CHILD TRAINING V-MHILLYER SOUTHERN BRANCH, TiMIVERSiTY OF CALIFORNIA, LIBRARY, iX)S ANGELES, CALJF, CHILD TRAINING rhotograph. by Baohracli HABIT DRILL "Untangling a Snarl"— Training in patience, persistence, attention, etc CHILD TRAINING A SYSTEM OF EDUCATION FOR THE CHILD UNDER SCHOOL AGE BY V. M. HILLYER HEAD MASTER OF CALVERT SCHOOL NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. r; 7 Q o I « O o 4 Copyright, 191 5, by The Century Co. Published, January^ igij Printed in U. S. A. H55e TO THE MEMORY OF R. K. H, ^ PREFACE This book sets forth a system of training for a child under school age and lays out a course of lessons and drills that can be given a class or an individual by either the trained or the untrained teacher or par- ent. It may recall the principles or theories of Come- nius, Locke, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Herbart, Froebel, James and others, but its practical applications are the result of many years' specializing in the education of young children. It aims to avoid the faults so common in child training — sentimentality, effeminacy, emotionalism, mysticism, license under the guise of freedom, exag- geration of the unimportant or trivial, the attaching of imaginary value to the symbolic. It emphasizes Drill and the Formation of Habits, the Cultivation of Qualities and Development of Powers by Drill.* It aims to produce children who will be more observant and attentive, with more orig- inality, more initiative and sharper wits, who will think and act more quickly, be better informed and more accomplished, more skilful with their hands, more courteous and considerate of others, and above all, •Popular expressions such as "powers and faculties," though not strictly psychological, have, for the sake of simplicity, been used throughout the book. vii Preface healthier animals. It should furthermore have a re- active effect on the teacher or parent who gives the course, instilling similar habits and qualities or re- newing those obliterated by disuse and neglect. vni INTRODUCTION Success, mediocrity, or failure in life is usually due to only slight differences in education or charac- ter, not to any remarkable or notable variation. Just a little more of this quality or just a little less of that and we have individuals between whom there is a wide gulf financially, politically or socially. The ten dollar a week bookkeeper and the thousand dollar a week railroad president may have precisely the same preliminary education and display personally very similar characteristics. Both can read and write, both can spell, both can figure and it would be pretty safe to say that in these fundamentals the bookkeeper could do as well if not better than the railroad presi- dent. The thing that does differentiate the one from the other it may be difficult to isolate and name — still more difficult to measure, but it will be found in some physical or mental power or ability — not in any school acquirement or information. One man's su- perior success may be attributable to his initiative, per- sistence or industry, another's to his critical attitude of mind or to his dependability, while still another's is due merely to a cordial manner, or to his ability to say " no " to himself and to others. ix Introduction And yet In elementary education we set such great store by reading and writing which all children must learn and do learn nowadays, which are essential for one to have like air and water, but no credit to have from the very fact that everybody has them. It is no credit to a man that he can sign his own name but a disgrace if he has to make " his mark." Whether a child learns to read at four or eight, in a month or a year, whether he is taught by the Pho- netic, Synthetic, Analytic or any other method is of little consequence; he will now learn to read eventu- ally and in good time in any civilized community — • but whether he observes accurately, has self confi- dence, the habit of initiative, an analytical mind, is skilful with his hands, can think and act quickly, is courteous and thoughtful of others — are things he may never acquire unless by direct drill and things which will be the ultimate deciding factors between his future success, mediocrity or failure. These hab- its and qualities should, therefore, not be inciden- tals in education — they are the things that should be done, while other things such as the three R's should not be left undone. It is all right to postpone reading and writing till the child is six or seven or even older, but the numberless qualities and habits that go to make up character should be started with the start of life. The first seven years are the most important of all X Introduction ir: setting this bias, for life's route is one of a num- ber of divergent roads. If the child takes the wrong one at the outset, each step along that road carries him farther and farther away from the right one and by the time he is seven he is so far along, that to get on the right road either he must retrace all his steps and start anew, falling hopelessly behind in life's race by this doubling on his course, or else he must cut across country with the fair prospect of losing the way entirely, getting on still another wrong road or never finding the right one at all. For example, a child who has had his own way, or pretty nearly his own way, from infancy till the age of seven, is so far along on the wrong road that it is almost a hopeless task to set him back and have him start on the right road of obedience. It follows, therefore, that to let the child " run wild " those first years is either criminal neglect or incompetence. The parent that does so is either lazy or ignorant, or more often both. Parents, as a rule, are sentimentally optimis- tic — " Oh, it will come out right in the end," they say. It may and we pray the good angel that watches over children that it may, but if left to chance it is not likely to do so. Every normal mother wishes her child to be a bet- ter and wiser man than any she has known; she has visions of greatness for him, a career as " doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief," she dreams dreams and xi Introduction plans for him a future in which he figures as a superla- tive character. More often than not, however, dream- ing is as far as the matter goes whereas only effort will make such dreams come true. For the first two or three years the mother is al- most exclusively occupied, and properly so, with the child's feeding, personal hygiene and physical care, though it is a common experience to receive letters appealing for educational help even at this period. Up to this time she has had recourse to treatises on infant feeding and care and these have furnished all the information and instruction necessary beyond that which maternal instinct, very strong at this period, has supplied. By the age of three or four, however, the child has learned to speak and has usually been instructed by the doting mother and a proud father in the choice of certain words and expressions, taught to count his fingers, to tell his right from his left hand, to speak " pieces " and to sing some songs for exhibition purposes. About this time, however, the mother be- gins to feel the need of educational help and advice. The child must be doing something, his intellectual life demands attention and the appeal is strong for a systematic course of training that will direct his na- tive wits into worth-while channels, develop his men- tal side and educate him. But the mother is at a loss to whom or to what to xii Introduction turn. Against the methods and courses known to her she may have well founded prejudice. They may be too metaphysical, symbolical, not concrete enough for specific application. The objects aimed at may seem too mystical and elusive for the common sense, even prosy child of every day life. It is usually a better working basis to consider the child a " chip of the old block" than "a manifestation of the divine" or " a part of the infinite." Furthermore, the information acquired may be en- tirely too abstract and remote from child nature. Cylinders and prisms have no importance or interest for the child as geometrical solids nor otherwise than building blocks. A knowledge of their names, proper- ties and relation is not to be compared in either interest or value to that which horses, cows, butterflies or steam engines possess for a child. Or the education may not be well rounded and com- prehensive — only special features may be empha- sized or only a few phases of the child's life be pro- vided for. Again, the education may seem to teach the child merely to play and the mother may not see the ad- vantage or the object of such training. She is told that his plays and games, and other occupations make him more this or that, or the other thing, but she can- not see the results and they seem to her more or less mythical. xiii Introduction Moreover, elementary training has not given suffi- cient weight or regard to sex differences. The educa- tion that is suitable for the girl is too feminine for the normal father's son. Sex characteristics are clearly marked as early as three years of age, and what is suitable and appeals to girls is unsuitable and even repulsive to the normal boy. Not to regard such sex distinction tends to make amorphous individuals and there is even danger of sex perversion. The boy who likes to play with dolls or at being a mother bird is an anomaly that should not be encouraged. Therefore, to the average mother skeptical of such training, elementary education means reading and writing and perhaps some figuring, and so she sets to work to teach the child his A, B, C's long before such knowledge possesses any value for him, and little or no attention is paid to the many and varied other sides of the child's development and instruction. The following system of " child training " is there- fore offered in the hope that it may help the mother in realizing the high ideals she cherishes in her breast. Though the course is primarily intended for the child under school age, it may be acquired by a child of any age and should be so acquired if it has not already been. Its most important feature is the Formation of Habits, physical, mental and moral ; the Cultivation of D'esirable Qualities and the Development of Powers xiv Introduction — not indirectly, incidentally or by roundabout meth- ods but by direct drills. The nerve cells — more properly the neurons — do not increase in man beyond the number he is born with, and " sense training " and " memory training " are impossible, if by that we mean increasing or de- veloping the keenness of the senses, or the native re- tentive power of the mind. Our brain power, how- ever, is increased by the increasing number of paths that connect the neurons and these paths can be in- creased. In other words, mental training is gained by increasing the association of ideas, by acting and reacting on them, by forming habits of attention, con- centration, etc., by persistent practice in the direction we wish to excel. // you stimulate and exercise the brain cells properly you can develop almost any habits, abilities, tastes, faculties, you may wish. The chief mental trouble with children, as well as with grown-ups, is lazymindedness. To force the mind into activity is therefore the first object of this train- ing. To those accustomed to the easy going, do-pretty- much-as-you-please methods of early instruction, much of the following work may seem too difficult, advanced or even impossible of acquisition by a young child but this impression is because they are unaccustomed to drill such as described in this book. There is no such thing as making brain paths in XV Introduction a hurry, but paths develop more rapidly when we are young, increasingly slowly as we grow old. Hence the inestimable importance of early forming of brain paths. If you start early enough there are hardly any abili- ties that cannot be acquired, no matter what heredi- tary traits are to the contrary. Demosthenes, though handicapped by an impediment in his speech, there- fore hereditarily unfit for an orator, became the great- est that history has ever recorded. If you start too late there is hardly any great abil- ity that can be acquired, no matter what hereditary traits predispose to it. No great musician, I believe, was ever made who started later than six years of age on the course of his art. But it is not for the future alone, it is also for the present results that the following training is in- tended. It is to make children that will be a blessing — a joy to be with and a delight to have with you and, what is equally important, a delight to others as well. XVI GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS CONDITIONS FOR TRAINING A GROUP of your own and your neighbor's children between the ages of four and six, gathered together in your home, is the best arrangement for the train- ing described in this book. The home is the best place, because pre-school train- ing is best given under the normal conditions and in the usual surroundings of everyday life. The idea of school, of a class or of a room especially set apart and equipped for lessons, is unfavorable to the best development. The nearer to the heart of the home, to the bosom of the family, the richer is the environ- ment, and the nearer the child is to the center of his world. If, therefore, such a meeting-place is not feas- ible, then the conditions of the home should be simu- lated as far as possible. A group is best, because, as Quintilian long ago pointed out, training with one's fellows — social life — is necessary for the best all-around development. Such a group of children should partake of the nature of a child's party or social gathering, and the various activities should only help to foster this idea. The parent or teacher then becomes merely a social di- rector, training the child for proper living with and xvii General Instructions among his fellows. This, however, should not be con- strued to mean that the child's life should be all play; by no means — but work and play — business and pleasure — as in the home and family. THE COURSE OF TRAINING The course of training that follows is divided into e^ight parts according to the general character of the activities that make up a child's daily life, and a sep- arate chapter is devoted to each part. These different 2 ctivities are not clear cut however — physical at one time, mental at another, moral at still another — but, as in life, overlapping and merged. These eight divis- ions of the course are as follows: ] [abit Drills (Obedience, Observation, Attention, Concentration, etc.) To form character and a basis for future edu- tional work. i^ociAL Training (Common Courtesies, Conversa- tion) To give training in courtesy, in bearing and for- bearing, in language and expression. To stimulate action and reaction. Ij'roRY Telling To present models for emulation. To fire ambition. To incite the imagination, etc. xviii General Instructions Physical Training (Exercises, Calisthenic Drills, Marches ) To develop the body, form proper habits of car- riage, correct wrong tendencies — round shoul- ders, bad postures, etc. — and to give poise, self- control and ability to handle oneself. Rhythmic Arts (Rimes, Songs, Singing Games, Folk Dances) To train in rhythmic appreciation, dramatic ex- pression, and to give the child a repertoire of rimes, songs and dances. Free Play (Plays and Games) To teach principles of fair play and good sports- manship, and what and how to play, as well as to give exercise and joy. To train in alertness, speed, ingenuity, skill, ac- curacy, etc. Manual Training (Modeling, Painting, Drawing, etc.) To develop manual skill and dexterity — the abil- ity to " do things " with one's hands. To form habits of industry, persistence, precision, neatness, etc. Information To impart a knowledge of some of the funda- mentals in nature, science, art, etc., including the beginnings of reading, writing and arith- metic. xix General Instructions ROUTINE OF TRAINING First of all, it is necessary to reduce the child's life to a routine — to a daily program — and adhere to it — to have a time for his work, for his play and for his other functions. Such a regulated life makes for the best present and future happiness of both the child and family. The parent or foster parent should, therefore, adopt one of the following suggested programs, or arrange one to suit the special conditions, and carry out in each period the drill, occupation, business or activity as directed in the chapter dealing with that activity. Each day she should use one or more lessons or drills from each of the eight Parts, the course proceeding through all the Parts simultaneously, not progress- ing from page to page through the book. In the case of a single child, or children in the same family, to be trained at home, there should be a definite daily period set aside for each of the eight kinds of activities — comprising in this case all of the child's waking hours, as suggested in the special pro- gram that follows. In other words, living and train- ing should go hand in hand. It will be seen from this statement, therefore, that the idea of school in which there is constant direction or surveillance is not to be thought of, and that the Free Play will form a very large part of the day. The Habit Train- XX General Instructions ing should go on at all times, in rising, in dressing, at meals, at play, and not be limited to the special time set apart for drills in the regular program. In the case of a group of children from different homes, a concentrated program limited to two or three hours must of necessity be followed, but this should not relieve the parent from seeing to it that each child carries out the principles that have been inculcated — especially the habit drills, for in no case will two or three hours of drill counteract the effect that a dozen hours or so of license or contrary training in the home will have. In any case, therefore, the parent must be conver- sant with the course of training and cooperate in it. She cannot shift the entire responsibility, and the teacher must acquaint the parent with the nature of the training and call upon her to see that the child is kept in practice at home. Furthermore, when the child enters school the parent should see to it that the habits are kept up, otherwise the pre-school train- ing will be undone and wasted. METHOD OF TRAINING Most of the directions for training the child precede each group of activities and it will, of course, first be necessary for the parent or teacher to become con- versant with these preliminary explanations, especially the one on Habit Drills, as the whole system rests on an xxi General Instructions understanding of the nature and importance of habits and the psychological method of forming them. But there is a most important general principle to note here — Good Spirit is essential to all successful training and teaching. Get the child into a happy, interested mood, ambitious to do well, to excel and the actual teaching or drilling will be a joy and the maximum results will be accomplished with ease and delight. This does not mean, however, that tears are always to be avoided. Some of the most valuable lessons of life are learned at the expense of tears. Beethoven, as a child, was made to practise the piano though the tears were running down his face. Nevertheless there is hardly any more important rule than this — Get the child into a good spirit and keep him in a good spirit. Though most of the instruction and explanation of principles will be made at the time the occasion arises for their use, that is, preceding each period, the ques- tions of Moral Training, Punishments, Rewards, Speed and Concentration are such general ones applying to all periods that they will be considered at once. MORAL TRAINING Sooner or later almost every loving parent wakes up some morning to find that his child, of whose up- rightness, purity of mind, and untainted soul he was absolutely certain, has committed some act that dis- xxii General Instructions plays unbelievably shocking moral turpitude. If the parent had not been overweeningly confident that " The king could do no wrong," if he had not considered moral training superfluous in his case, if he had not neglected to drill the child in habits and fill his mind with admiration of the right and abhorrence of the wrong, the mischief should not have happened. But if it has already happened the parent need not be discouraged. All children have some degree of un- regeneracy, of perversion, of the animal, as you your- self know if you will only recall some of the thoughts and even acts of your own childhood, of which you may shudder now to think you could ever have been guilty. This is not by way of palliation but by way of encouragement. There is hope still for the boy or girl. Lying, cheating, stealing, are hard names for very common faults of childhood, to which list must be added ill temper, perversity, selfishness and thought- lessness of others. There are four chief ways to cor- rect these faults and to fashion the best type of boyhood and girlhood — 1. By Appeal to Right, 2. By Suggestion, Building up Self-Respect, 3. By Story Telhng, 4. By Drill in Proper Habits. I. Appeal to child's sense of right, of what is fair and square, straightforward, decent, truthful. Avoid xxiii General Instructions the sentimental appeal. Threats of eternal damnation, " the goblins will get you " or more concrete punish- ments are all bad. 2. Suggestion may be made not only the greatest preventive of wrong-doing but the greatest incentive to right action and ambition. Appeal to the child's pride; make the positive suggestion that he possesses some desirable qualities or traits; this is the surest method of bringing about the realization of such quali- ties. Make him proud of his reputation for prompt- ness, truthfulness, courage, of his erect bearing, courte- ous manners, and, in order to maintain such record — to live up to it — he will not cry when hurt, nor lie to save himself from punishment; he will carry him- self erect, he will be on time, he will put forth his best effort to continue to excel. Therefore, whenever the remark is apropos, say, either to him or to others in his hearing, " John is courageous." " He is not afraid of the dark." " He never cries when he hurts himself." " He always does what he is told." " He is very helpful." " He is thoughtful of others." " He can always be trusted." " He stands very straight," etc. In the course of time he will invariably try to live up to the opinion held of him. xxiv General Instructions Conversely, no contrary suggestion should ever be made, as for example, "You are the worst child I know." Human nature lives down, as well as up, to its reputation. 3. Story Telling is another means of moral train- ing — if stories are told that inspire emulation of a model or fire ambition and a regular period is provided for this. Imitation follows on admiration ; whatever the child admires he consciously or unconsciously imitates. If he admires a policeman he will want to be a policeman; if the tight-rope walker at the circus, he will try tight-rope walking. A child who lives with heroes will become one himself, but good qualities must be made attractive, bad ones unattractive, from the child's standpoint. A story with a stated or an obvi- ous moral is apt to be less effective than one where the point is more subtle. Goody-goody tales and those with an obvious moral are resented by a normal child, or make pious little hypocrites, or sanctimonious Phari- sees. 4. Drill in habits of obedience, self-control, com- mon courtesies, etc., provide an active and positive moral training. Provision is also made for these drills in the course that follows. PUNISHMENTS If the foregoing means of moral training are put in practice, and especially if the habit of obedience is XXV General Instructions formed — and it is first of all the habits that are in- culcated in this course — the necessity for punishment is reduced to a minimum. When, however, the ne- cessity for punishment does arise, and there is no regime under which it does not and will not arise at times, care should be taken that the punishment is of the right kind and administered in the proper spirit. A child's offense should never be treated as an inten- tional wrong but as a lapse which he will try never to repeat, or a failing which he will strive to remedy. If feasible, the child should first correct the trouble or mischief he has caused, and then be put through some ordeal that will either practise him in right do- ing or impress the importance of right doing upon him, so as to prevent the repetition of the offense. If he acknowledges his sin or his fault, the teacher or parent should first endeavor to have the child pass judgment and pronounce sentence on himself. If thus appealed to, the child will often be more severe on him- self than even the teacher would be. For example, the following hypothetical case should be suggestive : The child has been told he must not play with his ball in the house. He does so and accidentally smashes a vase. The following conversation illustrates the ideal to be striven for though it is hardly to be expected that a child will answer in the following way without xxvi General Instructions suggestion from the parent and considerable practice in right moral thinking — Parent: Didn't I tell you not to play with your ball in the house? Child: Yes, father. Parent: And you did, and broke a vase? Child: Yes, father. Parent: You disobeyed me. You see the result. What do you think you ought to do about it? Child: Never play with my ball in the house. Parent: Yes, but won't you? Child: I promise. Parent: Yes, but what do you think you should do to make sure you will never forget again ? Child: Not play with my ball at all for a week. Parent: Yes, but how will you make up for it? Child: Take the pennies out of my penny bank and buy mother a new vase. Parent: Anything else? Child: Tell her I'm sorry it happened. The appeal to the child's sense of what is fair and right or proper is the best appeal and will usually be met in the proper spirit. But even if the punishment is pronounced or inflicted by the parent, it should be accepted by the child as right and proper. If it leaves him ill-tempered, sin- ister, revengeful or bitter, the proper effect is missing xxvii General Instructions and the parent should not cease till the right spirit is shown. A child in a paroxysm of temper should not be argued with. If overwrought and upset, weeping and stubborn, he should either be left alone till the emo- tional storm subsides or an attempt be made to dis- tract his attention to something far off from the con- cern that is causing him all the trouble. A child should never for an instant be allowed to say " I won't." With each repetition of " I won't," he becomes more assertive and more disobedient by auto-suggestion. The very first time he says " I won't," he should be summarily dealt with, forcibly made to do what he " won't " and at once, so that he may expect the same severe treatment should he ever repeat the " I won't." If the parent has made a point of having something done, he must insist on its accomplishment, and the child should never be permitted successfully to main- tain opposition by force of tears or stubborn resist- ance. If, as a result of his obstinacy, his emotional state becomes extreme, the matter may be postponed temporarily but should be concluded later without fail. Loosely to threaten, as many parents do, all sorts of punishments without enforcing them but rarely, en- courages disobedience and utterly demoralizes a child. All warning threats are as a rule bad and should xxviii General Instructions not be made without deliberation, but once made, unless unjust, should be strictly adhered to and en- forced. Be adamant in sticking to your ruling. It is unnecessary to make the " punishment fit the crime " in every case. Herbert Spencer's theory that punishments should be " natural consequences " is not practicable. For the turbulent or rebellious spirit corporal pun- ishment may be permissible, though usually the best method is depriving rather than inflicting, the curtail- ment of some pleasures — dessert, a story — or denial of a privilege, such as entertaining a playmate. There are several things punishments should not be. First, they should not merely penalize, they should aim to be of future benefit; they should not merely pay back an old score, but either correct the error or prevent the recurrence of the wrong-doing. Second, they should not shame nor humiliate, for the most potent appeal that can be made is to a child's self-respect and if the child loses this by being stood in a corner, black listed, held up to ridicule, shamed be- fore one whose approval he values, he will never have quite the same spirit again. Third, a scolding or " talking to " should not be a sentimental appeal to hypocritical emotions — " You 're breaking mother's heart," " I 'd rather be dead," etc. Fourth, it is a mistake to impose the learning of les- xxix General Instructions sons as a punishment, for in making studies a penalty and a task, the possibility of the child ever loving his work is spoiled. REWARDS All life is a striving after rewards. It may be for money, a prize, power, the pleasure in winning, love, honor, or simply the satisfaction in something well done. The attempt to purge education of all rewards is mere visionary sentimentalism. The more spiritual rewards are, of course, the most desirable and mere money or prize rewards the worst form, but that re- ward should be used as a stimulus that is most effective in bringing about the best results, in which must be reckoned the effect on the child's character. Money and prizes tend to make the child's motives sordid and mercenary and for that reason should be used only as the last resort with those to whom no other form of reward will appeal, but even such children should be gradually led to higher ambitions. Rewards that take the form of honors or privileges are the best. SPEED One who can work twice as fast and play twice as fast as another, can live two lives in one, and as the object in life is to get the most we possibly can out of it, speed is a most valuable asset. We all know how much more rapidly one man works than another — XXX General Instructions whether the work be physical or mental, or a combina- tion of both. It is not at all unusual for one person to accomplish twice as much as another in the same time. Haste is not desirable, but haste implies speed with- out care. The child's common excuse, " I could have done it if I only had had time," is no more an excuse than to say, " I could have done it if I only had known how." Speed is in most cases a requirement just as essential as accuracy or any other excellence. The ultimate possible development of speed for sim- ple acts depends on one's reaction time and this varies in individuals and cannot be materially altered by edu- cation. If the operation is a simple recurrence of a sequence of motions that may be reduced to a habit, such as folding and enclosing letters in envelopes and sealing and stamping them, the speed depends on one's reaction time, pure and simple, to which fatigue or effort are factors common to all tests for speed. But for attending to a quantity of varying details, such as general office work, general practice, etc., it is necessary to have quick observation, quick judg- ment, and the ability to eliminate, as well as quick ex- ecution, and these qualities can be developed by edu- cation. The habit of speed may be formed by timing all cus- tomary or routine acts and setting the child the object of reducing this time. For actions requiring but a xxxi General Instructions short time, counting out loud is an effective means of hastening matters. Thus, in giving an order that is Hkely to be dalHed over, say for instance, " Take your place for calisthenic drill." Then sharply count, "One! two! three! four!" and so on till the last one is in place. In giving fetching or finding orders the teacher should always take count of the time, till the habit of promptness is formed. Thus, if she wishes to have a book brought from downstairs, she might say, " I wonder who can get me my red book from the library table in the quickest time." All say, " I," of course. ** Well, let 's see how long it will take Jack to get it. One, two, three," etc. A child in the family should likewise be timed for dressing, undressing and performing any other habit- ual activity, privileges being taken away or punish- ments inflicted if the time exceeds a reasonable length, or if an effort to reduce it is not apparent. CONCENTRATION Speed, except in the case of habitual acts, demands concentration, therefore exacting speed exacts concen- tration, and teaching speed teaches the habit of con- centration. A boy untrained in concentration will dawdle an hour over a sum that a trained boy will do in sixty seconds. xxxii General Instructions The most satisfactory means of securing concentra- tion of mind and purpose is by setting a time limit or making time an object. No other factor forces such concentration as does limited time. Some people are unable to concentrate at all until brought to it by the stress of time shortage. At the last moment before going in to the examination, be- fore rising to speak, before the train leaves, before the paper goes to press, then if ever, does one concentrate on what has perhaps been neglected or put off until then. Therefore, in order to obtain concentration and form the habit of concentrating, demand speed, make every task a contest against time, or confer a privilege for speedy completion of any task. Allow the child to play as soon as his work is satisfactorily completed and not until it is satisfactorily completed. For instance, say, " Just as soon as you have finished this and it is well done, you may do what you please." Never name a definite period of time for the child to keep at a task for that encourages dawdling and lack of concentration. In the language of the shop, demand " piece " work, not " time " work — the use of the word " time " here connoting just the opposite of speed. A workman paid by the day will invariably take longer than one paid by the job, for in the former case the premium is put on long time, in the latter, short time is made an object. xxxiii General Instructions In the case of a nervously disposed child, limited time may at first aggravate the nervousness, but if the de- mand for speed is persisted in nothing so effectively puts a quietus on all nervous manifestations as this same requirement, since only by eliminating all signs of nervousness can the concentration necessary for the greatest speed be secured. If, for instance, in the needle threading exercise given among the habit drills for attention, a child in the contest to get his needle threaded first, jumps up and down in nervous excite- ment, jiggles his arms, sputters and giggles as he gen- erally does at first, he will be sure to lose. The speed demanded requires that he conquer every erratic mo- tion and act and concentrate on the one thing. Teachers and parents are constantly speaking of the value of concentration and of the necessity for a child to learn first of all to concentrate. Now concentra- tion is a habit of mind which some children form read- ily or naturally, while others do so with great difficulty. In any case, however, the parent or teacher can in- culcate this habit by insisting constantly that the child attend to the matter in hand, by requiring that he dis- regard all distracting things and by calling back his attention whenever it wanders. In addition, special drills are given in Part I to fos- ter this habit. xxxiv PROGRAMS The following programs are suggested to meet the varying conditions of the training whether at school or at home. TWO TO THREE HOURS' CONSECUTIVE PROGRAM For one child or a class. ist Period Social Training io to 15 minutes (Information may be included here) 2nd Period Habit Drills i 5 to 20 minutes ^rd Period Story Telling 15 to 20 minutes 4th Period Physical Training 15 to 20 minutes ^th Period Rhythmic Arts 15 to 20 minutes 6th Period Free Play 20 to 40 minutes yth Period Manual Training 20 to 30 minutes Sth Period Information 10 to 15 minutes (May be included in ist Period J consecutive and scattered program For one child or children in same family. 1st Period Habit Drills 15 to 20 minutes 2nd Period Manual Training 20 to 30 minutes XXXV Programs 3r(i Period Physical Training 15 to 20 minutes 4th Period Rhythmic Arts 15 to 20 minutes c,th Period Information 10 to 15 minutes At Table and Play Social Training At Bed Time Story Telling All the Time Habit Drills Between Times Free Play scattered program For one child only — or children in same family. On Rising At Breakfast During Morning At Luncheon During Afternoon At Supper After Supper Between Times All the Time Physical Training Social Training Habit Drills Information Social Training Manual Training Rhythmic Arts Social Training Story Telling Free Play and Habit Drills Habit Drills xxxvi CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION ix GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS xvii CONDITIONS FOR TRAINING xvii THE COURSE OF TRAINING xviii ROUTINE OF TRAINING xx METHOD OF TRAINING xxi MORAL TRAINING xxii PUNISHMENTS xxv REWARDS xxx SPEED XXX CONCENTRATION xxxii PROGRAMS XXXV PART I. HABIT DRILLS . 3 NATURE OF HABITS 3 FORMING OF HABITS 7 BREAKING OF HABITS 10 PURPOSE AND METHOD OF HABIT DRILLS .... 12 OBEDIENCE DRILLS . I4 ORDER AND NEATNESS DRILLS 32 OBSERVATION DRILLS 3c IMITATION DRILLS 53 ASSOCIATION DRILLS 65 IMAGINATION DRILLS 70 ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION DRILLS . . . . y-^ 81 FURTHER HABIT DRILLS PART IL SOCIAL TRAINING 85 COMMON COURTESIES gg CONVERSATION go SPEECH ...••.... 100 xxxvii Contents PAGE PART III. STORY TELLING 107 KIND OF STORIES 107 METHOD OF TELLING 110 LIST OF STORIES AND STORY BOOKS Ill PART IV. PHYSICAL TRAINING 119 HEALTH REQUISITES Iig TABLE OF GROWTH 123 EXERCISES 123 PART V. RHYTHMIC ARTS 141 RIMES 141 SONGS 160 SINGING GAMES 162 FOLK DANCES 163 WORDS AND MUSIC OF SONGS 165 PART VI. FREE PLAY 171 PLAYS, ATHLETIC 174 PLAYS, MANUAL 17b PLAYS, IMITATIVE 1 77 GAMES, WITHOUT APPARATUS 179 GAMES, WITH APPARATUS 181 PART VII. MANUAL TRAINING AND OCCUPA- TIONS 185 AIMS 185 LEFT HANDEDNESS 187 MANUAL TRAINING CLAY WORK 190 COLOR WORK 193 DRAWING 198 PAPER FOLDING AND CUTTING 201 STRING WORK 209 WORK FOR SPECIAL SEASONS 212 THANKSGIVING 212 CHRISTMAS 213 ST. VALENTINE'S DAY 21 5 WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY 2l6 xxxviii Contents OCCUPATIONS p^GE INDOORS 219 OUTDOORS 22n PART VIII. INFORMATION 223 METHOD OF INSTRUCTION 224 SAMPLE LESSON 226 INDEPENDENT RECITATION 228 QUIZ QUESTIONS 229 SYLLABUS OF INFORMATION LESSONS 230 READING AND WRITING 268 DIRECTIONS 271 BASAL SENTENCES 278 INDEX .... c . o «. c o .. o o .... 291 3CXX1X ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE " Untangling a Snarl " Frontispiece " Dropping Medicine " 2 " Introducing " 84 " The Story on a ' Willow ' Plate " 106 "Down, Up" 118 " Folk Dancing " 140 " Playing Tenpins " 170 " Paper Lantern and Pinwheel " 184 " Learning to Tell Time " 222 CHILD TRAINING motograpti by Bachrach HABIT DRILL 'Dropping Medicine" — Training in concentration, attention, muscular control, etc. CHILD TRAINING PART I HABIT DRILLS NATURE OF HABITS The baby feeding himself for the first time car- ries his spoon with rapt attention, but nevertheless by a wobbly, uncertain and sloppy course from his bowl to his mouth, spilling the contents impartially between bib, chin and lips. Great have been the problems of balance, poise, muscular coordination and the calcu- lation of distance and direction to bring about this tortuous journey from bowl to mouth without a total wreck. After an indefinite number of repetitions, however, the habit is formed and the route is trav- ersed with ease, simplicity and perfect safety without the slightest attention. Anything that has been done once is more easily done a second time. After it has been done a dozen times it is still easier. After it has been done a hun- dred times it is called " natural," and is done without conscious thought or attention, slipped into without thinking — it has become a habit. 3 Child Training A habit is a rut made by going over the same course repeatedly, a rut into which the same act will fall ever afterwards. It is a channel dug out in the brain by the flow of the mental stream, a conduit bored by the current of thought. A marble on a bagatelle board, or a ball on a bil- liard table may take an infinite number of courses, for there are no grooves to determine the route, but the brain is in effect crossed and criss-crossed by grooves which hold a thought to a certain course, as in the case of the marble in some puzzles, even though we make a determined effort to shake it into another channel. A nail once driven home, if withdrawn, can hardly be re-driven in a different direction if inserted in or even near its own hole. It will almost invariably slip back into its own first hole, no matter what effort we make to alter its course and so it is with thought and act. What you do when you forget yourself is a habit, not what you do when you think. The story of the old soldier who dropped his bundles in the street and brought his hands promptly to his side when sharply called to " Attention ! " illustrates this truth. In time of stress or trial " company manners " as- sumed for a special occasion, invariably vanish — for- gotten in the bewildering strangeness or paralyzed by excitement. If you tell a child how to act just be- 4 Habit Drills fore he goes to a " party " you may be pretty sure he will get his instructions all wrong, or not heed tliem at all. Practise him once or twice and he will make a muddle of them, but habituate him to them and he will act as he has been trained even when he forgets himself. We come into this world without habits, we acquire them as we acquire weight and stature, there is no option. The habits may be good or they may be bad but there must be habits and there will be habits — there is no escape. Our daily life is almost entirely controlled by habits — our method of dressing, eating, speaking, working, playing, is habit, and it is fortunate that it is so, for if conscious attention, consideration, decision and control had to be given each individual act throughout the day, we should never get dressed before bed time. Therefore, until the routine of daily life is reduced to proper habits it is a waste of time at- tempting anything else — like attempting to play con- certos before one is able to play scales. Now it is a commonplace in education to say that the forming of character is the chief aim, that it is not so much what is learned, as the character produced, but character is nothing more than the sum total of habits — good or bad. In speaking of good and bad habits, we are apt to think of the morally good or bad, of the grosser habits, but this is a very small part of the matter. Good and bad habits mean those 5 Child Training that are good or bad for one physically and mentally, as well as morally and either in the present or future. Good habits are among the best things in the world, bad habits among the worst and yet though the im- portance of good habits is universally recognized, though the language is full of sentiments, quotations and proverbs attesting their value, habit forming is still left almost entirely to chance or environment. It is casual or incidental, not, as it should be, the seri- ously absorbing business of elementary education. Chance may make the habits good but chance may just as well make them bad. If left to chance alone, according to the laws of chance the good and the bad are in the long run about equally divided. Education's business, therefore, is to make as large a part of the habits as it can good, — good in the sense of useful to the individual and society — the habit of dress- ing quickly and carefully instead of slowly and in a slovenly way; of eating properly the right things in- stead of wrongly the wrong things; of speaking cor- rectly and pleasingly, instead of incorrectly; of work- ing skilfully, efficiently and industriously instead of slip-shodly and lazily; of playing hard, well and fairly instead of lackadaisically, poorly and in bad spirit; of thinking logically and justly instead of whimsically and prejudicially — of acting in a thou- sand right ways instead of the many thousand wrong. Habit Drills FORMING OF HABITS Good habits are sometimes supposed to be merely the result of proper atmosphere, proper models, and other subtle forces; bad habits of bad atmosphere and improper models, but this is only partly true. Habits are formed by repetition and in no other zvay than by repetition. Whatever you do in a cer- tain way repeatedly you will continue to do in this way. If you want to form the habit of playing the scales on the piano in a certain way, you do so by multitudinous repetitions till you " get the habit "of using certain fingers in a certain sequence without conscious thought or hesitation, once the start is made. If you want to train a child to pick up scraps of paper from the floor whenever he sees them, put paper on the floor and have him pick it up, put it down again and repeat the exercise exactly as if you were training a dog to fetch the newspaper, till the habit is so formed that the sight of waste paper on the floor starts the reflex action — pick up. The repetition may be involuntary as when one acquires the habit of eating with one's knife, drinking from one's saucer, etc., by unconscious, repeated imita- tion of those about one, or it may be voluntary, as when one acquires the habit of swimming, running an automobile, or sailing a boat, by voluntarily practising the movements repeatedly. 