li
 
 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 

 
 NURSERY SCHOOL 
 EDUCATION 
 
 BniTED PY 
 
 GRACE OWEN, B.Sc. 
 
 PRINCIPAL OK THE MATHER TRAINING COLLEGE, MANCHKSTHR 
 
 1 4 '', > * ^/ ' WITH -tlciHt I'LlbSTilATltWfe^ !, 
 
 S J »» 3 > 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 ym' O xi,
 
 DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 MARY ADELAIDE WRAGGE 
 
 PRINCIPAL OF THE BLACKHEATH KINDERGARTEN TRAINING 
 
 COLLEGE AND FROEBELIAN SCHOOL, 189I-I906
 
 ) PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 ^ I ^HE reader will recognize that in the following pages 
 ^ •*■ the authors have approached the subject of Nursery 
 Schools each from a special standpoint — whether it be 
 ' that of the student of psychology, of education, or of 
 the laws of health. Although there has been collaboration 
 ) between the different authors, each is responsible for 
 } her own section only. 
 
 J I desire to express my grateful acknowledgments to 
 I friends who have kindly contributed valuable advice and 
 "j criticism, and especially to Miss E. M. Wragge and Miss 
 "*£. S. Newman, who have generously devoted much time 
 and care to a revision of the manuscript. I am also 
 indebted to Mr, George Widdows, F.R.I.B.A., for prepar- 
 ing a plan for a group of Nursery Schools, and to Miss 
 Edith Hodsman for furnishing me with details of the 
 equipment of the Darlington Training College Nursery 
 School. 
 
 GRACE OWEN
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction .. .. .. .. .. ii 
 
 Part I. The Aims and Functions of the Nursery 
 
 School . . . . . . . . 19 
 
 by the editor 
 
 Part II. The Mind of the Child . . . . 27 
 
 BY OLIVE A. WHEELER, D.SC. 
 Lecturer in Education, Manchester University. 
 
 CHAPTER I. THE INNATE BASES OF CHARACTER 
 II. THE ACQUIRED BASES OF CHARACTER 
 III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 
 
 Part III. The Education of the Nursery School 
 
 Child . . . . . . • ■ 55 
 
 by margaret e. eggar 
 
 Lecturer in Edocatlon, Manchester University ; and 
 
 GRACE OWEN, B.SC. 
 
 Principal of the Mather Training College, Manchester 
 
 CHAPTER I. THE ENVIRONMENT 
 
 II. THE child's RESPONSE— (rt) Exercise and Imitation 
 III. THE child's response — {^) Creative Expression 
 
 Part IV. The Hygiene of the Nursery School 95 
 
 BY CATHERINE CHISHOLM, B.A. , M.D. 
 Hon. Physician to the Manchester B.abies' Hospital 
 
 CHAPTER I. THE CHILD AND HIS DEVELOPMENT 
 
 II. THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE CHILD 
 
 III. CONSIDERATIONS AFFECTING DAILY ROUTINE 
 
 IV. MEDICAL SUPERVISION 
 V. INFECTIOUS DISEASE 
 
 VI. MINOR ACCIDENTS 
 VII. THE TRAINING OF THE STAFF IN HYGIENE
 
 10 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Part V. The Staff of the Nursery School and '"^"^ 
 THE Training of Superintendents . . 133 
 
 BY THE EDITOR 
 
 Part VI. Notes on Buildings and Equipment 139 
 
 by the editor 
 
 Appendix. The Board of Education's Regulations 
 
 for Nursery Schools .. .. 152 
 
 Index .. .. .. .. ..175 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PLATE 
 
 1. A Group of Ardwick Nursery School Children 
 
 From a photograph by S. Epstein Frontisfiece 
 
 PACING PAGE 
 
 2. The Montes.sori Apparatus, Ardwick Nursery School 68 
 
 From a photograph by E. }Vard 
 
 3. Play with Toys, Ardwick Nursery School . . . . 78 
 
 From a photograph by E. Ward 
 
 4. In thk Sandpit, the Rusholme Nursery .. .. 84. 
 
 From a photograph by E. Ward 
 
 5. Dinner-time, the Rushoi.mh Nursery . . . . 106 
 
 From a photograph by J. Porter 
 
 6. Cottages Adapted, Ardwick Nursery School . . 142 
 
 From a photograph by E. Ward 
 
 7. The North Wingkield Infants' School, South Side 144 
 
 Architect— George H. Widdows, F.R.I.B.A. 
 
 8. The North Wingfiei.d Infants' School, North Side 146 
 
 Architect— Giorgt 11. Widdows, F.R.I.B.A. 
 
 Plan for a Group of Nursery Schools Front cover 
 
 By George H. Widdo'MS, F.R.I.B.A. 
 
 i
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 By the Editor 
 
 THE decision to make the Nursery School the 
 foundation of England's system of education 
 is one of far-reaching importance ; and influences, 
 flowing from different sources, have now combined to 
 bring about a practical venture on a national scale. 
 
 The Nursery School movement has derived its main 
 impetus from a determination to provide healthy conditions 
 and skilled physical care for the childhood of the nation 
 from infancy onwards. It also promises the opportunity 
 of breaking away from the conventional methods of 
 teaching young children, in favour of an education in 
 harmony with our modern knowledge of psychology. 
 
 Both these influences have been at work, and the 
 Nursery School of the future will, it is hoped, fulfil in 
 itself both these aspirations. Through this new institution 
 we may make practical recognition of the fact that 
 questions of physical and mental well-being are indissolubly 
 connected. It is impossible to hope for normal mental 
 development while the body is ill-nourished and badly 
 cared for. It is equally futile to look for development of 
 the whole nature while attending only to physical needs. 
 
 The Infant School movement in this countiy arose 
 under the inspiration of Robert Owen, whose faith in the 
 influence of a favourable environment in early childhood 
 was unbounded. In his famous infant school at New 
 Lanark, begun in 1816, he realized much of his hope. 
 The possibihties of improved development resulting from 
 healthy, happy conditions and free activity were abun- , 
 dantly proved. Unfortunately, his followers in England"^ 
 soon forgot his larger aims and methods ; and, indeed, 
 laid a deplorable emphasis on definite instruction given 
 
 II
 
 12 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 to rows of children seated in galleries, kept in order by a 
 strict, even if kindly, discipline. 
 
 Since 1852 the educational ideas embodied in the 
 Kindergarten by Friedrich Froebel have been slowly 
 permeating our Infant School system, and a change 
 towards greater freedom of activity and the use of play- 
 occupations for little children has taken place ; but 
 crowded classes, and many unhygienic conditions, have 
 generally prevailed even to the present time. 
 
 Through philanthropic effort, however, Free Kindergar- 
 tens for children living in crowded slums have sprung up 
 in the large cities of Great Britain. The first was founded 
 in 1900. Working apart from infant schools, they have 
 gathered together children from three to five or six years 
 of age, in groups of thirty or forty ; they have sought to 
 provide for them the best possible environment for healthy 
 development, and to educate through play and contact 
 with nature. They have postponed instruction and 
 looked only for all-round development of mmd and body 
 in an atmosphere of happy companionship. They have 
 stood also for close co-operation with the home, and have 
 always identified themselves with neighbourhood life. 
 Thus, though small in numbers, they have served as 
 practical educational demonstrations for the Nursery 
 School movement, and have been the immediate pioneers 
 of the Nursery School. 
 
 The establishment of Nursery Schools was definitely 
 recommended by the Consultative Committee of the Board 
 of Education in its Report, pubhshed in 1908, on tlie 
 "School Attendance of Children below the Age of Five." 
 
 The evidence brought before the Committee showed 
 clearly enough : 
 
 (i) That the infant schools of the time were unsuitable 
 for very young children, both as regards hygienic con- 
 ditions and mental occupation. 
 
 (2) That, nevertheless, lai"ge numbers of children would 
 be left all day uncared for, or unsuitably "minded," if 
 they were not allowed to come to school before the ag( 
 of five.
 
 INTRODUCTION 13 
 
 The success of the Ecoles Maternelles in France, and 
 of similar institutions in other countries, as well as of our 
 own Free Kindergartens, indicated better lines of develop- 
 ment. Accordingly, the committee reached the conclusion 
 that it was urgently desirable that the State should con- 
 tinue to make provision for children under five where it 
 was required, but that this provision must be of an 
 improved kind — designed to secure health, freedom from 
 nervous strain, and happy occupation for all children whose ^ 
 needs could not be met at home. 
 
 Since 1908 the need for Nursery Schools has been ^ 
 increasingly felt, and has been forcibly emphasized by the 
 war. The institution of medical inspection of school 
 children in 1907 has served to make evident the urgent 
 need of continuous medical supervision during the years y 
 preceding school life. Medical opinion is unanimous in 
 urging that a large proportion of the physical defect noted 
 in children entering school at five years of age could and 
 would have been prevented if medical supervision had been 
 available during the first five years of life. The increase 
 of schools for mothers and infant clinics, diuring recent 
 years, has brought about a decrease in the rate of mortality 
 and the prevalence of disease during the first year of life ; 
 and much helpful advice as to the necessary conditions 
 of a healthy childhood is now available for the mother 
 who is willing to take advantage of it. Nevertheless there 
 is a gap between babyhood and school-life during which 
 no regular medical supervision is universally available, 
 and this entails a serious break in the record kept of the 
 individual child. When it is considered that the rate of 
 mortality during these years is higher than that of any- 
 period except the first year, it is obvious that continued 
 neglect by the State would be fatal to the whole national 
 effort to raise the physique of the people. The Nursery 
 School, open to all children over the 3ge of two, will bridge 
 this gap. By means of it, regular supervision, the prompt 
 treatment of ailment and disease, the necessary attention 
 to right food, clothing, personal habits, and healthy 
 surroundings, are al! made possible.
 
 14 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 It is hard to see how these results can be attained 
 without the help of some such institution, carried on in 
 close co-operation with the home. The Nursery School 
 superintendent derives influence with parents from their 
 knowledge of the skilled care she is giving to their children 
 every day ; the improvement the parents can see wins 
 their appreciation and co-operation. The conditions also 
 of space, fresh air, and scrupulous cleanliness, which 
 are of first importance for young children, are difficult 
 to secure in many homes, but are provided in the 
 Nursery School. It would indeed be disastrous to use the 
 Nursery Schools as an excuse for putting off housing reform, 
 but neither can we afford to wait for them until the housing 
 problem is solved. Rather should the Nursery School be 
 included in every housing scheme, and meanwhile lead the 
 way, by securing for groups of children the healthy condi- 
 tions of life which are the right of every home. 
 
 The Education Act of 1918 makes possible the estabhsh- 
 ment of Nursery Schools throughout the country. Clause 
 19 runs thus : 
 
 " (i) The powers of Local Education Authorities for 
 the purposes of Part III. of the Education Act, 1902, 
 shall include power to make arrangements for : 
 
 " {a) Supplying or aiding the supply of Nursery Schools 
 (which expression shall include nursery classes) for 
 children over two and under five years of- age, or such 
 later age as may be approved by the Board of Education, 
 whose attendance at such a school is necessary or desirable 
 for their healthy physical and mental development ; and 
 
 " (6) Attending to the health, nourishment, and 
 physical welfare of children attending Nursery Schools. 
 
 " (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any Act of 
 Parliament, the Board of Education may, out of moneys 
 provided by Parliament, pay grants in aid of Nursery 
 Schools, provided that such grants shall not be paid in 
 respect of any such school unless it is open to inspection 
 by the local education authority, and unless that authority 
 are enabled to appoint representatives on the body of
 
 INTRODUCTION 15 
 
 managers to the extent of at least one-third of the total 
 number of managers, and before recognizing any Nursery 
 School the Board shall consult the local education 
 authority." 
 
 By inserting this clause in the Act, the country as a 
 whole has shown itself convinced of the importance of 
 taking determined steps to look to the very foundations 
 of the health and well-being of the people. It has per- 
 ceived that all schemes of national reconstruction, of 
 whatever type, are based on shifting sand if the young 
 life of the nation is not sound, healthy, and well-developed 
 during the first critical years. As one effective means of 
 building surely for the future, it has given power to every 
 local authority to provide for itself Nursery Schools in all 
 districts where it would be advisable to have them. The 
 Act does not compel their establishment, nor force the 
 attendance of any child ; but it gives a great opportunity. 
 
 Given its full scope, the clause must have far-reaching 
 results. It cannot be doubted that the expenditure of 
 faith and energy and money involved will bring great 
 returns. The Nursery School will be a powerful factor 
 in lowering the rate of mortality in young children, in 
 eliminating the many physical defects that so often dog 
 the career through life, and in bringing to all the benefits 
 of improved health as well as the development of good 
 habits, self-reliance, and individuality. ^ 
 
 It may also serve the wider cause of education. It is not 
 hampered by the traditions of a past generation. It is free 
 to work out its own salvation. It has a new opportunity. 
 If those who are responsible preserve simplicity of spirit and 
 an open mind, it may make an important contribution to 
 our knowledge of education, because it will be a testing- 
 ground of the fundamental educational doctrines of to-day. 
 
 Moreover, by its insistence on co-operation with the 
 home, its interest in neighbourhood activities, and its 
 constant function of putting the individual family in touch 
 with' the various agencies for child welfare, it will tend to 
 strengthen the movement towards bringing all education
 
 16 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 into closer touch with real life. A Nursery School superin- 
 tendent said recently : " I do not know whether my work 
 begins or ends when my children go home." This attitude 
 is characteristic, and must some day find its way into the 
 schools for older children. 
 
 We shall need Nursery Schools of various types. Not 
 only in crowded cities, but in country villages, there is 
 need of just such an agency to spread knowledge of the 
 essential conditions of a healthy childhood ; while the 
 value of the work of special schools for the deaf, the blind, 
 and delicate children would be enormously strengthened 
 if Nuisery Schools could be established in connexion 
 with them. 
 
 The fact that the establishment of such schools is not 
 compulsory on the education authority calls for a deter- 
 mined weight of public opinion in their favour. It is of 
 urgent importance that the inauguration of continuation 
 schools shall not be allowed to delay the establishment of 
 the first Nursery Schools. Such a policy would be un- 
 sound, for the complete success of continued education 
 will depend upon the sound foundations laid in early life. ' 
 
 There are obstacles to overcome. The difficulty of 
 expense is a great one, for the proposal involves the care 
 of many thousands of children hitherto unprovided for by 
 the State. The right conditions and equipment, though 
 of the simplest character, will bring an increase of the 
 expenditure per head so far considered sufiicient for young 
 children. The staffing will need the utmost care, since 
 inefficiency would bring about the failure of the movement. 
 
 In the face of these difficulties, the effectiveness of the 
 clause permitting the establislmient of Nursery Schools will 
 depend upon recognition by the public of the urgency of 
 the need, and the clearness of its perception that now is 
 the time to tlirow aside half-measures, and spend un- 
 grudgingly in an unsparing effort to put the feet of the 
 children of the coming generations firmly on life's path. 
 May public opinion not be found wanting ! 
 
 In many towns education authorities are establishing 
 nursery classes within infant schools. The nuisery clasi
 
 INTRODUCTION 17 
 
 is a compromise between the babies' class of the infant 
 school and the Nursery School. Children between two 
 and five years of age may be admitted. A classroom with 
 sunny aspect is selected, toys are provided, time-tables are 
 abolished, and a sleeping hour instituted. There is varying 
 success in the attempt to provide a separate playground, 
 special lavatory accommodation, and a high standard of 
 cleanliness. The teacher may or may not be specially 
 trained. 
 
 All efforts to improve the conditions and management 
 of babies' classes are to be welcomed, and in favourable 
 circumstances nursery classes may help to spread quickly 
 «ome of the benefits of a Nursery School. It must be 
 recognized, however, that in the majority of cases the 
 necessary changes of organization and equipment are 
 exceedingly difficult to carry out in a corner of the premises 
 of an ordinary infant school, and that there is real danger 
 in the too easy acceptance of a compromise. The bringing 
 together of groups of children of the age of two years and 
 upwards will serve to increase rather than diminish the 
 risks of ailment and disease, unless strict attention is given 
 invariably to the adequate provision of skilled care and 
 hygienic conditions. It would indeed be a grievous thing 
 if the policy of establishing nursery classes instead of 
 Nursery Schools were followed in such a way as to result 
 in a gradual weakening of the original purpose expressed 
 in the clause of the Act permitting their establishment, 
 and a failure to achieve anything really fundamental by 
 means of it. 
 
 To avert this danger, it is urgent that every Local 
 Authority should provide immediately for a few well- 
 equipped and adequately staffed Nursery Schools within 
 its area, in districts where the need is obvious. If this 
 were done during the present year, public opinion would 
 by this means become very much better informed than it 
 now is as to the meaning and possibilities of the movement. 
 There would be a real demand for more, and we should 
 be prepared to launch a larger policy. 
 
 Then, with the inclusion of children up to six years of
 
 18 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 age, and a steady increase in the number of specially- 
 trained superintendents and assistants available, the 
 Nursery School movement should resolve itself naturally 
 into the transformation of the infant school. The usual 
 infant school period would in this case be slightly shifted. 
 Children from two years of age might be admitted as 
 seemed desirable, and those above nursery school age 
 would be included in junior schools. Instead of the big 
 classes of children as near of an age as possible, we should 
 have smaller groups of children of varying ages, each group 
 so far resembling a large family. Considerable changes 
 in organization and equipment would be necessary, and 
 many new buildings would be required. In view of the 
 extension of the period of education below three and above 
 thirteen years of age however, an ampler accommodation 
 for children in schools must in any case be made. Some 
 of this should take the form of new Nursery Schools care- 
 fully planned for their purpose. In some cases it may 
 be possible, with the addition of open-air shelters, to 
 adapt the whole infant school building and playground 
 to meet the essential requirements of Nursery Schools. 
 
 Whether the end is to be achieved by this or by some 
 other road, there is need for the adoption of a wisely 
 generous and far-reaching policy, which shall secure 
 the fulfilment of the utmost possibilities of the Nursery 
 School as the foundation of the national system of 
 education.
 
 PART I 
 
 THE AIMS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE NURSERY 
 SCHOOL 
 
 By the Editor 
 
 THERE is a common notion that the Nmsery School 
 is primarily a substitute for home. We feel 
 at once that this idea is not sound when we 
 consider the education of the child of Nui'sery School age 
 in its broader and deeper aspects. The nourishment of 
 mind and feeling as well as of body is naturally supplied 
 by the mother during the first years of childhood. Whether 
 she be inadequate or not, no one can take her place, for 
 the intimacy between mother and child is perfect. Should 
 the fullness of this first relationship fail, the child must be 
 for ever poorer. Therefore, if the Nursery School is merely 
 a substitute for home, it is at best a lame thing. 
 
 It is built upon a firmer foundation when it is conceived 
 as an extension of home-life ; when it preserves its true 
 organic connexion with the home ; when it understands 
 the special part it has to play in the child's life, and ful- 
 fils that part in close relationship with other agencies for 
 the child's welfare. 
 
 Undoubtedly it has its part to play. The Nursery 
 School can help both parent and child. In it the children 
 find certain conditions which are helpful to them, con- 
 ditions which are not so fully provided for at home. 
 For instance, the environment of the nursery is planned 
 for children onl3^ whereas at home the arrangements for 
 grovm-up people must preponderate largely over those 
 for children. In the Nursery School, the small fiu^niture, 
 
 19
 
 20 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 the choice of pictures and objects of interest, the arrange- 
 ment of these so that everything is within reach, above 
 all the understanding that everything is meant to be 
 
 ^ handled and used freely by children, give an environment 
 
 '^nvhich the little child can master and feel to be his own. An 
 important point also is the fact that in the Nursery School 
 it is not one room only in which this may be felt, but in 
 a little series of rooms, including playrooms, cloakroom, 
 and bathroom. Thus the nursery is able to give the 
 children a wider field for the full exercise of their powers 
 
 ^than is usually possible at home. 
 
 f* Again, the children find here grown-up friends who have 
 plenty of time to play with them, answer their questions, 
 and wait for them while they slowly learn to perform all 
 the little duties of their daily lives. This is hardly possible 
 in most homes. The intelligent child has more bodily and 
 mental activity between the ages of two and six than can 
 be easily satisfied by the very busy people with whom he 
 lives, most of whom do not understand that what he does, 
 or wants to know, is at all important. 
 
 The trained and experienced Nursery School superin- 
 tendent has opportunity to provide for the needs of the 
 children, whether it be for physical and mental activity 
 or for a careful training in good habits. 
 f) Once more, the little child in the Nursery School finds 
 himself amongst a number of children of varying ages, 
 some of whom are of the same age as himself. This is a 
 new and valuable experience. 
 
 Games are the more delightful, and the daily habits 
 that have to be learned, such as washing one's own hands 
 and lacing one's boots, are not nearly so difficult and irk- 
 some when others are sharing the experience. It is often 
 found, indeed, that much that is a real trial when done at 
 home is accomplished with enthusiasm when it is part of 
 the Nursery School routine. This companionship, never- 
 theless, entails individual self -discipline. At'»the same 
 time that he finds so many things to enjoy, such freedom 
 to do what he wants when he wants, the child runs up 
 against the necessity for self-subordination in community
 
 AIMS AND FUNCTIONS OF NURSERY SCHOOL 21 
 
 life. Thus the growing instinct of self-assertion — healthy 
 in itself — is kept in due check by the absorbing interest 
 of living with other children, and the necessity for the 
 spirit of give-and-take which it involves. 
 
 These conditions give the Nursery School its opportunity 
 — as distinct from the home. Nevertheless, the function 
 of the superintendent is to work side by side with the home, 
 continuously in touch with the parents and the home-life 
 of each child, letting her knowledge of these guide her in 
 her work and play with the children during Nursery School 
 hours. She will also seek to bring about in each home a 
 corresponding familiarity with the Nursery School, by 
 throwing it open to the parents and welcoming their 
 co-operation. She will seek unity of purpose and of 
 principle with them in dealing with their children. Where 
 this is achieved, the influence of the Nursery School can-i; 
 scarcely fail to be deep and abiding. ^ 
 
 One fundamental condition of true success must be 
 emphasized from the ,beginning. The numbers of children 
 that can safely anjd profitably be gathered together in a 
 single Nursery Scpool is strictly limited by the need for 
 individual care and an intimate personal relationship 
 between the children and the mother of the group. More- 
 over, it must be remembered that it is harmful for a very 
 young child, coming from a. little family circle, to be 
 introduced suddenly to a bewildering mass of children \1. 
 too large for him to feel as a community. Only when the ** 
 number of children is small also will it be possible to group 
 children of varying ages together, thus reflecting the 
 indispensable condition of family life, which secures that 
 they learn from and help one another in ways that no grown- 
 up person can rival. To make sure of this fundamental ]|*; 
 condition is perhaps the most important practical problem ^ 
 before those responsible for the founding of Nursery 
 Schools over a wide area. It will, undoubtedly, be 
 necessary to face the fact that the conditions at present 
 considered suitable for babies' classes arc in fact unsuitable, 
 and must not be repeated in our Nursery Schools ; that 
 space, staffing, and equipment must be more generously
 
 22 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 provided for. On the other hand, ways may be found of 
 grouping a number of Nursery Schools, each containing 
 thirty to forty children between two and five or six years 
 of age, so that there is some economy in the organization 
 of the whole, while each is carried on under separate 
 management and with its own rooms and equipment and 
 open space unshared. 
 
 In what ways should the Nursery School endeavour to 
 fulfil its special responsibility ? 
 
 In the first place, it must prepare and maintain the 
 right conditions for free and healthy physical develop- 
 ment. A life in the open air, space to run about, rooms 
 having a sunny aspect, and suitable arrangements for 
 rest and sleep — these are conditions of first importance. 
 It must secure when necessary, whether directly or by 
 persuasion of the parents, that every child is adequately 
 fed, hygienically clothed, and scrupulously clean. It 
 must train the children in all desirable habits, especially 
 taking time to teach them how to look after themselves 
 as regards washing, dressing, and other personal matters. 
 It must maintain an increasing watch over all symptoms 
 of ailment and disease, and cope vigorously with any 
 physical troubles from which the children may be suffering 
 when they enter the nursery. Training also in right 
 habits of speech and freedom of movement must not be 
 forgotten. 
 
 Secondly, the Nursery School must provide an environ- 
 ment in which the child shall find food for his growing 
 mind. It is not enough to meet the needs of his physical 
 nature alone, and to leave his active mind without atten- 
 tion. The years between two and six are years during 
 which the child is gathering ideas from his surroundings 
 with amazing rapidity — the memories of this period arc 
 generally tenacious — his mind is constantly occupied with 
 things present to the senses, and he receives multitudes 
 of vivid impressions, the material for later thinking. 
 Therefore it is important that he should be surrounded 
 by an environment, both physical and intellectual, which 
 shall bring to him a rich variety of ideas of a desirabk
 
 AIMS AND FUNCTIONS OF NURSERY SCHOOL 23 
 
 kind. This is particularly important when the Nursery 
 School is situated in the midst of a large city — perhaps in 
 a slum area. In such districts there is frequently a distress- 
 ing lack of the right material for the child's mind to use. 
 Narrow streets and hard pavements, ill-built houses 
 and drab and meagre home conditions, furnish poor 
 material for satisfjdng his alert and eager senses. A most 
 important aspect of Nursery School work is to meet the 
 child's need here. 
 
 We must recognize, for example, that every child needs 
 contact with living and growing things. It should, there->f. 
 fore, be considered essential that the Nursery School 
 possess a garden — not merely because it means the possi- 
 bility of being out of doors, but because it is for the child 
 an infinite source of ideas of life, growth, form, and colour, 
 and because it calls out his early sympathies and appeals 
 irresistibly to his whole nature. We are sure also that 
 when free amongst flowers and grass and under the sky, 
 even though it be too often a grey sky, the child is subject 
 to far-reaching influences that we cannot gauge, but 
 which we believe will enrich his personality for life. 
 
 Not only in the garden, but within the rooms of the 
 Nursery School, the chUd should find many things of 
 interest and beauty to love and appreciate ; things, too, 
 round which his imagination will readily play and find 
 satisfaction. As he grows and develops, his intelligence 
 will also be quickened by stories and conversation, and 
 these must be recognized as an important feature of his 
 mental environment. Simple and beautiful music will 
 afford him another store of impressions which will some 
 day bear fruit. 
 
 In these and other ways the Nursery School is called 
 upon to enlarge the experience of the children to whom 
 it belongs, and to put them in touch with ample material 
 for the growth of thought and feeling. 
 
 Again, the opportunity to obey creative impulses that 
 are strong even in early life is of no less importance. A 
 child's ideas demand almost immediate expression in talk, 
 in games, and through materials of different kinds. If
 
 24 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 allowed, he is constantly occupied in all these three ways, 
 and no aspect of his development is second in importance 
 to this. The fostering of the creative impulses means the 
 
 s^ fostering of life itself, and it is " more life and fuller" 
 ^ that is the need of every child. 
 
 It is the great responsibility and privilege of the Nursery 
 School to provide him with the means and opportunity 
 to express fully his own ideas and feelings, to help him to 
 acquire more skill as he feels the need of it, and to supply 
 an atmosphere of love and sympathy, which will help the 
 first weak impulses to gi-ow strong and purposeful. 
 
 9 Lastly, the Nursery School has much to do with the 
 ^development of social relationships. The child is at the 
 beginning of his social education, and this comes naturally 
 tlirough the daily happenings of his life. He is not yet 
 capable of altruism ; he does not yet understand the 
 demands upon the individual of a life of fellowship, but 
 his joy in activity can be guided into right channels. 
 Generous impulses can be encouraged and habits of con- 
 siderate action formed during this period, and these will 
 surely have their effective influence on that future day 
 when the real fight with selfish impulses must take place. 
 Above all, daily contact with sincere and loving personali- 
 ties brings to the child a real, if dim, perception of what is 
 ideal in character and life. 
 
 "The new Nursery School movement is largely a health 
 movement, and in all good Nursery Schools close attention 
 is rightly given throughout the day to matters of hygiene. 
 Nevertheless, our concern for hygiene must not be allowed 
 to overshadow the children. We do not want to bring 
 about a spirit of stolid seriousness in Nursery School life. 
 On the contrary, a real spirit of play should pervade the 
 whole. Careless gaiety and bubbling fun are true evidences 
 of the untrammelled spirit, and where these are usually 
 absent there is something uTong — perhaps, it is true, 
 some wrong physical condition, but perhaps also some 
 pressure from the. grown-up helpers that needs to be re- 
 mo\fd, or some lack of unselfish sympathy. The joyous 
 laughter of the children is the sure sign that all is well ;
 
 AIMS AND FUNCTIONS OF NURSERY SCHOOL 25 
 
 it means health, intelhgence, happiness, and all that is 
 good. 
 
 No mention has been made of instruction in the Nursery 
 School, because in any formal sense it has no place. No 
 reading, no writing, no number lessons should on any 
 account be required — no object-lessons as commonly known 
 should be allowed, for the time for these things has not 
 yet come. Up to the age of six the child is usually fully 
 occupied in mind and body with learning from actual 
 experience : he is busily taking in ideas from the world 
 about him, he is gaining information by means of his own 
 questionings of grown-up people — he is experimenting with 
 his limbs, his senses, his hands, in a thousand ways. 
 Nevertheless, should he show spontaneously a great desire 
 to learn to write, or read, he should not be thwarted ; yet 
 no special encouragement should be given — for the energy 
 •thus used is diverted from direct experience, of which he 
 can hardly have too much at this period. 
 
 All tests of progress should be rigidly excluded from the 
 Nursery School. Any tendency to expect a given amount 
 of proficiency in any particular direction should be zealously 
 avoided. The Nursery School has nothing to do with 
 standard results as known in the elementary school, and 
 cannot too carefully guard its privilege in this respect. 
 
 This does not mean that the child is not learning, nor 
 that progress is not looked for during this period. Im- 
 perceptible though it may seem from day to day, it 
 is unmistakably shown in healthy growth of body, increase 
 of physical control and power of sustained attention, 
 multiplying interests, and happy freedom in creative 
 activity.
 
 PART II 
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 
 By Olive A. Wheeler, D.Sc. 
 
 Lecturer in Education, Manchester University 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE INNATE BASES OF CHARACTER 
 
 THE emphasis which modern thought has laid on 
 the inheritance factor in development has made 
 it impossible for educationists to retain the view 
 that the mind of a child is originally a tabula rasa on which 
 impressions can be made as upon wax. Even at birth there 
 are marks on the tablet — the writing, it may be, of imme- 
 diate or distant ancestors. Indeed, the whole metaphor of 
 a wax tablet is fundamentally misleading. It implies that 
 the mind is passive, whereas both in conscious experience 
 and in the realm of the sub-conscious, and even of the 
 unconscious, there is always the whirr of Life. In every 
 child, no matter what its circumstances may be, there is 
 a life urge, a creative impulse towards completeness, 
 which expresses itself in many and varied ways. It is 
 true that Life succeeds through its utilization of environ- 
 ment, but it is not itself passively determined by that 
 environment. It is essentially and unceasingly creative. 
 And those parents and teachers who have to deal with 
 young children, and who desire above all else to co-operate 
 in the great natural processes of growth, would do well to 
 remember at the beginning that within every individual 
 there are at work powerful dynamic forces which can 
 neither be repressed nor ignored wdth impunity. 
 
 What are these forces ? What are the original and 
 innate tendencies present in a normal individual which 
 
 27
 
 28 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 provide the starting-points for development ? They seem 
 to be of two chief kinds. There are, first, the natural 
 appetites such as hunger, thirst, and the sexual appetite. 
 And there are the instincts, such as curiosity and pugnacity, 
 which appear to be distinguishable from the appetites in 
 that they make their appearance in response to specific 
 situations. For example, a baby seizes a spoon and pro- 
 ceeds to investigate it by looking at it, touching it, putting 
 it in his mouth, banging it on the table, and throwing it 
 on the floor ; the instinct of curiosity which is at work 
 appears in response to an external object, namely, the spoon. 
 But hunger, thirst, and the like, appear on account of 
 general conditions within the organism. Both the instincts 
 and the appetites, however, are innate ; that is, they do 
 not arise as a result of experience, but are rather the bases 
 on which development proceeds. 
 
 The Appetites 
 
 There can be no doubt that hunger, thirst, nausea, the 
 desire for sleep, and the desire for movement are most 
 important experiences to the little child. Every baby 
 needs food, sleep, and movement to ensure his bodily 
 development ; and his first dawnings of consciousness arise 
 out of these primitive appetites. He learns to know 
 Mother through the mother's breast, that is, through the 
 satisfaction of his earliest organic needs. These appetites 
 rightly interpreted are not carnal : they are not merely 
 bodily : they are Nature's ways of ensuring at one and 
 the same time the physical and mental development of 
 the individual. They are the simplest expressions of 
 the life urge which strives ever for the enrichment of 
 personality. 
 
 The first principle then that must be insisted on in the 
 organization of a Nursery School is that there should be 
 adequate facilities for the satisfaction of the natural 
 appetites of hunger, thirst, the desire for sleep, and the 
 desire for movement. It is surprising that anyone should 
 ever have expected little children to attend to other 
 occupations when the fundamentid needs of the organism
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 29 
 
 were left unsatisfied. Yet, until the passing of "The 
 Provision of Meals Act," there was no official recognition 
 of the principle that hungry children could not be 
 expected to profit by their instruction in reading, 
 writing, or arithmetic. And even now teachers have not 
 fully realized the way in which the fundamental appetites 
 direct the powers of attention in these early years. Little 
 children can easily be interested in anything that is 
 intimately associated with the satisfaction of these needs. 
 On this account the lunch in the middle of the morning 
 and the sleep in the afternoon will be important institu- 
 tions in a Nursery School. By having a meal served in 
 school the children can not only be taught how to eat 
 properly, but if the equipment is of the right kind 
 they can learn their first lessons in orderly social co- 
 operation. Some will move the tables in preparation for 
 the meal ; others will carry the little trays of mugs and 
 distribute the plates ; the older ones will pour out the milk 
 for the younger ; and afterwards some will be appointed 
 to wash up. They will thus be gaining manual dexterity - 
 and control of their bodies, they will begin to realize the 
 value of orderliness in home-life, and, most important of 
 all, they will be receiving a training in social service. At the 
 same time they will enjoy their little duties. Practical 
 experience bears out the conclusion that might have been 
 expected from psychological analyses, namely, that children 
 at this stage will be interested in anything connected with 
 the satisfaction of their primitive needs. Boredom 
 usually comes from a failure to see the purpose of the 
 occupation in which one is expected to engage. And so 
 central is the appetite of hunger that the purpose of all 
 duties connected with the provision of a meal is evident 
 even to the limited experience of the two-year-old. The 
 work of the farmer, the cook, the baker, and the milkman, 
 the phenomena of seed-time and harvest, are for the same 
 reason absorbingly interesting. And what is true of 
 hunger is true also of the other appetites that function at 
 this period. They are the centres around which ever- 
 broadening circles of interest can be drawn.
 
