,,the ,,modern ,,educator',s ,,library ,general ,editor4--,prof4 ,a4,a4 ,,cock4 ,,the ,,child ,,under ,,eight ,by ,e4,r4 ,murray ,vice-,principal ,maria ,grey ,training ,college ,author ,of ,froebel ,as ,a ,pioneer ,in ,modern ,psychology1 ,etc4 ,,and ,henrietta ,brown ,smith ,lecturer ,in ,education1 ,university ,of ,london1 ,goldsmiths' ,college ,editor ,of ,education ,by ,life ,is it not marvellous that an infant should be the heir of the whole world1 and see those mysteries which the books of the learned never unfold8 ,i knew by intuition those things which since my apostasy ,i collected again by highest reason4 ,,thomas ,,traherne4 #aibj ,,the ,,modern ,,educator',s ,,library ,the following volumes are now ready1 and others are in preparation3-- ,education3 ,its ,data and ,first ,principles4 ,by ,t4,p4 ,,nunn1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,sc41 ,professor of ,education in the ,university of ,london4 ,moral and ,religious ,education4 ,by ,,sophie ,,bryant1 ,d4,sc41 ,litt4,d41 late ,headmistress1 ,north ,london ,collegiate ,school for ,girls4 ,the ,teaching of ,modern ,foreign ,languages in ,school and ,university4 ,by ,h4,g4 ,,atkins1 ,professor of ,german in ,king's ,college1 ,london2 and ,h4,l4 ,,hutton1 ,senior ,modern ,language ,master at ,merchant ,taylors' ,school4 ,the ,child under ,eight4 ,by ,e4,r4 ,,murray1 ,vice-,principal1 ,maria ,grey ,training ,college1 ,brondesbury2 and ,,henrietta ,,brown ,,smith1 ,l4,l4,a41 ,lecturer in ,education1 ,goldsmiths' ,college1 ,university of ,london4 ,the ,organisation and ,curricula of ,schools4 ,by ,w4,g4 ,,sleight1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,lit1 ,lecturer at ,greystoke ,place ,training ,college1 ,london4 ,,editor',s ,,preface ,the ,modern ,educator's ,library has been designed to give considered expositions of the best theory and practice in ,english education of to-day4 ,it is planned to cover the principal problems of educational theory in general1 of curriculum and organisation1 of some unexhausted aspects of the history of education1 and of special branches of applied education4 ,the ,editor and his colleagues have had in view the needs of young teachers and of those training to be teachers1 but since the school and the schoolmaster are not the sole factors in the educative process1 it is hoped that educators in general 7and which of us is not in some sense or other an educator87 as well as the professional schoolmaster may find in the series some help in understanding precept and practice in education of to-day and to-morrow4 ,for we have borne in mind not only what is but what ought to be4 ,to exhibit the educator's work as a vocation requiring the best possible preparation is the spirit in which these volumes have been written4 ,no artificial uniformity has been sought or imposed1 and while the ,editor is responsible for the series in general1 the responsibility for the opinions expressed in each volume rests solely with its author4 ,,albert ,a4 ,,cook4 ,,university ,,of ,,london1 ,,king',s ,,college4 ,,authors' ,,preface ,we have made this book between us1 but we have not collaborated4 ,we know that we agree in all essentials1 though our experience has differed4 ,we both desire to see the best conditions for development provided for all children1 irrespective of class4 ,we both look forward to the time when the conditions of the ,public ,elementary ,school1 from the ,nursery ,school up1 will be such--in point of numbers1 in freedom from pressure1 in situation of building1 in space both within and without1 and in beauty of surroundings--that parents of any class will gladly let their children attend it4 ,we are teachers and we have dealt mainly with the mental or1 as we prefer to call it1 the spiritual requirements of children4 ,it is from the medical profession that we must all accept facts about food values1 hours of sleep1 etc41 and the importance of cleanliness and fresh air are now fully recognised4 ,we do1 however1 feel that there is room for fresh discussion of ultimate aims and of daily procedure4 ,mr4 ,clutton ,brock has said that the great weakness of ,english education is the want of a definite aim to put before our children1 the want of a philosophy for ourselves4 ,without some understanding of life and its purpose or meaning1 the teacher is at the mercy of every fad and is apt to exalt method above principle4 ,this book is an attempt to gather together certain recognised principles1 and to show in the light of actual experience how these may be applied to existing circumstances4 ,the day is coming when all teachers will seek to understand the true value of ,play1 of spontaneous activity in all directions4 ,its importance is emphasised in nearly all the educational writings of the day1 as well in the ,senior as in the ,junior departments of the school1 but we need a full and deep understanding of the saying1 ,man is ,man only when he plays4 ,it is easy to say we believe it1 but it needs strong faith1 courage1 and wide intelligence to weave such belief into the warp of daily life in school4 ,e4,r4 ,,murray4 ,h4 ,,brown ,,smith4 ,,contents ,,part ,i ,,the ,,child ,,in ,,the ,,nursery ,,and ,,kindergarten ,,by ,e4 ,r4 ,,murray ,,chap4 ,i4 ,,what',s ,,in ,a ,,name8 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,biologist ,,educator ,,iii4 ,,learning ,,born ,,of ,,play ,,iv4 ,,from #ahaf ,,to #aiai ,v4 ,,the ,,world',s ,,mine ,,oyster ,,vi4 ,,all ,,the ,,world',s ,a ,,stage ,,vii4 ,,joy ,,in ,,making ,,viii4 ,,stories ,,ix4 ,,in ,,grassy ,,places ,x4 ,a ,,way ,,to ,,god ,,xi4 ,,rhythm ,,xii4 ,,from ,,fancy ,,to ,,fact ,,xiii4 ,,new ,,needs ,,and ,,new ,,helps ,,part ,,ii ,,the ,,child ,,in ,,the ,,state ,,school ,,by ,h4 ,,brown ,,smith ,i4 ,,things ,,as ,,they ,,are ,,xiv4 ,,certain ,,characteristics ,,of ,,growth ,,xv4 ,,the ,,infant ,,school ,,of ,,to-,,day ,,xvi4 ,,some ,,vital ,,principles ,,ii4 ,,practical ,,application ,,of ,,vital ,,principles ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,need ,,for ,,experience ,,xviii4 ,,gaining ,,experience ,,by ,,play ,,xix4 ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,experience ,,xx4 ,,gaining ,,experience ,,through ,,freedom ,,iii4 ,,consideration ,,of ,,the ,,aspects ,,of ,,experience ,,xxi4 ,,experiences ,,of ,,human ,,conduct4 ,,xxii4 ,,experiences ,,of ,,the ,,natural ,,world ,,xxiii4 ,,experiences ,,of ,,mathematical ,,truths ,,xxiv4 ,,experiences ,,by ,,means ,,of ,,doing4 ,,xxv4 ,,experiences ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,man ,,xxvi4 ,,experiences ,,recorded ,,and ,,passed ,,on ,,xxvii4 ,,the ,,things ,,that ,,really ,,matter4 ,,bibliography ,,index ,,part ,i ,,the ,,child ,,in ,,the ,,nursery ,,and ,,kindergarten ,,chapter ,i ,,what',s ,,in ,a ,,name8 ,it is an appropriate time to produce a book on ,english schools for little children1 now that ,nursery ,schools have been specially selected for notice and encouragement by an enlightened ,minister for ,education4 ,it was ,madame ,michaelis1 who in #ahij originally and most appropriately used the term ,nursery ,school as the ,english equivalent of a title suggested by ,froebel#a for his new institution1 before he invented the word ,kindergarten1 a title which1 literally translated1 ran ,institution for the ,care of ,little ,children4 ,footnote #a3 ,froebel's ,letters1 trans4 ,michaelis and ,moore1 p4 #cj4 ,in ,england the word ,nursery1 which implies the idea of nurture1 belongs properly to children1 though it has been borrowed by the gardener for his young plants4 ,in ,germany it was the other way round2 ,froebel had to invent the term child garden to express his idea of the nurture1 as opposed to the repression1 of the essential nature of the child4 ,unfortunately the word ,kindergarten while being naturalised in ,england had two distinct meanings attached to it4 ,well-to-do people began to send their children to a new institution1 a child garden or play school4 ,the children of the people1 however1 already attended ,infant ,schools1 of which the chief feature was what ,mr4 ,caldwell ,cook calls sit-stillery1 and here the word ,kindergarten1 really equivalent to ,nursery ,school1 became identified with certain occupations1 childlike in origin it is true1 but formalised out of all recognition4 ,how a real ,kindergarten strikes a child is illustrated by the recent remark from a little new boy who had been with us for perhaps three mornings4 ,shall ,i go up to the nursery now8 he asked4 ,the first attempt at a ,kindergarten was made in #ahcg1 and by #ahdh ,germany possessed sixteen4 ,in that eventful year came the revolution in ,berlin1 which created such high hopes1 doomed1 alas6 to disappointment4 ,instead of the rosy dawn of freedom1 writes ,ebers1#b himself an old ,keilhau boy1 in the ,state the exercise of a boundless arbitrary power1 in the ,church dark intolerance4 ,it must have been an easy matter to bring charges of revolutionary doctrines against the man who said so innocently1 ,but ,i1--,i only wanted to train up free-thinking1 independent men4 ,footnote #b3 ,author of ,an ,egyptian ,princess1 etc4 ,it was from stony ,berlin1 as ,froebel calls it1 that the edict went forth in the name of the ,minister of ,education entirely prohibiting ,kindergartens in ,prussia1 and the prohibition soon spread4 ,at the present time it seems to us quite fitting that the bitter attack upon ,kindergartens should have been launched by ,folsung1 a schoolmaster1 who began life as an artilleryman4 ,nor is it less interesting to read that it was under the protection of ,von ,moltke himself that ,oberlin schools were opened to counteract the attractions of the godless ,kindergarten4 ,little wonder that the same man who in #ahac had so gladly taken up arms to resist the invasion of ,napoleon1 and who had rejoiced with such enthusiasm in the prospect of a free and united ,fatherland1 should write in #ahea3 ,wherefore ,i have made a firm resolve that if the conditions of ,german life will not allow room for the development of honest efforts for the good of humanity2 if this indifference to all higher things continues--then it is my purpose next spring to seek in the land of union and independence a soil where my idea of education may strike deep root4 ,and to ,america he might have gone had he lived1 but he died three months later1 his end hastened by grief at the edict which closed the ,kindergartens4 ,the ,prussian ,minister announced1 in this edict1 that it is evident that ,kindergartens form a part of the ,froebelian socialistic system1 the aim of which is to teach the children atheism1 and the suggestion that he was anti-,christian cut the old man to the heart4 ,there had been some confusion between ,froebel and one of his nephews1 who had democratic leanings1 and no doubt anything at all democratic did mean atheism to stony ,berlin and its intolerant autocracy4 ,for a time1 at least in ,bavaria1 a curious compromise was allowed4 ,if the teacher were a member of the ,orthodox ,church1 she might have her ,kindergarten1 but if she belonged to one of the ,free ,churches1 it was permissible to open an ,infant ,school1 but she must not use the term ,kindergarten4 ,froebel was by no means of the opinion that1 if only the teacher had the right spirit1 the name did not matter4 ,rather did he hold with ,confucius1 whose answer to the question of a disciple1 ,how shall ,i convert the world8 was1 ,call things by their right names4 ,he refused to use the word school1 because little children1 especially those under six1 do not need to be schooled and taught1 what they need is opportunity for development4 ,he had great difficulty in selecting a name4 ,those originally suggested were somewhat cumbrous1 e4g4 ,institution for the ,promotion of ,spontaneous ,activity in ,children2 another was ,self-,teaching ,institution1 and there was also the one which ,madame ,michaelis translated ,nursery ,school for ,little ,children4 ,but the name ,kindergarten expressed just what he ,wanted3 ,as in a garden1 under ,god's favour1 and by the care of a skilled intelligent gardener1 growing plants are cultivated in accordance with ,nature's laws1 so here in our child garden shall the noblest of all growing things1 men 7that is1 children71 be cultivated in accordance with the laws of their own being1 of ,god and of ,nature4 ,to one of his students he writes3 ,you remember well enough how hard we worked and how we had to fight that we might elevate the ,darmstadt crche1 or rather ,infant ,school1 by improved methods and organisation until it became a true ,kindergarten4444 ,now what was the outcome of all this1 even during my own stay at ,darmstadt8 ,why1 the fetters which always cripple a crche or an ,infant ,school1 and which seem to cling round its very name--these fetters were allowed to remain unbroken4 ,every one was pleased with so faithful a mistress as yourself1444 yet they withheld from you the main condition of unimpeded development1 that of the freedom necessary to every young healthy and vigorous plant4444 ,is there really such importance underlying the mere name of a system8--some one might ask4 ,yes1 there is4444 ,it is true that any one watching your teaching would observe a new spirit infused into it1 expressing and fulfilling the child's own wants and desires4 ,you would strike him as personally capable1 but you would fail to strike him as priestess of the idea which ,god has now called to life within man's bosom1 and of the struggle towards the realisation of that idea--education by development--the destined means of raising the whole human race4444 ,no man can acquire fresh knowledge1 even at a school1 beyond the measure which his own stage of development fits him to receive4444 ,infant ,schools are nothing but a contradiction of child-nature4 ,little children especially those under school age1 ought not to be schooled and taught1 what they need is opportunity for development4 ,this idea lies in the very name of a ,kindergarten4444 ,and the name is absolutely necessary to describe the first education of children4 ,for an actual definition of what ,froebel meant by his ,nursery ,school for ,little ,children or ,kindergarten1 it is only fair to go to the founder himself4 ,he has left us two definitions or descriptions1 one announced shortly before the first ,kindergarten was opened1 which runs3 ,an institution for the fostering of human life1 through the cultivation of the human instincts of activity1 of investigation and of construction in the child1 as a member of the family1 of the nation and of humanity2 an institution for the self-instruction1 self-education and self-cultivation of mankind1 as well as for all-sided development of the individual through play1 through creative self-activity and spontaneous self-instruction4 ,a second definition is given in ,froebel's reply to a proposal that he should establish my system of education--education by development--in ,london1 ,paris or the ,united ,states3 ,we also need establishments for training quite young children in their first stage of educational development1 where their training and instruction shall be based upon their own free action or spontaneity acting under proper rules1 these rules not being arbitrarily decreed1 but such as must arise by logical necessity from the child's mental and bodily nature1 regarding him as a member of the great human family2 such rules as are1 in fact1 discovered by the actual observation of children when associated together in companies4 ,these establishments bear the name of ,kindergartens4 ,unfortunately there are but few pictures of ,froebel's own ,kindergarten1 but there seems to have been little formality in its earliest development4 ,an oft-told story is that of ,madame von ,marenholz in #ahdg going to watch the proceedings of an old fool1 as the villagers called him1 who played games with the village children4 ,a less well-known account is given by ,col4 von ,arnswald1 again a ,keilhau boy1 who visited ,blankenberg in #ahci1 when ,froebel had just opened his first ,kindergarten4 ,arriving at the place1 ,i found my ,middendorf#c seated by the pump in the market-place1 surrounded by a crowd of little children4 ,going near them ,i saw that he was engaged in mending the jacket of a boy4 ,by his side sat a little girl busy with thread and needle upon another piece of clothing2 one boy had his feet in a bucket of water washing them carefully2 other girls and boys were standing round attentively looking upon the strange pictures of real life before them1 and waiting for something to turn up to interest them personally4 ,our meeting was of the most cordial kind1 but ,middendorf did not interrupt the business in which he was engaged4 ',come1 children1' he cried1 'let us go into the garden6' and with loud cries of joy the little folk with willing feet followed the splendid-looking1 tall man1 running all round him4 ,footnote #c3 ,one of ,froebel's most devoted helpers4 ,the garden was not a garden1 however1 but a barn1 with a small room and an entrance hall4 ,in the entrance ,middendorf welcomed the children and played a round game with them1 ending with the flight of the little ones into the room1 where each of them sat down in his place on the bench and took his box of building blocks4 ,for half an hour they were all busy with their blocks1 and then came ',come1 children1 let us play spring and spring4' ,and when the game was finished they went away full of joy and life1 every one giving his little hand for a grateful good-bye4 ,here in this earliest of ,free ,kindergartens are certain essentials4 ,washing and mending1 the alternation of constructive play with active exercise1 rhythmic game and song1 and last but not least human kindliness and courtesy4 ,the shelter was but a barn1 but there are things more important than premises4 ,froebel died too soon to see his ideals realised1 but he had sown the seed in the heart of at least one woman with brain to grasp and will to execute4 ,as early as #ahgc the ,froebelians had established something more than the equivalent of the ,montessori ,children's ,houses under the name of ,free ,kindergartens or ,people's ,kindergartens4 ,it will bring this out more clearly if1 without referring here to any modern experiments in ,america1 in ,england and ,scotland1 or in the ,dominions1 we quote the description of an actual ,people's ,kindergarten or ,nursery ,school as it was established nearly fifty years ago4 ,the moving spirit of this institution was ,henrietta ,schroder1 ,froebel's own grand-niece1 trained by him1 and of whom he said that she1 more than any other1 had most truly understood his views4 ,the whole institution was called the ,pestalozzi-,froebel ,house4 ,the ,prussian edict1 which abolished the ,kindergarten almost before it had started1 was now rescinded1 and our own ,princess ,royal#d gave warm support to this new institution4 ,the description here quoted was actually written in #ahhg1 when the institution had been in existence for fourteen years3 ,footnote #d3 ,the ,crown ,princess of ,prussia1 afterwards the ,empress ,frederick4 ,the purpose of the ,national ,kindergarten is to provide the necessary and natural help which poor mothers require1 who have to leave their children to themselves4 ,the establishment contains3-- 7#a7 ,the ,kindergarten proper1 a ,national ,kindergarten with four classes for children from #b-a_/b to #f years old4 7#b7 ,the ,transition ,class1 only held in the morning for children about #f or #f-a_/b years old4 7#c7 ,the ,preparatory ,school1 for children from #f to #g or #g-a_/b years old4 7#d7 ,the ,school of ,handwork1 for children from #f to #aj or older4 ,dinners are provided for those children whose parents work all day away from home at a trifling charge of a halfpenny and a penny4 ,also1 for a trifle1 poor children may receive assistance of various kinds in illness1 or may have milk or baths through the kindness of the kindred ',association for the ,promotion of ,health in the ,household4' ,in the institution we are describing there is a complete and well-furnished kitchen1 a bathroom1 a courtyard with sand for digging1 with pebbles and pine-cones1 moss1 shells and straw1 etc41 a garden1 and a series of rooms and halls suitably furnished and arranged for games1 occupations1 handwork and instruction4 ,the occupations pursued in the ,kindergarten are the following3 free play of a child by itself2 free play of several children by themselves2 associated play under the guidance of a teacher2 gymnastic exercises2 several sorts of handwork suited to little children2 going for walks2 learning music1 both instrumental 7on the method of ,madame ,wiseneder#e7 and vocal2 learning and repetition of poetry2 story-telling2 looking at really good pictures2 aiding in domestic occupations2 gardening2 and the usual systematic ordered occupations of ,froebel4 ,madame ,schrader is steadfastly opposed to that conception of the ,kindergarten which insists upon mathematically shaped materials for the ,froebelian occupations4 ,her own words are3 ',the children find in our institution every encouragement to develop their capabilities and powers by use2 not by their selfish use to their own personal advantage1 but by their use in the loving service of others4 ,the longing to help people and to accomplish little pieces of work proportioned to their feeble powers is constant in children2 and lies alongside of their need for that free and unrestrained play which is the business of their life4 ,footnote #e3 ,from certain old photographs1 ,i suppose this to have been what we now call a ,kindergarten ,band4 ,the elder children are expected to employ themselves in cleaning1 taking care of1 