7 Child Training The involuntary habits we can form by making the right setting for the child. His playmates, nurses, and not least, his parents, will be his involuntary copies, models and habit formers. The voluntary habits we can form only by practis- ing the child, they cannot be formed by telling him. If we want the child to get the habit of closing the door quietly it is not enough to tell him to close the door quietly and after he has banged it, tell him again he should have closed it quietly and not bang it the next time. He has the muscle memory of banging the door which the verbal memory will not counteract. He may remember to close the door quietly the next time but the chances are he will not, because it is a question not of memory but of habit. Neither is it sufficient to have him once close the door quietly — it merely bal- ances the one time closed noisily and this leaves the two quits. The proper course is to make him close the door a number of times quietly, both to emphasize the muscular memory and to start the formation of the habit. While forming a habit a most important rule to ob- serve is to allow no lapses, no exceptions, until the habit is firmly established, for habits that are inculcated by drill are secured only as the result of eternal vigi- lance and never failing exaction. A single omission will set back the habit formation, make further omis- sions easier and defer indefinitely the time when the a Habit Drills habit is to become second nature. If the parent or teacher neglects to notice the omission of the act to be formed into a habit, the habit is half undone, — a second and third failure to exact it and the habit is gone completely. As James aptly puts it, " Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up, a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again." The parent or teacher must not forget nor overlook a single omission until the habit is ineradicable. The child must be brought to feel that the correction is inevitable and cannot be avoided if the required act is omitted. In training a dog to beg for food, if he sometimes gets it without begging, all the previous training is undone. In training a child to say " please," if sometimes he gets what he asks for without first saying " please," the training in this form of courtesy is undone. The child will naturally take the easiest way, the shortest cut, and if the habit we wish to inculcate re- quires his going the long way round we must erect a barrier across the short cut until the habit of going round is formed, so that in case he starts on the pro- hibited route, he will invariably be forced to retrace his steps and take the right. After awhile he will give up trying the short cut, but only if he finds the gate al- ways closed. If occasionally it is left open, he will take his chance in the hope of getting through. " Nagging " results from starting the corrective 9 Child Training process after a contrary habit is already formed, or is due to making the corrections intermittently, or to omitting the necessary preliminary practice and repeti- tions. The forming of good habits in children is therefore one of the most difficult tasks in the world for the teacher or parent, but worth all and more effort than is expended, for the comfort, satisfaction and livable- ness that the child of such training brings to the house- hold, school, playmates and all others associated or brought into contact with him, as well as for his own popularity, friendliness, success and happiness, both at the present and in the future. In forming a habit, therefore, force the child to take the right path and go over the same ground repeatedly till the habit becomes familiar, easy and natural, and never for an instant leave the gate to the wrong path open — till the habit is fixed. BREAKING OF HABITS But not only has the parent or teacher the task of forming good habits, bad habits which have already been acquired must be broken up. If the nature of habits and their formation is under- stood from what precedes, the method of undoing habits is obvious : Never once allow the child to do the habitual act after the " breaking " has begun for ex- 10 Habit Drills ceptions as in the case of habit forming nullify the effect. If the child has already acquired the habit of eating between meals, he should not be cut down to few vio- lations — none at all should be allowed. In other words bad habits should be pulled out like a tooth or a splinter with a single WTcnch not by degrees. But even though the habits are otherwise good, as Radestock and others have pointed out, there is some danger in extreme habituation — in getting into a rut from which one cannot get out. If a per- son requires the identical stimulus for the identical re- action, or if he is unable to do differently should the occasion demand it, he is inconvenienced if not ren- dered helpless when the habitual train of action is broken. There is also a further drawback in extreme habit- uation — the finish and nicety of execution tend to become slurred. Joseph Jefferson used to say that acting Rip Van Winkle had, by multitudinous repeti- tions, become such a habit that he could go through the whole play without once thinking of what he was saying or doing. He had constantly, therefore, to force himself to keep his mind on every line, every gesture, every action, to prevent them becoming me- chanical, expressionless and monotonous, from the very fact of extreme habituation. In children, however, these dangers are practically II Child Training negligible, and in the case of the habits inculcated in this course they can hardly be too deeply or too per- manently ingrained — and no fear may be felt that habituation will become so extreme as to work harm. Nevertheless practice should be given in acting con- trary to custom and habitude, so that the child may not be upset by changed conditions and therefore sugges- tions are given for this under " Further Habit Drills." PURPOSE AND METHOD OF HABIT DRILLS The general purpose of the following period, there- fore, is to give specific drills that will start the forma- tion of habits of obedience, observation, attention, concentration, and so on. To form the habit of obedience we practise the child in obeying, in carrying out orders, in executing commands, in doing what he is told. To form the habit of observation, we drill him in observing with the different senses — hearing, seeing, feeling. To form the habit of attention and concentration we prac- tise him in attending and concentrating till he is able to attend and concentrate for longer and longer periods. A lesson plans work for, approximately, one period, but it should be repeated and repeated until the lesson to be learned is learned or the habit to be fixed is fixed, and should be recurred to from time to time, to make sure that it is so. From what has been said of the nature of habit it will readily be seen, however, 12 Habit Drills that it is not sufficient to practise, insist and adhere strictly to certain drills at stated periods set down in the program — this is only the start in the right direc- tion — but at any time or hour or period or season the same habit must be insisted upon whenever and how- ever the occasion for it arises. 13 OBEDIENCE DRILLS Obedience — the ability and willingness to carry out directions exactly and promptly — is the first requisite for the proper instruction of a child and is, therefore, the first habit to be inculcated. The value of obedience as a school art, aside from its ethical importance, is almost inestimable. Much of the delay, preparation, explanation and instruction of raw recruits in the first year of school and, indeed, throughout the grades, might be avoided and time saved if children were systematically trained in carry- ing out orders. Obedience includes not only moral obedience — the willingness to obey the laws of God and man and the commands and directions of those in authority — but also the ability to do so. The child may be perfectly obedient in spirit, but lacking in training and unable to execute the commands. The great majority of child- ish disobedience is not wilful, not intentional, but simply lack of association of the order with the idea of its execution, or inertia in setting up the association. Watch green children ordered by a strange person, for instance the teacher, the first few days of school : "Stand," "Sit," "Look at me." The child looks 14 Habit Drills — Obedience around vaguely, and even if the perfectly simple com- mand be given in stentorian tones, he may seem be- wildered and make no move to obey. The child knows what is meant to " Stand," " Sit," and " Look at me " and does not oppose any resistance nor intend voluntary disobedience, but he does not associate the command to " Stand," " Sit," " Look this way," with his own standing, sitting, looking this way. The sen- tence is for him grammatically declarative and not im- perative — a simple statement, not an order. The child may even have to be stood up, and then sat down, etc., simultaneously with the order till he associates the command with its execution, in exactly the same way that we teach a dog to " lie down " by putting him in that position when we give the order. When oth- ers are present who do associate the command with the order, he learns from imitation of them what is ex- pected, and if his name precedes the command as, " John, stand," or " You stand," he may learn more quickly. On the other hand he may be perfectly able to exe- cute the order, but laziness, selfishness, perversity or indisposition make him unwilling to do so. Both willingness and ability may be made a habit as the result of specific training. Indeed, if the habit is started early enough and firmly established, willingness does not enter into the problem. If the child has al- ways obeyed and has never been allowed any other 15 Child Training course, the habit of obeying will be so strong, so com- pelHng, that unwilHngness to obey on any special oc- casion will have no effect, the direction will be obeyed without question or parley, as a matter of course, no matter what the personal feelings may be — so much stronger is the force of habit than any other tempo- rary or occasional force. The business of the first importance is, therefore, to fix the habit by constantly and insistently demanding the prompt execution of every order without any ex- ceptions whatsoever, exceptions being fatal to the for- mation of habits. Such excuses or postponements of obedience as : " Can't B do it, I 'm doing so and so ? " or, " In just a minute, when I finish this," even though the temporizing is reasonable, are destructive to habit forming and should, therefore, for this reason alone, not be tolerated. I. Simple Orders Imitation, Terms of Direction Say to the children, " I want to see if you can do what I tell you, instantly, when I tell you and just the way I tell you." Then give the order: " Stand up." Some may obey promptly, some may obey more slowly, some may hesitate, look around to see what the others are going to do and finally but tardily, rise. Some may pay no attention to the order at all, but look i6 Habit Drills — Obedience blankly around or attentively at something else ex- actly as if they had been excepted in the command. If there is much irregularity in obeying correctly and at once, it may be necessary to say, " All children stand up," or " All of you stand up," and this may have to be supplemented by the explanation, " When I say, ' Stand up,' I mean you, John and Mary, as well as the others." Then give the order: " Sit down." Repeat these orders, " Stand up," " Sit down," half a dozen or more times until all the children understand what is w^anted and obey promptly, quietly and without hesitating or lagging. This drill is not, of course, for the purpose of teaching the child the meaning of " stand up " and " sit down," but to form in him the habit of executing promptly orders that are under- stood. A child knows what it means to " stop making a noise " or to " come " when called, but unless he has been drilled in obedience he does not always obey, or obey instantly, or obey graciously, and this is the obedience these exercises are intended to inculcate and will inculcate if strictly drilled in. From such simple and small beginnings may be built up and formed most complex and useful habits. Then give the selective orders : " Boys, stand up." " Girls, stand up." " Girls, sit down," etc. 17 Child Training Have them first imitate you, while you execute the above order, as directed. This is training by imita- tion. Then have them carry out the order from the command alone. Give the order but do not execute it yourself, or better still, tell them to close their eyes and keep them closed while you give the order and they obey. This is to prevent imitation of others in the class. They are not trained until they can obey promptly without seeing either the teacher or another child whom they can imitate. Then give the order: " Raise your right hands," raising your own at the same time, to show which is right. If facing them, raise your own left hand as you say to them, " Raise your right," as in imitating you they will raise the hand that is on the same side with your own. Ask them in the same way to raise the left, imitating your own motion. Note those that hesitate, make a false start or raise the wrong hand and practise these alone on raising right and left as directed. Repeat this drill, having them close their eyes while doing so. Then give the children other orders of direction, such as : " Look up, down." " Face right side, left side." " Place your hands on top of your head, under your chair, behind your back." " Stand up, stand on right foot, on left foot." " Turn round to the right, to the left, sit down." " Kneel on right knee, on left knee, on both knees." i8 Habit Drills — Obedience " Clap your hands once, twice, three times." First, practise the children as a class, having them imitate you. Second, give the command and have them execute it with closed eyes. Afterwards, prac- tise them individually, devoting the drill to those who are unfamiliar with the terms used or slow to carry them out. 2. Non-Repeated, Quiet Orders Obedience, Attention Obedience that cannot be secured without many repetitions, loud tones, even a threatening manner is of little value. Give the orders in Drill i, in a very quiet tone and rather a casual manner. Put those not obey- ing to one side, till they promise to attend. Such practice in having soft quiet orders promptly obeyed, orders that can just be heard or that are given casually while talking or attending to something else is most important. The child becomes accustomed to pay keen attention to sound in the same way that a nurse is trained to awake at the slightest movement of her patient. Orders given when a child is at play (which at any other time would not be unagreeable) or when they come as an interruption to what the child is doing, are rarely obeyed, unless the child has been practised and usually punished. But it is perfectly possible and a delightful, though a rare, experience for a child romping, or busily engaged with toys or ab- 19 Child Training sorbed in some occupation, to respond instantly with- out a moment's hesitation to a parental call. Repeat the foregoing quiet order drills until orders are executed with promptness and decision. 3. Simple Orders Obedience, Precision Prepare a list of simple but varied commands, such as: " John, shut the door." " Mary, bring me that book." " Give this book to John." " Get me a glass of water." " Close the window." " Put your chair by me," and so on. Give the first direction to a child and await its pre- cise fulfilment, asking the class if the child has fol- lowed the direction in every particular, or if he has failed, and in what respect he has failed. The child executing the order should ask no questions and if there is a choice of possibilities within the spirit of the order, either should be judged correct. With the first orders there should be no chance for misunderstanding or for an alternative but later there should be, and the success of the child adjudged ac- cording to the reasonableness of his interpretation. Thus, when the order is, " Close the window," if there is more than one window open, and the exact one is 20 Habit Drills — Obedience not specified, he should determine which is the one probably intended — the one possibly through which the wind or rain is coming. Each time an order is executed the children should be called upon to suggest an improvement — for ex- ample : " John banged the door ; " " He did n't shut it quietly;" "He made too much noise in going to the door;" *' He asked which door;" or "He hesi- tated, took too long," and so on. When each has had his turn, then the teacher should give each another turn at a different order, but not too often on this occasion to fatigue or bore the children. For fear of this, it is best not to take up a single order at a time and have each child, in turn, execute it, for even though each would undoubtedly improve on the preceding, the exercise would become very monotonous even before the order had been around the class once. 4. Simple Deferred Orders Obedience, Attention, Memory Prepare a list of orders as in the preceding drill and tell the children you will give each one an order, but it is not to be executed till you give the word. Then read the list of orders, putting a name of a child before each order, and when you have finished say, " Now, do what I have told you." 21 Child Training 5. Negative Orders or Prohihitions Obedience, Memory, Attention, Self-control The burden of much of the instructions to teachers and parents is, " Don't say don't." Of course it is usually better to say " Do," for " Don't " is apt " to put ideas into their heads; " ideas that were not there before ; e.g., the classic example of the mother who left her children with the parting injunction, " Don't put beans up your noses." It is a psychological law that all ideas are potential acts. We unconsciously tend to carry out any idea in our mind whether it has " Do " or " Don't " attached and the don't oftentimes only serves to emphasize its prominence as an idea and hence renders it more compelling, more likely to be acted upon, than if nothing were said about it at all. But inhibition — which is the suppression of such ideas — is an important habit to be cultivated and though it is perfectly true that the unfamiliar, the un- likely to happen is, as a rule best left unmentioned; nevertheless for purposes of discipline, practice in obey- ing negative commands is highly important, as most laws and rules from the Decalogue down, are prohibi- tions — " Thou shalt not." Face the children away from you and tell them you are going to practise them in obeying the order, " Don't look." Tell them that when you have given the order, they are not to look round, under any cir- 22 Habit Drills — Obedience cumstances, no matter even if a contradictory order is given, until you call " Time." Then give the order and behind their backs try different devices to entice them into looking. Tell a story and pretend to illus- trate it, saying for instance, " Jack and Jill went up a hill, like this " (stamp about or make audible gestures) " to fetch a pail of water, like this " (make chalk marks on the blackboard, as if drawing). "Jack came down, like this " (turn over a chair) " and broke his crown, like this" (drop a book or something heavy), and so on. Suddenly speak into the ear of one saying, " look here," tap another on the shoulder excitedly and so on. 6. Double Orders Obedience, Attention, Memory Make a list as in drill 3, but with two orders for each child, thus : " John, hand me that book, and put this on the table." Use in the same way as in drill 3. 7. Double Deferred Orders Obedience, Attention, Memory Use the list of double orders made in lesson 6, but have them carried out as in lesson 4 — that is, read all the orders before having any of them executed. 23 Child Training 8. Prohibitions Obedience, Self-control Tell the children you are going to practise them still iarther in obeying " Don'ts." Then, give the order: " Don't make any sound until I call ' Time.' " Allow them to move their heads, arms, feet; even to move about, though this privilege should be for- feited by any one failing in the slightest degree to observe the command. Watch and listen for the faintest sound and have them do the same, but only the teacher must call attention to any voluntary or in- voluntary breaking of silence. At the end of five min- utes call " Time." Discuss with the children what they could do to observe the command better or more easily and repeat the exercise. Then tell them to get into a comfortable position, one that they can maintain indefinitely, as they are to remain not only silent but motionless. Ask them to pretend that they are to have their pictures taken, that the slightest motion, shifting of position or twitching — breathing and blinking of the eyes excepted — will spoil the picture, and say, " Now don't move, till I call ' Time.' " (The illus- trations in this book were made of children drilled in this way.) Call " Time " at the end of two minutes, as this is a very severe ordeal. Further practice, however, 24 Habit Drills — Obedience should make them able to hold this position for five minutes, or longer. 9. Prohibitions Obedience, Self-control Tell the children you are going to command " Don't talk," and then are going to try to surprise them into talking or asking a question, but they must say nothing under any circumstances. Tell them they are sup- posed to be mutes, without the power of speech — as dumb as the animals. Then give the command, " Don't talk," but continue to talk yourself, telling either a story or something about which children would ordinarily ask questions and if this does not succeed, abruptly ask one of the children a question, trying to take him off his guard or to startle him into a reply. 10. Secret Keeping Obedience, Attention, Inhibition Practise the children in keeping a secret, first ex~ plaining how careful they must be not to " give them- selves away," that to keep a secret they must never tell that they have one, for in case they do, there are nu- merous ways in which it may be extracted without their directly telling it. If, however, it is known that they are in possession of a secret, their only safe reply to every question is, the usual attorney's instruction 25 Child Training to his client, " I have nothing to say." To answer " Yes " and " No " is disastrous ; for any clever ques- tioner by asking leading questions could, by the process of elimination, eventually obtain the secret. Ask one child to tell another a secret, then put the latter on the grill, cross-questioning, cajoling, daring him, in the ways usually employed to extract a secret, thus : " Will you give me three guesses?" "Is it this, is it that?" " I know what it is, it is ." " I don't believe you have a secret." ** I dare you to tell." " You are afraid to tell." "If you tell me, I '11 tell you something." To which the invariable reply, if any, should be, " I have nothing to say." This may be followed by the Deaf-and-Dumb Game. In this the children pretend that they can neither hear nor talk and try to act accordingly, though the teacher tries her best to trip them up and to surprise them into betraying they are not so. For instance, she might say: " Look at me." The children shall of course not hear and therefore not look. "•AH of you," This is an extra jar to surprise the unwary. " Do you want me to tell you a story ? " 26 Habit Drills — Obedience 1 1 . Judgment Orders Obedience, Observation, Judgment Prepare a list of orders in the fulfilling of each of which something is left to the judgment of the child, by the omission of either the location, the method or something of the sort. Thus : "John, please close the window," (when there are several open). He must not ask which one, but judge from conditions or the reason prompting the order, which is the one probably meant. " Mary, please bring me a pencil." She must not ask, " Where shall I find one? " or " Where can I get it?" but judge from previous experience or likelihood where to go for it. " Harry, please get me my coat." He must not ask where it is, but go and look for it in the most probable place and keep up his search till he is suc- cessful. 12. Carrying Messages Obedience, Memory Prepare a list of fetching orders involving finding a person and giving a message, which the child may not necessarily understand — such orders as — " Go to and get a book called ." " Go to the janitor and get a hammer, screw driver, ten nails and five screws." 27 Child Training " Go to and get three envelopes and two sheets of letter papier." " Go to and get a piece of string about a yard long and half a dozen pins." The child should always be made to repeat the message to be sure he has it right before starting on his mission. 13. Time Orders Obedience, Memory Prepare and give out a list of orders to be executed some time after the order is given, say at 12 o'clock. The children should be shown the position of the hands of the clock at the required hour and instructed to execute the order precisely at that time without further direction. Either fetching or doing orders similar to those previously given are appropriate. The child must, therefore, remember both the order and the time when it is to be put into effect and act independently when the proper time arrives. 14. Prohibitions Obedience, Self-control Tell the children you are going to leave the room, and while you are gone they must stay in their seats but may do as they choose, as long as they make no noise or sound audible to another in the room. Leave for five minutes, the first time merely going out of 28 Habit Drills — Obedience sight and not out of hearing. On your return ask- how many failed to observe the rule. Treat it as a game and failure merely as losing, not as offending. Tattling should not be allowed. 15. "Simon Says TJiumbs Up" Obedience, Attention, Concentration The game of " Simon says thumbs up," involves both a command and a prohibition. Explain that when the teacher or one of their own number, appointed to act as leader, says simply, " Thumbs up " or " Thumbs down," they must make no motion, but when the leader says, " Simon says. Thumbs up," they must put them so if they are already turned down, and put them down when commanded by Simon if already up. If any one but the leader should give the com- mand or if thumbs are already in the position ordered, they should make no motion. This may be made still more exacting by specifying right or left thumb. 16. Future Orders Obedience, Memory, Foresight Prepare and give out a list of orders to be executed for the next day, such as, "John, bring me to-morrow morning one of your picture books." " Mary, bring me a doll." " Harry, bring me a colored leaf," and so on. 29 Child Training 17. Time Orders Obedience, Memory Prepare and give out a list of orders to be executed at different times in the day without further direction, thus : " At ten o'clock, John, get me a glass of water." " At ten-thirty o'clock, Mary, bring me my gloves." " At eleven o'clock, Harry, open the windows and Louise, open the door." " At eleven-thirty, Fred, remind me that I am to send a message." 18. Duties Obedience, Memory, Duty Prepare and give out a list of orders to be executed daily at regular times by the same pupils without fur- ther direction — duties. As far as possible these should be duties that are actually helpful in the con- duct of the class, not fictitious, so that each may feel he has not only a part but a function in the community. Thus : " John, arrange the chairs every day before 9 o'clock." " Mary, water the flowers every day just before 9 o'clock." " Louise, wind and set the clock at noon." " Fred, dust," etc. 30 Habit Drills — Obedience Duties should be assigned that are unpleasant as well as pleasant and the child instructed that a duty is to be accepted pleasantly and attended to without shirk- ing, whining or querulousness and be trained to ob- serve this rule till the habit of graciously accepting what has to be, is fixed. Each week the duties should be shifted so that each child may have a turn, practice in different occupations and a taste of both the pleas- ant and unpleasant tasks. 31 ORDER AND NEATNESS DRILLS The desirability of order and neatness on both es- thetic and practical grounds should be obvious. There is furthermore, a close connection between exterior order and mental order. The person who is slovenly and untidy in his personal surroundings over which he has control is slovenly and untidy in his thoughts and mental habits. Order and system are essentials of efficiency in both thought and work. 19. Cleaning up Room Scatter waste paper, blocks, toys, on the floor and have the children pick them up, put paper in scrap basket and blocks, etc., where they belong. 20. Putting Things in Place Disarrange the room by putting things out of their proper place — a coat on a chair, a hat on the table, a hammer on the desk, a towel on the book rack and have the children put each article away in its proper place. ■ 21. Setting Room in Order Disarrange the furniture and furnishings of a room, turning a chair to the wall, putting a picture on the 32 Habit Drills — Order and Neatness slant, twisting the tables, raising one shade, etc., and have each child in turn re-arrange the furniture prop- erly. 22. Sorting Papers Place on a table a miscellaneous lot of papers, post cards, envelopes, etc., each of the same size but mixed higgledy-piggledy, and have the children arrange each kind in order with the faces all up and in the sam.e direction, and jog each pile together till the edges are even on all sides. 23. Sorting Books Mix a pile of different size books and have each child arrange the pile with the biggest book at the bottom and the others of diminishing size with the backs of all even and together. 24. Sorting Miscellaneous Articles Mix books, magazines, newspapers, letter paper, en- velopes, etc., and have each child, in turn, separate and arrange by himself the different articles. 25. Setting Desk in Order Have the children observe the arrangement of a desk top or drawers, the mantel, etc. Then take everything off and away from the mantel and the desk and have them place the things back in their proper position. 33 Child Training 26. Setting Table Show the children how to set a table and have them set one. 27. Setting Cupboard in Order Show the children the orderly shelves of a cupboard or pantry closet, then disarrange and have them set everything in order — the cups together, the same kind of dishes together, knives together, forks together, and so on. 28. Setting Personal Belongings in Order Have the children set their own things to rights after each use and keep them so. When a child undresses for bed he should fold his clothes and arrange them in an orderly manner on a chair or hooks. 34 OBSERVATION DRILLS It is usual to expect the child to observe without any special training, on the supposition that because he has all his senses he will see and hear whatever is to be seen or heard, and yet we should know that those who have eyes to see frequently do not see, and those who have ears to hear, frequently do not hear. Indeed it might be more exact to say that people as a rule see and hear only dully, without observing details, or with- out having them make any impression on the mind. The musician detects fine differences in shading of tone that pass entirely over the ordinary listener; the artist notices the contour of the face, the color, setting and distance apart of the eyes and the details of other features that no one without his training sees. We say repeatedly that the child should get his edu- cation not from books, but from the world about him, by observation at first hand, and yet we do not teach him to observe, expecting that it is all sufficient to present things to him and let him do the rest. The result is inefficient study, wasted time, wasted ma- terials, wasted opportunities. The way to open the child's mind to observe the 35 Child Training world without, is to practise him in observing that world through the different senses. The habit of observing and discriminating once formed by exercise and drill is the first step in learning that vague art — • the advantage and importance of which every one rec- ognizes and acknowledges but for which few have been able to give a receipt — how to study. The next fac- tors in " how to study " are attention, concentration, association and memory, and these habits will, there- fore, be practised in their order. It is not reasonable to postpone teaching the child how to study till after he has been or is supposed to have been studying for years. Special exercises for training in observation through taste and smell are chiefly valuable on account of the mental attitude of close observation and discrimina- tion engendered, rather than on account of any in- trinsic value, slight at most, which the ability to differ- entiate tastes and smells may have. This statement is not true, however, of the other senses, touch, sight and hearing, where the training is of the greatest possible importance as an acquisition in itself. 29. Tasting Observation, Discrimination Prepare glasses of water, as follows: Pure, salt, sweet, sour (use lime or lemon juice), bitter (use ex- tract of bitter almonds). 36 Habit Drills — Observation Give each child a straw and have each in turn close his eyes and taste the plain water. Or, fill a medicine dropper and directing, " Open your mouth and close your eyes," put a few drops on the tongue of each. Ask the children to, " Taste the taste," make up their minds what it is, and when all have had a taste and not till then, tell what it is. Tell them they are not to answer till asked per- sonally. Ask several others in turn and if each says " Just plain water," or " Water," ask those thinking the same to raise their hands. (Children at this age are prone to raise their hands indiscriminately so that due allowance must be made for this form of affirma- tion, and reliance is never to be put upon it.) If the class is not too large, each pupil may be called to the teacher's side to whisper his opinion in her ear. Con- firm the opinion by saying, " Yes, it is water," then repeat the same process using the salt water. If some say " Salt water," and some " Sour water," or " Plain water," in response to the second test, ask those that think one thing and those another to arrange themselves in groups, stand- ing, sitting, or raising their hands, accordingly, before announcing which is correct. Proceed in the same way with glasses of water diluted with some fruit or other syrup, as chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, raspberry, pineapple, orange, peach, cherry, peppermint, winter- i7 » J 6 O ai 4 Child Training green. Care should be taken to give only a taste of each flavor and not enough to upset the stomach. 30. Smelling Observation, Discrimination Use fresh flowers or small glass vials filled v^ith some or all of the following, and entirely cover each vial with paper so that the contents cannot be seen : Extract of carnation, violet, geranium, rose; orris root, celery seed, coffee, sage; oil of cedar, lemon, cloves, nutmeg, peppermint, wintergreen, turpentine, lavender. With very young children it will be necessary to state the name of the flower, or spice, or herb before passing the vials for smelling and this may have to be repeated a number of times before a real test in discrimination is possible. Have the vials passed about and judged as in the previous exercise. Use not more than five the first day. The sense of smell becomes easily fatigued so that one is hardly able to distinguish differences if more than five are smelled in rapid succession. If, also, a child has a cold, he will be unable to do himself justice. Have the glasses used in the previous taste exercise passed about to each child in turn and allow him three " sniffs " with the eyes closed. For this purpose it may 38 Habit Drills — Observation be necessary to strengthen the solution somewhat. For- bid any comment whatever till each child is asked to name what it is, on completion of the round, as in the case of the taste exercise. Explain in regard to the use of perfumes, that those of fresh flowers are occasionally permissible to girls and women, being in keeping with the idea of feminine character, but that they are very bad form for a boy or man. 31. Feeling Fabrics Observation, Discrimination, Information Prepare squares, the size of a pocket handkerchief, of different materials, as follows : Velvet, wool, silk, cotton, linen, satin, sateen, bur- lap, corduroy, buckram, felt, canvas, cheesecloth, chamois, leather, pantesote. In this lesson take the first half dozen pieces and pass each in turn to the children, saying, " This is velvet," " This is wool," " This is silk," and so on, and have them feel and examine each piece with open eyes and then with eyes closed. Discuss the appropriate uses of the different ma- terials — which are suitable for summer clothes, which for winter; which for shirts, handkerchiefs, collars, trimmings ; which for curtains, upholstery, etc. Blindfold each child in turn and test, to see which can identify the greatest number without mistakes. 39 Child Training 32. '' Blind Mans Buff " Observation, Discrimination, Cleanliness Have the children prepare for this exercise by wash- ing their hands and nails till they are surgically clean. Explain the difference between ordinary cleanliness and surgical cleanliness and insist on the latter. Send them back to the wash room repeatedly till the skin is pink from scrubbing and without the remotest trace or suggestion of a shadow or discoloration that might be dirt. When their hands are perfectly clean, have them observe and examine the feeling of the clothes of their mates. Then blindfold each in turn and have him endeavor to identify his mates by feeling their clothes as in " blind man's buff." 33. Feeling Materials Observation, Discrimination Give lessons similar to those preceding, using other materials such as wood, metal, hard rubber, soft rub- ber, glass, stone, china, plaster of Paris, brick, card- board, blotting paper, cork, straw, braid, wire screen- ing, crayon, paraffine, soap, clay, tin. At first the children may finger the article all over, but later they should identify it by touching the sur- face alone, determining what it is by its roughness, smoothness, coldness, warmth, elasticity, plasticity, viscosity, etc., not by its form — a much more difficult 40 Habit Drills — Observation undertaking and requiring a keenness of perception in which only a moderate degree of accuracy can be ex- pected. 34. Weighing Observation, Discrimination, Baric Sense Show children a pair of balance scales, those with balanced pans on each side of a fulcrum, and how things of equal weight balance each other while in the case of unequal weights the heavier falls and the lighter rises. Then take two boxes of equal size but unequal weight, such as two match boxes, and fill one with meal and the other with sand. Place one box in the right hand of a child and the other box in his left and ask him to tell which is heavier or which is lighter. Verify or correct his judgment by balancing the boxes on the scales, after he has opened his eyes. Do the same with two books and two packages. Then take two packs of cards and subtract from one pack and add to the other to make small differences in weight, and test the pupil's baric sense, as for the books. 35. Finding in the Dark Observation, Muscular Sense Blindfold a seated child and giving him five ten- pins, ask him to set them up the same distance apart in a line before him on the table. Then ask him to reach out and hand you the ten-pin on the right end, or 41 Child Training the left end, then the middle, etc. He should take hold of the ten-pin asked for the very first time and not feel around for the right one, or touch any other. If he does so it is a failure. 36. Finding in the Dark Observation, Muscular Sense Put several articles, such as a cup, a bottle, a hat, a book in different parts of the room, on the table, mantel, peg, desk, etc., then stand a ten-pin or Indian club on the floor in the vicinity of each article. Then, blindfold each child in turn and ask him to get you the cup or hat, or other article, without knocking down a ten-pin. At first the children should be allowed to go over the course before being blindfolded. T^y. Feeling Paper Observation, Discrimination Get together sheets of paper of different weights, — tissue and 5, 20, 25 lbs., etc. (meaning weight of ream) — and have the children tell which is thicker and heavier by feeling it between their fingers. 