 30 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 There is considerable disagreement among modern 
 psychologists concerning the part played by the sexual 
 appetite in the early stages of life. Freud ^ holds that even 
 in babyhood it plays an important part. For example, 
 he affirms that at an early period, before feelings of shame 
 and disgust arise to check natural impulses, children 
 frequently stimulate their sex organs, and find pleasure in 
 so doing. He even goes so far as to regard thumb-sucking 
 as essentially a sexual process. On the other hand, 
 McDougall ^ argues with considerable force and judgment 
 that in normal cases the sexual appetite does not begin 
 to function until about the age of eight years, and even 
 then it is weak and vaguely directed. It is highly probable 
 that Freud's concentration on neurotic patients has made 
 him exaggerate the r61e of sex. The abnormal minority, 
 from the study of whom he obtains his generalizations, 
 may indeed give evidence of the precocious awakening of 
 sex, but in the case of the great majority of little children of 
 Nursery School age the appetite seems to be inoperative. 
 
 The problem of the minority will of course be a difficult 
 one for the Nursery School superintendent, and its full 
 solution will probably have to wait until psj'Chologists 
 are more certain of their ground, and until education 
 authorities realize the need for the appointment of school 
 psychologists ' as well as school doctors. The one thing 
 that the Nursery School teacher should try to do above all 
 else, is jealously to guard the normally constituted children 
 from the influence of bad example. And she should 
 remember that there is no child more deserving of her pity, 
 and more in need of sympathejt^ic treatment, than the little 
 unfortunate who in these early daj^s shows signs of 
 abnormal sexual development. * 
 
 The Instincts 
 
 In addition to the appetites, there are also other impulses 
 
 ^ Freud, " Thr^ Contributions to the Sexual Tlicory." 19 lo. 
 
 * W. McDougalT, " Social Psychology." (Supplementary chapter. 
 19 1 7 edition.) 
 
 3 The London County Council has already made such an appoint- 
 ment.
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 31 
 
 which are innate and which must be taken into account 
 in any serious attempt to understand child hfe. These ^ 
 are the instincts, the ready-made tendencies to know 
 certain objects, and to feel and react towards them in 
 certain ways. For example, a tiny child will sometimes 
 run and hide when he sees for the first time a bear or some 
 other strange animal. This impulse is not the result of 
 experience. He has had no previous experience of the 
 animal in question. But there is within him an inherited 
 tendency to notice the animal, and to feel fear in its presence, 
 and consequently to take refuge in flight. This instinct 
 obviously has a biological value ; it tends towards the 
 preservation of the individual. But what is not quite so 
 obvious is that it has a psychological significance, and that 
 the parent or teacher who treats the child as though the 
 impulse were non-existent is utterly unreasonable. It 
 is one of the springs of the child's conduct, and he will 
 never be understood so long as it is ignored. If he is to 
 be rightly and sympathetically treated, the basis of his 
 character must be sought in these inborn tendencies of 
 his nature. And the recent attempts of psychologists 
 to discover the chief instincts of man are therefore of 
 interest to all who are responsible for the upbringing of 
 young children. 
 
 According to McDougall ^ man possesses seven primary ' 
 instincts, corresponding to the seven simple and un- 
 analysable emotions experienced by him. These are : 
 
 Flight, corresponding to the emotion of fear. 
 Repulsion, ,, ,, ,, disgust. 
 
 Curiosity, 
 
 Pugnacity, 
 
 Self-assertion, 
 
 Self-abasement, 
 
 The parental instinct, 
 
 wonder. 
 
 anger. 
 
 elation. 
 
 subjection. 
 
 the tender emotion. 
 
 There are also other instincts, such as constructiveness 
 and gregariousness, which are important but not primary ; 
 and there are pseudo-instincts, such as suggestion, imitation, 
 sympathy, and play, which are distinguishable from 
 
 ^ W. McDougall, " Social^Psychology." 1908,
 
 32 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 instincts in that they are general innate tendencies without 
 distinctive specific emotions. McDougall's work has 
 certainly opened the way for further advances, and more 
 recently Drever ^ has succeeded in evolving a methodical 
 classification of the innate tendencies of man. He regards 
 nausea (McDougall's repulsion) as an appetite, but 
 otherwise gives the same list as McDougall, except that he 
 adds hunting, acquisitiveness, and courtship to the instincts, 
 and experimentation to the pseudo-instincts. 
 
 With the exception perhaps of courtship and the 
 sexual appetite, all these innate tendencies come into play 
 in the early years which a child normally spends in the 
 nursery or the Nursery School. They are the prime 
 movers of his activities. By inheritance, he starts with 
 tendencies of appetition and aversion towards certain 
 objects or of curiosity regarding others ; under varied 
 conditions he tends to fight, to assert, or to abase himself ; 
 he has natural impulses to collect all kmds of odds and 
 ends, to construct, and to experiment ; and he has innate 
 social tendencies to protect and imitate others and to find 
 pleasure in being with his fellows. These are the bases 
 of his character. It is true that he has in addition general 
 capacities, such as the capacity to have sensations, to 
 retain impressions, to imagine, to reason, and the like ; 
 but these capacities are, as it were, harnessed to his 
 appetites and instincts. He has a general capacity to 
 perceive ; but what he perceives out of all the "booming, 
 buzzing confusion " of the world around him will depend 
 on his native interests. He has a general capacity to 
 learn, but how he learns, whether by lifeless repetition 
 or by experimentation and play, should depend on his 
 natural impulses. At this stage his appetites and instincts 
 should be the directing forces of his development. 
 
 One of the chief mistakes that educators have made in 
 the past is that they have concentrated on the general 
 capacities. They have tried to teach a child to learn, 
 and to learn those things which the adult thinks valuable ; 
 and they have frequently neglected the powerful innate 
 
 ^ J. Drever, " Instinct in Man." 1917.
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 83 
 
 forces which impel the child to attend to some things to 
 the exclusion of others, and to learn by some methods in 
 preference to others. Consequently they have failed, not 
 only in their immediate object, but still more in their 
 training of the child's character. They have failed because 
 they have worked against instead of with Nature. 
 
 There are two grave dangers which the wise Nursery 
 School teacher will seek to avoid. There is first the danger 
 of over-stimulation, that is, of forestalling Nature ; and 
 it is highly probable that this is the temptation to which 
 the teacher is more likely to succumb. It must never be 
 forgotten that above all else little children need rest and 
 quiet ; they must not be over-excited, but they must be 
 allowed to go at their own pace amid calm and restful 
 surroundings. Formal work is therefore out of place in 
 the Nursery School. There will be teaching, but it should 
 be the kind of discursive teaching associated with home 
 and country life rather than the formal lessons of the 
 conventional school. 
 
 There is in the second place the danger of repressing 
 natural instincts — a danger the full significance of which 
 many parents and teachers have even yet not realized. 
 
 " What man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, 
 will give him a stone ? Or, if he ask a fish, will he give 
 him a serpent ? " 
 
 What man is there who will refuse to satisfy his son's 
 primitive appetite of hunger ? 
 
 And yet is there no man who, if his son ask a question, 
 will give him a reprimand or even a blow ? Is there no 
 man who will refuse to satisfy his son's instinct of curiosity, 
 an impulse as natural to him as the appetite of hunger ? 
 Are there, indeed, no men who actively repress such natural 
 instincts in their sons by treating them as vices ? 
 
 The instinct of curiosity, which is one of Nature's ways 
 of bringing the individual into harmony with his physical 
 and social environment, is frequently treated as a defect. 
 The child is called " Meddlesome Matty," is told the story 
 of " Peeping Tom," and is perhaps even punished for the 
 presence of a perfectly natural impulse. 
 3
 
 34 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Or, take another example : A vigorous child of two will 
 often demand in no uncertain tones to be allowed to ex- 
 periment in feeding himself. " Let me try," he says ; and 
 with persistent, though not always successful, efforts he will 
 endeavour to use his spoon and fork. But there are mothers 
 so over-careful of their furniture and the baby's clothes, 
 that they will frustrate the little one's instinct of experi- 
 mentation, even in the face of loud protests and screams. 
 They will refuse to let him teach himself the valuable lesson 
 of independence, and it may be that they will also cross his 
 temper. WTiat numbers of children have had their develop- 
 ment impeded and their tempers spoiled by their m.others' 
 over-anxiety about furniture and clothes and respectability ! 
 We are only just beginning to realize, largely through 
 the work of Freud and Jung and other psycho-analysts, how 
 great is the danger of the repression of the appetites and 
 instincts — the dynamic forces of the mind — and how 
 appalling are the disasters that result from it. It has 
 been shown beyond all doubt that a powerful impulse or 
 emotion may not cease to exist when it is denied expression. 
 It may be driven into the unconscious, and find for 
 itself surreptitious and indirect modes of expression. For 
 example, Jung quotes the case of an amateur poet, who 
 was extremely irritated on one occasion by the pealing of 
 some church bells. He described them as most unmusical, 
 whereas they were really noted for their singular purity of 
 tone. On investigation, it became apparent that the 
 real cause of the irritation was jealousy of the clerg3^man 
 who was attached to the church in question, and who 
 happened to be a rival poet. According to the usages 
 of civilized society, the jealousy had been repressed. It 
 had not been allowed to appear as such in the poet's 
 consciousness, but it had not been really conquered. And 
 the result was that it expressed itself by the indirect path 
 of unjustified criticism of the church bells that happened 
 to be closely associated with the objectionable clergyman. 
 The powerful impulse did not cease to exist when it was 
 denied expression. Rather it remained as a dark and 
 unsuspected influence, capable of modifying opinions and
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 35 
 
 conduct, and of interfering with rational judgment. It 
 is not difficult to see from such an example that the un- 
 recognized presence of powerful complexes below the 
 threshold of consciousness tends to mental and moral 
 inefficiency. In some cases it ends in grave mental dis- 
 order. 
 
 It is by the detailed study of such psycho-neuroses that 
 Freud has been able to elaborate a technique for bringing 
 the suppressed desires back into consciousness. By the 
 analysis of the patient's dreams, and by the method of 
 free association, he has frequently been able to reveal to 
 the patient what the repressed complex is, and thus to 
 put him on the high road to recovery. It is probably 
 true that Freud has exaggerated the role of sex. He has 
 practically assumed that it is the repression of this one 
 impulse that accounts for the conditions of all the neurotic 
 patients whom he has treated. But later workers, using 
 similar methods, have shown that the repression of other 
 powerful impulses tends to mental disorder. Adler has 
 tried to show that the distorted working of the two great 
 instincts of self-assertion and self-abasement are the 
 sources of all neuroses. Dr. Boris Sidis, on the other 
 hand, regards fear as the great cause of disorder ; and his 
 view has received some support from recent investigations 
 of shell-shock cases. For example, a soldier suffering 
 from shell-shock has been known to imagine that he is 
 paralysed and cannot walk. And by psycho-analysis it 
 has been revealed that the symptom is due to an un- 
 conscious desire for a disability which by removing him 
 from the front-line would bring relief from an intolerabe 
 strain. All his life he has been taught to despise cowards, 
 and to suppress primitive manifestations of fear. And 
 in the Army he is surrounded by a public opinion which 
 ranks devotion to duty higher than self-preservation. 
 There are then within him two opposing sets of tendencies — 
 the one urging him to forget himself in his devotion to 
 duty, and the other — the more primitive — tending to 
 self-preservation. He is not strong enough to face the 
 issue and win his way to a real solution ; and so in order
 
 36 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 to avoid the full force of the conflict he consistently 
 represses the manifestations of fear in accordance with 
 public opinion and refuses to recognize its existence. 
 But the primitive forces of self-preservation do not on 
 that account cease to exist. They are driven to find 
 indirect expression in the delusion that he is paralysed. 
 
 The truth seems to be that the repression of any innate 
 impulse which is suffiiciently powerful may be the source 
 of mental and moral inefficiency. Is there then no place 
 for discipline in the Nursery School ? Must the adult 
 exercise no control over the child's activities ? To assume 
 such a position is to misunderstand the contribution of 
 Freudian psychology. In every individual there will be 
 conflicts between primitive life impulses and the traditions 
 of the society of which he is a member. No one has 
 shown more clearly than Trotter ^ how great is the repres- 
 sive influence of herd opinion, and how inevitable are 
 conflicts to every child born into a civilized society. Con- 
 sequently there must be discipline, but the discipline must 
 be of such a nature as to lead the child to face and solve 
 his conflicts. -*It must not be merely negative. A con- 
 tinual "Thou shalt not " is certain to lead to disaster 
 in one of two directions. If the individual is sufficiently 
 vigorous it will lead to an explosion in which the pent-up 
 forces break through the artificial barriers and express 
 themselves, it ma}/ be, in illegitimate ways. On the other 
 hand, if the organism is weakly, repression will lead to 
 mental ill-health. An unsolved conflict is a point of weak- 
 ness in the mind. Actual disaster may not come, or may 
 only come in adult life when the individual suffers some 
 unusual strain, but there will inevitably result some degree 
 of mental and moral instability and inefficiency. 
 
 Discipline is needed, but to be of use it must be sym- 
 pathetic and positive. A child is not helped to conquer 
 an unreasonable fear by unsympathetic treatment. Indeed 
 mere reprimand favours repression, and tends to drive the 
 emotional excitement below the threshold of consciousness, 
 where it may attach itself to any object. And the last 
 
 ^ Trotter, " The Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War." 1916.
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 37 
 
 state may be worse than the first ; for instead of fear of one 
 object there may result fearfulness in general. A skilful 
 parent or teacher will prevent this by gradually leading 
 the child to see that the fear is unreasonable. His aim"**^ 
 will not be the suppression of the manifestations of fear 
 but rather the solution of the conflict.^ And the discipline 
 adapted to this end must inevitably be positive and deter- 
 mined by the child's interests. The energy exhibited in 
 the appetites and instincts must not be repressed but must 
 be re-directed. For example, we are all familiar with the 
 child who is said to be continually getting into mischief. 
 He hides things that are needed, he breaks things, he 
 dirties himself by playing with coal, he floods the bath- 
 room by playing with water, and he is always doing the 
 wrong thing. Obviously the situation is not met by any 
 number of Don'ts. He must play, for it is one of the 
 fundamental impulses of his nature. And he must be 
 allowed to experiment. The one thing to do is to direct 
 into legitimate and, if possible, useful channels the mental 
 energy exhibited in the so-called misbehaviour. How 
 many times have we not seen the mischievous four-year- 
 old perfectly contented when he is allowed to co-operate 
 in the work of the home or the garden ? Let him shell 
 the peas, and top and tail the gooseberries for the tart, 
 cut out the scones with the cutter, and water the garden, 
 and he will not only be kept out of mischief, but the very 
 energy that would have been anti-social will be deflected 
 into socially useful channels. When he is older, let him 
 have opportunities for group games, let him have a strip 
 of garden to cultivate, pets to look after, and a carpenter's 
 bench on which to work, and let him be encouraged to 
 make things that are needed in the home, and the chances 
 are that his energy will find its outlet in these legitimate 
 ways. The aim of the parent and teacher should always^ 
 be " not to destroy but to fulfil." Re-direction and not 
 repression of the instincts is the key to the discipline of i 
 children. '
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE ACQUIRED BASES OF CHARACTER 
 
 THE instincts of man are innate and powerful, but 
 they are not fixed. They are inherited tendencies 
 to know certain objects, to be affected by them, and 
 to react towards them in certain ways ; and quite early 
 they naturally become modified both on their cognitive 
 and motor sides. By association new objects and ideas 
 become capable of exciting them ; and new trains of action 
 and thought take the place of the earlier reactions. For 
 example, the instinct of curiosity is at first only aroused 
 by objects that can be sensed, and that are closely related 
 to the individual's organic needs ; and it manifests itself 
 by their actual manipulation. But the same impulse is 
 at work in the scholar who is seeking to understand an 
 author, in the scientist who is endeavouring to wrest from 
 Nature one of her secrets, and in the philosopher who is 
 striving to gain a satisfactory interpretation of the universe. 
 Images and abstract ideas now excite it, and the mere 
 handling of material objects is no longer its chief expression. 
 The instinct has been intellectualized. It has been pro- 
 foundly modified on the cognitive side, and its direction 
 has been changed in accordance with the life history of 
 the individual in whom it functions. 
 
 In order to understand little children it is therefore not 
 only necessary to discover what are their appetites and 
 instincts, but it is also necessary to know what modi- 
 fications might be expected to occur through experience. 
 An instinct involves knowing some object, being aff'ected 
 
 38
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 39 
 
 by it, and proceeding in some course in regard to it ; and 
 development certainly takes place in each of these three 
 distinguishable aspects of experience, namely, in cognition, 
 feeling, and conation. These can be considered separately 
 without misconception, provided that it be remembered 
 that the individual is one, and that consequently develop- 
 ment in one direction interacts with that in others. 
 
 The Development of Cognition 
 
 It is little more than a truism to say that at the early 
 stages a child's interests lie altogether in the sphere of 
 sensation. The only objects to which he attends are 
 things that can be seen, heard, tasted, smelled, and handled. 
 At this stage it is perceived objects that excite the instincts 
 with which he is endowed. If he feels fear, it is caused by 
 such things as furry animals, loud noises, and large eyes — 
 that is, by things actually present to the senses. Even 
 his play is at first on the perceptual level. He finds 
 pleasure in shaking a rattle or throwing a ball, in banging 
 a spoon on the table, or dropping nuts into a box. His 
 play at this stage has not that element of pretence which 
 is afterwards its most notable feature. Consequently 
 this is the period specially adapted for sense-training. 
 
 Whatever differences of opinion there may be concerning 
 the value of the apparatus devised by Dr. Montessori for 
 sense-training, there can be no doubt that she has succeeded, 
 where others before her have failed, in making the educa- 
 tional world realize the advisability of beginning at the 
 beginning. Sense experience comes first, and if the earliest 
 avenues to the mind are not educated the whole cognitive 
 life will obviously suffer. It is therefore imperative that 
 due opportunities should be given for the exercise of the 
 senses in this early period. 
 
 Dr. Montessori's contribution on this point is funda- 
 mental, but she seems to have- ignored one psychological 
 fact with regard to the nature of the development of later 
 cognitive processes. She has realized that by learning 
 to use his senses with discrimination a child becomes
 
 40 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 capable of comparing and judging — that is, he becomes 
 capable of other cognitive processes than mere perception. 
 Indeed in her view the true aim of sense training ' ' is not 
 that the child shall know colours, forms, and the different 
 qualities of objects, but that he shall refine his senses 
 through an exercise of attention, of comparison, and of 
 judgment." And she has allowed for this development, 
 this transition from the concrete to the abstract, or from 
 sensations to concepts. But her system seems to make no 
 adequate provision for another development that takes 
 place. The perception of objects not only invokes com- 
 parison and abstraction, but it essentially involves reten- 
 tiveness. To recognize an object implies a power of 
 retaining earlier impressions as well as a power of receiving 
 impressions. And a child soon becomes capable of repro- 
 ducing earlier percepts without the aid of sensations. 
 Indeed his general capacity of retentiveness gradually 
 becomes increasinglj' independent of present sense ex- 
 periences. He recalls the past, he reproduces former 
 percepts. Subsequently he begins to combine these 
 memory images into new wholes, and imagination begins 
 - to play its part in his life. Images will now excite the 
 instincts. If he fears, he is as likely to be afraid of ghosts 
 and bogies and other objects created by his imagination 
 as he is of objects present to the senses. Similarly his 
 power of imitation is extended to include the imitation 
 of imagined as well as perceived objects, and he begins to 
 be able to dramatize. For example, he may pretend to 
 be a giraffe or a polar bear and act accordingly, notwith- 
 standing the fact that he has never seen the animal in' 
 question. 
 
 At first this new power of imagination is indiscriminate, 
 and it therefore obviously needs education. It is of 
 course true that the images which a child possesses may to 
 some extent be determined by controlling his sense 
 experiences. For example, if he is brought up in a suitable 
 environment, he will not be likely to have as his favourite 
 game "playing at being drunk." In general, if he is 
 surrounded by Ij^autiful objects, his imagination will on
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 41 
 
 the whole be at work on healthier material. But it does 
 not follow that the problem of its training will have been 
 completely solved ; for in the early stages there are at least 
 two directions in which its immaturity plainly manifests 
 itself. In the first place there is a failure to discriminate 
 between what is perceived and what is imagined. For 
 example, a little boy of three who was staying at the sea- 
 side related a long story in which he figured as the rescuer 
 of a drowning lady. His mother tried in vain to force 
 him to acknowledge that it was not true, but he continued 
 to afhrm that it had actually happened, and he invented 
 more and more circumstantial evidence in support of his 
 statement. Probably owing to a misunderstanding of 
 the cause which gave rise to the incident, the mother was 
 considerably disturbed, and eventually punished the child 
 for telling "such a story." The truth is that little 
 children with active imaginations frequently fail to dis- 
 tinguish between what has actually happened and what 
 has only been imagined. There is no intent to deceive, 
 but they have not learned the distinguishing marks of 
 images as contrasted with percepts. Their affirmations 
 that certain impossible adventures have actually happened 
 should therefore not be treated over-seriously. The adult 
 should enter into the story and implicitly assume that it 
 is fun, not by saying so, but perhaps by the addition of 
 amusing details. What is needed is not punishment, 
 but gradual training of the imagination. 
 
 The tiny child has then to learn to distinguish between 
 what is perceived and what is imagined ; and he also 
 has to learn to control the imaginative processes them- 
 selves. At first his imagination is wild. It submits 
 to no canons ; it obeys no rules ; it is not guided by a 
 dominant purpose. It is like the spontaneous imagination 
 that frequently seems to be at work in an adult's dreams, 
 and is not controlled and purposive as is the creative 
 imagination of the artist. But largely through play, 
 and sometimes through constructive work in drawing, 
 modelling, story-teUing, and dramatization, and through 
 improvisation in rhythmic movement and music, it can
 
 42 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 gradually be brought under control and into closer relation- 
 ship with reality. It seems as though Nature has made, 
 special provision for the training of the imagination by 
 the presence in the mind of the innate impulse to play. 
 This powerful pseudo-instinct is not only one of the means 
 by which a child learns to gain control of his body and his 
 powers of perception and movement, but it also provides 
 the best possible early discipline for the imagination. 
 Through his constructive plays he learns to distinguish 
 between pretence and actuality, and he is led to see the 
 wisdom of suppressing that which contributes nothing 
 to the main purpose. Thus his general capacity to imagine 
 gradually becomes more controlled and more truly creative 
 through the directing influence of one of his most powerful 
 innate impulses. 
 
 Other powers of cognition also develop in the period 
 of life between the ages of two and six years. In learning 
 to perceive with discrimination a child is continually being 
 driven to compare and judge. He is at the same time 
 learning to speak and to enter into communication with 
 those around him, and in this way he is frequently led to 
 direct his attention to a common element in a group of 
 objects. Thus concepts and explicit judgments become 
 possible. Very soon he gains a number of fundamental 
 abstract ideas of position, of size, of shape, of number, and 
 of time. He knows the meaning of, and can use correctly, 
 such words as up, down, by, little, round, square, one, 
 two, three, yesterday, soon, and so on. The use of words 
 obviously aids the comparison and abstraction necessary 
 for the formation of the concepts. The mother teaching 
 her baby to speak cannot therefore be too exact in her 
 own use of words, nor too careful in testing whether the 
 idea is clear in the mind of the child who uses the corres- 
 ponding term. Exact nomenclature certainly makes for 
 clearness of ideas and lays the foundations for good reason- 
 ing. Language teaching is therefore important in this 
 formative period ; but it must always be remembered 
 that it is possible for language to outrun thought. For 
 example, the learning by heart of creeds and passages of
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 43 
 
 the Bible, in which a child shows no interest and which 
 he does not understand, will only serve to clutter up his 
 mind — no matter how valuable these may be in themselves. 
 In many cases a habit of substituting words for thought 
 has thus been formed, and eventually language has 
 become not so much an aid to thought as a means of 
 avoiding it. Language is indeed a good servant but a 
 bad master. 
 
 When a child can observe, compare, and judge it is but 
 a short step to reasoning, that is, to attempts to connect 
 judgments. And a normal child's mastery of logic is almost 
 surprising. Even before he is five years of age he is most 
 acute in the deductions that he draws from given premises. 
 And usually when he is only about three or four years of 
 age he has an extraordinary feeling after casual connexion. 
 He continually asks "Why? " And he is not satisfied 
 with the next link in the chain of casual connexion. He 
 always wishes to push the enquiry one step further back. 
 " Why is the coal-box black ? " asked a little boy of four. 
 " Oh, the ma,n probably made it black so that the marks 
 from the coal would not show," was the reply which he 
 received. "Why is the coal black?" was inevitably 
 the next question. 
 
 At first no convention nor authority is strong enough to 
 bar the way to this free spirit of enquiry. It is true, 
 however, that this stage soon passes, but while it lasts 
 it will present one of the greatest opportunities to the 
 Nursery School teacher. It is an opportunity which has 
 usually been wasted in the past. The majority of children 
 have been surrounded by adults who were either bored 
 or merely amused by the questions, and who did not 
 realize their full significance. The truth is that the instinct 
 of curiosity which prompted the child at an earlier stage 
 to investigate actual objects is now harnessed to the service 
 of the new power of reasoning and is securing opportunities 
 for its exercise. The questionings must therefore not be 
 repressed, but as far as possible they must be encouraged if 
 the child's cognitive development is to be complete.
 
 44 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 The Development of Conation 
 
 Man's primary instincts not only develop on the cognitive 
 side, but they are also subject to profound modifications 
 on the motor or conative side. The primitive reactions 
 are soon superseded, but the instincts do not on that 
 account cease to direct the individual's activity. They 
 come into play in some form or other whenever he expe- 
 riences the primary emotions. For example, the emotion 
 of anger expresses itself at first in indiscriminate hitting 
 out in all directions ; but later the blows are definitely 
 directed to the destruction or injury of the object which 
 excites the instinct. At a still later stage words may be 
 found to be more economical to the individual who is 
 angry and more in accordance with the usages of civilized 
 society, and they may therefore be substituted for blows. 
 
 Acquired bases of character thus come in and help to 
 direct the individual's conduct. Actions which were 
 not innate may by repetition become automatic, that is, 
 habits may be formed ; and these as well as the instincts 
 play a part in the determining conduct at the later stages. 
 Very naturally the habits which are likely to be permanent 
 and effective are those which are grafted on innate impulses, 
 and not those which are artificially imposed on the 
 individual by outside authority. By repetition a child 
 naturally acquires the habit of making certain speech 
 sounds. This is not contrary to Nature, but is rather a 
 fulfilment of her promise ; for every normal child has a 
 natural impulse to speak and to imitate his fellows. He is 
 therefore led to make repeated efforts to do this desirable 
 thing, and his patience is almost inexhaustible. Habits 
 of personal cleanliness, of good table manners, of correct 
 speech, of politeness, of consideration for others, and of 
 truthfulness can all be built on natural impulses. But to 
 attempt to make children form a habit of sitting still, as 
 is done even yet in some infant schools, is to go contrary 
 to Nature. Such a habit will only be temporarily main- 
 tained by undue external authority and at great strain 
 both to the teacher and to the taught.
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 45 
 
 With the development of the cognitive side of experience 
 other kinds of action also become possible. When a child 
 can form images and concepts, some of his actions will be 
 voluntary and not automatic. They will be preceded by 
 an image or idea of the end to be attained through the 
 action. For example, a child may watch his mother 
 turn a key in a lock and may imitate her, turning the 
 key backwards and forwards without any ulterior end in 
 view. This would be an instinctive act of imitation and 
 would take place almost automatically. But on the other 
 hand he may know that within a locked cupboard are some 
 chocolates, and he may turn the key with the intention of 
 opening the cupboard and getting them. In this case 
 his action would be voluntary ; it would be guided through- 
 out by the image of the chocolates. 
 
 A further complication may be introduced by the 
 presentation in consciousness of two alternative ends. 
 The child may realize that if he gains the prize he will 
 also offend his mother ; and in this case, before any action 
 takes place, he will have to choose between the two ends — 
 the chocolates, and his mother's approval. His choice will 
 of course depend on the value which he attaches to these 
 ends. If his love for his mother is sufficiently strong, 
 he will decide that it is not worth while to gain the choco- 
 lates. On the other hand if his love is weak, he will not 
 be able to use it to control his appetite. The process of 
 evaluation is then influenced by the power and organization 
 of his feelings. So interwoven are the three aspects of 
 experience, that it is impossible to understand the highest 
 kinds of action without considering the development 
 of the emotional life. 
 
 The Development of Feeling 
 
 Acting as a link between the processes of cognition and 
 conation which are involved in the primary instincts are 
 the primary emotions. Every child inherits tendencies 
 to feel fear, disgust, wonder, anger, elation, subjection, 
 and the tender emotion. And gradually the range of
 
 46 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 emotional experience increases as these fuse to yield 
 secondary and tertiary emotions. A little child of two is 
 capable of feeling fear, and subjection, and wonder, 
 separately ; but he does not appear to be capable of 
 experiencing the compound emotion of awe which results 
 from the fusing of these three. If he enters a cathedral, 
 or meets the King or the Pope, his emotional response 
 to the situation is simple compared with the subtle response 
 of the adult. If his own father has great ability, personal 
 magnetism, and European fame he will not feel reverence 
 towards him. He may experience the tender emotion, 
 and perhaps subjection on occasions, and wonder at some 
 of his father's actions, but he will not feel the emotion that 
 arises from compounding the tender emotion, sub- 
 jection, and wonder. His emotional experiences are crude 
 and undifferentiated. " Which colour do you like best ? " 
 asked a teacher of a small boy in the kindergarten of a 
 great public school. " I like blue best, and I like sausages 
 best to eat," was his reply. Subtle and carefully differ- 
 tiated emotional responses to the environment only 
 gradually become possible, and indeed the most subtle of 
 all delay their appearances until adolescence. 
 
 Although the range of emotional response is thus limited 
 in this early period, a most important development of the 
 emotional life is taking place in another direction. Groups 
 of emotions are beginning to be associated around organiz- 
 ing ideas, that is, sentiments as distinguished from emotions 
 are beginning to be formed. For example, a little child 
 learns to love his mother. This means something more 
 than that he occasionally experiences the tender emotion 
 when she is present to his senses. It means that he has 
 a permanent disposition to feel a whole group of emotions 
 under various circumstances. If he knows that his mother 
 is in danger, he feels fear ; if she is suffering, he grieves ; 
 if she is ill-treated, he is angry with those responsible ; 
 and if she is honoured, he rejoices. A whole group of 
 emotions — fear, grief, anger, joy, and the tender emotion — 
 are thus organized around the idea of his mother. Such 
 an organization enables the individual to control momen-
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 47 
 
 tary appetites and impulses. At first, when a child is 
 not allowed by his mother to have some desired object, 
 the emotion of anger which he experiences seeks immediate 
 outlet in blows. But later, when the sentiment of love 
 for his mother is less rudimentary, he is able to control 
 the momentary impulse by means of the permanent 
 organization. 
 
 The sentiments formed during Nursery School age 
 tend of course to be concrete. The kind of abstract 
 sentiments which influence the conduct of some adults, 
 such as hate of oppression, love of justice, of truth, of power, 
 or of freedom will not appear at this stage. The develop- 
 ment of the cognitive side of experience is insufficient. 
 But although the little child cannot yet hate oppression 
 in the abstract, he can, and does, hate the bully. He may 
 not love humanity in the abstract, but he soon begins to 
 love individuals — his mother, himself, his teacher, and his 
 little friends ; and by means of such concrete sentiments 
 he learns the first lesson in controlling his wayward - 
 emotions. He ceases to be the slave of every passing 
 impulse, and some degree of consistency is thus gradually 
 introduced into his character and conduct. " In the 
 growth of character," says Shand, " the sentiments tend,v 
 with increasing success, to control the emotions and 
 impulses ; in the decline of character the emotions and 
 impulses tend, with increasing power, to achieve their 
 freedom."^ The formation of simple concrete sentimerttSj^ 
 is thus the most fundamental development of character 
 that takes place normally during Nursery School age, 
 and it is consequently all important that the right kind of 
 sentiments should be formed. 
 
 In a strong and mature character the whole emotional 
 life is usually organized under the control of one dominating 
 sentiment, which is thus the means of bringing unity and 
 purpose into all the thoughts and actions of the individual. 
 And the particular master sentiment which co-ordinates all 
 the other tendencies will depend partly on the kind of senti- 
 ments which have been emphasized in early childhood. 
 ^ Shand, " The Foundations of Character." 1914.
 
 48 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 It is indeed fortunately true that there is always the 
 possibility of the appearance at later stages of a new 
 powerful emotion or group of emotions, which will disturb 
 the balance between the sentiments. Many a girl who has 
 been brought up to consider herself as all important has 
 become a self-sacrificing mother through the appearance 
 of new emotions which were sufficiently powerful to bring 
 down the sentiment of love of self from its place of honour. 
 But this type of conversion does not always take place ; 
 and it is not surprising that our competitive educational 
 system, with its prizes and examinations, has turned out 
 numbers of individuals in whom the master sentiment is 
 love of success or of power. 
 
 What sentiment then ought to be the master sentiment 
 in maturity ? It is not likely that anyone will seriously 
 suggest that it should be love of material prosperity. And 
 yet the way is often thoughtlessly prepared in childhood 
 for the later domination of this sentiment. Many little 
 children are consistently trained to_control^heir ^thoughts 
 an d conduc t by love of material rewards ; and it is there- 
 fore not surprismgThat love of money and aU that it 
 implies should become the master sentiment in adult 
 life. The sentiment which usually seems to have dominated 
 the highest known types of human character is that of 
 self-respect, with its correlative of love of others, or, it may 
 be, of love of God ; and even at Nursery School age prepara- 
 tion can be made for its advent in maturity. 
 