arranging1 keeping in order1 and using the many various things belonging to the housekeeping department of the ,kindergarten2 for example1 they set out and clear away the materials required for the games and handicrafts2 they help in cleaning the rooms1 furniture and utensils2 they keep all things in order and cleanliness2 they paste together torn wallpapers or pictures1 they cover books1 and they help in the cooking and in preparations for it2 in laying the tables1 in washing up the plates and dishes1 etc4 ,the children gain in this manner the simple but most important foundations of their later duties as housekeepers and householders1 and at the same time learn to regard these duties as things done in the service of others4 ,it is worth while to notice the order in which the necessities of this place are described4 ,first comes a kitchen and next a bathroom1 then an out-of-doors playground with abundant material for gaining ideas through action--sand1 pebbles1 pine-cones1 moss1 shells and straw4 ,then comes the garden1 and only after all these1 the rooms and halls for indoors games1 handwork and instruction4 ,it is worth while also to note the prominence given to play1 music1 poetry and story-telling pictures1 domestic occupations and gardening1 all preceding the systematic and ordered occupations which to some have seemed so all-important4 ,if we compare this with the current ideas about ,nursery ,schools1 we do not find that it falls much below the present ideal4 ,there has been a time when some of us feared that only the bodily needs of the little child were to be considered1 but the ,regulations for ,nursery ,schools have banished such fear4 ,in these the child is regarded as a human being1 with spiritual as well as bodily requirements4 ,to put it shortly1 the physical requirements of a child are food1 fresh air and exercise1 cleanliness and rest4 ,it is not so easy to sum up the requirements of a human soul4 ,the first is sympathy1 and though this may spring from parental instinct1 it should be nourished by true understanding4 ,next perhaps comes the need for material1 material for investigation1 for admiration1 for imitation and for construction or creation4 ,power of sense-discrimination is important enough1 but in this case if we take care of the pounds of admiration and investigation1 the pence of sense-discrimination will take care of themselves4 ,besides these the child has the essentially human need for social intercourse1 for speech1 for games1 for songs and stories1 for pictures and poetry4 ,he must have opportunity both to imitate and to share in the work and life around him2 he must be an individual among other individuals1 a necessary part of a whole1 allowed to give as well as to receive service4 ,in the ,national ,kindergarten of #ahgc no one of these requirements is overlooked except the provision for sleep1 and from old photographs we know that this1 too1 was considered4 ,nursery ,schools are needed for children of all classes4 ,it is not only the children of the poor who require sympathy and guidance from those specially qualified by real grasp of the facts of child-development4 ,well-to-do mothers1 too1 often leave their children to ignorant and untrained servants1 or to the equally untrained and hardly less ignorant nursery governess4 ,mothers in small houses have much to do2 making beds and washing dishes1 sweeping and dusting1 baking and cooking1 making and mending1 not to mention tending an infant or tending the sick1 leave little leisure for sympathy with the adventuring and investigating propensities natural and desirable in a healthy child between three and five4 ,there are innumerable ,kindergartens open only in the morning for the children of those who can afford to pay1 and these could well be multiplied and assisted just as far as is necessary4 ,in towns1 at least1 mothers with but small incomes would gladly pay a moderate fee to have their little ones1 especially their sturdy little boys1 guarded from danger and trained to good habits1 yet allowed freedom for happy activity4 ,kindergartens and ,nursery ,schools ought to be as much as possible fresh-air schools4 ,they should never be large or the home atmosphere must disappear4 ,they should always have grassy spaces and common flowers1 and they ought to be within easy reach of the children's homes4 ,there must for the present be certain differences between the ,free ,kindergarten or ,nursery ,school for the poor and for those whose parents are fairly well-to-do4 ,in both cases we must supply what the children need4 ,if the mother must go out to work1 the child requires a home for the day1 and the ,nursery ,school must make arrangements for feeding the children4 ,all little children are the better for rest and if possible for sleep during the day2 but for those who live in overcrowded rooms1 where quiet and restful sleep in good air is impossible1 the need for daily sleep is very great4 ,all ,free ,kindergartens arrange for this4 ,most important also is the training to cleanliness4 ,this is not invariably the lot even of those who come from apparently comfortable homes to attend fee-paying ,kindergartens1 and among the poor1 differences in respect of cleanliness are very great4 ,but soap and hot water do cost money and washing takes time1 and the modern habit of brushing teeth has not yet been acquired by all classes of the community4 ,the ,free ,kindergartens provide for necessary washing1 each child is provided with its own tooth-brush2 and tooth-brush drill is a daily practice1 somewhat amusing to witness4 ,the best baby rooms in our ,infant ,schools carry out the same practices1 and these are likely to be turned into ,nursery ,schools4 ,it cannot yet be accepted as conclusively proved that a completely open-air life is the best in our climate4 ,we have not yet sufficient statistics4 ,no doubt children do improve enormously in open-air camps1 but so they do in ordinary ,nursery ,schools1 where they are clean1 happy and well fed1 and where they live a regular life with daily sleep4 ,housing conditions complicate the problem1 and all children must suffer who sleep in crowded1 noisy1 unventilated rooms4 ,up to the present time ,nursery ,schools have been provided by voluntary effort entirely1 and far too little encouragement has been given to those enlightened headmistresses of ,infant ,schools who have tried to give to their lowest classes ,nursery ,school conditions4 ,since the passing of ,mr4 ,fisher's ,education ,bill1 however1 we are entitled to hope that soon1 for all children in the land1 there may be the opportunity of a fair start under the care of a person with breadth of outlook and imagination1 the equivalent of ,froebel's skilled intelligent gardener4 ,in the following chapter an attempt is made to explain how it is that so many years ago ,froebel reached his vision of what a child is1 and of what a child needs1 and the considerations on which he based his ,nursery ,school for ,little ,children or ,self-,teaching ,institution4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,biologist ,,educator ,progress1 man's distinctive mark alone1 ,not ,god's1 and not the beasts'3 ,god is1 they are1 ,man partly is and wholly hopes to be4 ,a large bright room1 444 a sandheap in one corner1 a low tub or bath of water in another1 a rope ladder1 a swing1 steps to run up and down and such like1 a line of black or green board low down round the wall1 little rough carts and trolleys1 boxes which can be turned into houses1 or shops1 or pretence ships1 etc41 a cooking stove of a very simple nature1 dolls of all kinds1 wooden animals1 growing plants in boxes1 an aquarium4 ,any ,froebelian would recognise this as the description of a more or less ideal ,kindergarten or ,nursery ,school1 and yet the writer had probably never read a page that ,froebel wrote4 ,on the contrary1 she shows her entire ignorance of the real ,kindergarten by calling it pretty employments devised by adults and imposed at set times by authority4 ,the description is taken from a very able address on ,child ,nature and ,education delivered some years ago by ,miss ,hoskyns ,abrahall4 ,it is quoted here1 because1 for her conception of right surroundings for young children1 the speaker has gone to the very source from which ,froebel took his ideas--she has gone to what ,froebel indeed called the only true source1 life itself1 and she writes from the point of view of the biologist4 ,there exists at present1 in certain quarters1 a belief that the ,kindergarten is old-fashioned1 out of date1 more especially that it has no scientific basis4 ,it is partly on this account that the ideas of ,dr4 ,maria ,montessori1 who has approached the question of the education of young children from the point of view of medical science1 have been warmly welcomed by so large a circle4 ,but neither in ,england nor in ,america does that circle include the ,froebelians1 and this for several reasons4 ,for one thing1 much that the general public has accepted as new--and in this general public must be included weighty names1 men of science1 educational authorities1 and others who have never troubled to inquire into the meaning of the ,kindergarten--are already matters of everyday life to the ,froebelian4 ,among these comes the idea of training to service for the community1 and the provision of suitable furniture1 little chairs and tables1 which the children can move about1 and low cupboards for materials1 all of which tend to independence and self-control4 ,it is a more serious stumbling-block to the ,froebelian that ,dr4 ,montessori1 while advocating freedom in words1 has really set strict limits to the natural activities of children by laying so much stress on her didactic apparatus1 the intention of which is formal training in sense-discrimination4 ,this material1 which is an adaptation and enlargement of that provided by ,sguin for his mentally deficient children1 is certainly open to the reproach of having been devised by adults4 ,it is formal1 and the child is not permitted to use it for his own purposes4 ,before everything else1 however1 comes the fact that in no place has ,dr4 ,montessori shown that she has made any study of play1 or that she attaches special importance to the play activities1 or natural activities of childhood1 on which the ,kindergarten is founded4 ,this is probably accounted for in that her first observations were made on deficient children who are notably wanting in initiative4 ,among these play activities we should include the child's perpetual imitation or pretence1 a matter which ,dr4 ,montessori entirely fails to understand1 as shown in her more recent book1 where she treats of imagination4 ,here she maintains that only the children of the comparatively poor ride upon their fathers' walking-sticks or construct coaches of chairs1 that this is not a proof of imagination but of an unsatisfied desire1 and that rich children who own ponies and who drive out in motor-cars would be astonished to see the delight of children who imagine themselves to be drawn along by stationary armchairs4 ,imitative play has1 of course1 nothing to do with poverty or riches1 but is1 as ,froebel said long since1 the outcome of an initiative impulse1 sadly wanting in deficient children1 an impulse which prompts the child of all lands1 of all time and of all classes to imitate or dramatise1 and so to gain some understanding of everything and of every person he sees around4 ,the work of ,dr4 ,montessori has helped enormously in the movement1 begun long since1 for greater freedom in our ,infant ,schools2 freedom1 not from judicious guidance and authority1 but from rigid time-tables and formal lessons1 and from arbitrary restrictions1 as well as freedom for the individual as apart from the class4 ,the best ,kindergartens and ,infant ,schools had already discarded time-tables1 and ,kindergarten classes have always been small enough to give the individual a fair chance4 ,froebel himself constantly urged that the child should become familiar with both the strongly opposed elements of his life1 the individual determining and directing side1 and the general ordered and subordinated side4 ,he urged the early development of the social consciousness as well as insisting on expansion of individuality1 but it is always difficult to combine the two1 and most ,kindergarten teachers will benefit by learning from ,dr4 ,montessori to apply the method of individual learning to a greater extent4 ,we are1 however1 fully prepared to maintain that ,froebel2 even in #ahdj1 had a wider and a deeper realisation of the needs of the child than has as yet been attained by the ,dottoressa4#f ,in order to make this clear1 it is proposed to compare the theories of ,froebel with the conclusions of a biologist4 ,for biology has a wider and a saner outlook than medical science2 it does not start from the abnormal1 but with life under normal conditions4 ,footnote #f3 ,her latest publication regarding the instruction--for it is not education--of older children makes this even more plain4 ,for here is no discussion of what children at this stage require1 but a mere plunge into subjects in which formal grammar takes a foremost place4 ,in the address1 from which the opening words of this chapter are quoted1 it is suggested that a capable biologist be set to deal with education1 but he is to be freed from all preconceived ideas derived from accepted tradition4 ,after such fundamentals as food and warmth1 light1 air and sleep1 the first problems considered by this ,biologist ,educator are stages of growth1 their appropriate activities1 and the stimuli necessary to evoke them4 ,always he bears in mind that interference with a growing creature is a hazardous business1 and takes as his motto ,when in doubt1 refrain4 ,to discover the natural activities of the child1 the biologist relies upon1 first1 observation of the child himself1 secondly1 upon his knowledge of the nervous system1 and thirdly1 upon his knowledge of the past history of the race4 ,from these he comes to a very pertinent conclusion1 viz4 ,the general outcome of this is that the safe way of educating children is by means of ,play1 play being defined as the natural manifestation of the child's activities2 systematic in that it follows the lines of physiological development1 but without the hard and fast routine of the time-table4#g ,footnote #g3 ,it is in this connection that the ,kindergarten is stigmatised as pretty employments devised by adults and imposed at set times by authority1 an opinion evidently gained from the way in which the term has been misused in a type of ,infant ,school now fast disappearing4 ,it is easy to show that although ,froebel was pre-,darwinian1 he had been in close touch with scientists who were working at theories of development1 and that he was largely influenced by ,krause1 who applied the idea of organic development to all departments of social science4 ,it was because ,froebel was himself1 even in #ahbf1 the ,biologist ,educator desiring to break with preconceived ideas and traditions that he wished one of his pupils had been able to call your work by its proper name1 and so make evident the real nature of the new spirit you have introduced4#h ,footnote #h3 ,see p4 #d4 ,but ,froebel was more than a biologist1 he was a philosopher and an idealist4 ,such words have sometimes been used as terms of reproach1 but wisdom can only be justified of her children4 ,at the back of all ,froebel has to say about ,the ,education of the ,human ,being lies his conception of what the human being is4 ,and it is impossible fully to understand why ,froebel laid so much stress on spontaneous play unless we go deeper than the province of the biologist without in the least minimising the importance of biological knowledge to educational theory4 ,as the biologist defines play as the natural manifestation of the child's activities1 so ,froedel says play at first is just natural life4 ,but to him the true inwardness of spontaneous play lies in the fact that it is spontaneous--so far as anything in the universe can be spontaneous4 ,for spontaneous response to environment is self-expression1 and out of self-expression comes selfhood1 consciousness of self4 ,if we are to understand ,froebel at all1 we must begin with the answer he found1 or accepted1 from ,krause and others for his first question1 ,what is that self8 ,before reaching the question of how to educate1 it seemed to him necessary to consider not only the purpose or aim of education1 but the purpose or aim of human existence1 the purpose of all and any existence1 even whether there is any purpose in anything2 and that brings us to what he calls the groundwork of all1 of which a summary is given in the following paragraphs4 ,in the universe we can perceive plan1 purpose or law1 and behind this there must be some great ,mind1 a living1 all-pervading1 energising1 self-conscious and hence eternal ,unity whom we call ,god4 ,nature and all existing things are a revelation of ,god4 ,as ,bergson speaks of the lan vital which expresses itself from infinity to infinity1 so ,froebel says that behind everything there is force1 and that we cannot conceive of force without matter on which it can exercise itself4 ,neither can we think of matter without any force to work upon it1 so that force and matter mutually condition one another1 we cannot think one without the other4 ,this force expresses itself in all ways1 the whole universe is the expression of the ,divine1 but man is the highest and most perfect earthly being in whom the primordial force is spiritualised so that man feels1 understands and knows his own power4 ,conscious development of one's own power is the triumph of spirit over matter1 therefore human development is spiritual development4 ,so while man is the most perfect earthly being1 yet1 with regard to spiritual development he has returned to a first stage and must raise himself through ascending degrees of consciousness to heights as yet unknown1 for who has measured the limits of ,god-born mankind8 ,self-consciousness is the special characteristic of man4 ,no other animal has the power to become conscious of himself because man alone has the chance of failure4 ,the lower animals have definite instincts and cannot fail1 i4e4 cannot learn4#i ,man wants to do much1 but his instincts are less definite and most actions have to be learned2 it is by striving and failing that he learns to know not only his limitations but the power that is within him--his self4 ,footnote #i3 ,this would nowadays be considered too sweeping an assertion4 ,according to ,froebel1 the aim of education is the steady progressive development of mankind1 there is and can be no other2 and1 except as regards physiological knowledge inaccessible in his day1 he is at one with the biologist as to how we are to find out the course of this development4 ,first1 by looking into our own past2 secondly1 by the observation of children as individuals as well as when associated together1 and by comparison of the results of observation2 thirdly1 by comparison of these with race history and race development4 ,froebel makes much of observation of children4 ,he writes to a cousin begging her to record in writing the most important facts about each separate child1 and adds that it seems to him most necessary for the comprehension of child-nature that such observations should be made public1444 of the greatest importance that we should interchange the observations we make so that little by little we may come to know the grounds and conditions of what we observe1 that we may formulate their laws4 ,he protests that even in his day the observation1 development and guidance of children in the first years of life up to the proper age of school is not up to the existing level of the stage of human knowledge or the advance of science and art2 and he states that it is an essential part of his undertaking to call into life an institution for the preparation of teachers trained for the care of children through observation of their life4 ,in speaking of the stages of development of the individual1 ,froebel says that there is no order of importance in the stages of human development except the order of succession1 in which the earlier is always the more important1 and from that point of view we ought to consider childhood as the most important stage1 444 a stage in the development of the ,godlike in the earthly and human4 ,he also emphasises that the vigorous and complete development and cultivation of each successive stage depends on the vigorous1 complete and characteristic development of each and all preceding stages4 ,so the duty of the parent is to look as deeply as possible into the life of the child to see what he requires for his present stage of development1 and then to scrutinise the environment to see what it offers 444 to utilise all possibilities of meeting normal needs1 to remove what is hurtful1 or at least to admit its defects if they cannot give the child what his nature requires4 ,if parents offer what the child does not need1 he says1 they will destroy the child's faith in their sympathetic understanding4 ,the educator is to bring the child into relations and surroundings in all respects adapted to him but affording a minimum of opportunity of injury1 guarding and protecting but not interfering1 unless he is certain that healthy development has already been interrupted4 ,it is somewhat remarkable that ,froebel anticipated even the conclusions of modern psycho-analysis in his views about childish faults4 ,the sources of these1 he says1 are neglect to develop certain sides of human life and1 secondly1 early