38. Object Seeing Observation This is called the " I see game." Each child is given a turn to name an object he sees for the others to dis- cover, thus: 42 Habit Drills — Observation First Child, " I see a clock." Second Child, " It 's on the wall." First Child, " Yes." Second Child, " I see a basket." Third Child, " It 's by the desk." Second Child, " No." Third Child, " There it is on the table." Second Child, " Yes." Third Child, " I see a ring," and so on. 39. Finding and Replacing Observation This is a most valuable exercise in finding things. We all know how many have eyes and see not, how often even older people fail to see something for which they are looking, even when it is right before them. " Plant " various articles in different parts of the room or building — a pair of scissors in the top drawer of your desk, a ball on the shelf of the closet, a paint box in the basket on the table, a red book on the bot- tom row of the bookcase, etc., and prepare a list ac- cordingly. Make sure that each article is where it is supposed to be and that the children know what they are looking for, are ignorant of its whereabouts and understand the descriptive term, such as top, bottom, red, etc. Then give the order to each child to bring you the various articles, thus : "John, get me the scissors in the top drawer 43 Child Training of the desk." " Mary, get me the ball from the shelf of the closet," and so on. In this lesson the specific location should be given in each instance, so that there may be no excuse for the child not finding the article. After all the articles have been brought you, have them all re-placed, by ordering each child in turn thus : " Put the ball on the shelf of the closet," etc. Of course, the replacing order should be to a differ- ent child than the one who did the fetching. 40. Rapid Finding Discrimination, Observation, Speed Repeat the previous drill but with a newly prepared and different list of orders and have all children ex- cept the one executing the order, close their eyes so that they may not rely on memory for the proper location when replacing on second round. Also have them, with their eyes closed, count out loud in concert with the teacher while the search is being made, to determine the time taken by each pupil in executing the order. Thus, Teacher : " John, get me my hand bag from the closet." The children close their eyes and count, one, two, three, four, five, six, etc., in concert with the teacher. Teacher : " Thank you " — as it is handed to her. Children stop their counting and open their eyes at the signal, " Thank you." 44 Habit Drills — Observation 41. Rapid Finding and Replacing Observation, Attention, Memory Read a newly prepared list of orders for fetching, but have the children act on the directions not as given but simultaneously after the entire list has been read and the teacher has said " Now, each do what I told you." Then have the children replace the articles simultaneously after the orders have been re-assorted, so that the child does not replace what he fetched. 42. Finding Book Observation, Attention Show the children a book and ask them to note its characteristic features, color, size, thickness. Then ask them to turn their backs while you place the book among others in the bookcase. Then ask a child to find and bring you the book in the quickest possible time. Count out loud and have the children do so with you till the book is found. Repeat the exercise, placing the book on another shelf or in a different section, and have each child in turn find it, seeing who can do so in the shortest time. 43. Arranging Colors Observation, Discrimination, Cleanliness Give the children spools, reels or bobbins of embroid- ery floss or worsted, in varying tones and shades of 45 Child Training red, orange, yellow, blue, green, violet, unassorted. It is supposed that the names of the colors have been learned in a previous Manual Training Period. Have the children make their hands surgically clean, in order not to soil the delicate colors, then ask the first child to pick out red and arrange by it all its shades and tints in their proper order, from normal to dark, and from normal to light. The normal is the rainbow color, its tints are the same color lightened in different de- grees, its shades are the same color darkened in dif- ferent degrees. Ask the second child to do the same with the orange, and so on. 44. Matching Fabrics Observation, Discrimination, Cleanliness Prepare a box of good sized odds and ends of dif- ferent colored fabrics, being sure that there are two or more of precisely the same tone, but of different ma- terial, for example, a square of lavender cotton, a bit of lavender ribbon, a scrap of lavender spool silk, etc., all matching. Give a piece of material to each child and have him find the other pieces that match it. 45. Selecting Appropriate Material Observation, Good Taste, Judgment Prepare a box of odds and ends of tailors' samples of cloth, also madras, percale, shirting material and the 4.6 Habit Drills — Observation like. Then have the boys pick out samples of goods for an imaginary outfit and the girls do likewise with the box previously used. The boys and girls should then comment on the selec- tion each has made and the teacher criticize both, or suggest improvements in color scheme or choice of materials. The teacher should call attention to the fact that certain colors are more becoming to blondes and certain others to brunettes, that some colors are loud or con- spicuous, and others, all right by themselves, clash when associated. The laws governing color harmonies and taste in colors are not adequately covered by any rule. Taste is simply the result of cultivation, in observing fine discriminations and continually striving to feel the effect of different combinations on the esthetic emo- tions. The teacher should be quite sure she is right (and who can be) before insisting on the acceptance of her own choice. On the other hand, the children should be encouraged to have a favorite color, an opinion of their own as to color harmonies with a reason, if pos- sible, in such a case. 47 Child Training 46. Finding Color Observation Say to the children, " I want you to tell me all the colors you can see in this room — or out of doors — or, in this colored picture." One child may then say, " I see red, do you? " The next one, or the teacher tells where he sees red, until the first child says, " Yes, that 's it." Continue this till small and obscure bits of color are seen and recognized, and names are learned for other colors and shades that are not prismatic, such as gilt, tan, flesh color. 47. ''Shop Window" Observation, Attention, Concentration, Memory On a table place a dozen promiscuous articles, such as a book, a doll, a cake of soap, a pair of scissors, a box of matches, a piece of ribbon, and so on, being careful that the children do not see what the things are. Cover these articles with a cloth and tell the children when you draw the cloth they are to notice and bear in mind as many of the articles as they can before you cover them. Then give the warning signal of attention, saying, " Now." Draw the cloth, count five and replace it. Ask the children to close their eyes and go over in their 48 Habit Drills — Observation minds what they saw, being careful to mention nothing out loud till directed to do so. Give them a second glance to confirm or correct their mental list, exposing the articles to view once more, but this time only, while you count two. Then call upon a child and have him give a list of the articles he remembers having seen. If he fails to give a complete list or names articles incorrectly, other chil- dren may be called upon to complete the list or make corrections. Repeat the exercise several times, change ing the articles each time, of course, and reducing the time, increasing the number of articles and omitting the second view as the children become quicker and more accurate in observing. The exercise is a valuable one to give once each day or every few days for some time. 48. Sight Seeing Observation, Attention, Concentration, Memory Take the children on a tour of inspection to visit another room in the house. Tell them they are to notice everything they can in the room, the number of windows, the chairs, closets, bookcases, pictures, plants, and miscellaneous articles. Arrange the children in a position to view the room when the door is opened, then open it, saying, " Now." Count ten and close the door. Have a child describe 49 Child Training the details he has observed as fully as he can and have them augmented and corrected as in the previous drill. 49. Hunting Coin Observation, Attention, Self-control Play the game of " Hunt the Coin." Have the chil- dren close their eyes, or leave the room, while you place a penny, a quarter or other coin, in some part of the room where it can be seen — not under cover — on a pedal of the piano or in the bottom of a glass, for in- stance. Then ask the children to hunt and when they have seen the quarter, whisper its location to you and take their places by your side without betraying where the coin is by look, gesture or exclamation. Continue the game by having a child do the hiding. 50. Altering Card Observation, Attention, Discrimination Lay out on a table a dozen playing cards or pictures of a uniform size in three rows of four each. Cover them until ready to give the test. xA.t the usual signal, " Now," draw the cover and have the children note the arrangement. Then cover or have the children close their eyes or turn their backs while you change the arrangement of one card or picture or exchange it for another. On signal, have them re-observe the cards to find out, if they can, what alteration has taken place. 50 Habit Drills — Observation 51. Describing a Child Observation, Attention, Courtesy Ask a child to stand before the class, turn round for inspection, then leave the room. After he has done so, ask the children to describe the cut and material of his clothes, the color of his hair and eyes, etc. Be careful that children do not become unpleasantly per- sonal in this exercise. Explain the golden rule. 52. Describing a Person Observation, Discrimination, Courtesy Ask a child to describe a person with whom all are familiar and have the others guess who is meant, the correct identifier to have the privilege of the next de- scription. Ask the children to describe any visitor to the class after he leaves. 53. Observing Changes of Dress Observation, Discrimination, Attention Standing before the class and turning round so that they may view you from all sides, ask them to observe every detail of your dress, so that they will be able to recognize any change made in it. Then go from the room and alter, add or take of¥ some detail. For ex- ample, take off a pin or change its position, undo one button, hide a handkerchief that was previously visible or vice versa, change a belt buckle from front to back 51 Child Training or a bow from right to left and so on. When you return, ask those who notice any change that has been made to raise their hands and have one of them tell what it is. Then have the child giving the correct ob- servation, take your place and go through a similar exercise, endeavoring to make an original change in his own costume. 54. Describing a Picture Observation, Discrimination, Language, Appreciation Prepare a set of pictures, preferably copies of famous paintings, in each of which there are people doing some- thing as, for example, Millet's " First Step." Ask the children to examine carefully the picture selected for the lesson, so as to be able not only to enumerate all the elements of the picture, but to describe the action — what is taking place. Thus, in the case of the " First Step," in response to the question, "What do you see?" they should not merely say, " I see a man, a woman, a baby, a shovel, a wheel- barrow, a fence, trees," etc., but, " I see a man kneel- ing with one knee on the ground, stretching out his hands to a little child whom the mother is holding up while trying to walk to its father. The father has just come from work and has left his wheelbarrow and dropped his shovel by his side. The mother and child have just come out of the gate to meet him," and so on. Then ask them for further details, such as, 52 Habit Drills — Observation " Which knee is the father resting on ? " "Which foot has the child raised?" " Is the wheelbarrow full or empty ? " " Has the man a coat on ? " " What kind of hat has the woman ? " etc. Continue in this way on other days with other pic' tures, the names of which the child should, of course, be told. 55. Guessing Picture Described Observation, Discrimination, Memory, Language Ask each child in turn to describe a picture studied on a previous day and have the other children name the picture after he has finished the description. The child answering correctly is then to give a description of another picture. 56. Living Pictures Observation, Attention, Memory, Imitation Prepare a set of pictures, not necessarily different from the foregoing, in which the action or the pose of the figures, can be imitated, for example, Raphael's Cherubs, from the picture of the Sistine Madonna. Ask the children to scrutinize this picture, noticing the position of the arms, hands, head, eyes, etc. Then ask one to imitate the pose of the right hand or the left hand cherub, or two children to imitate the group. The pose should be practised till it corresponds in every 53 Child Training detail, so that if a photograph were taken, it would be the exact counterpart of the original, except, of course, in features and dress. In the same way, other pictures with more dramatic action like the " First Step " should be imitated. Ask a child to "act out" a picture and have the other children guess the picture intended. The child selected should make his own choice of picture to be acted, but not tell any one what it is, except of course any others he needs and should call upon to act with him. 57. Statues A variation of the foregoing game is called "Statues". Ask each child to pose as a statue of, A Soldier, A Praying Child, etc. 58. Criticizing Incongruous Pictures Attention, Discrimination, Judgment Prepare a set of pictures in each of which there is something wrong, lacking, incongruous, grotesque or peculiar — a chicken with four legs, a man with arms attached to his neck instead of his shoulders, a tele- phone standing upside down, a bearded man in woman's clothes, a horse looking out of a window of a house, a man digging with a broom, a dog with only three legs, a clock without hands or with hands and no fig- ures, a drum or bucket with both top and bottom show- ing at the same time (difficult), a dog chasing a cow smaller than himself, an American flag with the stripes 54 Habit Drills — Observation running vertically or the stars in the wrong corner, etc. Give each child a picture, tell him to make no com- ment aloud, but, when he has discovered the peculiarity, to raise his hand and whisper it to you when you go to his side. Exchange the pictures and continue till each has had a turn to inspect all of the pictures, after which the peculiarities may be discussed aloud. 59. Finding Hidden Pictures Observation, Attention, Discrimination Prepare a set of hidden pictures, that is, pictures hid- den within the drawing of another obvious picture. For instance, the obvious picture may be of an old man leaning on a cane and the hidden picture a fairy in his beard, seen only by turning the picture upside down. Such pictures may usually be found in the daily papers. Give each child one of these hidden pictures, tell him what he is to look for and, when he has discovered it, to indicate to the teacher privately where it is. The picture may then be passed to the next and the same thing continued. 60. Observing Neighborhood Details Observation, Attention Ask the children to notice anything peculiar, new, or interesting that they see on the way to school and tell about it at the conversation period the next day. For 55 Child Training instance, they might report a placard posted on a tele- graph pole, a window flower box in a house down the street, a new awning over a store, a sidewalk being re- paired, a house being painted. 6i. Observing Neighborhood Details Observation, Attention Ask the children where in the neighborhood is the nearest letter box, drug store, fire alarm, clock, doctor's office, public telephone, telegraph office ; what house has outside shutters, which one a front porch or a bow window, where are there marble steps, and so on. 62. Observing Neighborhood Details Observation, Attention, Discrimination, Memory Ask the children to notice all the important features of houses or landscape in the neighborhood, then give each a turn to ask where such and such a thing is, or what can be seen at such a place ; the one answering cor- rectly to have the next turn to propound a question. The children should be taught to discriminate be- tween the important and unimportant by having the latter ruled out as such. Is the house on the corner wood, brick or stone ? Is the one cat-a-cornered from it three or four stories high? Is the one across the way red or yellow ? Has the church down the street one door or more ? 56 Habit Drills — Observation 6^. " Stranger in Town " Observation, Direction, Courtesy, Dramatic Imitation Tell the children to imagine that you are a stranger in town and want to know how to get to the hotel, the post office or the railroad station. Ask one of them to give you the shortest and clearest direction he can to indicate the route you must take. Ask another to im- prove on the directions, if he can. Then have one of their number pretend to be the stranger and ask to be directed to the points of interest. Have the one spoken to show courtesy, cordiality and graciousness, but also reserve, avoiding gushing or the manners of a confi- dence man. Have the two selected act out before the class such possible street scenes with all the vividness of reality that they can give. 64. " He Can Do Little " Observation, Attention Play the game of " He can do little." The teacher holding a cane in the right hand says to the children, " You must watch me closely and imitate exactly what I do and say. Those who succeed in imitating me exactly, come to my side." She then taps the cane on the floor, saying at the same time, " He can do little, who can't do this," and passes the cane first to her left hand and then to the next 57 Child Training child. The point is that the next child attending to the words and the tapping will fail to observe how the cane was passed and will naturally pass it directly from the right hand in which it is held. Each child in turn tries to imitate and the teacher says, " right " or " wrong." Those successful go to the teacher's side. The teacher then repeats and the remaining children try again to imitate. Of course, the children who have correctly observed should be cautioned not to re- veal the secret by any word, gesture, emphasis or in any other way than by the accurate imitation. A more difficult variation of this is to use the words " I re- ceived it crossed and pass it uncrossed," or " I received it uncrossed and pass it crossed," and so on. " Crossed " being used when passed or received from the right hand and uncrossed when passed or received from the left hand. 65. " The Moon is Round " Observation, Attention In the game of " The Moon Is Round," the teacher says, " The moon is round and has two eyes, a nose and a mouth," at the same time drawing in the air with the index finger of the left hand an imaginary picture of the moon, suiting the action to the word, thus — de- scribing a circle when she says, " The moon is round," indicating two dots for eyes when she says, " has two eyes," and a vertical and horizontal dash, respectively, 58 Habit Drills — Observation when she says, " a nose and a mouth." The child, if right handed, will naturally draw the moon with the index finger of the right hand and the point, of course, for him to observe and carry out is the use of the left finger. 66. What Do You Hear? Observation, Attention, Discrimination Ask the children to close their eyes, keep quiet for two minutes and listen and note all the various sounds they hear. Then at the expiration of that time, ask, " Who has heard five different things ; has any one heard any more ? " Then ask the one who has ob- served the greatest number to enumerate them. Thus he might say he had heard the sound of a wagon on the street — if he mentions the sound of the wheels and of the horse's hoofs and the creak of an axle, each counts one — the ticking or striking of a clock, the scraping of a chair, a footstep in the hall, the toot of a steam whistle, the clang of a bell, the flap of a curtain, the cry of a huckster, the honk of an automobile, the running of water, a song or whistle of a workman, the knocking in a radiator, the splash or patter of rain, the pound of a hammer, the ripping of a saw, or other such sounds. 59 Child Training dj. Who Speaks? Observation, Attention, Discrimination Explain that one child, whom you will indicate, is to leave the room and speak from outside in his natural voice and the remainder of the class is to try to deter- mine who it is from the sound of his voice. Have the children sit in line with their backs turned and eyes shut. Touch one of them on the shoulder and have him tip-toe out of the room unobserved by his classmates. From that position he should call upon one of the children to guess w^ho is speaking. This may be varied by having the speaker place his hands from behind over the eyes of any child he may choose, then answer in his natural voice any question the child so blindfolded may ask him. 68. What Makes the Sound? Observation, Attention, Discrimination With the children seated, as in the previous exercise, make sounds of different sorts and have each child in turn tell what it is. Tap on the floor, the wall, the door, the window, a hollow box, a drinking glass ; clap the hands, clap two books together ; snap the fingers, stamp or scrape the foot, rub the hands together, crumple a newspaper, rattle the door knob, drum on the desk, shake the coins in your pocket or a bunch of keys, etc. 60 Habit Drills — Observation 69. JVhat Animal Is It? Observation, Attention, Discrimination Make different imitative sounds with your lips, tongue, throat, etc., such as the cackle of a hen, the buzz of a bee or mosquito, the grunt of a pig, the whinny of a horse, the bark of a dog, the meow of a cat, the moo of a cow, etc., and have each child in turn tell what is intended. 70. Tuning Glasses Observation, Attention, Discrimination Give each child two drinking glasses, one empty, the other containing some water. Put some water in a glass of your own and tap it to give a musical note. Show the children that adding water raises the pitch of the note and pouring out water lowers it. Then have them experiment with their own glasses, adding and pouring out water till the pitch of their glasses matches that of the teacher's. Children at this age have, as a general rule, a very poor ear for music and though en- tering into songs and rhythmic exercise with the great- est spirit, do not readily distinguish shades of difference in pitch, often sharping and flatting a note or more without being conscious of doing so. These exercises are, therefore, important for training the ear. 61 Child Training 71. Tuning a String Observation, Attention, Discrimination Take a violin or other stringed instrument, or stretch a gut string so that its pitch can be regulated by turn- ing a key and have each child in turn tune a string in unison with a tuning fork, a pitch pipe, or a note on the piano. y2. Matching Notes Observation, Attention, Discrimination Sing a note and have the children together and then in turn sing the note, saying, " Ah," Sound a note on the piano, pitch pipe or other instrument and have the children imitate it. The children may in the same way sing other notes in succession. y^. Singing the Scale Observation, Attention, Discrintination, Imitation Have the children sing the scale in concert with you without you and by themselves separately. Sing notes at different intervals, 3rds, 5ths, octaves, ascending and descending and have the children do the same after you. 62 IMITATION DRILLS Imitation involves close observation, in fact it is observation put into action. Children delight in imi- tation, especially in the kind of mimicry that is gro>. tesque, exaggerated and lacking in respect. 74. Pantomime Observation, Imitalion Have each child in turn, act in pantomime and have the class guess who or what is intended. Some suitable subjects are motorman, postman, chauffeur, carpenter, horseshoer, fisherman, tight-rope walker, typewriter, pianist, a woman doing up her hair, a man shaving, a boy batting a base ball or playing tennis, and so on. They should notice all the little characteristics, attitudes and movements not only of the body, arms and fingers, but of the face and imitate them with as close fidelity as they are able. 75. Imitating by Voice and Gesture Imitation Have the children in turn imitate different charac- ters, as in the previous lesson, but employ speech as well as pantomime — a man telephoning, a conductor 63 Child Training collecting fares, a doctor prescribing for a patient, a hostess receiving guests. 76. Tzvo Part Acting Imitation Have two of the children act together and imitate as previously, a mother or nurse dressing a child, a woman being fitted for a dress, a gentleman calling on a lady. yy. Clmrades Imitation Have the children divide into two groups and each group in turn act a scene that is descriptive of a word or a play upon a word, while the other group tries to guess what is intended. 64 ASSOCIATION DRILLS The habit of associating and comparing whatever is observed with what is already in the mind is one of the most valuable of all mental functions. Upon it depend imagination, memory ; originality, invention ; wit and humor; reason, judgment; abstraction, gener- alization, etc. In fact, simple observation, the simple recording of mental images of the outside world is of comparatively little value without association. Some children and people seem naturally to associate every mental image while others seldom do, but the habit can be developed by practice and is capable of the greatest possibilities. 78. Associating Ideas Association Name a color — red, for instance — and ask each child in turn to name things that are red — fire, lips, a rose, rubies, etc. Then ask a child, pursuing the vari- ous associations in different directions, to tell what each of these things suggest — fire on the hearth, a build- ing on fire, etc. Then ask another child, starting with the color blue, in the same way to think of one thing that it suggests and another thing suggested by the 65 Child Training second association, and so on. Then ask him to give the last step reached, leaving out the intermediate steps. He should then explain by tracing his thoughts back- wards how he came to think of what he did. For instance, a child might say, " Blue — a tree that was struck by lightning," and explain that blue suggested sky ; sky, clouds ; clouds, storm ; storm, lightning ; and lightning the tree that was struck by it. Oftentimes an association is so instantaneous, that it is difficult to trace it back to its starting point. Repeat the previous exercise, using any object or topic as a starting point. Anything at all will do, — the window, pins and needles, a boat, dreams, an or- ange, moving pictures, excuses. Have the children practise association, especially at the conversation period, making as wide and varied mental associations as they can, but of that number selecting only those as- sociations that are of interest for telling. 79. Riming Association This and the following exercise seem particularly to delight the heart of the child. It is just as well, there- fore, to let him try riming and punning even thoygh both sound execrable to an older person. Suggest one line — a sentence or phrase — and have each child in turn originate a line to rime with it, thus for example : 66 Habit Drills — Association Teacher says : " I 'm the boy." Child, after thinking a moment and trying over a number of rimes says : " Who broke the toy." Teacher, to next child : " There was a girl." Child: " Who had a curl." Teacher: " In a house." Child : " There lived a mouse." 80. Pimning Association Say a sentence in which a word is used that has a double meaning and have each child in turn notice the word and use it in another sentence and in another sense. Following is a list of some words that may be so used: Flour, flower. So, sew. Pail, pale. Stair, stare. Week, weak. Ate, eight. Know, no. Knows, nose. Be, bee. New, knew. Blue, blew. Pair, pear. Hear, here. One, won. Red, read. Heal, heel. Cent, sent. I, eye. Son, sun. See, sea. Hole, whole. Through, threw, etc. 81. Conundrums Ask the child the following conundrums and riddles and make sure he understands the answers and sees their point. 67 Child Training When are cooks cruel ? Ans. When they beat eggs and whip cream. What key is the hardest to turn? Ans. A don- key. Why do you always put on your left shoe last ? Ans. Because the last one is the left one. What is black and white and red (read) all over? Ans. The newspaper. What animal carries luggage? Ans. The elephant carries a trunk. Riddles What are the following? What is full of holes and yet holds water? Ans. A sponge. " Thirty white horses on a red hill. Now they tramp, now they champ, now they stand still." Ans. Teeth. " Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye, And a long tail which she let fly ; And every time she went through a gap, A bit of her tail she left in a trap." Atis. A needle and thread. " As round as an apple, As deep as a cup ; 68 Habit Drills — Association And all the King's horses Can not pull it up." Ans. A well. ** Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall ; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; Not all the king's horses, nor all the king's men Could set Humpty Dumpty together again." Ans. An tgg. 82. Two Minute Conversation Association, Attention, Concentration Using the second hand of an ordinary watch, give a child a subject and have him start on the instant to talk about it, not stopping till " time " is called at the end of two minutes. A pause of any noticeable extent, more than is natural at the end of a sentence or to take breath counts as failure. For instance, the topic given might have been " Breakfast." Instantly the child might say, " I was late to breakfast this morning (and then continue on the associated line of thought), my nurse did not call me in time, she overslept," etc. 69 IMAGINATION DRILLS Imagination has been called the supreme intellectual faculty, for it plays a most important part in the prac- tical as well as in the esthetic life. Genius has been defined as the ability to imagine things that do not exist and wit is nothing but unexpected flashes of the imag- ination in seeing associations that are not obvious. The inventor, the discoverer, the originator must have imagination, the author and the poet, the painter and the musician must have imagination, and if we are ever to enjoy life and literature and art and music and the " works of the imagination " we must have it also. Accordingly, if the child in later life is to find " tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones," he must make an early beginning. The child's imaginative plays and fanciful stories will assist the growth of this faculty, but it should also be developed by encouraging the child in his make-be- lieve. Let him fancy his apple sauce is ice cream, his bread, cake and his glass of water, lemonade. Let him imagine the butterflies are sprites and that Jack-in-the- Pulpit is preaching to the elfin Johnny-jump-ups. But care should be taken to see that the child recog- nizes his make-believe as make-believe, and that it is 70 Habit Drills — Imagination not confounded with reality. This confusion often leads children into story telling with the idea to deceive. Children need not be discouraged in their romancing but they should be taught to offer their fairy tales as fairy tales and not as deceptions. Furthermore, they should return at once to the serious actualities at hand the moment they are required, for an unrestrained im- agination may lead to very serious consequences. With this warning sounded, however, healthy imagina- tion may prove of the greatest value. 83. Describing Imaginary Scene Have a child go to the window and from that posi- tion give the class an account of what, in imagination, he sees there, for example, a circus parade. Pass a book or a newspaper round the class and give each child in turn a few minutes to " read " an imaginary story from it or describe an imaginary picture. 84. Make Believe Ask the children to " make believe " that cer- tain things you are going to suggest are happening, and ask them to act accordingly. Then say, " Make believe it's cold," or "Act as if it were freezing." The children might then turn up their collars, draw their heads dnwn into their coats, put their hands over their ears, blow on their fingers, shiver, etc. Then make such suggestions, as. Child Training It 's hot, It 's windy, It 's raining, It 's snowing, etc., and have them act as they might under such circumstances. J2, ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION DRILLS Many of the previous drills are also exercises in at- tention and concentration. A few special exercises, however, are particularly devised for forming this most important habit. As explained in the General Instructions, concentra- tion is best obtained by demanding speed, setting a time limit, and making all tasks " piece work." When, however, there is interest, attention and con- centration follow. Certain interesting drills requir- ing attention and concentration are here given, there- fore, so as to form the habit. 85. Threading the Needle Give each child half a dozen needles and as many pieces of thread and have the class start on signal and see which is first to finish threading his needles. 86. " Jack Strazvs " Have the children play at jack straws. Call atten- tion to the fact that breathing is a motion of the body which is observable even in the finger-tips and as there must be no motion in this game, other than the inten- tional one, it is necessary for each child to hold his breath while detaching a " straw " from the pile. Even 7Z Child Training the beating of the heart may be perceptible in the fingers, but of course, this is uncontrollable. 87. Dropping Medicine Teach the children to drop medicine out of a bottle. The throat of the bottle must first be wet with the liquid, either by pouring some out first or pouring it as far as the edge, stopping it there with the cork. The liquid should then be dropped without the aid of the cork, and each child directed to drop a certain number of drops, three, five, six, etc. 88. Untangling a Snarl Give each child a piece of rope or heavy twine that has been purposely knotted, tied and snarled and have him unravel it, as promptly as possible. 89. Rapid Copying Mid Distractions No matter how well a person can concentrate, tests show that he can always work more efficiently when free from distractions. The best conditions, there- fore, for study or any work requiring concentration are those that are removed from all noise and free from interruption. But though concentration is best obtained in quiet and undisturbed surroundings it is best taught mid distractions. For this exercise divide the class in half. Allow one-half to play and talk as they please, thus provid- 74 Habit Drills — Attention ing an actively distracting element, while the other half of the class is practising attention and concen- tration. Standing before this half of the class, go through various motions and have the children copy promptly and accurately without any oral direction. Thus : Look down, up, to one side ; place your finger on your forehead, ear, mouth and other parts of the body; point to the corner of the room, put your arms akimbo, and so on, in as rapid succession as possible, not giving an opportunity for the child's attention to wander if he follows your lead. Then take the other half of the class in the same way. 90. Answering Three Questions Ask each child in turn two unlike questions and have him answer them after both have been asked. Starting with but two simple questions increase the number and the complexity of the questions, thus: Teacher says, " I 'm going to ask you three ques- tions but I don't want you to answer them till I have finished asking all three. Then I want you to an- swer each question in the order in which it was asked. Now listen ! "What color is this?" (She holds up a piece of ribbon.) " What is that? " (She points to a picture.) " Do you like milk ? " The child should then answer, 75 Child Training " That is red." " That is a picture." " Yes, I like milk." 91. "Stage Coach" Give each child a word, such as driver, whip, horses, wheel, door, etc., then tell a story in which you use these words. Every time you mention a word which a child has been given, that child is to stand up, turn round, and sit down and every time the word Stage Coach is mentioned all the children are to stand up, turn round and sit down. Thus, after explaining what is to be done, as above, the teacher starts out, " Once upon a time a man started off on a long journey in a Stage Coach. (Every child at the word stage coach, should jump up, turn round and sit down. The teacher, however, proceeds without paus- ing.) The Driver (here the child given the word driver, jumps up, turns round, sits down) cracked his Whip and the Horses started off at a trot — " and so on, till the stage coach runs into a ditch and turns over. In the same way any other group of words can be taken, such as house, window, door, stairs, chimney, ladder, etc., and a story be told of a house on fire. 76 Habit Drills — Attention 92. Continuing a Story Start telling a story and when the plot is partly- developed stop and ask a child to supply what you omit and continue with the narrative, for example: Teacher says: "Once upon a time there was a little toy whose name was — " Child : "Jim." Teacher resumes: "And he was just like all other little boys except for one thing; he had what do you suppose?" Child: "Wings." Teacher: "No. He had ears that were so pointed that they looked like little horns. And his mother was ashamed of them and let his hair grow long to cover them up. Now one day as she was looking out of the window she saw to her amazement in the garden " Child (and so on). 93. Natning a Flower Point to a child and say "Flower"; then immedi- ately start to count "i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6," trying to reach 10 before the child called upon has time to give the name of some flower. Vary this by saying, "Tree," "Vegetable," "Fruit," "Bird," etc. 77 Child Training 94. Reciting a Poem and Counting Taps Call upon a child to recite a poem that he knows while during the recital you tap. When he has finished ask him how many times you tapped. 95. " Philopena" — Give and Take Have pairs of children " eat a philopena." Each pair link arms and eat a half peanut, or crumb of bread or anything by way of ceremony in forming a compact, saying " Give and Take for ," naming some forfeit, if there is to be one. After this, neither child must take anything handed him by the other. Each tries to hand the other something when off-guard — that is, not paying attention — and if it is taken, the one offering says " Philopena " and wins the for- feit agreed upon. 96. " Philopena " — Yes and No Have pairs of children do as described above, but say " Yes and No," instead of " Give and Take." Each child then strives by skilful questioning to surprise the other into saying " Yes " or " No." 97. Memorising Dictate a verse of a poem slowly and distinctly (use those given under Rhythmic Arts) ; repeat it a sec- ond time and ask a child to say it when you have fin- 78 Habit Drills — Attention ished. With practice of this sort, children will learn to say a stanza of several lines in length, after having heard it only once or twice. 98. Repeating List of Words Tell the children you are going to name a number of different things and that you want to see who can repeat the entire list in the order given without a mis- take. Then, at the signal " Attention," name the fol- lowing or a similar list of words between which there is some association, calling each word twice distinctly and slowly, thus: House, door; door, street; street, wagon ; wagon, horse ; horse, dog ; dog, man ; man, bed ; bed, night ; night, Christmas ; Christmas, drum ; drum, noise; noise, steam cars; steam cars, smoke; smoke, dirt; dirt, soap; soap, water; water, milk; milk, cow; cow^ tree; tree, birds; and so on. Then ask a child to repeat the list. This may seem more difficult than it really is. A child who has paid attention (they will oftentimes unconsciously close their eyes in order to concentrate) will usually be able to repeat a list of this sort of almost indefinite length. 99. Hearing Simultaneous Orders Have two pupils start on signal and each give simul- taneously a different order to a single child previously selected for the drill. The child is then to executd both orders without further question. 79 Child Training lOO, Speaking and Listening Simultaneously Ask each child to get a short statement or piece of news ready in his mind, something to tell his next neighbor, not more than a sentence in length, such as, To-morrow is Thursday, It is a pleasant day, I am five years old. Have the children seated in a circle or round a table, then at the signal, *' Now " have every child simul- taneously speak to his right-hand neighbor in an or- dinary conversational tone, the statement he has pre- pared, at the same time listening to what his left hand neighbor is saying to him. There should be no rep- etition, but when finished, each in turn, as called upon by teacher, should repeat what his left hand neighbor said to him and verify the statement. 