 What is needed at this stage is not so much dogmatic 
 religious and moral instruction as encouragement and 
 opportunity for the right kinds of feeling and action. And 
 consequently the school must be run from the beginning on 
 co-operative and not competitive lines. Co-operation 
 between children of different ages is most valuable, and on 
 this account it is extremely doubtful whether the Nursery 
 School should be divided into graded classes as is cus- 
 tomary in primary and secondary schools. Little 
 children of six years of age are most willing to help with 
 the babies, and they will display extraordinary patience 
 and powers of sacrifice if they are given some measure of
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 49 
 
 responsibility. Our public schools have realized the 
 value of co-operation between boys and girls of different 
 ages, and many of their boarding-houses are run on this 
 principle. But, for the sake of ease in the organization of 
 the formal work, we are usually tempted to divide children 
 into sections and stages in such a way that a large measure 
 of social co-operation becomes difficult. In the Nursery 
 School however there is no need for formal work, and 
 consequently there is no justification for forming artificial 
 groups. The natural organization is that of the home, 
 where children of different ages co-operate, and where 
 consequently a more adequate training in character and 
 the responsibilities of community life can be given.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 
 
 THE main developments that take place in cognition, 
 conation, and feeling during Nursery School age 
 have now been outlined, and there remains to be 
 considered the development that occurs in self-conscious- 
 ness within the same period. The emotions, cognitions, and 
 conations are the experiences of one individual, but this 
 individual only gradually attains to consciousness of self. 
 Of course even before Nursery School age there arises 
 consciousness of the bodily self. By exploration and 
 through pains and pleasures the baby soon begins to 
 distinguish between his own body, in which are localized 
 organic sensations, and other bodies ; but there is at first 
 no real sense of personality. Reflective self-consciousness 
 is essentially a social product, and arises through the 
 directing influence of the social instincts, namely, self- 
 assertion and self-abasement, gregariousness, sympathy, 
 suggestion, imitation, and play. 
 
 From the first the child is one among others, and his 
 sense of his own personality develops through interaction 
 with those around him. For example, the use of imitation 
 is one of the outstanding features of his life during Nursery 
 School age ; and through it he not only acquires the 
 language and the customs of his people, but he also gains a 
 realization of himself as an agent, that is, as able to do things 
 when he wishes. It is his effort to imitate those around 
 him that first draws his attention to his own inner experi- 
 ences ; and his adoption of a language sanctioned by custom 
 
 50
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 51 
 
 helps him to analyse those experiences. He not only 
 knows objects — milk, his ball, cows, horses, Mother and 
 Daddy — but after a period of persistent imitation he learns 
 to attend to his own subjective experiences, and he knows 
 that he likes milk, that he wants to throw the ball, that he 
 is going to see the cows, that he is playing horses, or that 
 he is being nursed by Mother. 
 
 This knowledge of self is in turn used to interpret those 
 around him. He begins to reahze that they also have 
 pains and desires, likes and dislikes, and that they try to 
 do things ; and thus, through an increasing understanding 
 of himself, he acquires an increasing insight into their 
 behaviour. The knowledge of self and the understanding 
 of others thus grow together, each reacting on the other. 
 When his conception of himself is crude, his interpretations 
 of others are also indiscriminate. For example, he passes 
 through a period in which he does not distinguish clearly 
 between men, animals, and inanimate objects. They are 
 all persons with pains and desires and responsibilities, like 
 those which he dimly recognizes within himself. When 
 his milk is too hot he describes it as " naughty," just as 
 he would a person who does not please him. It is only 
 gradually that he learns to distinguish between persons, 
 animals, and inanimate objects, and the comparison necessi- 
 tated for this distinction clarifies his idea of himself.^ 
 Indeed, the developed conception of self is essentially an- 
 idea of a self in relation to other selves and to society in 
 general. This is the reason why true self-respect is not in 
 opposition to, but is the correlative of, the sentiment of 
 love for others. 
 
 During Nursery School age a child's knowledge of 
 himself certainly increases, but it must never be forgotten 
 that at the best it is very slight. So many impulses come 
 from the unconscious that it is easy for him to be deceived 
 in regard to the motives which prompted him to the per- 
 formance of a certain action. If he is pressed to say why 
 he did such and such a thing, he may make up a reason, 
 
 ^ This development is dealt with in detail in my book, " Anthro- 
 pomorphism and Science," pp. 112-41.
 
 52 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 not with any intent to deceive, but because the whole 
 incident is unintelligible to him. The truth is that human 
 thought and conduct is much more impulsive and illogical 
 than has usually been supposed, and self-consciousness 
 often represents most inadequately the workings of 
 this impulsive force. Self-deception is therefore easy 
 even to the trained adult. Psycho-analytic methods 
 and especially dream analyses have frequently revealed 
 the fact that it is possible for primitive impulses to deter- 
 mine the conduct of an individual when he is totally 
 unaware of their existence.^ The suggestion has therefore 
 been made, notably by Mr. Homer Lane and Mr. Kenneth 
 Richmond, that teachers should use psycho-analytic 
 methods in school, so that children should really learn to 
 know themselves. This seems to be a dangerous proposi- 
 tion, for an analysis by Freudian methods is as serious to 
 the mind of an individual as is an operation to the body. 
 It should therefore only be undertaken when it is necessary, 
 and then by analysts who have received specialized training 
 in medicine and psychology. 
 
 What the Nursery School teacher can do is to prevent 
 unnatural repression of primitive impulses. She can 
 avoid the over-repressive discipline which drives them 
 below the threshold of consciousness, where they tend to 
 organize themselves into a sort of secondary anti-social 
 personality. She can know the children under her care 
 individually, and be so sympathetic towards them that 
 they are not afraid to ask her questions on any subject 
 about which they happen to be curious, notwithstanding 
 the fact that the subject raised is tabooed by convention. 
 The one thing she must not do is to encourage premature 
 morality. At first she must rather prevent the full pressure 
 of convention from falling too heavily and too suddenly 
 on the sensitive, developing personality. The morahty 
 of a civilized community must not be imposed on the 
 child by the wholesale suppression of his natural instincts. 
 Rather he must gradually grow into it by facing and 
 solving innumerable conflicts. If this course is followed, 
 
 1 Vide case quoted Chap. I, p. 34. 
 
 I
 
 THE MIND OF THE CHILD 53 
 
 there will be less danger in adult life of a secondary im- 
 moral personality lurking in the subterranean passages 
 of the unconscious, and consequently there will be greater 
 vigour, purposiveness, and consistency of conduct. In 
 this way, and in this way alone, will there be complete 
 harmony between consciousness and the vast resources 
 of the unconscious.
 
 PART III 
 
 EDUCATION OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL CHILD 
 
 By Margaret E. Eggar 
 
 Lecturer in Education, Manchester University 
 
 AND Grace Owen, B.Sc. 
 
 Principal of the Mather Training College, Manchester 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE ENVIRONMENT 
 
 IN these momentous days of reconstruction, when 
 thinking men and women are working towards the 
 ideal of a better social order, founded on fellowship 
 and brotherhood, the nation turns to its children, realizing 
 that the beginning of brotherly love must be in the homes 
 and in the Nursery Schools. The Nursery School has an 
 important function to fulfil, and should become one of 
 the great humanizing forces in the country. 
 
 Traditionalism has laid its iron hand both on elementary 
 and on secondary education. In the establishment of 
 Nursery Schools the nation has a unique opportunity 
 to break through harmful tradition and to make a fresh 
 start, by bringing the education of its children into 
 harmony with a living and developing philosophy of life. 
 
 The elementary school has laid too much stress on the 
 value of information, the great public schools on preserving 
 a tradition, the newer secondary schools on preparing for 
 examinations. Perhaps the Nursery School is to play an 
 important part in educating the public to regard the school 
 as a place where the children live a life that is full -of • 
 meaning and value to them, here and now^ 
 
 55
 
 56 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Religious Influences 
 
 How to approach the greatest of all life's experiences 
 with little children is a problem that exercises the mind 
 and heart of every thoughtful parent, as much harm can 
 be done by the well-meaning adult who cannot distinguish 
 between outward form and inward spirit. 
 
 For its highest and best expression, human life requires 
 an atmosphere of love and trust ; our Nursery Schools 
 must therefore radiate love and trust. " Where Love 
 is, God is," says Tolstoi, To the happily nurtured little 
 child God is no dread Person. He is accepted quite 
 naturally and simply as an unseen Helper. A small boy 
 of four years loved to work in his garden. When asked 
 one day if he had been alone, he answered, " Oh, no ! 
 God was working with me." 
 
 The Nursery School will need the short morning service 
 of praise and thanksgiving — if only that the little com- 
 munity may realize, however dimly, that each and all are 
 members one of the other. Little direct teaching will be 
 wise or necessary ; but the devotional attitude, the reverent 
 silences, the simple prayers and hymns that are in close 
 relation to childish experience, will afford opportunity for 
 the children to give expression to their religious sense. 
 For the rest, the whole life of the Nursery School will 
 contribute that atmosphere of joy and happiness that is a 
 sure and abiding sign that the spirit of Love is brooding 
 over the children, of whom it is said, " Of such is the 
 Kingdom of Heaven." 
 
 Nursery School Routine 
 
 And how will the five or six hours of the day be spent 
 in the Nursery School ? What childish interests will find 
 satisfaction here ? Will a scheme of those interests be a 
 help or the reverse ? Will a time-table be necessary ? 
 These are some of the questions for which satisfactory 
 answers must be found. 
 
 Every one recognizes the value and importance of routine
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 57 
 
 in nursery life. It tends to create that condition of serenity, 
 order, and peace that is of such inestimable worth in the 
 early years of life. In every child's day there should be 
 certain fixed points, and in the Nursery School these are 
 the times for meals and for sleep ; the rest of the day should 
 be free from the tyranny of the clock. 
 
 Probably the Nursery School will open a little before 
 nine o'clock to allow older brothers or sisters to leave the 
 little ones on their way to school. After the removal of 
 outdoor clothes, and attention to personal hygiene, there 
 are pets to tend, flowers to arrange, and certain domestic 
 duties to perform. Sweeping and dusting should hardly 
 be necessary at this time in the morning in a well-kept 
 Nursery School. The morning gathering will follow. 
 The children will bring their little chairs to form a circle, 
 and before the simple service of praise and thanksgiving 
 begins, an opportunity will be given for the children to 
 suggest any special subjects for prayer or praise. 
 
 The service ended, the attendance is recorded, an exercise . 
 much looked forward to by little children, perhaps because 
 the calling over the names every m.orning helps each child 
 to feel his membership, for every one is remembered, even 
 the absent ones. The children's birthdays may be cele- 
 brated by the singing of a special song in honour of the 
 birthday king or queen. A Morning Talk will follow. 
 This can be one of the happiest periods of the day ; if it is 
 so, it is a sure proof that the right spirit of friendliness 
 reigns. 
 
 There will be the courteous greeting songs, when the 
 children will wish each other good morning and extend a 
 welcome to any newcomer. And there will be the fun of either 
 hearing or telling what has happened since the day before. 
 In an atmosphere of sympathy and understanding there 
 will be much to share. This is the time for introducing 
 any fresh topic of living interest. Formal conversation 
 lessons or picture talks will have no place. A picture — 
 carefully selected — may often be shown for the purpose 
 of crystallizing happy impressions or counteracting harmful 
 ones, but it should not be subjected to formal analysis
 
 58 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 through questions and answers. Little children rarely 
 want to discuss a picture until they have lived with it for 
 a time. Froebel's " Mother-Play Book," in spite of its 
 quaintness, is full of suggestions for the wise use of pictures 
 with little children. 
 
 The morning circle will be followed by a period of free 
 play with toys, or possibly the Montessori apparatus, 
 indoors or in the garden, until the mid-morning break 
 for milk and biscuits. The preparation for this, the 
 social meal, and the clearing away and washing up 
 afterwards, are all valuable features in the daily 
 routine. In some Nursery Schools the children stay 
 for dinner, and it would be well if facilities for this 
 were provided in every case. The opportunity it gives 
 for social service and social intercourse is too valuable 
 to be lost, though naturally the meal would only be for 
 those whose parents wished them to stay. The excite- 
 ment and bustle of preparing to go to school twice in a day 
 may easily be too great a strain for little children, and the 
 longer period under one control prove a wiser course to 
 follow. 
 
 These practical activities will take up a good deal of time, 
 but every child will not be engaged in this work every day ; 
 it must be remembered, however, that young children 
 need constant practice while habits are being formed. 
 
 The last period of the morning will be devoted to games 
 and some quiet activity, as for example a story, painting, 
 drawing, modelling, or play with toys. In the afternoon, 
 after sleep, there will be another short period for free 
 play before the day ends with its good-bye song. 
 
 This general sketch of a day's work and play leads to 
 the consideration of the advisability of emphasizing some 
 sequence of interests. Any rigid scheme or plan for the 
 day or week is foreign to the whole spirit of childhood. 
 The irresponsible gaiety of the happy child must on no 
 account be repressed by any hard-and-fast system ; 
 elasticity, adaptability, and a readiness to enter whole- 
 heartedly into the fun of the passing moment should 
 characterize the grown-up playfellows of little children,
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 59 
 
 And yet some childish interests are so general that to ignore 
 them would be to let the children miss much gladness in 
 their daily life. The main interests of a little child — as of 
 all mankind — are the world of Nature and the world of 
 men around him. No child comes into contact with more 
 than a tiny bit of each. The task of the Nursery School 
 superintendent is to begin with what is familiar to her par- 
 ticular children, and to make this the starting-point for 
 wider interests. No lover of her children would want to 
 follow slavishly another's scheme. Each Nursery School has 
 its special problems and special interests. These will form, 
 as it were, a background to the varied and many activities 
 of the week or month. The children in imaginative play 
 or constructive work will thus enter into the life of the 
 world outside school, and gradually, through action made 
 richer in meaning by the help of illustrative visits, talks, 
 pictures, and stories, experience something of the unity 
 of life. 
 
 Nature 
 
 There will be no set lessons, but the children will live as 
 far as possible with nature. School pets, as is well recog- 
 nized, either as residents or visitors, give children much 
 valuable experience. In one play-garden there lived 
 rabbits, guinea-pigs, a dormouse, snails, silk-worms and 
 other caterpillars, and all were tended by the children. 
 Keeping of pets means much careful supervision by 
 grown-up helpers lest the pets should suffer from neglect. 
 A bird-bath out of doors helps the children to make 
 many friends. Where there is a garden, the seasonal 
 changes gather meaning as their effects are watched on the 
 familiar trees and plants ; and sunshine and cloud, wind 
 and rain, frost and snow, are all connected with the children's 
 work. Gathering flowers early attracts a little child. 
 The baby of two will gather daisies with much intentness, 
 and bring them as an offering to a grown-up friend. A 
 little boy whose own home garden was so beautifully kept 
 that no daisies were to be found on the lawn, looked over
 
 ■r 
 
 60 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 into the next-door garden, where daisies were allowed to 
 grow, and said with intense feeling, " It would be my 
 bestest treat to come into your garden." The temptation 
 to gather promiscuously will gradually be controlled. 
 Arranging flowers in water will be a helpful check until the 
 children learn to enjoy without plucking. 
 
 When the child is old enough to leave the Nursery School 
 he should have made friends with many living creatures, 
 large and small ; he should have learned to notice and to 
 question what he does not understand, and to have some 
 dim presentiment of the wonder, beauty, and mystery of 
 living things, and of the part he can play in caring for them. 
 
 Stories 
 
 Dr. Montessori has been severely criticized for her 
 strictures on stories. This country, so rich in child litera- 
 ture — ^Nursery Rhymes and Jingles, Nursery Tales and 
 Folk Tales — beloved by so many generations of children, 
 finds it difficult to appreciate her point of view. Most 
 would agree that there are few children between four and 
 six years of age who do not love a story, though they do 
 not, by any means, always care for those told to them, 
 and if perfectly free to wander away would often leave 
 the story-teller with few listeners, A story, to a little 
 child, is an intimate experience — he wants to be quite 
 close to the one telling the story, that he may lose none 
 of those vivid touches given by gesture, intonation, or facial 
 expression that help to make the whole story live. He 
 needs to be near that he may feel with all its intensity 
 that quick sympathy which passes from the true story- 
 teller to her audience, for he understands not from words 
 alone. Much can be learnt by taking note of the stories 
 children tell their dolls or their younger brothers or sisters. 
 A story for little children must be brief — a mere outline ; 
 it must be full of action, and the actions must follow one 
 another in swift succession. Description must be of the 
 briefest, and the sentences short and brisk. Every child 
 should have a sure foundation of Nursery Rhyme and
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 61 
 
 Jingle. These should be known by heart through constant 
 repetition. Babies of two years find immense satisfaction 
 in pacing round the garden or nursery declaiming " Baa- 
 baa, black sheep," or " Little Boy Blue." Some of Walter 
 de la Mare's poems in " Peacock Pie "^ have been a source 
 of joy to a little boy of three years. He has laughed with 
 delicious merriment over " Three Jolly Horsemen." 
 Only the best is good enough for children ; the wordy stories 
 of many children's books fetter the imagination and weary 
 the spirit. 
 
 Some children are born story-tellers — if so, they can 
 give great pleasure to others. One small boy of four 
 years could tell the story of the " Three Bears " with so 
 much fun and movement, bringing out all the points with 
 unfailing skill, that a large class of thirty children was held 
 in gleeful attention until the last word. More could be 
 done in allowing the children choice of story-teller and 
 story. Nursery School children do not want a great variety 
 of stories ; they like to hear the favourites over and over 
 again. And this is well, for gradually the phrases and 
 words become part of their vocabulary and the children 
 gain a greater command of their mother tongue. 
 
 Many of the so-called Nature stories are most unsuitable ; 
 their purpose is to give information under the guise of a 
 story — a thing always resented by a child. But Beatrix 
 Potter, 2 in her inimitable series, has brought countless 
 happy hours to many children and enlarged their sympathy 
 with the animal world. Maud Lindsay, in her " Mother 
 Stories " and " More Mother Stories,"^ is close to a child's 
 interests. "Alice in Wonderland" may not be beyond 
 the intelligent child of five years, but to introduce it too 
 soon is to rob a later stage of its rightful joys. " A Child's 
 Bookshelf," compiled by Lilian Stevenson,^ gives much 
 valuable help on good sources for children's stories. 
 
 Bible stories are loved by little children if sufficient care 
 is taken in the selection. The vividness of the imagery, 
 the poetic beauty of the language, their concreteness, 
 
 ^ Constable & Co. ^ Fred. Warne & Co. ^ Harrap & Co. 
 
 * Student Christian Movement, Chancery Lane, London.
 
 62 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 and dramatic simplicity combine to win for the Bible 
 story a very special place in the affection of little children. 
 But the way in which they are first presented is of supreme 
 importance. Many books published for workers in reformed 
 Sunday schools give helpful guidance in selection and treat- 
 ment, and others, such as Mrs. Houghton's " Telling Bible 
 Stories," ^ suggest ways of using what she calls " The 
 Morning Stories." It is well from the very beginning to 
 introduce the actual words of the Bible. Little children 
 seldom ask for explanations or interpretations, and until 
 they do it would seem true wisdom to read or tell without 
 comment. Sometimes they will spontaneously dramatize 
 their Bible stories. On these occasions it would seem best 
 to stand aside, lest one should mar through mistaken 
 interference what would otherwise have been a reverent 
 representation. 
 
 The whole question of dramatization of stories is one 
 of some importance. Joyous, immediate representation 
 is often full of childish delight, as, for example, when a 
 little child of three or four years represents ' ' Little Miss 
 Muffet," or " Jack Horner," but the effort to remember 
 longer stories is sometimes too great. When much prompt- 
 ing and suggestion is needed, it is probably a proof that 
 the story is not a suitable one for such young children to 
 dramatize. 
 
 Difficult Days 
 
 Stories, friendly talks, nature work, games and play, 
 together with the practical activities of daily life, are all 
 so many ways by which the children may enter into their 
 kingdom. Has the story of " Pandora," then, no meaning 
 for Nursery School workers ? Are there no troubles and 
 difficulties of character and temper encountered in the 
 Nursery School ? Every one knows that there are refrac- 
 tory days in the life of all children when the things they 
 ought to do will not be those they want to do. Little 
 
 ^ Macmillan.
 
 c 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 63 
 
 children are very sensitive to weather and to human 
 atmosphere — to physical well-being or the reverse. 
 
 All have not the advantage of a good heredity, a happy 
 home, or a healthy body, and already, by the third year, 
 undesirable impulses may have asserted themselves, 
 aggravated perhaps by ignorant indulgence or thoughtless 
 neglect. The patience and absolute justice of those in 
 charge, the free and happy environment, the approval or 
 disapproval of comrades of their own age, and the oppor- 
 tunities for suitable activities, will soon enable the healthy 
 child to fit in to the daily routine. It is well to recognize 
 that some of the so-called naughty deeds of children are 
 the outcome of a spirit of pure fun, and must be treated in 
 that spirit. By careful study of her children, the superin- 
 tendent will learn to understand the motive underlying 
 the action, and this will help her to distinguish clearly 
 between the child who is deliberately anti-social and the 
 one who is troublesome for physical or other reasons he 
 cannot help. The principle of consulting the school 
 doctor in cases of constant naughtiness is a sound one. 
 The Nursery School worker needs unbounded trust in the 
 power of indirect influence in the formation of character, 
 and the child needs continual opportunity to practice the 
 art of being neighbourly. Thus the anti-social impulses 
 will gradually be transformed under the influence of count- 
 less positive acts of kindness and goodwill.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE CHILD'S RESPONSE— 
 
 (a) Exercise and Imitation. 
 
 THE education of Nursery School children has so 
 far been considered mainly with regard to the 
 mental environment for which it calls. 
 
 Let us now turn to the opposite aspect of education — 
 the child's response ; that is, the working of his own active 
 impulses in relation to his environment. 
 
 It will be useful to recall at this point that a child's 
 spontaneous activities may be roughly grouped in the 
 following way : Those which consist merely in exercising 
 his physical and mental powers, and involve a constant 
 repetition of what is found to be pleasurable. In such 
 activities speech and organized movement take their rise. 
 
 Second, the simple imitative activities. Direct imitations 
 of sounds and movements have a double effect on the child. 
 He makes discoveries as to his own capacities, and he 
 realizes more vividly the objects of imitation. Through 
 imitative activities he assimilates his environment and 
 masters his powers in relation to it. As a result, he 
 achieves a higher level of activity. 
 
 Thus, thirdly, accumulated experience, increasing skill, 
 and developing imagination make possible true creative 
 expression. The child may now produce something not 
 directly and entirely derived from his environment, but 
 something new to himself, something that expresses his 
 individuality. 
 
 The function of the Nursery School is to give ample 
 
 64
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN C5 
 
 opportunity for the child to. develop his spontaneous 
 activities on natural lines, to guard against the formation 
 of undesirable habits, and to reverence and foster every 
 true manifestation of individuality. 
 
 At the present time, many of those who are concerned 
 in the education of little children would seem to be confused 
 between their sense of the importance of helping the child 
 to form the best kind of physical and mental habits from 
 the beginning, and their desire of giving him unhampered 
 freedom of individual development during his earliest 
 years. In their educational practice, teachers and parents 
 may be seen to waver between the desire to use a scientific 
 method, such as that illustrated by the Montessori 
 apparatus, and a comdctjon that nature unassisted can 
 afford the child all the training that he needs in the use 
 of his senses, his speech-organs, and all his physical and 
 mental powers. It is felt that if the latter view be right, 
 ail formal exercises in early childhood are entirely unsuit- 
 able, even if enjoyable — the child should not be invited 
 to exercise himself for specific purposes, as Dr. Montessori 
 advocates. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that 
 bad habits are frequently formed during these years, long 
 before the intelligence of the child can be brought to bear 
 upon them, and that these are of a tenacious character, 
 involving strenuous effort to overcome at some later 
 period. 
 
 It is important that all who are preparing to take part 
 in the education of the child of Nursery School age should 
 arrive at som^ clear solution of this problem. 
 
 We know that the age from two to six years is one of rapid 
 growth and co-ordination of the muscles, effecting amongst 
 other things the control of the hand, the adjustment of the 
 eye, the poise of the body, and the use of the organs of 
 speech and hearing. It is also the time when the child 
 is learning to bring all his senses to bear upon increasingly 
 wider fields of experience, with increasing power of dis- 
 crimination. 
 
 His obvious need is for constant opportunity to exercise 
 himself freely, so that complete co-ordination of various 
 5
 
 66 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 kinds shall take place, and the impulse to discriminate 
 be strengthened till it becomes a habit. On the other 
 hand it is of importance that the physiological habits thus 
 formed shall make for economy of energy and efficiency in 
 all directions. While he is "making himself," as it were, 
 by exercise and imitation, he calls for an environment 
 favourable to the perfecting of the needed adjustments. 
 We return then to the question : Should this environment 
 be a special one ? It is submitted that this is still a matter 
 for experiment, and that experiments are desirable. 
 
 Given a faithful adherence to the principle of self-educa- 
 tion — and remembering that the business of the educator 
 is to offer opportunities, not to force the child to accept 
 them — there can be no harm and there may be much good 
 to be derived from the provision of apparatus and suitable 
 exercises designed for specific educational purposes. 
 
 The Montessori Apparatus 
 
 There is much in the Montessori method that bears 
 directly on the matter here discussed. 
 
 The apparatus offers to the child many-sided oppor- 
 tunity. Each piece of apparatus — provided it attracts him 
 — induces repeated acts of discrimination and involves 
 co-ordination of various kinds. 
 
 The actual effectiveness of this training in any particular 
 case depends on the intrinsic attractiveness of each piece 
 of apparatus, and the strength of the child's impulse to 
 imitate and repeat. Again, as an all-round training, it 
 depends on how far the whole of the apparatus possesses 
 a universal appeal for all children. Evidence on these 
 points is so far conflicting ; but many consider it established 
 that apparatus, the active use of which involves various 
 exercises in sense discrimination, may have enormous 
 attraction for the very young child, because it satisfies 
 strong native impulses. He will readily and spontaneously 
 imitate exactly the method of use shown him and repeat 
 the action, with the result that his power of concentration 
 is increased, and muscular control improved.
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 67 
 
 In the Nursery School we have an excellent opportunity 
 of testing the value of apparatus for very young children 
 devised on the principles underlying that of Dr. Montessori. 
 We probably have a better opportunity than in the infant 
 school or kindergarten, because we have the children 
 from the age of two. The Montessori apparatus is emi- 
 nently suited for the period of child-life when the motive 
 of activity is pleasure in the activity itself without reference 
 to an end, although its use develops a sense of purpose. 
 
 The result of such pleasurable activity is chiefly the 
 acquirement of sense experience and the formation of 
 desirable physiological habits, and belongs to the period 
 when the child is not yet ready to create or to express ideas 
 in more than a rudimentary manner. This stage coincides 
 with the first years of the Nursery School. Some of the 
 apparatus is very distinctly just one step beyond pure 
 baby play — for example, the sound boxes are the baby's 
 rattle elevated to convey not merely attractive noise, 
 but contrasting noises. The piling up of cubes in the 
 steadiest possible position is only a step beyond the joy 
 of piling bricks indiscriminately and immediately knocking 
 them down. Accordingly, at different times, we may show 
 even our youngest children in the Nursery School the 
 Montessori cylinders, the cubes, the buttoning frames, 
 the sound boxes, the rough and smooth boards, even the 
 wooden insets in their frames. We may introduce them, as 
 Dr. Montessori advises, by demonstrating carefully how 
 each piece of apparatus is used, and then we can watch 
 to see whether the child is prompted to imitate and repeat 
 the activity. If he does, it will be worth while to record 
 his mastery of each exercise and his growth in control, 
 speed, and efficiency. If not, we can afford to wait, and 
 indeed must not interfere ; for if a genuine spontaneous 
 response does not take place, the use of the apparatus 
 becomes a formal training of the worst type. 
 
 Further valuable training in sense discrimination will 
 be received a little later, when the children can delight in 
 matching one thing with another and arranging things 
 in order.
 
 68 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Here the prepared apparatus is helpful because its 
 striking characteristics and simple proportions are a stimulus 
 to the child to begin setting it in order — in the most 
 obviously attractive and easy ways. Wlien he has been 
 shown how to do it, he likes to arrange the oblong bricks 
 so as to make a flight of stairs, to place the rods in order 
 of length, to match a coloured tablet with a coloured 
 tablet, and later to arrange the shades of colour in order 
 from dark to light and so on. This kind of activity suits 
 him, because he has not yet had experiences of life that 
 he can reconstruct in imagination and that he wants to 
 express again. Soon, however, we shall find that instead 
 of arranging the bricks to make a stair, he arranges them 
 to make, perhaps, a steam engine ; the rods he discovers 
 make admirable railway lines, the cubes a fine station. 
 What does this mean ? Surely that the child is now 
 imaging experiences and learning to express ideas through 
 what he does. He has now either exhausted the value 
 of this piece of apparatus, or has passed the stage when it 
 can benefit him. Nevertheless, the habit of attending 
 and discriminating carefully in many directions, his growth 
 in precision and in the handling of objects according 
 to his will, have made his body and mind so much the 
 better an instrument for creative expression. 
 
 Speech Habits 
 
 Closely connected with this training in muscular control 
 and sense discrimination is the question of the formation 
 of good speech habits. 
 
 The Nursery School has an opportunity here which is 
 worth a great deal of study. The period between two and 
 six years of age is the time when help can most effectively 
 be given to the little child towards developing habits of 
 pure intonation and clear enunciation. What can be done 
 to help him ? First, the fundamental conditions of free 
 and healthy habits of speech must be kept in view. 
 
 These are : (i) Frequent opportunity for physical 
 activity in the open air. This will ensure natural
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 69 
 
 healthy breathing. (3) Clear nasal passages. Given 
 these elementary conditions, the problem is one of providing 
 the child with the right sound experiences on the one hand, 
 and giving him opportunity to imitate freely and exactly 
 on the other. 
 
 Before he can talk the child shows his sensitiveness to 
 sounds, and his readiness to listen. The grown-up person, 
 with his mind full of images and thoughts, is constantly 
 brought up short by his child companion, who calls his atten- 
 tion to all sorts of sounds that he would never have heard 
 otherwise. We cannot but suppose, therefore, that the 
 child is influenced by the character of the sounds he con- 
 stantly hears. Growing up amidst the noisy traffic of 
 modern life, he is incalculably handicapped in this respect. 
 Yet, on the other hand, it must be remembered that every 
 little bit of beauty introduced to him is the more striking 
 by its contrast with his normal experience. Therefore 
 it is worth while to give him beautiful sound experiences, 
 such as the song of a robin, the wind in the trees, or a 
 beautiful human voice. 
 
 Again, the child's speech is undoubtedly greatly affected 
 by the way in which his eager efforts to learn are met by 
 grown-up people. As a baby, before he can come to the 
 Nursery School, he has been gradually adding to his 
 vocabulary by definite effort. He likes to name more 
 and more things, and his mother likes to repeat the names 
 for him. Her clear enunciation and pure intonation are 
 of importance to him then ; he imitates her, and hers is 
 the strongest influence on his speech habits. But during 
 the Nursery School period the little child is still learning 
 to speak, learning names, and learning the use of language. 
 We can help him : 
 
 (i) By clear naming and repeated naming, encouraging 
 his spontaneous imitations. 
 
 {2) By always speaking slowly, distinctly, and with 
 pure intonation, whether in conversation or story. 
 
 {3) By definite correction of defects. 
 
 The majority of children in our Nursery Schools need 
 positive training to counteract an unfavourable speech
 
 70 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 environment at home. They may even need correction 
 of defects in speech, young as they are. Miss Margaret 
 McMillan, in her chapter on "Economics and Waste" in 
 "The Camp School, "^ tells how this situation can be 
 met by individual help and definite repeated practice in 
 careful speaking. 
 
 In ways of this kind we may help the child at a time 
 when he is making the first tenacious habits of speech, 
 and do something at least to forestall and remedy defect. 
 
 Rhythm 
 
 Education in rhythm is coming to be recognized as of 
 fundamental importance in human development. The 
 work of Mr. Jacques Dalcroze has awakened teachers to 
 this, and has led them to ask what is the relation of his 
 gospel to the ordinary child going through his ordinary 
 school life. 
 
 In the Nursery School there is fortunately no possibility 
 of applying any system of training wholesale. But we 
 have to consider all the more carefully what is the meaning 
 of the whole idea, and what is its particular significance 
 for the early years of life. 
 
 For the physical well-being of the young child we are 
 well assured of the need of rhythmical order in his life. 
 Alternating periods of sleep and activity, food and fasting, 
 the matters of personal hygiene, the daily bath and other 
 healthful habits, depend for their effectiveness largely on 
 the regularity of their performance. The child's physical 
 nature calls for this, and the Nursery SchooFs function is 
 to co-operate with the home in carrying it out. It is 
 indeed generally recognized that the much valued atmos- 
 phere of peace and cheerfulness found in every good 
 Nursery School and home depends largely on the rhythm 
 of the daily round. 
 
 It is seen, also, that very early in life the child responds 
 to rhythmical sound and movement by unmistakable 
 signs of pleasure and spontaneous imitation. The baby 
 
 ^ " The Camp School," pubUshed by George Allen & Unwin.
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 71 
 
 listens with rapt attention to the ticking of a watch ; he 
 laughs and crows when tossed up and down ; and he is 
 soothed by swinging and rocking and cradle songs ; later, 
 he will move his body, feet, arms, legs in harmony with a 
 musical rhythm. Surely it is for modern education to 
 prove whether a more widespread thirst for beauty, and a 
 finer sensitiveness than has hitherto been thought possible, 
 would not follow from a more careful fostering of the 
 beginnings of appreciation seen in every little child. 
 
 The perfected habit of listening lies at the base of true 
 expression. We know that every young child of Nursery 
 School age is on the one hand irresistibly attracted by 
 sound, but on the other he lacks the power of sustained 
 attention. The growth of the habit of listening involves 
 the gradual increase of both power and will to attend 
 continuously to sounds heard. It means a self-control 
 of both body and mind that is of far-reaching importance. 
 
 Dr. Montessori touches these facts in her Silence game, 
 through which she has established an early step in training 
 a child to listen. She has gained evidence of the normal 
 child's delight in exercising his power to inhibit irrelevant 
 noises made by himself in order to hear another's voice 
 with perfect clearness. Her children also bear witness 
 to the repose of feeling which such exercises may eventually 
 engender, provided that silence is produced, not by the 
 tense, conscious inhibition of movements by each child, 
 but through the complete relaxation of hands, feet, and 
 body. 
 