distortion of originally good human powers by arbitrary interference with the orderly course of human development 444 a suppressed or perverted good quality--a good tendency1 only repressed1 misunderstood or misguided--lies at the bottom of every shortcoming4 ,hence the only remedy even for wickedness is to find and foster1 build up and guide what has been repressed4 ,it may be necessary to interfere and even to use severity1 but only when the educator is sure of unhealthy growth4 ,the motto of the biologist on the subject of interference--,when in doubt1 refrain--exactly expresses ,froebel's doctrine of passive or following education1 following1 that is1 the nature of the child1 and passive as opposed to arbitrary interference4 ,free from this1 the child will follow his natural impulses1 which are to be trusted as much as those of any other young animal2 in other words1 he will play1 he will manifest his natural activities4 ,the young human being--still1 as it were1 in process of creation--would seek1 though unconsciously yet decidedly and surely1 as a product of nature that which is in itself best1 and in a form adapted to his condition1 his disposition1 his powers and his means4 ,thus the duckling hastens to the pond and into the water1 while the chicken scratches the ground and the young swallow catches its food upon the wing4 ,we grant space and time to young plants and animals because we know that1 in accordance with the laws that live in them1 they will develop properly and grow well2 arbitrary interference with their growth is avoided because it would hinder their development2 but the young human being is looked upon as a piece of wax1 a lump of clay1 which man can mould into what he pleases4 ,o man1 who roamest through garden and field1 through meadow and grove1 why dost thou close thy mind to the silent teaching of nature8 ,behold the weed2 grown among hindrances and constraint1 how it scarcely yields an indication of inner law2 behold it in nature1 in field or garden1 how perfectly it conforms to law--a beautiful sun1 a radiant star1 it has burst from the earth6 ,thus1 ,o parents1 could your children1 on whom you force in tender years forms and aims against their nature1 and who1 therefore1 walk with you in morbid and unnatural deformity--thus could your children1 too1 unfold in beauty and develop in harmony4 ,at first play is activity for the sake of activity1 not for the sake of results1 of which the child has as yet no idea4 ,very soon1 however1 having man's special capacity of learning through experience1 the child does gather ideas4 ,by this time he has passed through the stage of infancy1 and now his play becomes to the philosopher the highest stage of human development at this stage1 because now it is self-expression4 ,when ,froebel wrote in #ahbf1 there had been but little thought expended on the subject of play1 and probably none on human instincts1 which were supposed to be nonexistent4 ,the hope he expressed that some philosopher would take up these subjects has now been fulfilled1 and we ought now to turn to what has been said on a subject all-important to those who desire to help in the education of young children4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,learning ,,born ,,of ,,play ,play1 which is the business of their lives4 ,there may be nothing new under the sun1 but it does seem to be a fair claim to make for ,froebel that no one before or since his time has more fully realised the value to humanity of what in childhood goes by the name of play4 ,froebel had distinct theories about play1 and he put his theories into actual practice1 not only when he founded the ,kindergarten1 but in his original school for older children at ,keilhau4 ,before going into its full meaning1 it may be well first to meet the most common misconception about play4 ,it is not surprising that those who have given the subject no special consideration should regard play from the ordinary adult standpoint1 and think of it as entirely opposed to work1 as relaxation of effort4 ,but the play of a child covers so much that it is startling to find a real psychologist writing that education through play is a pernicious proposition4#aj ,statements of this kind spring from the mistaken idea1 certainly not derived from observation1 that play involves no effort1 that it runs in the line of least resistance1 and that education through play means therefore education without effort1 without training in self-control1 education without moral training4 ,the case for the ,kindergarten is the opposite of this4 ,education through play is advocated just because of the effort it calls forth1 just because of the way in which the child1 and later the boy or girl1 throws his whole energy into it4 ,what ,froebel admired1 what he called the most beautiful expression of childlife1 was the child that plays thoroughly1 with spontaneous determination1 perseveringly1 until physical fatigue forbids--a child wholly absorbed in his play--a child that has fallen asleep while so absorbed4 ,that child1 he said1 would be a thorough determined man1 capable of self-sacrifice for the promotion of the welfare of himself and others4 ,it is because play is not trivial1 but highly serious and of deep significance1 that he appeals to mothers to cultivate and foster it1 and to fathers to protect and guard it4 ,footnote #aj3 ,the ,educative ,process1 p4 #bee 7,bagley74 ,the ,kindergarten position can be summed up in a sentence from ,dr4 ,clouston's ,hygiene of ,mind3 ,play is the real work of children4 ,froebel calls activity of sense and limb the first germ1 and play-building and modelling the tender blossoms of the constructive impulse2 and this1 he says1 is the moment when man is to be prepared for future industry1 diligence and productive activity4 ,he points out1 too1 the importance of noticing the habits which come from spontaneous self-employment1 which may be habits of indolent ease if the child is not allowed to be as active as his nature requires4 ,there were no theories of play in ,froebel's day1 but he had certainly read ,levana1 and in all probability he knew what ,schiller had said in his ,letters on ,aesthetic ,education4 ,the play theories are now too well known to require more than a brief recapitulation4 ,it will generally be allowed that the distinctive feature of play as opposed to work is that of spontaneity4 ,the action itself is of no consequence1 one man's play is another man's work4 ,nor does it seem to matter whence comes the feeling of compulsion in work1 whether from pressure of outer necessity1 or from an inner necessity like the compelling force of duty4 ,where there is joy in creation or in discovery the work and play of the genius approach the standpoint of the child1 ,indulging every instinct of the soul1 ,there1 where law1 life1 joy1 impulse are one thing4 ,in the play of early childhood there may be freedom1 not only from adult authority1 but even from the restrictions of nature or of circumstances since let's pretend annihilates time and space and all material considerations4 ,among theories of play first comes what is known as the ,schiller-,spencer theory1 in which play is attributed to the accumulation of surplus energy4 ,when the human being has more energy than he requires in order to supply the bodily needs of himself and his family1 then he feels impelled to use it4 ,as the activities of his daily life are the only ones known to him1 he fights his battles over again1 he simulates the serious business of life1 and transfers1 for instance1 the incidents of the chase into a dance4 ,in this ,way he reaches artistic creation1 so that play is the first poetry of the human being4 ,as an opposite of this we get a ,re-creation theory1 where play1 if not too strenuous1 understood as a change of occupation1 rests and re-creates4 ,another theory is that of recapitulation1 which has been emphasised by ,stanley ,hall1 according to which children play hunting and chasing games1 or find a fascination in making tents1 because they are passing through that stage of development in which their primitive ancestors lived by hunting or dwelt in tents4 ,lastly1 a most interesting theory is that which is associated with the name of ,groos1 and which is best expressed in the sentence3 ,animals do not play because they are young1 but they have their youth because they must play1 play being regarded as the preparation for future life activities4 ,the kitten therefore practises chasing a cork1 the puppy worries boots and gloves1 the kid practises jumping1 and so on4 ,a full account of play will probably embrace all these theories1 and though they were not formulated in his day1 ,froebel overlooked none1 though he may have laid special stress on the preparation side4 ,yet another value of play emphasised by ,professor ,royce1 viz4 its enormous importance from the point of view of mental initiative1 is strongly urged by ,froebel4 ,professor ,royce argues that in the mere persistence of the playful child one has a factor whose value for mental initiative it is hard to overestimate4 ,without this passionately persistent repetition1 and without also the constant varying of apparently useless activities1 the organism1 says ,professor ,royce1 would remain the prey of the environment4 ,to ,froebel1 as we have seen1 the human being is the climax of animal evolution and the starting-point of psychical development4 ,the lower animal1 he maintained1 as all will now agree1 is hindered by his definite instincts1 but the instincts or instinctive tendencies of the human being are so undefined that there is room for spontaneity1 for new forms of conduct4 ,professor ,royce says that a general view of the place which beings with minds occupy in the physical world strongly suggests that their organisms may especially have significance as places for the initiation of more or less novel types of activity4 ,and to ,froebel the chief significance of play lies in this spontaneity4 ,play is the highest phase of human development at this stage1 because it is spontaneous expression of what is within produced by an inner necessity and impulse4 ,play is the most characteristic1 most spiritual manifestation of man at this stage1 and1 at the same time1 is typical of human life as a whole4 ,these various theories seem to reinforce rather than to contradict each other1 and it is more important to avoid running any to an extreme than to differentiate between them4 ,in the case of recapitulation1 we must certainly bear in mind ,froebel's warning that the child should be treated as having in himself the present1 past and future4 ,so1 as ,dr4 ,drummond says3 ,if we feel constrained to present him with a tent because ,abraham lived in one1 he no doubt enters into the spirit of the thing and accepts it joyfully4 ,but he also annexes the ball of string and the coffee canister to fit up telephonic communication with the nursery4 ,he may play robbers and hide and seek because he has reached a hunting and capture stage1 but the physiologist points out that violent exercise is a necessity for his circulation and nutrition1 and to practise swift flight to safety is useful even in modern times4#aa ,gardening may take us back to an agricultural stage1 but digging is most useful as a muscular exercise1 and watering is scientific experiment and adds to the feeling of power1 while the flowers themselves appeal to the aesthetic side of the sense-play1 which is not limited to any age1 though conspicuous so soon4 ,footnote #aa3 ,an up-to-date riddle asks the difference between the quick and the dead1 and answers1 ,the quick are those who get out of the way of a motor-bus and the dead are those who do not4 ,froebel recognised many kinds of play4 ,he realised that much of the play of boyhood is exercise of physical power1 and that it must be of a competitive nature because the boy wants to measure his power4 ,even in #ahbf he urges the importance not only of town playgrounds but of play leaders1 that the play may be full of life4 ,among games for boys he noted some still involving sense-play1 as hiding games1 colour games and shooting at a mark1 which need quick hearing and sight1 intellectual plays exercising thought and judgement1 e4g4 draughts and dramatic games4 ,one form of play which seemed to him most important was constructive play1 where there is expression of ideas as well as expression of power4 ,this side of play covers a great deal1 and will be dealt with later2 its importance in ,froebel's eyes lies in the fact that through construction1 however simple1 the child gains knowledge of his own power and learns to master himself4 ,froebel wanted particularly to deepen this feeling of power1 and says that the little one who has already made some experiments takes pleasure in the use of sand and clay1 impelled by the previously acquired sense of power he seeks to master the material4 ,in order to gain real knowledge of himself1 of his power1 a child needs to compare his power with that of others4 ,this is one reason for the child's ready imitation of all he sees done by others4 ,another reason for this is that only through real experience or action can a child gain the ideas which he will express later1 therefore he must reproduce all he sees or hears4 ,in the family the child sees parents and others at work1 producing1 doing something2 consequently he1 at this stage1 would like to represent what he sees4 ,be cautious1 parents4 ,you can at one blow destroy1 at least for a long time1 the impulse to activity and to formation if you repel their help as childish1 useless or even as a hindrance4444 ,strengthen and develop this instinct2 give to your child the highest he now needs1 let him add his power to your work1 that he may gain the consciousness of his power and also learn to appreciate its limitations4 ,as the child's sense of power and his self-consciousness deepen he requires possessions of his very own4 ,says ,froebel3 ,the feeling of his own power implies and demands also the possession of his own space and his own material belonging exclusively to him4 ,be his realm1 his province1 a corner of the house or courtyard1 be it the space of a box or of a closet1 be it a grotto1 a hut or a garden1 the boy at this age needs an external point1 chosen and prepared by himself1 to which he refers all his activity4 ,as ideas widen the child's purposes enlarge1 and he finds the need for that co-operation which binds human beings together4 ,and so by play enjoyed in common1 the feeling of community which is present in the little child is raised to recognition of the rights of others2 not only is a sense of justice developed1 but also forbearance1 consideration and sympathy4 ,when the room to be filled is extensive1 when the realm to be controlled is large1 when the whole to be produced is complex1 then brotherly union of similar-minded persons is in place4 ,and we are invited to enter an education room1 where boys of seven to ten are using building blocks1 sand1 sawdust and green moss brought in from the forest4 ,each one has finished his work and he examines it and that of others1 and in each rises the desire to unite all in one whole1 so roads are made from the village of one boy to the castle of another3 the boy who has made a cardboard house unites with another who has made miniature ships from nut-shells1 the house as a castle crowns the hill1 and the ships float in the lake below1 while the youngest brings his shepherd and sheep to graze between the mountain and the lake1 and all stand and behold with pleasure and satisfaction the result of their hands4 ,the educative value of such play has been brought forward in modern times in ,floor ,games by ,mr4 ,wells1 ,magic ,cities by ,mrs4 ,nesbit1 and notably in ,mr4 ,caldwell ,cook's ,play ,city in ,the ,play ,way4 ,joining together for a common purpose does not only belong to younger boys4 ,what busy tumult among those older boys at the brook6 ,they have built canals1 sluices1 bridges1 etc4444 at each step one trespasses on the limits of another realm4 ,each one claims his right as lord and maker1 while he recognises the claims of others1 and like ,states1 they bind themselves by strict treaties4 ,every town should have its own common playground for the boys4 ,glorious results would come from this for the entire community4 ,for1 at this period1 games1 whenever possible1 are in common1 and develop the feeling and desire for community1 and the laws and requirements of community4 ,the boy tries to see himself in his companions1 to weigh and measure himself by them1 to know and find himself by their help4 ,it is the sense of sure and reliable power1 the sense of its increase1 both as an individual and as a member of the group1 that fills the boy with joy during these games4444 ,justice1 self-control1 loyalty1 impartiality1 who could fail to catch their fragrance and that of still more delicate blossoms1 forbearance1 consideration1 sympathy and encouragement for the weaker4444 ,thus the games educate the boy for life and awaken and cultivate many social and moral virtues4 ,in ,england we have always had respect for boys' games and more and more1 especially in ,america1 people are realising the need for play places and play leaders4 ,but all this was written in #ahbf1 when for ten years ,froebel had been experimenting with boys of all ages4 ,at ,keilhau play of all kinds had an honoured place4 ,we read of excursions for all kinds of purposes1 of ,indian games out of ,fenimore ,cooper1 and of ,homeric battles4 ,it was part of ,froebel's plan to have us work with spade and pick-axe1 and every boy had his own piece of ground where he might do what he pleased4 ,ebers1 being literary1 constructed in his plot a bed of heather on which he lay and read or made verses4 ,the boys built their own stage1 painted their own scenery1 and in winter once a week they acted classic dramas4 ,besides this1 there was a large and complete puppet theatre belonging to the school4 ,bookbinding and carpentry were taught1 and at ,christmas the embryo cabinet-maker made boxes with locks and hinges1 finished1 veneered and polished4 ,in ,england in #aiag we have given to us ,the ,play ,way1 in which one who has tried it gives the results of his own experiments in education through play4 ,mr4 ,caldwell ,cook was not satisfied with the condition of affairs when school above the ,kindergarten is a nuisance because there is no play4 ,his dream is that of a ,play ,school ,commonwealth1 where education1 which is the training of youth1 shall be filled with the spirit of youth1 namely1 freshness1 zeal1 happiness1 enthusiasm4 ,the next chapter will show that it has taken us exactly a hundred years to reach as far as public recognition of the ,nursery ,school where play is the only possible motive4 ,it is for the coming generation of teachers to act so that the dream of the ,play ,school ,commonwealth shall be realised more quickly4 ,it is a significant fact that the lines quoted as heading for the next chapter are written by a modern schoolmaster4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,from #ahaf ,,to #aiai ,poor mites2 you stiffen on a bench ,and stoop your curls to dusty laws2 ,your petal fingers curve and clench ,in slavery to parchment saws2 ,you suit your hearts to sallow faces ,in sullen places3 ,but no pen ,nor pedantry can make you men4 ,yours are the morning and the day3 ,you should be taught of wind and light2 ,your learning should be born of play4 7,caged3 ,,george ,,winthrop ,,young47 ,had ,england but honoured her own prophets1 we should have had ,nursery ,schools a hundred years ago4 ,in #ahaf1 the year in which ,froebel founded his school for older boys at ,keilhau1 ,robert ,owen1 the ,socialist1 following the plan prescribed by ,nature1 opened a school where children1 from two to six1 were to dance and sing1 to be out-of-doors as much as possible1 to learn when their curiosity induced them to ask questions1 and not to be annoyed with books4 ,they were to be prevented from acquiring bad habits1 to be taught what they could understand1 and their dispositions were to be trained to mutual kindness and a sincere desire to contribute all in their power to benefit each other4 ,they were trained and educated without punishment or the fear of it4444 ,a child who acted improperly was not considered an object of blame but of pity1 and no unnecessary restraint was imposed on the children4 ,but the world was not ready4 ,owen's ,rational ,infant ,school attracted much notice1 and an ,infant ,school ,society was founded4 ,but even the enlightened were incapable of understanding that any education was possible without books1 and the promoters rightly1 though quite unconsciously1 condemned themselves when they kept the title ,infant ,school but dropped the qualifying ,rational4 ,still1 ,infant ,schools had been started and interest had been aroused4 ,when the edict abolishing ,kindergartens was promulgated in ,germany1 some of ,froebel's disciples passed to other lands1 and ,madame von ,marenholz came to ,england in #ahed4 ,already one ,kindergarten had been opened by a ,madame ,ronge1 to which ,rowland ,hill sent his children1 and to which ,dickens paid frequent visits4 ,in the same year there was held in ,london an ,international ,educational ,exposition and ,congress1 and to this ,madame von ,marenholz sent an exhibit1 which was explained by ,madame ,ronge1 and by a ,mr4 ,hoffmann4 ,dickens1 who had watched the actual working of a ,kindergarten1 gave warm support to the new ideas1 and wrote an excellent article on ,infant ,gardens for ,household ,words1 urging that since children are by ,infinite ,wisdom so created as to