80 FURTHER HABIT DRILLS The preceding drills are not by any means exhaust- ive but every teacher or parent who has gone through these should have so imbibed their spirit as to be ready to vary or extend them, or to originate other drills to suit the needs of her own particular case. Many habits are also formed by the activities pre- scribed for the following periods. For example, habits of courtesy, unselfishness, etc., are formed by Social Training; industry, accuracy, concentration, etc., by Manual Training and so on. One of the most valuable of all habits — the habit of initiative — must be inculcated not by infrequent drills, but by daily calling upon the child to suggest something, start something, do something, without the teacher specifying what or how. For this purpose it is best to call upon the children at the free play, man- ual training, rhythmic art or other period and especially upon those that are prone to copy and constantly wait for others to make a start or take the lead. Certain habits by their very nature cannot be staged for practice but must be inculcated as the occasion arises. For instance, we cannot train a child in self-con- trol under circumstances such as fear, because it would 8i Child Training be manifestly improper to cause him terror for the pur- pose of practising him in self-control. On the other hand, it is perfectly feasible to drill the child in cour- age and fortitude by causing him bodily pain with the purpose of seeing how much he can stand without a whimper. This Spartan-like drill is not so cruel as it sounds and the idea comes from the children them- selves. I have known children to say, " You can't hurt me " and offer their arms for pinching, their hair for pulling, on the wager that they could not be made to cry out. Tests of this sort that work no bodily injury might be of great value in teaching courage and scorn of minor aches and pains and might develop a spirit that not only should stand the child in good stead throughout life, but should smooth the domestic way for the whole family. In order to prevent any danger that might arise from over habituation as described under " Breaking of Habits," it is well occasionally to act as follows : Alter the program so as to exchange periods, for instance, story telling for manual training or give les- sons at a different time of day. Vary the sequence of exercises or the forms or man- ner of execution. Give drills and exercises in a different room or different setting from usual. Let a visitor or substitute give a lesson or a whole day's program. 82 fbotograpli by uachraiU SOCIAL TRAINING "Introducing" — Teaching common courtesies PART II SOCIAL TRAINING We learn more from intercourse with our fellows than we do from any other one source. We receive information from them; we acquire both their good and bad traits and manners, by conscious and uncon- scious imitation ; we learn to bear and forbear ; we are forced to react upon their stimulus ; in sheer self-de- fense we are roused into mental activity by fear of chagrin or shame at being outdone; we are put upon our mettle to keep the pace. It is for these reasons that the association of other children is so desirable, it stimulates reaction. A man may walk alone and dreaming down a side street, but when he comes to the teeming crowds of Broadway he must quickly come to attention and be on the alert, else he will have his pocket picked, be jostled out of his course, have his way blocked, miss his car, be run over by a cab. The newsboy's proverbial cleverness and general alertness is derived from the crowd, the result of dodging vehicles, watching for signals for papers, outwitting his competitors. Social intercourse raises a host of situations which 85 Child Training the child should learn how to meet and deal with, in order that he may get the most from that intercourse. If a regular program is observed each day with a fixed time for beginning the class, show children the position of the hands of the clock at the hour for commencing and tell them that they are to watch the clock for that time and precisely at that hour, with- out signal from their teacher, they must be in seats grouped in an irregular — not too precise — circle, as for a simple gathering. Children should not occupy the same position every day but arrange themselves ac- cording to personal choice, with due regard for the preferences of others, yielding to such preferences and endeavoring to favor others, as in special gatherings of grown-ups, rather than insisting on their own. These points are to be insistently drilled upon daily at this occasion till they become fixed daily habits. Children on arriving or coming down stairs for the first time in the day should greet parents, teachers and other children with, " Good Morning," and add some solicitous inquiry, cordial wish or gracious remark. Teach them the common forms and varieties, such as: " How are you to-day? " " I hope you are feel- ing better." " Is n't this a lovely day? " etc., and sug- gest that they originate others, not stereotyped, to suit occasions. Don't let them omit this or be contented with the mere " Good Morning," till the habit is firmly fixed. A child who has acquired even this habit is al- 86 Social Training ready at an advantage and has learned a valuable les- son that is usually left to be picked up, if at all, much later in life. Any late comer should go at once to the hostess — the teacher — and apologize for being late, as for an adult dinner party or other function where prompt- ness is expected. At the hour for beginning, the children should rise from seats, bow their heads in attitudes of reverence and recite, ensemble after the teacher the Lord's Prayer or some other classic prayer. By her attitude and suggestions rather than by explanation she should inspire in the children feelings of reverence, humility and awe for the big, majestic, sublime mysteries of the ui#verse. She will be successful if she can, for a few minutes, raise them to the heights above the trivial and petty. Each child in turn, as a special privilege, should be allowed to select and lead the prayer, but the teacher should surrender the function of priestess, which is hers by right, only with great care. On ending the prayer the children should then in the same spirit sing a Te Deum, Gloria in Excelsis, Laudate Domini, or similar hymn of praise, something big — nothing denominational, sentimental or episodic. After the opening ritual the remainder of the pe- riod should be taken up with drills in common cour- tesies and general conversation. 87 Child Training COMMON COURTESIES Some of the common courtesies that are usually considered a sigii of good breeding when found in children are mentioned below. They are obvious " good manners " but often their absence is excused in a child, or not even noted, because he is a child. On the other hand, for that very reason, they are all the more conspicuously pleasing when exhibited by a child. Formal drills as with habit drills can be given for each of these courtesies, without waiting for the occasion or opportunity to arise. 1. One should always knock and wait for a re- sponding " Come in," before entering any closed door. In order to drill in this, send each child out of the room, have him knock and tell him to " Come in." 2. Children should be careful not to pass in front of any one, unless compelled by circumstances to do so, when they should say, " Excuse me " or " I beg your pardon." Send each child across the room to fetch or carry something so that his direct path passes in front of others and he must therefore go around or say, " I beg your pardon." 3. Boys should rise from their seats at the approach of their teacher, an older person, or one of their own number, if a girl. Practise this and the following courtesies by creating the situation described. 88 Social Training 4. Boys should wait for girls to be seated before sitting down themselves. 5. Boys when going through a door should wait for girls or older persons to pass through first, 6. A boy should offer his own chair to the teacher or to a girl, it there are no chairs nearby and fetch others if needed. 7. A boy should pick up anything dropped by a girl and offer her assistance whenever there is an oppor- tunity. 8. Each child by act or word should show regard for the desires, preferences and happiness of the others. 9. All the children should be most careful to ac- knowledge any courtesy extended with a " thank you." 10. They should never interrupt, or ask a question of two people who are conversing, but wait till they are finished. 11. They should also practise introducing one an- other, using the simplest forms, for example: A , do you know B ? A , I want you to meet (or know) B . A , I want to introduce B . 12. They should be sure to say good-by when leav- ing and by way of parting, express their thanks, plea- sure or appreciation. The above are some of the common occurrences of every day life and should not be left to untrained in- 89 Child Training stinct or to an occasional chance direction, but should be taught the child — by constant drill, if neces- sary. At the child's own meals he should of course be drilled in proper table manners but if a light luncheon is served to the group of children there is an added opportunity to practise the child in table courtesies and habits. The most important rules to have him ob- serve are the following : Wait for all to be seated. Help others first. Anticipate wants and pass food. Eat and drink noiselessly and cleanly. Chew thoroughly. Eat without haste or greed. CONVERSATION The whole class should then form a single group for conversation, or divide into two groups, if too large for all to participate, in which the usual con- versational rules should be strictly obsei'ved. Raising of hands, as in school, should have no place what- ever. Conversation is one of the chief distinctive attributes of human beings and from it perhaps more is learned — language, ideas, information — than from all other sources of knowledge put together. 90 Social Training Topics of Conversation Weather. The commonest of all topics of conversa- tion, the weather, may well be the first subject of the morning. To a child the subject is not banal as for an adult, and it does promote observation and comparison of the seasons, changes and meteorological conditions, a knowledge of the calendar, etc. This subject, there- fore, the teacher by general consent, should start, ask- ing, first of all, the day of the week and later, when taus^ht, of the month — then what the weather is and the probabilities. Timely Topics. After the weather, seasonable and timely topics should be discussed. At the beginning of the month the teacher should introduce into the conver- sation a discussion of the characteristics of the season, the holidays or festivals to be celebrated, the events scheduled to take place, preparation to be made ( fore- sight), etc. Each of these should again form the topic of conversation as they occur, the teacher explaining their significance or supplying the historic or legendary information associated with their observance. Generalities. After the weather and seasonable and timely topics, which should always be the first order of the day, the conversation should be general — of personal happenings, news, observations, questions, opinions, and this is the time for each pupil to contrib- ute his one mite of interest or information sought for 91 Child Training and prepared, as hereafter directed — under rule 4. Here the teacher's part should be almost exclusively that of a trainer — seeing to it that all the rules of conversation are vigorously followed, but seldom should she enter the conversation, except on equal terms with the pupils. Information. After such general topics the teacher may give the information as planned in the chapter on that subject, if after experiment it seems a better arrangement than to devote a separate period to it. Opinions. At the end of the Conversational Period some time should be devoted daily to exacting opinions in regard to the matters that have been touched upon. This is an extremely valuable exercise, not only at this period but at table and other times, as it forces the lazy minded child into mental activity. It can be used to advantage with children of all ages. To exact opinions, ask each child in turn a question requiring an expression of an opinion and then his reason for holding it — such questions as : "Which do you like?" "How do you like it?" "Why do you like it?" It is extremely difficult at first to get any answer to the " why " question other than " because," or " be- cause I do," but the teacher should persist till the child has hunted about in his mind and made an effort to find the grounds for his opinion, for this is the ob- 92 Social Training ject of the question — to stir up thought, to overcome mental inertia and to form a habit that will be of great mental benefit. Rules of Conversation. The following are the most valuable conversational habits to be acquired. Children who have been drilled — and by drilled is meant habituated by daily practice — to observe the canons of conversation, will be at a tremendous advantage at the very start in their daily intercourse. At home the general rule — " Children should be seen and not heard " — and " Children should speak only when spoken to " — and later merely cor- rective injunctions as to what not to say, when not, and how not, turn a child out into the world without practice, without conversational habits and leave him to learn his lesson by inadequate and often costly ex- perience. As a rule, the teacher should take no part in the conversation unless she cannot help it. The chil- dren should converse with each other — not with the teacher. Her business is to stand ever ready and watchful to correct, direct and show how — that is all, but this oversight is very exacting, for it requires the strictest attention to the remarks and attitude of every child. The teacher should be given the preference in con- trolling the trend of the conversation, in having th# 93 Child Training first and last word, but the children should converse among themselves. After the proper conversational habits have been formed the teacher should even with- draw from the group and busy herself about other matters, or watch the children as an onlooker, though remaining within ear shot, in case her presence should be needed. Her business is to see that the children observe the following rules and practise them till they become habits. 1. Speak only when no one else is talking, never break in when another is speaking. 2. Give others a chance, do not monopolize the con- versation when once in hand, do not speak more than once when others are anxious for an opportunity to speak. 3. Eliminate the irrelevant or tedious and keep still otherwise. 4. Say something when there is an awkward silence. Get the silent ones into the conversation by a direct question or appeal to them. 5. Pay attention to the remarks of others and con- tinue them or answer them without contradiction. 6. Observe the proprieties in making remarks or asking questions. 7. Be truthful. 8. Use courteous terms and manner of address. These various conversational rules are so important that it is well to consider some of them separately. 94 Social Training Any child is quick to see and appreciate the vahdity of all the conversational rules and, of course, their reason for being so should be explained — once — but it is the habit forming drill, here, as everywhere else in this training, that counts. I. Speak only when no one else — in the same group — is talking. This is one of the hardest rules for an interested child to observe and every one knows how com- monly necessary it is for grown-ups to say, " You shouldn't interrupt," "Don't you see I am talking?" " Wait till I finish," and yet the fault remains univer- sally unremedied because there is no drill on this spe- cific point and the occasional corrections from parents and teachers are not sufficient to form a habit. A parent will say, " I 've told him a thousand times he should n't break in, that it is the height of bad man- ners." Yes, but the child has violated the rule a thousand times with his own playmates and one more than offsets the other, for it is the habit that must be formed and the habit cannot be formed when he breaks the rule once, at least, for every time he observes it. Here again the first rule of habit forming must be vigorously carried out. In all his intercourse he must be watched and never allowed to violate the rule, no, not once, without immediate correction — until the habit is fixed. 95 Child Training If two start to speak at the same time or one inter- rupts, thinking the other finished, he should, of course, be taught to say, " I beg your pardon. What were you going to say ? " Such a display of good manners will no doubt sound as unusual in children as it is com- monplace with grown-ups, and yet it is only what should be expected and is no mark of precocity — in- deed, its lack is simply the result of neglected train- ing. 2 and 3. Do not monopolize the conversation. The garrulous young person is as bad as the old. Childish prattle is all right in its place for it serves a purpose — practice in language — but it is out of place in general conversation and, therefore, at this period, the prattler should be regularly and constantly sup- pressed till he has acquired the habit of controlling his babble. 4. Say something. It is good practice for each child to bring in just one item of interest or value each day to contribute to the general fund. The gathering of a single worth while or interesting thing should be a regular daily re- quirement, a regular home preparation for the conver- sational period. The child accustomed to this requirement will be habituated to going about on the lookout for interest- ing and valuable subjects (the interest and value, of 96 Social Training course, will be comparative, only from the child's point of view) and this attitude once formed will be a most useful accomplishment, and the gradual accumu- lation of conversational matter will prove an asset that should stand him in good stead on other occasions. It is said that the apparently inexhaustible fund of original stories, of a man famous as a raconteur, was gradually collected in this way, he having formed the habit of looking each day for an incident or situation that, with possibly some elaboration, he could tell as an interesting story at his own home table. 5. Pay attention to the remarks of others. The pupil should not only pay attention, he should show that he is paying both attention and interest. It is a general rule of the theater that every one on the stage shall look at the speaker and show by his expression or action that he is appreciating what is said. " Eyes on the speaker " is an injunction that should, however, be followed in spirit rather than too literally. Children, when first endeavoring to observe this rule, are apt to respond with military snap, turn- ing the head towards the speaker with a jerk, as if given the command " Eyes right," " Eyes left," at first staring with exaggerated emphasis and then al- lowing their attention to wander. Of course, it is the courteous regard without distractions to other per- sons or things in the room that is wanted. In the case 97 Child Training of a tete-a-tete, especially in receiving orders or an- swering questions, " looking one squarely in the face " is the mark not only of courtesy but frankness. When the speaker has finished some question, reply or comment is in order to show that his remark at least has not been ignored. To change the subject abruptly is lacking in due respect. If a child tells with delight of the arrival of kittens at home, the next speaker should not announce as a counter-interest that he is to have a birthday party next week. Rather he should ask how many kittens there are, what they are like — before launching on the subject of his own affairs. This may seem a difficult lesson for a child to learn, but practice, not instruction, will make it second na- ture. 6. Observe the proprieties in making remarks or asking questions. Children are very prone to " tell tales out of school," to mention personal or family affairs, that should be confidential; to describe home economies or extrava- gancies, family difficulties and even quarrels, to ask questions that are inquisitive or even impertinent, " How much did it cost? " or " What makes your eyes so red ? " 7. Speak the truth. Children are naturally liars in the sense that they naturally make believe. They live in a story book 98 Social Training world, a world of fiction and especially in conversa- tion, in the effort to outdo another, they will frequently offer the product of their imagination as verities. Do not discourage their romancing but have them offer their fairy tales as fairy tales, not as deceptions. 8. Be courteous in language and address. If the child asks a question, his tone and manner should be one expressing interest, not casual indiffer- ence. If he answers a question, his tone and manner should be courteous and cordial. The child is apt to be abrupt, to call attention by the monosyllabic, " Say," to contradict flatly, to omit " please," to forget " thank you," to say, " yes " and " no " to elders without adding the respectful Miss or Mr. . The child cannot be drilled too young to say — "Yes, Miss Smith," "No, Mr. Jones;" "Yes, father; " " No, Uncle John." There is no surer mark of good breeding — or the lack of it — than the invari- able use or omission of such terms of respect after these monosyllables. When, however, yes and no are used repeatedly, or at frequent intervals in a conversation, monotony should be avoided by change of expression, " No indeed," " Yes, thank you," or omitted altogether, for the sake of avoiding what might easily become exasperating by too frequent repetition. " Whispering in company " is most impolite. 99 Child Training SPEECH The language, enunciation and intonation of a child are formed almost entirely by example, by hearing and use, by his daily practice rather than by precept and rule. No occasion, therefore, is more important than the conversational period for training him in correct forms of speech, clear enunciation of the consonants, especially the final, and proper intonation. He is too young to be told why certain forms are grammatically incorrect and such explanation would be superfluous, but he should be corrected whenever he uses the wrong form and be insistently drilled in the use of the proper one. Intonation In the matter of intonation, the child should be told to put spirit and life into his remarks rather than be instructed in cut and dried or arbitrary tonal inflec- tions — dropping or raising the voice or emphasizing parts of sentences should not be taught by rule, but be prompted unconsciously by the feeling behind the remarks. A monotonous delivery, either when speaking or reciting, is the result of lack of spirit. Encourage the child to put spirit into his speech, imitate, use ges- tures, attitudes, facial expressions, exclamations, any- thing that will give life and interest. It is a platitude that a good story may be spoiled by a colorless, in- lOO Social Training sipid recital and the poorest story made telling if in- vested with vitality. It is not artificial, elocutionary effects that are desired in the child, but a spontaneous mirroring of the words in the tone of voice. Enunciation In the matter of enunciation, precision should be the rule. The teacher should be particularly watchful to see that the child does not elide final syllables and con- sonants, such as: ing, ow, etc. He should say, play- ing, not playin'; window, not winder; because, not Vm^; door not do' ; neither in the last instance should the " r " be " burred " or rolled with unpleasant dis- tinctness. " Git " for " get " is a common mispro- nunciation in some sections. A before u, as in laugh and aunt, and before 1, as in half, palm, calm, psalm, etc., has no authority for any pronunciation but the broad sound, pronounced as a in arm, though in many parts of the country it is generally pronounced flat, the same way as " a " before other consonants. Voice Nasal, harsh or unpleasant tonal quality should be corrected wherever and whenever it occurs. There is a general lack of regard for this matter, due to the fact that most people are oblivious to the good and bad or make no conscious distinction except in exag- gerated cases. lOI Child Training If the children dose their eyes or listen to speakers from another room, paying attention to the sounds and not to what is said, they may become aware of the varying qualities of speaking voices and the pleasing and disagreeable characteristics. Baby Talk The mispronunciation of words, due to inability to articulate or more usually to incorrect hearing, may be amusing and delightful on account of its simple naivete, but it should be corrected, and above all, should not be imitated by the parent or teacher. " Oo " and " 'ittle " may be cunning in a three year old, but it is silly for a grown-up to use such expressions in ad- dressing the three year old, like talking " pigeon " English to a Chinaman, but what is worse, it gives an incorrect model for the child, and thus prolongs the time he will take to speak correctly. Precision in the pronunciation of one's native tongue is always delightful at any age and an ear-mark of the well bred. Stammering, Stuttering Stammering and stuttering are merely bad habits of speech caused either by mental or physical disorder. Like all habits they are formed gradually and can be most quickly corrected at the beginning. The parent or teacher must therefore aim to form habits of de- 102 Social Training liberation and correct utterance to take the place of the habit of stammering or stuttering and the follow- ing rules and drills should be found efifective in form- ing these good habits and eradicating the bad. 1. Remove the child from the companionship of any one who stutters or stammers; the habit is conta- gious and oftentimes merely the result of imitation. 2. Do not scold, punish nor ridicule the stammerer. 3. Tell him he must always stop and take a deep breath before he starts to speak and always when he starts to stammer and at short intervals while speak- ing, so that he always speaks with the chest well filled. 4. When he starts to stammer, simply say, "Wait!" until he forms the habit of stopping in- stantly himself. 5. Drill the child in repeating the vowel sounds by themselves, and in combination with consonants. Thus, have him say, " a, a, a, ba, ba, ba, ca, ca, ca, da, da, da," etc., and " e, e, e, be, be, be, ce, ce, ce," and so on, for two or three minutes on rising, before retiring, and before meals. 6. Note the particular sounds or combination of sounds with which he has difficulty and practise him in saying such combination a given number of times as a daily or more frequent exercise. 103 Child Training Lisping In the case of lisping, practise the child in saying syllables and words in which a lisp occurs till he is able to pronounce such words without a trace of the " th " sound. 104 STORY TELLING "The Story on a 'Willow' Plate" — Training the imagination PART III STORY TELLING KIND OF STORIES Story telling may be made a most powerful factor in the child's educational development. To serve this purpose, however, the stories selected must not be the kind that merely entertain, they must have some educa- tional point — such are : Hero stories and those dealing with courage, truth and other virtues — for forming character. Fanciful tales — for stimulating the imagination, giving a delight in the world and raising the prosy na- ture above the literal, common sense, matter of fact, banal. Humorous and nonsense stories — for giving the child the ability to get fun out of life and as an antidote for the dreary attitude of over seriousness with which some metallic natures without warmth or feeling are affected and in whose serious scheme of education there is no place for humor or nonsense. The most useful and important stories are those that inspire emulation of a model, or fire ambition, as described in General Instructions. But it is not necessary that a story should be with- 107 Child Training out human or animal villains to make it fit for a child to hear. On the contrary, it is part of education's business to make the child aware that there is evil as well as good in the world and that both must be reckoned with. The stories next in importance are those that incite the imagination. Fairy tales and fiction are the best stories for training this quality, which Norton calls " the supreme intellectual faculty." A child who is only interested in real stories should be enticed into liking fiction, for the former attitude is an evidence of a prosy, matter of fact mind that is lacking in imagination and needs the influence and training that fairy tales can give. Stories that describe horrors, bogies or anything that might incite the fears of the child, or play un- wholesomely upon his emotions — tales such as bad nurses are reputed to tell, in order to intimidate or scare the child into submission — should, of course, be carefully avoided. Likewise, tales that make wrong attractive should not be told to children. Indeed, since any ideas, whether good or bad, as already stated, tend to take form in act, bad qualities should be mentioned, if necessary for the sake of contrast, only with the most extreme caution. Common sense, however, should be exercised in cen- soring and expurgating, for there is hardly a good 1 08 Story Telling story in existence with which some fault could not be found by the hypercritical, though the dangers are usually only hypothetical or theoretical and not real. The parent who objected to the song of " Three Blind Mice," on the ground that it taught cruelty to animals because the farmer's wife " cut off their tails with a carving knife," is an example of the absurdities into which such serious minded censorship may lead. Informational stories — lessons masking under a story form — are bad from every point of view. Facts about nature, science, etc., are better and more effectually taught in direct ways and the story form should be reserved for the purposes it best serves. In- formation spoils a story and the story form spoils in- formation. Bearing the above points in mind and regarding them, the parent or teacher should be able to select stories from a wide variety of sources, and it should not be very difficult for her to invent stories that would conform to the above principles and appeal to the children. Many good stories are made up, sponta- neously improvised for an occasion, or told extempore, that would fall flat if put in print. For educational purposes, therefore, Stories should be : Hero or moral Fanciful or Humorous, and 109 Child Training They should not be: Informational, except incidentally Deal with bogies, or Make wrong attractive. For the sake of holding the child's interest, stories to be most successful, that is, best from the young child's point of view, should have the following qual- ities : Action — something happening all the time Mystery Repetition — recurrence of a stock phrase Fitting conclusion — " and they lived happily ever afterwards." The story should be finished off and completed and the child not be left in doubt as to what was the final outcome. METHOD OF TELLING The story may be read to the child but it is better for the parent to acquaint herself with the story and then tell it as vividly as she is able, for a told story is worth much more than one read. In telling a story to a child the teller should enter into the spirit of the story, telling it in dead earnest, as seriously as if she believed every word of it herself, displaying genuine wonder, deep concern, and so on, but without affecta- tion or exaggeration of manner. If she can do so no Story Telling simply and naturally, without effort, she may imitate and mimic the characters in a story but she should tell the story and not act it out — a form of mistaken zeal which results in clumsy absurdities. The teacher should have a new story for each day and one new story a day is enough, if it is to make any impression or serve any purpose other than entertain- ment, but repeat an old one if, on asking the class, a majority prefer it. A child may be allowed to tell an old story and occasionally a new one or an original one, as this affords excellent practice in the language and dramatic arts. A few minutes should be allowed for discussion on completion of the story, to ask ques- tions, and to make comment and comparisons. LIST OF STORIES AND STORY BOOKS The following is a list of books that contain suitable stories for children from four to six. Many of the stories occur in several of the collections, as is to be ex- pected, and unfortunately no collection is complete or sufficient in itself, so that a teacher or parent should possess one or more of the books, selecting them in about their order in the list below : Bible Stories Forbidden Fruit Gen. iii, i-6 Expulsion from Eden Gen. iii, 12-24 Cain and Abel Gen. iv, 1-15 III Child Training The Flood Gen. vi, 13-22 ; vii ; viii Abraham and Isaac Gen. xxii, 1-18 Rebekah at Well Gen. xxiv Esau and Jacob Gen. xxvii Jacob's Ladder Gen. xxviii, 10-32 Joseph Sold Gen. xxxvii Joseph Ruler Gen. xlii-xlv Moses Found Ex. ii, i-io Moses Before Pharaoh Ex. vii-xi Passover Ex. xii, xiv Balaam's Ass Num. xxii, 20-35 Samson and the Philistines Judges xvi, 13-31 Infant Samuel I Sam. iii David and Goliath I Sam. xvii Absalom II Sam. xviii, 4-33 Barrel of Meal and Cruse of Oil. .1 Kings xvii Elijah and Fiery Chariot II Kings ii, 1-14 Job's Sorrows Job i, ii, xlii Fiery Furnace Dan. iii, 8-30 Daniel in the Lions' Den Dan. vi, 16-28 Wise Men Matt, ii, 1-12 Christmas Luke ii, 1-21 Jesus Stills Storm Mark iv, 35-41 Jesus Heals Girl Mark v, 21-43 Rich Young Man Mark x, 17-23 Forgives Seventy Times Seven . . . Matt, xviii, 21-35 Good Samaritan Luke x, 30-37 Widow and Two Mites Mark xii, 41-44 Prodigal Son Luke xv, 1 1-32 112 Story Telling Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories Dora, The Little Girl of the Lighthouse The Honest Woodman The Three Bears The Little Rooster The Man on the Chimney The Lion and the Mouse The Three Gold Fishes The Lost Lamb The Hare and the Tortoise Diamonds and Toads North Wind and the Sun The Echo The Ugly Duckling The Hen-Hawk A Lesson of Faith The Fox and the Grapes Stories to Tell to Children The Gingerbread Man How Brother Rabbit Fooled the Whale and the Ele- phant The Story of Epaminondas and His Auntie The Boy Who Cried " Wolf ! " The Little Jackal and the Alligator The Elves and the Shoemaker The Brahmin, The Tiger, and The Jackal The Talkative Tortoise The Little Jackal and the Camel 113 Child Training Tell It Again Stories Gretchen and The Magic Fiddle The Princess and Her Golden Ball Cinderella and the Glass Slipper Arthur and the Sword The Bell of Atri The Birds of Killingworth Kindergarten Story Book Ludwig and Marleen What Happened on the Road to Grandfather Good- field's Billy Bobtail The Fairy Shoes Picciola How TO Tell Stories to Children Ragg>'lug The Pig Brother The Pied Piper of Hamelin Town Why the Evergreen Trees Keep Their Leaves in Winter 114 Story Telling LIST OF BOOKS WITH STORIES FOR CHILDREN UNDER SCHOOL AGE Bible Grimm For the Children's Hour Bailey and Lewis Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories J. L. Hammett Co. Stories to Tell to Children Bryant Tell It Again Stories Dillingham and Em- erson Kindergarten Story Book Hoxie How to Tell Stories to Children. . Bryant Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks Wiltse The Story Hour Wiggin and Smith Fables and Folk Stories Scudder Book of Fables Stickney In the Child's World Poulsson Five Minute Stories Laura E. Richards More Five Minute Stories Laura E. Richards The Fairy Ring Wiggin and Smith Big Book of Nursery Rhymes .... Douglas Jerrold Big Book of Fables Douglas Jerrold "5 Vhototfraph by Bachracli PHYSICAL TRAINING "Down, Up" — Developing the body PART IV PHYSICAL TRAINING HEALTH REQUISITES Every parent appreciates the superlative importance of the slogan "Health First!" Without health first, all the mental education and book learning in the world are of little value. To be a good animal is the fundamental requisite on which to build an educa- tional superstructure. But it is far from sufficient, as many parents think, merely to let the child " run wild " out of doors, or to harden him by exposure. Rous- seau even advocated sending the child out in leaky shoes to accustom him to exposure, but such treatment is too heroic for young children, especially at the pe- riod of rapid growth between four and five as there is risk of bringing on rheumatic endocarditis and other chronic troubles. On the other hand, strange to say, the children that have the most care and attention often seem to be the most prone to colds, digestive upsets and other dis- orders. Even children that have their daily fresh air walk and out of door plays are often merely bundled up sensitive plants, susceptible to every draft, raw 119 Child Training wind, damp corner and change of temperature, to an overlooked undergarment, muffler or overshoes. But physical stamina and active health, the kind that reacts and throws off, that is not affected by slight changes of temperature or atmosphere, that is flexible, elastic, rebounding, is not obtained by any hardening process that consists simply of mere exposure to wind and weather. Hardening should not be from the out- side, but from the inside — by storing up physical en- ergy and stamina in heart, lungs and muscle. The most important things for the child's physical well being are: Plenty of fresh air. All night and during the child's active day he should be in the open or practi- cally so. His sedentary occupations may be indoors — if any must be. Too often children are sent to classes which are conducted out of doors with great difhculty, inconvenience and handicaps for two or three hours a day and then are kept indoors for the remaining twenty-one hours, when they could much more readily and with vastly greater benefit be kept out the twenty-one and in the three hours. Plenty of exercise, but not too much. Plenty of sleep. A child from four to six years of age should have twelve to thirteen hours sleep out of the twenty- four. Cold baths. A cold bath or sponge on rising helps to ward off colds. 120 Physical Training Regula/r meals. Between meal " snacks " are de- structive to good health. Mixed diet. Eggs, milk, cereals, meats, vegetables and fruits. Sweets should be rarely permitted, pastry avoided, and tea and coffee, pickles, vinegar, spice and other condiments prohibited altogether. Care of eyes. Near sightedness is now thought to be largely the result of strain during the growing period. During this period the outer envelope of the eye ball is more or less soft and easily stretched by the focusing muscles of the eye ball. Continued stretch- ing results in a permanent strain, the effect being near sightedness. Strain is brought about by too close or too long application to fine work, or by using the eyes in dim light or in glaring light. A child should not be allowed to look at pictures or play or work with fine materials at twilight, in a dark corner, in his own shadow, or in the direct sunlight, or with the sunlight reflected into the eyes from a bright surface. Astigmatism is an irregularity in the curve of the front of the eye, making objects seem blurred instead of clear cut. It should be corrected by the use of glasses at least during the child's growing period, as without glasses there is a strain in the attempt to focus more clearly and near sightedness results. After the growing period when near sightedness is no longer to be feared, the glasses may then be laid aside, if the as- tigmatism is not too great. 121 Child Training Eyes should not be rubbed. When there is any- thing in the eye pull upper lid down over lower and blow nose. Care of teeth. Tests have shown that the condi- tion of the teeth has a marked effect on both the men- tality and the state of health of school children. Put- ting the teeth in good condition and maintaining them so more than doubled the mental efficiency of those tested. The " milk teeth," the child's first teeth, should be kept in as long as possible; this makes the permanent teeth more regular and the shape of the mouth and jaws more perfect. At the age of two the use of a soft tooth brush should be begun. The teeth should be cleaned up and down — not across — with brush, using tooth paste at night and antiseptic wash in the morning. Teeth should not be picked with pins or anything metallic or hard, dental floss is best; nor should one crack nuts or bite off thread or eat anything very sour or very hot. If there are any irregularities in the growth of the teeth they should be promptly corrected by a dentist. Between six and tw^elve, during which period the per- manent teeth appear, the jaw is quite plastic and ir- regularities may readily be corrected. 