 It is important to notice that, though the power to be 
 silent and motionless at times is an essential condition 
 in the perfect listener, the little child does not develop his 
 powers of listening through continued immobility. On 
 the contrary, one may expect to find that the child who 
 takes delight in the Montessori Silence game will be one of 
 the first to begin to move body, hands, or feet in harmony 
 with sounds or musical tunes of well-marked rhythm, and 
 to imitate the sounds himself. 
 
 Thus he spontaneously makes the rhythm his own, learns 
 it, as it were, through his own body. Gradually he may
 
 72 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 acquire a rich experience of tone and rhythm through his 
 growing abihty to listen, receive, and assimilate through 
 bodily movement and imitation. During the Nursery 
 School period this aspect of growth should be remembered. 
 The children's helpers are responsible for two things : 
 
 1. To provide favourable conditions for the possible 
 development of sensitiveness to rhythm, e.g. by short 
 periods of quietness, by silence games, by quiet oppor- 
 tunities for listening to simple, good music, both sung 
 and played on an instrument, by giving frequently phrases 
 for imitation, by encouraging rhythmical actions to music — 
 e.g. the imitating of a swinging hammer, or scythe, or the 
 sawing of wood — by helping the children to sing, and by 
 letting them play on simple instruments, such as drums, 
 cymbals, etc. In this connexion also the repetition of 
 nursery rhymes and jingles is invaluable, for the appeal 
 lies more in the sound than the sense. 
 
 2. To guard against nerve strain. While the children 
 are healthier and more reposeful for such congenial, simple 
 exercises, it must be recognized that strain and fatigue 
 are very easily induced by too prolonged concentration, 
 and in this case the whole purpose is completely defeated. 
 As in all Nursery School activities, definite aims must be 
 pursued incidentally, and the particular conditions of each 
 child met each day. In many cases it may be found 
 that four minutes materially help the child, while ten 
 minutes may positively harm by inducing over-fatigue. 
 
 The superintendent only can judge, and must always 
 act as the occasion demands with perfect freedom. 
 
 Poise of Body and Games of Skill 
 
 The free physical activity of the little child should bring 
 about not only growth and muscular development, but 
 also a steady increase in the child's power to use and con- 
 trol his bod3^ The time is yet distant when he will become 
 conscious of the need of self-control, and aim at acquiring 
 it ; but when that time comes he should find himself 
 ready, as it were, to be taken possession of by himself,. and
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 73 
 
 not with a tliousand unfavourable habits to break off and 
 replace. We owe it to him to give him the opportunity 
 of repeated experiences which will in themselves con- 
 stitute a training, not against his nature, but in harmony 
 with it. 
 
 Thus, for example, in the matter of poise of body and of 
 the precise handling of things, the child forms habits long 
 before the time when he should receive formal training 
 or correction. In some nurseries it is evident from many 
 signs that the children's energy is growing rapidly, but is 
 running to waste because there is nothing in the circum- 
 stances to induce a real control. Here again the Nursery 
 School has much to learn from Dr. Montessori in her sugges- 
 tions for practical exercises. Then, too, the presence in the 
 play-room or garden of apparatus, such as a narrow plank, 
 a safe ladder, and a rope over which to jump, the use of 
 which involves agility, balance, and physical skill, gives 
 the children valuable opportunities which they seldom miss. 
 Each child may respond differently from his companions 
 to this environment. Uniform development should not 
 be desired, yet no child should lack the normal stimulus 
 and opportunity for self-development. 
 
 The ball games of the kindergarten, accompanied by 
 simple songs, constitute joyous activities that bring the 
 beginnings of bodily control. Valuable also are simple 
 imitative games which entail repeated rhythmic move- 
 ments — such as the well-known " Did you ever see a 
 lassie ... go this way and that ? " These games are 
 suitable for the youngest children because they require 
 little imagination, and while demanding a certain amount 
 of attention, they offer opportunities of choice of 
 movement to the leader for the time being. 
 
 Finger Plays 
 
 It was Friedrich Froebel who invited parents and kinder- 
 garten teachers to reflect on the significance of the little 
 traditional finger plays that have been used and handed
 
 74 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 on from generation to generation by mothers of all nations. 
 Such a one is : 
 
 " Patter cake, patter cake, baker's man. 
 Make me a cake as fast as you can. 
 Prick it and stick it and mark it with T, 
 And put it in the oven for bab^ and me. 
 Patter cake, patter cake, baker's man, 
 Make me a cake as fast as you can." 
 
 The little child of three loves to make his hands carry 
 out all the ideas suggested by the rhyme in imitation of 
 the grown-up person who sings it with him. 
 
 In harmony with this tradition, the kindergarten teacher 
 has adopted a custom of singing with the youngest children 
 numerous finger plays, some old, some modern. The 
 collection by Emilie Poulsson ^ is known all over England 
 and America. If a little child is attracted and delighted 
 when some one sings to him these little plays and shows 
 how his fingers may represent them, then spontaneous 
 imitation follows, and he carefully suits action to word, 
 at the right moment making his fingers obey the suggestion 
 of each line. 
 
 Thus, when the children hear the delightful story of 
 " Piggy- wig and Piggy-wee," who 
 
 CUmbed the barn-yard gate to see 
 Dinner waiting not far off, 
 
 and subsequently went through a tragic experience owing 
 to their greed and hurry, they will take earnest pains to 
 make the unaccustomed little fingers show the big pig, 
 the little pig, the barnyard gate, and represent the 
 exciting history as recounted in verse after verse. 
 
 It is needless to urge that, without the initial interest 
 of the children, finger plays are completely valueless : 
 as mechanical conformity to the urgent invitation of a 
 teacher they are nothing but sacrilege, an insult to child- 
 hood and the traditional play of mothers with their children. 
 As true baby-plays they have their place both at home 
 and in the Nursery School. 
 
 ^ Curwen & Co.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE CHILD'S RESPONSE— 
 
 (b) CREATIVE EXPRESSION 
 
 Dramatic Play 
 
 THE little child of two, three, or four years enters 
 the Nursery School a stranger, unknown to the 
 community of which he is now a member. So 
 far, home and its interests have been the centre of his life, 
 and from the famil}^ life many and varied experiences have 
 been gained, both valuable and the reverse. How to help 
 him so that in the new life the good things of the old are 
 not forgotten, but enriched and made the starting-point 
 of further life, is one of the first problems of the Nursery 
 School. 
 
 The little newcomer is welcomed, tut all direct suggestion 
 and conscious influence is withheld until the strangeness 
 of the surroundings has given place to a feeling of freedom, 
 and the child reveals himself in play. For through his 
 play much may be learnt of the influence that the home has 
 already brought to bear on his life, of the experiences which 
 have left the most vivid impressions,and of the things which 
 have interested him. It is important that ample opportu- 
 nity should be allowed for the child to re-live his actual 
 experiences. In his play, whether alone or with the 
 co-operation of others, he will express the fullness, or it 
 may be the barrenness, of these early years. 
 
 Every experience, however, is not of equal value, and when 
 the children come from a neighbourhood in which unde- 
 sirable influences are at work, it is not well to deepen these 
 impressions b}^ allowing the children to dwell thereon in 
 
 75
 
 76 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 representative play. And it is here that those in charge 
 can come forward to help the children to emphasize in 
 their games the more ideal experiences which should be 
 the heritage of a happy childhood. There are some who 
 question the wisdom of interfering in a child's free play, 
 considering that organized games are out of place in a 
 Nursery School ; but in this connexion it is well to bear 
 in mind that a group of little children playing together 
 soon feel the need of a just and understanding leader to 
 organize their play, so as to give to each his opportunity, 
 and to suggest fresh fields of thought and action. 
 Y"'"The first organized plays of the Nursery School will 
 naturally spring from the home, the occupations of father, 
 mother, brothers, and sisters. Such homely activities as 
 washing and ironing, sweeping and dusting, the making 
 of bread, the shopping expeditions, the visits to friends, 
 the receiving of visitors, will all be represented in imitative 
 play. Side by side with these human plays there will be 
 the nature plays to encourage and satisfy the child's 
 natural sympathy with and interest in animal and plant 
 life ; weather games also, for snow and rain, frost and 
 sunshine, are experiences too universal and arresting not 
 to be made one's own. In all these the guiding principle 
 must be that the game follows the experience. For 
 Nursery School children the game is a means of expression, 
 and the more creative self-expression is revealed the greater 
 is the educational value of the play. 
 
 In the light of this principle let us consider two simple 
 representative games, one of human interest and the 
 other a nature game. The following is merely a suggestion 
 of how they might be introduced. Bobby comes to school 
 one morning, beaming with pride and happiness, bursting 
 to tell some important news. Soon all are admiring his 
 new shoes and listening with much sympathy and interest 
 to how, when, and where they were bought. Other 
 children tell of their experiences in the shoe line, and all 
 look at their own shoes, and are led to think of the people 
 who have helped to make them, of the materials and tools 
 used. Has anyone been to a shoemaker's shop ? Mollie's
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 77 
 
 father mends shoes. Easily and naturally the suggestion 
 comes, " Shall we play at being shoemakers ? " Then 
 what shall we want ? Leather, nails, and hammer. And 
 how does the shoemaker sit when working ? And can we 
 have a shop and sell the shoes we make ? And may I 
 come to buy a pair of shoes for baby and for Ruth, who 
 is coming to the Nursery School to-morrow ? And so, 
 bit by bit, the game develops, the children adding to it 
 from their different experiences. 
 
 At this point a song might be sung to the children about 
 a busy shoemaker, such as : 
 
 " Wand'ring up and down one day, 
 I peeped in the window over the way ; 
 Putting his needle through and through, 
 There sat a cobbler making a shoe. 
 
 " Rap-a-tap-tap, tick-a-tack too. 
 This is the way to make a shoe ; 
 Rap-a-tap-tap, tick-a-tack too. 
 This is the way to make a shoe." 
 
 The words and music help to crystallize a common 
 experience, and to give an ideal setting to an everj^day 
 occupation. A set form introduced at the first may 
 easily kill spontaneity, but, coming as the summing-up 
 of the whole play, it corresponds to the universal habit 
 of childhood to repeat in a chosen form what it loves. 
 
 To expect our town-bred children to represent in play 
 the activities of farmer or woodcutter, life of bird or 
 insect in garden, field or hedgerow, without much careful 
 preparation, is foolish, because so entirely artificial. 
 Although they have no first-hand experience of country 
 life, it is wrong to suppose that the nature game has no 
 place in the Nursery School of our crowded cities. On the 
 contrary, every opportunity must be taken to bring the 
 children into relation with nature. Every Nursery School, 
 it is hoped, will have some garden plot, however unfavour- 
 ably the school may be situated. Let the children have 
 beans, nasturtium seeds, sweet-peas, scarlet runners, 
 and many another friend of the town-dweller. Let
 
 78 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 them be handled and examined. Tell the children that a 
 secret lies hidden within. Prepare the soil with the 
 children, sift and crumble the brown earth till all is 
 smooth and ready for the seeds. Sow some in the soil, 
 and let the children watch their growth. 
 
 The children can be helped to enter more fully into the 
 wonderful discovery that the seeds have begun to grow 
 by playing a game which may express itself finally in some 
 such words as these : 
 
 " To the sleeping seeds in the great brown earth 
 Came the sunshine, so warm, so warm, 
 And whispered, Seed-children, drowsy with sleep. 
 Come throw off your blankets and upward creep ; 
 Never fear any cold or wintry storm, 
 Said the sunshine so warm, warm, warm. 
 
 Then the wee seeds stirred in the great brown earth 
 
 And crept to the sunshine warm ; 
 And downwards the rootlets bravely went, 
 And upwards the strong green shoots they sent; 
 And they smiled to the sky that o'er them bent 
 'Neath the sunshine so warm, warm, warm. 
 
 Here words, music, and movement help to emphasize 
 the slow growth of the plant, and the child's daily observa- 
 tions acquire greater significance. 
 
 The dominant interests of the day, week, or season 
 of the year will all provide material for games or plays. 
 Certain traditional games, with their marked rhythm 
 and simple action, such as Ring-a-Ring o' Roses, the 
 Mulberry Bush, and Round and Round the Village, appeal 
 strongly to Nursery School children — though, in the 
 writer's opinion, traditional games for the most part 
 belong to a later period in the child's life. 
 
 Toys 
 
 A nursery without toys is no children's room. Toys 
 have many purposes to fill in the life of a child, and they 
 can, if wisely chosen, render valiant service. The instinct 
 of curiosity that urges the little discoverer to investigate
 
 3 ./^D
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 79 
 
 may find fitting satisfaction through toys, or, on the other 
 hand, if over-elaborate and outside his range of interests, 
 they may act as a drag on his imagination and overwhelm 
 him by their material completeness. 
 
 Yet, in spite of the universal need, very little considered 
 thought has been given by the guardians of children to 
 this practical problem. The toy market is still dominated 
 by commercial interests ; though there are signs that a 
 new era in toy-making is dawning, and that the feebly 
 made, showy article so easily broken, so limited in possi- 
 bilities, is no longer to crowd the toy-shops. The toys now 
 being made by the disabled soldiers indicate the modern 
 desire for greater simplification and stronger workman- 
 ship. 
 
 Quality, not quantity, is the accepted line of advance. 
 Confusion of thought and dullness of spirit are so frequently 
 the result of an over-abundance of material things. In 
 one Nursery School, where the children had a great variety 
 of toys and used them indiscriminately, discarding one 
 for another at will, the superintendent noticed that the 
 children were becoming wanton and restless. The sense 
 stimulus appeared to be too great for them to resist the 
 immediate appeal, and they were bewildered by the 
 multiplicity of material. She limited the number of toys 
 from which to choose, she trained each child to put away 
 one toy before taking out another, and found that, very 
 soon, their play showed greater vitality and variety. 
 Children need time for their imagination to play around 
 the concrete symbol, so that wise limitation is a help and 
 not a hindrance to growth. The old nursery rule of special 
 toys for special occasions, e.g. a rainy day, is a further 
 check on a thoughtless liberality. 
 
 Further, it is well to note that the growing human life 
 has varying needs at each stage of development. The 
 toy that satisfies at the age of two is often unsuitable for 
 a child of four or five years. The Nursery School should 
 provide different kinds of toys to meet the changing 
 demands of growth. There will be toys for the individual 
 child and toys for a group. Partnership in play will widen
 
 80 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 the range of possibilities and present old friends in a new 
 light. No distinction between toj's for boys or girls is 
 necessary or desirable. 
 
 The complicated mechanical toy with delicately adjusted 
 parts is out of place, though, on the other hand, mechanical 
 devices, e.g. the spring catches of a despatch case, and 
 jointed wooden toys, are very attractive to little children. 
 One would suggest that the grotesque toy, which unfor- 
 tunatety has been so prominent of late years, is undesir- 
 able. There is nothing childlike in the purposely distorted 
 representation of human features. Even the Golliwog, 
 so universally accepted, may be merely a terrifying being 
 on first acquaintance. Yet the toys that provoke genuine 
 fun and laughter must on no account be excluded. It 
 may not be easy, perhaps, to distinguish the comic toy 
 from the grotesque one, but the children themselves, 
 in their spontaneous likes and dislikes, are generally a 
 fairly sure guide. 
 
 The toys that have stood the test of time are probably 
 the most educational, such as balls, dolls of many kinds 
 (costly ones are by no means necessary), bricks of various 
 sizes and shapes, cylindrical as well as rectangular, strongly 
 made carts and wagons, engines and trucks, familiar 
 animals, a doll's-house, a rocking-horse, picture books, 
 shuttlecocks and battledores, cup and ball, ninepins, 
 hoops and sticks, whips and reins, tops, spades and buckets, 
 boats, drums, and other musical instruments, and simple 
 models of things used in the home and neighbourhood. The 
 things that grown-up people use are full of unexplored and 
 romantic meaning to all children, and in using them for 
 purposes of their own, they claim their kinship with the 
 great world, and learn, little by little, to understand the 
 significance of things and actions. 
 
 H. G. Wells, in his book on " Floor Games,"^ has 
 remembered what it means to be a child. 
 
 Many of the ready-made toys in cardboard or paper 
 will not be wanted. Their purpose is transitory. Far 
 
 Publisher, Fred Palmer, Red Lion Court, London.
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 81 
 
 better that these should be made by the Nursery com- 
 munity as the need arises, whether it be for dramatic 
 representation, pageant or procession, or the pure joy 
 of making a toy. Both teachers and children should be 
 makers of toys. Naturally, little ones of Nursery School 
 age are incapable of doing anything but the very simplest 
 constructive work, but they can be happy assistants to 
 parent or teacher, elder brother or sister. This co-opera- 
 tion between the ages is a feature of home-life that should 
 also be characteristic of the Nursery School. 
 
 The proper housing of toys is of some importance. A 
 play-cupboard or chest of drawers, low and easily acces- 
 sible, is preferable to a play-box. Care for property and 
 orderly arrangement of things can easily become habits. 
 There is no one too young to begin to learn that there is 
 a place for everything and that everything should be in its 
 place. How few grown-up people allow children sufficient 
 time for putting away their toys. 
 
 Since Froebel invented his series of gifts much has 
 been published on what writers have called ' ' Educative 
 Toys " ; in recent years renewed interest in this subject 
 has been aroused by the appearance of Dr. Montessori's 
 scientifically planned apparatus. Dr. Montessori herself 
 appears to distinguish carefully between what she calls 
 her didactic material and toys, but expounders of her 
 educational method have nevertheless used the term 
 " educative toy " when referring to the apparatus. 
 
 Strictly speaking, are the Gifts and the Didactic material 
 toys ? The answer is an important, perhaps even a 
 fundamental, one for the Nursery School teacher. The 
 value of the toy is hard to define. If it is admitted that it 
 is a symbol, that its chief value lies in the host of associa- 
 tions that are built up around it, and that it satisfies the 
 ever-changing, inarticulate, emotional life of the child by 
 the countless ways in which it can be used to meet the 
 pressing demands of the moment, then Dr. Montessori's 
 apparatus, with its limited purpose and its strict adherence 
 to the acquirement of a definite technique, would seem 
 scarcely to fulfil the function of toys. Frocbcl's gifts, 
 6
 
 82 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 in spite of their mathematical implications and elaborate 
 formulae, appear to be nearer to the meaning of a true 
 toy, inasmuch as creativeness is the dominating principle 
 underlying their use, whereas preparation for creativeness, 
 the practice of Dr. Montessori. There is grave danger that 
 the carefully ordered experiences of Dr. Montessori's 
 apparatus, if exclusively used, may unduly limit the child, 
 and so impoverish his nature. Moreover, it may be that 
 ordered experience is the end rather than the beginning 
 of the learning process , in which case the freer use of 
 the age-long simple toys of childhood — as, for instance, 
 those used by Egyptian^ children 2000 B.C., or by Greek^ 
 children in the 5th century B.C. — has an important 
 part to play in child development, and for this no 
 ordered apparatus can be a fitting substitute. 
 
 Construction 
 
 The instinct of construction early seeks satisfaction. 
 From the aimless piling of things together the baby soon 
 advances, helped by sympathetic, playful suggestions of 
 older child or adult, to using material for some definite 
 purpose. In passing from this first stage to constructing 
 from ideas there seems to be an intermediate step. For 
 example, a tiny child playing with bricks or reels is at first 
 gloriously content with "hustling things about." He 
 demands no other joy than the exercise of activity. But 
 the material is suggestive, and suddenly, at play one day, 
 
 1 " Like all children, Egyptian children loved toys of all kinds. 
 As examples of these may be mentioned the cat with a movable 
 lower jaw, the elephant with his rider, each having movable limbs, 
 the toy dog, hippopotamus, etc., dolls, numerous examples of which 
 have come down to us, tops and balls." (See " Guide to the 
 Egyptian Collection in the British Museum," and cases in the British 
 Museum and in the Manchester Universitj' Museum.) 
 
 2 Rattles, whistles, sometimes in the form of animals, drums or 
 tambourines, balls of all kinds and materials, bells ; animals such 
 as the Trojan horse (the forerunner of the Noah's Ark), dolls and 
 their furniture and clothes, hoops, see-saw, swing, toy carts and 
 horses, hobby-horse, boats, kites. (See section in British Museum 
 Handbooks, department of Greek and Roman Antiquities on Daily 
 Life, and " A Companion to Greek Studies," edited by Leonard 
 Wliibley, chapter on " Daily Life," by E. A. Gardner.)
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 83 
 
 he will recognize a resemblance between his pile of bricks 
 and some familiar object of his environment, and acclaim 
 it as an engine, a train, or a bridge. The discovery is 
 purely accidental in this first instance, though the helpful 
 parent or teacher who, while playing with him, has given 
 names to his earlier experimental efforts, may doubtless 
 have prepared the way for this advance. 
 
 Much of a child's early experimental play with objects 
 is destructive. This tendency can so easily be turned into 
 constructive activity, with all its added fun and developing 
 interests, that it seems a pity not to do so. 
 
 Brick Building 
 
 There is no doubt that building bricks, sand, and coloured 
 beads stand unrivalled in the affection of little children as 
 constructive material. Of these three, building with bricks 
 is perhaps of the greatest educative value. The variety 
 in the material gives many sense experiences, control is 
 gained by placing the bricks, judgment must be exercised 
 in selecting the most suitable brick for the purpose ; the 
 play constantly gives opportunity for social training, and, 
 lastly, the material is sufficiently suggestive to hold endless 
 possibilities for progress. Building with bricks, and other 
 suitable materials such as reels, corrugated cardboard, 
 match boxes, gas-mantle boxes, in short, boxes of all 
 shapes and sizes, seems pre-eminently to satisfy the 
 special needs of children of Nursery School age. In 
 fact, it would be true to say that it is the one form 
 of really constructive work a child under five years of 
 age is capable of doing ; an intelligent child of five can 
 do much more. The " Play- Work " book by Miss 
 Ann Macbeth gives much helpful suggestion and advice 
 on this subject. 
 
 The floor makes the best building ground, but the child 
 of four or five years finds the low table and chair more 
 comfortable for some of his enterprises, though in the toil 
 and stress of creation he often returns to lie at full length 
 on the floor. All building materials should be kept in a
 
 84 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 place easily accessible, to which the child is free to go. 
 He can then gather his own store of materials, and soon 
 the children, working either alone or in small groups, will 
 transform the floor into busy railway stations, aeroplane 
 or cotton factories, a crowded thoroughfare with its houses 
 and churches, pavements and bridges. Thus the simple, 
 homely, first building of tables and chairs, cupboards 
 and beds, engines and carts, develops into the more 
 ambitious schemes that require sometimes the greater 
 part of the day for completion. 
 
 In all this play the children must be free to carry out 
 their own plans and interests, but for the child who has 
 come to the end of his resources, and for the unfortunate 
 child who has no ideas, suggestions from a grown-up play- 
 fellow may be welcome. Much is often learnt by examin- 
 ing the achievements of other children of the group, but 
 any kind of dictated work is entirely out of place-; it 
 demands a power of interpretation far beyond children so 
 young, and, instead of encouraging effort, makes too great 
 a demand on the attention, with the further disastrous 
 effect that the creative impulse itself is overpowered. 
 
 Sand Play 
 
 A sand-pile is another of childhood's delights and is 
 
 a well-known feature of good Nursery Schools. It is best 
 
 in the garden. One phiy garden has solved the problem 
 
 of keeping the sand clean by enclosing it in a box with a 
 
 padlocked lid. This precaution, however, would only 
 
 be necessary for a small pile of sand. Provided it be 
 
 sufficiently large, e.g. twenty-eight feet by^'eventeen feet, 
 
 as in the Stockport Day Nursery, and the sand be turned 
 
 over from time to time, there is no difficulty. Sunshine 
 
 and the fresh air keep it perfectly sweet and clean with 
 
 little fear of infection. Builders' sand, not the fine silver 
 
 sand, is the more suitable. The latter is useless for 
 
 modelling purposes. An interesting account of the uses 
 
 of a sand-pile and its meaning to children is given by Dr. 
 
 Stanley Hall in his " Story of a Sand-Pile," ^ 
 
 1 See " Aspects of Child Life and Education," by G. Stanley 
 Hall. Ginn & Co.
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 85 
 
 The hunger to satisfy this impulse is seen in the crowded 
 areas of big cities. The Httle dwellers, with no suitable 
 material at hand, will use the dust of the roadside, or the 
 arid soil of the barren open spaces. Happier far the 
 country child whose mother need not forbid the making 
 of mud pies in a corner of the garden. With Saturday's 
 overall, spades, buckets, and a can of water, never-to-be- 
 forgotten experiences will be given to those to whom a 
 sand-pile may be an unattainable luxury. 
 
 Bead-Threading 
 
 There is no need to dwell upon the fascination of large, 
 coloured beads to little children. They are an unfailing 
 source of joy. Their chief constructive value lies, it seems, 
 in the satisfaction they give to that interest in arrangement, 
 which is so noticeable in many children. Here is seen the 
 beginning of an interest in design. At first the little child 
 is content with the joy of threading the beads, but gradually 
 he uses them for some purpose — to make a necklace, a 
 bracelet, a curtain. Another time he may sort them into 
 different colours, shapes, or sizes, or combine them with 
 other materials, as when he uses them to make a flower- 
 bed in his sand-garden. 
 
 In all constructive work and play the making of things for 
 a definite purpose should be encouraged. Motivation is 
 the secret of all good constructive work ; without it the 
 result is barren and artificial. 
 
 The Nursery School teacher will exercise her art and 
 intelligence in so organizing the life of the little community 
 that real needs will arise. Self-directed activity, not the 
 task imposed, however kindly, will be the motive force. 
 By closely associating the Nursery School with the daily 
 interests of home and neighbourhood, by providing for 
 the observation of the cycle of the seasons, and in the 
 preparation for festivals, the children will have abundant 
 opportunity for doing things that are worth while. The
 
 86 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Nursery School teacher must entirely free herself from the 
 traditional idea that all her children must do the same thing 
 at the same time. For example, much of the value of 
 the making of a school garden lies in the opportunity 
 it gives for corporate activity and corporate enio3^ment, 
 and there is scope also for individual work. The gardener 
 and every Nurserj' School teacher should be one, can so 
 arrange and direct the work that the youngest can con- 
 tribute something to the making of the whole. 
 
 The Nursery School helper must be prepared for crudest 
 results and often lightning performance. The slightest 
 resemblance to the original satisfies the little child, and 
 directly that which claimed his attention is recorded he 
 is content. The careful adjustment of means to ends 
 belongs to a much later stage of development. Approval 
 or disapproval by the community of the work done is a 
 helpful sitmulus ; children are very sensitive to the judg- 
 ment of their world. The cheering ' ' Well done \" " Hasn't 
 John made a splendid fence ! " are great spurs to further 
 effort, though the familiar praise, " Clever bo}-," has little 
 to commend it, and is often resented by the child for its 
 patronizing superiority. 
 
 The question of tools is one of some importance. The 
 pleasure that comes through using real things should not 
 be ignored. Scissors, hammers, saws and rakes, and the like 
 are very attractive, and children of five years of age at least 
 should be given legitimate opportunities for using them, 
 and be shown how to handle them as the need arises. 
 
 Something has been said in an earlier chapter on the 
 importance of excluding all formal teaching of reading, 
 writing, and arithmetic from the Nursery School. It 
 ma}', however, be noted here that the number aspect of 
 things is so prominent in the life of the community that 
 the child's interest in it is early aroused. Every one is 
 familiar with a little child's love of counting, and many of 
 the traditional baby games and nursery rhymes appeal 
 to that interest. Constructive work and play offer natural 
 opportunities for the little child to gain rudimentary ideas 
 of number and proportion in accordance with his need.
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 87 
 
 His ideas of " muchness " and " moreness " will become 
 more defined througli using number for some practical 
 purpose he can understand. Grouping and sharing of 
 play materials will give occasion for using number, as well 
 as the many constructive plays of early childhood — keeping 
 shop, train journeys, and the like. 
 
 Appropriate material should be within reach of every 
 child when the impulse to construct is manifested ; desire 
 should find expression in immediate action, for it is through 
 following this life urge that the child will gain discipline, 
 knowledge, and power. Devoid of these opportunities, 
 childhood is robbed of one of its rightful joys, and later 
 life is impoverished. 
 
 Drawing 
 
 Much has been written on the subject of children's 
 drawings, and the consensus of opinion goes to prove that 
 those of young children are symbolic rather than realistic. 
 Many hold that drawing is necessary for all. Prof. Lethaby 
 further maintains that it seems to be a natural aptitude 
 until it is killed by " careful teaching about its difficulties." 
 The exhibitions of the Royal Drawing Society demonstrate 
 the astonishing diversity and vividness of the drawings of 
 children under six years of age, as well as the remark- 
 able talent displayed by some. From the findings of the 
 Society there appears to be considerable evidence to support 
 Professor Lethaby's view. In which case the Nursery 
 School teacher's role is mainly to provide the necessary 
 materials — soft neutral coloured paper and coloured pastels, 
 white paper and paints, boards and chalks. Light portable 
 easels and boards would be useful in open-air nurseries, 
 where wall space is necessarily limited. As with other 
 materials, so here, there will be the early experimental 
 play. The mere covering a piece of clean white paper with 
 colour is a joyous experience to a child of three or four 
 years ; very soon he will call these efforts a blue sky, a 
 yellow cornfield, a poppy patch. Children should draw
 
 88 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 and paint out-of-doors whenever possible, for their first- 
 hand acquaintance with Nature cannot be too early en- 
 couraged. At the same time it must always be recognized 
 that little children draw principally from memory, and not 
 directly from Nature ; therefore, in drawing as in modelling, 
 the outstanding need of the little child is unhampered 
 opportunity for free expression. Much has already been 
 done in the investigation of children's free drawings, but 
 one would venture to suggest that there is still room for 
 a carefully arranged and dated collection of first drawings. 
 It would be a useful contribution to Child Study ; the 
 comparison of drawings by children of the same age but from 
 different districts, or from different social classes, would 
 give valuable and interesting evidence of the contents 
 of children's minds at this early age, and also throw light 
 on the function of drawing in mind development. 
 
 The Nursery School teacher will easily recognize the 
 supreme value of studying her children's free drawings. 
 They form a sure guide to the experiences that have 
 arrested their attention. From them she will learn that 
 there are both good and evil influences at work. They will 
 show that childish imagination is stirred by some interest 
 of colour or movement that is beautiful ; given suitable 
 materials at hand, the eager child will register that impres- 
 sion with a sureness, rapidity, and sincerity which a 
 Futurist artist might envy. Criticism of these early 
 efforts will be out of place. The child will turn to parent 
 or teacher for sympathy and appreciation, but the adult 
 must beware lest those first delicate strivings of the imagina- 
 tion are checked by well-meaning interference. It is 
 fatal to creativeness if any feeling of inability to express 
 should enter the mind of the child. A feeling of inhibition 
 has a depressing and paralysing effect ; some sensitive 
 people are hampered for life as the result of unwise criticism 
 during those early years of creative activity. 
 
 But there is the other side of the picture. It is 
 a deplorable fact that so many tiny children are now 
 taken to kinematograph shows, where they see much that 
 is undesirable, with the result that their minds are stored
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 89 
 
 with numberless ugly and harmful impressions. These 
 they reproduce in their free drawings, and many teachers, 
 distressed by what they find, naturally question the 
 advisability of allowing children to give expression to such 
 unhealthy interests. But it is surely better to know what 
 exists, for then there is more chance of counteracting the 
 harmful experiences. To be shocked by the representations 
 would only increase their baneful influence, for it would 
 probably drive the impression back into the subconscious 
 mind, there to work for trouble at some future time. It 
 would be wiser, probably, to allow the child to express freely 
 all that is seething in his mind, and at the same time 
 to provide other stronger interests. In some instances 
 the sympathetic teacher may succeed in putting a different 
 interpretation on the incident, that may direct the 
 impression into a less harmful channel. There is reason 
 to hope, too, that the taste of the nation may be improved 
 if this impulse for expression is given wise direction in the 
 Nursery School, and the good beginning continued in the 
 elementary school. In this way the vandaHsm that covers 
 public buildings, fences, and walls with unsightly drawings 
 may become extinct. 
 
 It is the custom in many schools to decorate the 
 walls with the best of the children's drawings. This 
 may probably be a helpful incentive to older children, 
 but for those of Nursery School age the interest of 
 the drawing passes with the doing of it. It has been 
 found that children appreciate the drawings of those who 
 are just a stage ahead of them, but this interest is not 
 generally aroused until about the fifth year. 
 
 Yet, with all this free work, the teacher should not be 
 satisfied unless the children are making progress. There 
 should be a marked difference between the expression 
 work of a child of three and a child of five. At present 
 the Nursery School age is from two to five, but if the age 
 be raised to six, as many hope, there should be a 
 considerable advance in the power of expression during 
 the last year. As the child's own powers increase, so will 
 he look for help and guidance. Then, and not till then
 
 90 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 should the teacher come forward to his assistance. That 
 help should generally consist in encouraging the children 
 to observe more carefully. 
 
 Children delight in colouring pictures, but when control 
 of the tool is gained, there is no further educational 
 value in the occupation ; moreover, by continual use of 
 a prepared outline freedom in the manipulation of the 
 brush, or pastel even, is lost. 
 
 Modelling 
 
 Every teacher of young children will testify to the 
 universal appeal of modelling and drawing as means of 
 expression : one, the oldest of the racial crafts ; the other, 
 one of the essential languages. From rude form to 
 decoration and ornament appears to have been the path of 
 progress in plastic art, from symbolic to realistic repre- 
 sentation the early line of advance in drawing. 
 
 Assuming a parallel between race development and 
 child development, may there not be some justification 
 in claiming that these time-honoured approaches to creative 
 expression are deeply satisfying to the young child. 
 