find happiness in the active exercise and development of all their faculties1 we1 who have children round about us1 shall no longer repress their energies1 tie up their bodies1 shut their mouths4444 ,the frolic of childhood is not pure exuberance and waste4 ',there is often a high meaning in childish play1' said ,froebel4 ,let us study it1 and act upon the hints--or more than hints--that ,nature gives4 ,dr4 ,henry ,barnard represented ,connecticut at this ,congress1 and he took the ,kindergarten to ,america1 in whose virgin soil the seed took root1 and quickly brought forth abundantly4 ,but the soil was virgin and the fields were ready for planting1 for ,america in these days had nothing corresponding to our ,infant ,schools4 ,the ,kindergarten was welcomed by people of influence4 ,dr4 ,barnard found his first ally in ,miss ,peabody1 one of whose sisters was married to ,nathaniel ,hawthorne1 while another was the wife of ,horace ,mann4 ,miss ,peabody began to teach in #ahfj1 but eight years later1 after a visit to ,europe1 she gave up teaching for propaganda work4 ,owing to her efforts the first ,free ,kindergarten was opened in ,boston in #ahgj4 ,philanthropists soon recognised its importance as a social agency1 and by #ahhc one lady alone supported thirty-one such institutions in ,boston and its surroundings4 ,in ,new ,york1 ,dr4 ,felix ,adler established a ,free ,kindergarten in #ahgh1 and ,teachers' ,college was influential in helping to form an association which supports several4 ,another name well known in this country is that of ,miss ,kate ,douglas ,wiggin1#ab who was a ,kindergarten teacher for many years before she became known as a novelist4 ,it is ,miss ,wiggin who tells of a quaint translation of ,kindergarten heard by a ,san ,francisco teacher making friendly visits to the mothers of her children4 ,while she stood on a door-step sympathising with one poor woman she heard a loud1 but not unfriendly voice from an upper window4 ,clear things from under foot6 it pealed in stentorian accents4 ,the teacher o' the ,kids' ,guards is comin' down the street4 ,footnote #ab3 ,writer of ,penelope in ,england1 etc41 and of a capital collection of essays entitled ,children's ,rights4 ,in ,england things were very different1 because of the ,infant ,schools which had already been established1 but which had fallen far below the ideal set up by ,robert ,owen4 ,as every one knows1 the education given in those days to teachers of ,elementary ,schools was but meagre1 and the results were often so bad that1 to justify the expenditure of public money1 payment by results was introduced4 ,in #ahgj came the ,education ,act1 and the year #ahgd saw a good deal of movement4 ,miss ,caroline ,bishop was appointed to lecture to the ,infants' teachers under the ,london ,school ,board2 ,miss ,heerwart took charge of a training college for ,kindergarten teachers in connection with the ,british and ,foreign ,school ,society2 the ,froehel ,society was founded1 and ,madame ,michaelis took the ,kindergarten into the newly established ,high ,schools for ,girls4 ,for the children of the well-to-do ,kindergartens spread rapidly1 but for the children of the poor there was no such happiness2 the ,infant ,school was too firmly established as a place where children learned to read1 write and count1 and above all to sit still4 ,infants' teachers received no special training for their work2 their course of study1 in which professional training played but a small part1 was the same as that prescribed for the teachers of older children4 ,some colleges1 notably ,the ,home and ,colonial1 ,stockwell1 and ,saffron ,walden1 did try to give their students some special training1 but it was not of much avail1 and the word ,kindergarten came to mean not ,nursery ,school1 as was the idea of its founder1 but dictated exercises with ,kindergarten material1 a kind of manual drill supposed to give hand and eye training1 and with this meaning it made its appearance on the time-table4 ,visitors from ,america were shocked to find no ,kindergartens in ,england1 but only large classes of poor little automatons sitting erect with hands behind or worse still hands on heads1 and moving only to the word of command4 ,one lady who ultimately found her way to our own ,kindergarten told me that she had been informed at the ,l4,c4,c4 offices that there were no ,kindergartens in ,london4 ,it was partly the scandalised expressions of these ,american teachers that stimulated ,miss ,adelaide ,wragge to take her courage into her hands1 and in the year #aijj to open the first ,mission ,kindergarten in ,england4 ,she called it a ,mission1 not a ,free ,kindergarten1 partly because the parents paid the trifling fee of one penny per week1 and partly because it was connected with the parish work of ,holy ,trinity1 ,woolwich1 of which her brother was vicar4 ,the first report says3 ,the neighbourhood was suitable for the experiment2 little children1 needing just the kind of training we proposed to give them1 abounded everywhere4444 ,the ,woolwich children were typical slum babies1 varying in ages from three to six years2 very poor1 very dirty1 totally untrained in good habits4 ,at first we only admitted a few1 and when these began to improve1 gradually increased the numbers to thirty-five4 ,they needed great patience and care1 but they responded wonderfully to the love given them1 and before long they were real ,kindergarten children1 full of vigour1 merriment and self-activity4 ,as is done in connection with all ,free ,kindergartens1 ,parents' ,evenings were instituted from the first1 and the mothers were helped to understand their children by simple talks4 ,sesame ,house for ,home ,life ,training had been opened six months before this ,mission ,kindergarten4 ,it was founded by the ,sesame ,club1 and at its head was ,miss ,schepel1 who for twenty years had been at the head of the ,pestalozzi ,froebel ,house4 ,the idea of ,home ,life ,training attracted students who were not obliged by stern necessity to earn their daily bread4 ,though the methods were not quite in line with progressive thought1 the atmosphere created by ,miss ,schepel1 warmly seconded by ,miss ,buckton1#ac was one of enthusiasm in the service of children4 ,the second ,nursery ,school in ,london had its origin in this enthusiasm4 ,miss ,maufe left ,sesame ,house early in #aijc1 and started a free ,child ,garden in ,west ,london4 ,four years later she moved to ,westminster to a block of workmen's dwellings erected on the site of the old ,millbank ,prison4 ,this child garden has a special interest from the fact that it was carried on actually in a block of workmen's dwellings like ,the ,children's ,houses of a later date4 ,the effort was voluntary and the rooms were small1 but1 if the experiment had been supported by the authorities1 it would have been easy to take down dividing walls to get sufficient space4 ,miss ,maufe gave herself and her income for about twelve years1 but difficulties created by the war1 the impossibility of finding efficient help and consequent drain upon her own strength have forced her to close her little school1 to the grief of the mothers in #dh ,ruskin ,buildings4 ,another ,sesame ,house student1 ,miss ,l4 ,hardy1 in her charming ,diary of a ,free ,kindergarten1 takes us from ,london to ,edinburgh1 but the first ,free ,kindergarten in ,edinburgh began in #aijc and had a different origin4 ,miss ,howden was an ,infants' ,mistress in one of the slums1 and knew well the needs of little children in that wide street1 once decked with lordly mansions1 which leads from the ,castle to ,holyrood ,palace4 ,some of the fine houses are left1 but the inhabitants are of the poorest1 and ,miss ,howden left her savings to start a ,free ,kindergarten in the ,canongate4 ,the sum was not large1 but it was seed sown in faith1 and its harvest has been abundant1 for ,edinburgh with its population of under #djj1jjj has five ,free ,kindergartens1 in all of which the children are washed and fed and given restful sleep1 as well as taught and trained with intelligence and love4 ,london with its population of #f1jjj1jjj had but eight up to the time of the outbreak of the war4 ,footnote #ac3 ,author of the beautiful mystery play of ,eager ,heart4 ,in #aijd the ,froebel ,society took part in a ,joint ,conference at ,bradford1 where one sitting was devoted to ,the ,need for ,nursery ,schools for ,children from three to five years at present attending the ,public ,elementary ,schools4 ,the speakers were ,mrs4 ,miall of ,leeds1 and ,miss ,k4 ,phillips1 who had wide opportunities for knowledge of the unsuitable conditions generally provided for these little children4 ,among those who joined in this discussion was ,miss ,margaret ,m',millan1 so well known for her pioneer work in connection with ,school ,clinics1 and more recently for her now famous ,camp ,school4 ,miss ,m',millan had already done yeoman service on the ,bradford ,education ,committee1 but was now resident in ,london1 and she had been warmly welcomed on the ,council of the ,froebel ,society4 ,it was from the date of this ,conference that the name ,nursery ,school became general1 though it had been used by ,madame ,michaelis as early as #ahia4 ,in the following year1 #aije1 the ,board of ,education published its ,reports on ,children under ,five ,years of ,age1 with its prefatory memorandum stating that a new form of school is necessary for poor children1 and that parents who must send their little ones to school should send them to nursery schools rather than to schools of instruction1 to schools where there should be more play1 more sleep1 more free conversation1 story-telling and observation4 ,it would seem that the recommendations of #aije may begin to be carried out in #aiai1 a consummation devoutly to be wished4 ,in the meantime voluntary effort has done what it could4 ,birmingham had good reason to be in the forefront1 since many of its public-spirited citizens had in their own childhood the benefit of the excellent works of ,miss ,caroline ,bishop1 a disciple of ,frau ,schrader4 ,the ,birmingham ,people's ,kindergarten ,association opened its first ,people's ,kindergarten at ,greet1 in #aijd1 and a second1 the ,settlement ,kindergarten1 in #aijg4 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge spoke strongly in favour of these institutions1 calling them a protest against the idea of the comparative unimportance of childhood4 ,miss ,hardy opened her ,child ,garden in #aijf1 and that work has grown so that the children are now kept till they are eight years old4 ,the ,edinburgh ,provincial ,council for the ,training of ,teachers opened another ,free ,kindergarten as a demonstration school for ,froebelian methods1 a practising school for students1 and also as an experimental school1 where attempts might be made to solve problems as to the education of neglected children under school age4 ,it was the ,headmistress of this school1 ,miss ,hodsman1 who invented the net beds now in general use4 ,she wanted something hygienic and light enough to be carried easily into the garden1 that in fine weather the children might sleep out of doors4 ,another ,sesame ,house student1 ,miss ,priestman1 opened a ,free ,kindergarten in the pretty village of ,thornton-le-,dale1 where the children have a sand-heap in a little enclosure allowed them by the blacksmith1 and sail their boats at a quiet place by the side of the beck that runs through the village4 ,it was in #aijh that ,miss ,esther ,lawrence of the ,froebel ,institute inspired her old students to help her to open ,the ,michaelis ,free ,kindergarten4 ,since the war1 the name has been altered to ,the ,michaelis ,nursery ,school1 which is in ,netting ,dale1 on the edge of a very poor neighbourhood1 where large families often occupy a single room4 ,as in the ,edinburgh ,free ,kindergartens1 dinner is provided1 for which the parents pay one penny4 ,the first report tells how necessary are ,nursery ,schools in such surroundings4 ,the little child who was formerly tied to the leg of the bed1 and left all day while his mother was out at work1 is now enjoying the happy freedom of the ,kindergarten4 ,the child whose clothes were formerly sewn on to him1 to save his mother the periodical labour of sewing on buttons1 is now undressed and bathed regularly4 ,the attacks on children by drunken parents are less frequent4 ,when the ,kindergarten was first opened1 many of the children were quite listless1 they did not know how to play1 did not care to play4 ,now they play with pleasure and with vigour1 and one can hardly believe they are the listless1 spiritless children of a year ago4 ,in #aiaj ,miss ,lawrence succeeded in opening what was called from the first the ,somers ,town ,nursery ,school1 where the same kind of work is done4 ,one of the reports says3 ,it is interesting to see the children sweeping or dusting a room1 washing their dusters and dolls' clothes1 polishing the furniture1 their shoes1 and anything which needs polishing4 ,on ,friday morning the 'silver' is cleaned1 and the brilliant results give great pleasure and satisfaction to the little polishers4 ',have you done your work8' was the question addressed to a visitor by a three-year-old child1 and the visitor beat a hasty retreat1 ashamed perhaps of being the only drone in the busy hive4 ,at dinner time four children wait on the rest1 and very well and quickly the food is handed round and the plates removed4 ,there are other ,free ,kindergartens at work4 ,one is in charge of ,miss ,rowland1 and is in connection with the ,bermondsey ,settlement4 ,it is ,miss ,rowland who tells of the candid mother she met one ,saturday who remarked1 ,i told the children to wash their faces in case they met you4 ,the ,phoenix ,park ,kindergarten in ,glasgow is interesting because the site was granted by an enlightened ,corporation and the ,parks ,committee laid out the garden1 while the real start came from the pupils of a school for girls of well-to-do families4 ,by this time other social agencies have been grouped round the ,kindergarten as a centre4 ,the ,caldecott ,nursery ,school was opened in #aiaa and has grown into the ,caldecott ,community1 which has now taken its children to live altogether in the country4 ,this ,nursery ,school was never intended to be a ,kindergarten2 it was started as an interesting experiment1 chiefly perhaps in the hope that the children might enjoy that instruction which is usually absorbed by the children of the wealthy in their own nurseries by virtue of their happier surroundings4 ,and in the very year in which we were plunged into war ,miss ,margaret ,m',millan put into actual shape what she had long thought of1 and opened her ,baby ,camp and ,nursery ,school1 with a place for toddlers in between1 the full story of which is told in ,the1 ,camp ,school4 ,in the ,camp itself the things which impress the visitor most are first the space and the fresh air1 the sky above and the brown earth below1 and next the family feeling which is so plain in spite of the numbers4 ,the ,camp existed long before it was a ,baby ,camp and ,nursery ,school1 for ,miss ,m',millan began with a ,school ,clinic and went on to ,open-,air ,camps for girls and for boys1 before going to the preventive and constructive work of the ,baby ,camp4 ,clean and healthy bodies come first1 but to ,miss ,m',millan's enthusiasm everything in life is educative4 ,the war has increased the supply of ,nursery ,schools1 because the need for them has become glaringly apparent4 ,many experiments are going on now1 and it seems as if experimental work would be encouraged1 not hampered by unyielding regulations4 ,the ,nursery ,school should cover the ages for which the ,kindergarten was instituted1 roughly from three to six years old4 ,already there are excellent baby rooms in some parts of ,london1 and no doubt in other towns1 and the only reason for disturbing these is to provide the children with more space and more fresh air1 or with something resembling a garden rather than a bare yard4 ,one school in ,london has a creche or day nursery1 not exactly a part of it1 but in closest touch1 established owing to the efforts of an enthusiastic ,headmistress working along with the ,norland ,place nurses4 ,its space is at present insufficient1 but the neighbouring buildings are condemned1 and will come down after the war4 ,they need not go up again4 ,then the space could be used in the same way as in the ,camp ,school4 ,that would be to the benefit of the whole neighbourhood1 and there could be at least one experiment where from creche to ,standard ,,vii4 might be in close connection4 ,miss ,m',millan's ideal is to have a large space in the centre of a district with covered passages radiating from it so that mothers from a large area could bring their little ones and leave them in safety4 ,it would be safety1 it would be salvation4 ,but1 as the ,scots proverb has it1 ,it is a far cry to ,loch ,awe4 ,another question much debated is1 who is to be in charge of these children4 ,the day nursery or crche must undoubtedly be staffed with nurses1 but with nurses trained to care for children1 not merely sick nurses4 ,there are1 however1 certain people who believe that the trained nurse is the right person to be in charge of children up to five1 while others think that young girls or uneducated women will suffice4 ,we are thankful that the ,board of ,education takes up the position that a well-educated and specially trained teacher is to be the person responsible4 ,we certainly want the help both of the trained nurse and of the motherly woman4 ,the trained nurse will be far more use in detecting and attending to the ailments of children than the teacher can be1 and the motherly woman can give far more efficient help in training children to decent habits than any young probationer1 useful though these may be4 ,but there is always the fear that the nurses may think that good food and cleanliness are all a child requires1 and1 as ,miss ,m',millan says1 ,the sight of the toddlers' empty hands and mute lips does not trouble them at all4 ,but every man to his trade1 and though the teacher in charge must know something about ailing children1 it is very doubtful if a few months in a hospital will advantage her much4 ,here she trenches on the province of the real nurse1 whose training is thorough1 and the little knowledge1 as every one knows1 is sometimes dangerous4 ,one ,nursery ,school teacher1 with years of experience1 says that what she learned in hospital has been of no use to her1 and it is probable that attendance at a clinic for children would be really more useful4 ,certainly the main concern of the ,nursery ,school teacher is sympathetic understanding of children4 ,there must be no more of ,punch's ,go and see what ,tommy is doing in the next room and tell him not to1 but ,go and see what ,tommy is trying to accomplish1 and make it possible for him to carry on his self-education through that 'fostering of the human instincts of activity1 investigation and construction' which constitutes a ,kindergarten4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,world',s ,,mine ,,oyster ,a box of counters and a red-veined stone1 ,a piece of glass abraded by the beach1 ,and six or seven shells4 ,if early education1 consist in fostering natural activities1 there can be no doubt that ,froebel hit upon the activity most prominent of all in the case of young children1 viz4 the impulse to investigate4 ,for his crest1 the little child should share in the motto given to the mongoose family1 in ,kipling's ,rikki-,tikki1 ',run and find out4' ,most writers on the education of young children have emphasised the importance of what is most inadequately called sense training1 and it is here that ,dr4 ,montessori takes her stand with her didactic apparatus4 ,froebel's ideas seem wider2 he realises that the sword with which the child opens his oyster is a two-edged sword1 that he uses not only his sense organs as tools for investigation1 but his whole body4 ,his pathway to knowledge1 and to power over himself and his surroundings1 is action1 and action of all kinds is as necessary to him as the use of his senses4 ,the child's first utterance is force1 says ,froebel1 and his first discovery is the resistance of matter1 when he pushes with his feet against what resists them4 ,his first experiments are with his body1 his first toys are his own limbs1 and his first play is the use of body1 senses and limbs for the sake of use1 not for result4 ,one use of his body is the imitation of any moving object1 and ,froebel tells the mother3 ,if your child's to understand ,action in the world without1 ,you must let his tiny hand ,imitative move about4 ,this is the reason why ,baby will1 never still1 ,imitate whatever's by4 ,at this stage the child is to move freely1 and be active1 to grasp and hold with his own hands4 ,he is to stand when he can sit erect and draw himself up1 not to walk till he can creep1 rise freely1 maintain his balance and proceed by his own effort4 ,he is not to be hindered by swaddling bands--such as are in use in ,continental countries--nor1 later on1 to be spoiled by too much assistance1 words which every mother and teacher should write upon her phylacteries4 ,but as soon as he can move himself the surroundings speak to the child1 outer objects invite him to seize and grasp them1 and if they are distant1 they invite him who would bring them nearer to move towards them4 ,this use of the word invite is worthy of notice1 and calls to mind a sentence used by a writer on ,freud1#ad that the activity of a human being is a constant function of his environment4 ,we adults1 who are so ready