122 Physical Training TABLE OF GROWTH Measure and weigh your children in the autumn and six months after in the spring, keep the record and compare with the following figures, which are estimated from various incomplete sources but are approximate. Girls measure slightly less than figures given below. Age Height Weight 1 1 Age Height Weight At birth 21 in. 1 7 lbs. 1 4 38 in. 38 lbs. I 29 m. 20 lbs. 1 5 40 in. 42 lbs. 2 33 in- 26 lbs. 1 6 43 in. 46 lbs. 3 36 in. 32 lbs. 1 7 45 in. 50 lbs. Summer is the growing season for children, as well as for plants and accordingly, a greater proportionate growth will show for the summer than for the winter. A child from four to seven years of age increases about 2 inches in height, and 4 pounds in weight each year, chiefly during the summer. EXERCISES Exercises adapted and developed from the child's own play interests are more effective than those that have been devised with the special purpose of exercis- ing certain muscles without consulting the child's likes or dislikes. What is done with the heart in it, with 123 Child Training the game spirit, prompted by nature, is done much more efficiently and with vastly less fatigue than what is imposed and arbitrarily exacted without consulting nature. But there is a certain class of exercises — specific drills for developing certain traits or correcting mal- tendencies, that may best be given directly. Free play will provide much of the physical training neces- sary, but in order to make sure that the development is well rounded and properly balanced, that no part is neg- lected or slurred, free play should be supplemented by certain systematic drills. Neither rhythmic move- ments, dancing nor romping will as effectually serve the purpose of strengthening weak muscles or correct- ing physical deficiencies. Most children are round- shouldered, knock-kneed, stand, sit and walk incor- rectly, and are in need of abstract calisthenics that will form correct habits of posture, make them handle themselves properly and develop each member of the body so that it may perform adequately its proper functions. These exercises should be short as they are to the point and they should precede the recreative free play — those exercises that are disguised under some play interest. The teacher should be cautious not to overdo these exercises, or carry them to the point of fatigue — a little goes a long way. Teach the children all of these various exercises 124 Physical Training and drills and put them through a part or all of them each day, depending on the child, whether he can stand the whole sequence without fatigue or not. With these exercises there is no object in introduc- ing novel or greatly varied drills from time to time. The point lies in their regular execution, day in and day out, month after month without fail. The teacher or parent should bear in mind that the object of these exercises is not to increase muscular power beyond what is normal for the child's age, but to form correct habits of carriage and posture, correct any maltendencies and maintain an even, all around development consistent with the child's growth. Erect carriage in children is absolutely essential to correct growth and proper development. The upright position is characteristic of the human race and of health and efficiency. Incorrect carriage invites all sorts of pulmonary troubles. The mentally deficient and sub-normal have a characteristically defective posture. For the sake of both health and appearance the up- right position described below should be cultivated. It is hardly to be expected that the rigidly erect position will be, or can be, maintained indefinitely, but con- stant practice in assuming this position and holding it throughout formal drills, recitations and on similar occasions will not only form the habit of holding one- self correctly but develop the muscles to bring about 125 Child Training this habitual mihtary erectness that is so noticeable among army men of all nations, not only on dress parade but at all times. EXERCISE I Sitting Postures. Give the command, "Upright." At the command, have each child while sitting take an erect position, the head and chin drawn back, the points of the shoulders turned back, the spine away from the chair, the chest forward, the stomach drawn in, the hands resting in the lap, the feet on the floor. Give the command, "At Ease." At the command, have each child first sit back as far as possible in his chair, then relax his body somewhat; crossing his feet or knees and resting his hands naturally and comfortably. EXERCISE 2 Standing Positions. Give the command, " Stand Upright." At the command, have each child stand with a lean slightly forward from the heels so as to throw the weight of the body on the balls of the feet, the knees and heels touching or slightly apart and the feet pointing nearly straight ahead, the hands hanging by the side with palms to the body, the 126 Physical Training head, chin, chest, shoulders and stomach in the same position as for sitting. " Toeing out " which used to be demanded, invites flat foot and broken arches. " Indian footed," that is with feet pointed nearly straight ahead is the only position in which the arches of the feet can stand the most strain and fatigue from walking, running or standing. (See illustration facing page 3 for correct position of feet.) The natural curves of the head, neck, back and legs should follow in general a straight line axis from head to heel when viewed from the side, not quite a ver- tical one but one tilted slightly forward so that the center of gravity of the body will come squarely over the center of its support — the feet. Test the child on this position by giving him a sudden, unexpected touch from in front — not a push but merely a touch with a finger. If he loses his equilibrium he has not been standing with his body swung forward enough. He must be careful, however, not to bend forward from the waist or neck — the general direction of the back line should be straight, from head to heel, not bent. Of course, by a " straight back " is not meant a straight line back. The hollow or incurve above the hips known as the small of the back should be main- tained, but at the same time it should not be exagger- ated. The usual tendency for a child when told to stand erect is to throw back the shoulders and at the 127 Child Training same time throw forward the stomach. This should not be. To test the proper position of the shoulders run the hand over the child's back. It should feel flat and free from the projections or wings which the shoulder blades make when the points of the shoulders are not held back. A person is called " round shouldered " when the shoulder points droop forward, and the blades stick out in back as a consequence. As fully half of a child's time at this age is spent in bed, correct or incorrect posture is in a great degree influenced by his manner of sleeping. It is natural for a child of this age to sleep flat on his stomach with his face turned either to the right or left, or else flat on his back. In either case no pillow should be used, as it would distort the head. If, how- ever, the child sleeps habitually on the side, it is just as imperative that he should have a pillow to fill the space made between shoulder and head, to prevent distortion and strain on the neck glands and muscles. Give the command, " At Ease." At the command have each child re- lax the position of attention somewhat and rest the weight of the body on either leg, one of which may be advanced to the front or placed to the side. One or both hands may be put behind the back, on the hips or in belt but not in pockets. The latter position is objectionable as it throws the shoulders forward. 128 Physical Training The position " at ease " is permissible only in in- formal situations and occasions but even then should not become a slouch. On all formal occasions, how- ever, as when addressing* an older person or when re- spect or courtesy is to be shown, all careless positions and especially lounging postures — leaning against a door or wall, a table, a chair — are discourteous. At the same time the posture should be free from the butler-like stiffness or regularity that is a mark of servility. Repeat the commands, " Upright " and " At Ease," and practise children in assuming and losing the upright position till it can be taken properly and at will. EXERCISE 3 Calisthenic Drills. Each of these drills should be done from six to a dozen times, but not overdone. Over-exercise may cause heart dilatation and fatigue is dangerous. The correct upright position already described is the first and absolute essential if the exercises are to have the effect intended. Between each drill have the child take three or four long, deep breaths. Drill I. Swing Arms Front to Back. This is for the chest and shoulders. Give the command, " Ready " and have the children imitating you, or a 129 Child Training child appointed leader, stretch hands to the front with palms touching. Count, " I, 2 ; 3, 4; " and so on up to 6 or more, and have children keeping time with the count, carry extended arms back horizontally as far as possible, while rising at same time on toes, then clap hands in front. Drill 2. Bend Forward. This is for the trunk muscles. Give the command, " Ready," and have the children place hands on hips, thumbs back, elbows back. Count, " I, 2 ; 3, 4; " and so on up to 6 or more and have the children keeping time with the count bend at the hips, and not at the waist, as far forward as possible and then back. Be careful to have them keep head in alignment with body — not pitch it forward, nor cave in chest. Drill 3. Bend Side to Side. Have the children do similar exercise to right and left side alternately. Drill 4. Touch Ground with Hands. This is for the back. Give the command, " Ready," and have the children take the position with hands held up over head as high as they can reach. Say, " Down, Up," and have the children suiting the ac- tion to the word sweep their hands down towards ground, bending at hips, but not bending the legs, and then return to first position. 130 Physical Training Drill 5. Squat. This for the legs and balance of body. Give the command, " Ready," and have the children take position with hands on hips, thumbs back. Say, " Down," " Up," and have the children lower trunk vertically, bending at knees and then rise to first posi- tion. Drill 6. Down, Up and Twist. This is for the whole trunk. Give the command, " Ready," and have the children take position with feet spread apart and with both arms extended di- rectly to front and hands clasped. Say, " Down," " Up," and have the children, suiting the action to the word, swing their clasped hands down between their legs, then up with a twist round to the right. Then with a twist back to the front, have them swing down and up again, with a twist round to the left. Drill 7. Flap. This is for the lungs, heart and a variety of muscles. Give the command, " Ready," and have the children take " Upright " position. Count, " I' 2; 3, 4;" etc., and have the children, keeping time with the count, jump to a position with both feet spread far apart, at the same time swinging both arms sidewise directly overhead, then jump back to first position and repeat. 131 Child Training Drill 8. Breathe Deep and Long. Breathing ex ercises. Give the command, " Stretch," and have the children slowly raise arms sidewise over head and draw in breath through nose while doing so, then as slowly exhale. Repeat three or four times. A child who has difficulty in breathing through nose should be examined for adenoid growths. EXERCISE 4 Walking. Have the children practise walking in single file, preferably to music. They should keep step, the left foot keeping time with the musical accent. At first, however, it will be sufficient to see that they step in rhythm with the music without regard to which foot is first. Beat time on a drum or have them clap their hands with each and every foot-fall until they are able to keep step with the beat and with a fair degree of precision. Then they should clap on every other foot-fall — the left. A ribbon tied round the right arms of the children who do not know their left from their right or are uncertain or hesitating will help to teach them these fundamental positions, but the rib- bon should always be used to identify the same side, the right. It should not be used to mark the right one time and the accented foot the next. The leaders — those selected for their ability to keep both the time and the step — may be given a drum, an orchestral triangle or a clapper, which they maj 132 Physical Training sound as they march, in imitation of a street parade led by a band. As the children become expert in keeping step with the music, change the time from 2-4 to 3-4 and when they are practised in keeping step to this with a long, swinging gait, alternate 2-4 and 3-4 time and drill them till they can and will instantly change their step with the changed time without oral direction. This requires considerable training of the rhythmic sense and makes strong demand on the attention but adds much interest and zest to the exercise, especially if the time is changed abruptly and unexpectedly after a few meas- ures and then again after a longer interval, so that the game spirit is injected into the march and the chil- dren are kept on the alert not to be caught out of step by any sudden change. As the children march, correct their manner of step- ping and holding themselves. They should, of course, hold themselves erect, swing their arms naturally, parallel to the body, with thumbs to the front. They should not swing them across the body in front like a swaggerer, nor behind like a prim ; they should tread firmly, neither tip-toeing nor heeling, not heavily with a jar at each step but with elasticity and spring. Have them circle the room single file, then march down the center. Have them keep directly behind each other and at arm's length distance from the one in front, not by measuring with the arm extended, but 133 Child Training gaging the distance with the eye. This is an im- portant detail not only for appearance sake but for at- tention and control. On reaching the end of the room have them separate, the first child going to the right and the next to the left, and so on alternately. The two lines thus formed should continue down the sides of the room till they meet at the other end; they should then march down the center two and two, and the alternate pairs should separate to right and left at the end of the room and so on, till four or eight pupils march abreast. Then reverse the process, the fours separating into pairs and the pairs into individuals, till the original single marching order is reached. Other marching orders may be readily devised. EXERCISE 5 This is a Variation of the Walking Drill. With the children marching in single file, give order, " Hands on hips." Have children place their hands in this position and continue march. Then give order, " Hands behind head." Have children clasp hands behind head with elbows pressed as far back as pos- sible. Then give order, " Tip-toe." Have the children tread only on the balls of the feet, the heels not touching. Then give order, " Skip." Have the children skip. Be careful to have them skip on their toes not on their heels and 134 Physical Training when raising each foot to have the toe not the heel pointed downward. Have them skip also in couples, holding each other by the hand. Then give order, " Run." In running the children should always tread on the balls of the feet, never allowing the heel to touch, and swing the arms bent at the elbow, alter- nately across the chest. EXERCISE 6 Obstacle Race. Arrange in a circular or S shaped line around the room the following objects, in about the order indicated and from five to ten feet apart. A chair, An Indian club or ten-pin. Three or four small chairs a foot apart, — the in- terval to be gradually widened, A kindergarten table, A drum, held by teacher at height of child's head, A jumping rope suspended between two chairs, A bell suspended a foot or more above a child's head, A spring board tied down to two chairs which sup- port it at either end, A rail, A hoop held by pupil, A kindergarten table. Then have children start and step on to chair and down again, hop over Indian club or ten-pin, without 135 Child Training knocking it down, step from chair to chair arranged at wider and wider intervals Hke stepping stones, or from circle to circle chalked on the floor or ground, crawl under table, kick drum held by the teacher in mid-air, being ordered to do so first with right foot then on next time round with left, hurdle on the run the jumping rope, tap in passing the bell held high, jump on to the spring board and off, walk the rail, walk crouching through hoop, vault table or fence, pick up book or other object from floor and put it on the table. EXERCISE 7 Jumping Rope. Have the children jump rope, first running through without letting it touch, then jumping once and running out, then twice and so on. All such exercises involving hopping or jumping on onje or both feet, should be done on the toes to avoid jar and awkwardn'ess. This is an excellent exercise for the lungs, back, legs, ankles and toes, for rhythmic move- ment, poise and grace. For children of this age, however, it should be only moderately indulged in, as it is apt to be overdone and thus become a strain on the heart. EXERCISE 8 Tug of War. Appoint a leader for each side. Each leader takes hold of an end of a rope and chooses in 136 Physical Training turn, one child at a time, to take hold of the rope on his side. A line is then made on the ground at the center of the rope and at a signal from the teacher, the two sides pull against each other till one side succeeds in pulling the last man — the leader — of the other side over the line that has been made. 137 rhotogrrapli by BachracU RHYTHMIC ARTS Toll.' Dancing" — Giving grace, poise, rhythmic sense PART V RHYTHMIC ARTS The Rhythmic Arts inchide rimes, songs, singing games and dances. They supply the most effective means of advancing the child's esthetic life. The rimes are classics as are also the singing games and folk dances, but the best child's songs, with one or two exceptions, are modern. RIMES The following nursery rimes are most suitable for a child to hear and to learn. Elocutionary effects that are not prompted from the inner spirit of the child are usually strained and often absurd and should neither be encouraged nor allowed. Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man. So I will, master, as fast as I can. Pat it, and prick it, and mark it with T, And put in the oven for Tommy and me. Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep. And can't tell where to find them ; Leave them alone, and they '11 come home, And bring their tails behind them. 141 Child Training Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep, And dreamt she heard them bleating; But when she awoke, she found it a joke. For still they all were fleeting. Then up she took her little crook, Determined for to find them ; She found them, indeed, but it made her heart bleed, For they 'd left their tails behind them. Ba-a, ba-a, black sheep, have you any wool? Yes, marry, have I, three bags full; One for my master, one for his dame. And one for the little boy that lives in the lane. Little Miss Muffett Sat on a tuflfett, Eating her curds and whey ; Therie came a black spider, And sat down beside her. Which frightened Miss Mufifett away. Dafify-down-dilly has come up to town, In a yellow petticoat and a green gown. Hey, diddle, diddle, _- The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon; The little dog laugh'd To see such craft. And the dish ran away with the spoon. 142 Rhythmic Arts Bye, baby Bunting, Father 's gone a-hunting. Gone to get a rabbit skin To wrap the baby Bunting in. Little Jack Horner sat in a corner, Eating his Christmas pie; He put in his thumb, and pulled out a plum. And said, " What a good boy am I ! " Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn. The sheep 's in the meadow, the cow 's in the corn ; What ! is this the way you mind your sheep, Under the hay-cock, fast asleep? I had a little pony, His name was Dapple-gray, I lent him to a lady. To ride a mile away; She whipp'd him, she slash'd him, She rode him through the mire; I would not lend my pony now For all the lady's hire. Pussy cat, pussy cat, Where have you been? I 've been to London, To visit the queen. Pussy cat, pussy cat, What did you there? I frightened a little mouse Under her chair. 143 Child Training Some little mice sat in a barn to spin, Pussy came by and popped her head in ; " Shall I come in and cut your threads off ? " " O ! no, kind ma'am, you will snap our heads off ! Tom he was a piper's son, He learnt to play when he was young. But all the tune that he could play, Was " Over the hills and far away." Little Tom Tucker Sings for his supper. What shall he eat? White bread and butter. How will he cut it. Without e'er a knife? How will he be married, Without e'er a wife? Simple Simon met a pieman Going to the fair; Says Simple Simon to the pieman, " Pray let me taste your ware." Jack and Jill went up the hill, .„ To fetch a pail of water ; Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after. 144 Rhythmic Arts Mary, Mary quite contrary How does your garden grow ? With silver bells and cockle shells And pretty maids all in a row. Curly locks ! curly locks ! wilt thou be mine ? Thou shalt not wash dishes, nor yet feed the swine. But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam, And feed upon strawberries, sugar and cream ! Old King Cole Was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he ; He called for his pipe. And he called for his bowl, And he called for his fiddlers three. Every fiddler, he had a fine fiddle, And a very fine fiddle had he ; Twee tweedle dee, tweedle dee, went the fiddlers. O, there 's none so rare. As can compare With Kine Cole and his fiddlers three! I '11 tell you a story About Mother Morey, And now my story 's begun, I '11 tell you another About her brother, An.d now my story 's done. 145 Child Training The lion and the unicorn Were fighting for the crown ; The lion beat the unicorn All about the town. Some gave them white bread, And some gave them brown, Some gave them plum-cake, And sent them out of town. Three wise men of Gotham _^ Went to sea in a bowl; If the bowl had been stronger, My song had been longer. There was a man in our town, And he was wondrous wise ; He jumped into a bramble bush, And scratched out both his eyes. And when he saw his eyes were out. With all his might and main He jumped into another bush, And scratched them in again. The man in the moon. Came down too soon. To ask the way to Norwich ; He went by the south, And burnt his mouth, With eating cold pease-porridge. 146 Rhythmic Arts Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one. And down he run, Hickory, dickory, dock. There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children she did n't know what to do : She gave them some broth without any bread, She whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. One misty, moisty morning, When cloudy was the weather, I chanced to meet an old man clothed all in leather. He began to compliment, and I began to grin, How do you do ? and how do you do ? And how do you do again ? If all the world were apple-pie, And all the sea were ink. And all the trees were bread and cheese, What should we have to drink? Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean, And so between them both They licked the platter clean. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers ; A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked ; If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, 147 Child Training Where are the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked ? Ding, dong, bell ! Pussy 's in the well. Who put her in ? Little Tommy Green. Who pulled her out? Great Johnny Stout. What a naughty boy was that, To drown poor pussy-cat, Who never did him any harm, But killed the mice in his f ather s barn ! Sing a song of sixpence, A pocket full of rye; Four and twenty blackbirds Baked in a pie. When the pie was open'd The birds began to sing; Was not that a dainty dish To set before the king? The king was in his counting-house Counting out his money ; The queen was in the parlor Eating bread and honey; The maid was in the garden Hanging out the clothes ; There came a little blackbird And snapt off her nose. 148 Rhythmic Arts Little fishey in a brook Daddy catch him with a hook, Mama fry him in a pan, Baby eat him Hke a man. Hush a bye baby Upon the tree top, When the wind blows The cradle will rock, When the bough breaks The cradle will fall, Down tumbles baby, Bough, cradle, and all. This is the house that Jack built. This is the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. This is the rat, that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. This is the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. This is the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, 149 Child Training that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. This is the cow with crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. This is the maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow with crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. This is the youth all tattered and torn, that kissed the maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow with crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, 150 Rhythmic Arts that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. This is the priest all shaven and shorn, that married the youth all tattered and torn, that kissed the maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow with crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. This is the cock that crowed in the morn, to wake the priest all shaven and shorn, that married the youth all tattered and torn, that kissed the maiden all forlorn, that milked the cow with crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, 151 Child Training that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built. There was a crooked man, And he went a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence Against a crooked stile, He boug-ht a crooked cat. Which caught a crooked mouse, And they all lived together In a little crooked house. The north wind doth blow, And we shall have snow. And what will the robin do then? Poor thing! He '11 sit in a barn, And keep himself warm, And hide his head under his wing, Poor thing! Ride a cock-horse to Banbury-cross, To see an old lady upon a white horse, With rings on her fingers, and bells on her toes. She shall make music wherever she goes. Pease porridge hot. Pease porridge cold. Pease porridge in the pot. Nine days old; 152 Rhythmic Arts Some like it hot, Some like it cold, Some like it in the pot. Nine days old. One, two, Buckle my shoe; Three, four. Shut the door; Five, six. Pick up sticks; Seven, eight. Lay them straight; Nine, ten, A good fat hen; Eleven, twelve, A man must delve. Bow, wow, wow. Whose dog art thou? Little Tom Tinker's dog, Bow, wow, wow. As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives; Every wife had seven sacks. Every sack had seven cats, Every cat had seven kits ; Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, How many were there going to St, Ives? 153 Child Training Early to bed and early to rise Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. April showers Make May flowers. There was an old woman toss'd up in a basket Nineteen times as high as the moon ; But where she was going, I could n't but ask it, For in her hand she carried a broom. " Old woman, old woman, old woman," quoth I, " O whither, O whither, O whither, so high ? " " To brush the cobwebs off the sky ! " " Shall I go with thee? " " Aye, by and by." Who killed Cock Robin? " I," said the Sparrow, " With my bow and arrow ; I killed Cock Robin." Who saw him die? " I," said the Fly, "With my little eye; I saw him die." Who caught his blood ? " I," said the Fish, " With my little dish ; I caught his blood." 154 Rhythmic Arts Who made his shroud? " I," said the Beetle, " With my little needle; I made his shroud." Who'll be the parson? " I," said the Rook ; " With my little book ; I '11 be the parson." Who '11 dig his grave ? " I," said the Owl, " With my spade and shovel ; I '11 dig his grave." Who '11 be the clerk? " I," said the Lark, "If 'tis not in the dark; I '11 be the clerk." Who '11 carry him to the grave ? " I," said the Kite, "If 't is not in the night ; I '11 carry him to the grave." Who '11 be the chief mourner ? " I," said the Dove, " Because of my love ; I '11 be chief mourner." Who '11 sing a psalm ? " I," said the Thrush, 155 Child Training As she sat in a bush ; *' I '11 sing a psalm." " Who '11 bear the pall," " We," said the Wren, Both the Cock and the Hen; " We '11 bear the pall." "Who'll toll the bell? " I," said the Bull, " Because I can pull." So Cock Robin farewell. All the birds of the air Fell to sighing and sobbing When they heard the bell toll For poor Cock Robin. Three children sliding on the ice. Upon a summer's day ; As it fell out, they all fell in, The rest they ran away. Now had these children been at home. Or sliding on dry ground, Ten thousand pounds to one penny. They had not all been drown'd. You parents all that children have, And you that have got none, If you would keep them safe abroad. Pray keep them safe at home. 156 Rhythmic Arts What are little boys made of, made of; What are little boys made of ? " Snaps and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails ; And that 's what little boys are made of, made of." What are little girls made of, made of ; What are little girls made of? " Sugar and spice, and all that 's nice ; And that 's what little girls are made of, made of." Goosey, goosey, gander, Where shall I wander? Upstairs, downstairs, And in my lady's chamber. There I met an old man That would not say his prayers I took him by the left leg. And threw him downstairs. The Queen of Hearts, She made some tarts. All on a summer's day; The Knave of Hearts, He stole those tarts. And took them clean away. The King of Hearts Called for the tarts, And beat the Knave full sore; The Knave of Hearts Brought back the tarts, And vowed he 'd steal no more. Child Training Sneeze on Monday, sneeze for danger; Sneeze on Tuesday, kiss a stranger; Sneeze on Wednesday, get a letter; Sneeze on Thursday, something better; Sneeze on Friday, sneeze for sorrow ; Sneeze on Saturday, joy to-morrow. If wishes were horses, Beggars would ride; If turnips were watches, I 'd wear one by my side. Solomon Grundy, Born on Monday, Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday, Took ill on Thursday, Worse on Friday, Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday. This is the end Of Solomon Grundy. Peter White will ne'er go right, Would you know the reason why? He follows his nose where'er he goes, And that stands all awry. If all the seas were one sea, What a great sea that would be ! And if all the trees were one tree, What a great tree that would be ! 158 Rhythmic Arts And if all the axes were one axe, What a great axe that would be 1 And if all the men were one man, What a great man he would be! And if the great man took the great axe, And cut down the great tree, And let it fall into the great sea, What a splish splash that would be! There was a little man. And he had a little gun. And his bullets were made of lead, lead, lead; He went to the brook And he saw a Httle duck. And he shot it right through the head, head, head. He carried it home To his old wife Joan, And bid her a fire for to make, make, make ; To roast the little duck He had shot in the brook. And he 'd go and fetch her the drake, drake, drake. For want of a nail, the shoe was lost ; For want of the shoe, the horse was lost; For want of the horse, the rider was lost; For want of the rider, the battle was lost; For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost; And all from the want of a horseshoe nail. For every evil under the sun. There is a remedy, or there is none. 159 Child Training If there be one, try and find it; If there be none, never mind it. SONGS The following songs have been found to be the ones most appreciated by children of four to six and best suited to them. They should, of course, be taught by rote, the children learning to sing them after the teacher. Action Songs — those that are illustrated by motion and gesture — are most delighted in. From " Songs of a Little Child's Day," by Emilie Pouls- son and Eleanor Smith Brave Useful Polite Morning Hymn Sunshine Far and Near Good Weather The Bold Snowman To a Snowflake The Autumn Wind The Busy Wind The First Bouquet Choosing a Flower The Cackling Hen The Lordly Cock Minding Their Mother Bossy Cow Milk for Supper The Shell 1 60 Rhythmic Arts Whirlabout Play in all Seasons A Little Dancing Song The Train If You were a Flower The Friendly Dark From " The Most Popular Mother Goose Songs and Other Nursery Rhymes," By Carrie Bullard Little Bo-Peep When the Snow is on the Ground The King of France Georgie Porgie Hey, Diddle, Diddle Ride a Cock-Horse to Banbury Cross Twinkle, Little Star Bean Porridge Hot From " Robert Louis Stevenson Songs," by Ethel Crowninshield Singing The Land of Counterpane Marching Song My Shadow Time to Rise The Lamplighter Picture Books in Winter My Treasures Block City l6i Child Training From " Songs of Happiness," by C. S. Bailey and M. B. Ehrmann Good Morning The Baker Content, etc. From " The Modern Music Series," First Book. By Eleanor Smith Marching Song — Bring the Comb Little Baby Do You Hear Good Night to the Flowers Other good books of songs for very young children are Mother Goose Songs for Little Ones, by Ethel Crowninshield. More Mother Goose Songs, by Ethel Crownin- shield. Folk Songs and Other Songs for Children, by J. B. Radcliffe- Whitehead. Songs of the Child-World, by A. C. D. Riley and Jessie L. Gaynor. Books I and H. SINGING GAMES Singing games are as old as childhood. They break out sporadically wherever children gather together. The old traditional games have been handed down from one childish generation to another without ap- parently any teaching or suggestion from grown-ups. Sorry is the child whose lot has been so cast that he 162 Rhythmic Arts has grown up without ever having passed through those halcyon hours that were spent playing " Farmer in the Dell," " King William," or " London Bridge." The most popular and suitable games of this kind for children are described with words and music in " Children's Old and New Singing Games," by Mari R. Hofer, and some of them also in *' The Most Popular Mother Goose Songs, etc.," by Carrie Bullard. They are : Farmer in the Dell Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush In the Spring King William Looby Loo London Bridge The Musician The Needle's Eye Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley The Shepherdess Character Dance Punchinello Round and Round the Village FOLK DANCES The Folk Dances best adapted to teaching children are described with music by Burchenal, and there are graphophone records of the music of most of them. Klappdans Swedish Folk Dance Bleking Swedish Folk Dance 163 Child Training Tarantella Italian Folk Dance The Ace of Diamonds Danish Folk Dance Fjallnaspolska — Mountain Polka. Swedish Folk Dance Morriss Dance English Folk Dance Hansel and Gretel German Folk Dance Shoemaker's Dance Danish Folk Dance 164 Rhythmic Arts HEY, DIDDLE DIDDLE.* . Allegro. J. W. Elliott. ^1*=^ 1 ESE :S=S=S=S= its^b Hey, did-dle, did-dle, The cat and the fid - die, The cow jump'd o-ver the moon ; ^ -- f— f- w The lit- tie dog laughed to see such sport, And the dish ran af-terthe spoon. LITTLE BO-PEEP.* Lit- tie Bo-Peep, she lost her sheep, And did-n't know where to find them ; 2. Lit- tie Bo-Peep fell fast a-sleep, And dreamt she heard them bleat-ing ; But 3. Then up she took her lit - tie crook, De - ter - mined for to find them. She happened one day as Bo-Peep did stray In - to a meadow hard by,. .. . heaved a sigh and wiped her eye. Then went o'er hill and dale And Let them a- lone, they'll all come home. And bring their tails be-hind them, when she a-woke, she found it a j<-)ke. For they were still a - fleet- ing. found them indeed,but it made her heart bleed For they'd left their tails behind them. 4. It There she es-pied their tails side by side, All hung on a tree to dry. 5. She tried what she could, as a shepherdess should. To tack to each sheep its tail .... Jank Taylor. JVoi too slow. TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR.* French Air. , Twin -kle, twin- kle, lit - tie star: How I won-der what you are, 2. When the blaz - ing sun is gone. When he noth -ing shines up on, 3. Then the trav - 'ler in the dark Thanks you for your ti - ny spark ; 4. In the dark blue sky you keep, While you thro' my win - dow peep, Up a - bove the world so high. Like a dia-mond in the sky! Then you show your lit -tie light, Twi- light, twin - kle all the night. He could not see which way to go, If you did not twin -kle so. And you uev - er shut your eye, Till the sun is in the sky. Twin -kle, twin -kle, lit- tie star, How I won-der what you are. 165 Child Training FARMER m THE DELL.* I. The farm - er in the dell, The farm - er in the dell, High oh the der - ry 2 The farmer takes a wife, 3 The wife takes a child, 4 The child takes the nurse, 5 The nurse takes the dog. oh, The farm - er in the dell. 6 The dog takes the cat, 7 The cat takes the rat, 8 The rat takes the cheese, g The cheese stands alone. Directions —One child, the farmer, stands in the center of circle, and at the smging of first verse, chooses another, " the wife," from the circle ; this one, in turn, chooses the next, and so on untU the "cheese" is clapped out, and must begm agam as the farmer. HERE WE 60 ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH.* mul - ber - ry bush, the mul - ber - ry bush. Here we go round the wash... our clothes, we wash... our clothes. This is the way we mul - ber - ry bush. So wash our clothes, So 3 This is the way we iron our clothes, &c. So early Tuesday morning. 4 This IS the way we scrub the floor, &c. So early Wednesday morning in.... the mom - ing. Mon - day morn - ing. 6 This is the way we sweep the house, &c. So early Friday morning. 7 This IS the way we bake our bread, &c. So early Saturday morning. e This IS the way we mend our clothes, &c. 8 This is the way we go to church, &c. So early Thursday morning. So early Sunday morning. Directions —Tht game consists in simply suiting the actions to the words. .-.; •• HeT Diddle Diddle " " I.lttl« Po-p«ep." T.lnklt Little St»r." ' Ptraer m the Dell " "Here We n o Ronnd thellulbe.^ Bu.h .te f„m 'ih. WMt ?opuI« MolluM Qooje Song.,- [mbUshed by fllndJ, >'obl. «d E14«dg.. U8ftd bj ipeciat permlMioa. 1 66 Rhythmic Arts BKAVE.t Emilib Poulsson. Allegro moderato. Eleanor Smith. Hur-rah for Bob - by Bum-ble! He nev - er minds a tum-ble, But z^poco rit./^ a tempo. up he jumps And rubs his bumps And does - n't ev - en grum-ble. USEFUL, t Emilie Poulsson. A llegretto. Eleanor Smith. r.?:E^EF=EEiE= ^^^ =S=:1t i^ I. He brings his fa-ther's slip - pers, Picks up the ba - by's toys; a. On er - rands for his moth - er, He scam- pers up and down; He shuts the door for Grand - ma With • out a bit of noise. She vows she would not change him For all the boys in townl POLITE, t Emilib Poulsson. mf A llegretto. Eleanor Smith. £^p= ^=^ ^S I. Oh, who's the friend - ly lit - tie chap That al - ways thinks to 3. Who jumps so quick - ly to his feet, If a - ny la - dy lift his cap, And says "Good-mom - ing," says " Good-night?" 'Tis needs a seat, As cour - teous as a gal - lant knight? 'Tis Paul Po- lite! 'Tis Paul Po-lite. Three cheers for Paul Po-litel 167 Child Training MY SHADOW, t 1. I have a lit - tie shad-ow that goes in and out with me, 2. The fun- niest thing a - bout him is the way he likes to grow — ^^m ^ ^ il:=!J«t: And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. Not at all like prop - er chil- dren which is al - ways ve - ry slow ; N- He is ve - ry, ve - ry like me from the heels up to the head; For he sometimes shoots up tall - er like an in- dia -rub-ber ball, And I see him jump be - fore me, when I jump in - to my bed. And he sometimes gets so lit - tie that there's none of him at all. TIME TO RISE.t Quickly. Hopped up - on the wind - ow sill, Cocked hi^ shin eye and said: "Ain't you 'shamed, you sleep - y head! t " Br»Te," " Useful," " Polite " are frem " Songs of a Little Child's Day." " Mj gh»dow " and " are from " Itobcrt Louis StoTenson Bongs," both published by Milton Bradley Company. Used by speci 1 68 PART VI FREE PLAY Free Play should be free play, that is the children should have free choice of the play and the teacher should mix in it as little as possible, taking merely the part of an adviser. Children under six v^ould rather play with each other than with a grown-up and this characteristic preference should be regarded. However, children need to learn what to play and how to play, in order that they may have play resources and also acquire habits of fair play, unselfishness, jus- tice, honesty, self-control, etc., and the teacher must, therefore, be ready at hand to advise and supervise. The play at this time should, however, be only such as the children enjoy and would select if left to them- selves. Nature is not to be encouraged, however, simply be- cause it is nature, for what is natural is not necessarily by any means always right. It is natural for a child to want to slide down the banisters — but dangerous and hence improper. But eliminate the danger in slid- ing down the banisters ; convert a banister into a trough 171 Child Training — a sliding board with protective sides and we utilize the love of the child for this sort of sport, to give him certain physical training that is desirable. Pillow fighting and jumping on a spring bed are forms of athletic amusement that delight the child's heart, but they are tabooed — not because there is any harm in them themselves, but because they may do harm to the furniture. But the harmful element may be extracted and the joy still remain. A child likes to walk a railway track, he will prefer it every time to the path alongside. Take him out for an afternoon stroll and if there is a wall alongside the road he will be sure to choose the wall to walk on. Leave him alone in the back yard and if he can climb to the top of the fence he will soon be walking along it, in imitation of the cat. These are exercises in poise and balance and bring into play muscles that should be co-ordinated and developed. The menace of a train or a tumble from the fence makes the child's desire for this form of exercise, in most cases pro- hibitive, but have a rail in the home, yard or school for him or provide a low, a very low imitation fence and the danger being eliminated, the maximum physi- cal good is obtained by allowing him to follow his natural impulses. What boy can resist kicking a stray tin can or burst- ing a paper bag? Elevate the tin can and when he kicks it he kicks his leg muscles into development. 172 Free Play What child can naturally refrain from striking any bell within reach ? He loves to see or hear the results of his activity. Make him exercise the muscles of his calves in gratifying this natural desire; suspend bells in a row just out of reach and have him run and jump to strike them. With the first snow fall how many slides are made by children on the slippery sidewalks and streets, a menace to the pedestrian and an invitation to the householder to spread ashes! Wax a dressed plank, lay it on the ground and you provide a slide that the child may use the year round. Care should be taken that the plank lies flat and is fastened down so that it will not swirl around or endanger the slider. What child has not had to be admonished for jump- ing on the mattress of his bed — and why? Only be- cause it worked injury to the spring or soiled the bed- ding. Give him an old mattress for his playground, or if this is not feasible, fasten a strong but springy plank at each end to a low support and he may imitate a grass- hopper or bullfrog to his heart's content. In the same way analyze the child's other play in- terests and likes, extract the essence and eliminate the part that makes harmful, dangerous or worthless that which is otherwise beneficial. Free Plays may be divided into four classes : I. Athletic Plays — those that are marked by physi- cal activity. 173 Child Training 2. Manual Plays — those that are in the nature of hand occupations. 3. Imitative Plays — those that imitate such activi- ties, as playing horse, store, etc. 4. Games — that is, plays that have the spirit of contest. They appeal most strongly to an older age, where they more properly belong and are seldom en- tered into at this age without direction. ^ They are, therefore, only partly " free." ATHLETIC PLAYS For the Athletic Plays all that is necessary or even advisable, is to provide the materials or apparatus with a suggestion or explanation as to their proper use. A Sliding Board. A smooth plank of maple or non- splintering material 16 feet long, supported at an angle of about 30 degrees and reached by a ladder or steps. The child should be clad in rompers, or clothes that will not be injured by wear. Protective board sides that convert the slide into a chute, or banister rails add to the safety of the sport, especially as upon acquaintance the child is prone to go down head foremost or stand- ing up. A High Rail. A strip of 2 x 4 or a low fence — a joist or 2 inch plank set on edge — for " tight-rope " walking. A Jumping-Off Place. A height from which the 174 Free Play child can jump into hay or straw beneath, without danger of injury. A Spring Board or spring mattress. A strong board supported and made fast at each end by a box about a foot high, or a discarded bed mattress. A Wallow. A square of canvas twelve feet or more, supported and raised at each corner about two or three feet high, so that the sag will not touch the ground, in which the child can roll and wallow to his heart's content. A Trapeze and a Horizontal Bar with mat beneath, on which the child may hang, chin himself, swing and gyrate. A Pair ai Soft Pillows to be used for pillow fights. A Ball. A foot ball or basket ball is best. A Foot Slide. A waxed board on the ground, fastened so that it will not swing round, or with one end slightly elevated so that the child can coast erect. Suspended Bells. Cow bells hung so that the child can strike them only by jumping for them. Stilts. Made of two tin cans through the top of each of which two holes have been punched and cord or thin rope inserted to form a loop which the child may hold in each hand while walking with a foot on each can. A Swing. A Rope. Suspended so that the child can climb it. A Trolley. Fasten a twenty-five to fifty foot length 175 Child Training of % inch wire, or woven wire cable between two points so that the lower end is within reach of the ground and the other high enough to give a sufficient incline. Place on the wire a trolley wheel from whicli you have suspended a cross stick that can be grasped and a trailing rope. The child drags the trolley wheel by the trolley rope to the highest point of the wire, mounts a platform or box that raises him within reach of the cross bar, which he then grasps and is carried by gravity down the wire till his feet touch the ground. A Jumping Rope. Twelve or fifteen feet of long rope for jumping and for Tug of War. A Teeter, or See-Saw. Hoops. A Horizontal Ladder raised overhead, on the rounds of which the child may swing himself along by his hands. A Merry-Go-Round. A rather elaborate but very successful piece of apparatus, consisting of two or more go-cart seats, which the child puts in motion round a center by pushing and pulling with his hands and feet. A Wheelbarrow, Cart, Shovel and Pail, etc. MANUAL PLAYS The following materials suggest the activity. Blackboard or paper for drawing, and crayon, pen- cil, etc. Water colors for painting. 