 The yielding material, be it putty, dough, clay, or sand, 
 is most attractive to little hands. At first the child will 
 give expression to his pure delight in activity by pulling, 
 patting, stamping, or rolling the fascinating material, with 
 no thought of representation. Given ample opportunity 
 for this experimental play, the busy, interested child will 
 quickly gain some physical mastery over the material, 
 and be ready for the next stage, the making of some 
 definite object, not from perception, but from imagery. 
 The teacher should watch for this moment. Nothing is 
 too hard or too complicated for the child to attack ; he is 
 daunted by nothing, but ranges the entire gamut of his 
 interests. He will model an aeroplane as readily as a 
 string of beads, a man or motor car as easily as mother's 
 takes or cups and saucers.
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 91 
 
 Through achievement he learns to observe with more 
 discrimination, and by degrees to express his ideas more 
 adequately. Like those of primitive man, these early 
 efforts are realistic. No criticism of this early work is 
 needed : it is enough that the children find joy in the 
 making, and that joy is enriched by the sympathy and 
 understanding of others. Progress will be seen in a 
 greater skill in handling the material, and a greater variety 
 in imagery, gradually leading to an attempt to make the 
 model truer to life. An object placed before the children 
 may be a real help, not as a model to be copied, for it is 
 doubtful whether Nursery School children would spon- 
 taneously use it for that purpose, but if before the eyes, 
 it may be referred to and used to refresh and revivify 
 images. For instance, a group of little children, illustrating 
 the nursery story of " Mary, Mary, quite contrary," 
 were noticed to glance from time to time at a watering- 
 pot placed in front of them while modelling their own 
 in clay. 
 
 The chief fact for teachers of little children to bear in 
 mind is that opportunity for free expression is the insistent 
 demand of childhood. This will not mean leaving the 
 children unguided and unrestricted. It is sometimes good 
 to work with them. At this stage the teacher should have 
 no carefully graded scheme or plan that would restrict 
 the work to any particular models. Her guide must be 
 the interests of the children. If these should centre round 
 beautifully shaped jars or pitchers, it is well, but any forcing 
 of an adult standard of difficulty or beauty would be a 
 grievous mistake. 
 
 The children in Dr. Montcssori's school make vases in 
 pottery, copied from beautiful Italian models. 
 
 How far handling and seeing beautiful shapes and forms 
 will help the little child to the formation of standards and 
 values which may influence the whole of life it would be 
 difficult to appraise. The Nursery School age is the age 
 of sense-perception, and it seems reasonable, therefore, 
 to urge the importance of beautiful surroundings and to 
 have faith in their silent appeal.
 
 93 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Musical Expression 
 
 The child of Nursery School age appears barely to reach 
 the threshold of creative expression in music. That he 
 can enjoy the songs taught him is well known. Whether 
 he would create melodies under encouraging conditions 
 the practice of the past makes it difficult to tell, for little 
 opportunity has been given or even thought of. The idea 
 that the ordinary individual may not only seek emotional 
 expression by interpreting the music of great composers, 
 but also dare to make music of his own, has not yet taken 
 sufficient hold on this generation for its influence to be 
 widely felt in education. The work of Dr. Yorke Trotter 
 and others is helping to break through the heavy sense 
 of impotence which at present inhibit^ a general freedom 
 of expression through music. The fact is, as any Nursery 
 School may discover for itself, that little children delight 
 to express themselves through simple musical phrases 
 invented by themselves. We should see that the children 
 are familiar with this possibility, and foster every tendency 
 to express ideas and feelings in this way. 
 
 Language 
 
 The extent to which spoken language is used as a 
 means of expression by little children varies considerably. 
 Vocabulary is greatly influenced by environment. It is a 
 well-known fact that children from cultured homes, as 
 a rule, use spoken language more freely than those from 
 less fortunate homes, probably because they receive more 
 attention, and their efforts greater encouragement. One 
 strong argument against the segregation of large numbers 
 of children under five or six j'cars of age in one room is 
 the consequent repression of speech. Physiologically 
 and psychologically, the Nursery School age is the age of 
 speech development. The initial difficulties of learning 
 to talk are generally mastered by the end of the third 
 year, and during the fourth and fifth years rapid strides 
 are made in the acquisition of language as a means of
 
 EDUCATION OF NURSERY CHILDREN 98 
 
 communication and as an instrument of thought. Con- 
 ditions favourable for this advance consist in a stimulating 
 environment, a ready listener, small groups, individual 
 attention, and definite teaching of words. 
 
 In the Nursery School the talking should, for the 
 most part, be done by the children. This does not mean 
 that the adult will never be called upon to read aloud, 
 to recite, to sing, to tell a story, to talk with her children. 
 Indeed listening is an important element in language 
 training. 
 
 It must be remembered therefore that power in the 
 use of language comes through havmg both something 
 to express and freedom to express it. Hence from the 
 beginning the children must have abundant opportunity 
 for freedom of expression in language. The Victorian 
 precept, " Little children should be seen and not heard," 
 has done much to blight the lives of many grown men and 
 women ; but such experiments as Mr. Caldwell Cook 
 describes in his book " The Play Way," ^ reveal the fact 
 that the English boy has much natural ability for gracious 
 speech. 
 
 Social Service 
 
 The democratic impulse in education has revealed itself 
 in the widespread movement towards socializing the 
 school, and here as in other realms a little child shall 
 lead. Much practical help and inspiration have come from 
 the writings and demonstration schools of Dr, Montessori 
 and Professor Dewey. Both educators have shown how 
 the daily tasks of practical life can be made an integral part 
 of a child's education, and Mr. Homer Lane, in the " Little 
 Commonwealth," also proved that the citizens gained 
 mastery over themselves, and formed interests which led 
 to organized thought and action, through their service 
 in and for the community. 
 
 In the home there are many to be considered, and the 
 busy mother cannot always wait while the children learn 
 1 " The Play Way," by Caldwell Cook. Heinemann.
 
 94 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 through doing. In the Nursery School there should always 
 be leisure for them to do as much as they possibly can tor 
 themselves. The atmosphere of hurry in many homes, 
 and the bewildering round of activities, give place in the 
 well-organized Nursery School to ordered service rendered 
 to self and others. There are the daily duties of personal 
 care as well as the social demands of the school. Whether 
 it be the care of the rooms, the tending of animals and 
 plants, the laying of the tables for meals, the serving o 
 the food, all these social acts, so attractive to the unspoiled 
 child, will be laying the foundations for the highest form of 
 expression — self-devotion — in later life. 
 
 Conclusion 
 
 While we lay stress on all these experiences, let us not 
 forget the value of the long, quiet spaces in the daily hfe 
 of the Nursery School child, when nothing will be required 
 of him, and he is free to run about, watching others at 
 work or play, to lie on the floor or grass, or to wander at 
 large in the garden amongst the flowers. 
 
 These influences, and many more that the poets of 
 childhood understand, will contribute to the making of the 
 citizen of the better, happier England for which we work 
 and hope— the England yet to be.
 
 PART IV 
 
 THE HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 
 By Catherine Chisholm, B.A., M.D. 
 
 Hon. Physician to the Manchester Babies' Hospital 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE CHILD AND HIS DEVELOPMENT 
 
 FROM the first it has been recognized that the 
 Nursery School must be under careful medical 
 supervision, as in it the physical condition of- 
 the child is the first consideration. It links up the schools 
 for mothers with the elementary schools, and is, to 
 the medical authority concerned with child welfare, a 
 necessary part of a complete educational scheme. The 
 Nursery School provides for children whose homes are 
 inadequate to give training in those regular habits on 
 which health in later years depends. Incipient defects 
 may be detected early in such children whilst under con- 
 stant supervision, and checked before it is too late. 
 
 The Nursery School has dangers peculiar to itself, and 
 its institution is only justifiable when precaution against 
 those dangers are rigorously adopted. 
 
 The young are prone to pick up infections at a stage 
 when infections are particularly harmful to them. The 
 fatahty of scarlet fever and diphtheria, according to Dr. 
 Martin, of Stroud, is 200 per cent, greater for children 
 
 95
 
 96 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 under five years of age than from five to fifteen years, 
 (See Report of Consultative Committee upon the School 
 Attendance of Children below the age of five.) 
 
 Not only do these diseases cause many deaths, but the 
 after-effects on those who survive are, as a rule, more 
 serious than is the case with older children. 
 
 In arranging a Nursery School we must see that the con- 
 ditions provide what is essential to growth, and also 
 that the risk of infection is reduced to a minimum. 
 
 The medical officer is therefore concerned with : 
 I. The physical development of the child. 
 II. The environment of the child and its daily routine. 
 III. The prevention of disease. 
 
 The Nursery School provides for the education of the 
 child from two years old to six. 
 
 No attempt ought to be made in these schools 
 to classify the children according to their age. One 
 child is still a baby at two years, whilst another is so ad- 
 vanced as to be indistinguishable from many children of 
 three. There seems to be a greater approximation to a 
 rather more definite standard at five years of age. But 
 during all the early years development takes place 
 gradually and irregularly. This process must never be 
 forced, and the children of various ages should be grouped 
 together as in a family. 
 
 Physical Characteristics ol a Child of Nursery School Age 
 
 The child of two entering the Nursery School should be 
 about two feet eight inches in height, and twenty-eight and 
 a half pounds in weight. He should have a good colour, • 
 with fresh, clear skin, and be able to run about on firm, 
 steady legs. His chest should be well expanded and 
 rounded ; the abdomen should not be over prominent ; 
 his back should be straight, surmounted by a proportionate 
 head, whose circumference should be greater than the 
 chest, and whose fontanelle should be imperceptible. 
 There ought to be sixteen teeth present, and the last four 
 double teeth should be appearing. The whole set of milk- 
 teeth should be complete by the time he is two years and a
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 97 
 
 half old. At six years all the milk-teeth should still be 
 present. The permanent set, with the exception of the 
 wisdom teeth, are now in the jaw, gradually pushing the 
 first set upward, and by the end of the sixth year the latter 
 begin to drop out. The permanent set are much better 
 formed when the milk-teeth are not lost early ; hence the 
 importance of keeping the first set in good condition as 
 long as possible. 
 
 Sense Development 
 
 Sense development at two years of age is well advanced. 
 The mechanical apparatus of the ear is fully developed. 
 Part of it may be obstructed, as sometimes happens when 
 enlarged tonsils and post-nasal adenoids block the space 
 into which the Eustachian tube opens. 
 
 In this way is caused much of the deafness existing in 
 young children, or developing during school life. A 
 secondary effect also of these growths is the infection 
 which may travel along the tube from the throat to the 
 ear, causing middle-ear trouble, and later a discharge 
 from the outer ear. 
 
 The apparatus of the eye is fully developed, but not yet 
 perfectly formed, the immature eyeball being short from 
 front to back. This causes a blurred object to be formed 
 on the retina, and gives the condition known as hyper- 
 metropia. As the child grows, this condition is corrected, 
 but till that occurs the effort to focus in order to see small 
 print or fine work is a nervous and muscular strain. A 
 young child should therefore never be called upon to make 
 such efforts. 
 
 Where the eyeball, instead of being too short from front 
 to back, is too long, a condition known as myopia is found. 
 This condition tends to get worse rather than better. 
 Such children have prominent eyes, and as they do not sec 
 distant objects clearly, they are specially interested in 
 pictures, reading and writing, and things near to them. 
 These children should be supplied with glasses, and dis- 
 couraged from engaging too much in close occupations. 
 7
 
 98 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Many young children squint. This is in many cases 
 due to eye strain occasioned by astigmatism — that is, an 
 inequahty of the corneal curvature, which gives the 
 eye muscles extra work to do in order to focus clearly. 
 Squinting may also come on after a debilitating illness. 
 Whenever this symptom is noticed, proper medical 
 treatment should be procured. 
 
 The high prevalence of eye defects among school children 
 is appalling. Dr. Crowley, in ' ' The Hygiene of School 
 Life," states that approximately one in ten of all children 
 living a city life have some eye defect. 
 
 It is difficult for any but experts to examine the sight 
 of such young children, but a knowledge of the defects 
 frequently found, and of the contributing causes, would 
 make it possible to avoid the conditions which cause eye 
 strain. 
 
 It is of importance to realize that, though the apparatus 
 of eye and ear is fairly developed at two years of age, the 
 cerebral developments connected with those organs are 
 still incomplete. The researches of Joseph Shaw Bolton 
 show that marked changes in the cortex are still going 
 on in the early years of life. It has been ascertained 
 that when eye or ear are atrophied the cortex is not so 
 well developed. On the other hand, when abundant 
 stimuli from eye and ear proceed to the brain a fuller 
 development takes place. An education by appeal to 
 hand, eye, and ear is thus physiologically sound for young 
 children. In excess, however, it involves effort and 
 fatigue to the nervous system ; therefore it is important 
 to give to children quiet times during the day, when most 
 of these stimuli are cut off and the whole body is allowed 
 to rest. 
 
 Speech 
 
 The- child of two should be able to form words, and be 
 
 already linking them into sentences. Many, however, 
 
 find difficulty in correct articulation. For these the 
 
 - i^ursery School may do much in helping them to correct
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 99 
 
 their speech before bad habits are formed. Much can also 
 be done in the early years for children who stammer and 
 stutter by taking trouble with them in the early stages, 
 whether the habit begins with the first attempts at speech, 
 or is acquired later, as sometimes is the case with nervous 
 children. In their case, a regime of fresh air, plenty of 
 sleep, and the correction of all defects, especially of the 
 respiratory organs, are essential. Breathing exercises 
 should be practised as soon as the child can understand 
 them. Short periods of practising difficult sounds will 
 help, and medical treatment in all cases of both backward 
 and nervous children should be obtained. 
 
 Muscular Movements 
 
 The muscular system of the body is active at two years 
 of age, and co-ordination in the chief coarse movements 
 of the body has been acquired. Fine movements, how- 
 ever, such as are used in writing and sewing, are not yet 
 obtained, and should not be attempted until five or six 
 years of age. Even then they should only be practised 
 for short periods of time. Thick pencils should be used for 
 writing, coarse needles, cottons, and materials for sewing, 
 and only large stitches (as illustrated by Miss Margaret 
 Swanson in "Educational Needlccraft ") ^ should be 
 taught. 
 
 Free natural play as a method of exercising the muscles 
 is invaluable. Children, with their natural love for rhythm, 
 enjoy marching and drilling to music, and this helps 
 general bodily development. Only movements involving 
 the large muscles should be practised by young children, 
 and these but for very short periods, for physical exercises, 
 and even organized games, may easily become a severe 
 effort. 
 
 Educational Ncedlecraft," M. Swanson and A. Macbeth. 
 Longmans.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE CHILD 
 
 THE buildings, heating, ventilation, and equipment 
 of the Nursery School are treated in another 
 section of the book. It seems essential, however, 
 to emphasize one or two points. 
 
 Daily exercise in the open air is essential for the health 
 of every child. Therefore no Nursery School should exist 
 without a sheltered garden. Where possible the school 
 buildings should be of the open-air type. For the after- 
 noon's sleep, quiet, well-ventilated rooms are necessary, 
 but whenever possible the children's beds should be placed 
 out of doors, with shade and shelter according to the 
 weather. 
 
 A small room should always be set aside for the isolation 
 of suspected cases of illness, and another room should be 
 available for rest, for children showing signs of fatigue 
 or malaise at any time during the day. 
 
 As regards the warmth of the rooms, the maintenance 
 of an even temperature should be the chief aim, for children 
 have difficulty in regulating heat production. Also, com- 
 pared with adults, they have a larger superficial skin area, 
 and therefore lose heat from the body more quickly. 
 
 About 60° F. is a suitable temperature for the rooms. 
 A temperature below 55° F. inside a building causes 
 discomfort ; above 60° F. it causes lassitude. 
 
 When, however, children are well fed and well clothed, 
 and are acclimatized to an open-air life, even little ones 
 thrive well out of doors all the year round. Suitable 
 food and clothing are in these circumstances a sine qua 
 non. 
 
 100
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 101 
 
 The rooms should be large enough to give each child a 
 minimum floor space of fifteen square feet, but in no case 
 should more than thirty children occupy one room. An 
 ideal group would not number more than twelve or fifteen 
 children, for there is a considerable nervous strain on young 
 children when they are associated in large numbers. 
 
 All toys and apparatus should be capable of being 
 cleaned and disinfected, and should not be painted.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 CONSIDERATIONS AFFECTING THE DAILY 
 ROUTINE 
 
 INASMUCH as the Nursery School is generally con- 
 cerned with the training of the children in good 
 hygienic habits, the method of spending the day 
 must be considered in this section of the book. 
 
 Bathing 
 
 The child on arrival must be received and inspected by 
 the superintendent, in order that his general condition 
 may be investigated. It is of vital importance to the 
 nursery- that the first symptom of any illness should be 
 noticed. The cleanliness of the child can at the same 
 time be investigated. Every child of Nursery School age 
 should have a daily bath. The mother ought to attend 
 to this. If the child does not arrive clean at the school, 
 his condition should be demonstrated to the mother, and 
 he must be bathed and washed. 
 
 A high standard of cleanliness must be maintained, 
 and experience shows that the mothers quickly respond 
 when the superintendent is sj^mpathetic and helpful. 
 
 The practice which holds in some Nursery Schools of 
 bathing every child, whether it is clean or not, is unfair 
 to the health of the child, as well as demoralizing in its 
 effect ^xi the mother. Mothers are apt to stop performing 
 what has become a work of supererogation. 
 
 When bathing a child the superintendent should have
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 103 
 
 in mind the tendency of young children to take cold. 
 She should always end a bath with a tepid sponge down, 
 and a good rub with a rough towel. The clothes should 
 then be put on quickly. 
 
 Clothing 
 
 The question of providing nursery clothes is a conten- 
 tious one. To be constantly altering the number and 
 weight of the garments regardless of the climatic conditions 
 is dangerous to any child. Children do not quickly regulate 
 their temperature to sudden changes. This tendency to 
 take cold is a danger where nursery clothes are provided. 
 The child should not have his or her clothes changed from 
 the many garments the mother often provides into a 
 sensibly arranged dress, and then back again for the 
 journey home. A nursery overall of washable material 
 should, however, be provided for each child. Changes in 
 the quantity and quality of the clothes should only be made 
 according to the state of the weather, never according to 
 the calendar. 
 
 The mother ought to be shown modern methods of 
 clothing, and the advantage of simple garments. The 
 dangers of tight clothes and the harmfulness of either too 
 many or of too scanty garments should be demonstrated. 
 Woollen garments covering the limbs in winter, and 
 lighter ones, either of the same material or of cellular 
 type, allowing air and sunshine to get to the limbs, should 
 be worn in summer. A vest or combinations covered by 
 a bodice, to which knickers are attached, and a simple 
 upper garment, after the fashion of a gymnasium or pina- 
 fore frock, are suitable for girls. For little boys, combina- 
 tions and suits of knickers and blouse, or coat, are sufficient. 
 The thickness of the material should be varied with the 
 weather. 
 
 Training in Regular Habits 
 
 The superintendent should inquire of the mother
 
 104 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 whether the daily evacuation of the bowel has taken place. 
 The Nursery School should train the child in regular 
 habits if the mother has not done so. Much constipation 
 in after life can be avoided by early training. In the case 
 of an unduly constipated child the mother should be given 
 medical advice, or directed where to obtain it. 
 
 In the management of a Nursery School the lavatory 
 problem often looms unduly large, but it is one which 
 often necessitates careful attention. Most, if not all, 
 children can be trained to be clean by (i) attending to 
 the general health, so that the nervous energy is sufficiently 
 developed and strong enough to control the bladder; 
 (2) attending to local conditions by removing sources 
 of irritation, such as uncleanliness, tight foreskin, 
 thread-worms; (3) training the child to relieve himself 
 at regular intervals, gradually lengthened, until the normal 
 opportunities of the break for lunch, dinner, and after 
 the afternoon sleep are sufficient. If control is not acquired, 
 medical aid should be sought, as it is important to treat 
 such cases early. 
 
 Care of Teeth 
 
 The toilet must be finished by teaching the children 
 how to clean their teeth. It is important to provide 
 good tooth brushes, as harm has resulted from swallowing 
 loose bristles. The front and back of the teeth should be 
 brushed, the mouth washed out and the throat gargled. 
 It is difficult for a very young child to gargle, but even 
 the three and four year old children often become adepts. 
 
 Breathing Exercises 
 
 Some part of the morning should be set aside for 
 breathing exercises, to be taken whenever possible in 
 the open air. From the earliest days proper breathing 
 should be encouraged, and any obstruction from adenoids 
 or nasal catarrh treated.
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 105 
 
 The child should be made to clear the nose thoroiighl}', 
 by holding the handkerchief under the nose with one hand, 
 while with the other hand he pinches the top bony 
 portion of the nose, leaving the nostrils uncompressed and 
 open, at the same time making an expiratory effort. 
 
 He must also be taught, having shut his mouth, to 
 breathe in through the left nostril by blocking the right, 
 and alternately with the right by blocking the left. In 
 some cases, but not necessarily always, he should breathe 
 out through the mouth. He should repeat these actions 
 several times. He should then breathe in through the 
 right and out through the left nostril, by blocking the left 
 for inspiration and the right for expiration, and vice versa. 
 
 Food 
 
 In the middle of the morning the children will arrange 
 their own lunch table with glasses of milk (five ounces) 
 and a biscuit or two. About half-past twelve the mid-day 
 meal will be laid. In some Nursery Schools the children 
 will go home for dinner. It is, however, preferable in most 
 cases that they should stay for dinner. The preparation 
 for the meal and the partaking of it provide an opportunity 
 for training them to wash before meals and to cat decently 
 and slowly ; the daily routine can then be continued more 
 satisfactorily. Further, the dinner can be made a demon- 
 stration to the mothers of the proper preparation and 
 presentation of a meal, and they should always be en- 
 couraged to come and see their children's meal Only such 
 ingredients as the mother could provide at home should be 
 used. Inexpensive foods of good dietetic value, which 
 the mothers often despise, may, with advantage, be incor- 
 porated in the menus as a demonstration of their utility. 
 Dinner should consist of a varied diet of two courses, and 
 always be accompanied by some fluid. Children often do 
 not take enough to drink, and though it is important not 
 to dilute the gastric secretion, especially in cases of dyspep- 
 sia, children need and enjoy a glass of milk or water with 
 or after their midday meal. The fluid should be drunk
 
 106 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 slowly, and the child should never be allowed to wash 
 down the food with it. Between meals children should 
 be encouraged to drink water, but not near the bedtime. 
 Every child should have at least a pint of milk a day, 
 either at home or at school. 
 
 Two mistakes are often made in institutional diets for 
 children. The meals are too monotonous and the food too 
 soft. A monotonous diet fails to give the stimulation to 
 glandular secretion which is necessary to a delicate digestion 
 and advantageous to a healthy one. The soft diet fails to 
 provide the child with exercise for teeth and jaws. The 
 first part of digestion is performed in the mouth by the 
 intimate mixture of the saliva with the food ; if the food 
 is soft it slips down easily, and in this case the facial muscles 
 do not develop, nor do the bones, and the second teeth 
 are spoilt, having no room to develop properly in a small 
 jaw. If undigested starch, which should have been acted 
 on by the saliva, is passed on to the stomach, the working 
 of the intestinal canal is disturbed. Crusts and rusks are 
 thus excellent for children. 
 
 Incorporated in the meal there ought also to be some 
 food which will leave some refuse undigested which will 
 stimulate the intestinal canal. If all the food is completely 
 digested the bowel becomes sluggish. For this reason 
 porridge, whole-meal bread, and fruit ought to find a place 
 in a child's diet. 
 
 Foods suitable for children from two to six are, for 
 
 Dinner 
 
 I. Meat — such as lamb stew, beef stew. 
 
 Or Fish — cod, flounders, haddock, halibut. None 
 
 of these should ever be fried. 
 Or Vegetable Soup — made from peas, beans, lentils, 
 
 and fresh vegetables. Scotch broth. 
 Or Egg — soft boiled, poached, or scrambled. 
 
 With these should be served vegetables — carrots, 
 beets, cabbage, sprouts, onions, potatoes, 
 macaroni, rice.
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 107 
 
 11. Pudding — rice, tapioca, bread, sago, light boiled 
 puddings such as ginger and lemon (occasionally), 
 junket, cornflour mould, rice mould, custard — 
 with stewed fruit, apples, prunes, apricots, etc. 
 
 Some of the dried fruits, properly soaked before cooking, 
 are of excellent food value. Any cabbage given must be 
 very well cooked. Pork, veal, greasy stews should not 
 be given. 
 
 The courses should be arranged with due regard to 
 their food value and their digestibility. With the soups 
 crusts of bread should be served. A slice of bread would 
 well accompany each dinner. 
 
 If the children stay for tea, variety can again be intro- 
 duced into a simple meal, as follows : Milk or cocoa, with 
 bread and margarine, butter, honey, or jam. Neither 
 coffee nor tea, however weak, should appear on the table. 
 
 No definite quantities are here given. Only experience 
 of her family will teach the cook how much to prepare. 
 
 Children seldom, over-eat if given a simple, nutritious 
 diet. They should be taught to eat what is put before 
 them. Fat, however, is tolerated with difficulty by some 
 children. A wise superintendent will modify the helpings 
 given to the capacity of the child, realizing the importance 
 of the fat soluble vitamine to growth. 
 
 Sleep 
 
 After a midday meal the children should be put to 
 sleep in the shade outside, or in a well-ventilated, quiet 
 room. Rough canvas, stretched on a frame, forms a 
 satisfactory couch which can be readily cleaned. The 
 head should rest on a light cushion, and the child should 
 be covered by a wrap. Children should be expected to 
 lie still for at least an hour, and if then asleep should not 
 be wakened. 
 
 The mothers should be urged to put the children to bed 
 in a well-ventilated room by 6.30 p.m., in order that they 
 may get a long night's rest.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 MEDICAL SUPERVISION 
 
 EACH child who enters the Nursery School should 
 have a complete physical examination, A record 
 of this should be made and kept. This record 
 should be as simple as possible, but it should show the 
 result of examination on entrance, together with the 
 family history and an account of the home conditions. 
 Each month, if not more frequently, the child should 
 be measured and weighed, and his progress noted. Any 
 failure to gain should be carefully noted by the superin- 
 tendent, and be reported to the medical officer on his 
 visit. 
 
 Gain in weight does not always proceed regularly. In 
 normal children it is generally greater in autumn than in 
 spring. Gain in height is greater in summer than winter. 
 Sometimes for weeks there may be no gain, and then a 
 sudden spurt is made. A regular gain is, however, more 
 satisfactory. 
 
 Tables of average heights and weights are appended. 
 These are the tables given by the Anthropological Society 
 as the average of all England in all classes. 
 
 1 08
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 109 
 
 Tables of Average Heights and Weights of Children from 
 one to seven years of age, in clothes and uithoiit shoes. 
 
 BOYS. 
 
 AGE 
 
 GIRLS. 
 
 Height. 
 
 Weight, 
 
 
 Height. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 1 
 ft. ins. St. lbs. 
 
 
 ft. ins. 
 
 St. lbs. 
 
 25^ I 4i 
 
 I 
 
 2 3i 
 
 I 4 
 
 2 cS.l 2 4i 
 
 2 
 
 2 7 
 
 I Hi 
 
 2 II 1 2 6 
 
 3 
 
 2 10 
 
 2 3J 
 
 3 I j 2 9 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 8 ' 
 
 3 4 
 
 2 12 
 
 5 
 
 3 3 
 
 2 II 
 
 3 7 
 
 3 ^ 
 
 6 
 
 3 6 
 
 2 13:^ 
 
 3 10 
 
 3 71 
 
 7 
 
 3 8 
 
 3 5i 
 
 A form is also appended, simply drawn up to show 
 monthly records of height and weight, results of physical 
 examination, and with spaces for periodical observations 
 by the medical officer. On the reverse side is the family 
 and social history. 
 
 Much more elaborate records may be kept, but it seems 
 advisable to limit the secretarial work as far as possible. 
 
 In weighing children it is important to see that the scales 
 are accurate. Children should be weighed at the same 
 time of the day on each occasion. The garments must 
 also be similar on each weighing day in those cases where 
 the children are not undressed to be weighed. 
 
 The school doctor should be available for consultation 
 on any occasion. Routine visits should be paid each week 
 for the examination of new entrants and for the inspec- 
 tion of those who are not progressing in a satisfactory 
 way. 
 
 The superintendent and her assistants should be con- 
 stantly observing the physical condition of the children,
 
 110 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 and report at once failing health to the medical officer. 
 The healthy child is bright and lively and of good colour. 
 When tired after a certain amount of play he becomes 
 sleepy and quiet. If allowed to play beyond the hour 
 of rest he becomes fretful, irritable, and bad-tempered. 
 Frequently bad temper means nothing but nervous ex- 
 haustion. The child will respond to the stimulation of 
 attractive objects, to companionship of his own age, or 
 that of older people, long after the time when he should 
 normally rest. The result will always be fretfulness and 
 irritability. When this happens once in a way, little harm 
 is done, but, with repetition, the nervous reserve of the 
 child is exhausted, and, his nervous system being in a state 
 of irritation, his rest is disturbed ; little twitching move- 
 ments take place during sleep, the child cries out and has 
 terrifying dreams. When awake, he is either highly 
 nervous, or listless and spiritless ; his muscles are tremulous, 
 and he may develop what are known as habit spasms. 
 For example, he may begin to blink his eyes or corrugate 
 his forehead. 
 
 Examples of such cases are seen among children who 
 frequent kinemas, and are thus subjected to a treble 
 nervous strain : 
 
 (i) From the eyes. 
 
 (2) From the stimulation of many new ideas. 
 
 (3) From loss of the early hours of sleep. 
 
 Special expressions of face and hand in cases of fatigue 
 in young children have been described by Dr. Francis 
 Warner. Fatigue may be due either to over-nervous 
 stimulation or to failure of the general physical condition. 
 This failure may be due to lack of nourishment or to the 
 onset of disease. The two diseases which are most often 
 found in the Nursery School of big towns are tuberculosis 
 and rickets. 
 
 Tuberculosis often causes an appearance of ill-health, 
 characterized by a cloudy complexion and a toxic or 
 poisoned appearance. Sometimes, however, tubercular 
 children look unnaturally bright. Such children are 
 frequently subject to febrile attacks. They lose weight
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 111 
 
 and may develop enlarged glands. These latter always 
 call for attention and treatment. Enlarged glands are 
 often affected by the tubercle bacillus, even if originally 
 caused by poisoning from bad teeth, discharging ears, 
 lice in the head, or septic spots. Enlarged glands, even 
 if tubercular, often respond very well to treatment if the 
 primary cause of enlargement is removed, and if the 
 patient is given good nourishment, sunshine, and fresh air. 
 
 Rickety children are often short, pale, fat, and flabb3', 
 with curved legs, bowed backs, square heads, and prominent 
 abdomens. These children improve remarkably with 
 suitable food, fresh air, massage, and plenty of the proper 
 kind of exercise, graduated according to the weight of 
 their bodies and the state of their bones. 
 
 The medical officer and the superintendent should be 
 in touch with Schools for Mothers, Infant Welfare Centres, 
 the family doctors of the districts, and the hospitals near, 
 so that proper treatment may be at once secured for any 
 child who may need it. 
 
 The Nursery School should take children directl}' from 
 the Maternity and Infant Welfare Centres, and should work 
 in full accord with them and their medical officers. The 
 knowledge of the family history thus gained is of great value. 
 
 The intelligent and careful watchfulness of the superin- 
 tendent of the Nursery School, and her assistance to the 
 mother, who is often at a loss to know how to get her child 
 proper medical advice, and even more at a loss how to 
 follow out the instructions given her, will be invaluable 
 in checking early any defects found by the medical officer. 
 
 Medical examination, without opportunities for treat- 
 ment either at the school clinic or without collaboration 
 with other remedial agencies, such as dental clinics, 
 hospitals, etc., is of little value. Medical inspection is 
 intended not only to detect hut to prevent disease. 
 
 In a Nursery School, where the surroundings are healthy 
 and the superintendent and the mothers are intelligent 
 and careful, the work of the medical officer is generally 
 confined to calling attention to incipient defects and 
 indicating where suitable treatment may be obtained.
 
 112 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Family. Address : 
 
 
 Name. | 
 
 Occupation. 
 
 Employer. 
 
 Wages. 
 
 Father 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mother 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wage- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Earning 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Children 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total. 
 
 Children 
 
 No. 
 
 Health. 
 
 Sex. Age. 
 
 
 
 
 N 
 
 Alive. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Died or 
 
 
 Causes of Death. 
 
 
 
 
 Stillborn or 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miscarriages 
 
 
 
 bex. 
 
 Age. 
 
 
 
 
 General Home Conditions 
 
 General Health of Fa»:ily :
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 113 
 
 IS 
 
 o 
 
 E 
 
 M 
 iH 
 
 a 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Date Date 0( 
 Record. 
 Entered Nursery 
 Left Nursery 
 
 en 
 
 3 
 O 
 ■> 
 0) 
 
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 CHAPTER V 
 
 INFECTIOUS DISEASE 
 
 THE prevention of infectious disease is one of the 
 most anxious duties of the staff of the Nursery 
 School. After they are weaned little children 
 are very susceptible to infections. The younger the child, 
 the more serious are the after effects likely to be. The 
 immature developing frame will naturally suffer more 
 than the more developed and established organism. A 
 slight attack of measles may leave more serious effects on 
 the small child than a more severe attack on an older 
 child. It is therefore the more necessary that every 
 precaution should be taken — (i) To avoid infection in 
 the nursery ; (2) to stop the spread, once infection has 
 occurred. 
 
 By infectious disease we mean not only the acute in- 
 fectious fevers, but the catarrhal infections which spread 
 from child to child by the diffusion of micro-organisms, as 
 well as the contagious impetiginous skin eruptions, sore 
 eyes, etc., which are often difficult to cure in poorly 
 nourished children. We must also consider the parasitic 
 infections, such as ringworm, lice, and scabies. It is 
 recognized that children who have the benefit of plenty of 
 fresh air and sunshine are less susceptible than others to 
 infectious disease. This is partly because the children 
 are in a better condition to deal with the infectious micro- 
 organisms, and partly because the fresh air and sunlight 
 tend to destroy micro-organisms. 
 
 The greatest care must be taken to prevent infected
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 115 
 
 children entering the nursery. For this reason the most 
 highly trained person on the staff, i.e. the superintendent, 
 should receive the children each day or be present super- 
 vising her assistants. It is not enough for an unskilled 
 person to be told to report anything she observes to be 
 wrong. Each child must be examined by a trained 
 observer. Here comes in the question as to whether the 
 children should be undressed daily. It is the opinion of 
 the writer that this is unnecessary. The skilled assistant 
 soon notices a child who is sickening. The onset of a rash 
 is in most cases preceded by a longer or shorter preliminary 
 stage in which the child is sickening. In some diseases, 
 as in measles, the prodromal or preliminary stage before 
 the rash appears is the most infectious period of the disease. 
 The superintendent then, whilst the outdoor things are 
 being removed and the overall is being put on, ought to 
 examine the face and neck of the child. If there is the 
 slightest cause for suspicion, the chest ought also to be 
 examined, and the temperature taken. A suggestion of 
 sore throat ought to lead to careful investigation, and 
 complete separation of the child from the others pending 
 developments. 
 