with our ,don't touch1 must endeavour to remember how everything is shouting to a child3 ,look at me1 listen to me1 come and fetch me1 and find out all you can about me by every means in your power4 ,footnote #ad3 ,the ,freudian ,wish1 ,edwin ,holt4 ,if we have anything to do with little children1 we must face the fact that the child is1 if not quite a ,robinson ,crusoe on his island1 at least an explorer in a strange country1 and a scientist in his laboratory4 ,but there is nothing narrow in his outlook3 the name of this chapter is deliberately chosen1 the whole world is the child's oyster1 his interests are all-embracing4 ,from his first walk he is the geographer4 ,each little walk is a tour of discovery2 each object--the chair1 the wall--is an ,america1 a new world1 which he either goes around to see if it be an island1 or whose coast he follows to discover if it be a continent4 ,each new phenomenon is a discovery in the child's small and yet rich world1 e4g4 one may go round the chair2 one may stand before it1 behind it1 but one cannot go behind the bench or the wall4 ,then comes an inquiry into the physical properties of surrounding objects4 ,the effort to reach a particular object may have its source in the child's desire to hold himself firm and upright by it1 but we also observe that it gives him pleasure to touch1 to feel1 to grasp1 and perhaps also--which is a new phase of activity--to be able to move it4444 ,the chair is hard or soft2 the seat is smooth2 the corner is pointed2 the edge is sharp4 ,the business of the adult1 ,froebel goes on to say1 is to supply these names1 not primarily to develop the child's power of speech1 but to define his sense impressions4 ,next1 the scientist must stock his laboratory with material for experiment4 ,the child is attracted by the bright round smooth pebble1 by the gaily fluttering bit of paper1 by the smooth bit of board1 by the rectangular block1 by the brilliant quaint leaf4 ,look at the child that can scarcely keep himself erect1 that can walk only with the greatest care--he sees a twig1 a bit of straw2 painfully he secures it1 and like the bird carries it to his nest4 ,see him again1 laboriously stooping and slowly going forward on the ground1 under the eaves of the roof 7the deep eaves of the ,thuringian peasant house74 ,the force of the rain has washed out of the sand smooth bright pebbles1 and the ever-observing child gathers them as building stones as it were1 as material for future building4 ,and is he wrong8 ,is he not in truth collecting material for his future life building8 ,the box of counters1 and the red-veined stone1 the brilliant quaint leaf1 the twig1 the bit of straw1 all the child's treasures--these are the stimuli which1 according to the biologist educator1 must be supplied if the activities appropriate to each stage are to be called forth4 ,every one knows for how long a period a child can occupy himself examining1 comparing and experimenting4 ,like things1 says ,froebel1 must be ranged together1 unlike things separated4444 ,the child loves all things that enter his small horizon and extend his little world4 ,to him the least thing is a new discovery1 but it must not come dead into the little world1 nor lie dead therein1 lest it obscure the small horizon and crush the little world4 ,therefore the child would know why he loves this thing1 he would know all its properties4 ,for this reason he examines the object on all sides2 for this reason he tears and breaks it2 for this reason he puts it in his mouth and bites it4 ,we reprove the child for naughtiness and foolishness2 and yet he is wiser than we who reprove him4 ,this experimenting is one side of a child's play1 and the things with which he thus experiments are his toys1 or1 as ,froebel puts it1 play material4 ,much of this is and ought to be self found1 and where the child can find his own toys he asks for little more4 ,the seaside supplies him with sand and water1 stones1 shells1 rock pools1 seaweed1 and he asks us for nothing but a spade1 which digs deeper than his naked hands1 and a pail to carry water1 which hands alone cannot convey4 ,the vista of the sand is the child's free land2 where the grown-ups seem half afraid2 even nurse forgets to sniff and to call come here as she sits very near to the far up cliff and you venture alone with your spade4444 ,even indoors1 a child could probably find for himself all the material for investigation1 all the stimuli he requires1 if it were not that his investigations interfere with adult purposes4 ,even in very primitive times the child probably experimented upon the revolving qualities of his mother's spindle till she found it more convenient to let him have one for himself1 and it became a toy or top4 ,froebel1 who made so much of play1 to whom it was spontaneous education and self realisation1 was bound to see that toys were important4 ,the man advanced in insight1 he said1 even when he gives his child a plaything1 must make clear to himself its purpose and the purpose of playthings and occupation material in general4 ,this purpose is to aid the child freely to express what lies within him1 and to bring the outer world nearer to him1 and thus to serve as mediator between the mind and the world4 ,froebel's ,gifts were an attempt to supply right play material4 ,true to his faith in natural impulse1 ,froebel watched children to see what playthings they found for themselves1 or which1 among those presented by adults1 were most appreciated4 ,soft little coloured balls seemed right material for a baby's tender hand1 and it was clear that when the child could crawl about he was ready for something which he could roll on the floor and pursue on all fours4 ,as early as two years old he loves to take things out of boxes and to move objects about1 so boxes of bricks were supplied1 graded in number and in variety of form4 ,not for a moment did ,froebel suggest that the child was to be limited to these selected playthings1 he expressly stated the contrary1 and he frequently said that spontaneity was not to be checked4 ,but from what has followed1 from the way in which these little toys have been misused1 we are tempted to speculate on whether these ,gifts supplied that definite foundation without which1 in these days1 no notice would have been taken of the new ideas1 or whether they have proved the sunken rock on which much that was valuable has perished4 ,the world was not ready to believe in the educational value of play1 just pure play4 ,nor is it yet4 ,for the new system in its didactic apparatus out-,froebels ,froebel in his mistake of trying to systematise the material for spontaneous education4 ,carefully planned1 as were ,froebel's own gifts1 the new apparatus presents a series of exercises in sense discrimination1 satisfying no doubt while unfamiliar1 but suffering from the defect of the too finished and complex plaything1 in which ,froebel saw a danger which slumbers like a viper under the roses4 ,the danger is that the child can begin no new thing with it1 cannot produce enough variety by its means2 his power of creative imagination1 his power of giving outward form to his own ideas are thus actually deadened4 ,to realise his aims1 man1 and more particularly the child1 requires material1 though it be only a bit of wood or a pebble1 with which he makes something or which he makes into something4 ,in order to lead the child to the handling of material we give him the ball1 the cube and other bodies1 the ,kindergarten gifts4 ,each of these gifts incites the child to free spontaneous activity1 to independent movement4 ,froebel would have sympathised deeply with the views of ,peter as expressed by ,mr4 ,wells in regard to ,ideals1 which he1 however1 called toys3 ,the theory of ,ideals played almost as important a part in the early philosophy of ,peter as it did in the philosophy of ,plato4 ,but ,peter did not call them ,ideals1 he called them 'toys4' ,toys were the simplified essences of things1 pure1 perfect and manageable4 ,real things were troublesome1 uncontrollable1 over-complicated and largely irrelevant4 ,a ,real ,train1 for example1 was a poor1 big1 clumsy1 limited thing that was obliged to go to ,redhill1 or ,croydon1 or ,london1 that was full of unnecessary strangers1 usually sitting firmly in the window seats1 that you could do nothing with at all4 ,a ,toy ,train was your very own2 it took you wherever you wanted1 to ,fairyland1 or ,russia1 or anywhere1 at whatever pace you chose4#ae ,footnote #ae3 ,joan and ,peter1 p4 #gg4 ,froebel asks what presents are most prized by the child and by mankind in general1 and answers1 ,those which afford him a means of developing his mind1 of giving it freest activity1 of expressing it clearly4 ,for her ideas as to educative material ,dr4 ,montessori went1 not to normal life1 not even to children1 but to what may he called curative appliances1 to the material invented by ,sguin to develop the dormant powers of defective children4 ,she herself came to the study of education from the medical side1 the curative4 ,froebel1 with his belief in human instinct1 naturally went to what he called the mother's room1 which we should call the nursery1 and to the garden where the child finds his bright round smooth pebble and his brilliant quaint leaf4 ,no one would seek to under-value the importance of sense discrimination1 but it can be exercised without formalism1 and it need not be mere discrimination4 ,it is in connection with the ,taste and ,smell games that ,froebel tells the mother that the higher is rooted in the lower1 morality in instinct1 the spiritual in the material4 ,the baby enjoys the scent1 thanks the kind spirit that put it there1 and must let mother smell it too1 so from the beginning there is a touch of aesthetic pleasure and a recognition of what the dear ,god is saying outside4 ,as to how sense discrimination may be exercised without formality1 there is a charming picture in ,the ,camp ,school3 ,and then that sense of ,smell1 which got so little exercise and attention that it went to sleep altogether1 so that millions get no warning and no joy through it4 ,we met the need for its education in the ,baby ,camp by having a ,herb ,garden4 ,back from the shelters and open ground1 in a shady place1 we have planted fennel1 mint1 lavender1 sage1 marjoram1 thyme1 rosemary1 herb gerrard and rue4 ,and over and above these pungently smelling things there are little fields of mignonette4 ,we have balm1 indeed1 everywhere in our garden4 ,the toddlers go round the beds of herbs1 pinching the leaves with their tiny fingers and then putting their fingers to their noses4 ,there are two little couples going the rounds just now4 ,one is a pair of new comers1 very much astonished1 the other couple old inhabitants1 delighted to show the wonders of the place6 ,coming back with odorous hands1 they perhaps want to tell us about the journey4 ,their eyes are bright1 their mouths open4 ,in ,chapter ,,ii4 we quoted the biologist educator's ideal conception of the surroundings best suited to bring about right development4 ,let us now visit one or two actual ,kindergartens and see if these conditions are in any way realised by the followers of ,froebel4 ,the first one we enter is certainly a large bright room1 for one side is open to light1 with two large windows1 and between them glass doors opening into the playground4 ,there is no heap of sand in a corner1 nor is there a tub of water2 for the practical teacher knows how little hands1 if not little feet1 with their vigorous but as yet uncontrolled movements would splash the water and scatter the sand with dire effects as to the floor1 which the theorist fondly imagines would always be clean enough to sit upon4 ,but there is a sand-tray big enough and deep enough for six to eight children to use individually or together4 ,as spontaneous activity1 with its ceaseless efforts at experimenting1 ceaselessly spills the sand1 within easy reach are little brushes and dustpans to remedy such mishaps4 ,the sand-tray is lined with zinc so that the sand can be replaced by water for boats and ducks1 etc41 when desired4 ,the low wall blackboard is there ready for use4 ,bright pictures are on the walls1 well drawn and well coloured1 some from nursery rhymes1 some of ,caldecott's1 a frieze of hen and chickens1 etc4 ,boxes for houses and shops are not in evidence1 but their place is taken by bricks of such size and quantity that houses1 shops1 motors1 engines and anything else may be built large enough for the children themselves to be shopkeepers or drivers1 and there are also pieces of wood to use for various purposes of construction4 ,there is no cooking stove1 but simple cooking can be carried out on an open fire1 and when a baking oven is required1 an eager procession makes its way to the kitchen1 where a kindly housekeeper permits the use of her oven4 ,there is a doll's cot with a few dolls of various sizes4 ,there are flowers and growing bulbs4 ,there are light low tables and chairs1 a family of guinea pigs in a large cage1 and there is a cupboard which the children can reach4 ,water is to be found in a passage room1 between the ,kindergarten and the rooms for children above that stage1 and here1 so placed that the children themselves can find and reach everything1 are the sawdust1 bran and oats for the guinea pigs1 with a few carrots and a knife to cut them1 some tiny scrubbing-brushes and a wiping-up cloth4 ,here also are stored the empty boxes1 corrugated paper and odds and ends in constant demand for constructions4 ,in the cupboard there are certain shelves from which anything may be taken1 and some from which nothing may be taken without leave4 ,for the teacher here is of opinion that children of even three and four are not too young to begin to learn the lesson of meum and tuum1 and she also thinks it is good to have some treasures which do not come out every day1 and which may require more delicate handling than the ordinary toy ought to need4 ,for this ought to be strong enough to bear unskilled handling and vigorous movements1 for a broken toy ought to be a tragedy4 ,at the same time it is part of a child's training to learn to use dainty objects with delicate handling1 and such things form the children's art gems1 showing beauty of construction and of colour4 ,children as well as grown-ups have their bad days1 when something out of the usual is very welcome4 ,do you know there's nothing in this world that ,i'm not tired of8 was said one day by a boy of six usually quite contented4 ,give me something out of the cupboard that ,i've never seen before1 said another whose digestion was troublesome4 ,the open shelves contain pencils and paper1 crayons1 paint-boxes1 boxes of building blocks1 interlocking blocks1 wooden animals1 jigsaw and other puzzles1 coloured tablets for pattern laying1 toy scales1 beads to thread1 dominoes1 etc41 the only rule being that what is taken out must be tidily replaced4 ,this ,kindergarten is part of a large institution1 and the playground1 to which it has direct access1 is of considerable extent4 ,there is a big stretch of grass and another of asphalt1 so that in suitable weather the tables and chairs1 the sand-tray1 the bricks and anything else that is wanted can be carried outside so that the children can live in the open1 which of course is better than any room4 ,in the playground there is a bank where the children can run up and down1 and there are a few planks and a builder's trestle1#af on which they can be poised for seesaws or slides1 and these are a constant source of pleasure4 ,footnote #af3 ,see p4 #ee4 ,in another ,kindergarten we find the walls enlivened with ,cecil ,aldin's fascinating friezes3 here is ,noah with all the animals walking in cheerful procession1 and in the next room is an attractive procession of children with push-carts1 hoops and toy motor cars4 ,when we make our visit the day is fine and the room is empty1 the children are all outside4 ,the garden is not large1 but there is some space1 and under the shade of two big trees we find rugs spread1 on which the children are sitting1 standing1 kneeling and lying1 according to their occupation4 ,one is building with large blocks1 and must stand up to complete her erection2 another is lying flat putting together a jigsaw2 another1 a boy1 is threading beads2 while another has built railway arches1 and with much whistling and the greatest carefulness is guiding his train through the tunnels4 ,the play is almost entirely individual1 but very often you hear1 ,o ,miss ,x1 do come and see what ,i've done6 ,after about an hour1 during which a few of the children have changed their occupations1 those who wish to do so join some older children who are playing games involving movement4 ,this may be a traditional game like ,looby ,loo1 or ,round and round the ,village1 or it may be one of the best of the old ,kindergarten games4 ,after lunch the washing up is to be done in a beautiful new white sink which is displayed with pride4 ,our next visit is to a ,free ,kindergarten4 ,the rooms are quite as attractive1 as rich in charming friezes as in the others1 and the furnishing in some ways is much the same4 ,but here we see what we have not seen before1 for here is a large room filled with tiny hammock beds4 ,the windows are wide open1 but the blinds are down1 for the children are having their afternoon sleep4 ,here1 as in all ,free ,kindergartens1 the children are provided with simple but pretty overalls which the parents are pleased to wash4 ,house shoes are also provided1 partly to minimise the noise from active little feet1 but principally because the poor little boots are often a painfully inadequate protection from wet pavements4 ,the children are trained to tidy ways and to independence4 ,they cannot read1 but by picture cards they recognise their own beds1 pegs and other properties4 ,they take out and put away their own things1 and give all reasonable help in laying tables and serving food1 in washing1 dusting and sweeping up crumbs1 as is done in any true ,kindergarten4 ,in the garden of this ,free ,kindergarten there is a large sand-pit1 surrounded by a low wooden framework1 and having a pole across the middle so that it resembles a cucumber frame and a cover can be thrown over the sand to keep it clean when not in use4 ,froebel's own list of playthings contains1 besides balls and building blocks1 coloured beads1 coloured tablets for laying patterns1 coloured papers for cutting1 folding and plaiting2 pencils1 paints and brushes2 modelling clay and sand2 coloured wool for sewing patterns and pictures2 and such little sticks and laths as children living in a forest region find for themselves4 ,considered in themselves1 apart from the traditions of formality1 these are quite good play material or stimuli1 and ,froebel meant the time to come when we shall speak of the doll and the hobby horse as the first plays of the awakening life of the girl and the boy1 but he died before he had done so4 ,in the ,mother ,songs1 too1 we find quite a good list of toys which are now to be found in most ,kindergartens4 ,toys for the playground should be provided--a sand-heap1 a seesaw1 a substantial wheel-barrow1 hoops1 balls1 reins and perhaps skipping-ropes4 ,something on which the child can balance1 logs or planks which they can move about1 and a trestle on which these can be supported1 are invaluable4 ,it was while an addition was being made to our place that we realised the importance of such things1 and1 as in ,froebel's case1 our teachers were the children themselves4 ,they were so supremely happy running up and down the plank roads laid by the builders for their wheel-barrows1 seesawing or balancing and sliding on others1 that we could not face the desolation of emptiness which would come when the workmen removed their things4 ,so1 for a few pounds1 all that the children needed was secured1 ordinary planks for seesawing1 narrower for balancing and a couple of trestles4 ,one exercise the children had specially enjoyed was jumping up and down on yielding planks1 and this the workmen had forbidden because the planks might crack4 ,but a sympathetic foreman told us what was needed3 two planks of special springy wood were fastened together by cross pieces at each end1 and besides making excellent slides1 these made most exciting springboards4 ,for representations of real life the children require dolls and the simplest of furniture--a bed1 which need only be a box1 some means of carrying out the doll's washing1 her personal requirements as well as her clothes2 some little tea-things and pots and pans4 ,a doll's house is not necessary1 and can only be used by two or three children1 but will be welcomed if provided1 and its appointments give practice in dainty handling4 ,trains and signals of some kind1 home-made or otherwise2 animals for farm or ,zoo2 a pair of scales for a shop1 and some sort of delivery van1 which1 of course1 may be home-made4 ,there must also be provision for increase of skill and possibility of creation4 ,if the ,kindergarten can afford it1 some of the ,montessori material may be provided2 there is no reason1 except expense1 why it should not be used if the children like it1 and if it does not take up too much room4 ,but it has no creative possibilities1 and even at three years old this is required4 ,scissors are an important tool1 and an old book of sample wall-papers is most useful2 old match-boxes and used matches1 paste and brushes and some old magazines to cut4 ,blackboard chalks and crayons1 paint-boxes with four to six important colours1 some ,kindergarten folding papers1 all these supply colour4 ,certain toys seem specially suited