176 Free Play Paper and scissors for cutting. Clay for making " mud pies " and modeling. Beads for stringing. A bent tube or pipe — the broad opening edged with a scalloped cloth band — for blowing bubbles. A good mixture for blowing bubbles is soap suds and water to which about one-third of its quantity of glycerine has been added. IMITATIVE PLAYS The imitative plays are far the most appealing to children under nine, and to girls even older. Imitat- ing grown-up activities — such as keeping house, cook- ing, keeping store, running an office, teaching school, calling, will entertain and engross children for weeks at a time, when they would tire of any and every game. The only precaution to be taken is that children imi- tate only the wholesome or unobjectionable. They should not be allowed to imitate smoking, intoxicated persons, cripples, etc. Some parents think lightly of allowing a child to pretend to " smoke " a pencil or their father's pipe, to play robbers, or even a funeral. Such pretense cannot be of any good and may do much harm by way of mental suggestion, as well as in other ways. I knew of a parent who left her children play- ing robbers and returned in the nick of time to find the " robber " with o rope tied round his neck and the 177 Child Training other end swung over an attic beam, just about to be hung ! Provide the following materials, for the rest, usually a suggestion what to play is all that is necessary. Dolls, Doll House, Doll Carriage. ( For girls only. ) Old clothes with plenty of safety pins for dressing up. A Sand Pile — preferably of clean sea sand, with bucket, shovel, boxes, cake forms, etc., a plasterer's trowel for building houses, villages, etc. Large blocks the size of ordinary building bricks and miscellaneous materials for building houses, forts, trains, etc. Toy furniture — chairs, tables, beds, bureaus, pianos, stoves, flat irons, brooms, tubs, wash board, dishes, etc. Toy Soldiers. Toy Animals. A Play House belonging to the children alone, equipped in every part as for grown-ups, but on a diminutive scale — not a toy house but one into which the child could go and " live and move and have his being " in imitation of all the activities of his elders — would be an ideal setting for the child's imitative play activities. Other imitative plays for which special apparatus is unnecessary or can be improvised are : Playing house, store, conductor, horse, bear, In- 178 Free Play dians, firemen, blacksmith, school, doctor, circus, sol- dier, etc. GAMES WITHOUT APPARATUS Tag. One child who is called " It " or " Old Man," tries to tag any one of the others he can catch and hold, till he counts three. The one tagged or caught then becomes " It." Usually there is one or more bases agreed upon, such as a box, post or wall. One cannot be caught or tagged while he is touching base. " It " is usually selected by some counting-out rime, such as the following. One child says the rime, pointing to each child in turn from left to right in- cluding himself, with each accented word and the one pointed to with the final word becomes " It." Eeny, meeny, miney mo, Catch a lobster by the toe, If he hollers, let him go, Eeny, meeny, miney mo ! Cat and Rat. Children hold hands in a ring while one child on the outside, called the cat, tries to catch another child on the inside, called the rat. Those forming the ring try to prevent the cat from getting into the ring, by lowering their arms or otherwise ob- structing his passage, or, if he has succeeded in getting in, they open the way for the rat to escape and try to keep the cat in. 179 Child Training Hide and Seek. One child who is " It " shuts his eyes in his hands at base, while the others hide. " It " or the " Old Man " either counts to a certain number or is told when the hiders are ready. He then searches for them, and they try to run in and touch base before he spies them out, saying " I spy " and touches base. The first one caught becomes " It " and the others come in free. Snake. The children are seated in a circle with " It " in the center. " It " has a handkerchief which he tosses over his back upon a child. The child on whom it falls immediately tries to toss it on to another child in the circle before " It " can tag him. If "It " succeeds in tagging any child while the handkerchief is on any part of his body the child so tagged becomes " It." Pussy Wants a Corner. All the children except the one who is " Pussy " stand in corners, or on a marked spot. They try to exchange " corners " with each other while " Pussy " goes from one to the other say- ing, " Pussy wants a corner." If " Pussy " succeeds in getting into a corner before an exchange is made the one left out becomes " Pussy." Going to Jerusalem. Chairs — one less than the number of children — are placed in a row facing alter- nately one side and the other. The children then march round the chairs while music plays, or the teacher sings or counts. The instant the music stops they drop 1 80 Free Play into a seat and the child left without a seat goes to one side. A chair is removed, the music starts, the march is continued, the music stops, and so on, till only one chair and two children are left. When the music finally stops the one seated wins. GAMES WITH APPARATUS The following games usually need to be directed or started by an older child or by the teacher, but the children should be encouraged to play games inde- pendently, always, however, with care and precision and endeavor to improve. If they " fool " and do not observe the strict rules of the game, the privilege should be denied them. Quoits. Have the children play quoits, using rings of rope and stakes fitted into a wooden base for goals. Have them keep the score accurately. Bean Bag. Have the children play " bean bag " with a board of three holes valued at i, 2, 3 points, respectively, and keep their own score, ten points being the game. Ten-Pins. Have the children play shuffle board or ten-pins, keeping their own score and taking turns at setting up the men in their proper positions. 181 PhotosrapU by Bachraoh MANUAL TRAINING 'Paper Lantern and Pinwheel"— Developing skill, accuracy, industry, etc. PART VII MANUAL TRAINING AND OCCUPATIONS This period is divided into two classes of manual activities — i. Manual Training, consisting of more or less formal exercises and 2. Occupations which are of the nature of adult work. AIMS In executing the different models it should be con- stantly borne in mind that the real object of the work is not the product of the child's hands but the effect on the child himself; not the drawing or painting but the ability to make things well; not the petty toys or gifts which are intrinsically valueless, but the skill, craftsmanship, handiness the child acquires by making them. Whether the four-year-old is some day to be a carpenter or an architect, a chauffeur or an engineer, a plumber or a printer, a surgeon or a painter, a mech- anician or a pianist, or follow any of a hundred other pursuits, these manual lessons prepare him, starting him with the fundamentals, for though the time may seem far ahead — art is long. The exercises are made concrete because they appeal to the child, for where there is such interest the reflex effect is much greater than otherwise. But the entire object is to make him 185 child Training handy, dexterous, quick, deft, neat, orderly, clever imaginative, resourceful, interested, observant, reason- able, inventive, persistent, industrious, independent. This is a formidable list of virtues, but surely worth while objects in themselves and each exercise con- tributes in some degree to the realization of these objects, no matter if the objective thing produced is immediately destroyed or thrown into the waste basket as rubbish — which it undoubtedly is. This should not, however, be its immediate fate for the effect on the child of doing so would be to discourage him, making his efforts seem futile and further effort not worth while. The following points should, therefore, be con- stantly borne in mind by the teacher and exacted of the children in all their work. Order. Each day they should set everything in or- der and put away each thing in its proper place after finishing. Neatness. They should keep all their work spotless. Clean hands are necessary. Smudged, soiled or crumpled work should be done over. Acatracy. They should be required to be always as accurate and exact as the limitations of their age and skill will permit. If careless or slipshod work is accepted, the teacher will get nothing else and it will grow worse. Concentration. They should " work while they work " and keep steadily at it till finished. The en- i86 Manual Training — Occupations trance of the cat, the fall of a book, the ring of the door-bell should not be allowed to distract their atten- tion from the matter in hand. Independence. They should do their work with as little assistance as possible. It is much easier to help the child than to help him help himself. With a touch here and a stroke there the teacher could instantly set him straight or get him out of many a difficulty, but she should restrain her itching fingers and make it a matter of pride with each one to be able to say, " I did it all myself." LEFT HANDEDNESS Left handedness has a deep seated, physiological cause. The right hand, eye and foot are controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain and the left hand and side of the body by the right half of the brain. What it is that gives the original predisposition to the use of the right hand has never satisfactorily been explained though dozens of theories have been ad- vanced. As to the advisability of training a left handed child to write with the right hand there is also much con- trary opinion. Dr. Gould, one authority, calls it " a crime to force a change to the right hand." Whereas Sir Daniel Wilson another authority, and himself left handed, advises cultivating free use of the right hand without discouraging use of the left. 187 Child Training In the face of such conflicting opinion the best ad- vice seems to be this : For the convenience in using such instruments and articles of daily life as are standardized for the right hand it is well to make use of this hand if it can be so trained without disarranging mental functions or mak- ing any great sacrifice. Now the bias toward either hand is usually slight in early life, but very soon becomes a habit that cannot safely be eradicated as the brain is involved. At the very first sign of a preference for either hand, therefore, the child should be told to offer and use his right hand. Whenever he starts to use his left hand do not let him do so, but say, " No, other hand." If, however, this constant correction has apparently no effect, it may be taken as a sign that the predilection is too deep seated to be uprooted without doing damage or affecting mental qualities, and should the child reach the age for beginning to write after long but unsuc- cessful endeavor to change his bias to the right hand, the conclusion is that it is too deep seated to be safely eradicated. In other words if the left handedness is very deeply marked it is a mistake to force the child into the use of the right hand for it will disturb his mental func- tioning and his skill. If, however, the left handedness is not deeply marked and can readily be changed it is best, for sake of the minor conveniences and to avoid i88 Manual Training — Occupations awkwardness in daily life, to cultivate the use of the right hand as soon as the opposite tendency shows it- self — not wait till the age when the child begins to write. The cultivation of ambidexterity, that is, equal skill with both hands, is now generally agreed to be inadvisa- ble since neither hand can be trained to as high a degree of skill as one; both hands become skilful at the expense of one. In other words, neither the right nor the left hand becomes as expert if both are trained as either the right or left would alone. 1S9 MANUAL TRAINING CLAY WORK Lesson i. Ball, Apple. Give each child a piece of clay the size of an egg and have him roll it into as perfect a ball as he can, while you make one at the same time. Always while the children are working ask them questions and encourage them also to ask questions about the things they are making and the materials they are using. This is to induce an inquir- ing state of mind and form the habit of being inter- ested and curious about everything with which they are brought into contact. For instance, in this case such questions as the following might be asked and an- swered : " What other things are round, like a ball? " " An orange, the sun," etc. " What is clay made from ? " " Rotted rock." " What is made from clay? " " Bricks, flower pots and even china, by baking the clay." Then have them convert their spheres into a spher-, ical fruit — an apple, by flattening two opposite sides, 190 Manual Training — Occupations making a slight depression or dimple in each side and inserting a short stem. Give them a real apple for a model, if possible, and discuss with them the kinds of apples, how they grow, when ripe, uses, etc. Ask them what other fruits they can think of that are round. Lesson 2. Cube, House. Give each child a piece of clay the size of an tgg and have him roll it into a ball. Then ask him to raise the ball above the tabk and drop it, flattening one side slightly. Then have him pat the top with the fingers, press the right side flat, then the left and finally the front and back to form a cube. Avoid as much as possible touching the children's cubes and have them follow the directions as you tell them, so that they may learn to know the meaning of right and left, top and bottom, front and back. Ask them what things have a similar shape — a box, a house, a lump of sugar, etc. Then have them convert their cubes into cubical objects. Lesson 3. Cylinder, Drum. Give each child a piece of clay as before, then have him first form it into a ball, then by rolling this ball on the table in one direction till elongated and by flattening the ends, make it into a cylinder. Ask the children what things have a similar shape — a drum, a mug, a rolling-pin, etc. Have them convert their cylinders into cylindrical objects. Lesson 4. Potato. Have each child begin to model 191 Child Training an ovoid or egg-shaped " sequence." Have him first model a potato from a real one before him. Ask the children how potatoes grow — like oranges and ap- ples? Tell them that the farmer plants the potato eyes, from each of which another potato plant will grow. Lesson 5. Egg. Continuing the ovoid sequence, have each child model an ^gg, after first having made a sphere as a preliminary step. Have an o^gg before the children and call their attention to the difference in size of the two ends, which they should try to copy exactly. Talk with them about eggs — where they come from, what they contain, what animals besides hens lay eggs — birds, frogs, fish, etc. Lesson 6. Nests and Eggs. Have each child model a nest, first forming a sphere, cutting it in half through the middle and pressing a hollow in the flat side with the thumb, then have him make several small eggs and put them in the nest. Continue the talk of the previ- ous lesson on eggs with a conversation about birds' nests — (how made — of straw, hair, twigs, leaves, etc., and where placed — in trees, high up generally, but also in hollows of trees and even on the ground), laying the eggs, hatching, feeding the young, teach- ing them to fly, etc. Lesson 7. Lemon. Have each child model a lemon. Ask what the shape of the lemon is, round or egg shaped. 192 Manual Training — Occupations Lesson 8. Pear. Have each child model a pear, us- ing a bit of match stick or twig for a stem. Lesson 9. Hat. Have each child model a hat, then cut a narrow strip of colored paper and make a band and streamers. Ask what shape the crown is. Lesson 10. Cup and Saucer. Have each child model a cup and saucer. Lesson 11. Horseshoe. Have each child model a horseshoe, making first a very long cylinder, thicker in the middle than at the ends, then bend it into shape, flattening it and making " nails " with lentils. Lesson 12. Candlestick. Have each child model a candlestick. Lesson 13. Teapot. Have each child model a tea- pot. Lesson 14. Boat. Have each child model a boat, using sticks for masts and bowsprit. Lesson 15. Chain. Have each child model a chain, rolling out very long cylindrical pieces and joining their ends, first inserting each in the link already made. COLOR WORK Lesson 16. Three Primary Colors. Show the chil- dren the colors, red, yellow, blue, and ask them to mention things that have these colors. Encourage their minds to range for a moment over the whole universe, picking out fantastic, as well as obvious things that are red, yellow and blue, but have 193 Child Training them come back to the matter immediately in hand the instant they are told to do so. Lesson 1 7. Red — Mitten. Give each child a paint box and brush, a sheet of heavy paper, a saucer or bowl of water and a piece of rag or blotting paper. Show the children how to wet their brushes and then work up the red color on the cake of paint. Discuss how the brush is made, of wood or a goose quill and camel or badger's hair, for the finer brushes; of bris- tles of wood fiber for the cheaper. Have each child place his left hand on a sheet of paper, the fingers together, the thumb extended, and draw around it. Then have him paint in the outline with red to form a mitten, being very careful not to go beyond the line. Ask the children why mittens are often made red and tell them that red is a " warm " color — not really, of course, but looks so. Ask them why mittens are warmer than gloves (the fingers lying together keep each other warm). Tell the children that red, orange and yellow are called " warm " colors. Ask them if they can tell why. Ask them to name all the warm things they can think of that have these colors — fire, the sun, candle light, etc. Lesson 18. Orange — An Orange. Ask the chil- dren why this color is called orange and what other things have a similar color. Then have each child paint an orange, starting with a dot in the center of the 194 Manual Training — Occupations paper, being- as accurate as he can and enlarging the spot gradually and carefully till it has the size and shape he thinks an orange should be. Lesson 19. Yellow — Lemon. Discuss the color yellow as in the case of the orange and have each child paint a lemon. Lesson 20. Green — A Leaf. Give each child an oak or maple leaf and have him place it in the center of a sheet of paper, and holding it down with his left hand draw around it with a pencil, so as to make an outline of the leaf on the paper. Then have him paint the leaf he has drawn and ask him what color he should use — green. Ask the chil- dren, as usual when a new color is introduced, what other things are green — grass, grain, many kinds of vegetables before ripe, etc. Ask them what color dif- ferent fruits turn when ripe and leaves before they fall. Tell the children that green, blue and violet are called cool colors and ask them if they can tell why. Ask them to name all the cool things they can think of that are either of these colors — the sea, shade, the sky after the sun has set, etc. Lesson 21. Blue — Bluebird. Discuss the color blue with the children. Then draw for each one an out- line of a simple conventional bird and have it filled in with blue. Lesson 22. Violet — A Violet. Tell the children 195 Child Training that you are going to let them paint a very sweet flower that grows in the woods in spring, a flower that is also the name of a girl and a color, and see if they can guess its name — violet. Then have each child make a dot of violet color on a sheet of paper and enlarge it irregularly to about the size of a violet and finish it by drawing a stem with green crayon. As in the case of the other colors, ask the children what violet colored things they see or can mention. Lesson 23. A Rainhozv. Have the children ever seen a rainbow? If you have a glass prism, let the sun shine through it to show them the " spectrum " it makes on the floor or wall. Have them first count the number of colors they can recognize, then name them in order, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. Lesson 24. A Spectrum. Have each child make a spectrum — as a straight rainbow is called — by draw- ing with crayons of each color short, thick vertical lines close together. Be sure that the lines are put in the correct order and have the children learn the names in this order, as this is the alphabet of colors. Lesson 25. A Stained Glass Window. Cut oblongs of white paper about 3 by 6, then have each child fold one lengthwise — a book — and cut off a triangular or curved piece from the unfolded corner, so that when opened the piece is shaped like a church window. Have him then wet both sides with clear water, then mix red in the pan of the paint box with his 196 Manual Training — Occupations brush, and take up a very full brush of the color and holding it several inches above the paper shake off a big drop like a blot in two or three places. Have him do the same with the yellow^ and blue respectively, and allow the colors so dropped to mingle at their edges, covering the whole paper and giving the effect of a stained glass window. The colors should not be stirred up together with the brush or they will be- come " muddy." Have the children notice that they get six colors with only three that they used, — orange where the red and yellow mingled, green from the yel- low and blue, and violet from the red and blue. This is a very important as well as a very instructive lesson in color synthesis and no less surprising than instruc- tive. Tell them that orange, green and violet are called second-ary colors and those they made them from — red, blue and yellow — are called first or pri- mary colors. Lesson 26. Balloons Drawn. Give each child a sheet of water color paper and have him arrange half a dozen pennies in a cluster near the top of the sheet. Then have him, without disturbing the order, draw with a pencil around the outside of each, so that he will have when finished a drawing of six rings. Then have him draw lines from the bottom of each ring to a point near the bottom of the sheet of paper, so as to form a collec- tion of toy balloons when painted in the following lessons. Save. 197 Child Training Lesson 2y. Balloons of Primary Color. Have each child paint his alternate rings drawn in the preceding lesson red, yellow, and blue, respectively, being very careful not to go beyond the lines. If he is unable to do this carefully enough with the water colors, have him use colored crayons. Save. Review the fact that these are the three most important colors and are called First (Primary) colors. The intervening rings are to be left blank for the next painting lesson. Lesson 28. Balloons of Secondary Color. Using the sheet of balloons begun in the preceding lesson, have the children mix red and yellow in the pans of their paint boxes and with the resulting color (orange) paint the blank ring left between the red and yellow circles. Have them do the same with the yellow and blue, and blue and red, which form the colors green and violet, respectively. Review the fact that these resulting colors as they are made from the " First " colors are called " Second " (Secondary) colors. This is a most important lesson and may be made the basis of a very interesting or imaginative discussion. DRAWING Lesson 29. Fruits. Have each child draw with an appropriate colored crayon different fruits. Have the fruit present, if possible, and call attention to its char- acteristics — an apple, pear, banana, plum, lemon, etc. Lesson 30. Vegetables. Have each child draw 198 Manual Training — Occupations with an appropriate colored crayon different vegetables such as the tomato, carrot, radish, parsnip, etc. Lesson 31. Flowers. Have each child draw with an appropriate crayon different flowers, such as the jonquil, iris, tulip, etc. Lesson ^2. Men's Houses. Talk with the children about different kinds of dwellings — first those of men — a tent, a house, a palace, and about the kind of men who live in such houses — Indians and soldiers in a tent, kings and queens in palaces, and so on. Have the children draw one or several of these houses. Never disparage their results nor laugh at their efforts, no matter how crude they may be. Suggest improve- ments or alterations, but tactfully, so as not to dis- courage them. Lesson 33. Animals' Houses. Talk with the chil- dren about the different kinds of dwellings of animals — a dog kennel, a barn, a bird house, and have them draw each. Lesson 34. Church. Talk with the children about the house of God — a church — and have them draw one with a steeple and a cross. Lesson 35. Furniture. Talk with children about the furnishings of a house and have them draw such articles as might be found in a parlor — a straight chair, a rocking chair, a sofa, a table, a piano, a pot of ferns, etc. Lesson 36. Table Furnishings. Have the children 199 Child Training draw articles to be found in the dining room — a cup and saucer, teapot, knife and fork, spoon, etc. Lesson 37. Kitchen Utensils. Have the children draw articles to be found in the kitchen — a frying pan, a tub, potato masher, stove, a broom, clothes- horse, etc. Lesson 38. Bedroom Furniture. Have the children draw articles to be found in a bedroom — a bed, a bureau, brush, comb, hand mirror, etc. Lesson 39. Tools. Have the children draw differ- ent tools — a hammer, screw driver, a rake, a hoe, a pitchfork, etc. Lesson 40. Sun and Moon. Have the children be- gin a light " sequence." Ask them what things in nature give light — the sun, moon, and stars ; what things invented by man — candles, lamp, gas, electric light. Have each child then draw a horizontal line through the center of a sheet of paper to represent the horizon — why is it called a horizon-tal line ? — and in the center draw, with the help of a ring or coin, a half circle resting on the line — then color it orange or red to represent the setting sun. Rays of the same color drawn from the sun help the effect. Then have him, on another sheet, draw a crescent moon and color it yellow. Lesson 41. A Candle, Lamp, etc. Have the chil- dren draw a light " sequence " — a candle, a lamp, a gas jet, and an electric light bulb. 200 Manual Training — Occupations Lesson 42. Faces. Have the children draw faces making an oval for the outline of the face and putting in the features with straight lines arranged all hori- zontally or pointing up to the center, or down to the center, etc., to give various expressions. PAPER FOLDING AND CUTTING Lesson 43. Paper Chains — Red. Give each child a sheet of red cutting paper about six inches square, and have him fold it once, edge to opposite edge, then a second time in the same direction, then a third time very carefully, keeping the edges even and creasing them with his finger nails. Have him open and tear it along the creases into strips, or, if he is very young and unable to do this well, cut down the creases with the scissors. Have him bend a strip end to end till it laps, then paste. Have him insert, in the ring thus made, another strip and paste its ends together and so on with the remaining strips, forming a red chain of eight links. Lesson 44. Paper Chains — Yellow and Blue. Have the children make a yellow and a blue chain as directed for a red chain in the previous lesson. Lesson 45. A Lantern. Have each child fold a square of colored paper edge to edge, then cut slits one-half inch apart from the folded edge to within half an inch of unfolded edge ; then open and paste together, so that strips run lengthwise, to form a lantern. Cut 201 Child Training another strip and paste to top edge for a handle. This makes a very decorative Christmas tree orna- ment. Lesson 46. A Reading Book — A Singing Book — A Window. Give each child a sheet of white paper about five inches square and have him fold the lower edge to exactly meet the top edge. Ask the children what this resembles — a book. Ask them how many leaves it has and how many pages. Holding it in your hand, " read " a story to them out of it or describe imaginary pictures you see there. Have them do the same. Then have them fold it again in the opposite direction to form the " singing book." Have them sing a song from the book. Open it out and they can see a " window " of four panes. Have them describe what they see through the window. This may be made not only a most fascinating game, but a very valuable exercise for cultivating the imagination. Lesson 47. A Table — A Screen. Have each child fold a " Book " then open and fold the two edges to coincide with the center line. What does this resemble when stood upright? A pair of doors or window with shutters. Partly open it forms a " Table." Crease the center line in the opposite direction and stand on end to form a " Screen " and have the children tell what imaginary things are behind it. Lesson 48. A Foot Stool — A Barn — A House. Have each child fold the " Book," then without open- 202 Manual Training — Occupations ing, fold lengthwise again, then end to end to form the eight leaved singing book. Open the singing book and fold each end to the center line and partially open to form a " Foot Stool." Open out the original square which will now be creased into a checkerboard of i6 squares. Fold this in half; then fold over the upper right hand corner and partially opening this end, press down to make " A Barn." Treating the opposite corner in the same way makes a " House." Lesson 49. A Fan — A Washboard. Have each child fold a " Fan " as follows : Take a sheet of paper about letter size, 8x10, and fold the short edge over about half an inch. Invert and fold this strip back. Invert and do the same, and continue in this way till the entire width of the paper is folded into these narrow strips. Pinched together at one end, or tied with a string, spread at the other, this forms a " Fan." Opened out it forms a " Washboard." Lesson 50. A Dart. Have each child take letter size sheets of paper and fold a short edge so that it coincides with the adjacent long edge. Have him then, without opening it, fold the folded edge to the same long edge twice in succession to form a " Dart," with which he may have some harmless sport in cast- ing it at a target. Lesson 51. A Cut Design. Have each child fold a sheet of colored cutting paper, not less than six inches square, corner to diagonally opposite corner, then acute 203 Child Training corner to acute corner, a second and a third time, till he has eight triangles lying one on top of the other. All folding should be most carefully done, the edges exactly meeting and the fold creased down firmly and evenly. The eight open edges should be held io the left. This is the usual folded form from which four sided figures are cut. Have the children then, make two vertical cuts. Then open the three pieces thus re- sulting and, after arranging them in a " form of beauty," paste them. Lesson 52. A Cut Design. Have each child fold sheets of the colored cutting paper as described in the preceding lesson, cut in a different direction from the one just made, then open, arrange the parts in a form of beauty, and paste. Lesson 53. A Pin Wheel. Have each cliild make a pin wheel as follows: Fold a square, corner to diagonally opposite corner, open, fold the other corner to opposite, open and slit down the creases to within an inch of the center, fold alternate points thus made to center and fasten them down to a stick with a pin. Lesson 54. A Tent — An Envelope — A Frame. Have each child make a " Tent," an " Envelope," and a " Frame " from dictation, as follows: (a) Take a sheet of oblong paper about letter size, that is 8 X 10. Fold a short edge till it coincides with the adjacent long edge and crease (iron) down firmly. Fold back the oblong piece remaining and 204 Manual Training — Occupations either tear or cut it off. Tell the children this is the way they can always make a square from an oblong or test a piece of paper or any other material to see if it is square. The square folded thus, corner to corner, they may then call a tent. This is the first step. (b) Open the square out flat and fold in the opposite direction, corner to corner ; open out and fold one edge to opposite edge, open again and fold in opposite direc- tion. When they now open out the square it will be creased in four intersecting lines — eight lines radiat- ing from the center. This is the second step. (c) Fold each corner to the center. This is the third step — tlie " Envelope." (d) Fold back each of the center triangular points to the edge of the envelope, thus forming the " Frame." A square of red coated paper (red on one side, white on the other) may be used for the above, in which case the folding should be done with the red side down so that " The Envelope " when finished will be red. Lesson 55. The Case — A Crown. Have each child fold a square of paper to make a " Case " and a " Crown," as follows : (a) Fold square of paper to make the " Envelope," described in the preceding lesson. (b) Invert and fold the corners to the center to form the " Case." There will then be four triangles on the upper side and four squares on the lower side. 2,05 Child Training (c) Invert the " Case " and fold an outside corner to the diagonally opposite outside corner so that the four small squares are inside. (d) Holding the triangle thus formed in the left hand with the two points up, lift up the left hand, small, inside square and crease it back and the right hand, inside square likewise, and you have the " Crown." Lesson 56. The Accordion. Have each child fold a sheet of paper as for the " Fan," described in a pre- ceding lesson. Have him then iron down the creases with a paper cutter, then tear off each strip very care- fully or separate into strips with the paper cutter. In either case it is important for success that the folds should be firmly ironed down to present a sharp edge. As a preparation for this lesson, the children might separate the uncut edges of a magazine or book with a paper cutter. Then have each child take two of the strips thus made, and placing the end of one on the end of the other and at right angles to it, fold the lower across the upper, each one alternately, till each strip is entirely folded up. Paste the last fold to the one beneath, in- vert and do the same with the first square and when pulled out you have the " accordion." Lesson 57. A Bed — A Cradle — A Trough. Have each child fold a sheet of paper to make a " Bed," a " Cradle," and a " Trough," as follows: 206 Manual Training — Occupations (a) Make the " Crown," described in a preceding lesson. (b) Fold back the points that stand up in the center to form a " Bed." (c) By folding one end point down into the inside, this may be converted into a " Cradle." (d) By doing the same with the other point the " Trough " is made. Lesson 58. A Salt Cellar — A Nose Pincher. Have each child fold paper to make a " Salt Cellar " or " Nose Pincher," as follows : (a) Make the " Case." (b) Invert, so that the four squares are up, then, (c) Holding the case with the left hand under it^ insert beneath the small squares four fingers of the right hand, thrusting them down into the comers, at the same time that the center of the case is pushed up from beneath and pinched together by the fingers of the right hand. Lesson 59. A Tray — A Wind Mill. Have each child fold paper to make a " Tray " and a " Wind Mill," as follows: (a) Make the "Envelope." (See lesson 54.) (b) Then, instead of inverting to make the " Case," fold each corner to the center, making the " Tray." (c) Holding the " Tray " in the left hand and keep- ing the points of the triangles as nearly as possible in place, pull out from underneath each of the square 207 Child Training points and crease them backwards, so that four large triangular wings stand up. This is rather difficult, but important, for several interesting forms are made from it. (d) Fold these wings back, as shown below, to make a " Wind Mill." Lesson 60. Napkins. Have each child fold paper or linen napkins in above forms for luncheon or pic- nic party. Lesson 61. Curls — Lamplighter — Spools — Shovel — Fork, etc. Have each child make strips as directed in lesson 56. Then have him roll each strip up tightly on a stick. Then pull out the inside of two of the rolls to form " curls " which may be tucked behind the ears. Paste the loose end of each of the remaining rolls, then punch out their centers to form a " Lamplighter " or horn. By pinching the larger end, a " Spoon " or " Shovel " is made. By slitting up the large end thus flattened, a " Fork," " Paint Brush " or " Broom " is made. Lesson 62. Double Boat. Have each child fold paper to make a " Double Boat," as follows : (a) Make the "Wind Mill." (See lesson 59.) (b) Fold 2 wings so that they lie alongside of each other in one direction and the other two in the opposite direction. (c) Invert and fold in half, lengthwise to form a " Double Boat." 208 Manual Training — Occupations Various other forms may be made by folding the wings of the " Wind Mill " in different directions. STRING WORK KNOTTING, STRING FIGURES, ETC. Lesson 63. Cat's Cradle. Teach the children " Cat's Cradle." Give each a string, at least four feet long before the ends are tied together, and have them learn the sequence of figures and practise doing them till they can complete the series without bungling, so that their " fingers are not all thumbs." Lesson 64. Overhand Knot. Get two pieces of rope about six feet long and three quarters to an inch in diameter for use in teaching knot tying. Give each child two pieces of fishing line or wrap- ping cord about a foot long. Using the rope, show the children how to make the simple " Overhand " knot and have them practise making it first with the rope and then with string. Tell them always to hold the main part of the rope, or string, in the left hand as if it were attached to a ball or stake, with the free end pointing towards the right, and make the knot with the right hand by passing the free end over the main part. The overhand knot is made in this way by passing the free end back over the main part and then up through the loop thus made. Lesson 65. Blood Knot. In the same way teach the " Blood Knot." The blood knot is made by passing 209 Child Training the free end back over the main part, then through the loop several times and drawing taut. Lesson 66. Figure 8 Knot. In the same way teach the " Figure 8 Knot." The figure 8 knot is made by passing free end back over the main part then round it and down through loop. Lesson 67. Reef Knot and Granny Knot. In the same way teach the " Reef Knot," for tying two pieces or ends of string together and caution against the faulty " granny " knot which it resembles. The reef knot is made thus : With a string end in each hand ( i ) put right hand end under other, then left under other, then (2) put right hand over other and through loop. The " granny " knot which is an insecure knot is made the same way as the reef knot, except in the (2) movement, the right hand end is put incorrectly under other and through loop. Remember " Under, under, over " to get the reef knot correct. Have the children practise tying up bundles, passing the string round once lengthwise and crosswise, and tying with a reef knot. Lesson 68. Bow Knot. In the same way teach the " Bow Knot " and caution against the " granny " bow knot. To make the bow knot do (i) movement of reef knot then (2) make a loop of left hand free end (3) 210 Manual Training — Occupations put right hand over neck of loop {under would make it a " granny " bow knot which would slip or come untied) (4) loop right hand free end, put it through original loop and draw all taut. Have the children practise tying their shoe strings, ties, hair ribbons and sashes. Lesson 69. Slip Knot. In the same way teach " Slip Knot." To make the slip knot hold the string as usual in left hand with free end pointing to right, then with right hand take hold of the main part of the string be- low left hand and put it over free end then through loop and draw taut. Lesson 70. Plaiting. Teach plaiting three strings- Take three strings, pieces of tape or ribbon, prefer- ably of different colors, tie their ends together and fasten down with a thumb tack. Holding the strings in the hands so that there is always a central string and one on each side, put the right and left string al- ternately over the one in the middle. Lesson 71. Tzmst Knot. Teach the " Twist Knot." The twist knot is made by folding a single string back on itself so as to give three parallel strands, then plaiting these strands exactly as if they were three in- dependent strings. Lesson y2. Chain Knot. Teach " Chain Knot " or Chain Stitch. This is done either with the fingers, a hook or a 211 Child Training crochet needle. Make a slip knot, then pull or hook the main part of the string through this loop so as to form another loop. Continue in the same way pull- ing the main part of the string through each loop to form another loop. Lesson y^^. Bead Knotting. Have each child knot a string, preferably a colored one, at regular inter- vals, say every inch, or make two or three knots close together at intervals of two inches. The ends may then be raveled out into " tassels." WORK FOR SPECIAL SEx\S0NS The following lessons are to be given at the ap- propriate season. Thanksgiving Season Ask the children who of their number have used bows and arrows, and tell them what connection the Indians had with Thanksgiving, When the Pilgrims first came to this country they found many Indians, some friendly, others hostile. After they had been here about a year, they gave thanks that their lives had been spared and that their first crops had been success- ful. The friendly Indians had taught them how to grow Indian corn or maize. (In Europe they call wheat and other grain "corn.") This was the first Thanksgiving Day. 212 Manual Training — Occupations Have each child draw bows and arrows, a tomahawk, a canoe, a pipe of peace, etc. Have each child model " mud pies " — bread, cake, plum-pudding, etc., for a make-believe Thanksgiving Dinner. Have each child make a cornucopia of different col- ored paper by folding and pasting an edge of a square sheet of paper to the adjoining edge and cutting and pasting a paper loop to the upper corner. Have him pop corn and fill the cornucopia for a friend or relative. Explain that a cornucopia means " horn of plenty " and ask the children why it and the corn are appropriate to Thanksgiving. Christmas Season Have the children cut stars of 8 and 6 points. Call their attention to the fact that the six pointed star which is called Solomon's Seal (the Jewish em- blem) is made of two triangles. Ask them which they like best. " Do the stars in heaven have points? " " No, they are balls of fire, but they give out rays of light which look something like points." Tell them the story of the Star of Bethlehem. To make the 8 pointed star, fold a square sheet of paper (gold paper if it can be obtained) corner to di- agonally opposite corner, then acute corner to acute 213 Child Training corner twice in succession, then holding the closed edge to the right, cut in the lines indicated below. To make the 6 pointed star, fold a square of paper corner to diagonally opposite corner, then acute corner to acute corner. Then instead of folding corner to corner a third time, fold each edge of right angle towards the center, so that one exactly overlaps the other before ironing the edges down. Then cut as in- dicated below. 