 Running colds, sore eyelids, any lumps such as suggest 
 enlarged glands or abscesses, sores on hands or feet, ought 
 to be at once attended to, according to the instructions 
 left for such cases by the medical officer, and a very free 
 use made of the isolation room for suspicious cases. 
 
 It may be necessary to explain that the acute infectious 
 diseases go through the following stages : 
 
 (i) A period in which the child, after exposure to in- 
 fection, is said to be incubating the disease, and during 
 which he shows httle, if any, sign of illness. This is 
 succeeded by : (2) a prodromal or invasion period, when 
 the child is not well; (3) an eruptive period, when the 
 rash appears ; (4) a convalescent period, during which 
 quarantine has to be maintained. 
 
 The following are the signs of the onset of the more 
 general infectious diseases :
 
 11« NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Chickenpox 
 
 Chickenpox has a very slight invasion period. Often the 
 eruption is the first observed sign. Sometimes there is 
 malaise and crossness, and there may be a well marked 
 temperature and headache for a day or two, but this is not 
 usual ; usually the bright red spots on the back, which 
 disappear on stretching the skin, and which contain clear 
 fluid within twelve hours, are the first signs noted These 
 spots come on face, scalp, body, and limbs. They come 
 out in crops, and often the spots, the blisters (or vesicles) 
 and the scabs into which the vesicles dry, are to be seen 
 all at the same time on the body. 
 
 Smallpox 
 
 Smallpox, with which bad chickenpox may be confused, 
 is rarely found in a vaccinated Nursery School child. 
 In this disease the invasion period is three or four days, 
 and the signs of illness marked with backache, fever, and 
 vomiting. The spots all come out at once. They appear 
 first on the face and wrist. 
 
 Diphtheria 
 
 Diphtheria gives rise to a sore throat, about which the 
 child may complain. He may just sit and look miserable, 
 refusing to swallow anything. The pain, however, may 
 not be great and swallowing may be easy. The glands 
 at the angle of the jaw are generally enlarged and tender. 
 
 The temperature is raised, but may not be more 
 than 100° to ioi° F., even if the child is very ill. The 
 pulse is much quicker than would be expected, and 
 the child generally looks grey and ill and languid out 
 of proportion to the temperature. On examination, the 
 throat looks red, and on one or other tonsil, or on the 
 soft palate, a grey tough-looking membrane may be seen. 
 
 Fear of infection is past only when no diphtheria 
 organisms can be found in nose or throat. Some people
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 117 
 
 continue to be carriers for a long time, spreading the 
 disease when they themselves are apparently well. For 
 this reason, when infection has occurred, it is usual to 
 examine swabs taken from the throats of all who were in 
 contact with the case. 
 
 Measles 
 
 Measles is the disease which shares with whooping 
 cough the odium of causing the most disaster to children 
 of Nursery School age. The onset of both diseases is 
 insidious. They are most infectious in the stage when 
 they are most difficult to diagnose. They are both serious 
 in the way in which they affect the system at the time, 
 and both are apt to hamper the child permanently by the 
 deafness or bronchitis they leave behind. 
 
 A child in the prodromal stage of measles suffers from 
 catarrhal symptoms, sneezing, running nose and eyes, 
 fever, and a raised temperature. The presence of bluish- 
 white spots on the inner side of the cheeks or lips, known 
 as Koplik's spots, helps to differentiate measles from a 
 common cold in the days before the rash appears. 
 
 In measles a double rise in the temperature often occurs, 
 and the knowledge of such a possibility should prevent a 
 superintendent being lulled into security. The child, 
 being feverish, and with a cold, may have a temperature 
 of 102° F, This may fall to normal in the morning, only 
 to rise again within twelve hours, and then stay up till 
 the rash appears. 
 
 On the soft palate and roof of the mouth small red points 
 may be observed a day or two before the rash appears. 
 The rash consists of raised red points, quickly becoming 
 darker and papular, and running into patches, with a 
 crescentic margin. The spots are first observed on the fore- 
 head, round the ears, and on the face. The rash spreads 
 over the body within twenty-four hours. The infection 
 period ceases when the rash is completely gone and all 
 discharges from throat and nose are absent.
 
 118 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 German Measles 
 
 German Measles is characterized generally by slighter 
 prodromal symptoms. Sneezing is not a marked symptom, 
 but generally occurs. There may be some rise in tempera- 
 ture and malaise. The rash is a brighter red than in 
 measles, but more rose-coloured than in scarlet fever. 
 The differential diagnosis is sometimes difficult. The 
 rash is of a scarlet variety, more punctate than the papular 
 form of measles, but the spots are not so discrete as in 
 scarlet, and the oral triangle or portion of skin round the 
 mouth, which is never affected by a scarlet rash, is affected 
 in German Measles. There are not the crescentic outlines 
 which are present in ordinary measles. The eyes are 
 generally infected, and the glands at the back of the neck 
 are enlarged and tender. The throat may be very sore, 
 and pain on swallowing may be marked, but less than 
 would be expected in a scarlatina of equal severity. 
 
 Mumps 
 
 Mumps may only be discovered by the swelling on the 
 side of the face, running from the ear to the angle of the 
 mouth. There may, however, have been malaise for two 
 or three days, and this should be watched for in the case of 
 children who have been exposed to the infection. These 
 latter may show languor, loss of appetite, with fever, 
 and may complain of shooting pains over the side of the 
 face and into the ear. 
 
 Nose bleeding and pain on eating are also observed. 
 Isolation may cease when three weeks have passed, if the 
 swelling has subsided for a week. 
 
 Scarlet Fever 
 
 Scarlet Fever, though a serious disease for the young 
 infant, is not in some respects as harassing to the authorities 
 as is measles or whooping cough. The incubation period 
 is short and the invasion is sudden, the child not being as 
 a rule infectious till it is obviously ill and unfit for school.
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 119 
 
 Once infection has occurred, disinfection and segregation 
 for five days ought to Hmit the spread. Unfortunately, 
 the micro-organism is exceedingly resistant and vital, and 
 can be carried in a hundred ways, by books, toys, clothing, 
 animals, etc., and fresh outbreaks after what has been 
 considered careful disinfection have frequently occurred. 
 Moreover, as a mild case can transmit most virulent 
 infection to a susceptible subject, it is of the highest 
 importance to isolate at once any suspicious case. A 
 sudden attack of vomiting, together with a raised tempera- 
 ture and sore throat, must be considered suspicious. 
 The rash appears almost at once (within a day) on neck, 
 chest, shoulders, and forehead. It looks like very fine 
 scarlet points on a pink ground, and always the white 
 area round the red lips presents on a face flushed, but not 
 covered with rash, a typical appearance. If the fingers 
 are drawn along the skin, a white line which lasts a few 
 minutes is produced. The eyes are bright and neither 
 have catarrh nor are they infected. 
 
 On the first day of the disease the tongue is coated with 
 a creamy fur. Infection is only over when all discharges 
 from the nose, eyes and throat have ceased. 
 
 Typhoid Fever 
 
 Typhoid Fever need not entail any description. The 
 sickening child with headache, loss of appetite, furred 
 tongue and a rising temperature, ought in any case to be 
 referred to the medical officer, who would keep the child 
 under medical observation till the diagnosis is made. 
 
 Whooping Cough or Pertussis 
 
 The organism in this case is present in the nose and 
 throat, and is spread by the spray from the child's cough. 
 It is astonishing how far such spray can be carried by the 
 air and air currents. It is difficult in many cases to trace 
 infection because of this. 
 
 The incubation period is from five to fourteen days. 
 The onset begins with a coryza or cold in the nose and
 
 120 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 running at the eyes. There is generally malaise, very 
 slight rise of temperature, loss of appetite, and a dry 
 cough, worse towards night, which, despite the fact that 
 there are few, if any, physical signs in the chest, and 
 despite treatment, gets worse after about seven to ten 
 days. The cough comes on in paroxysms. The child 
 appears quite well, is running about and playing, when 
 suddenly it gets red in the face and begins coughing in an 
 explosive way. Later a characteristic inspiratory spasm 
 with a stridulant whoop occurs. The cough generally 
 ends with a little mucus being brought up. Frequently 
 the attacks are so severe that they end in vomiting and 
 absolute exhaustion. It must be remembered that the 
 whoop lasts long after the infection is over, and may recur 
 with every succeeding cold for some months. Further, 
 a somewhat similar cough occurs in some cases of chronic 
 bronchitis, particularly with inflammation of the bronchial 
 glands. 
 
 Occasionally a child suffering from pertussis may not 
 get the characteristic whoop, but only have the spasmodic 
 cough. When the little dry cough, so persistent in 
 character, is becoming spasmodic in type, we have the 
 most infectious period of the disease. 
 
 It is impossible to say with certainty when the child 
 ceases to be infectious. There appears to be no doubt that 
 many whooping children are quite free from infection. 
 
 It must be remembered that some cases of infectious 
 disease can run their course and the child be back in the 
 Nursery School before the other children exposed to the 
 infection have developed the disease, as in slight cases of 
 mumps, chickenpox, and German measles. 
 
 Prevention of the Spread of Infection 
 
 After infection has occurred steps must be taken to 
 prevent the spread of the disease. If the Nursery School 
 is not closed, special precautions must be taken to prevent 
 a second crop of cases being produced by infection from 
 the original contacts. The latter must be most carefully
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 121 
 
 watched for early signs towards the end of the period of 
 incubation. 
 
 The writer has found a modification of the Milnes 
 System of preventing infection very valuable. When an 
 outbreak is expected all contact should be treated by 
 rubbing the neck and chest with eucalyptus oil, and about 
 ten drops should be sprinkled on the overall. 
 
 It is true that the smell of eucalyptus is disagreeable, 
 but it is clean and fresh and much preferable to a further 
 outbreak of the disease. Those who have become infected 
 from the first case, if their prodromal symptoms escape 
 the vigilant eye of the assistants and come out in a rash, 
 are less likely to affect the remainder who are thus protected. 
 
 Disinfection of premises, when infectious disease has 
 occurred, consists in the thorough cleaning of the rooms. 
 Where notifiable disease has occurred, the Public Health 
 authorities will act according to their recognized procedure. 
 Schools should be so planned and constructed that there 
 are no places where dust and dirt can accumulate. Chemical 
 disinfection is unnecessary ; indeed, it often gives a fallacious 
 impression of security. A thorough cleansing with soap 
 and water, and the free admission of air and, if possible, 
 sunshine, is the best form of disinfection. Clothes should 
 be disinfected in specially constructed disinfectors, where 
 they can be exposed to the fumes of formalin or sulphur, 
 steam or heat. 
 
 If it is thought necessary to use a chemical disinfectant, 
 it is useless unless sufficiently concentrated. A spray of 
 one in forty of a forty per cent, solution of formic aldehyde 
 may be used, or three or four per cent, carbolic acid may 
 be washed over the room. 
 
 Infections are said to be contagious when they can be 
 communicated from individual to individual by direct 
 contact. Many diseases which do not cause acute illness 
 are contagious. Such are many of the skin affections to 
 which children are liable. Any sore place in a child, any
 
 122 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 cut or scratch, is liable to become infected with germs 
 causing suppuration — that is, pustules, boils, or abscesses 
 are formed. If the pus or matter from these is carried 
 either by the fingers or by the nails to another child, 
 particularly if the second child is run down or anaemic, 
 he is liable to contract spots of the same nature. In this 
 way impetigo contagiosa often arises. Only absolute 
 cleanliness, and great care taken in keeping separate the 
 washing materials of each child, and also the isolation of 
 infected children, prevent the rapid spread of this skin 
 affection. 
 
 Similarly, sore eyes are exceedingly infectious, the 
 infection being carried by towels or by actual contact. 
 
 The parasitic diseases most often found are the following : 
 
 Parasitic Diseases 
 
 Scabies is caused by a small insect which burrows under 
 the skin and causes intense irritation, particularly after 
 the children are warm in bed. This leads to scratching 
 and consequent infection from the microbes, causing 
 suppuration. Between the fingers and in the bend of the 
 elbow and armpit lines are found where the burrow is 
 formed, and numerous pustules result from scratching. 
 
 Body lice and fleas can be treated by bathing the child 
 and stoving the clothes, but the child is liable to get 
 reinfected at home. 
 
 Head lice are very often found where the mothers are 
 neghgent. They will often attribute the presence of these 
 parasites to the delicacy of the child. There is no doubt 
 that delicate children seem to be more easily affected, but 
 their presence always means neglect. Nits on the hair 
 are found particularly behind the ears, and are to be 
 distinguished from dandruff by their firm adherence to the 
 hair and their pear-hke shape, attached to the side of 
 instead of encircling the hair shaft. These nits are the ova 
 of the louse, and therefore a sure sign of the presence of 
 lice, and as long as they are there a source of reinfection.
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 123 
 
 Washing the head in paraffin or soaking it with sassafras 
 oil kills the nits. They may be removed by combing with 
 a fine comb dipped in hot vinegar, which loosens the 
 material attaching the nit to the hair, or by manual 
 removal. 
 
 No standard of cleanliness is sufficient which permits a 
 nit to remain. The custom of having the hair bobbed 
 is best for children in the Nursery School. 
 
 Ringworm is caused by a minute fungus growing on 
 the skin. Spores get detached and infect other places 
 or children. It can be recognized by ring-like patches 
 with raised margins. The rings gradually grow. In the 
 head the spores get into the hairs, which break off and 
 form round bald patches. This disease can be considered 
 cured only when the hairs fail to show the presence of 
 spores. Treatment of ringworm of the scalp is often very 
 tiresome and slow. X-rays seem to be the quickest and 
 most efficient method of treatment in persistent cases.
 
 124 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 TABLE OF INFECTION AND QUARANTINE. 
 
 Disease. 
 
 Scarlet 
 Fever 
 
 Diphtheria 
 
 Chickenpo: 
 
 Measles 
 
 German 
 Measles 
 
 Mumps 
 
 Whooping 
 Cough 
 
 Typhoid 
 
 Duration 
 
 of 
 Infection. 
 
 5 to 8 weeks. 
 Ceasing when 
 the child is free 
 from discharge 
 of nose or ears 
 or from sore 
 places. 
 
 28 days at least 
 
 4 to 5 weeks. 
 
 3 to 4 weeks. 
 
 2 to 3 weeks. 
 
 21 days. 
 
 6 weeks from 
 beginning of 
 
 Whoop. 
 
 4 to 5 weeks or 
 longer. 
 
 Date at which 
 
 School Attendance 
 
 may be resumed. 
 
 Not less than 8 weeks 
 from beginning of rash. 
 
 Not less than 6 weeks, 
 and not then if sore 
 throat or discharge of 
 nose, ears, etc. Swab 
 should be negative 
 three times. 
 
 When every scab is off. 
 
 Not less than 4 weeks 
 from beginning. 
 
 3 to 4 weeks from 
 beginning. 
 
 4 weeks trom begin- 
 ning, if all swelling has 
 been down for a week. 
 
 8 weeks. 
 
 When sufficiently 
 strong. 
 
 Duration ot 
 Quarantine 
 of Children 
 exposed to 
 infection. 
 
 10 days 
 
 12 days. 
 
 20 days. 
 16 days. 
 
 21 days. 
 24 days. 
 21 days. 
 
 23 days.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 MINOR ACCIDENTS 
 
 IT seems advisable that in a book of this type a small 
 space should be devoted to various small accidents 
 which befall Nursery School children, and with 
 which the superintendent will have to deal. 
 
 Bruises 
 
 The most common accident will be bruising. Falls, 
 bangs into furniture, or other catastrophes due to unco- 
 ordinated muscular effort or miscalculation of space, will 
 inevitably occur. 
 
 Bruises are the result of a blow, causing haemorrhage 
 into the soft parts, owing to the breaking of the blood 
 vessels. In the same category are sprains, followed by 
 sudden swelling, such as we get at the ankle, where a twist 
 may cause the stretching, perhaps breaking, of muscular 
 fibres, injury of tendons, and effusion into the soft parts. 
 
 In all these cases the first step is to prevent, as far as may 
 be, further bleeding and consequent swelling. Bathing 
 the parts with cold water will contract the blood vessels 
 and slow the circulation. The child will probably be 
 frightened. It must be soothed, or its struggles will increase 
 the haemorrhage. For some minutes the parts may be 
 bandaged with a cold water bandage. Gentle massage, 
 administered next day, will help to remove the bruises 
 more quickly. 
 
 125
 
 126 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Cuts 
 
 Wherever there is abrasion of the surface or any external 
 bleeding, every effort should be made to keep the parts 
 quite clean in a surgical sense. The Nursery School ought 
 to keep a store of lint, gauze, and bandages in a scrupulously 
 clean metal case, scissors, dressing forceps, and some dis- 
 infectant, such as Lysol, and a small bottle of tincture of 
 iodine. When any part is bleeding, it should be bathed 
 with cold water, and any dirt should be washed away. 
 The hands of the attendant should first be carefully washed 
 in lotion containing one per cent, of Lysol. The injured 
 part can then be painted with iodine and a simple dressing 
 of gauze applied. 
 
 Haemorrhage 
 
 In cases of serious haemorrhage a doctor should be 
 summoned at once, the child being kept as quiet as possible 
 in the meantime, with the injured limb elevated. Pressure 
 can be applied to the bleeding spot by means of a firm pad 
 placed over clean gauze. Nose bleeding is sometimes 
 troublesome, and the patients and attendants often get very 
 much frightened. Cold water should be applied to the 
 nose and to the back of the neck, the child being placed 
 upright on a chair with head thrown back. It is not often 
 necessary to plug the nose, but if any alum or hazeline is 
 at hand it can be added to water and snuffed up the nose. 
 
 Sprains 
 
 Any serious injury, such as a severe sprain, suspected 
 fracture or dislocation, should be treated by giving absolute 
 rest to the part till medical help can be obtained. 
 
 Burns 
 
 Bums should be treated with carron oil, or picric acid 
 if that is available. If nothing else is handy, flour may be 
 dusted on, and the part thus protected from the air.
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL 127 
 
 Slight burns or scalds are relieved by bathing with a weak 
 alkaline solution. 
 
 Fretfulness 
 
 Fretfulness should always be taken as a sign of either 
 illness or nervous overstrain. No undue attention should 
 be given to the fretful child, but opportunity should be 
 afforded for quietness and rest, when it will quite frequently 
 drop off to sleep. 
 
 Fits 
 
 Fits may cause alarm. In these the child may have 
 convulsive movements and then become rigid or flaccid. 
 The patient must always be taken away from the other 
 children, and must be prevented from hurting himself. 
 He is very likely to bite his tongue, and should therefore 
 have a thickly folded handkerchief or a cork placed between 
 the teeth, so that they cannot be clenched. Children 
 sometimes become rigid with attacks of temper. Firmness 
 should in these cases be adopted. The child should always 
 be removed from the others and allowed to be quiet after 
 he has recovered from the attack. 
 
 Foreign Bodies 
 
 Children often get foreign bodies into some part of 
 themselves. A button, bean, marble, or fruit-stone may 
 become suddenly lodged in the larynx. It is advisable 
 to put the finger as far down the throat as possible to try 
 and hook it out. The irritation to the throat thus pro- 
 duced often causes violent retching, which will be sufficient 
 to dislodge the obstruction. Sometimes, if the child is 
 held by the legs in an inverted position, or its back smacked, 
 the foreign body drops out. 
 
 If a bead is pushed into the ear, it is better to leave it 
 for a doctor to remove as the drum of the ear is so easily 
 injured. If it is a pea or any vegetable material, it is in- 
 advisable to syringe, as the water may cause it to swell.
 
 128 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 If the object is up the nose, a pair of forceps may enable 
 it to be removed, or sneezing may dislodge it. 
 
 Dust in the eye will cause great irritation. On no 
 account must the eye be rubbed. If the nose is well blown 
 the dust may come out, or it may get washed out with the 
 tears resulting from the irritation. If the upper lid is 
 pulled over the lower one, the lower lashes may brush it 
 out. If it still remains, the lid may be turned back, by 
 holding the eyelashes firmly — the speck is then seen lying 
 on the inner lining. A corner of a soft handkerchief should 
 be used to remove it. If there is any irritation left, a drop 
 of castor oil put in the eye will cause great relief, especially 
 if a handkerchief pad is put over the eye and firmly 
 bandaged on. 
 
 Splinters and thorns should be removed by pulling them 
 out. If they are broken off close to the skin, and are just 
 under the top layer of the skin, they may often be removed 
 by passing a needle at right angles just under them, at a 
 sufficient distance from the end to enable a forceps to 
 grasp the released free end, and thus abstract it. In all 
 such cases strict regard must be paid to perfect cleanliness. 
 The needle should be boiled and iodine painted on the 
 injured place to keep the spot as aseptic as possible. 
 
 Stings 
 
 Stings of bees and wasps, or nettles, should be washed 
 with hot water ; the sting, if possible, should be abstracted, 
 and a solution of bicarbonate of soda should be applied, 
 or a solution of ammonia can be used. An application 
 of Pond's Extract is soothing after wasps' stings. 
 
 Dog Bite 
 
 A dog bite should also be treated with hot water to 
 induce as much haemorrhage as may be. Medical aid 
 should be obtained as soon as possible.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE TRAINING OF THE STAFF IN HYGIENE 
 
 FROM the above account of the child and the Nursery 
 School, it is evident that an adequate training in 
 the bodily care of children must find a place in the 
 curriculum of a Training College for Superintendents and 
 Assistants in Nursery Schools. But the words ' ' school" and 
 " teachers," as applied to the Nursery School, must be 
 dissociated from their old meaning if we are to make our 
 Nursery Schools successful. It is a satisfaction to note 
 that the term teacher is eliminated from the Board's 
 regulations. Experience shows that many who are hoping 
 to take part in the Nursery School movement, even as 
 enthusiasts, continue to hold the idea that they are techni- 
 cally to be teachers, rather than specially trained care- 
 takers of the children. The need of a new term is badly 
 felt: "nurse" connotes sickness or nursing duties, and 
 " teacher" connotes not only mental trainer, but actual 
 instructor. What we want is some one born with the 
 instinct of understanding and the capacity for handling 
 the infant, trained in the bodily care of the young child, 
 and who considers no task too menial and no detail of 
 attendance too unpleasant. Such a woman must be 
 sufficiently trained in physiology and psychology to 
 know the dangers of over-stimulating the delicate, 
 newly developing nerve cells and fibres which arc just 
 learning to co-ordinate muscular action. She must 
 know enough about the desires of child-life, and the 
 need of self-expression, to be able to supply suitable 
 9 129
 
 130 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 stimuli of sound, touch, sight, smell, and action, and 
 to present suitable material by means of which the 
 child may give vent to his desire for self-expression. The 
 colleges which are training workers are alive to some of 
 these needs, but it is also necessary that they should see 
 the importance of training their students in the handling 
 and tending of these very young children. It seems to the 
 writer imperative that training in some well-regulated 
 institutional nursery or hospital is essential, for the 
 following reasons : 
 
 I. The Nursery School superintendent and assistant 
 must learn to deal with, not one, but many children, in an 
 orderly and systematic way. Nurseries where the nurse 
 has individual care of one or two children only are of 
 little value as a training school to an assistant who will 
 have to cope daily with, not one or two, but a group of 
 children. In the former case the assistant, having been 
 accustomed to only one or two children, finds it difficult 
 to deal expeditiously and carefully with ten or twelve. 
 
 II. In hospitals large numbers of dehcate children 
 have to be washed, dressed, tended, and fed in an orderly 
 and methodical manner. It is true that the children in 
 hospital are sick, and it may be urged that we want students 
 trained for the care of the normal child. But women who 
 can tend a sick child can tend a healthy one, and it must 
 be remembered that it is the delicate children who will 
 often gravitate to the Nursery School, 
 
 III. The training in tidying up the ward, and in the 
 menial work a nurse must do, is invaluable to the Nursery 
 School worker, who will be obliged to do disagreeable tasks, 
 even if well supplied with domestic help. To gain success 
 in a Nursery School the cleanliness must be that of the 
 hospital ward, and the attention to the physical needs of 
 the children that which the most scrupulous mother in a 
 good family gives to her charges. 
 
 IV. A knowledge of hospital out-patient condition and 
 the signs of incipient ill-health will be a help, and make 
 her a much more intelligent colleague to the school doctor. 
 
 V. Training in the preparation of infants' food and
 
 HYGIENE OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL J31 
 
 diets of delicate and convalescent infants is particularly 
 advisable, inasmuch as the Board clearly encourages the 
 provision of school meals in Nursery Schools. 
 
 It has been urged that these matters can be taught in 
 lectures or acquired by visits to institutions. That is 
 absolutely fallacious. Only the constant repetition of 
 these duties under careful superintendence can be of 
 any value. It is practical knowledge which is needed, and 
 such knowledge can only come with experience. 
 
 The future superintendent of Nursery Schools should 
 also be in touch with the work which is being done in 
 Schools for Mothers, Day Nurseries and Children's Hospitals, 
 Convalescent Homes, etc., and hospital hfe will be a link 
 between the workers in these different spheres. Her 
 experience will thus greatly help her sociological value 
 in the district in which her school is situated. Both the 
 nurse and the teacher are likely at an early age to get 
 into their own professional rut. A scheme which provides 
 such an admixture of different types has, in hopsitals and 
 training colleges where the experiment has been tried, 
 already proved to be an advantage to both. 
 
 Nursery Schools, as we have said before, are in the 
 experimental stage. If they are successful they will be 
 of inestimable help to mother, teacher, and the State ; 
 but there are many pitfalls, and their success will depend 
 mainly on the proper attitude of the superintendent. 
 Unless meticulous care in cleanliness of person and sur- 
 roundings is maintained, sickness, and particularly infec- 
 tious disease, will be rife among children, at an age when 
 illness leaves lasting effects. 
 
 To supply the proper training in the handling of the 
 child, to impress on the student the importance of attention 
 to the formation of regular hygienic habits, to inculcate 
 methods of order and the medical standard of cleanliness, 
 is work for which, at present, only the hospital is available. 
 Efforts should, then, be made to get the hospitals to regard 
 with sympathy the needs of these students, and to open 
 their doors to them for short courses of training. Nursery 
 School students are generally very keen and intelligent,
 
 182 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 and if they also take advantage of the opportunities 
 which hospitals may afford, there is great hope for the 
 future of the Nursery School. 
 
 The inclusion of these courses of training will in no wise 
 make the nursery superintendent capable of taking the 
 part of the school nurse. The school nurse with a know- 
 ledge of massage will be needed in all the special schools 
 for delicate children, but for other schools a fully trained 
 nurse could be attached to more than one school, and attend 
 to cases of real sickness, such as discharging ears, impetigo, 
 rickets needing massage, and minor complaints which 
 require a nurse's attention. 
 
 All that is wanted from the hospital part of the superin- 
 tendent's training is practical skill in the handling of the 
 child, capacity to recognize the aihng child, appreciation 
 of the meaning of hospital cleanliness and tidiness, and a 
 friendly appreciation for and recognition of the importance 
 of medical care.
 
 PART V 
 
 THE STAFF OF THE NURSERY SCHOOL AND 
 THE TRAINING OF SUPERINTENDENTS 
 
 By the Editor. 
 
 IT is impossible to study the problem of the Nursery 
 School for long without becoming convinced that 
 the most important controlhng factor of the whole 
 situation is the Nursery School superintendent and her 
 helpers. Other conditions may be perfect, but without 
 the right persons to inspire and carry out the work all 
 is in vain. On the other hand, the early stages of the 
 movement have given abundant evidence that the right 
 people can do wonders, even though hampered in a 
 thousand ways by material conditions, and by lack of 
 special training. It is true that success has often been 
 won at too great a cost of health and energy, and the public 
 owe an incalculable debt to the pioneers in Free Kinder- 
 gartens and Day Nurseries, who have sacrificed so much 
 for the cause of little children. Their reward is the recog- 
 nition of the Nursery School as the right foundation for 
 the national system of education. In every sphere of life 
 it is useless to ignore the part that personality plays — 
 nothing can take its place, and nowhere is this more 
 'Strictly true than in the Nursery School. 
 
 The first demand on the staff — one and all — is for 
 complete sincerity of character. This is far more important 
 than any special gifts of mind or person. The child must 
 have reason for his trust. Love of little children is a twin 
 I essential; and for all who possess these two qualifications 
 i there is, after suitable training, some place in a Nursery 
 ISchool. On the other hand, there is scarcely a desirable 
 {quality of mind and character or person that a superin- 
 jtendent would not wish to possess, and even feel to be 
 /lecessary for the utmost fulfilment of h«jr ideals. No 
 
 133
 
 134 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 native qualifications are too good and no preparation too 
 careful for work in a Nursery School. 
 y Special training is certainly necessary, and should, as 
 regards length of time and quality of work required, be 
 on a level with that of teachers recognized as trained and 
 certificated by the Board of Education. The character 
 of training needed is in many respects different from that 
 of a teacher, but it is important that from the beginning 
 its status should be the same. 
 
 It is very necessary to recognize the fact that the staff 
 is not composed of teachers in the commonly accepted 
 sense, although it is probable that the most efficient 
 pioneers of the immediate future will come from the ranks 
 of experienced teachers. There is much that the teacher 
 and the Nursery School superintendent have in common, 
 but it is important to realize the difference between the 
 one and the other. 
 
 The demands on the Nursery School staff are various, 
 and correspond to three aspects of the work : 
 
 (a) The special care of the children's health, the training 
 in hygienic habits, the maintenance of hygienic conditions. 
 
 (6) The children's educational development in the wider 
 sense. 
 
 (c) The work outside the nursery itself — the keeping in 
 touch with the home-life, the necessary visits to clinics, 
 hospitals, and other remedial institutions. 
 
 All this obviously cannot be done by one person, even for 
 forty children. It is, indeed, important to realize at the 
 outset that there must be at least two experienced and 
 qualified helpers to every Nursery School, apart from 
 young probationers. Whether the nursery be large or 
 small, this requirement is equally pressing, because with 
 young children from two years old and upwards the 
 superintendent may be called off at any moment to attend 
 to an emergency connected with one child. The rest 
 must never be left alone — therefore it becomes necessary 
 always to provide two qualified members of staff. 
 
 In addition, probationers will be wanted. These may 
 be young girls who are looking forward to a career as a
 
 NURSERY STAFF— SUPERINTENDENTS 135 
 
 trained children's nurse, and who hope to work eventually 
 either in children's hospitals or in creches or private houses. 
 They should be paid a moderate wage, and receive a 
 practical training from the superintendent. Classes should 
 be arranged for this type of helper, and a certificate or 
 official letter given her at the end of her course if her work 
 has been satisfactory in all respects. Such training for 
 one year or more, according to her age, should give her the 
 right to be recognized as a qualified children's nurse. 
 
 In a nursery of forty children a qualified superintendent, 
 a qualified assistant, and two such probationers would 
 constitute an adequate staff. It must be remembered, 
 however, that the number of probationers required depends 
 largely on the number of children admitted under three 
 years of age. To look after seven babies of two is as much 
 as one grown-up person can manage ! On the other hand 
 it is possible for one helper to care for more than double 
 the number between three and six years of age. 
 
 It should be noted also that as the work of the Nursery 
 School staff cannot be restricted absolutely to school 
 hours, special consideration must be given to the need 
 for a break and a rest during the day. 
 
 Training of the Nursery School Staff 
 
 The character of the work to be done in the Nursery 
 School determines the type of training needed by a 
 superintendent. If she is to care adequately for the 
 child's health, to be capable of adjusting his conditions 
 to his physical needs, and to train him in all desirable 
 physical habits, it will be necessary for her to make a careful 
 study of the conditions of health in early childhood, and 
 of some of the laws of bodily development. She will 
 also need considerable experience of the best ways of 
 caring for children, and plenty of opportunity of working 
 in good nurseries where good methods are to be learned. 
 Thus a superintendent's training must be thoroughly 
 practical. It will include both practice in Day Nurseries 
 and Nursery Schools, and assistance in out-patients' wards, 
 clinics, and schools for mothers. A period of training in
 
 136 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 a babies' or children's hospital of at least three months' 
 duration is greatly to be desired. 
 
 Social Studies 
 
 Social studies that will help to give the superintendent 
 the right outlook can best be made in connexion with the 
 practical part of her work. To visit the homes of the chil- 
 dren of the particular nursery in which she happens to be 
 working, to study the influences at work in the same neigh- 
 bourhood, to assist at the parents' gatherings or mothers' 
 classes, give invaluable training which can be usefully sup- 
 plemented by a good course of lectures on modern social 
 conditions. In this way the student may hope to become 
 efficient as a guardian of the child's health, and at the same 
 time to acquire the outlook she needs with regard to her 
 work as a whole. She will have been able to come to close 
 quarters with many of the most important controlling 
 conditions with which in some form or other she will have 
 to contend in her future work. 
 
 The training in hygiene, and the study of social 
 conditions in connexion with much practical work, are 
 perhaps the newest features of a course of training 
 leading to an educational calling. 
 
 Psychological Studies 
 
 Opportunity will also be needed for simple studies in 
 the psychology of early childhood. For this, again, almost 
 daily contact with children will be necessary. Lectures 
 will be desirable, but will probably prove fruitful in propor- 
 tion to the first-hand experience of the student. The 
 future superintendent will also wish to be put in touch with 
 the best of the educational thought of to-day, and to trace 
 some of the influences of the past. 
 
 Practical Instruction 
 
 Several practical courses will be wanted, of shorter or 
 greater length ; for example, simple forms of handwork — 
 interesting to children — also the making of children's 
 garments, plain cookery suitable for httle children, and the 
 keeping of accounts.
 
 NURSERY STAFF— SUPERINTENDENTS 137 
 
 Very important is personal training in music and rhj'thm 
 and speech, as well as an abundant knowledge of children's 
 games and stories. 
 
 Gardening and Nature Study 
 
 Every superintendent should know also how to make a 
 garden and tend plants and flowers. In s3-mpathy with 
 a child's love of nature, she will wish to study animals 
 and plants herself, and thus by her sound if elementary 
 knowledge of some of the laws of life-development, be 
 ready to help her children to find out answers to some of 
 the many questions they may ask her. 
 
