bulbs in a darkened, cool place, the flower bud should now be extending out of the top of the pot several inches so that you may bring them out into more light. Be sure not to put in the direct sunlight or they will bloom too soon. Wait until just a few days before you want to present them to a friend before you put them in the full sunlight.

Don't forget to enclose a gift card

. . . Sow the seeds of My divine wisdom in the pure soil of thy heart, and water them with the water of certitude, that the hyacinths of My Knowledge and wisdom may spring up fresh and green in the sacred city of thy heart.

H.W. 33

INTERCALARY DAYS SONG

Adaptation by David Lepard

Words and Music by Betty Conow

CHORDS

F F Bb Bb Hap - py and mer - ry, In - ter - ca - la - ry,

C7 C7 F F In - ter - ca - la - ry, Days for ev'ry one.

F F Bb Bb I - N - T - E - R - C - A - L - A - R -

C7 C7 F F Y, That spells a lot of fun! [Page 7]

BAHÁ’Í calendar FLOWER

Dear Children,

Let’s make a beautiful "Bahá’í Calendar Flower." A colorful reminder for feasts and Holy Days throughout the year!

Pin the calendar flower to your bulletin board with a strong tack or pin---turn the "flower" as each ‎`Feast Feast‎ occurs so that the current month is at the top---do the same with the "flower center" for each ‎Baha'i Bahá’í‎ Holy Day. It won’t be long until we will be celebrating the ‎Baha'i Bahá’í‎ year 127. [Page 8](calendar flower)

MATERIALS

Scissors

Glue

Light weight cardboard for two circle patterns

Multi-colored yarn or gift wrap ribbon

Brass paper fastener or large pin

PROCEDURE

Cut out pattern #1

Cut each large half-circle from pattern #2 down line A B and join to form a nine inch circle.

Carefully glue large and small circle patterns on to a light weight cardboard. Let dry thoroughly.

When dry, cut extra cardboard from around circles.

Cut out a narrow wedge between each "petal"---it is necessary to have a little space between the petals for the yarn that will be weaved around each petal.

Using colored yarn or gift wrap ‎wribbon ribbon‎, hold the end of the yarn at the back of the circle and begin to wrap around through each opening to form a crisscrossed center.

When center is completed, begin to weave around the petals---under one and then over the next until you reach the printed information. Tie at the back when finished. Pin small flower in the center of large flower with a strong pin or brass paper fastener.

• BIRTH OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH NOV. 12
• BIRTH OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ MAY 23
• DAY OF THE COVENANT NOV. 26
• ASCENSION OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ NOV. 28
• NAW-RÚZ MARCH 21
• INTERCALARY DAYS Feb. 26 To Mar. 1
• RIDVÁN APR. 21 - MAY 2
• DECLARATION OF THE BÁB MAY 23
• ASCENSION OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH MAY 29
• MARTYRDOM OF THE BÁB July 9
• BIRTH OF THE BÁB OCT. 20

NOTE: To change colors of yarn---tie new color at the back of the flower and continue to weave. [Page 9]

PAPER MOSAIC

MATERIALS	PROCEDURE
Paste Scissors Colored paper Large sheet of paper	Cut colored paper into small squares. Arrange and paste to make the design desired. Why not try a self-portrait, a landscape or seascape?

[Page 10]

DIVISION PUZZLE

The 4 dots in the diagram below each represent a house. How can you divide the land on which they were built with fences so that each house has exactly the same amount of land?

CROSS WORD PUZZLES

Fill in the words for which clues are given below. Some letters are already in place. 3 of the words in each puzzle will read up and down AND across.

a.

1P	2	3T
4	5	6
7T	8	9Y

1, 2, 3 = child’s animal 4, 5, 6 = face part 7, 8, 9 = effort 1, 5, 9 = earned reward

b.

1E	2	3T
4	5	6
7T	8	9A

1, 2, 3 = to have lunch 4, 5, 6 = everybody is 7, 8, 9 = a drink 1, 5, 9 = time period

c.

1C	2	3T
4	5	6
7T	8	9N

1, 2, 3 = little bed 4, 5, 6 = iron in rocks 7, 8, 9 = number

AMAZING MAZE PUZZLE

Starting from the entrance to the maze below, try to find the shortest way to the center with your pencil.

START

RING AROUND THE NUMBERS

Using the numbers from 0 through 8, placing one number into each of the 9 circles in the diagram below, arrange them so that any 3 numbers in a straight line add to 12. [Page 11]

CRAYON RUBBINGS

MATERIALS	PROCEDURE
Paper Alphatone Newsprint Poster Cut-outs shapes cut from: Sandpaper Cardboard Fabrics String (other scrap materials having interesting textures) Pressed leaves Flowers Stems, etc. Crayons	Place paper over cut-outs or leaves, etc. Rub over with broad side of crayon to transfer shapes.

[Page 12]

WHAT’S MISSING

A letter of the alphabet is missing between some of the letters shown below. If you’ll write the proper letters in the right spaces, the puzzle will reveal something important you should know.

