DETAILED LESSON PLANS FOR THE COURSE IN

"THE CARE OF THE HOME."

LESSON I. ARRANGEMENT AND CARE OF THE KITCHEN.

SUBJECT MATTER.

In arranging the kitchen the three things of most importance are the stove, the sink, and the kitchen table. If there is no sink in the kitchen, there will be some other place arranged for washing the dishes, probably the kitchen table, and this must be taken into consideration when the furniture is placed. As most of the work of the kitchen is done at the stove and the table, these must both be placed where they will have a good light and be near enough to one another so that but few steps are necessary for the worker. All the furniture should be kept so clean and free from dust that the kitchen will have a neat and attractive appearance. A bit of green, a potted plant, a neat rug, and a wash table cover, to be put on the table after the dishes have been washed, will help to make the kitchen a pleasant place for the family.

The kitchen should be thoroughly cleaned after each meal. If it has become dusty or disarranged before the next meal is prepared, it should be put in order before beginning to work with the food. While the cooking is under way everything should be kept in orderly condition. Just as soon as the meal is completed the left-over food should be covered and put away to keep; scraps and trash should be gathered up and disposed of; dishes, pots, and pans should be scraped and washed in hot soapy water, then rinsed in clear, hot water, dried, and put away. The table should be scrubbed, the stove cleaned, the floor swept and scrubbed whenever necessary, and everything put neatly in its place.

Care of coal or wood range.—All spots should be kept off the range by wiping with old paper. The range should be washed off with soap and water if it is in bad condition. If it is oiled occasionally, blacking will not be necessary. If blacking is used, it should be applied with a cloth and rubbed to a polish with a brush just as the fire is being started. Once a week the ashes and soot flues back of the oven and under it should be cleaned out.

Directions for building a fire.-To build and care for a fire in the coal and wood range, close all dampers, clean the grate, and remove ashes from the pan. Put on the covers and brush the dust off the stove. Open the creative damper and the oven damper; leave the check closed. Lay some paper, slightly crumpled into rolls, across the base of the grate. Lay small pieces of kindling wood across one

another, with the large pieces on top. Lay pieces of hardwood or a shovelful of coal on top, building to admit of free circulation of air. If the stove is to be polished, rub it with blacking. Light the paper from below. When the fire begins to burn briskly, add coal or wood; then add more when that kindles. When the fire burns briskly, and blue flame is no longer seen (about 10 minutes), close the oven damper. Close the draft as soon as the fire is sufficiently hot. Brush the stove and floor beneath as soon as the fire is started. Polish the stove. If the fire becomes too hot, open the check. Fill the teakettle with fresh water and set it on the front of the range.

PRELIMINARY PLAN.

It will be well to have this lesson succeed or follow a cooking lesson, for then the girls will have a keener interest in the problems of the kitchen.

(See Twenty Lessons in Cooking, Lesson I.)

METHOD OF WORK.

Cleanliness and order are the two points to be considered in this lesson. The doing well of each simple household task and the thoughtful arrangement and planning of all parts of the house should be emphasized as of great importance to the housekeeper's

success.

Begin the lesson with a discussion of the purpose of the kitchen; then discuss its arrangement from the standpoint of convenience for the work that must be done there. Emphasize the importance of having the furniture so arranged that work can be done quickly and easily, and that the kitchen be given a comfortable and attractive appearance. Have the girls arrange the furniture in the schoolroom. Discuss and demonstrate the care of the stove by use of the school stove. Assign each girl a time when she is to look after the stove on succeeding days and grade her on her work. Have each girl bring a report from home as to what she is doing to help in the care of the home kitchen. Make a specific assignment for home work.

QUESTIONS USED TO DEVELOP THE LESSON.

What is the purpose of the kitchen?

What are the principal articles of furniture in the kitchen?
What must be kept in a kitchen besides furniture?

How should we arrange these things?

Can we make any general rules as to arrangements?

Why is it difficult to keep the kitchen clean?

At what times is the kitchen most apt to become disarranged?

Why is it important to keep the kitchen in good order?

In what order should the kitchen be at the time we begin the preparation of the meal? How should the floor be cleaned? The utensils? The air?

How should we take care of the kitchen during the meal?

What should we do with any left-over food?

How should we take care of the stove after the meal?

LESSON II. CARE OF CUPBOARDS AND UTENSILS.

SUBJECT MATTER.

It is of the utmost importance that cupboards and other places where food is stored be kept free from dirt and scraps of food. Ants, cockroaches, mice, and other pests infest dirty places where food is kept, and render a house unfit for human habitation. It requires constant care and watchfulness on the part of the housewife to keep cupboards clean. She must look over the shelves daily, wiping them off whenever they need it and giving them a thorough cleaning at least once a week.