to give hand control1 e4g4 a ,noah's ,ark1 where the small animals are to be set out carefully1 tops or teetotums and tiddlywinks1 at which some little children become proficient4 ,the puzzle interest must not be forgotten1 and simple jigsaw pictures give great pleasure4 ,it is interesting to note here that the youngest children fit these puzzles not by the picture but by form1 though they know they are making a picture and are pleased when it is finished4 ,the puzzle with six pictures on the sides of cubes is much more difficult than a simple jigsaw4 ,all sorts of odds and ends come in useful1 and especially for the poorer children these should be provided4 ,any one who remembers the pleasure derived from coloured envelope bands1 from transparent paper from crackers1 and from certain advertisements1 will save these for children to whose homes such treasures never come4 ,a box containing scraps of soft cloth1 possibly a bit of velvet1 some bits of smooth and shining coloured silk give the pleasure of sense discrimination without the formality of the ,montessori graded boxes1 and are easier to replace4 ,some substitute for mother's button box1 a box of shells or coloured seeds1 a box of feathers1 all these things will be played with1 which means observation and discrimination1 comparison and contrast1 and in addition1 where colour is involved1 there is aesthetic pleasure1 and this also enters into the touching of smooth or soft surfaces4 ,softness is a joy to children1 as is shown in the woolly lambs1 etc41 provided for babies4 ,a little one of my acquaintance had a bit of blanket which comforted many woes1 and when once ,i offered her a feather boa as a substitute she sobbed out3 ,it isn't so soft as the blanket6 ,in one of ,miss ,mc,millan's early books she wrote3 ,very early the child begins more or less consciously to exercise the basal sense--the sense of touch4 ,on waking from sleep he puts his tiny hands to grasp something1 or turns his head on the firm soft pillow4 ,he touches rather than looks1 at first 7for his hands and fingers perform a great many movements long before he learns to turn his eyeballs in various directions or follow the passage even of a light71 and through touching many things he begins his education4 ,if he is the nursling of wealthy parents1 it is possible that his first exercises are rather restricted4 ,he touches silk1 ivory1 muslin and fine linen4 ,that is all1 and that is not much4 ,but the child of the cottager is often better off1 for his mother gives him a great variety of objects to keep him quiet4 ,the ridiculous command1 ',do not touch1' cannot be imposed on him while he is screaming in his cradle or protesting in his dinner chair2 and so all manner of things--reels1 rings1 boxes1 tins1 that is to say a variety of surfaces--is offered to him1 to his great delight and advantage4 ,and lest he should not get the full benefit of such privilege he carries everything to his mouth1 where the sense of touch is very keen4#ag ,footnote #ag3 ,early ,childhood3 ,swan ,sonnenschein1 published #aijj4 ,among the treasures kept for special occasions there may be pipes for soap-bubbles1 a prism of some kind with which to make rainbows1 a tiny mirror to make light-birds on the wall and ceiling1 and a magnet with the time-honoured ducks and fish1 if these are still to be bought1 along with other articles1 delicately made or coloured1 which require care4 ,pictures and picture-books should also be considered2 some being in constant use1 some only brought out occasionally4 ,for the very smallest children some may be rag books1 but always children should be taught to treat books carefully4 ,the pictures on the walls ought to be changed1 sometimes with the children's help1 sometimes as a surprise and discovery4 ,for that purpose it is convenient to have series of pictures in frames with movable backs1 but brown-paper frames will do quite well4 ,the pictures belonging to the stories which have been told to the children ought to have a prominent place1 and if the little ones desire to have one retold they will ask for it4 ,it is of course not at all either necessary or even desirable for any one school to have everything1 and children should not have too much within the range of their attention at one time4 ,individual teachers will make their own selections1 but in all cases there must be sufficient variety of material for each child to carry out his natural desire for observation1 experiment and construction4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,all ,,the ,,world',s ,a ,,stage ,a wedding or a festival1 a mourning or a funeral444 ,as if his whole vocation were endless imitation4 ,in every country and in every age those who have eyes to see have watched the same little dramas4 ,what ,wordsworth saw was seen nineteen hundred years ago in the ,syrian market-place1 where the children complained of their unresponsive companions3 ,we have piped the glad chaunt of the marriage1 but ye have not danced1 we have wailed our lamentation1 but ye have not joined our mourning procession4 ,since the very name ,kindergarten is to imply a teaching which fulfils the child's own wants and desires1 it must supply abundant provision for the dramatic representation of life4 ,adults have always been ready to use for their own purposes the strong tendency to imitate1 which is a characteristic of all normal children1 but few even now realise to what extent a child profits by his imitative play4 ,the explanation that ,froebel found for this will now be generally accepted1 viz4 that only by acting it out can a child fully grasp an idea1 ,for what he tries to represent or do1 he begins to understand4 ,he thinks in action1 or as one writer put it1 he apperceives with his muscles4 ,this explanation seems to cover imitative play1 from the little child's imitative wave of the hand up to such elaborate imitations as are described in ,stanley ,hall's ,story of a ,sand ,pile1#ah or in ,dewey's ,schools of ,to-morrow4 ,but when we think of the joy of such imaginative play as that of ,red ,indians1 shipwrecks and desert islands1 we feel that these show a craving for experience1 for life1 such a craving as causes the adult to lose himself in a book of travels or in a dramatic performance1 and which explains the phenomenal success of the cinema1 poor stuff as it is4 ,footnote #ah3 ,or that delightful ,play ,town in ,the ,play ,way4 ,we thirst for experiences1 even for those which are unpleasant2 we wonder how it feels to be up in an aeroplane or down in a submarine4 ,we are far indeed from desiring air-raids1 but if such things must be1 there is a curious satisfaction in being in it4 ,and though the experiences they desire may be matters of everyday occurrence to us1 children probably feel the craving even more keenly4 ,you may write what you like1 said a teacher1 and a somewhat inarticulate child wrote1 ,i was out last night1 it was late4 ,why1 ,jack1 said another1 you've painted your cow green2 did you ever see a green cow8 ,no1 said ,jack1 but ,i'd like to4 ,in early ,kindergarten days this imitative and dramatic tendency was chiefly met in games1 and the children were by turns butterflies and bees1 bakers and carpenters1 clocks and windmills4 ,the programme was suggested by ,froebel's ,mother ,songs1 in which he deals with the child's nearest environment4 ,too often1 indeed1 the realities to which ,froebel referred were not realities to ,english children1 but that was recognised as a defect1 and the ideas themselves were suitable4 ,chickens1 pigeons and farmyard animals2 the homely pussy cat or canary bird2 the workers to whom the child is indebted1 farmer1 baker1 miner1 builder or carpenter2 the sun1 the rain1 the rainbow and the light-bird--such ideas were chosen as suitable centres1 and stories and songs1 games and handwork clustered round4 ,what was the reason for this binding of things together8 ,why did ,froebel constantly plead for unity even for the tiny child1 and tell us to link together his baby finger-games or his first weak efforts at building with his blocks chairs1 tables1 beds1 walls and ladders8 ,looking back over the years1 it seems as if this idea of joining together has been trying to assert itself under various forms1 each of which has reigned for its day1 has been carried to extremes and been discarded1 only to come up again in a somewhat different form4 ,it has always seemed to aim at extending and ordering the mind content of children4 ,for the ,froebelian it was expressed in such words as unity1 connectedness and continuity1 while the ,herbartians called it correlation4 ,under these terms much work has been1 and is still being1 carried out1 some very good and some very foolish4 ,ideas catch on1 however1 because of the truth that is in them1 not because of the error which is likely to be mixed with it1 and even the weakest effort after connection embodies an important truth4 ,when we smile over absurd stories of forced correlation1 we seldom stop to think of what went on before the ,kindergarten existed1 for instance the still more absurd and totally disconnected lists of object lessons4 ,one actual list for children of four years old ran3 ,soda1 ,elephant1 ,tea1 ,pig1 ,wax1 ,cow1 ,sugar1 ,spider1 ,potatoes1 ,sheep1 ,salt1 ,mouse1 ,bread1 ,camel4 ,kindergarten practice was far ahead of this1 for here the teacher was expected to choose her material according to 7#a7 ,time of ,year2 7#b7 ,local ,conditions1 such as the pursuits of the people2 7#c7 ,social ,customs4 ,when it was possible the children went to see the real blacksmith or the real cow1 and to let game or handwork be an expression1 and a re-ordering of ideas gained was natural and right4 ,connectedness1 however1 meant more than this1 it meant that the material itself was to be treated so that the children would be helped to that real understanding which comes from seeing things in their relations to each other4 ,as ,lloyd ,morgan puts it1 ,we are mainly at work upon the mental background4 ,it is our object to make this background as rich and full and orderly as possible1 so that whatever is brought to the focus of consciousness shall be set in a relational background1 which shall give it meaning2 and so that our pupils may be able to feel the truth which ,browning puts into the mouth of ,fra ,lippo ,lippi3 ,this world's no blot for us ,nor blank2 it means intensely and means good3 ,to find its meaning is my meat and drink4 ,according to ,professor ,dewey1 some such linking or joining is necessary to foster that sense which is at the basis of attention and of all intellectual growth1 the sense of continuity4 ,the ,herbartian correlation was designed to further that well-connected circle of thought out of which would come the firm will1 guided by right insight1 inspired by true feeling1 which is their aim in education4 ,froebelian unity and connectedness have1 like the others1 an intellectual and a moral aspect4 ,intellectually the essential characteristic of instruction is the treatment of individual things in their relationships2 morally1 the idea of unity is that we are all members one of another4 ,the child who1 through unhindered activity1 has reached the stage of self-consciousness is to go on to feel himself a part1 a member of an ever-increasing whole--family1 school1 township1 country1 humanity--the ,all2 to be one with ,nature1 man and ,god4 ,every one has heard something of the new teaching--which1 by the way1 sheds clearer light over ,froebel's warning against arbitrary interference--viz4 that a great part of the nervous instability which affects our generation is due to the thwarting and checking of the natural impulses of early years4 ,but this new school also gives us something positive1 and reinforces older doctrines by telling us to integrate behaviour4 ,this matter of the unthwarted lifelong progress of behaviour integration is of profound importance1 for it is the transition from behaviour to conduct4 ,the more integrated behaviour is harmonious and consistent behaviour toward a larger and more comprehensive situation1 toward a bigger section of the universe2 it is lucidity and breadth of purpose4 ,the child playing with fire is only wrong conduct because it is behaviour that does not take into account consequences2 it is not adjusted to enough of the environment2 it will be made right by an enlargement of its scope and reach4#ai ,all selfish conduct1 all rudeness and roughness come from ignorance2 we are all more or less self-centred1 and the child's consciousness of self has to be widened1 his scope has to be enlarged to sympathy with the thoughts1 feelings and desires of other selves4 ,the sane man is the man who 7however limited the scope of his behaviour7 has no such suppression incorporated in him4 ,the wise man must be sane and must have scope as well4#bj ,footnote #ai3 ,the ,freudian ,wish1 ,edwin ,holt4 ,footnote #bj3 ,the ,freudian ,wish1 ,edwin ,holt4 ,professor ,earl ,barnes always used to describe the child mind as scrappy4 ,how can we best aid development into the wholeness or healthiness and the scope of sanity and wisdom8 ,for it may well be that this widening and ordering of experience1 of consciousness1 of behaviour into moral behaviour is our most important task as teachers4 ,froebel emphasised the crying need for connection of school and life1 pointing out how the little child desires to imitate and the older to share in all that1 as ,professor ,dewey puts it1 is surcharged with a sense of the mysterious values that attach to whatever their elders are concerned with4 ,this is one of the points to which ,professor ,dewey called attention in his summing up of ,froebel's educational principles1 this letting the child reproduce on his own plane the typical doings and occupations of the larger1 maturer society into which he is finally to go forth4 ,it is in this connection that he says the ,kindergarten teacher has the opportunity to foster that most important sense of continuity4 ,in simple reproduction of the home life while there is abundant variety1 since daily life may bring us into contact with all the life of the city or of the country1 yet1 because the work is within a whole1 there is opportunity to foster that sense which is at the basis of attention and of all intellectual growth1 a sense of continuity4 ,since ,professor ,dewey gave to the world the results of his experimental school1 all the ,kindergartens and most of the ,infant ,schools in ,england have tried to carry out their accustomed reproduction of home surroundings1 more or less on the lines of the ,primary ,department of his experimental school4 ,they have extended their scope1 and in addition to the material already taken from workman and shop1 from garden and farm1 have also with much profit to older children used his suggestions about primitive industries4 ,reproduction of home surroundings can be done in many ways1 one of which is to help the children to furnish and to play with a doll's house4 ,but the play must be play4 ,it is not enough to use the drama as merely offering suggestions for handwork1 and one small doll's house does not allow of real play for more than one or two children4 ,our own children used to settle this by taking out the furniture1 etc41 and arranging different homes around the room4 ,i can remember the never-ending pleasure given by similar play in my own nursery days1 when the actors were the men and boys supplied by tailors' advertisements4 ,many and varied were the experiences of these paper families1 families1 it may be noted1 none of whom demeaned themselves so far as to possess any womankind4 ,for that nursery party of five had lost its mother sadly early and was ruled by two boys1 who evidently thought little of the other sex4 ,professor ,dewey tells us that nothing is more absurd than to suppose that there is no middle term between leaving a child to his unguided fancies1 or controlling his activities by a formal succession of dictated directions4 ,it is the teacher's business to know what is striving for utterance and to supply the needed stimulus and materials4 ,to show how under the inspiration of a thoroughly capable teacher this continuity may be secured and prolonged for quite a long period1 an example may be taken from the work of ,miss ,janet ,payne1 who is remarkably successful in meeting and stimulating1 without in any way forcing the striving for utterance mentioned by ,dewey4 ,on this occasion ,miss ,payne produced a doll about ten inches high1 dressed to resemble the children's fathers1 and suggested that a home should be made for him4 ,the children adopted him with zeal1 named him ,mr4 ,bird1 and his career lasted for two years4 ,mr4 ,bird required a family1 so ,mrs4 ,bird had to be produced with her little girl ,winnie1 and later a baby was added to the family4 ,beds1 tables and chairs1 including a high chair for ,winnie1 were made of scraps from the wood box1 and for a long time ,mr4 ,bird was most domesticated4 ,miss ,payne had used ordinary dolls' heads1 but had constructed the bodies herself in such a way that the dolls could sit and stand1 and use their arms to wield a broom or hold the baby4 ,after some time1 one child said1 ,mr4 ,bird ought to go to business1 and after much deliberation he became a grocer4 ,his shop was made and stocked1 and he attended it every day1 going home to dinner regularly4 ,one day he appeared to be having a meal on the shop counter1 and it was explained that he had been rather in a hurry in the morning1 so ,mrs4 ,bird had given him his breakfast to take with him4 ,the ,bird family had various adventures1 they had spring cleanings1 removals1 visited the ,zoo and went to the seaside4 ,one morning a little fellow sat in a trolley with the ,bird family beside him for three-quarters of an hour evidently imagining4 ,i did inquire in passing if it was a drive or a picnic1 but the answer was so brief1 that ,i knew ,i was an interruption and retired4 ,but a younger and bolder inquirer1 who wanted to conduct an experiment in modelling1 ventured to ask if ,mr4 ,bird wanted anything that could be made at clay modelling4 ,yes1 he wants some ink-pots for his post-office shop1 was the answer1 with the slightly irate addition1 but ,i wish you'd call it the china factory4 ,when these children moved to an upper class1 ,mr4 ,bird was laid away1 but the children requested his presence4 ,so he entered the new room and became a farmer4 ,he had now to write letters1 to arrange rents1 etc41 and the money had to be made and counted4 ,the letters served for writing and reading lessons1 and ,miss ,payne was careful to send the answers through the real post1 properly addressed to ,mr4 ,bird with the name of class and school4 ,mr4 ,bird hired labourers1 the children grew corn1 and thrashed it and sent it to the mill4 ,a miller had to be produced1 and the children1 now his assistants1 ground the wheat1 and ,mr4 ,bird came in his cart to fetch the sacks of flour1 which ultimately became the ,birds' ,christmas pudding and was eaten by the labourers1 now guests at the feast4 ,in spring1 after careful provision for their comfort1 ,mr4 ,bird went to the cattle market and bought cows4 ,though the milking had to be pretence1 the butter and cheese were really made4 ,the first question of the summer term was1 ,what's ,mr4 ,bird going to do this term8 ,like other teachers inspired by ,professor ,dewey1 we have found our children most responsive to the suggestion of playing out primitive man4 ,but with some1 not of course with the brightest1 it is too great a stretch to go at one step from the present to the most primitive times1 and we often spend a term over something of the nature of ,robinson ,crusoe1 where the situation presents characters accustomed to modern civilisation and deprived of all its conveniences4 ,miss ,payne is careful to give the children full opportunity for suggestions--one dull little boy puzzled his mother by telling her ,i made a very good 'gestion' to-day--so though she had not contemplated the renewed appearance of ,mr4 ,bird she said1 ,what do you want him to do8 ,let him go out and shoot bears1 cried an embryo sportsman4 ,somewhat taken aback1 ,miss ,payne temporised with1 ,he wouldn't find them in this country4 ,then let him go to ,india1 cried one child1 but another called out1 ,no1 no1 let him go to a desert island6 and that was carried with acclamation4 ,mr4 ,bird's various homes were on a miniature scale1 and were contained in a series of zinc trays1 which we have had made to fit the available tables and cupboard tops4 ,we find these trays convenient1 as a new one can be added when more scope is required to carry out new ideas4 ,the following accounts taken from the notes of ,miss ,hilda ,beer1 while a student in training1 show another kind of play where the children themselves act the drama4 ,the notes only cover a short period1 but they show how the play may arise quite incidentally4 ,mon41 ,june #ah4--;,as the ground is too damp for out-of-doors work1 if the children were not ready with plans1 ,i meant to suggest building a railway station1 tunnel1 etc41 and later1 ,i thought perhaps we might paint advertisements of seaside resorts for our station4 ,but the children brought several things with them1 and ,dorothy brought her own doll4 ,marie had left the baby doll from the other room in the cot1 so ,dorothy and ,sylvia said they must look after the babies4 ,so ,cecil1 ,josie and ,i swept and dusted4 ,then we began to play house4 ,cecil and ,dorothy were ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,harry1 ,sylvia was ,mrs4 ,loo 7husband at the war74 ,josie was ,nurse and ,i was ,aunt ,lizzie4 ,the