T E I T E C A L R Y D Y ( A Y Y Á M - I - H Á ) W I L B E

H E E F O F B U R Y 2 6 T O A R C 1 F O L O E D Y

1 9 A Y S O F A T I N G F O G O W U S .

Did you solve the puzzle in the last issue? The answer was: NOVEMBER HAS TWO ‎BAHA'I BAHÁ’Í‎ HOLIDAYS; ‎BAHÁ'U'LLÁH'S BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S‎ BIRTHDAY AND THE DAY OF THE COVENANT.

SOLUTION TO FUN AND GAMES

The shortest route is * B-A-M-N-K-L-J-I-G-H-F-E-C-D-P-O--

a

1P	2E	3T
4E	5A	6R
7T	8R	9Y

b

1E	2A	3T
4A	5R	6E
7T	8E	9A

c

1C	2O	3T
4O	5R	6E
7T	8E	9N

[Page 13]"Hooray!" the children shouted, because they were so happy.

"Finally, the first friend left the Land of Before. It was time for him to be born. When he opened his eyes for the first time, he saw two happy faces smiling at him over the edge of the crib." He thought, "The kind and pretty face must belong to my mother. And the nice, strong face must belong to my new father. They look very nice. We will certainly love each other very much. But, I do miss my two best friends."

The baby grew larger and sweeter. He learned many fine things, like how to sit up and how to stand and how to blow his apple sauce into his hair. Then another baby came to the family.

This baby was a darling girl. When she opened her eyes for the first time, she saw three faces smiling at her in the crib. She thought, "The kind and pretty face must belong to my new mother. And the nice, strong face must belong to my new father. And the third face! Why, why --- it’s my best friend who left the Land of Before to get born here on earth. Oh, isn’t that nice! We are together, again. If only my other best friend could be here, too, that would be just perfect."

After ‎awhile a while‎, another dear baby came to the family . As he opened his eyes for the first time, he saw four faces smiling at him over the edge of the crib. He thought, "The kind and pretty face must belong to my new mother. And the nice, strong face must belong to my new father. And the two little, jolly faces --- why, I know who they are! They are my best friends. They left me so they could get born. I have missed them so much! And here they are. Oh, this surely must be the happiest and luckiest family in the whole world. I am so glad that the Person-Who-Arranges-For-Mothers-And-Fathers kept his promise. Now, we three friends are together again. We will be happy together every day, just like before." [Page 14]

The Big Rainmaker

by Alice Bacon

There was trouble in Amentia where Willie Wiggleworm lived below the surface of the earth. All the moisture had gone out of the soil and earthworm clusters of burrows were toppling and tumbling and leaning against one another‎.. .‎. Earthworms were butting and burrowing and choking on their dry suppers of crumbling soil. There was near panic among the grownups.

Only Grandma Zitto, oldest worm in Amentia, knew what to do. She’d lived through dry spells before. She coiled herself up and made a coating of slime around herself for protection and went to sleep. She said that was what all smart earthworms did when a dry season came. "Let the young ’uns go gallivanting to the top of the garden," she said, while preparing herself for her long nap. "Red robins and slugs and bugs are just waiting to eat them. When worms are hungry they aren’t careful of the enemies! I’ll just stay here and sleep!" [Page 15]

Wiggleworm

But, over in the town burrow Levi Horsington, great-hearted mayor of Amentia called his council together.

"How can we save our fellow worms from this suffering?" he asked the council. The mayor’s council wiggled their segments in deep thought. But all they could think about was how thirsty they all were.

"It says here in the Times," said Levi Horsington, "'as the earthworm digs, so the nation rises! The worm is the first fertilizer factory in the world!'"

"Who cares about those gardens at the top of the world," stormed Bertha Genske. Bertha was fat and fierce. She waved her segments angrily from side to side. "Those rich worms living over there on the split-level -- I hear they have moisture stored up in their fine burrows. Let’s march on them and take their dirt away from them and eat it! They have no right ---" [Page 16]"Rumors--all rumors," interrupted Lorenzo Rockahead, a youth known for ideas. "Rich worms are no richer than poor worms when a dry spell comes. What we’ve got to think about is working together--and not criticizing worms over on the split-level!"

Levi Horsington banged his council table for order. Bertha Genske, who just loved an argument and was all swollen up, ready for one, had to stop waving herself in the air.

"We will all have to go to sleep like Grandma Zitto until it rains, and then rebuild our town of Amentia," said the mayor "unless we have rain by tomorrow night." He dismissed the council. The worms wiggled slowly back to their tumbling homes.

---

Willie Wiggleworm got out of his bedroom burrow while Mama Wiggleworm stirred up the breakfast porridge. Willie ate without knowing whether the porridge was moist or dry. He had bloomed with an idea just at dawn, and he had been unable to sleep a wink since! Perhaps he and his friend Monster could save Amentia! He was so excited with his thoughts that he forgot for the moment that Father Wiggleworm had forbade him to go to the top of the world again. But to save Amentia---!

Willie wiggled to the top of the garden slowly. Sure enough, there was Monster in the garden helping Mom-Abbie pick peas. Willie chewed a little moist soil he found under the cucumber vine. How good it tasted!