The housekeeper should know how to care for the various utensils and understand the simplest and best methods of keeping them clean. Utensils should never be put in the cupboards until perfectly clean and dry. If utensils have become discolored or badly coated with materials, they should be specially scoured when the dishes are washed. If something has been burned in a kettle, the kettle can be cleaned by filling with cold water, adding washing soda, and boiling briskly for half an hour; after that a slight scraping ought to take the burned portion off. If not, it should be boiled again with soda water. If a kettle has been used directly over a wood fire and becomes blackened with soot, it should be rubbed off with newspaper and then with an old cloth. Kettles should be dried well before putting away. With proper care they seldom become rusty. If an iron kettle has rusted, it can be rubbed with kerosene and ashes, then washed in strong, hot, soda water, rinsed in clear hot water, and dried on the stove. If a kettle is very rusty, it should be covered thoroughly with some sort of grease, sprinkled with lime, and left overnight. In the morning it should be washed out with hot soda water and rinsed in clear, hot water. A new kettle is generally rusty, and should be greased thoroughly inside and out and let stand two days; then washed in hot soda water.

Soft chimney brick can be used for scouring iron utensils and steel knives and forks. If iron pots and frying pans are scrubbed with a piece of soft chimney brick each time they are used and then. washed in hot soapsuds, they can be kept in good condition. Tinware and steel knives and forks can be cleaned by scouring with ashes. Only fine ashes should be used on tinware. The brown stains on granite saucepans should always be scoured off. Coffee and tea pots should be cleaned daily, the grounds removed, and the interior of the pots washed out thoroughly. The tea kettle should be washed and dried out over night and left open to air.

PRELIMINARY PLAN.

If school lunches are served or cooking lessons given at the school, it will be well to use the lesson to get the cupboards in readiness. If it is impossible to do this at school, arrange to have such a lesson in

one of the homes outside of school hours. Be sure that the housekeeper is in sympathy with the work and will cooperate with the plans.

METHOD OF WORK.

Assign each girl a task in the cleaning, scouring of the dishes, and arrangement of the cupboard. Set a definite amount to be done and carry out the plans, leaving a clean and neatly arranged cupboard at the end of the lesson.

LESSON III. CARE OF FOOD.

SUBJECT MATTER.

There are several points of importance that must be borne in mind if food is to be kept in good condition. Most foods change easily. Vegetables and fruits lose water, wilt, and become unfit to eat. Flour and corn meal become moldy. Potatoes decay and sprout. Some foods, such as milk, turn sour. Eggs become tainted and butter grows rancid. This spoiling can be prevented with proper care in the handling, storing, and keeping of foods.

The spoiling of food is due to the presence of microorganisms. If foods are fresh and sound and kept cool and clean in every way, spoiling will not take place readily, because the microorganisms will not develop. If the food is roughly handled and bruised, decomposition will take place readily, for microorganisms develop in the bruised portions. Care must therefore be taken to select food wisely, handle it carefully, wash it if it is not already clean, put it in clean receptacles, and keep it in a clean, cool place. All pots, pans, and dishes in which foods are kept or cooked should be thoroughly cleansed and rinsed well, so that no fragments of food stick to them to decay and to cause possible infection to the next food that is put in Every part of the kitchen and storerooms should be kept clean, dry, and well aired. Light is the best germicide and purifier known.

Covered receptacles should be secured for all foods. Those that are mouse proof and insect proof are essential to a well-kept pantry. All bottles and cans should be neatly labeled and so arranged that each one can be conveniently reached. The outside of the bottle or case should always be wiped off after it has been opened and food has been removed from it. The shelves on which food cases are kept should be wiped off every day. If a supply of fruit or vegetables is kept on hand, the food should be looked over frequently, and any that shows even the slightest suggestion of spoiling should be removed. Bread should be kept in a covered tin box, the box washed out once or twice a week, and frequently aired.

PRELIMINARY PLAN.

If cooking lessons are to be given, it will be well to have this lesson in connection with the first lesson and to make it a means of arranging for the materials that are to be kept on hand and of determining how everything is to be handled.

METHOD OF WORK.

Devote a large portion of the lesson to a discussion of the necessity for care in the handling, storing, and keeping of food. If facilities permit, devote a few minutes to the putting away of foods that are to be used in the next cooking lesson or school lunch, discussing the reasons for such care.

LESSON IV. DISPOSAL OF WASTE.

SUBJECT MATTER.

If one looks after the daily disposal of waste, there will be no offending accumulation of trash. Scraps of food that can be no longer utilized for the table can be fed to the pigs or chickens, but they should not be allowed to stand around and gather flies. A covered pail or pan should be used for holding the garbage until final disposal is made of it. Those portions of waste that are badly spoiled and will be of no value in feeding the stock should be burned up at once. Piles of waste vegetable substances, if suitable, should be fed to the stock, and if not, should be buried in a thin layer on the ground at some distance from the house so that they may enrich the soil and not attract flies.

Utensils that have held food should be thoroughly washed and rinsed with hot water or steam in order to prevent particles of food from adhering and becoming spoiled. Milk bottles and pans should always be thoroughly sterilized with boiling water or steam after they have been washed. The garbage can should be boiled with water and soda each day and rinsed with hot water in order to keep it sweet and clean.

Old papers that are badly soiled should be burned, but all others should be kept for use in cleaning the stove, starting fires, etc. Empty cans should be well washed and buried, so that they will not prove a breeding place for flies. It is well to pierce them through the bottom immediately after opening them so that they will not hold water. If not convenient to bury the cans, they should be burned up. Dishwater should be emptied some distance from the house unless there is a drain near the house. All receptacles that hold water should be carefully emptied and all depressions in the soil should be filled up to prevent mosquitoes. All waste water can be used on the garden.