dolls were ,winnie ,harry1 and ,jack and ,doreen ,loo4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,harry built themselves a house and so did we4 ,cecil said1 ,but what is the name of the road8 ,mrs4 ,harry chose #be ,brookfield ,avenue1 and ,mr4 ,harry #g ,victoria ,street1 but he gave in and ,mrs4 ,loo took his name for her house4 ,we had to put numbers on the houses2 ,sylvia could make #g1 but the others could not make #be1 so ,i put it on the board and they copied it4 ,josie having also made a #g wanted to use it1 but ,mrs4 ,loo objected1 and said1 ,the mother is more important than the nurse1 so ,josie fixed her #g on the house opposite4 ,after lunch we bathed the babies and put them to sleep1 and as it was time for the children's own rest1 we all went to bed4 ,when rest was over1 we washed and dressed1 and then ,mrs4 ,harry asked for clay to make a water-tap for her house4 ,that made all the children want to make things in clay1 so we made cups and saucers1 plates1 and a baby's bottle1 then scones and sponge-cakes1 bread and a bread-board1 and one of the children said we must put a ,b on that4 ,then ,mrs4 ,loo said1 ,but we haven't any shelves4 ,i had to leave my class in ,miss ,payne's charge1 and they spent the rest of the time fitting in shelves1 water-taps1 and sinks4 ,june #ai4--;,after sweeping1 dusting1 and washing and dressing the dolls1 ,i read to the children ,how the ,house was built4 ,then we all pretended to bake1 making rolls and cakes as next day was to be the doll ,winnie's birthday4 ,we baked our cakes on a piece of wood on the empty fireplace4 ,the other children were invited to ,winnie's party1 so we went out to shop4 ,the children wanted lettuces from their own garden1 but the grass was too wet1 so we pretended4 ,the shop was on the edge of the grass and we talked to imaginary shopmen1 ,cecil often exclaiming1 ,eightpence6 why1 it's not worth it6 ,as neither of the houses would hold all the guests invited to the party1 we had to have a picnic instead4 ,june #bj4--;,i must see that ,sylvia and ,dorothy do the sweeping to-morrow1 and let ,josie bath the doll2 she is very good-natured1 and ,i see that they give her the less attractive occupation4 ,i think too that the food question has played too large a part1 so if the children suggest more cooking ,i shall look in the larder and say that really we must not buy or bake as food goes bad in hot weather1 and we must not waste in war time4 ,the children have suggested making cushions1 painting pictures1 and making knives and forks1 but we have not had time4 ,report4--,dorothy and ,sylvia swept1 ,cecil mended the wall of the house1 ,josie took the children down to the beach 7the sand tray71 and ,i dusted4 ,we looked into the larder and found that yesterday's greens were going bad1 so decided not to buy more4 ,then we took the babies for a walk4 ,we noticed how many nasturtiums were out1 how the blackberry bushes were in flower and in bud1 and the runner-bean was in flower1 and the red flowers looked so pretty in the green leaves4 ,we looked at the hollyhocks1 because ,i have told the children that they will grow taller than ,i am1 and they are always wondering how soon this will be4 ,the children found some cherries which had fallen1 and ,dorothy said how pretty they were on the tree4 ,i called attention to one branch that was laden with fruit1 and looked particularly pretty with the sun shining on it4 ,we also looked at the pear tree and the almond4 ,everything has come on so fast1 and the children were ready to say it was because of the rain4 ,after rest1 we went to the ,hall to see the chickens4 ,to-day they were much bigger1 and ,sylvia said had bigger wings4 ,we were able to watch them drinking1 how they hold up their heads to let the water run down4 ,the rest of the morning we made curtains1 and the children loved it4 ,there was much discussion and at first the children suggested making them all different1 but they agreed that curtains at windows were usually alike4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,harry nearly quarrelled1 as one wanted green and the other pink4 ,i suggested trimming the green with a strip of pink1 and they were quite pleased4 ,mrs4 ,loo and ,nurse chose green which was to be sewn with red silk4 ,sylvia said1 ,a pattern1 and ,i said1 ,you saw something red and green to-day1 and she called out1 ,oh6 cherries4 ,she cut out a round of paper and tried to sew round it1 holding it in place with her other hand4 ,i suggested putting in a stitch to hold the paper4 ,cecil was absorbed in sewing1 and it seemed quieting for such an excitable boy and good for his weak hands4 ,one child said1 ,fancy a boy sewing1 so ,i told how soldiers and sailors sewed4 ,they sewed just as they liked4 ,these notes are continued in ,chapter ,,ix41 where they are used to show children's attitude towards ,nature4 ,though separated here for a special purpose it is clear that there neither is nor ought to be any real separation in the lives of the children4 ,their lives are wholes and they continually pass from one subject to another1 because life and its circumstances are making new demands4 ,if it rains and you cannot gather the lettuces you have grown from seed1 you take refuge in happy pretence2 if it clears and the sun calls you out of doors1 you take your doll-babies for their walk4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,joy ,,in ,,making ,i1 too1 will something make1 and joy in the making4 ,,robert ,,bridges4 ,built by that only ,law1 that ,use be suggester of ,beauty4 ,,arthur ,,clough4 ,there has always been making in the ,kindergarten1 since to ,froebel the impulse to create was a characteristic of self-conscious humanity4 ,stopford ,brooke points out that ,browning's ,caliban1 though almost brute1 shows himself human1 in that1 besides thinking out his natural religion1 he also dramatises and creates1 falls to make something4 ',tis solace making baubles1 ay1 and sport4 ,tasteth1 himself1 no finer good i' the world ,than trying what to do with wit and strength-- ,what does a child gain from his ceaseless attempts at making8 ,froebel's answer was that intellectually1 through making he gains ideas1 which1 received in words1 remain mere words4 ,to learn through life and action is more developing than to learn through words3 expression in plastic material1 united with thought and speech1 is far more developing than mere repetition of words4 ,morally1 it is through impressing himself on his surroundings1 that the child reaches the human attributes of self-consciousness and self-control4 ,one of the most important passages ,froebel ever wrote is this3 ,the deepest craving of the child's life is to see itself mirrored in some external object4 ,through such reflection1 he learns to know his own activity1 its essence1 direction and aim1 and learns to determine his activity in accordance with outer things4 ,such mirroring of the inner life is essential1 for through it the child comes to self-consciousness1 and learns to order1 determine and master himself4 ,it is from the point of view of expression alone that ,froebel regards ,art1 and drawing1 he takes to be the first revelation of the creative power within the child4 ,the very earliest drawing to which he refers is what he calls sketching the object on itself1 that is1 the tracing round the outlines of things1 whereby the child learns form by co-ordinating sight and motor perceptions1 a stage on which ,dr4 ,montessori has also laid much stress4 ,besides noting how children draw round scissors and boxes1 leaves and twigs1 their own hands1 and even shadows1 he sees that from experimentation with any pointed stick or scrap of red stone or chalk1 may come what ,mr4 ,e4 ,cooke called a language of line1 and now the horse of lines1 the man of lines will give much pleasure4 ,after this it is true that whatever a child knows he will put into his drawing1 and the teacher's business is to see that he has abundant perceptions and images to express4 ,another kind of drawing which children seem to find for themselves is what they call making patterns4 ,out of this came the old-fashioned chequer drawing1 now condemned as injurious to eyesight and of little value4 ,when children see anything rich in colour the general cry is ,let's paint it1 which is their way of taking in the beauty4 ,we should not1 says ,froebel1 give them paints and brushes inconsiderately1 to throw about1 but give them the help they need1 and he describes quite a sensible lesson given to boys whose own painting did not seem to paint them long4 ,teachers who want real help in the art training of children should read the excellent papers by ,miss ,findlay in ,school and ,life1 where we are told that we must rescue the term design from the limited uses to which it is often condemned in the drawing class1 viz4 the construction of pleasing arrangements of colour and form for surface decoration4 ,we shall use it in its full popular significance in constructive work4444 ,the term will cover building houses1 making kettles1 laying out streets1 planning rooms1 dressing hair1 as well as making patterns for cushion covers and cathedral windows4444 ,in thus widening our art studies1 we shall be harking back in a slight degree to the kind of training that in past ages produced the great masters4444 ,giotto designed his ,campanile primarily for the bells that were to summon the ,florentines to their cathedral2 the ,venetians wanted faades for their palaces1 and made faades to delight their eyes2 the ,japanese have wanted small furniture for their small rooms1 and have developed wonderful skill and taste in designing it4 ,neither art nor science can remain long afloat in high abstract regions above the needs and interests of human life4 ,to quote ,a4,h4 ,clough3 ',a ,cathedral ,pure and ,perfect4 ,built by that only ,law1 that ,use be suggester of ,beauty2 ,nothing concealed that is1 done1 but all things done to adornment2 ,meanest utilities seized as occasions to grace and embellish4' ,if this is true of the interests of the professional artist1 much more must it be true of the art training of the child4 ,we must not then despise the rough and ready productions of a child1 nor force upon him a standard for which he is not ready4 ,before any other construction is possible to him1 a child can make with sand1 and this is a constant joy1 from the endless puddings that are turned out of patty pans1 up to such models as that of the whole ,isle of ,wight with its tunnelled cliffs and system of railways1 made by an ex-,kindergarten boy as yet innocent of geography lessons4 ,the child then who is making1 especially making for use1 is to a certain extent developing himself as an artist4 ,the little boys at ,keilhau were well provided with sand1 moss1 etc41 to use with their building blocks1 and it was a former ,keilhau boy who suggested to his old master that some kind of sand-box would make a good plaything for the children in his new ,kindergarten4 ,miss ,wiggin tells us that indirectly we owe the children's sand-heaps in the public parks to ,froebel1 since these were the result of a suggestion made by ,frau ,schrader to the ,empress ,frederick1 and the idea was carried out during her husband's too brief reign4 ,another very early making is the arranging of furniture for shops1 carriages1 trains1 and the ships upon the stairs1 which made bright pictures in ,stevenson's memory4 ,building blocks are truly1 as ,froebel puts it1 the finest and most variable material that can be offered a boy for purposes of representation4 ,the little boxes associated with the ,kindergarten were originally planned for the use of nursery children two to three years of age1 and in most if not in all ,kindergartens these have been replaced by larger bricks4 ,it is many years now since1 at ,miss ,payne's suggestion1 we bought some hundreds of road paving blocks1 and these are such a source of pleasure that the children often dream about them4 ,living out the life around presents much opportunity for making1 which may be done with blocks1 but which even in the ,kindergarten can be done with tools4 ,care must be exercised1 but children have quite a strong instinct for self-preservation1 and if shown how real workmen handle their tools1 they are often more careful than at a much later stage4 ,to make a workable railway signal is more interesting and much more educative than to use one that came from a shop4 ,the teacher may make illuminating discoveries in the process1 as when one set of children desired to make a counter for a shop1 and arranged their piece of wood vertically so that the counter had no top4 ,it was found that to these very little people the most important part was the high front against which they were accustomed to stand1 not the flat top which they seldom saw4 ,another set of children made a cart on which the farmer was to carry his corn1 and exemplified ,dewey's concrete logic of action4 ,at first they only wanted a board on wheels1 but the corn fell off1 so they nailed on sides1 but the cart never had either back or front and resembled some seen in ,early ,english pictures4 ,any kind of cooking that can be done is a most important kind of making2 even the very little ones can help1 and they thoroughly enjoy watching4 ,her hands were in the dough from three years old1 said a north-country mother1 so ,i taught her how to bake1 and now 7at seven7 she can bake as well as ,i can4 ,children delight in carrying out the processes involved in the making of flour1 and they can easily thrash a little wheat1 then winnow1 grind between stones and sift it4 ,their best efforts produce but a tiny quantity of flour1 but the experience is real1 interest is great1 and a new significance attaches to the shop flour from which bread is ultimately produced4 ,butter and cheese can easily be made1 also jam1 and even a ,christmas pudding4 ,in very early ,kindergartens we read of the growing1 digging and cooking of potatoes1 and of the extraction of starch to be used as paste4 ,special anniversaries require special making4 ,we possess a doll of #agid to whom her old mother bequeathed her birthday4 ,the doll's birthday is a great event1 and on the previous day each class in turn bakes tiny loaves1 or cakes or pastry for the party4 ,christmas creates a need for decorations1 ,christmas cards and presents1 and ,empire ,day and ,trafalgar ,day for flags1 while in many places there is an annual sale on behalf of a charity4 ,it does not do to be too modern and to despise all the old-fashioned makings1 which gave such pleasure some years ago4 ,kindergarten ,paper-folding has fallen into an undeserved oblivion4 ,the making of boats or cocked-hats from old newspaper is a great achievement for a child1 and to make pigs and purses1 corner cupboards and chairs for paper dolls is still a delight1 and calls forth real concentration and effort4 ,making in connection with some whole1 such as the continuous representation of life around us1 and1 at a later stage1 the re-inventing of primitive industries1 or making which arises out of some special interest may have a higher educational value1 but apart from this1 children want to make for making's sake4 ,can't ,i make something in wood like ,boy does8 asked a little girl4 ,there is joy in the making1 joy in being a cause1 and for this the children need opportunity1 space and time4 ,there is a lesson to many of us in some verses by ,miss ,f4 ,sharpley1 lately published 7,educational ,handwork71 which should be entitled1 ,when can ,i make my little ,ship8 ,i'd like to cut1 and cut1 and cut1 ,and over the bare floor ,to strew my papers all about1 ,and then to cut some more4 ,i'd sweep them up so neatly1 too1 ,but mother says1 ,oh no6 ,there is no time1 it's seven o'clock2 ,to bed you quickly go6 ,in school1 ,i'd just begun to make ,a pretty little ship1 ,but ,i was slow1 and all the rest ,stood up to dance and skip4 ,when shall ,i make my little ship8 ,at home there is no gloy1 ,and father builds it by himself ,or goes to buy a toy4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,stories ,let me tell the stories and ,i care not who makes the textbooks4 ,,stanley ,,hall4 ,is it ,bible story to-day or any kind of a story8 was the greeting of an eager child one morning4 ,usually they were persuading him to tell stories1 writes ,ebers1 from his recollections of ,froebel as an old man at ,keilhau4 ,he was never seen crossing the courtyard without a group of the younger pupils hanging to his coat tails and clasping his arms4 ,usually they were persuading him to tell stories1 and when he condescended to do so1 the older ones flocked around him1 too1 and they were never disappointed4 ,what fire1 what animation the old man had retained6 ,so ,froebel could write with feeling of the joyful faces1 the sparkling eyes1 the merry shouts that welcome the genuine story-teller2 he had a right to pronounce that the child's desire and craving for tales1 for legends1 for all kinds of stories1 and later on for historical accounts1 is very intense4 ,surely there was never a little one who did not crave for stories1 though here and there may be found an older child1 who got none at the right time1 and who1 therefore1 lost that most healthy of appetites4 ,most of us will agree that there is something wrong with the child who does not like stories1 but it may be that the something wrong belonged to the mother4 ,one such said to the ,abb ,klein one day1 ,my children have never asked for stories4 ,but1 madame1 was the reply1 neither would they ask for cake if they had never eaten it1 or even seen it4 ,it is easy for us to find reasons why we should tell stories4 ,we can brush aside minor aims such as increasing the child's vocabulary4 ,undoubtedly his vocabulary does increase enormously from listening to stories1 but it is difficult to imagine that any one could rise to real heights in story-telling with this as an aim or end4 ,that the narrator should clothe his living story in words expressive of its atmosphere1 and that the listener should in this way gain such power over language1 that he1 too1 can fitly express himself is quite another matter4 ,first1 then1 we tell stories because we love to tell them and because the children love to listen4 ,we choose stories that appeal to our audience4 ,it is something beautiful1 humorous1 heroic or witty that we have found1 and being social animals we want to share it4 ,as educators with an aim before us1 we deliberately tell stories in order to place before our children ideals of unselfishness1 courage and truth4 ,we know from our own experience1 not only in childhood1 but all through life how the story reaches our feelings as no sermon or moralising ever does1 and we have learned that out of the heart are the issues of life4 ,unguided feelings may be a danger1 but the story does more than rouse feelings--it gives opportunity for the exercise of moral judgement1 for the exercise of judgement upon questions of right and wrong4 ,feeling is aroused1 but it is not usually a personal feeling1 so judgement is likely to be unbiassed4 ,it may1 however1 be biassed by the tone absorbed from the environment even in childhood1 as when the mother makes more of table etiquette than of kindness1 and the child1 instead of condemning ,jacob's refusal to feed his hungry brother with the red pottage1 as all natural children do condemn1 says3 ,no1 ,esau shouldn't have got it1 'cause he asked for it4 ,as a rule1 the children's standard is correct enough1 and approval or condemnation is justly bestowed1 provided that the story has been chosen to suit the child's stage of development4 ,one little girl objected strongly to ,macaulay's ideal ,roman1 who in ,rome's quarrel1 spared neither land nor gold1 nor son nor wife4 ,that wasn't right1 she said stoutly1 he ought to think of his own wife and children first4 ,she was satisfied1 however1 when it was explained to her that ,horatius might be able to save many fathers to many wives and children4 ,in my earliest teaching days1 having found certain history stories successful with children of seven1 ,i tried the same with children of six1 but only once4 ,edmund of ,east ,anglia dying for his faith fell very flat4 ,what was the good of that8 said one little fellow1 'cause if you're dead you can't do anything6 ,but if you're alive1 you can get more soldiers and win a victory4 ,the majority of the class1 however1 seemed to feel with another who asked1 ,why didn't he promise while the ,danes were there8 ,he needn't have kept it when they went away4 ,another way of stating our aim in telling stories to children is that a story presents morality in the concrete4 ,virtues and vices per se neither attract nor repel1 they simply mean nothing to a child1 until they are presented as the deeds of man or woman1 boy or girl1 living and acting in a world recognised as real4 ,one telling story is that of the boy who got hold of ,miss ,edgeworth's ,parent's ,assistant and who said to his mother1 ,mother1 ,i've been reading ',the ,little ,merchants' and ,i know now how horrid it is to cheat and tell lies4 ,i have been telling you that ever since you could speak1 said his mother1 to which the boy answered1 ,yes1 ,i know1 but that didn't interest me4 ,our children had been told the story of how the ,countess of ,buchan crowned the ,bruce1 a duty which should have been performed by her brother the ,earl of ,fife1 who1 however1 was too much afraid of the wrath of ,english ,edward4 ,a few days after1 an argument arose and one little girl was heard to say1 ,i don't want to be brave1 and a boy rejoined1 ,girls don't need to be brave4 ,i said1 ,which would you rather be1 