Willie looked at Monster’s big bare foot. It was a mountain, but he’d have to climb up to attract Monster’s attention. He climbed and climbed, hunching his segments as he proceeded. [Page 17]Boys and girls, wouldn’t it be nice if we could all try to memorize the prayers that appear in Child’s Way? Let’s see if we can. The prayer which follows was given to us by Bahá’u’lláh so that we might pray for the unity of the world. Can you imagine what that would mean? There would be no more war; no more fighting; people would no longer be without enough food and shelter as they now are in so many places in the world. It would be a world free of these troubles, where we could grow in the love of God and Man. One very important way Baha’is worship God is by helping others.

MEMORY PRAYER

O my God! O my God!

Unite the hearts of Thy servants, and reveal to them Thy great purpose. May they follow Thy commandments and abide in Thy Law. Help them O God, in their endeavor, and grant them strength to serve Thee. O God! leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by the light of knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy love. Verily, Thou art their Helper and their Lord.

FRIENDS cont.

"That is the end of the story," said Mother. "Do you know what it means?"

"I think I know, Mother," said Larry. "It means that brothers and sisters are friends that God gives us."

"That’s right," smiled Mother. Then she hugged and kissed the three friends.

The end [Page 18]David reached down to scratch his foot where it tickled. Then he jumped so high that Willie Wiggleworm almost tumbled off his mountain perch on Monster’s foot.

"Mommie," cried Monster, "It’s Willie Wiggleworm! Come and look-ee!"

Mom-Abbie stopped picking peas and looked.

"So that’s Willie!" she said smiling. "Well, you let him go back into the ground now, and you come along with me into the house for lunch and your nap."

Willie heard Mom-Abbie with dismay. He needed to talk with Monster. But even Mom-Abbie couldn’t stand between him and Monster when the very lives of Amentia earthworms were at stake! So he stamped his sides all at once as hard as he could and David said, "Ow! He’s tickling me. He wants to talk to me, Mom-Abbie!"

"Nonsense," said Mom-Abbie, who was in a hurry to cook the fresh peas.

David brushed Willie gently ‎of off‎ his foot. Willie rolled himself into a tight ball and said in disgust, "ELMSPPF!" Well, he’d just have to wait until Monster went to bed for his nap. So he unrolled himself and slithered back to Amentia. He curled himself away from all the other worms. He didn’t want any questions about that trip to the top of the world! He’d wait for Monster to sleep. "I’ll See You in My Dreams," he hummed.

---

"Monster," said Willie Wiggleworm from his safe place, clinging to the bedpost, "our town of Amentia is choking on dry dirt and all the burrows are crumbling. YOU can make rain for us!"

"I CAN?" said Monster, brushing at his sleepy eyes with his fist. [Page 19]

CHUCKLES

When a boy falls into the water, what is the first thing he gets? Wet.

How many eggs can a giant eat on an empty stomach? One. After one, his stomach is no longer empty.

How many sides does a barrel have? Two. The inside and the outside.

What is the best thing to put into a pie? Your teeth.

What goes uphill and downhill and yet stands still? A road.

What has 4 fingers and a thumb, but has no flesh or bone? A glove.

Which is faster, heat or cold? Heat is faster, you can catch a cold.

Willie cont.

So Monster rose from his nap and hauled out Daddy-Al’s garden hose and turned the water and let it run all the rest of that day. It trickled down, down into the dry soil and at last it seeped into the town of Amentia. All the earthworms began to eat, and they all ate until all the rich worms and the poor worms were very full. Then they gathered in the town burrow and gave thanks to the Big Rainmaker. None of them knew it was Monster. None of them knew little Willie Wiggleworm’s very own idea had saved their town. None of them knew Monster or Daddy-Al or Mom-Abbie except Willie, who was a very special worm.

And Grandma Zitto woke up startled at such a short dry spell. She was all prepared for a long sleep. But she uncoiled herself and tasted the good moist earth and she said:

"Well, I declare!" [Page 20]

Beautiful Junk

Space Ship A tall fiberboard drum. Cut door and windows. Cone is cut posterboard.

Doll Bed Add pillow, receiving blanket to fiberboard bin.

Space Helmet 3 gallon ice cream container—painted silver!

Painted Beer Cases Great for storage — light enough for you to tote.

Table Easel cut box diagonally in half and paint. [Page 21]

Ayyám-i-Há Prayer

by Kay Patton

Gifts of friendship, joy and love Come with each Intercalary Day; There are four and sometimes five, To show our special Ayyám-i-Há way.

These days reflect the spirit of ‎Baha Bahá‎, That of kindness, sharing and love; A time when ‎Bahá'is Bahá’ís‎ remember God And share their blessings from Above.

Gifts are not always things we get Like trinkets, ‎goys toys‎ or food, But gifts are also visits and deeds Given to others for their good.

Ayyám-i-Há prepares us, too, For the period of the Fast; We cherish these days themselves as gifts, From the first day through the last.

So we offer our prayers and gifts And greet you in all loving ways, And hope that you will be blessed Over these Ayyám-i-Há days!

-Kay Patton

[Page 22]--BLANK--