Part 5

MOTHER: Yes, the elbow joint unites the upper and lower arm, and it can swing only one way. What shall we call the joint that joins the upper arm to the shoulder?

PERCY: The shoulder joint.

MOTHER: Is this joint like the one in your elbow?

HELEN: No, for I can swing my arm backward or forward or any way I like.

MOTHER: That is because it has a different joint than your elbow. It is called a “ball-and-socket” joint; that is, one end of the bone is shaped like a ball, and this fits into a hole shaped like a cup in another bone, like the one you see in the picture. This shows the hip joint, which is also a ball-and-socket joint, the same as we found in the shoulder. Now what is the joint called at the lower end of the forearm?

AMY: It is called the wrist.

MOTHER: The wrist is a joint that moves very easily in many different ways. Now how many joints, or bending-places, have we found in the arm?

PERCY: The arm has three joints.

MOTHER: Elmer, you may take this ball. With what do you hold it?

ELMER: With my hand.

MOTHER: Tell me some ways in which we use our hands.

HELEN: We hold, push, pull, lift, catch, and feel with our hands.

MOTHER: The inside is called the palm of the hand. What do you find at the ends of your hands?

AMY: Fingers.

MOTHER: Look at your fingers. Are they all alike?

PERCY: One is much shorter than the others; all are different in length, and one is very small.

MOTHER: What do you call your short finger?

ELMER: My thumb.

MOTHER: You would find it hard to button your clothes and do many other things if you had no thumbs. A dog has no fingers, and if he wishes to hold or carry anything, he does it with his teeth. The first finger is called the forefinger, or index finger, because it comes first, and we use it to point with. The second is the middle finger; then we have the third finger; and the fourth is called the little finger, because it is the wee, tiny one of all. Open and shut your hands quickly. What do you call the parts of your fingers where you bend them?

HELEN: Finger joints and knuckles.

MOTHER: You see there are many joints in the hands, so we can move them easily and quickly. What do you find on the ends of your fingers?

AMY: Finger-nails.

MOTHER: These hard, horny nails protect the ends of the fingers, and give them strength. Our hands were given us to help ourselves and others, and we should keep them neat and clean. They were not made to strike or steal.

AMY: I read this verse about our hands not long ago:—

“Hands were made to be useful, If you teach them the way; Therefore for yourself or neighbor Make them useful every day.”

PERCY: You haven’t told us about the lower limbs yet, mother.

MOTHER: No; and any boy or girl who enjoys running and jumping would think theirs a hard lot if they had no legs.

ELMER: I saw a boy with only one not long ago.