214 Manual Training — Occupations Have the children learn to do up a Christmas book or bundle. The wrapping paper should be cut to such a length that it will only lap about an inch when wrapped around the book and its width should be the length of the book plus twice its thickness. Have each child draw a Christmas tree with candles on it. Have each child make Christmas bells by folding sheets of red paper in half and cutting half a bell from the folded edge, as shown below. The half bells, when unfolded, become whole bells which should be pasted on a sheet of white paper and connected by a ribbon drawn with crayon. Have each child draw stockings and paint them different colors. Have each child cut lancet-shape strips of red paper, arrange them about a center and paste to make poinsettia leaves. Have each child draw, or draw for him, a holly spray and have him color the leaves and berries. St. Valentine's Day Have each child fold sheets of red paper in half and cut out half hearts, as shown below. Then unfold, paste and connect by a ribbon drawn with crayon, as in the case of the Christmas bells. Ask him why hearts are associated with St. Valentine's Day. 215 Child Training Have him make an envelope for the heart valentine and join the flaps by pasting a small red heart at their meeting point. Have each child cut several hearts, large and small, paste on a sheet of paper and connect by a ribbon made with the red crayon. Washington's Birthday Have each child draw with a crayon a hatchet, a cluster of cherries, or a cherry tree with cherries on it and tell the children the story of Washington and the cherry tree. Have each child draw with the red crayon a row of fire crackers with fuses. Have the children make powderless fire crackers as follows : Roll up on a stick strips of red paper 2 inches wide, paste the loose end and insert a piece of string in the center for a fuse. Have each child fold several sheets of paper in half and cut so as to form shields. Have each child fold a sheet of newspaper to make a cocked hat, as follows : (a) Placing the newspaper before him in reading position, have him fold the upper edge down to the lower. (b) Fold the right edge to left and open again to get a vertical crease down the center. (c) Fold the upper left and right hand corners down 2l6 Manual Training — Occupations so that the upper edges meet in a vertical hne in the center. (d) Fold up half the thickness of the oblong strip of paper at the bottom; invert and fold up the re- maining thickness of paper. The hat may be made smaller and still more secure and neater as follows: Stretch the sides of the hat apart so that the front and back peaks come together, lap the projecting corners of the hat rim and fold the lower corners up to the top. The hat will remain in shape if worn, but to make it more secure, it may be pinned, care being taken, however, that the pin point does not protrude. A tas- sel or plume made of colored tissue paper pinned to the top point of course makes the hat more gay. /• / 1 \ \ 217 OCCUPATIONS To a child the most interesting manual training is that which is in the nature of some grown up occupa- tion, some " domestic " art. What physical training is to free play, formal manual training is to occupa- tions. One is systematic drill, the other more or less spontaneous, concrete activity. One is supplementary to the other and both are valuable. The child's desire to imitate his elders and help in their work offers an opportunity to train him in the elements of both man and woman's work in and about the house. Every normal child wants to help the " hired man " cut grass or the cook shell peas, and it is only because he is " in the way " and a " hindrance rather than a help " that these services so useful to the child are usually denied him. In the case of a child in the family the parents in- stead of discouraging or forbidding the " helping hand " in household occupations should look upon this work as part of the child's educational training and make provision for such " help " even though it is an actual hindrance, creating the occasion if the usual occupation does not admit of being interfered with. 218 Manual Training — Occupations In the case of a class the opportunities should be made for the children to do the entire work them- selves, of course with explanation, direction and as- sistance at first. Following are some of the occupations which the children may be taught: INDOORS Airing bed. Show them how bedding Is to be pulled apart and spread open for sunning and airing. Making bed. Show them how to spread and tuck in under and upper sheet and blankets, lay pillows, etc. Dusting. Show them how to use dust cloth, being careful not to break objects and not to leave corners and other spots untouched. Show them how to use dust pan and brush. Setting table. Show them how to do this and other housekeeping occupations, such as: Washing Dishes Cleaning Silver Taking Spots out of Clothing Watering Plants Arranging Flowers Sewing. Show them how to thread a needle and sew on buttons. Let them make a bean bag, using the whipping stitch, or do other pieces of rough sewing, but on real material. 219 Child Training Cooking. Show them how to boil eggs, soft, me- dium and hard. Show them how to bake apples and potatoes. Show them how to toast bread. Show them how to pop corn. Show them how to make molasses taffy. OUTDOORS Let them help push the lawn mower. Let them water the lawn. Let them rake leaves or grass. Let them hoe, and dig in the garden. Let them plant flower or vegetable seeds and watch and care for them. Let them feed and care for such pets as dog, cat, chickens, rabbits, squirrels, pigeons. Let them use hammer and nails. Let them *' paint " fence, wall or steps with a pail of water and a full size 4 inch painter's brush. These are only a few of a great many possible oc- cupations. Depending on the location and nature of the place many more occupations will suggest them- selves. 220 Photograph by Baehrach INFORMATION "Learning to tell time" — Teaching fundamentals PART VIII INFORMATION Though a child is constantly gathering information every moment of the day, from his surroundings and associates and incidentally from all the previous train- ing laid down, it is well for completeness and system to have a short period in which certain facts of in- formation are systematically presented to him, both for the sake of the facts and for the sake of the prac- tice gained in learning facts, that is, learning how to study. " Knowledge is Classification," Herbert Spen- cer says, and even though some of the facts learned may not be new, the classification of them as given below adds to the child's knowledge and encourages a scientific attitude and habit of mind. On the other hand, it is unsafe to take any knowl- edge for granted or assume that the child knows even the simplest thing he may be supposed to know — a searching cross questioning will often reveal the most amazing and unbelievable ignorance. This is the pe- riod, therefore, in which the beginnings of what are most usually thought of as school subjects are to be taught — science, history, language, etc., and in which 223 Child Training the child is to gain practice in acquiring knowledge, in learning how to study. Accordingly a syllabus of the information suitable or useful for a child is here given. It provides a com- prehensive survey of all the chief departments of hu- man knov^ledge which afterwards, in later school years, will be expanded and. studied in detail. At the In- formation Period each day the teacher's business is to instruct the children in the subjects suggested in this outline, taking up as many points at a lesson as the time allows or the children can digest. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION Herbart and his disciples, especially Zille and Rein, explain with great care and detail formal steps for giving instruction. For the purpose of this period, however, it will only be necessary for the teacher or parent to PRESENT the subject to the child as simply, clearly and directly as possible, and then call upon him to REACT on this presentation as strongly as possible. Too much formalism in following out certain steps in a certain sequence may tend to the mechanical and it is a safer plan for the teacher or parent to have the proper spirit and then to concentrate her attention on but two things, PRESENTATION and REACTION, as follows : Presentation. First she should tell, explain, show 224 Information — as clearly, simply, vividly, interestingly as possible all she can about the subject. This is the Presenta- tion. Reaction. Then she should have the child tell back to her in his own words and own way, all he has gathered from her presentation, comment on it, ask questions, make suggestions, discuss it, investigate it further, experiment. This is the Reaction — the di- gestive process that is absolutely essential to complete the instruction, and without which the presentation is wasted, rendered null and void — without effect — " in one ear and out the other." It is most important and even essential, for the young and untrained child to be put and kept in a good humor during both the Presentation and Reaction. He should be cajoled or wheedled into attending and reacting, but never threatened or scolded. His atti- tude at first is only what nature has bestowed on him, and to excite or rouse his antipathy or ugly emotions by harsh words or treatment defeats the attempt to impose knowledge or to train in acquiring it. An older person may voluntarily react — think it over, debate it with himself and one of education's tasks is to form this habit of voluntary reaction on the part of the learner, but in the child the reaction must be called forth by the active questioning, sug- gestion and discussion of the teacher. The popular expressions * pouring in " and " draw- 225 Child Training ing out " applied to methods of instruction are incor- rect even figuratively and also misleading, and there is no particular virtue in the process called " drawing out " or superiority over that of " pouring in." " Drawing all out " without " pouring in " is just as bad as " pouring all in " without " drawing out," if these expressions mean as supposedly they do — pre- senting and reacting. Both are necessary in instruc- tion. The subject must be presented and then, in order to become a possession of the child, it must be reacted upon by him. Starting with the child himself — his own body — and working outward in ever widening circles, from the known to the unknown, the teacher should tell him about all the things that are of interest or value for him to know about in the world around him. The teacher, howeyer, should not adhere strictly to this order — from the center outward — but, follow- ing the lead suggested by the association of the sub- ject or the interests of the child, she may wander far afield — to return, however, to the next point in order after the preceding subject has been pursued suffi- ciently, in order to make sure she is covering the ground. SAMPLE LESSON In the first lesson the child learns no new facts except possibly the names " trunk " and " limbs " and 226 Information this information is of little or no value but he must first take in what is said and then give it back, he must attend and react, he must listen and recite and the ability to do this is one of the most important study powers to be acquired. The teacher might start ofif with the first lesson, as follows : " I 'm going to tell you some things about your own bodies which you may already know but when I get through I want to see if you can tell me everything I have told you and perhaps something more besides. Now, watch and listen till I get through. " Your body has a head, a trunk and limbs. This is the head (pointing to it), as you know; this part is called the trunk and the arms and legs are called limbs. " Now see if you can tell me the parts of the body." The children may not be able to take in all of this at one lesson — depending on their maturity and pre- vious training, if any. Indeed if this is the very first lesson of this sort it would not be at all surprising if not a single child could even start to tell what he had been told when the time came for him to do so. The teacher should then repeat what she has said, starting with "I'm going to tell you" and ending with " Now see if you can " — and still again, if neces- sary, until each one of the children is aroused to make the effort to retain and retell what has been told him. 227 Child Training She should then take up the next points, starting and ending in a similar way : " The things you have only one of are (pointing to each as mentioned), one forehead, one nose, one mouth, one tongue, one chin, one neck. " The things you have two of are, two eyes, two ears, two cheeks, two lips, two shoulders, two arms, two elbows, two wrists, two hands, two thumbs, t.wo legs, two knees, two ankles, two feet. " You have five fingers on each hand ; you have five toes on each foot." Each succeeding day the teacher should take up in a similar way the next points given below — of course regulating the amount to the capacity of the children. INDEPENDENT RECITATION The teacher should aim to have a child give the whole recitation, in his own words and own way of course, without questions or suggestions. It may be necessary at first to ask questions, in order to elicit all the child has learned but he should be asked to tell the whole story without prompting, and later, if he is unable to go on, the next child should be called upon to proceed. In any case even when the child can tell the whole thing, he need not be allowed to do so, but may be interrupted and the next child asked to go on with the recitation. 228 Information QUIZ QUESTIONS Though questions that serve to prompt the child should be discarded as soon as possible, " quiz " ques- tions that test the child's knowledge and understand- ing should be made use of constantly to make sure that the child's information is not mere rote memory and that he really knows what he is talking about. For instance, if the child says, " My body has a head " — then hesitates, the teacher should not ask the prompting question, " What next? " or " What else? " or " What is this? " but wait for the child to make the effort to remember "trunk." When, however, the child has finished, the teacher should " quiz " him thus, " What do you mean by ' trunk ' ? " or " Which part of your body is called the trunk? " Review the various groups of facts as finished and from time to time thereafter, starting the child off in his recitation by a general direction or question rather than a specific one. Thus for example, ask him, "What do you know about your body?" or " Tell me all you know about your body." This is better than several questions, first about the lips, then about the tongue, then about the teeth, and so on, for it exacts more mental effort, more thouglit in the association and arrangement of ideas. These requirements call for some mental effort — close attention, association, classification, and the chil- 229 Child Training dren though starting with Httle ability to make this effort should develop more and more as the lessons progress — the cultivation of these qualities being quite as important and as desirable as the information ac- quired. Following, therefore, is a syllabus of the whole field of knowledge that an educated child under school age may be expected to acquire. Most of it should inter- est him, but whether it does or not he should be re- quired to react and to make the effort to retain for he should acquire the habit of making a mental effort whenever necessary whether he is interested or not. This is the first step in learning how to study. The syllabus aims to show both how much and how little may be taught. Of course its suggestions are not to be followed too literally and the teacher should expand a topic, or on the contrary abridge it or omit it altogether, if the interest or ability of the child in- dicates that it would be wise to do so. SYLLABUS OF INFORMATION LESSONS THE BODY Is made of head, trunk and limbs. Has one forehead, one nose, one mouth, one tongue one chin. Learn following nursery rimes : Brow bender. Eye peeper. Nose smeller, 230 Information Mouth eater, Chin chopper. Knock at the door; {Tap on forehead) Peep in; {Look into eyes) Lift up the latch ; {Raise nose mith finger) Walk in. {Put finger in mouth) Has two eyes, two ears, two cheeks, two lips, two shoulders, two arms, two elbows, two wrists, two hands, two thumbs, two legs, two knees, two ankles, two feet. Has five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot. Learn to say the following rime; touch a finger as you say each line : This little pig went to market ; This little pig stayed at home. This little pig had roast meat; This little pig had none ; This little pig cried " Wee, wee, I can't find my way home." Head. Has hair. Hair is called blonde, if light, brunette, if black or very dark. Use only your own comb and brush. Forehead. Don't scowl, frown or look cross. It makes ugly wrinkles. Eye has brow, lid, lashes, pupil, tears. What color are your eyes and your friend's? Blue, brown, hazel? Don't rub eyes. When there is anything in the eye, pull upper lid down over lower and blow nose. 231 Child Training Ear has shell to catch sound, and a drum. Clean ears carefully. Don't stick anything in that might hurt the drum. Nose has two nostrils. Don't snuffle. Don't breathe through mouth. Mouth has lips, tongue, gums, teeth. Lips — Don't pout. Tongue should be pink, not white coated, if well. First teeth are called " milk teeth." Per- manent teeth begin to come about six years of age. Clean up and down not across with brush and tooth paste at night and antiseptic mouth wash every morn- ing. Don't pick teeth with pins or needles. Use den- tal floss. Don't bite off thread, don't crack nuts, don't eat very sour nor very hot things. Chew food thor- oughly. Don't taste anything unclean or improper. Always put your hand over your mouth if you must yawn. Throat. If food goes down wrong "lane" drop on hands and knees or stand on head. Chest. Feel ribs and collar bones. Two lungs, one on each side take in air, as a sponge does water. Air is necessary to life. Get as much pure out-of-door air as you can. Heart. Feel heart beat on left hand side and listen to the heart beat of others. Heart pumps blood through the body. Arteries and Veins. Are the pipes through which 232 Information blood is pumped. Feel pulse with tips of fingers placed on thumb-side of wrist. Stomach. Digests food which makes blood, which builds up body. Muscle. Feel muscles in jaws, arm, leg, etc., when you contract them. Muscles do the work of the body. Exercising makes them grow. Bone. Feel your skull, bones in arm, in front of legs, etc. Hold backbone erect. Crazy bone is in el- bow. Joints. Are wherever you can bend your body. Find as many as you can. Knee cap is over knee joint. Feel it. Hand. Has palm, notice its lines, thumbs, index finger, middle finger, little finger, knuckles, nails. Clean under nails with brush, trim them round — don't bite them — push back skin at base of nail till white " moon " shows. Feet. Don't wear tight shoes. CLOTHING (Samples of all materials should be in hand for the following lessons and when feasible the raw materials and the process of manufacture should also be shown or illustrated.) Cotton Cloth. Is cool. Your light clothes and some under-clothes are made of cotton cloth. Ravel Child Training out a thread. Cotton comes from a plant. It is white and fluffy when it grows. It is colored with dyes. Name as many other things as you can that are made of cotton. Woolen Cloth. Is warm. It costs more than cot- ton. It is made from the hair of sheep. Ravel out a thread. Burn a thread of this and smell it and burn a thread of cotton and smell the difference. One grows out of the ground and is a plant or vegetable, the other is an animal. Wool shrinks when washed. Linen. Is fine and durable. Your handkerchiefs are made of it. It also is from a plant — the flax — but is not as cheap as cotton. Silk. Is smooth and glossy. It is spun by a cater- pillar called the silk worm. He closes himself in with this silk, making himself a covering that looks like a peanut and is called a cocoon, and when he has gone to sleep inside, men unwind the silk. Leather. Is made from the skin of the cow. Why are shoes made of it? Buttons. Are made of bone and " Mother of Pearl " which is shell FOOD (These lessons should be given at the table or in the kitchen or pantry — in any case always with samples in hand. When possible, experiments should 234 Information be made or excursions taken to see the origin or pro- duction of food.) Water. Comes from springs or wells, which are made by rain soaking through ground. Visit reser- voir or water supply. Milk and Cream. Come from the cow. Cream is lighter and therefore rises to top. Anything lighter than milk or water floats in it, anything heavier sinks. Crumb bread into milk, it floats and is lighter. Put salt or sugar in water, it sinks and is heavier. Buffer. Is made from cream (show process). Milk sours and becomes clabber. Eggs. Are laid by the hen. Hunt nest and eggs when feasible. Other birds lay eggs too. Fish also lay eggs. Cereal Oatmeal, grits, cornmeal, etc., are made from the seeds of plants. Bread. Is made of flour which is made of wheat which grows in the field. Meat. Is the flesh of animals — the cow (beef, veal), the pig (pork, bacon, ham), the sheep (lamb, mutton), chicken, etc. Vegetables. Potatoes grow under ground; toma- toes on a plant; peas and beans in a pod, etc. Fruits. Apples and pears, strawberries, raspberries, etc., are fruits. Peaches and cherries have only one seed. 235 Child Training Sugar. Comes from a plant called the sugar cane and also from a beet. Salt. Comes from salt sea water. Spices. Come from plants. (Other foods may be studied in the same way.) FURNITURE Chairs, tables, desks, etc. Are made of the wood of trees, usually mahogany, oak or pine. Show one of each kind. Beds. The bedstead is made of wood or of metal dug out of the ground. The mattress is stuffed with hair or cotton to make it soft and springy. China Plates, Cups and Saucers, Vases, etc. Are made of clay baked. Show children a " willow ware " blue china plate, point out the willow tree and have them learn the old rime that describes the picture : Two pigeons flying high, Chinese vessel sailing by, Weeping willow hanging o'er. Bridge with three men, if not four. Chinese temple, there it stands, Seems to cover all the lands, Apple tree with apples on, A pretty fence to end my song. Tell them the story of the picture. A Chinese girl loved a poor man but her father 236 Information wanted her to marry a rich man who loved her. The girl and the poor man ran away across the bridge (see them) with the father after them (see him). But they escaped in a boat to the island (see it), where they lived happily till the jealous, rich lover came in a boat (see it) and set fire to their home, from the ashes of which they arose as two pigeons (see them). Knives, Forks, Spoons. Are made of iron or sil- ver, which are metals dug out of the ground. Stationery. What do you think pens, pencils, ink, and — here is a hard one — paper are made of? LIGHT Sun. Gives light by day. Moon and Stars. Give light by night. By day sunlight shines in through the glass windows. What you can see through is called transparent. What you can't see through is called opaque. Glass. Is transparent, but it is made of melted sand which is opaque! Magnifying Glass. If you take a reading glass or any magnifying glass and let the sun shine through it so as to make a fine spot of light on your hand or a piece of paper, it will burn you or scorch the paper. Try it. Long years ago people used to light fires this way. A magnifying glass enlarges things. A microscope enlarges small things. A telescope en- 237 Child Training larges far away things, or makes them seem nearer. Some spectacles magnify, some twist things. Some window panes also twist things. See if you can find one. Look at print, a picture or your hand, through a microscope — through a pair of spectacles. Look at a distant object through opera glasses or a tele- scope. Glass Prisms. If you let the sunlight fall through a glass prism the white light comes out separated into six colors, red, orange, yellow, blue, green, violet. Prove it by experiment. Mirror. Glass with quicksilver on the back is called a "mirror" or "looking-glass" because you can look at yourself in it. It imitates everything you do. Smile — it smiles back. Scowl or look cross — it doesn't look pretty, does it? Can you see your- self in anything else? Long time ago people used to use bright, shiny brass or steel for mirrors. When you go out of doors try to find a spring in which you can see yourself. Long ago there was a vain young man named Narcissus who spent so much time ad- miring himself in a spring that he turned into a flower hanging over the edge. Give the children a small mirror — not a broken piece with which they might cut themselves — and allow them to throw a dancing spot of light on the walls and ceiling. Tell them the story of the Fairy Tinker Bell who was the playmate of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. Tinker 238 Information was a dancing spot of light and talked by jingling bells. Candles, oil lamps, gas, electricity are used to give light. Which is the best and why? Learn this riddle for a candle : Little Nan Etticoat, In a white petticoat, And a red nose; The longer she stands. The shorter she grows. FIRE Light is made by something on fire. The sun is on fire, the candle and lamp wick are on fire, the elec- tric lamp wire is white-hot. The firefly, however, gives light without being on fire or even hot. You can start a fire with a burning glass — then you get your fire straight from the sun which is a ball of fire. You can start it by striking sparks from flint with steel, or you can start it with matches. If you rub your hands together fast they get warm. Try it. If you could rub sticks together fast enough they would get afire. Fire is used to heat houses, to cook food. Can you think of anything else it is used for? If you heat water long enough it will bubble. This is boiling and when water boils it makes steam. 239 Child Training If steam is bottled up it will burst its way out. Steam runs engines. Wood and coal with which fire is made are called fuel. SOUND Stretch threads tightly across a wooden box and twang the strings. Sound is made by rapid shaking (vibrating). Open the piano so that the strings show. Strike a note and touch its string gently. You will feel the shaking and if you stop the shaking you stop the sound. Strike a drinking glass, a bell, a lamp globe with a pencil and stop the sound, by touching it with your finger. Rub your finger along the edge of a finger bowl till it gives out a note. Stretch a string on a stick, a violin, banjo, or guitar, and twang it as you do so. Stretch it still tighter. The tighter the string the higher the note. Shorten the string by " stopping " it so that only part vibrates. The shorter the string the higher the note. ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM With a horse shoe magnet try picking up pins, sticks, hairpins, cuff buttons, pens, pencils, paper, needles and other small objects. What kind of things will it pick dp? This is magnetism. Put a few flakes of torn paper on the table, then rub the back of a comb briskly over your coat sleeve and hold it to the bits of paper. This is magnetism. Shuffle 240 Information across the rug without Hfting your shoes, and touch another's cheek or chin with your finger. This is electricity. Electricity rings bells, makes lights, works the telephone. Lightning is electricity. TIME The clock tells what time to get up, to go to bed, to eat our meals, to work, to play. Watch the pen- dulum or second hand of a clock that ticks seconds, or suspend a ring or small weight by a string 39J/2 inches long and start it swinging. No matter how wide a 39>4 inch pendulum swings it takes one second for a swing. Watch the second hand of a watch or a clock go once round the face. That is a minute. Watch the minute hand at intervals till it also has gone round the face. That is an hour. Learn to tell I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, II, 12 o'clock by the short hand. Learn : Hickory, dickory, dock. The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, And down he run, Hickory, dickory, dock. Learn riddle: When is a clock dangerous? Ans. When it strikes one. 241 Child Training Seven days make a week. Learn the days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Learn : Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is born to woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child has to work for its living, But the child that is born on the Sabbath day Is blithe and bonny and good and gay. Learn the months of the year and the seasons. Learn : Thirty days hath September, April, June and November; All the rest have thirty-one, Except the second month alone; To it we twenty-eight assign. Till Leap Year gives it twenty-nine. Learn when Christmas comes, when snow, when flowers, when rain, when wind. HISTORY Give child an idea of historical time. Instead of dates speak of The Present, Little while ago, Long ago and Long, long ago, and tell him what happened at those times as follows : 242 Information Present. (Tell child about two or three great men and two or three important events.) Little while ago, George Washington was father of our country, the United States. Long ago. Christ lived. Long, long ago. Old Testament stories took place. MEASURES OF LENGTH This is an inch (show inch rule, and test objects brought to be measured). Find everything you can that is about an inch long. This is a foot. Find everything you can that is about a foot long. How tall are you ? Find out. This is a yard. How many feet in a yard? Find everything you can that is about a yard long. It is a mile to . Have you ever been there? Have you ever walked there? MEASURES OF CAPACITY Liquid Measure: This is a pint. See how many drinking glasses one pint will fill. This is a quart. See how many pints it will fill. This is a gallon. See how many quarts it will fill. Fill bottles, tin cans, pitchers, buckets, etc., from these measures and see how much lliey will hold. 243 Child Training Let children play store using bottles filled with water for merchandise. Dry Measure. • Explain as above, a dry pint, dry quart, peck and bushel. Let the children play store using cans filled with sand to represent sugar, peas, corn, coffee, tea, etc. MEASURE OF WEIGHT This is a pound. Put it on one side of a pair of scales and find other things that will nearly balance it, that is, weigh a pound. Find out how much you weigh. VERTICAL LINES Are " standing up " lines like fence posts and tele- graph poles. Ask the children what other things are vertical — themselves, when they stand erect, a lamp post, a tree, a table leg, edge of a door, etc. Make a " plumb line " by tying a small weight to the end of a string two or three feet long. If the other end is held in the fingers the line is always ver- tical. Builders put a plumb line along side the walls they are building to see if they are vertical. Test in this way the edge of the picture frames on the wall, to see if they are " hanging straight," that is, " verti- 244 Information cally." Have the children run their fingers along all the vertical lines they can see in the room. HORIZONTAL LINES Are lying down lines. Ask the children to name all the things they can think of that are horizontal, — themselves, when they are asleep, the floor, a telegraph wire, etc. Have them run their fingers along all the horizontal lines they can see in the room. Use a " level," or improvise one by filling a tall, straight sided bottle, or a small vial with water, all except a bubble of air. Lay the bottle on its side and it is horizontal when the bubble is centered. Lay this level on objects to see if they are really horizontal. PARALLEL LINES Lie in the same direction. They may be parallel vertical lines and parallel horizontal lines. Ask the children to name all the things they can that are parallel — gate posts (vertical parallel lines), a rail- way (horizontal parallel fines). ANGLES Are corners. (Illustrate with two sticks, pencils or rulers.) If it is a square corner it is called a right angle. If it is bigger than a right angle it is called a blunt angle, if less a sharp angle. 245 Child Training GEOMETRICAL FORMS Give the children each a sheet of paper and have them place the short edge nearest them. Ask them to point to the front edge, back edge, right edge, left edge. Then show them pieces of cardboard or thin board cut in one of the geometrical forms, circle, ob- long, triangle, about 2 inches in diameter. Tell them the names and ask them to name other things that are square, round (like a circle but not like a ball, etc.), and to choose one form, asking for it, by name. Have them then center that form on the sheet, using only their eye to do so; then, holding it down firmly with the fingers of the left hand, draw close round it with a pencil, being careful that neither the form nor pencil slips. (From this point on most of these lessons are better given out of doors.) POINTS OF COMPASS Go out of doors. Stand and face where the sun rises. That is called " east." Hold your arms out straight to the sides. Your right arm points south, your left arm points north, back is toward the west. Look at a compass. The needle is drawn to the north by magnetism. It points north no matter in what direction you turn the box. If you walk straight ahead in the direction you are 246 Information facing for a day, you would get to , if you kept on going straight ahead for a week you would get to , and if you kept straight ahead for a month you would get to . If you walked in the same way to the soutli you would get to . If you walked in the same way to the nortli you would get to . If you walked in the same way to the zvcst you would get to . TRANSPORTATION Trains. You might go in a train cross country, over rivers or bridges, through tunnels, or in other ways. Carriages, bicycles and automobiles can be used on land. Sleds are used over ice and snow. Boats are used over water — canoes are made to go by paddle ; row boats by oars ; sail boats by sails ; steam boats by steam. Aeroplanes and balloons are used in the air. GEOGRAPHY A hill you all know. A valley is a hollow between hills. A brook or river always nms down hill, growing larger and larger till it reaches the ocean. If you went up in a balloon so high that the house 247 Child Training looked like a spot and the road like a line, imagine how the country would look with its houses and rivers and roads so far off, and make a picture of it in sand or on paper. This is called a map. If you went up still higher, so far that you could see nothing at all on the ground, you would see as you looked down that the earth is not flat, but a very large ball. This is the world. A big part of it is water, called oceans. Away off in that direction is the Atlantic Ocean. Away off in the other direction is the Pacific Ocean. (Explain where Europe and Africa are, where South America, where Asia; what races and nations live there and how the people speak and act — that is, their language and customs, as much as the children are interested in or can even partly understand. It is not unusual for children of six or even younger to display an interest in, and real understanding and appreciation of, the main divisions of the world and maps, though this subject is generally supposed to be beyond the comprehension of a child of this age.) RACES A great many people in the world, but not all, are white, like ourselves. Many of the people are yellow with slanting eyes — the Chinamen and Japanese. 248 Information Some of the people are black with crimpy, black hair. They are called negroes. Some of the people are red — the Indians. THE FAMILY The head of your family is your father and mother. You are their son or daughter. Their fathers and mothers are your grandfathers and your grandmoth- ers. Your uncle is your father's or mother's brother. You are his nephew or niece. Your aunt is your father's or mother's sister. You are her nephew or niece. Your cousin is your uncle's or aunt's child. GOVERNMENT Your family and a great many other families make your town or city and have a mayor over them. A great many towns and cities with the land be- tween make your State with a Governor over it. A great many states make your country — the United States — with a President over all. A great many countries make the world. Laws are rules that say what you must not do and some of the things you must do. Police see that you obey the laws. Mail means letters, bundles, etc., that the govern- ment carries. The postman brings it to you and car- ries it away. Stamps pay for carrying the mail. 249 Child Training A Postcard costs only i cent, but you can't send a long message on it and every one can read it. Letters cost 2 cents usually, if sealed — i cent, if not sealed and not written but printed. The I cent and 2 cent stamps have a picture of George Washington on them. Examine them. Money is made by your country of copper, nickel, silver, gold and paper. The cent (examine one and find out what is on it) is made of copper and will buy a banana, a pencil, a newspaper. What else ? Five cents — as many cents as you have fingers on one hand — make a nickel. Examine one. It will buy a loaf of bread. What else? Ten cents or two nickels — as many cents as you have fingers on two hands — make a dime. Examine one. It is made of silver. Why is it worth more than a nickel, even though smaller? What will ten cents buy ? A twenty-five cent piece is called a quarter. It is silver. Examine one. Tell what it will buy. A dollar is worth four quarters. Examine one. If you made a pile of them as high as the ceiling it would buy an automobile. Two piles as high as the ceiling would buy a small house. Close your eyes and tell which coins are which, by feeling them when altogether and when handed you separately. 250 Information Make paper coins, as follows: Press a piece of paper tightly over a real coin, and holding both steady, nib the paper with the flat unsharpened end of a pencil held vertically till design shows. Make a number of each coins in this way. Cut them out with scissors and use in playing store. RELIGION (Parent give own ideas and beliefs.) OCCUPATIONS Farmers raise food which we must have to live, so farming is the most important of all occupations. Manufacturers make things, such as clothing, fur- niture, etc. Merchants sell what the farmers raise and manu- facturers make. Mechanics are men who work chiefly with their hands, such as carpenters, painters, masons, plumbers, blacksmiths, etc. Professional men work chiefly with their heads, such as doctors, lawyers, ministers, teachers, artists, musicians, authors. .What do you want to be, and why? ASTRONOMY The sun is a ball of fire. It will burn you if it shines on you long. It is very, very far off and very, very big; bigger than anything in the world; 251 Child Training bigger — much bigger than the world. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Drive a stake in the open ground where the sun will shine on it all day- long. Draw a line on the shadow or put a pebble at the end of it every hour or so during the day. When the shadow is shortest it is noon. At night the sun " goes back " on the other side of the earth. The moon is at times crescent, then half full, and when it is entirely round — full. Like the sun it also rises and sets. Sometimes you can see it in the day time. The stars are suns but so far off they seem tiny. The Japanese flag has a sun on it, the Turkish flag a crescent moon and a star, and the United States flag has stars. METEOROLOGY A thermometer tells whether it is hot or cold. Put it in the sun, breathe on the bulb or put it in hot water and watch it. Put it in the shade or cold water and watch it. What does it do when it is hot and what does it do when it is cold? Air is all round us though you can't see it. When it blows, we call it wind. We can't see the wind either but you can see what it does. It roars up the chimney, blows smoke, shakes flags, whirls up the dust, bangs shutters, whistles round the corners. Ice is water made solid, that is, frozen by cold. 252 Information Fog IS water hanging in the air. Cloud is fog high up in the air. Rain falls from a cloud when it is chilled. When the sun shines while it is raining we usually see a rain- bow. The sun goes through the rain drops as it does through a glass prism (see lesson on Light) and comes out in bands of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. Learn: Rainbow at night Is the sailor's delight; Rainbow in the morning, Sailors take warning. Hail is rain turned into ice. It starts as rain but is frozen before it reaches the ground. Snow is frozen cloud falling. Catch flakes on a black cloth and see how beautiful they are. Lightning is electricity. Once upon a time a man named Benjamin Franklin went out doors while it was lightning and flew a kite in the clouds. He put a key to the end of the kite string and when he touched the key he drew forth sparks of electricity. Thunder is made by the lightning. Thunder can't hurt you and it 's cowardly to be afraid of lightning. GEOLOGY Sandstone is rock made of sand. Limestone is rock made of shells and bones. 