ABSTRACT
The usually competent Joan may be unusually forgetful and measure her ounces of flour with a pound weight or a dessertspoon - Joan is not therefore ‘hopeless at housecraft’ but needs more practice. Children’s own attitudes and preconceived ideas about themselves often hold them back, such as little Joanne saying firmly that her hands were spastic, and Carol that she could never remember. Cooking gains quick results which give an enormous feeling of achievement and satisfaction, and which can be shared. The unstable and the retiring can both be helped by straightforward craftwork at first. A child can easily be given opportunity to work quite alone, the ‘leaners’ until sufficiently confident to help or work with another quiet child, the wilder spirits until mutual satisfaction at improvement allows an invitation to dinner with a group to be accepted.