 Literature 
 
 It will readily be admitted that any course of training 
 that excludes generous studies in literature will prove to 
 be inadequate. Such studies are needed first of all for 
 the enrichment of the student's own personality, for merely 
 professional training is not enough ; also, literature may 
 in the future be her readiest means of securing complete 
 refreshment and renewal of mind and spirit. Again, it will 
 be remembered that every superintendent must learn to be 
 a story-teller ; to meet this demand is impossible unless 
 the mind is first steeped in good literature. Studies in 
 literature then, though mentioned last, are second to none 
 in importance in the training of the Nursery School 
 superintendent. 
 
 Such a training as that suggested above requires a 
 minimum of two years, the normal time spent by teachers 
 at Government Training Colleges. One-year courses for 
 experienced persons would naturally emphasize the special 
 features of the work in Nursery Schools, and omit the rest. 
 
 The training of the superintendent of a Nursery School 
 is thus " compounded of that of the nurse, the teacher, 
 and the social worker." At the end of it, if not much over 
 twenty years of age, she should fill the post of a fully- 
 quahfied assistant for some years before bcccming a 
 superintendent, for the post of head is one of serious 
 responsibility, and this should be recognized in every way.
 
 138 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 It cannot be emphasized too strongly that special 
 training should be given to all to whom the management 
 of a Nursery School is to be entrusted. It is desirable to 
 attract women to this work from as wide a field as possible, 
 and to remove all possible barriers from suitable candidates. 
 Courses of training should be made easily available, but 
 should be invariably required. 
 
 No type of helper corresponding to the supplementary 
 teacher should be allowed to grow up in connexion with 
 Nursery Schools. Such an expedient might be convenient 
 for the moment, but in the long run would prove detri- 
 mental both to the efficiency of the Nursery School and the 
 professional standing of its staff. 
 
 Given right conditions, it may reasonably be supposed 
 that the call for workers will win a wide response. The 
 movement should have an almost universal appeal to 
 women, and should give scope to varied gifts. To some, 
 the wrestle with physical defect before it has had time to 
 establish itself will appeal most ; to others, the fascination 
 of dealing with the early stages of mind-development. 
 Others again will find satisfaction in the unrivalled oppor- 
 tunity of helping their fellow-women in what is often the 
 hard struggle of family-life, of bringing to them new 
 knowledge, skill, and, above all, fellow^ship, as they fight 
 through the most difficult years. 
 
 Lastly, it may be hoped that the movement will offer 
 opportunities to women who have gifts for organization. 
 There is no doubt that, as time goes on, the various agencies 
 at work for the welfare of young children will have to be 
 linked together more closely than they are at present. 
 There will be need of trained intelhgence and special gifts 
 and experience in those who are invited to carry out schemes 
 of further co-operation in the future. 
 
 It is more than likely that the specially trained and 
 experienced Nursery School superintendents, of good 
 general education and with a special bent for organization, 
 will prove to be good candidates for responsible posts 
 in institutions where various agencies for child-welfare 
 are co-ordinated.
 
 PART VI 
 
 NOTES ON BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT 
 By the Editor. 
 
 chapter i 
 BUILDINGS 
 
 IT will probably be found desirable to preserve an 
 open mind for the next few years as to the ideal 
 type of building and equipment of the Nursery 
 School. It will be well also to look forward to the need 
 for a considerable variety of type. Differences in type 
 will be determined by the relationship of the nursery 
 itself — that is, whether the particular nursery in question 
 is to be a separate institution or to be closely affihated to 
 some other child-welfare agency, such as a school for 
 mothers, a day-nursery, or an elementary school. 
 
 Experiments that are already working show three well- 
 marked methods of housing a Nursery School : 
 
 (i) The Open-air Shed. The Rachel McMillan Nursery 
 School in Deptford is the outstanding instance of this type 
 of Nursery School. Its extraordinary success renders it 
 of all types the best worth consideration. 
 
 (2) A Number of Cottages thrown into one — with the 
 divisions between their yards removed. A good instance 
 of this method is seen in the Ardwick Nursery School, 
 Manchester. 
 
 Here, in a dreary but thickly populated factory district, 
 communication is made between four cottages exactly 
 similar to the rest in the same street. By means of the 
 
 139
 
 140 NtJRSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 removal of dividing partitions, the playrooms are made to 
 extend from front to back of the building, permitting a 
 through draught of air. The smaller rooms serve as re- 
 ceiving-room and cloak-room. Suitable lavatories are 
 provided in the yard, easily accessible from the house. 
 The long, narrow yard is provided with plants, and the 
 windows with window-boxes. 
 
 The drawback here is the want of adequate space, but 
 the humble premises, exactly similar to the homes of the 
 children, help to bring about the friendly relation between 
 the nursery and the neighbourhood that is so much desired. 
 
 (3) The House and Garden. In many of our big towns 
 there are districts which are densely populated by families 
 that live in conditions which make the right bringing up 
 of children an impossibility. In such areas there is an 
 urgent need for Nursery Schools. Fortunately it is not 
 infrequently the case that here and there roomy houses 
 with gardens, deserted by well-to-do residents, remain un- 
 touched, though generally in bad condition. Such houses 
 have served for Day Nurseries and Nursery Schools. 
 
 Although not situated in the midst of a slum, the 
 Rusholme Day Nursery and Nursery School, Manchester, 
 shows what can be done with this type of premises. The 
 house gives provision for forty children, ranging from a 
 few months to five years of age. The babies' rooms, 
 with bath-room, lavatory, and receiving-room, arc on the 
 first floor. On the ground floor are two play-rooms for 
 the Nursery School, with kitchen and staff-room. An 
 additional cloak-room and lavatories have been added. 
 There is a pleasant garden containing a large grass plot, 
 trees, and flowers ; a good-sized sand-pit (7 feet by 9 
 feet) is placed in one corner, and a shed for peram- 
 bulators adjoins the house. 
 
 While it is recognized that adaptations to circumstances 
 must always be made, and that in many cases the ideal 
 equipment will not be forthcoming, it is desirable at this 
 juncture to consider in what kind of surroundings the 
 Nursery School could fulfil its aims most successfully. 
 
 For convenience we will consider, first, the single Nursery
 
 BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT 141 
 
 School housed in a separate building, designed to accom- 
 modate forty children, for whom dinner will be provided 
 in the middle of the day. 
 
 Site 
 
 The first essential is space. Besides room for the building 
 itself, the minimum space should be sufiicient to allow 
 the children to run about freely. It need hardly be added 
 that when ample space of garden or field is possible, it 
 can scarcely be too generously allowed. The site should 
 also be such that the building can face south or south- 
 east, so as to secure all the morning sunshine possible. 
 Raised ground is an advantage, but steep hills should 
 be avoided. 
 
 Type of Building 
 
 Without doubt the new Nursery School buildings should 
 be of the open-air type. Experiments already tried, 
 such as Miss Margaret McMillan's at the Baby Camp in 
 Deptford, London, have shown incontestably that excellent 
 results, as gauged by increases in height and weight and 
 other ways, are obtained when babies and little children 
 live in the open air under suitable conditions, both winter 
 and summer. The success of our open-air schools for 
 delicate children also gives reason for confidence that 
 conditions which are so beneficial to delicate children are 
 likely to yield a far more abundant return in the case of 
 healthy children. 
 
 From another point of view also the open-air type of 
 building is desirable for a Nursery School. We have 
 maintained in a previous chapter that close contact with 
 Nature is a fundamental need in child development. There- 
 fore the Nursery School should avoid the atmosphere of 
 the shut-away nursery— still more the idea of the class- 
 room. When the children live in rooms which are open 
 throughout their whole length to the garden, they can 
 experience a hving with nature otherwise impossible. 
 When not actually in the garden, they can be dry and warm
 
 142 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 in their open rooms without being away from the influence 
 of Nature. 
 
 Thus it is urgently to be desired that when new Nursery 
 Schools are built the open-air type shall be adopted, and 
 that so, without delay, the trend of opinion may be in the 
 right direction. 
 
 Two successful plans have already been tried : 
 
 (i) The open-air shed facing south, providing rooms 
 having three walls only, with windows or open space about 
 eighteen inches deep along the top of the north side ; all 
 rooms in this case being entirely open to the south. In 
 bad weather screen doors can be pulled across the south 
 side for protection. 
 
 (2) The rooms in the North Wingfield Infants' School, 
 in Derbyshire, of which Mr. George Widdows, of the 
 Derbyshire County Education Authority, is the architect. 
 
 Here the rooms are entirely open from the ground upward 
 to the height of an ordinary door, both along the north 
 and south sides, but can be closed entirely or partially on 
 one side or the other at will. 
 
 This is effected by means of a series of doors running 
 the length of the room on both sides. These doors open 
 outwards back to back, and can be clamped together in 
 pairs. The upper part of each door is fitted with windows, 
 which can be let down when it is desired to shut the doors 
 but to retain complete cross-ventilation. 
 
 Thus a great variety of adjustment to conditions of 
 wind and weather is possible. 
 
 There is a broad veranda running along both the north 
 and south sides of the room. Though covered, it does not 
 darken the room, for a north light is secured by means 
 of a continuous skyhght, five feet deep, and above the 
 veranda on the south side is a big dormer window. 
 
 Heating 
 
 The question of adequate heating is a serious one. Little 
 children must be kept warm. Active as they are, they 
 spend long periods playing quietly on the floor or at tables.
 
 H-. H-HFTK
 
 BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT 143 
 
 and therefore the problem of keeping the rooms at the 
 right temperature is one which needs careful considera- 
 tion, especially when an open-air type of building is 
 contemplated. 
 
 The North Wingfield Infants' School solves this problem 
 by providing steam pipes placed under a floor made of 
 concrete slabs two and a half inches thick. A temperature 
 of sixty-five to seventy degrees at the surface of the floor 
 ensures an even temperature above of about fifty-six to 
 sixty degrees. If the feet are warm, a good circulation 
 of the blood is secured, and the cold fresh air brings with 
 it no risk of chill. 
 
 Plan of Building 
 
 In planning a building for a Nursery School, provision 
 is needed in some form or other for : 
 
 {a) A large play-room, not less than forty feet by 
 twenty feet. There should be the possibility 
 of dividing one such spacious room into two 
 good-sized rooms, so that the children of two 
 and three years of age may at times play 
 separately from those of four and five. This 
 room should face the south. 
 
 {h) A sleeping- room, which need not face south, 
 
 (c) A small room, ten or twelve feet square, which 
 
 will serve as an isolation-room when needed, 
 and at other times as a quiet room for any two 
 or three children who may need to be withdrawn 
 from too stimulating companionship for a time. 
 
 (d) A small kitchen, scullery, and larder. 
 {e) A room for dining and rest for the staff. 
 
 (/) ' A room for the superintendent where parents can 
 
 be received. 
 {g) A receiving-room, preferably with sunny aspect, 
 
 containing washing apparatus. 
 (h) Cloak-rooms, twelve or fifteen feet square, for 
 
 the children, and additional accommodation 
 
 for the staff. 
 {i) Lavatories for staff and children.
 
 144. NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 The following considerations are important : 
 
 (a) The lavatories should be conveniently near 
 
 receiving-room, play-room, and sleeping-room. 
 {b) The superintendent's room should be near the 
 middle rather than at one end of the building. 
 
 (c) The kitchen should be near the rooms where 
 
 meals are taken — that is, one of the play-rooms 
 and the staff-room. 
 
 (d) The isolation-room should be near the superin- 
 
 tendent's room. 
 
 The General Character of the Building 
 
 In designing a building for a Nursery School one would 
 desire that the whole should give an impression of simple 
 beauty and homeliness. One would wish to avoid the 
 appearance of a bare, straggling barrack, but at the same 
 time any departure from extreme simplicity would give 
 a building out of harmony with its purpose of serving the 
 needs and pleasure of little children. Also it should be 
 remembered that the Nursery School should attract mothers 
 and fathers as well as children. It is to be an integral 
 part of the life of the neighbourhood in which it is placed ; 
 therefore it must be home-like, not suggesting the ' ' insti- 
 tution," so that the very building may help to bring about 
 friendly intercourse between the helpers in the nursery 
 and the parents of the children. 
 
 The Garden 
 
 If, as has been said, the children are to feel that they are 
 living with nature, the consideration of the garden is 
 a matter of supreme importance. 
 
 It is not necessary that it should be very large, but it 
 should afford room for physical activit}^ for flower-beds, 
 for at least one tree not too near the house, and for grass 
 plots. Surely this is not too much to ask of any advanced 
 civihzed community. 
 
 It is, however, unfortunately true that in our big towns
 
 BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT 145 
 
 it is at present most difficult, if not practically impossible, 
 to provide a garden in the very situations where Nursery 
 Schools arc most needed. A roof-garden must then be 
 the last resort. 
 
 In districts where a large park is less than half a mile 
 away, there is an excellent case for placing the Nursery 
 School within it. While it is of first importance that open 
 spaces devoted to public use should not be curtailed, yet, 
 on the other hand, the children would occupy the park 
 only during the hours of the day when it is usually almost 
 deserted, and the returns in healthy physique would be 
 sufficiently great to compensate for the sacrifice of free 
 access to a small but unoccupied portion. 
 
 In districts, however, where the difficulties are not 
 insuperable, the garden should be one of the first considera- 
 tions. 
 
 At this point it is advisable to urge the importance of 
 giving a prominent place to the needs of little children in 
 all the new town-planning and building schemes. It will 
 be deplorable if this all-important aspect of reconstruction 
 is forgotten or pushed aside. " Children's Houses " or 
 Nursery Schools which can be used by groups of families 
 will be needed close to the new homes. They should be 
 so near that mothers will be able to watch their children 
 at play without difficulty, and satisfy themselves at times 
 during the day that all is well. They should be situated 
 as far as possible where there are no dangerous streets to 
 cross, and apart from noisy traffic. These matters need 
 consideration while there is yet time. It is difficult to 
 over-estimate the national importance of a wise provision 
 for the needs of little children.
 
 u 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 EQUIPMENT^ 
 
 NDER this heading must be considered : 
 
 I. The necessary fixed installations of 
 a Nursery School. 
 
 II. Decoration. 
 
 III. Furniture and toys and other movable equip- 
 
 ment. 
 
 I. Fixed Installations. 
 
 Hot Water. 
 
 It is necessary that both hot and cold water should 
 be available. Preferably a system of hot-water pipes 
 should be installed with taps in kitchen and receiving-room, 
 but failing this a geyser should be provided. A gas stove 
 for heating water in a large vessel, fitted with a tap, is 
 also very useful. 
 
 Receiving-room. — For forty children it is desirable 
 to fix six washing basins in the receiving-room. Thej^ 
 should not be more than sixteen to twenty inches from the 
 ground. The children will be trained to turn the water on 
 and off, therefore the taps should be easy to manage. It 
 is, however, perfectly satisfactory from the children's 
 point of view if, instead, a stand for jugs and bowls be 
 provided. A basin for grown-up people^ould be added. 
 Two baths suitable for young children should also be 
 provided. 
 
 Rows of pegs, not more than thirty and a half to thirty- 
 six inches from the floor, and at least six inches apart, 
 should be provided for the children's towels. 
 
 Sanitary Conveniences. — It is essential that lavatories 
 should be suitably designed. For thirty children between 
 
 146
 
 r
 
 BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT 117 
 
 three and six years of age not less than four should be 
 installed. These should be separated from one another by 
 partitions from three and a half to four feet high. Such an 
 arrangement ensures privacy, and also makes efficient 
 supervision possible. It is important to secure a good and 
 easy flush of water. The height of the seats should 
 range from six to eight inches, with inside diameters 
 seven by nine inches. 
 
 Even if compromises should have to be made in certain 
 directions as regards equipment, it is most undesirable to 
 start a Nursery School without some such careful provision 
 of suitable lavatory accommodation. 
 
 Cloak-rooms. — The cloak-room pegs should be at the 
 same height as those provided for towels in the rccci^'ing- 
 room. They should be fixed on stands away from the 
 walls, and the distance between the pegs should be at 
 least twelve inches in order that the clothes of each child 
 may not touch those on the nearest peg. The special 
 necessity of avoiding every possible risk of infection in a 
 Nursery School renders this point important. 
 
 A separate cloak-room with lavatory accommodation 
 and washing basin will be needed for the staff. 
 
 Artificial light will be needed, especially in any room 
 available for parents' gatherings. 
 
 Fixed cupboards are desirable : 
 
 (i) In kitchen, for groceries, crockery, and cleaning 
 materials respectively. 
 
 (2) In receiving-room, for towels and cloths. 
 
 (3) In play-rooms, for toys and play materials. 
 These should be low and easily accessible to the 
 
 children. 
 
 (4) In sleeping-room a cupboard fitted on an enlarged 
 
 pigeon-hole system may be desirable for the 
 purpose of keeping the children's blankets and 
 pillows. 
 
 Blinds. 
 
 There should be blinds fixed in the sleeping-room for 
 darkening the room during certain hours of the day.
 
 148 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 II. Decoration 
 
 The most appropriate wall decoration is plain colour- 
 wash. In some cases a sunny yellow gives the right feeling 
 for a children's room, in others a soft pink. A dado of 
 blue in washable paint, with buff or cream colour above, 
 is cheerful and also economical. One of the most efficiently 
 decorated nurseries known to the writer has soft grey 
 walls. There are screens of a " firmament blue " in this 
 nursery, and the helpers dress in the same colour. No 
 Nursery School superintendent is indifferent to the colour 
 of her walls, and she would greatly desire to be consulted 
 about the decorations of her nursery. 
 
 The floors are best covered with cork linoleum, of a 
 colour harmonizing with that of the walls. This is durable, 
 easily cleaned, and suitable for little children. It is impor- 
 tant to make provision for daily effective cleaning, as the 
 standard of cleanliness in a Nursery School must be ap- 
 preciably higher than that of the average elementary 
 school. Bare boards need scrubbing at least twice a week, 
 and the labour involved is more than it is desirable to ask. 
 Moreover, the danger of splinters renders bare boards 
 unsuitable for very young children. It must be 
 remembered that a baby of two spends most of his time 
 on the floor, therefore a clean, not too hard, covering is 
 necessary. 
 
 III. Furniture, Toys, and other Movable Equipment 
 
 The whole equipment of the nursery should be of 
 simple character. 
 
 {a) The Receiving-room. — In addition to the fixed 
 equipment already suggested, each child will need some 
 receptacle, a bag or a rack, for his own washing apparatus, 
 including soap, flannel, and tooth-brush. These will be 
 labelled by name or picture in some way intelligible to the 
 youngest child. 
 
 One or two nursing chairs for the helpers, possibly half 
 a dozen commode chairs for the two-year-olds, besides 
 one or two ordinary chairs will be needed.
 
 BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT li<j 
 
 The cupboard will be stocked with bath towels, face 
 towels, dusters, tea cloths, and table cloths. 
 
 The fumigating cupboard can be placed in this room. 
 
 (&) The Cloak-room. — Pigeon-holes for shoes and boots 
 will be needed here. 
 
 • (c) The Play-rooms. — There must be table room for 
 every child. The small light tables designed for not more 
 than two children are the most desirable. Low trestle 
 tables for dining only are also useful. 
 
 Small chairs with straight backs and without arms should 
 be provided — and at least three different heights are 
 needed — from eight to twelve inches from the ground. 
 No child should sit with his legs dangling above the floor 
 for any long period. Owing to the children's rapid growth, 
 however, it is usually impossible to secure perfect adjust- 
 ment at all times, unless the number of chairs available 
 is larger than the number of children. A few larger chairs 
 for the helpers and parents will also be needed. 
 
 A good musical instrument should be secured — piano 
 or dulcitone. 
 
 The cupboards will contain well-chosen toys, construc- 
 tive materials, and picture-books. A doll's house should 
 find a place in every nursery. Very desirable is a dresser, 
 where the children's milk mugs, chosen for their pleasing 
 colour and design, can hang in full view and within reach, 
 while the lunch plates are kept on the racks. 
 
 Pictures. — The superintendent should be allowed to 
 choose a few good pictures. They should be charactcri/.i.d 
 by simple treatment of form and colour and childlike 
 feeling. They should also be intrinsically beautiful, so 
 that their interest for the children may grow. Little 
 children are often greatly attracted by some of the great 
 pictures of " Madonna and Child," and will grow to love 
 the one that looks down upon them from some central 
 place in the nursery play-room. It goes without saying 
 that colour doubles the attractiveness and influence of 
 pictures. Happy is the nursery that possesses a good 
 water-colour sketch or a Medici print 1 
 
 The children will need many more pictures than these
 
 150 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 to look at from time to time, and it is impossible that all 
 should be of permanent value, but it is worth while to 
 give every nursery child the opportunity of living with at 
 least one good picture. 
 
 A low table, which may be used for growing plants, will 
 be wanted, and some vases for cut flowers. 
 
 Sleeping-room. — The main equipment of the sleeping- 
 room consists in a light folding stretcher-bed for each child, 
 with a blanket and pillow with washable cover. These 
 should have the name of the child to whom they are allo- 
 cated attached. One chair and a small table are desirable. 
 
 Rooms for the Superintendent and Staff. — These should 
 be furnished with comfortable chairs, a couch, dining- 
 table, writing-desk, and a few ordinary chairs. 
 
 Kitchen. — The furnishings of an ordinary kitchen, 
 scullery, and larder will be necessary, with crockery and 
 pans sufficient for the use of children and staff at dinner, 
 and a few grown-up people at tea. 
 
 Isolation-room. — ^This room will need a stretcher-bed, 
 a child's table, two or three children's chairs, and a 
 small cupboard. The necessaries for dealing with slight 
 accidents will be wanted. 
 
 The above suggestions are intended to include the main 
 equipment required for a separate Nursery School for forty 
 children. At the present time it is useless to quote the 
 cost of the equipment of any existing Nursery School, or 
 to estimate the expense of one established on these lines. 
 The fact must probably be faced, however, that the cost 
 per head for each child in a Nursery School is bound to 
 exceed the sum usually spent at present on each child in 
 the infants' school. 
 
 In this connexion two facts deserve recognition : 
 
 (i) We have admittedly spent too little on education 
 in the past. We have extended elementary education 
 till it covers the whole population, but we have not cared 
 to make it first-rate. We have neglected the truth that 
 the foundations must be securely laid if a noble building 
 is to be reared upon them — ^with the unsatisfactory results 
 that confront us to-day.
 
 BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT 151 
 
 (2) We have to give up the old-fashioned notion that 
 the younger the child the less expensive the education ; 
 that the mature student must have individual attention, 
 but that little children can be herded in crowds ; that 
 young children call for less careful training and preparation 
 in those who aspire to care for and educate them than do 
 young men and women. We must relinquish these notions 
 because they are not true. In particular, if we now admit 
 children as young as two years of age into our Nursery 
 Schools, we must expect to increase the cost per head, 
 for the younger the child the more care and individual 
 attention he must have. Does not the latest baby take 
 almost the whole attention of his mother ? 
 
 Nevertheless, it is imperative to consider how Nursery 
 Schools can be most economically established without 
 sacrificing essential or desirable characteristics. In every 
 large town there are many thousands of children for whom 
 provision in Nursery Schools should be made. The 
 tendency to establish big institutions must be firmly 
 resisted ; the intimate atmosphere of family life is essential 
 for young children, and this could not possibly be main- 
 tained in nurseries containing large numbers. 
 
 Given sufficient space, however, it may be possible to 
 devise a building which would serve efficiently for several 
 nurseries. A weU-qualified and experienced head, with 
 trained helpers under her, might organize the work so that 
 each nursery should be carried on separately ; but it would 
 be possible to effect economies in the administration of 
 the whole, especially with regard to kitchen and dining 
 accommodation. 
 
 In this way a single institution might provide suitably 
 for 120 children of Nursery School age, in groups of forty 
 of mixed ages. Each nursery would have its own rooms, 
 with sunny aspect, and its own garden and verandas ; 
 above all, its own helpers. It could be placed near an 
 elementary school. Such an organization might help to 
 solve the problem for the crowded districts of our great 
 cities.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Education Act, 1918. 
 Grant Regulations, No. 6. 
 
 STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS, 
 
 1919, No. 257. 
 
 EDUCATION, ENGLAND AND WALES. 
 
 Regulations for Nursery Schools, 1919. 
 
 The Regulations for Nursery Schools, 1919 (includ- 
 ing Regulations for Payment of Grant in respect 
 OF those Schools), dated March 5, 1919, made by 
 THE Board of Education under section 44 of the 
 Education Act, 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. 5, c. 39). 
 
 BOARD OF EDUCATION. 
 
 Regulations for Nursery Schools. 
 
 PREFATORY MEMORANDUM. 
 
 1. Section 19 of the Education Act, 1918, which came 
 
 into operation on the 8th August, 1918, reads as follows : 
 
 " (i) The powers of Local Education Authorities for 
 
 the purposes of Part III. of the Education Act, 1902, shall 
 
 include power to make arrangements for — 
 
 " (a) Supplying or aiding the supply of Nursery 
 Schools (which expression shall include 
 nursery classes) for children over two and 
 under five years of age, or such later age as 
 may be approved by the Board of Education, 
 whose attendance at such a school is neces- 
 sary or desirable for their healthy physical 
 and mental development ; and 
 " (6) Attending to the health, nourishment and 
 152
 
 APPENDIX 153 
 
 physical welfare of children attending 
 
 Nursery Schools." 
 " (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any Act of 
 Parliament the Board of Education may, out of moneys 
 provided by Parliament, pay grants in aid of Nursery 
 Schools, provided that such grants shall not be paid in 
 respect of any such school unless it is open to inspection 
 by the Local Education Authority, and unless that authority 
 are enabled to appoint representatives on the body of 
 managers to the extent of at least one third of the total 
 number of managers, and before recognizing any Nursery 
 School the Board shall consult the Local Education 
 Authority." 
 
 2. Aims of the Nursery School. — A Nursery School or 
 Class is an institution providing for the care and training 
 of young children aged from two to live years, whose attend- 
 ance at such a day school is necessary or desirable for 
 their healthy physical and mental development. It has 
 therefore a twofold function : first, the close personal 
 care and medical supervision of the individual child, 
 involving provision for its comfort, rest and suitable 
 nourishment ; and, secondly, definite training — bodily, 
 mental and social — involving the cultivation of good 
 habits in the widest sense, under the guidance and over- 
 sight of a skilled and intelligent teacher, and the orderly 
 association of children of various ages in common games 
 and occupations. 
 
 The child is first and foremost a growing organism : the 
 Nursery School will, on the one hand, liberate the growing 
 child from the influences of environment and constitution 
 which retard, confine and distort its growth, and, on the 
 other hand, will stimulate and direct its growth. It is 
 much more than a place for "minding" children. The 
 need of Nursery Schools is greatest in the more congested 
 areas of the large towns. The influences which an adequate 
 supply of efficiently managed Nursery Schools could 
 exercise upon both children and parents in such areas can 
 hardly be overestimated. 
 
 3. The present memorandum is prefatory to the Rcgula-
 
 154 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 tions which follow it, and deals with (a) the physical care 
 of the child, {b) its mental and social training, and (c) the 
 necessary administrative arrangements, the site, premises 
 and equipment, the age of admission and leaving, the size 
 of the school, and the staffing and other ancillary matters. 
 
 Physical Care. 
 
 4. General Hygiene. — ^The provisions of the Act 
 emphasize the need for attending to the health, nourish- 
 ment and physical welfare of the children. The improve- 
 ment of their health is indeed one of the main benefits 
 which attendance at a good Nursery School should bring 
 with it. In a broad sense, physical welfare will always be 
 in view, and there is hardly any hmit to the beneficial 
 influence of a Nursery School on this side of its activities. 
 Physical care includes not only opportunities for rest, 
 exercise and physical development, but the provision of a 
 healthy school environment and the inculcation of hygienic 
 habits of life, of which the thorough practice of personal 
 cleanliness is an obvious example. Equally important 
 is suitable provision for the children's food. Meals, 
 including a mid-morning lunch and midday dinner, should, 
 as a rule, be taken at the school, and it may be desirable, 
 or even necessary in some cases, to provide the children 
 also with breakfast and tea. The arrangements for meals 
 will need careful supervision. The dietary should be 
 suitable and sufficient. The children should spend a 
 definite part of the day in rest and sleep. Neither the 
 exact time for the rest nor its length need here be pre- 
 scribed, but it is important that the period should be the 
 same each day ; the teacher will herself decide, according 
 to circumstances, what occupations should precede or 
 follow the period of rest. The rest should be taken on low 
 stretchers, easily set up and stored away, or on clean mats, 
 and should mean lying down and not sitting. 
 
 5. It will also be necessary to provide training directed 
 to promoting the healthy development of the body. 
 Appropriate physical training is as indispensable for 
 younger as for older children. In addition to very simple
 
 APPENDIX 155 
 
 organized exercises, they should be allowed and encouraged 
 to move about freely, to use their limbs as their natural 
 energy prompts, and to play the customary simple group 
 games, with running, jumping and marching. They 
 should be taught to breathe correctly and naturally ; and 
 all this should take place in clean and airy surroundings. 
 The importance of facilities for out-of-door life cannot be 
 over-estimated. Whether in a garden (under more 
 fortunate circumstances) or on a roof or other playground, 
 kept clean and screened from too much wind, from wet, 
 and from the sun in the height of summer, the children in 
 Nursery Schools should spend a considerable time in the 
 open air. Nor need the use of the outdoor space be 
 confined to play in the form of free bodily exercise. In 
 warm weather especially the chairs, tables and stretchers 
 can be carried outside, and most of the day's occupations 
 be conducted in the open air. 
 
 6. Medical Supervision. — As is intimated in Article 
 4 of the Regulations, a Nursery Schcol should stand in close 
 relation to the school medical service. Whether main- 
 tained by the LocaUEducation Authority or by a voluntary 
 body, the school should be under the supervision of the 
 school Medical Officer. In the case of a voluntary Nursery 
 School it may not always "be convenient for the school 
 Medical Officer to undertake the whole of the medical 
 inspection, but even in such a case the medical practitioner 
 employed for this purpose should be in touch with the 
 school Medical Officer, who should visit the school from 
 time to time. The medical practitioner selected should 
 preferably live near the school, to be readily available 
 in case of emergency. 
 
 7. Medical supervision of Nursery Schools is desirable 
 for four reasons : 
 
 (a) To prevent the admission of physically unsuitable 
 '' children. 
 
 {b) To prevent, as far as possible, the development of 
 physical defects or ailments, and to ensure 
 prompt treatment where necessary. 
 
 (c) To avoid, as far as possible, the spread of infectious
 
 156 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 diseases such as measles and whooping-cough 
 by providing opportunity for early diagnosis 
 and the adoption of prompt preventive 
 measures. 
 (<^) To create and develop healthy habits of life, and 
 the avoidance of injury to the senses. 
 Among the children who desire admission there may be 
 some who are physically unfit to attend even a Nursery 
 School. In other cases it may be desirable to retain 
 children at the school on grounds of health for a longer 
 period than usual before sending them to the public 
 elementary school. 
 
 Various physical habits frequently observed among little 
 children, such as mouth-breathing, squint, near distance 
 eye work, etc., should be detected at the earliest oppor- 
 tunity, and arrangements made for their careful correction. 
 One reason for the provision of Nursery Schools is indeed to 
 reduce the large numbers of preventable defects now 
 observed in entrants to the public elementary school, and 
 the associated educational handicap and resulting 
 incapacity. For several years past the degree and 
 character of defects prevalent among children on their 
 first admission to the elementary schools have revealed 
 a widespread measure of low physical condition in children 
 under five, not a little of which might have been prevented 
 if it had been properly dealt with between two and five 
 years of age. 
 
 8. Medical Inspection and Treatment. — Each child 
 should be medically inspected according to a prescribed 
 schedule as soon as possible after admission, and should 
 be seen, though not necessarily examined, by the doctor 
 not less than once a term. Ailing children may require 
 more frequent inspection. The School Nurse may be 
 employed to assist in the periodical medical examination 
 of the children and in following up the children found to 
 be defective. She may also pay daily visits to the school 
 to make a " health inspection," take temperatures, if and 
 when necessary, and deal with minor ailments. In many 
 cases, however, it would be more satisfactory that the
 
 APPENDIX 157 
 
 Superintendent, or another member of the staff who 
 possesses the requisite quaHfications, should discharge 
 some or all of these duties. She should weigh and measure 
 the children at least at the beginning and end of each 
 term (preferably once a month), and she should have a 
 definite responsibility for the hygiene of the school, includ- 
 ing the cleanliness of the children and the suitability of 
 their clothing and footgear. 
 
 9. The facilities for treatment and the arrangements for 
 "following up" provided for children in attendance at 
 public elementary schools should be available for children 
 in Nursery Schools. For example, a child suffering from 
 squint, nasal obstruction or discharging ears, should be 
 referred to the School Clinic for advice and, if necessary, 
 treatment. Minor ailments, e.g. cuts, sores, chilblains, 
 should be dealt with at the school itself. Particular 
 attention should be paid to correct breathing, and the 
 school staff should be trained to observe slight departures 
 from the normal, which are the early indications of defects 
 of sight, hearing, or nutrition. They should refer such 
 cases to the Medical Officer. 
 
 Records of physical conditions, defects and treatment 
 should be kept on schedules adapted from those in use 
 at the public elementary school, and should be transferred 
 when the child enters the ordinary school. If the child 
 has previously attended an Infant Welfare Centre a copy 
 of its record should be obtained. 
 
 10. Epidemic Disease. — ^The prevention of epidemic 
 disease is particularly important where numbers of suscep- 
 tible children under five years of age are in frequent and 
 close contact. The younger the children the greater is 
 the mortality from such diseases as measles and whooping- 
 cough. Ninety per cent, of the deaths from measles and its 
 complications occur under the age of five years. If the 
 attack of measles, for instance, can be postponed beyond 
 early childhood, the illness is likely to be less severe, and 
 there is less liability to dangerous complications or after- 
 effects, such as pneumonia or the development of tuber- 
 culosis. Children known to have suffered recently from
 
 158 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 infectious disease should receive special care and super- 
 vision in order to prevent the development of after-effects, 
 such as tuberculosis. Epidemics can be prevented to a 
 considerable extent — 
 
 (i) by daily inspection by a competent observer of 
 each child as it enters the school ; 
 
 (2) by the strict adherence of the school staf? to rules 
 
 drawn up for their guidance (e.g. in regard to 
 exclusion of ' ' contacts " or of cases of infectious 
 disease at an early or incipient stage) ;• 
 
 (3) by exclusions of cases of " colds " or suspects ; 
 
 (4) by the cleanliness and hygiene of each child ; 
 
 (5) by the management of the school on open-air lines. 
 The school Medical Officer should be responsible for rules 
 
 designed to prevent the transmission of infection, and for 
 a general oversight of the arrangements. The necessary 
 daily inspections should be carried out either by a qualified 
 nurse or by a senior member of the staff if she possesses 
 suitable and sufficient experience. It should not be dele- 
 gated to junior or inexperienced members of the staff. 
 