253 Child Training Granite is very hard rock made by fire. Soil is broken rock. If dead leaves, roots, etc., are also mixed with it, it is called loam — which is very rich and fertile, that is, good for growing things. Coal is made of trees that were buried under the earth long, long ago. Metals are dug out of the earth. Iron is the commonest and most useful — why, do you think? Steel is made of it. What are iron and steel used for? Iron will rust if not painted — quickly if put in water or the damp, more slowly in the air. Iron covered with tin is used for most kitchen things. Copper is used for cents, telephone and telegraph wires, etc. Brass is not dug out of the ground but is made of copper and zinc (another metal) mixed. Gold and silver are called precious metals because they are very hard to get and are beautiful for jew- elry. Precious stones are also dug out of the earth. The sapphire is blue. The ruby is red. The diamond is clear white or slightly colored and very sparkling because it is the hardest of stones. The pearl is not a stone but is made by the oyster in his shell. '254 Information (The following instruction is best given in the spring and summer, because the subjects will then be season- able and specimens may be easily seen.) PLANTS Flozvers. Take the children out on excursions to find flowers or have them bring flowers to the class. Tell them to name anything interesting about each flower, and review from time to time by having them name the flower from the specimen or picture, describe it when given the name, or tell it with eyes closed when it has a perfume. Some of the flowers they should know are : * Jack in the Pulpit May Apple Blood Root Dandelion Arbutus Daisy Anemone Buttercup Spring Beauty Laurel Violet Chicory Liverwort Thistle Bluets Clover Robin's Plantain Queen Anne's Lace Mustard Yarrow Flag Butter and Eggs * The wild flowers are described and many of tlicm illustralcd so that they can be readily identified in a number of popular books, such as " How to Know the Wild Flowers," " Nature's Garden," etc. Child Training Milk Weed Cherry Blossom Golden Rod Geranium Aster Morning Glory- Lilac Jonquil Tulip Narcissus Sweet Pea Honeysuckle Rose Pansy Forsythia Nasturtium Judas' Bfush Chrysanthemum Spiraea Lilies Apple Blossom Sunflower Peach Blossom Carnation Fruits. The heart of the flower goes on growing after the other part dies and this heart becomes the fruit. Find the tiny apple, peach, etc., after the blos- som has withered and died. Vegetables are fruits. Nuts are fruits. The apple and pear have several seeds. The apple juice is called cider and this turns to vinegar. The peach, cherry and plum have but one seed. Oranges and bananas grow in warm countries. Some berries are the strawberry, raspberry, black- berry. Watermelon and canteloupe are berries. 256 Information Grapes are used to make wine. Fruit has seeds which, put into the ground, grow into a plant. Try planting a bean. Trees. Have the children collect leaves of the most common trees and learn to recognize the tree from the shape of its leaf. Each child should make an outline drawing of each leaf studied. To do this, have him place the leaf in the center of a sheet of paper, or better, a page of a blank book reserved for these leaf sketches and, while holding it fast with the left hand fingers, draw around it, being careful not to let the leaf slip, nor the pencil get under the edge. These outlines might afterwards be painted in with a flat wash of water color, as described in the manual train- ing lessons. The leaves and trees suggested for study are : * Maple Dogwood Oak Poplar Chestnut Linden Beech Birch Apple Sycamore Peach Sassafras Willow Horse Chestnut *" Common Trees" — by V. M. Hillyer describes and illus- trates the leaves and tells something interesting about each tree. Child Training Locust Spruce Pine Cedar ANIMALS Sponge is an animal that lives in the water when alive, but it is a very low form as it has no feet nor arms nor head nor eyes nor ears and cannot move from the spot where it is attached. It has, however, a great many mouths. All the holes you see are mouths and inside is its stomach. Worms are higher animals than sponges because they have a head, eyes, ears, etc., and can move about. They are useful, for they help the farmer. They move about in the soil, loosening it and making it rich. Caterpillars are not worms. Caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies; worms never turn into anything else. Star Fish have five arms like a star and there is an eye at the end of each arm. The mouth and stomach are in the center. If one arm is cut off, the star fish grows another arm to take its place. Oysters and Clams have two shells hinged together and the oyster inside can close the shells or open them part way. Oysters cannot move, but clams have a single foot with which they can move themselves about. Snails and Slugs. A snail carries its shell on its 258 Information back and withdraws into it when frightened. Slugs are snails without shells. In some countries people eat snails as we do oysters and clams. Lobsters and Crabs are green when alive, but become red when boiled. Once a year tiiey leave their old shells and the soft skin then hardens to forni a new shell to take the place of the old. Insects. Flies, butterflies, moths, ants, bees, mos- quitoes, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles and spiders are called insects. All insects except the spiders and thousand legs have six feet. Flies carry disease and therefore should be killed. The " blue bottle " is a big fly with a noisy buzz. The horse fly is a very big fly that sucks the blood of horses. The dragon fly is born on the water, but lives in the air. It eats insects, but is harmless to us. The May fly is born in the water and dies the day it flies in the air. Butterflies lay eggs, the eggs hatch into cater- pillars, which feed on leaves. The caterpillar then makes a cocoon about himself and goes to sleep inside and finally comes out a butterfly. Moths grow in much the same way as butterflies. Some small moths eat woolen clothes and destroy plants and trees. Ants are the most intelligent of all insects; they work in gangs, build ant hills and store up food. They have armies and go to war against other ants. They 259 Child Training even have a kind of insect cow which they " milk." They are able to talk to each other and tell where food is, where danger lies, and so forth. The red ants often capture the black ants and make them work for them. You must not leave any food around for the ants will soon find it out and come after it. Bees and ants are very hard workers, that is why we say " as busy as a bee." The bees gather the sweet juice of the flowers and make it into honey for their food. They store this in the honey comb which they make of wax. The bees' house is called a hive and in a hive there are three kinds of bees, the Queen bee, the Workers and the Drones. The Queen bee lays all the eggs. Of the Workers, some gather honey, some make the honey comb, some act as police, some as house maids, cleaning and keeping the hive in order, some as waiters. Only the Drones do nothing. In the autumn all die except the Queen bee, who lives through the winter and lays her eggs in the spring. Mosquitoes are born on still water and if there are no ponds nor puddles, we will have no mosquitoes. Only the female mosquito bites. The Cricket is supposed to bring good luck to the house. Its song starts in the autumn toward evening and continues into the night. They are great leapers. If you could jump as high for your size, you could jump over the house. 260 Information The Grasshopper and the Locust in some countries fly over the land in such large numbers they seem like a cloud and they eat every live thing in their path, de- stroying crops entirely. Read Plague in Egypt de- scribed in Bible (Exodus, x, 12-19). The Spider spins a cobweb for a net to catch other insects which it feeds on. Once upon a time a beauti- ful maiden named Arachne boasted that she could spin better than the gods. For this she was turned into a spider and made to keep on spinning forever. Some spiders bite or sting. The Daddy-long-legs looks like a very long legged spider with a small body, but it makes no cobweb and is harmless. Thousand-legs or centipedes have really only about twenty pairs of feet. Beetles are both good and bad. The lady-bug, also called lady-bird, is a good beetle. It is a little red, brown or black beetle with spots of bright colors. It eats insects that harm the plants. Learn: Lady bird ! lady bird ! Fly away home; Your house is on fire, Your children will burn. The potato bug is a beetle that harms the potato plant. The firefly and glow worm are little beetles. Cages 261 Child Training filled with them are used for lanterns in some countries. The light of the firefly, unlike other light, is cold. Fish are the first of the animals we have studied that have a back bone. The higher animals all have back- bones. The fish, however, has cold blood, not warm like birds and dogs. They are covered with scales and breathe water through gills. They swim through the water and steer themselves with the tail and fins. The whale is not a fish, though it lives in the water, for it must come up to get air to breathe. Some fish can only live in salt water, some only in fresh. A fish's eggs are called roe. A number of fish to- gether in the water is called a school of fish. The shark is one of the most dangerous fish in the sea. The eel looks like a snake, but it is not ; it is a fish and is good for food. Frogs have back bones. They can live on both the water and land and they lay eggs in the water. The eggs hatch into little fish called tadpoles, and finally, the tadpole loses its tail and turns into a frog. Toads match the stones or ground, or bark if they live on trees, so that the snakes and birds who would eat them, cannot find them. Toads eat insects that are harmful, so they are good for the farmer and should not be killed or hurt. They do not make warts, as was 262 Information once thought, though they should not be touched or handled. Reptiles. Snakes, turtles, alligators, etc., are called reptiles. Reptiles have a back bone and cold blood. Some snakes are very poisonous. There are both land and water turtles. The land turtle is called a tortoise. It is used for food; its shell is used for making tortoise shell combs and other articles. The lizard has a very brittle tail, which it easily loses, but when broken off, another grows in its place. The chameleon is a little lizard that rapidly changes its color to match the surroundings. The alligator and crocodile are huge lizards. Birds have a back bone, but, unlike all the ani- mals studied before, are warm blooded. The higher animals have back bones ; the highest animals have back bones and are warm blooded. The female bird lays the eggs and sits on them till they hatch into young birds. The male bird finds the food and feeds them. The stem of feathers is called the quill. Quills were once used for pens before steel pens were made. Birds that live in the water are web-footed, that is, have skin between the toes so that they can paddle and swim. Ducks do not have to learn how to swim, they take to the water naturally. Chickens cannot swim because they are not web-footed, and they will not go into the water. 263 Child Training Parrots can be taught to speak. Hawks prey upon other birds. Owls destroy rats and mice. They are supposed to be very wise, so we say, ** As wise as an owl." The condor is the largest bird that flies. Its wings spread out to twice the height of a man. The ostrich is the largest bird. Ostriches can run very fast and men have ridden on them as on horse- back. They are very foolish birds. When afraid they put their heads in the ground and, as they can- not then see, they think they cannot be seen. Their feathers are used for hat plumes. They lay eggs as big as a baby's head. The peacock has a wonderfully colored tail and walks with such a strut that we say, " Proud as a pea- cock." Doves are supposed to be very loving, so we say, " As loving as doves." Sea gulls live by the seashore; they can fly far and fast. The eagle is a strong, bold and daring bird. It builds its nest in inaccessible spots. The eagle is our national bird. It is on several of our coins. The carrier pigeon is so attached to home that people use him to send messages. They take him away from his home, tie a message to his leg and then release him. He will fly back to his home, even if he has been carried hundreds of miles from it. 264 Information Mammals are animals that nurse their babies with milk. They are the highest kind of animal. We are mammals, as are also all the following animals. Whales, though they live in the water, are not fish, for they have warm blood, no scales, must have air to breathe and nurse their young. Seals, though they also live in the water, are mammals. The kangaroo carries its baby in a pouch in front. The pig is the dirtiest and greediest of animals. The hippopotamus is a huge animal of the same fam- ily. Conundrum : " When is a boy not a boy ? " Ans. " When he is a pig." The elephant is the largest animal on the earth. He can be made to carry great loads on his back and with his trunk. The male elephant has two enormous teeth called tusks. Animals that chew the cud are those that swallow their food first and then chew afterwards. They have two toes. The following chew the cud. A camel has two humps. A dromedary has one hump. The deer has branched horns. The sheep is shorn for his wool. The goat is kept in some countries for his milk. The cow is the most useful of all domestic ani- mals. She gives milk and cream from which butter and cheese are made. Her hide is used for leather and her flesh for meat. Herbivorous animals are those that eat only grass or 265 Child Training plant life. The following animals are herbivorous. The horse has but one toe — a hoof. The rabbit likes young and tender leaves. The squirrel eats nuts which he gathers and stores for the winter. Rats and mice eat grain. The porcupine has quills all over his back. Carnivorous animals are those that eat only, or chiefly, meat. The following animals are carnivorous. Cats like places rather than people and will return to their home after they have been carried away. They have cushions on their toes so that they can creep noise- lessly upon their prey. When they are angry their claws appear and they wag their tails and arch their backs. When they are pleased they purr. Tigers and lions are only very large wild cats. Dogs are the most intelligent of all animals. They have a very powerful sense of smell by which they can track their master or animals for long distances. They like people rather than places and become firm friends — saving children from drowning, guarding the house against thieves, etc. Cats and dogs are natural ene- mies — the dog fights the cat and the cat either flees or stands its ground. The wolf and fox belong to the same family. Bears sleep through the whole winter. The polar bear is white to match the snow where he lives, so that he can not easily be seen by his prey when he is hunting for food. 266 Information Bats are not birds at all. They are covered with fur — not feathers. Their wings are merely skin stretched between their fingers. They sleep in the daytime and fly at night. Learn the rime, Bat, bat, Come under my hat, And I '11 give you a shoe of bacon ; And when I bake, I '11 give you a cake. If I am not mistaken. Monkeys have a skeleton almost exactly like man's. They use their feet just as if they were hands. Man is the only animal that naturally walks up- right. Do you always walk upright? 267 READING AND WRITING When the child is about six years of age, or has finished the previous course of training, he may begin to write and read. If, however, the following work proves too much of an ordeal, or if he is uninterested, it is a sign that he is still too young and after a fair trial the work should be postponed. If a child is inquisitive or shows curiosity about words or letters that appear conspicuously on bill boards, street signs, newspaper headings, etc., asking what letter that is or what such and such printed words mean, or tries to write letters or figures, not merely to scribble, thereby displaying an interest in the language arts, it is usually a pretty good symptom that he is ready for instruction in these branches. Aristotle says : " The way to learn to play the harp is to play the harp." Likewise the way to learn to write is to write — not to begin with arm movements, up and down strokes, or even practice letters, but to write as one thinks and speaks — in words and sentences. No indirect method of approach is as satisfactory as this. It is the " Royal Road," * the pleasantest and shortest. But * Royal Road to Reading and Writing by V. M. Hillyer. 268 Reading and Writing one who has never seen such a method tried, might ob- ject, " A child just beginning does not know his al- phabet, nor how to write a single letter, to say nothing of words and sentences." Very true, and yet no nor- mal child of six or seven, properly taught by this method, has ever failed to write sentences from the start, much to the amazement of parents and confound- ing of preconceived ideas on the subject. Following are given the 50 Basal sentences that are first to be taught. They are not penmanship copies but models for the teacher who teaches them as directed below. The arrangement is not alphabetical — nor is it arranged according to letter forms, but according to the common words the child uses every day and will need to use in any writing or composition he does. The vocabulary is small, about 160 words, not guessed at but chosen after actual com- putation of the number of times a word is used by a child of six. They are, therefore, from the simplest categories and those most frequently used, — Work and Play, Time and Space, Quality and Quantity, Family Relations, etc. These words should, of course, be only the beginning, as a child of six already has a knowl- edge of more than a thousand words, but it is the ob- ject of this method to teach the children these basal words, so that they can write, read and spell them per- fectly, thus forming a sure foundation; other words they will acquire as the necessity arises, if the ele- 269 Child Training mental ones are at their finger tips and the sounds of the various combinations of letters are inseparably as- sociated with the written form. As will be seen, the written letter-forms of the models approximate print. They are not print, how- ever, but the simplest form of script, conforming as closely as is practicable to the historic letters. This alphabet has five advantages : (i) On account of its simplicity, it is naturally the most legible; (2) It is also the most rapid, as it is freed from all superfluous strokes; (3) It is the easiest to learn on account of its simple lines; (4) The child having learned the script can read print with little if any further study, as the two are so nearly alike; (5) His own individuality and character can and will be imposed upon the writing as he progresses. If he learns the complex forms, with scrolls and tails which some one else has added to the original historic forms, he must throw these away, go back to first prin- ciples and start anew before he can form a hand dis- tinctly his own. Whether the writing is vertical, medial or slanting is not a question for the beginner. It is as natural for rapid writing to slant as for a runner to lean forward, but when a child is first learning to walk, he is not 270 Reading and Writing taught to lean forward. A slight slant called " Me- dial " is not objectionable, and each pupil will gradu- ally tilt his letters in the direction of the writing as he gains in facility, if he is allowed to do so, but he should not be embarrassed with an artificial slant when taking his first steps. Large writing is to be expected at first (the capitals not less than one inch high, the small letters one-half inch), as the finer muscles of the fingers are still un- developed and badly controlled. As the child gains command of these muscles, however, the writing may and should become smaller, and accordingly it will be noticed that the copies are gradually reduced in size. For a similar reason there are no confusing guiding lines to embarrass the beginner and restrict his free- dom. DIRECTIONS Ask each pupil to watch and listen while you write something for him. ( I ) Then write slowly on the blackboard, or in case of an individual pupil, on a sheet of paper, in a very large hand, imitating the writing given on p. 278. I see a In place of a word at the end, make with two or three strokes a quick, simple sketch of some common object, for example, a ball, a cup, a ladder, a flag, etc. 271 Child Training Pronounce each word very slowly, drawling it, as you do so. (2) Ask each pupil to read what you have written. This he can do as the words will still be ringing in his ears. (3) Write again and have each pupil follow the writing with his index finger as if it were a pencil. Say nothing about the individual letters or their names ; merely describe the direction the lines take and have each pupil devote his sole attention to the forma- tion of the writing. Re-write the sentence in this way several times, making a different sketch of the object "I see" each time, then, (4) Give each pupil a crayon and ask him to write the sentence on a blackboard, or sheet of blank paper, pronouncing each word as he does so. Each pupil's first attempt may be almost an inde- cipherable scrawl and anything but a good copy, but do not be impatient or discouraged with the first results. (5) Call attention to the proper form of any letter illegibly written thus : " This letter (point to the capital I) which says * I ' stands up straight as I do. " To make this word which says ' see ' you start off and up, then turn down and back (the s), then make two little eyes to see with (the two e's), and so on." Children usually have difficulty at first in making loops like e, 1, h, etc., simply because the hand tends 272 Reading and Writing always to go forward and it is unnatural to turn back, as is necessary in such loops. Have the child write the sentences over and over and over again, using dif- ferent colored crayon each time to give added zest and keep the interest fresh. Keep him practising this initial sentence, both with and without the copy, until it is readable, even if it takes several days. Do not, of course, limit him to a single sheet, let him write on all the scrap paper he can find. If a child can find none, as soon as he feels he is really writing, writing something that every one can read, he will write on your specially reserved sta- tionery, the walls and floors of the house, the doors and fences, even on the ground. When he has finally succeeded, and not until then, go to the next sentence and teach him to write this in the same way. To recapitulate, the method to be used for each suc- cessive sentence is : (l) Write the sentence very slowly, and as you do so, drawl each word so as to sound the individual let- ters. (2) Have the pupil read your copy, also drawling the words. (3) Have him practise writing the copy, drawling each word aloud as he writes it. (4) Have him write the sentence from memory without a copy. Great care should be used to have the pupil take the 273 Child Training proper position while writing. He should sit facing front, squarely on his seat, not on the edge, the light coming from the left side or over his left shoulder, the inside of his elbows on a level with the top of the desk, head up, crayon held lightly between thumb and first two fingers, one inch from point. Each pupil should be taught to hold his pencil in the correct way at the start, for it is almost impossible to change the manner of holding the pencil after a certain habit is acquired. The pencil should be held lightly about an inch from the point between the thumb and first two fingers. On account of the difficulty in control referred to above, the natural tendency of the pupil will be to grip the pencil. Every effort should be made to lessen this strangle hold as soon as possible. The important thing to insist on, however, is that the first finger is rounded up and that nothing touches the writing surface except the 4th and 5th finger tips, and the muscles of the lower arm — not the side of hand nor the side of the fingers nor the wrist. The paper should be directly in front, but turned slightly, so that the lower edge makes an angle of about 45° with the edge of the desk, and should be held in place by the left hand. The right hand should rest lightly on the fourth and fifth fingers, and the arm be supported by the muscles of the lower arm ; the wrist should not touch. When the sentence which reads, " My name is " and " Your loving son, ," is reached, 274 Reading and Writing fill in the space with a good copy of the pupil's name and have him practise writing his signature. Call at- tention to the difference in size and shape of the letters that begin a sentence — the capitals — and those else- where, for to the pupil they are apparently different letters. Explain when a question mark is used and when a period. Have each pupil always do his best, but do not expect exact or perfect copies at first; if they are readable, it is satisfactory. On the reverse of each sheet, after the first, each pupil should write a composition using only the words he has learned to write, but just as many of those as he can, varying their order to make different sentences. Thus, after the third sentence, he will have a vocabu- lary of seven words, which he can write and read. These can be combined in different ways, which he should suggest, to make, beside the original sentences, several others, thus forming a " composition." Each so-called " composition " will at first, therefore, consist merely of sentences in which all the changes are rung on the words learned, but each sentence should have a little more variety and extent as the new words are learned and become available. The " compositions " based on the first twenty sentences should be in the nature of a dialogue — question and answer — in the " primer " style suggested by the models. Those based on the next twenty should be notes or letters — the most valuable, important and universally demanded 275 Child Training kind of composition. Those based on the last ten may be the usual descriptive and narrative composition. As each pupil progresses, he should be encouraged to write as fully as he can, using all the words he has learned that he can weave into sentences. If a pupil needs additional words and asks for them, give them to him as new copy, but sparingly and not until he has need for them and has exhausted those he has already learned. Crayon may be used for the penmanship practice, but only pencil for the composi- tion. All the copies and the compositions the pupils write should be saved, and re-read by them. Compo- sitions should be exchanged and each pupil should read the other's. In teaching the new sentence, if each word is sounded very slowly, letter by letter as far as possi- ble, as previously directed, and each pupil does the same, when he writes, he will in this way gradually and unconsciously but surely, learn the sounds of each group of letters and thus acquire the key to reading new words as well as the old. This sounding of the letters and syllables is most important and the great- est emphasis should be laid upon it from the start. As each pupil learns to write each sentence, it fol- lows that he learns the spelling of the words at the same time, for he learns to know and recognize the letter forms and the order in which they come, but without necessarily knowing their names. Learning their 276 Reading and Writing names is a simple matter if the letters are incidentally referred to by their names when attention is called to their forms in the penmanship practice. In this way, therefore, penmanship, composition, reading and spell- ing will be learned altogether. The copies have been written free hand, not drawn or engraved, and it is, therefore, possible for pupils to write equally well. 277 Child Training BASAL SENTENCES (The following sentences are to be written with capitals one inch, small letters one-half inch:) The following copies are from " Royal Road to Writing," copyright, by V. M. Hillyer: 1 D a liou/ AM/ mi/ ( ? AW/O/ ;t.? 278 Reading and Writing t Uv 0/ ^nn '^" ^ A Uu:d/ iKJUA/ lail ? ruALAO/ iMMM/ no/nu/ : ? M 379 Child Training m I mi/? UJ DA u m ? 0. I V. I VJW. yh/Uy OAJy mUAyUl^^ zSo Reading and Writing Tm/ij oMj al junru/, H (MV ajCUbajwuOj Mm^ mfmylxi&\}[h (\m^. 281 Child Training (The following sentences are to be written with cap- itals ^ of an inch, small letters ^ of an inch :) 282 Reading and Writing liTi/ fi/mvfia ou Imjy \jimw hjuu. yiarhdoA^ I vrniL ofito-AoWrt, TiMoxm w JimmiAy (mZ dam VlumuMlaAj tlw MM/ oa/mjy auX^. 283 Child Training 'ThjiA/)Ax2AA \L iraA WW }wt. \- hlA/m \ tmi^ Cb M\Xy\Ji WWAiy. OcdwiAnyu ( nlmiui all mfun^^ ru tlu/ altmi/nmy I txroh Ou Auiv. ImVumm f liwit dowwj towrv. 284 Reading and Writing o-doAJi IrfinAjbMrwithMhQ myimu. o-rmVhow OMj^OJjmAL LoAt vjloMj I tlumxjJ^ (jy mw. cu V I ' w ^^ 5trtli/UfMi rriwch/. hmh \mh oJUj oovfu/nn hijck Aonri/. 28s Child Training (The following sentences are to be written with cap- itals one-half inch, small letters one- fourth inch:) 0LiA/ll/)U6^ AU^OTbtA^txm/ at cu-fult. \JatJ[mMA umAjA/ thu Axmt \/y nvLj -k/cUxrcmru. 0\]yUvu\mllaAv DuiuAJiJ^(y.^vi)vJ^araAjO^^ 3u wjb dovrX/ oJOy Qy cJwlaA a/ncL Oj toMv. I -ttiu/ txr icruh out ai Uw wvnAxmr, 286 Reading and Writing loarru Awtroy Au/rvAit cnnA/iJw IAjja. Nil MtJuiA/^ jujAJ^tku/iy Amrrb iwxtta rcwnv. Alb oW/ cl(ych AtcurvdAy \fCb Vojl/ tuuL. I wlrrJa, I v/rwvr rwvr txr hXL u/rruy. frrb cmiAj Mo^ \xmAA ohL v-uX \ umu AmuL. 2^7 INDEX INDEX Accordion (paper work), 206 Accuracy, 81, 186 Acting a Picture, 54 Acting, Two Part, 64 Action in Stories, no Adenoid Growths, 132 Air, 252 Altering Card, 50 Ambidexterity, 189 Ambition, xxv Angles, 245 Animals, 258 ff Answering Three Questions, 75, 76 Ants, 259 Appeal to Right, xxiii Apple (modehng), 190 "April Showers," 154 Arranging Colors, 45, 46 Arteries, 232 " As I was going to St. Ives," 153 " As round as an apple," 68 Associating Ideas, 65, 66 Association Drills, 65 flf Astigmatism, 121 Astronomy, 251 "At Ease" Position, 128, 129 Athletic Plays, 174 ff Attention Drills, ^t^ ff " Ba-a, ba-a, black sheep," 142 Baby Talk, 102 Ball (modeling), 190 Balloons (drawing), 197 Balloons (painting), 198 Baric Sense, 41 Barn (paper work), 202 Basal Sentences, 278 ff Bats, 2h-j " Bat, bat," 267 Baths, 120 Bean Bag, 181 Bear, 266 Bed (paper work), 206 Beds, 236 Bees, 260 Beetles, 261 Bells, Suspended, 175 Birds, 263 " Blind Man's Buff," 40 Bluebird (painting), 195 Boat (modeling), 193 Body, The, 230 ff Bogies, 108, no Bone, 233 Books (paper work), 202 Bow and Arrow (drawing), 212 " Bow, wow, wow," 153 Brain Paths, xv Brain Power, xv Brass, 254 "Brave" (song), 167 Bread, 235 Breaking Habits, 82 Breathing, 129, 132 " Brow bender," 230 Butterflies, 259 " Bye baby Bunting," 143 291 Index Calisthenic Drills, 129 ff Camel, 265 Candle, 239 Candle (drawing), 200 Candlestick (modeling), 193 Capacity, Measures of, 243 Capital Letters, 275 Carnivorous Animals, 266 "Cat and Rat" (game), 179 Cats, 266 Cat's Cradle, 209 Case (paper work), 205 Cereal, 235 Chain (modeling), 193 Chains (paper work), 201 Chairs, etc., 236 Charades, 64 Chest, 232 China, 236 Christmas, 213 Church (drawing), 199 Clams, 258 Clay Work, 190 flf Cleaning up Room, 32 Clothing, 233, 234 Cloud, 2S3 Coal, 254 Color Finding, 48 Colors, Three Primary, 193 Color Work, 193 ff Common Courtesies, 88 ff Compass, Points of, 246 Composition, 275, 276 Concentration, xxxii ff, 186 Concentration Drills, 73 ff Conditions for Training, xvii Conumdrums, 67, 68 Conversation, 90 ff Conversation Rules, 93 Conversation, Two Minute, 6( Cooking, 220 Copper, 254 Cornucopias, 212 Corporal Punishment, xxix Cotton Cloth, 233 Counting and Clapping, /j Courage, 82 Course of Training Outlined, xviii, xix Courtesy, 81 Cow, 265 Crabs, 259 Cradle (paper work), 206 Cream, 235 Cricket, 260 Criticizing Incongruities,. 54, 55 Crown (paper work), 205 Cube (modeling), 191 Cup and Saucer (modeling), 193 Curls (paper work), 208 " Curly locks ! Curly locks I " 145 Cylinder (modeling), 191 Daddy-long-legs, 261 Daffy-down-dilly, 142 Dangerous Plays, 171 Dart (paper work), 203 Days of the Week, 242 Deer, 265 Describing a Child, 51 Describing a Person, 51 Describing a Picture, 52 Design (paper work), 203, 204 Diamond, 254 Diet, 121 " Ding dong, bell ! " 148 Dogs, 266 Dolls, 178 Double Boat (paper work), 208 Doves, 264 Drawing Out, 225, 226 Dromedary, 265 Dropping Medicine, 74 Drum (modeling), 191 292 Index Ducks, 263 Duties, 30, 31 Eagle, 264 Ear, 232 " Early to bed," 154 Eel, 262 " Eeney, meeny, miney, mo," 179 Egg (modeling), 192 Eggs, 235 Electricity, 240 Elephant, 265 Emulation, xxv Enunciation, loi Envelope (paper work), 215 Exercises (physical), 123 fif Eye, 231 Eyes, Care of, 121 Faces (drawing), 201 Fairy Tales, 108 Family, The, 249 Fan (paper work), 203 Fanciful Tales, 107, 108 "Farmer in the Dell" (song), 166 Fatigue, 124, 129 Feeling Fabrics, . Feeling Materials, 40 Feeling Paper, 42 Feet, 233 Finding and Replacing, 43, 44 Finding and Replacing, Rapid, 45 Finding Book, 45 Finding Hidden Pictures, 55 Finding in the Dark, 41, 42 Finding, Rapid, 44 Fire, 239 Firefly, 261 Fish, 262 Flat Foot, 127 Flies, 259 Flowers (drawing), 199 Flowers, 255, 256 Fog, 253 Folk Dances, 163 Food, 234 ff Foot Stool (paper work), 202 Forehead, 231 " For every evil under the sun," 159 Fork (paper work), 208 Forms, Geometrical, 246 " For want of a nail," 159 Fox, 266 Frame (paper work), 204 Fresh Air, 120 Frogs, 262 Fruits, 235, 256 Fruits (drawing), 198 Furniture (drawing), 199 Furniture, 236 ff Furniture, Bedroom (draw- ing), 200 Furnishings, Table (drawing), 199 Free Play, 171 Games, 174 with Apparatus, 181 without Apparatus, 179 Generalities, 91 Geography, 247 Geology, 253 Glass, 237 Magnifying, 237 Goat, 265 " Going to Jerusalem," 180 Gold, 254 Good Humor, 225 " Goosey, goosey, gander," 157 Goody-Goody Talcs, xxv Government, 249 Granite, 254 293 Index Grasshopper, 261 Greetings, 86 Group Training, xvii Growth, Table of, 123 Gull, 264 Guessing Picture, 53 Habits, Breaking of, 11 ff Habit Drills, 3 ff, 81 Habits, Fonning, 7 ff Good and Bad, 5, 6 Nature of, 3 ff Repetition, 7 Voluntary and Involuntary, 8 Hail, 253 Hand, 233 Hardening, 119, 120 Haste, xxxi Head, 231 Health Requisites, 119 Hat (modehng), 193 Hat (paper work), 215 Hearing Simultaneous Orders, 79 Heart, 232 Hearts (paper work), 215 " He can do little," 57, 58 Height, Table of, 123 Herbivorous Animals, 265, 266 " Here we go Round the Mul- berry Bush" (song), i66 Hero Stories, 107 "Hey, diddle, diddle," 142; (song), 165 " Hickory, dickory, dock," 147, 241 Hide and Seek, 180 High Rail, 174 History, 242, 243 Holly, 214 Honors, xxx Hoops, 176 Horse, 266 Horseshoe (modeling), 193 House (paper work), 202 House (modeling), 191 Houses (drawing), 199 Housekeeping, 219 How to Study, 2,^, 223, 224 Humorous Stories, 107 " Humpty Dumpty," 69 Hunting Coin, 50 " Hush a bye baby," 149 Ice, 252 " If all the seas were one sea ! " 158 " If all the world were apple pie," 147 " If wishes were horses," 158 " I had a little pony," 143 " I '11 tell you a story," 145 Imaginary Scene, 71 Imagination DriUs, 70 ff Imitating, 6^, 64 Imitation Drills, 6^ ff Imitative Plays, 177* Independence, 187 Independent Recitation, 228 Indian-Footed, 127 Industry, 81 Information, 92, 223 ff Informational Stories, 109 Inhibition, 22 Initiative, 81 Insects, 259 ff Instruction, Method of, 224 ff Intonation, 100 Introducing, 89 Iron, 254 "I won't," xxviii "Jack and Jill," 144 "Jack Sprat," 147 " Jack Straws," 72, 74 Joints, 2z:2 294 Index Jumping off place, 174 Jumping Rope, 136 Kangaroo, 265 Knives, 2Z7 Knot, Blood, 209 Bow, 210 Chain, 211 Figure 8, 210 " Granny," 210 Overhand, 209 Reef, 210 Slip, 211 Twist, 211 Knotting, 209 ff Bead, 212 Ladder, Horizontal, 176 " Lady bird ! lady bird ! " 261 Lamp (drawing), 200 Lamplighter (paper work), 208 Lantern (paper work), 201 Leaf (painting), 195 Leather, 234 Left Handedness, 187, 188 Lemon (painting), 195 Lemon (modeling), 192 Length, Measures of, 243 Lesson, Sample, 226 Light, 2^7 ff Lightning, 253 Limestone, 253 Linen, 234 Lines, Horizontal, 245 Parallel, 245 Vertical, 244 Lion, 266 Lisping, 104 "Little Bo-peep," 141, 142; (song), 165 "Little Boy Blue," 143 " Little fishey in a brook," 149 " Little Jack Horner," 143 " Little Miss Muffett," 142 "Little Nan Etticoat," 239 "Little Tom Tucker," 144 Lizard, 263 Lobsters, 259 Magnetism, 240 Mail, 249 ]\Iake Believe, 70, 71, 72 Mammals, 265 Man, 2h-j Manual Plays, 174, 176, 177 Manual Training, 1S5 ff Marching, 132, 133, 134 "j\Iary, Mary, quite contrary," 145 Matching Fabrics, 46 Matching Notes, 62 Meals, 121 Meat, 235 Memorizing, 78, 79 Memory Training, xv Mental Suggestion, xxiv Mental Training, xv Merry-go-Round, 176 Messages, Carrying, 27, 28 Meteorology, 252 Milk, 235 Mirror, 238 Mitten (painting), 194 "Monday's Child," 242 Money, 250 Monkeys, 267 Moon, 237, 252 Moral Training, xxii ff Mosquitoes, 260 Moths, 259 Mouth, 232 Mud Pies, 212 Muscle, 22)2) Muscular Sense, 41, 42 "My Shadow" (song), 168 Mystery in Stories, no 295 Index Nagging, 9 Napkins (paper work), 208 Natural Consequences, xxix Natural Plays, 171 Nearsightedness, 121 Neatness, 186 Nerve Cells, xv Nest (modeling), 192 Nose, 232 Nose Pincher (paper work), 207 Obedience Drills, 14 fi Obedience, Necessity of, 14 Observation Drills, 35 fif Object Seeing, 42 Observing Changes, 51, 52 Observing Neighborhood, 55, 56 Obstacle Race, 135 Occupations, 218 fif, 251 "Old King Cole," 145 " Old Mother Twitchett," 68 " One mdsty, moisty morning," 147 " One, two, buckle my shoe," 153 Open Air, 120 Opinions, 92 Orange (painting), 194 Order, 186 Order and Neatness Drills, 32 fif Orders, Double, 23 Double Deferred, 23 Future, 29 Judgment, 27 Time, 28, 30 Ostrich, 264 Outdoor Occupations, 220 Over Habituation, 11 Owls, 264 Oysters, 258 Pantomime, 63 Paper Folding and Cutting, 201 " Patty-a-cake, Patty-a-cake," 141 Peacock, 264 Pear (modeling), 193 Pearl, 254 " Pease porridge hot," 152 Periods, xxxv, xxxvi " Peter Piper," 147 " Peter White," 158 Philopena, 78 Physical Training, ii9fif Pig, 265 Pigeon, 264 Pillow Fighting, 172 Pillow, Use of, 128 Pin Wheel (paper work), 204 Plaiting, 211 Plants, 255 ff Play House, A, 178 Poinsettia Leaves (paper work), 214 "Polite" (song), 167 Porcupine, 266 Posing as a Picture, 53, 54 Posture, 125 Potato (modeling), 191 Pouring in and Drawing out, 225, 226 Presentation, 224, 225 Prisms, Glass, 238 Prizes, xxx Programs, xxxv, xxxvi Prohibitions, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29 Punctuality, 86 Punctuation, 275 Punishments, xxv Punning, 67 " Pussy cat, pussy cat," 143 " Pussy wants a corner," 180 Putting things in place, 32 296 Index Quiet Orders, 19 Quiz Questions, 229, 230 Quoits, 181 Races, 248 Rain, 253 Rainbow (painting), 196 " Rainbow at Night," 253 Rapid Copying, 74, 75 Rats, 266 Reaction, 225, 226 Reaction Time, xxxi Reading and Writing, 268 ff Reciting and Counting, 78 Religious Exercises, 87 Repeating List, 79 Repetition in Stories, no Reptiles, 263- Rewards, xxx Rhythmic Arts, 141 flf " Ride a cock-horse," 152 Riddles, 68, 69 Right, Appeal to, xxiii Rimes, 141 ff Riming, 66 Romancing, 71 Rope, Climbing, 175 Jumping, 176 Round Shoulders, 128 Routine of Training, xx Running, 135 Running Wild, 119 Salt, 236 Salt Cellar (paper work), 207 Sand Pile, 178 Sandstone, 253 School Subjects, 223 Scolding, xxix Screen (paper work), 202 Seals, 265 Secret Keeping, 25, 26 Selecting Material, 46, 47 Self Punishment, xxvi, xxvii Self Respect, xxiii, xxiv, xxix Sense Training, xv Setting Belongings in Order, 34 Setting Cupboard in Order, 34 Setting Desk in Order, 33 Setting Room in Order, 2,2 Setting Table, 34 Sewing, 219 Sex, xiv Shaming, xxix Shark, 262 Sheep, 265 Shields (paper work), 215 " Shop Window," 48, 49 Shovel (paper work), 208 Sight Seeing, 49, 50 Silk, 234 Silver, 254 " Simon Says Thumbs Up," 29 Simple Deferred Orders, 21 Simple Orders, 16 ff, 20 " Simple Simon," lAA " Sing a song of sixpence," 148 Singing Games, 162, 163 Singing the Scale, 62 Sitting Postures, 126 Skipping, 134 Slanting Writing, 270, 271 Sleep, 120 Sleeping Positions, 128 Slide, Foot, 175 Sliding, 173 Sliding Board, 174 Smelling, 38 Snails, 258 "Snake" (game), 180 Snakes, 263 " Sneeze on Monday," 158 Snow, 253 Social Intercourse, 85 Soil, 254 " Solomon Grundy," 158 297 Index " Some little mice," 144 Songs, 160 fif Sorting Books, 33 Sorting Miscellaneous Articles, 33 Sorting Papers, 33 Sound, 240 Sounding Words, 276 Speaking and Listening, 80 Spectrum (painting), 196 Speech, 100 ff Speed, XXX ff Speed and Nervousness, xxxiii Spelling, 276 Spices, 236 Spider, 261 Spirit, xxii Sponge, 258 Spools (paper work), 208 Spring Board, 175 Squirrel, 266 " Stage Coach," 76 Stammering, 102, 103 Standing Positions, 126 Stars (paper work), 213 Stars, 237, 252 Star Fish, 258 Stationery, 237 Stilts, 175 Stomach, 233 Stories, List of, III ff Story Telling, xxv " Stranger in Town," 57 String Work, 209 fif Stuttering, 102, 103 St. Valentine's Day, 214 Sugar, 236 Sun, 237 Sun and Moon (drawing), 200 Swing, 17s Syllabus of Information Les- sons, 230 ff Table (paper work), 202 Table Manners, 90 Tag, 179 Tasting, 36, 37 Tattling, 29 Teapot (modeling), 193 Teeter, 176 Teeth, 232 care of, 122 Temper, xxvii, xxviii Ten Pins, 181 Tent (paper work), 204 Thanksgiving, 212 "The house that Jack built," 149 " The lion and the unicorn," 146 " The man in the moon," 146 " The moon is round," 58 "The north wind doth blow," 152 " The Queen of Hearts," 157 " There was a crooked man," 152 "There was a little man," 159 " There was a man in our town," 146 " There was an old woman," 147 "There was an old woman," 154 Thermometer, 252 "Thirty days hath September," 242 " Thirty white horses," 68 "This little pig," 231 Thousand-legs, 261 Threading Needle, 73 Threats, xxiv, xxviii " Three children sliding," 156 " Three wise men of Gotham," 146 Throat, 232 Thunder, 253 298 Index Tigers, 266 Time, 241 Time Limit, xxxi ff Timely Topics, 91 "Time to rise" (song), 168 Toads, 262 Toeing Out, 127 "Tom he was a piper's son," 144 Tools (drawing), 200 Toys, 1 78 Transportation, 247 Trapeze, 175 Tray (paper work), 207 Trees, 257, 258 Trolley, 175, 176 Trough (paper work), 206 Tug of War, 136-137 Tuning a String, 62 Tuning Glasses, 61 Turtle, 263 "Twinkle, little star" (song), 165 "Two Pigeons flymg high," 236 Understanding and Counting, Unselfishness, 81 Untangling a Snarl, 74 Upright Position, 125, 129 "Useful" (song), 167 Utensils, Kitchen (drawing), 200 Vegetables, 235 Vegetables (drawing), 198 Veins, 232 Vertical Writing, 270, 271 Violet (painting), 195 Voice, loi Walking, 132 Wallow, A, 175 Washboard (paper work), 203 Washington's Birthday, 215 Water, 235 Weather, 91 Weighing, 41 Weights, Measure of, 244 Weight, Table of, 123 Whale, 262 Whales, 265 "What Animalisit?"6i "What are little boys made of?" 157 What Do You Hear? 59 What Makes the Sound ? 60 Whispering in Company, 99 "Who killed Cock Robin?" 154 ff Who Speaks? 60 Willow Plate, 236 Wind I\Iill (paper work), 207 Window, Stained Glass (paint- ing), 196, 197 Wrapping Book, 214 Writing Position, 273, 274 Wolves, 266 Woolen Cloth, 234 Worms, 258 299 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below MAR 7 PormL-9-20»<-8,'37 1115 Eii^^^- ^Ii5'-t?asis^ illi III III III 11 l: :i' I I AA 000 782 720 LB 1115 H55c 1915 ALIFORNIA, CALIF.