 Suspicious cases should be isolated pending medical 
 advice. Arrangements for the examination of suspected 
 cases of infectious disease should be made by the school 
 Medical Officer in conjunction with the Medical Officer of 
 Health (to whom notification of infectious cases must be 
 sent). It may prove convenient to obtain a local doctor 
 to examine such children. In any case much more effective 
 and systematic steps should be taken through the Nursery 
 School in regard to the diagnosis and following up of 
 measles, etc., than have been practicable in connexion 
 with the ordinary infant school. It is, perhaps, desirable 
 to add that no scheme of Nursery Schools will receive the 
 Board's approval until and unless proper safeguards have 
 been secured. 
 
 Mental and Social Training. 
 
 11. It would, however, be a mistake to assume that 
 healthy physical development is the sole concern of a 
 Nursery School, and that the growth of the mind can safely
 
 APPENDIX 159 
 
 be neglected. The school should provide specific training 
 on this side as well as on the physical. It has much to do 
 in the way of preparing the children to begin the work of 
 the elementary school with well-formed habits, with minds 
 alert and eager to learn and unspoiled by premature 
 attempts to teach what is unsuitable. Formal work in 
 reading, writing and arithmetic should have no place 
 at all in the Nursery School. The best preparation for the 
 three R's is a training in speech and language. The 
 children should be taught to use their voices naturally, 
 without harshness, and to articulate clearly and correctly. 
 They should be encouraged to ask questions, to understand 
 and act upon what is said to them, to talk freely on their 
 own little concerns, to say simple rhymes and poems, and 
 to sing together. Music and singing will help in the 
 training of speech, and by stories told to groups of children 
 they will learn something of the pronunciation and meaning 
 of words. The skilful teacher will know how to entice 
 even the shyest child into talking. The picture books and 
 toys, with which a Nursery School should be well stocked, 
 the garden and the pets that may be kept, will furnish 
 material enough for talking. One of the objects of training 
 in speech is to give the child, often brought up in narrow 
 surroundings, ideas as well as words — things, in short, 
 to talk about. In Wales it is desirable that the language 
 of the Nursery School should be the language of the 
 children's home. 
 
 12. Development of Motor and Sensory Experience. — 
 A beginning may be made in directing that motor and 
 sensory experience of the child which is vital to its har- 
 monious development. For though manual work as 
 ordinarily understood is more suitable for children over 
 the age of five years, its broad principles may be introduced 
 in the Nursery School. The child learns through action ; 
 indeed, true muscular culture is brain culture ; and the 
 early spontaneous movements of the child are of groat 
 importance as stimulative to the brain centres. Certain 
 forms of handwork and simple physical exercises — walking, 
 hopping, skipping, marching, running and arm exercise —
 
 160 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 are valuable and lead out the child's motor powers. It 
 should be remembered that handwork should be so devised 
 as to provide (a) for an appropriate degree of repetition ; 
 (b) for sufficient variety in form and nature ; and (c) for 
 tasks which can be completed in themselves at once or in 
 one or at most two lessons. Above all, the handwork and 
 other occupations of the children in the Nursery School 
 should have a purpose. The interest of young children is 
 in occupations which have meaning, which do something, 
 and which are followed by results. They like to handle 
 things, and push them about, to make, create, and use ; 
 to build towers and destroy them ; to collect and have the 
 sense of ownership ; to come into contact with and control 
 other forms of existence than their own. All these early 
 natural aspirations should be cultivated, developed and 
 directed in the Nursery School. 
 
 13. Another principal aim will be what is sometimes 
 called " sense training." The purpose of such training 
 is not primarily to cultivate the ability to make minute 
 discriminations between different sounds, textures, weights, 
 or even colours, an ability which may be speedily lost if 
 it is not constantly utilized. It is rather, as regards sight, 
 to teach the child to notice broad rather than fine 
 differences in colour, form and size ; as regards hearing, 
 to listen with attention, to respond to quiet questions and 
 commands, to distinguish different sounds, and to develop 
 a taste for pleasant sounds instead of noise ; in touch, to 
 enable the child to interpret shape, size and texture through 
 his fingers, and to use his hands and fingers for manipula- 
 tion, such as the careful carrying of utensils and the gentle 
 treatment of flowers. The child may also learn to dis- 
 tinguish between the scents of various articles and to 
 judge weight. In the course of these activities the children 
 will add indefinitely to their stock of ideas and of words 
 with which to express them. Closely associated with this 
 aspect of education is the training in balance and equili- 
 brium and in easy and graceful movements in walking ; 
 while a sense of rhythm may be fostered through music 
 and dancing. Bad habits both in sitting and in moving,
 
 APPENDIX 161 
 
 ungainly waddling and cramped postures, should be 
 patiently corrected. 
 
 14. Social Training. — Much of the training above 
 suggested will, no doubt, have to be accomplished with 
 individuals taken alone or in small numbers together. 
 But the Nursery School should afford scope also for social 
 training ; thus the children should be trained to eat 
 properly and in general " to behave mannerly at table." 
 They should assist in lajdng and clearing the table, and 
 perhaps in some simple washing up. In the same way they 
 can be enlisted in the service of keeping the rooms tidy, 
 and be taught to put away their playthings in the proper 
 place. If it is rightly conducted, the whole trend of the 
 Nursery School will be to accustom the children to attend 
 to themselves, to fasten and unfasten clothes and boots 
 without haste or carelessness, to keep themselves as well 
 as their surroundings tidy and neat, and to take a pride in 
 helping themselves and one another. Nor need it be feared 
 that such a school will present the over-clean appearance 
 of a too-strictly regulated institution. 
 
 Again, even young children can learn to share in games, 
 to play together with common toys, sometimes the older 
 with the 3^ounger, and sometimes the older by themselves. 
 The importance of arousing a spirit of co-operation and of 
 mutual help need not be here elaborated. This spirit is 
 not inconsistent with the cultivation of a sense of owner- 
 ship and of pride of possession ; if each child not only 
 has access to the common cupboard or shelves of playthings, 
 but has a few of his own to use or to lend, or is given a 
 plant to tend, or duties which he alone is to perform, his 
 personal interest in the school will be increased. 
 
 It will probably be found advisable to let occasions of 
 collective work, in stories, games, or music, succeed periods 
 when children are left to play as their own choice dictates. 
 Nothing pleases the average child better, after he has played 
 alone with toys and his interest is exhausted, than to join 
 his fellows in listening to a story, in singing or in a game. 
 It is perhaps hardly necessary to say that a " Time-table " 
 is altogether out of place in these matters, and that the
 
 162 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 finish of a period of collective work should be determined 
 when the children have obviously had enough. Specified 
 times must of necessity be set for the beginning and end of 
 the session, for meals and for rest ; but nothing m.ore than 
 these need be settled beforehand. 
 
 15. Definite and clearly conceived as the training in the 
 Nursery School should be, it does not imply any formal 
 classification. Strict adherence to an age basis in dis- 
 tributing children in classes should be avoided, for, as has 
 already been said, one of the chief elements in the training 
 of the children is the cultivation of the spirit of common 
 play and mutual help, such as is found in every well- 
 conducted household, and not least in families which do not 
 contain nurseries. It is a good rather than a bad thing 
 that the group of children under one teacher or assistant 
 should consist of children of different ages. The child 
 of two or three will not, of course, be able to join in all that 
 children of four or five can do, but he will watch with 
 interest and delight. Nor will he always follow the story 
 to which older ones will listen with eagerness, but he can 
 be set free to wander and play on his own account. Older 
 children, too, even if they have games and pursuits of their 
 own, do not lose the power of enjoying the simpler pursuits 
 of their younger brothers and sisters. They will often 
 become interested in the play of the younger children 
 and will be delighted to help and amuse them. 
 
 Administrative Arrangements. 
 
 16. Site, Premises and Equipment. — It is important 
 that the site should be easy of access to the children's 
 homes. It may, indeed, be argued that the healthy physical 
 development of the children in large centres of population 
 would best be secured by placing the school in some open 
 locality away from congested areas, but the balance of 
 advantage is in favour of the school being in close proximity 
 to the children's homes. There are grave difficulties 
 in the way of conveying children to a distant school ; 
 they could not ordinarily be accompanied by their elder 
 brothers or sisters ; mothers would lose touch with the ^
 
 APPENDIX 163 
 
 school and the staff, and would be disindined to allow 
 their younger children to attend ; and in case of illness 
 serious difficulties might arise. For these reasons the 
 Board would not, as a rule, be prepared to recognize a 
 Nursery School that was not situated within convenient 
 walking distance of the children's homes. The necessity 
 of crossing dangerous thoroughfares must, of course, be 
 avoided. 
 
 17. In the choice of premises the following main 
 considerations should be kept in view : — 
 
 (a) Some outdoor space in the form of a garden or 
 yard is essential unless the school practically 
 adjoins a park or other open space which can 
 be used instead. Whenever possible, French 
 windows opening direct from the rooms on to 
 a veranda or the garden or yard should be 
 arranged. In some cases it may be possible 
 to provide a roof playground if outdoor space 
 cannot be obtained. 
 {b) The rooms should be arranged with a \'iew to an 
 all-day occupation ; in each of the principal 
 rooms not less than twelve to fifteen square 
 feet of floor space per child should be provided. 
 Light and ventilation should receive special 
 attention. A south or south-east aspect is 
 desirable, and open-air conditions should be 
 aimed at throughout, 
 (c) The necessary accommodation should be available 
 for the daily inspection of the children, for the 
 preparation and service of meals (though a 
 separate dining-room will not usually be 
 needed), and for suitable arrangements for rest 
 and sleep, 
 (li) Ample provision of cloak-room, lavatory basins, 
 bath-room and sanitary conveniences should 
 be regarded as particularly important. The 
 arrangements should be as simple and 
 economical as possible, designed to permit 
 of convenient supervision of very young
 
 164 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 children. Assuming a constant supply of hot 
 water, one bath may suffice for, say, fifty 
 children. For about the same number of 
 children four sanitary conveniences should 
 suffice, though in a larger school separate 
 arrangements may be needed for boys of five 
 or six years of age. 
 The necessary arrangements may be summarized as 
 follows : — 
 
 Lavatory. — ^A row of basins ; if fixed, they should 
 be sufficiently low for the children to reach. Enamelled 
 basins on a wooden bench answer satisfactorily if 
 a low sink is provided for emptying. A separate 
 numbered towel for each child, a toothbrush and 
 mug, and a comb are desirable. 
 
 Bath-room. — ^A small slipper bath raised above the 
 ground is probably the most convenient. 
 
 Sanitary Conveniences should usually be provided 
 within the building, or in any case connected with it 
 by a covered way. They must be so arranged as to 
 be easily supervised. Low washdown conveniences 
 are suitable. They should be partially screened, so 
 that the children cannot see one another, though the 
 assistant can easily supervise them all. 
 
 Cloak-room. — It should be possible to dry wet 
 clothing and shoes. Each child should have a 
 separate numbered peg. Washable overalls and 
 slippers may be provided, and are almost essential 
 in wet weather. 
 18. In present circumstances it will, as a rule, be imprac- 
 ticable to provide buildings specially designed for Nursery 
 School purposes. This, however, is not altogether to be 
 regretted ; Nursery Schools for some years to come will 
 be in the experimental stage, and until further experience 
 is available any large expenditure on the provision of 
 special premises could only be justified by very exceptional 
 circumstances. Large special buildings are neither neces- 
 sary nor desirable, for, in any case, the school should serve 
 a strictly limited area. At first, the Board have no doubt
 
 APPENDIX 165 
 
 that it will generally be possible to adapt some existing 
 premises for the purpose. Local circumstances will, of 
 course, largely dictate the nature of the premises to be 
 taken, but as far as possible they should be small, homely 
 and accessible ; in some cases suitable school buildings 
 may be converted to the use of a Nursery School ; in 
 others two or more houses may be rented and " knocked 
 together." It is most important that the premises should 
 admit plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Minor alterations 
 and adaptations will generally be needed, depending in 
 detail on the circumstances of each case. 
 
 Apart from the general considerations mentioned above, 
 the Board do not propose at present to lay down any 
 definite building regulations for Nursery Schools ; they 
 will be prepared to consider on their merits any plans 
 which may be submitted ; an estimate of the cost should 
 accompany any proposals submitted. 
 
 19. The equipment of the children's rooms should be 
 simple, and should include light tables and chairs (of 
 appropriate size, weight, and form), washable rugs, 
 stretcher beds, educational apparatus and toys. 
 
 20. The Size of a Nursery School. — It is obvious that a 
 Nursery School should be small and homehke ; it should 
 not be comparable in point of size to most departments of 
 urban public elementary schools. About forty children 
 is probably the ideal number for a Nursery School, but it 
 may sometimes be necessary to provide for more than 
 forty if the needs of a district are to be at all adequately 
 met. The Board will therefore not refuse to consider 
 proposals for a Nursery School providing for as many as 
 eighty to one hundred children ; but in no case should the 
 number exceed one hundred. 
 
 21. The Age of Admission and Leaving. — Under 
 Article i [b) of the Regulations a child may not be admitted 
 before the age of two years ; but it is desirable that 
 children should begin to attend the Nursery School soon 
 after that age ; good habits are more easily formed and 
 many ailments to which children are liable are more 
 amenable to treatment at an early age. If a child is already
 
 166 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 in attendance at a day nursery, admission to a Nursery 
 School may be deferred until it reaches the age of three 
 years. The Board anticipate that for the present at all 
 events children will usually leave the Nursery School at 
 the age of five or more conveniently at the end of the term 
 in which they attain that age. So long as five years remains 
 the age at which compulsory attendance at school begins 
 in an area, the transfer of children from a Nursery School 
 at a later age would retard their progress and disturb the 
 organization of the public elementary school. Moreover, 
 while the accommodation in Nursery Schools is limited, 
 as it is likely to be for some time, the interests of the 
 younger children should as a rule take precedence of the 
 interests of children between the age of five and six. In 
 exceptional circumstances, however, it will no doubt 
 be desired to retain children over the age of five. Before 
 assenting under Article i (b) to such retention the Board 
 will require to be satisfied (i) that the Local Education 
 Authority concur in the arrangement ; (2) that the 
 premises and staff are suitable for children over the age 
 of five ; and (3) that there are sufficient grounds for the 
 application, e.g. that the children are delicate or require 
 special attention. 
 
 22. Daily Routine. — The usual hours of opening and 
 closing the school should be respectively somewhat earlier 
 and later than those of the elementary school, so as to 
 allow elder children to bring and fetch their younger 
 brothers and sisters. Occupation should be both individual 
 and collective. Children should be free to develop their 
 own tastes and interests, but should also learn to associate 
 with their companions and to control conduct likely to 
 annoy others. They should be carefully trained to be 
 self-reliant and to serve each other, sharing together in a 
 love of persons and things ; and an atmosphere of freedom, 
 happiness and mutual affection should be cultivated. 
 The school should provide the child with a joyous experi- 
 ence in all relations, a simple, clean, and wholesome 
 environment in which it can grow in sociability and 
 naturalness. An essential condition of its success will be
 
 APPENDIX 167 
 
 its homeliness and its retention of the loyalty and confi- 
 dence of the mothers of the children. These conditions 
 are intimately related to the health of the children. 
 
 23. Three of the most important physical advantages 
 to secure in a Nursery School are : (a) Nutrition — ^good 
 food, fresh air, cleanliness, and healthy habits ; {h) exercise 
 — ^by abundance of free play and informal exercise, and the 
 avoidance of finely-adjusted movements ; (c) rest — by 
 requiring periods of rest in the horizontal attitude, by short 
 and varied lessons, and by suitable chairs and apparatus, 
 the use of which prevents strain or restlessness. The 
 purpose of the school is not to teach " the three R's," but 
 by sleep, food and play to provide the opportunity for 
 little children to lay the foundations of health, good habit, 
 and a responsive and receptive personality. 
 
 Children should be bathed at least once a week. Heads 
 should be combed regularly. The washing of heads, the 
 cleansing of teeth, and the use of the offices must be closely 
 supervised. The children should be trained in cleanly 
 habits, but encouraged to assist themselves as far as 
 possible. 
 
 24. The Staff. — ^The staff of a Nursery School will 
 comprise three classes : 
 
 (i) Superintendents, 
 (ii) Adult Assistants and Nurses. 
 (iii) Probationers. 
 Superintendents. — ^The success or failure of a Nursery 
 School will depend primarily on the Superintendent. She 
 should possess adequate knowledge of child-hygiene, and 
 should be capable of undertaking responsibility for the 
 physical welfare of children between the ages of two and 
 five years. It is equally important that she should not be 
 expected merely to perform the duty of nurse or matron. 
 Whilst emphasis is laid on her capacity to organize the 
 health side of a Nursery School, the Superintendent must 
 also be able to direct the training of the children with 
 breadth of outlook and imagination. In short, the work 
 of a Superintendent of a Nursery School necessarily demands 
 a high standard of capacity and a varied experience, both
 
 168 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 personal and professional. It will not always be easy — 
 especially at first — for Local Education Authorities and 
 Managers to find the right person, but the field of choice 
 should be sensibly widened as time goes on. There is 
 evidence that posts in Nursery Schools will be sought after 
 by teachers and other suitable persons, and special courses 
 of training are being organized for them at Training Colleges 
 and elsewhere. Where there is any doubt as to the 
 suitability of the candidate selected, it is suggested that 
 her appointment should be provisional. In giving their 
 approval under Article 9 {a) of persons nominated as 
 Superintendents of Nursery Schools, the Board do not think 
 it advisable at the present stage to restrict selection to 
 those who have passed any particular examinations or 
 tests. But they will require to be satisfied with substantial 
 evidence that the candidate chosen is well fitted by educa- 
 tion and previous experience for so responsible a post. 
 
 25. Assistant Staff. — ^The assistant staff will, it is 
 assumed, be composed partly of women possessing nursing 
 qualifications who will be employed mainly in attending 
 to the physical welfare of the children, especially the 
 younger children, and partly of women who possess 
 qualifications and experience for the training and teaching 
 of young children. The Board anticipate that after the 
 war there will be many women of sufficient general educa- 
 tion who have been serving temporarily as nurses in 
 hospitals, day nurseries and infant welfare centres, or as 
 teachers of junior and infant classes, or who have proved 
 their practical capacity in other forms of service, who will 
 be willing to undertake work in Nursery Schools. The 
 Board hope that provision ma}^ be made for special courses 
 of training for these and other members of the staff. 
 
 A suitably qualified nurse should usually be attached 
 to a Nursery School. She need not be a whole-time officer, 
 but a daily visit is advisable, in order that minor ailments, 
 etc., may be referred to her. One nurse might thus visit 
 five or six schools. The nurse might be dispensed with 
 if the Superintendent possessed a sufficient knowledge of 
 children's ailments to undertake the necessary duties.
 
 APPENDIX 169 
 
 26. Probationers. — It may be expected that some young 
 persons under the age of eighteen will wish to take up 
 work in Nursery Schools with the object of fitting them- 
 selves for permanent employment in them, or occasionally 
 for emploj'ment as children's nurses. Probationers should 
 not be regarded as a form of cheap labour ; their number 
 should be limited ; adequate provision should be made 
 for their training and, if they have not received full time 
 education up to the age of sixteen, for any necessary 
 attendance at continuation classes. 
 
 27. Until further experience has been obtained, the 
 Board do not think it desirable to attempt to prescribe 
 a precise scale of staffing for Nursery Schools. They 
 would expect, however, that a Nursery School containing 
 forty to fifty children would require the services of a super- 
 intendent, an experienced assistant and a probationer. 
 The number suggested would appear to be the minimum, 
 regard being had to the special care and attention that 
 it will be necessary to give to children for whom Nursery 
 Schools will be provided. In larger schools additional 
 assistance would obviously be required. 
 
 28. Finally, it is a matter of the first importance to 
 facihtate the free interchange of teachers between Nursery 
 Schools and other schools ; the creation of a separate 
 caste of Nursery School teachers would be a matter of 
 regret in the interests of the teaching profession. The 
 Board have no doubt that Local Education Authorities 
 and Managers will bear this in mind when considering the 
 staffing of Nursery Schools, and will encourage persons 
 in their employment to obtain, if they do not already 
 possess, qualifications for work in elementary and other 
 schools and departments for younger children. 
 
 29. The Relation of Nursery Schools to other Instittdions. 
 — It has hitherto been assumed for purposes of convenient 
 description that the Nursery School or class will be a 
 separate institution. Proposals may, however, be sub- 
 mitted for the recognition of Nursery Schools or classes 
 which form part of other organizations. It may, for 
 instance, be desired to establish a Nursery School in the
 
 170 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 same premises as a day nursery or an infant department 
 of a public elementary school. The considerations already 
 mentioned would apply generally to any such proposal, 
 with any modifications required by the circumstances 
 of each case. In the case of association with a day nursery, 
 for instance, where the premises would be largely used in 
 common, special importance would attach to the selection 
 of a suitable person as superintendent who could take 
 charge of the whole institution. The Board would be 
 unwilling to recognize a Nursery School attached to a 
 day nursery unless there were at least twenty children 
 of two years old and upwards. 
 
 30. A proposal to establish a Nursery School or class 
 in the premises of a public elementary school would need 
 careful consideration, and it should generally form the 
 subject of early consultation with the Board. Some 
 parts of the premises, such as the hall and playground, 
 might be used jointly ; but adaptation of existing rooms 
 to the use of a Nursery School might prove difficult. 
 Alteration in the use of the class-rooms, unless they 
 naturally form a separate enclave, might prejudice the 
 work both of the Nursery School and of the public elemen- 
 tary school. The midday meal should be regarded as 
 part of the routine of the Nursery School, and arrange- 
 ments should be made for the children separately from the 
 provision made for other scholars under the Education 
 (Provision of Meals) Act. In considering a proposal to 
 place the Nursery School under the general supervision 
 of the head teacher of the infants' department, the Board 
 would have regard to the qualifications of the teacher as 
 well as to the size of the Nursery School and the infants' 
 department. Speaking generally, they would not be 
 disposed to approve such an arrangement if there were 
 more than four hundred children in the infants' school 
 or more than forty in the Nursery School. 
 
 31. Grants-in-Aid will be payable for Nursery Schools 
 conducted in accordance with the regulations. Provision 
 is being made in other Regulations for the payment of 
 grants to Local Education Authorities at the rate of one-
 
 APPENDIX 171 
 
 half of their net expenditure on supplying or aiding the 
 supply of Nursery Schools. Article 13 of these Regulations 
 provides for the payment of grant at the same rate for 
 Nursery Schools provided by voluntary managers. The 
 first expenditure taken into account for grant will be that 
 incurred during the year ending March 31, 1919, and 
 grant will first be payable during the year commencing 
 April I, 1919. 
 
 L. A. Selhy- Biggs 
 31 December, 19 18 
 
 BOARD OF EDUCATION 
 
 Regulations for Nursery Schools 
 
 I. — {a) A Nursery School (which expression includes a 
 nursery class) for the purposes of these Regulations is an 
 institution which provides for the care and training during 
 the day of young children over two and under five years of 
 age, whose attendance at such a school is necessary 
 or desirable for their healthy physical and mental 
 development. 
 
 (6) Children may not be admitted to a Nursery 
 School below the age of two years ; they may not be re- 
 tained beyond the end of the term in which they attain 
 the age of five, except with the special permission of the 
 Board. 
 
 2. An Authority for the purpose of these Regulations 
 means a Local Education Authority for the purposes of 
 Part III of the Education Act, 1902. 
 
 3. If a School is not provided by an Authority : 
 
 {a) The Board before recognizing it will consult the 
 Authority. 
 
 {h) It must be conducted by responsible Managers, 
 and provision must be made for the appoint- 
 ment of at least one-third of the Managers by 
 the Authority, where the Authority so desire. 
 A person must be appointed to act as 
 Correspondent of the Managers.
 
 172 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 (c) It must be suitable in character and financial 
 position to receive aid from the Board, and 
 must not be conducted for private profit or 
 be farmed out to any member of the staff or 
 other person. 
 
 {d) It must be open to inspection by the Authority. 
 
 4. Before recognizing a Nursery School, the Board will 
 consider its suitability in relation to the needs of the area, 
 its accessibility to the children's homes, and the co-ordina- 
 tion of its work with the medical and educational services 
 of the Authority, 
 
 5. The site, premises and equipment must be approved 
 by the Board as generally suitable for the purposes of a 
 Nursery School. 
 
 6. — {a) The School must be open for not less than 200 
 days in the year, but due allowance will be made for any 
 period of closure on medical grounds or for any other 
 unavoidable cause. 
 
 [h) The times of opening and closing must be 
 suitable. 
 
 7. Adequate arrangements must be made for attending 
 to the health, nourishment and physical welfare of the 
 children, as well as for training appropriate to their age 
 and circumstances. There must be sufficient opportunity 
 for rest, meals and recreation. 
 
 8. Satisfactory provision must be made for medical 
 inspection, supervision and treatment, and for the preven- 
 tion of infectious diseases. 
 
 9. — (a) A Nursery School must be under the charge of 
 a competent Superintendent. Her appointment must be 
 approved beforehand by the Board. 
 
 {h) The subordinate staff must be suitable, and 
 sufficient in number and qualifications. 
 
 (c) The salary of any certificated or uncertificated 
 teachers employed full-time in the School must be not 
 less than the minimum salary prescribed by the Board for 
 teachers of those grades employed in public elementary 
 schools. 
 
 10. No fees shall be charged or other charges of any
 
 APPENDIX 178 
 
 kind made in a Nursery School except for food or medical 
 treatment. A fee, if charged for these purposes, must be 
 reasonable and must not exceed the cost of the food or 
 medical treatment provided. 
 
 II. — {a) The school must be open at all reasonable 
 times to inspection by the Board. 
 
 (b) At least a full week's notice must be given to 
 the Board's Inspector of any alteration in the time of 
 meeting of the school, or of its closure. In the case of 
 closure on account of an emergency, notice should be given 
 by telegram. 
 
 12. Such records must be kept as may from time to 
 time be required by the Board, and any returns called for 
 by the Board must be duly furnished. 
 
 13. Where a school is not provided by an Authority : 
 
 (a) Grant will be payable for each year commencing 
 
 1st April at the rate of one-half of the expendi- 
 ture in that year. The grant will be payable 
 after the end of the year. 
 
 (b) In determining the expenditure on which grant is 
 
 payable the Board will reduce the gross ex- 
 penditure by the amount of any fees received 
 and by the amount of any contributions from 
 an Authority ; they will also exclude any items 
 of expenditure which, in their opinion, should 
 not be taken into account for the purposes of 
 grant. 
 
 (c) Application for the payment of grant must be 
 
 submitted to the Board through the Authority, 
 together with an audited statement of accounts 
 for the period under review, 
 (i) The grant payable in respect of a school which 
 has been closed t>v which ceases to be recognized 
 will not, as a rule, exceed the amount of the 
 outstanding liabilities at the date on which the 
 school is closed, or on which recognition ceases. 
 
 14. The payment of grant and the continuance of 
 recognition is subject to the fulfihnent of the conditions 
 laid down in these Regulations, but if any of the conditions
 
 174 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 have not been fulfilled the Board may, nevertheless, where 
 there are special circumstances which would justify it, pay 
 such grant as they may think fit instead of withdrawing 
 recognition, or as a preliminary to so doing. 
 
 15. If any question arises as to the interpretation of 
 these Regulations, the decision of the Board shall be final. 
 
 16. These Regulations come into force as from ist 
 April, 1918, and may be cited as "The Regulations for 
 Nursery Schools, 1919." 
 
 Given under the Seal of Office of the Board of Education 
 this 5th day of March, 1919. 
 
 (l. S.) L. A. Selhy-Bigge 
 
 Secretary to the Board of Education
 
 INDEX 
 
 Adapted houses, 139 
 Age classification, 49, 96 
 Anger, 31. 44, 45 
 Appetites, The, 28 
 Ardwick Nursery School, 139 
 Art-appreciation, 89, 91 
 
 Bathing, 102 
 Bead-threading, 85 
 Breathing exercises, 104 
 Brickbuilding, 83 
 Bruises, 125 
 
 Buildings, Character of, 141, 
 142, 144 
 
 Plans of, 143, 144, 151 
 
 Burns, 126 
 
 Centres of interest, i<y, 58, 
 
 78,85 
 Character, Development of, 47, 
 
 48 
 Chickenpox, 116 
 Cloakrooms, 143, 147, 149 
 Clothing, 103 
 
 Cognition, Development of, 39 
 Colds, 115 
 Competition, 48 
 
 Conation, Development of, 44 
 Concepts, Formation of, 42 
 Construction, 82-87 
 Convention, Influence of, 52 
 Co-operation amongst children, 
 
 49 
 Cottages adapted, 139 
 Creative impulses, 23, 64, 75 
 Cupboards, 147, 149 
 Curiosity, 31, 43 
 Cuts, 126 
 
 Daily exercise, 100 
 
 routine, 56, 102 
 
 V Decoration of rooms, 148 
 Diet, 106 
 Diphtheria, 116 
 Discipline, 36, 41, 62, 63 
 Dog bite, 128 
 Dramatic play, 62, 75-78 
 
 Drawing, S7-90 
 Drever, 32 
 
 Ear, 97, 98 
 
 Emotions, 45, 46 
 
 Exercise and imitation, 64, 66 
 
 Eye, 97, 98 
 
 Fear, 31 
 
 Feeling, Development of, 45 
 
 Finger-plays, 73, 74 
 
 Fits, 127 
 
 Food, 105 
 
 Foreign bodies, 127 
 
 Formal instruction, 25, 33, 49 
 
 Free play, 94, 99 
 
 Fretfulness, 127 
 
 Freud, 30, 35, 52 
 
 Furniture, 14S-150 
 
 Games, 72, 73, 99 
 
 — . — Dramatic, 75-78 
 
 Garden, The, 86, 100, 144, 145 
 
 Habits, 44 
 
 Hygienic, 103, 104 
 
 Haemorrhage, 126 
 
 Hand work, 98, 99 
 
 Heating, 142 
 
 Heights and weights of 
 
 children. Table of, 109 
 Home, Relations of Nursery 
 
 with, 19, 21 
 Hospital training, 130, 136 
 Hot-water supply, 146 
 Hypermetropia, 97 
 
 Imagination, 40-42 
 Imitation, 50, 64, 65 
 Infectious disease, 95, 1 14-120 
 
 Preventionof spread of, 120 
 
 Instmcts,-3o, 31, 38 
 
 Isolation room, 100, 143, 150 
 
 Jung, 34 
 
 KiNEMATOGRAPJi, Influence of, 
 
 88, 89 
 Kitchen, 143, 147, 150 
 
 175
 
 176 NURSERY SCHOOL EDUCATION 
 
 Language, 42, 57, 92, 93 
 Lavatories, 143, 144, 146, 147 
 Love, Sentiment of, 46, 48 
 
 McDouGALL, 30, 31, 32 
 Measles, 117 
 
 German, 118 
 
 Medical inspection, 108 
 
 consultation, 109, 11 1 
 
 Mental environment, 22 
 Modelling, 90 
 Montessori, 39, 66-68, 81 
 Morning circle, 57 
 Mumps. 118 
 Muscular movement, 99 
 Musical expression, 92 
 Myopia, 97 
 
 Nature, 23, 59 
 Nervous strain, no, 127 
 Number interests, 86 
 Nursery rhymes, 60, 61, 72 
 
 Occupations, 58, 82-91 
 Open-air buildings, 10 1, 141, 
 
 142 
 Over-stimulation, Danger of, 33 
 
 Parasitic diseases, 122 
 Parks, Use of, 145 
 Pets, Keeping of, 59 
 Physical development, 22, 96, 
 
 99 
 Pictures, 57, 149 
 Playrooms, 143, 147, 149 
 Play-spirit, 24 
 Poise of body, 72 
 Practical activities, 29, 73, 93 
 Pseudo-instincts, 31 
 Purpose in constructive plays, 
 
 85 
 
 Reasoning, Beginnings of, 43 
 Receiving of children, 115 
 Receiving-room, 143, 146, 148 
 Religious influences, 48, 56, 61, 
 
 62 
 Repression, Danger of, 33, 52 
 Rest, 98, 107 
 room, 143 
 
 Rhythm, Training in, 70 
 Roof-garden, 145 
 Rooms, size of, loi 
 Rusholme Nursery, 140 
 
 Sand-play, 84 
 Scarlet fever, no 
 Self-assertion, 31, 50 
 Sense development, 97 
 
 training, 39, 66-68 
 
 Sentiments, 46, 47 
 
 Sexual appetite, 30, 32 
 
 Shand, 47 
 
 Site of Nursery, 141 
 
 Size of Nursery School, 21 
 
 Smallpox, 116 
 
 Sores, 115 
 
 Stafi, Duties of, 136 
 
 rooms, 143, 150 
 
 Self-knowledge, 51 
 Sleep, 107 
 
 Sleeping-room, 143, 147, 150 
 Social relationships, 24 
 
 service, 93 
 
 Speech habits, 42, 44, 68, 98, 99 
 Sprains, 126 
 Squint, 98 
 Stammering, 99 
 Stings, 128 
 Stories, 58, 60-62 
 Superintendents, Training of, 
 129, 135-138 
 
 Duties of, 131, 133, 134 
 
 Prospects of, 138 
 
 Teeth, Care of, 104 
 Temperature of rooms, 100 
 Tests of progress, 25 
 Tools, 86 
 
 Town-planning schemes, 145 
 Toys, 7S-82 
 Trotter, 36 
 Typhoid fever, 119 
 
 Voluntary action, 45 
 
 Washing basins, 146 
 
 Weights and heights of 
 
 children. Table of, 109 
 Whooping cough, 119, 120 
 
 Printed in Great Britain by Jarrold cS- Sons, Ltd., Norwich.
 
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