the ,countess who put the crown on the ,king's head1 or the brother who ran away8 ,and quickly came the answer1 ,oh6 the brave ,countess1 from the very child who didn't want to be brave6 ,froebel sums up the teacher's aim in the words3 ,the telling of stories is a truly strengthening spirit-bath1 it gives opportunity for the exercise of all mental powers1 opportunity for testing individual judgement and individual feelings4 ,but why is it that children crave for stories8 ,education1 says ,miss ,blow1 a veteran ,froebelian1 is a series of responses to indicated needs1 and undoubtedly the need for stories is as pressing as the need to explore1 to experiment and to construct4 ,what is the unconscious need that is expressed in this craving1 why is this desire so deeply implanted by ,nature8 ,so far1 no one seems to have given a better answer than ,froebel has done1 when he says that the desire for stories comes out of the need to understand life1 that it is in fact rooted in the instinct of investigation4 ,only the study of the life of others can furnish points of comparison with the life the boy himself has experienced4 ,the story concerns other men1 other circumstances1 other times and places1 yet the hearer seeks his own image1 he beholds it and no one knows that he sees it4 ,man cannot be master of his surroundings till he investigates and so gathers knowledge4 ,but he has to adapt himself not only to the physical but to the human environment in which he lives4 ,in stories of all kinds1 children study human life in all kinds of circumstances1 nay1 if the story is sufficiently graphic they almost go through the experiences narrated1 almost live the new life4 ,with very young children the most popular of all stories is the ,the ,three ,bears and it is worth a little analysis4 ,a little girl runs away1 and running away is a great temptation to little girls and boys1 as great an adventure as running off to sea will be at a later stage4 ,she goes into a wood and meets bears3 what else could you expect6 ,the story then deals with really interesting things1 porridge1 basins1 chairs and beds4 ,the strong contrast of the bears' voices fascinates children1 and just when retribution might descend upon her1 the heroine escapes and gets safe home4 ,children revel in the familiar details1 but these alone would not suffice1 there must be adventure1 excitement1 romance4 ,one feels that ,southey had the assistance of a child in making his story so complete1 and we can hear the questions3 ,how did the big bear know that the little girl had tasted his porridge8 ,oh1 because she had left the spoon4 ,how did he know that she had sat in his chair8 ,because she left the cushion untidy1 and as for the little bear's chair1 why1 she sat that right out4 ,that quite little children desire fresh experiences or adventures and really exciting ones1 is shown by the following stories made by children4 ,the first two are by a little girl of two-and-a-half1 the third is taken from ,lady ,glenconner's recently published ,the ,sayings of the ,children4 ,once upon a time there was a giant and a little girl1 and he told a little girl not to kiss a bear acos he would bite her1 and the little girl climbed right on his back and she jumped right down the stairs and the bear came walking after the little girl and kissing her1 and she called it a little bear and it was a big bear6 7immense amusement74 ,once upon a time there was a little piggy and he was right in a big green and white fire and he didn't hurt hisself1 and 7told as a tremendous secret7 he touched a fire with his handie4 ',what a naughty piggy1' said ,auntie1 'and what next8' ,he jumped right out of a fire4 ,auntie1 can you smile8 7,for aunties cannot smile when people are naughty47 ,the third story is said to have been filled with pauses due to a certain slowness of speech1 but the pauses are lit by the lightning flash of a flying eyebrow1 and the impressive nodding of a silken head4 ,once1 you know1 there was a fight between a little pony and a lion1 and the lion sprang against the pony and the pony put his back against a stack and bited towards the lion1 and the lion rolled over and the pony jumped up1 and he ran up 444 and the pony turned round and the lion 444 ,his mother felt she had lost the thread4 ,which won8 she asked4 ,which won6 he repeated and after a moment's pause he said1 ,oh6 the little bear4 ,this surprising conclusion points to a stage when it is difficult for a child to hold the thread of a narrative1 and at this stage1 along with simple stories of little ones like themselves1 repetition or accumulation stories seem to give most pleasure4 ,henny ,penny and ,billy ,bobtail--told by ,jacobs as ,how ,jack went to seek his ,fortune--are prime favourites4 ,repetition of rhythmic phrases has a great attraction1 as in ,three ,little ,pigs1 with its delightful repetition of ,little pig1 little pig1 let me come in1 ,no1 no1 by the hair of my chinny chin chin1 ,then ,i'll huff and ,i'll puff and ,i'll blow your house in4 ,very soon1 however1 the children are ready for the time-honoured fairy-tale or folk-tale4 ,the orthodox beginning1 ,once upon a time1 in a certain country there lived 4441 fits the stage when neither time nor place is of any consequence4 ,animals speak1 well why not1 we can6 ,the fairies accomplish wonders1 again why not8 ,wonderful things do happen and they must have a wonderful cause1 and1 as one child said1 if there never had been any fairies1 how could people have written stories about them8 ,goodness is rewarded and wickedness is punished1 as is only right in the child's eyes1 and goodness usually means kindness1 the virtue best understood of children4 ,obedience is no doubt the nursery virtue in the eyes of authority1 but kindness is much more human and attractive4 ,both child and man1 says ,froebel1 desire to know the significance of what happens around them2 this is the foundation of ,greek choruses1 especially in tragedy1 and of many productions in the realm of legends and fairy-tales4 ,it is the result of the deep-rooted consciousness1 the slumbering premonition of being surrounded by that which is higher and more conscious than ourselves4 ,the fairy tale is the child's mystery land1 his recognition that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy or in our science4 ,dr4 ,montessori protests against the idea that fairy-tales have anything to do with the religious sense1 saying that faith and fable are as the poles apart4 ,she does not understand that it is for their truth that we value fairy-tales4 ,the truths they teach are such as that courage and intelligence can conquer brute strength1 that love can brave and can overcome all dangers and always finds the lost1 that kindness begets kindness and always wins in the end4 ,the good and the faithful marries the princess--or the prince--and lives happy ever after4 ,and assuredly if he does not marry his princess1 he will not live happy1 and if she does not marry the prince1 she will live in no beautiful palace4 ,and there is more4 ,take for instance1 the story of ,toads and ,diamonds4 ,the courteous maiden who goes down the well1 who gives help where it is needed1 and who works faithfully for ,mother ,holle1#ba comes home again dropping gold and diamonds when she speaks4 ,her silence may be silver1 but her speech is golden1 and her words give light in dark places4 ,the selfish and lazy girl1 who refuses help and whose work is unfaithful and only done for reward1 has her reward4 ,henceforth1 when she speaks1 down fall toads and snakes her words are cold as she is1 they may glitter but they sting4 ,footnote #ba3 ,this version is probably a mixture of the versions of ,perrault and ,grimm but ,mother ,holle shaking her feathers is worth bringing in4 ,fairy- and folk-tales give wholesome food to the desire for adventure1 whereas in what we may call realistic stories1 adventure is chiefly confined to the naughty child1 who is therefore more attractive than the good and stodgy4 ,even among fairy-tales we may select4 ,beauty and the ,beast and ,the ,sleeping ,beauty and ,snow-white and ,rose-red are distinctly preferable to ,jack the ,giant ,killer or ,puss in ,boots1 while ,bluebeard cannot be told4 ,it seems to me that children can often safely read for themselves stories the adult cannot well tell4 ,the child's notion of justice is crude1 bad is bad1 and whether embodied in an ogre or in ,pharaoh of ,egypt1 it must be got rid of1 put out of the story4 ,no child is sorry for the giant when ,jack's axe cleaves the beanstalk1 and as for ,pharaoh1 ,well1 it's a good thing he's drowned1 for he was a bad man1 wasn't he8 ,death means nothing to children1 as a rule1 except disappearance4 ,when children can read for themselves1 they will take from their stories what suits their stage of development1 their standard of judgement1 and we need not interfere1 even though they regard with perfect calm what seems gruesome to the adult4 ,as a valuable addition to the best-known fairy-tales1 we may mention one or two others3 ,grannie's ,wonderful ,chair is a delightful set of stories1 full of charming pictures1 though the writer1 ,frances ,brown1 was born blind4 ,mrs4 ,ewing's stories for children1 ,the ,brownies1 with ,amelia and the ,dwarfs and ,timothy's ,shoes1 are inimitable1 and her ,old-,fashioned ,fairy ,tales are very good1 but not for very young children4 ,her other stories are certainly about children1 but are1 as a rule1 written for adults4 ,george ,macdonald's stories are all too well known and too universally beloved to need recommendation4 ,but in telling them1 e4g4 ,the ,princess and the ,goblins or ,at the ,back of the ,north ,wind1 the young teacher must remember that they are beautiful allegories4 ,before she ventures to tell them1 the beginner should ponder well what the poet--for these are prose poems--means1 and who is represented by the beautiful ,great-great-grandmother always old and always young1 or ,north ,wind who must sink the ship but is able to bear the cry from it1 because of the sound of a far-off song1 which seems to swallow up all fear and pain and to set the suffering singing it with the rest4 ,water-,babies is a bridge between the fairy-tale of a child and equally wonderful and beautiful fairy-tales of ,nature1 and it1 too1 is full of meaning4 ,if the teacher has gained this1 the children will not lag behind4 ,it was a child of backward development1 who1 when she heard of ,mother ,carey1 who made things make themselves1 said1 ,oh6 ,i know who that was1 that was ,god4 ,such stories must be spread out over many days of telling1 but they gain rather than lose from that1 though for quite young children the stories do require to be short and simple1 and often repeated4 ,if children get plenty of these1 the stage for longer stories is reached wonderfully soon4 ,pseudo-scientific stories1 in which1 for example1 a drop of water discusses evaporation and condensation1 are not stories at all1 but a kind of mental meat lozenge1 most unsatisfying and probably not even fulfilling their task of supplying nourishment in form of facts4 ,fables usually deal with the faults and failings of grown-ups1 and may be left for children to read for themselves1 to extract what suits them4 ,illustrations are not always necessary1 but if well chosen they are always a help4 ,warne has published some delightfully illustrated stories for little children1 ,the ,three ,pigs1 ,hop o' my ,thumb1 ,beauty and the ,beast1 etc4 ,they are illustrated by ,h4,m4 ,brock and by ,leslie ,brooke1 and they really are illustrated4 ,the artists have enjoyed the stories and children equally enjoy the pictures4 ,the teacher must consider what ideas she is presenting and whether words alone can convey them properly4 ,we must remember that most children visualise and that they can only do so from what they have seen4 ,so1 without illustrations1 a castle may be a suburban house with ,nottingham lace curtains and an aspidistra1 while ,perseus or ,moses may differ little from the child's own father or brothers4 ,again1 town children cannot visualise hill and valley1 forest and moor1 brook and river1 not to mention jungles and snowfields and the trackless ocean4 ,it is not easy to find pictures to give any idea of such scenes1 but it is worth while to look for them1 and it is also worth while for the teacher to visualise1 and to practise vivid describing of what she sees4 ,children1 of course1 only want description when it is really a part of the story1 as when ,tom crosses the moor1 descends ,lewthwaite ,crag1 or travels from brook to river and from river to sea4 ,as to how a story should be told1 opinions differ4 ,it must be well told with a well-modulated voice and with slight but effective gesture4 ,but the model should be the story as told in the home1 not the story told from a platform4 ,the children need not be spellbound all the time1 but should be free to ask sensible questions and to make childlike comments in moderation4 ,the language should fit the subject2 beautiful thoughts need beauty of expression1 high and noble deeds must be told in noble language4 ,a teacher who wishes to be a really good teller of stories must herself read good literature1 and she will do well not only to prepare her stories with care1 but to consider the language she uses in daily life4 ,there is a happy medium between pedantry and the latest variety of slang1 and if daily speech is careless and slipshod1 it is difficult to change it for special occasions4 ,our stories should not only prepare for literature1 they should be literature1 and those who realise what the story may do for children will not grudge time spent in preparation4 ,if the story is to present an ideal1 let us see that we present a worthy one2 if it is to lead the children to judge of right and wrong1 let us see that we give them time and opportunity to judge and that we do not force their judgement4 ,lastly1 if the story is to make the children feel1 let us see that the feeling is on the right side1 that they shrink from all that is mean1 selfish1 cruel and cowardly1 and sympathise with whatsoever things are true1 whatsoever things are lovely1 whatsoever things are of good report4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,in ,,grassy ,,places ,my heart leaps up when ,i behold ,a rainbow in the sky1 ,so was it when my life began ,so be it when ,i shall grow old1 ,or let me die4 ,what is the real aim of what we call ,nature-lessons1 ,nature-teaching1 ,nature-work8 ,it is surely to foster delight in beauty1 so that our hearts shall leap up at sight of the rainbow until we die4 ,for1 indeed1 if we lose that uplift of the heart1 some part of us has died already4 ,yet even ,wordsworth mourns that nothing can bring back the hour of splendour in the grass and glory in the flower6 ,in its answer to the question ,what is the chief end of man8 the old ,shorter ,catechism has a grand beginning3 ,man's chief end is to glorify ,god and to enjoy ,him for ever4 ,do we lose the vision because we are not bold enough to take that enjoyment as our chief end8 ,to enjoy good is to enjoy ,god4 ,our ends or aims are our desires1 and ,mr4 ,clutton ,brock1 in his ,ultimate ,belief1 urges teachers to recognise that the spirit of man has three desires1 three ends1 and that it cannot be satisfied till it attains all three4 ,man desires to do right1 so far as he sees it1 for the sake of doing right2 he desires to gain knowledge or to know for the sake of knowing1 for the sake of truth2 and he desires beauty4 ,we do not value that which we call beautiful because it is true1 or because it is good1 but because it is beautiful4 ,there is a glory of the universe which we call truth which we discover and apprehend1 and a glory of the universe which we call beauty and which we discover or apprehend4 ,froebel begins his ,education of ,man by an inquiry into the reason for our existence and his answer is that all things exist to make manifest the spirit1 the lan vital1 which brought them into being4 ,sursum corda1 says ,stevenson1 ,lift up your hearts ,art and ,blue ,heaven ,april and ,god's ,larks ,green reeds and sky scattering river ,a ,stately ,music ,enter ,god4 ,and ,browning8 ,if you get simple beauty and nought else1 you get about the best thing ,god invents4 ,to let children get that beauty should be our aim1 and they must get it in their own way4 ,life in and with ,nature and with the fair silent things of ,nature1 should be fostered by parents and others1 ,froebel tells us1 as a chief fulcrum of child-life1 and this is accomplished chiefly in play1 which is at first simply natural life4 ,let us surmount the ruts of our teaching experience and climb high enough to look back upon our own childhood1 to see where beauty called to us1 where we attained to beauty4 ,among my own earliest recollections come a first view of the starry sky and the discovery of ,heaven4 ,no one called attention to the stars1 they spoke themselves to a child of four or five and declared the glory of ,god4 ,heaven was not on high among these glorious stars1 however4 ,it was a grassy place with flowers and sunshine4 ,it had to be ,heaven because you went through the cemetery to reach it1 and because it was so bright and flowery and there were no graves in it4 ,i never found it again1 because ,i had forgotten how to get there4 ,another very early memory is one of grief1 to see from the window how the gardener was mowing down all the daisies1 and there were so many1 in the grass2 and yet another is of a high1 grassy1 sunny field with a little stream running far down below4 ,it was not really far and there was nothing particularly beautiful in the place to grown-up eyes1 but the beholder was very small and loved it dearly4 ,to his ,art and ,blue ,heaven ,stevenson might have added ,sun and ,green ,grass4 ,for he knew what grassy places are to the child1 and that happy play in grassy places might well be ,heaven to the little one4 ,a most interesting little book called ,what is a ,kindergarten8#bb was published some years ago in ,america4 ,it is written by a landscape gardener1 and contains most valuable suggestions as to how best to use for a ,kindergarten or ,nursery ,school plots of ground which may be secured for that purpose4 ,naturally the writer has much to say on the laying out and stocking the available space to the best advantage1 choosing the most suitable positions for the house1 where the teacher must live1 he says1 to supply the atmosphere of a home2 for animal hutches1 for sand-heaps and seesaws2 for the necessary shelter1 for the children's gardens1 and for the lawn1 for even on his smallest plan1 a twenty-five-foot lot1 we find room for a spot of green4 ,later he explains that for this green one must use what will grow1 and if grass will not perhaps clover will4 ,the way in which the trees and plants are chosen is most suggestive4 ,beauty and suitability are always considered1 but he remembers his own youth1 and also considers the special joys of childhood4 ,for it is not ,nature lessons that come into his calculations but the mere association of plants and children4 ,so the birch tree is chosen1 partly for its grace and beauty1 but also because of its bark1 for one can scribble on its papery surface2 the hazel1 because children delight in the catkins with their showers of golden dust1 and the nut hidden in its cap of frills and tucks4 ,and he adds3 ,how much more alluring than the naked fruit from the grocer's sack are these nuts1 especially when dots for eyes and mouth are added1 and a whole little face is tucked within this natural bonnet4 ,footnote #bb3 ,g4 ,hansen1 pub4 ,elder1 ,morgan ,shepherd1 ,san ,francisco1 #ahia4 ,in addition to the flowers chosen for beauty of colour1 this lover of children and of gardens wants ,canterbury ,bells to ring1 ,forget-me-nots because they can stand so much watering1 and flowers with faces1 pansies1 sweet-peas1 lupins1 snapdragons1 monkey flowers1 red and white dead nettles1 and red clover to bring the bees4 ,some of these are chosen because the child can do something with them1 can find their own uses for them1 can play with them4 ,and1 speaking generally1 playing with them is the child's way of appreciating both plant and animal4 ,picking feathery grasses1 red-tipped daisies1 sweet-smelling clover and golden dandelions2 feeding snapdragons with fallen petals1 finding what's o'clock by blowing dandelion fruits1 paying for dock tea out of a fairy purse1 shading poppy dolls with woodruff parasols1 that is how a child enjoys the beauty of colour1 scent and form4 ,he gets not more but less beauty when he must sit in a class and answer formal questions4 ,must we talk about them before we take the flowers home8 asked a child one day2 they are so pretty4 ,clearly1 the talk was going to lessen1 not to deepen the beauty4 ,and animals8 ,the child plays with cat and dog1 he feeds the chickens1 the horse and the donkey1 he watches with the utmost interest caterpillar1 snail and spider1 but he does not want to be asked questions about them--he does want to talk and perhaps to ask the questions himself--nor does he always want even to draw1 paint or model them4 ,mostly he wants to watch1 and perhaps just to stir them up a little if they do not perform to his satisfaction4 ,he does not necessarily mean to tease1 only why should he watch an animal that does nothing8 ,the animals haven't any habits when ,i watch them1 a little girl once said to ,professor ,arthur ,thomson4 ,all children should live in the country at least for part of the year4 ,they should know fields and gardens1 and have intercourse with hens and chickens1 cows and calves1 sheep and lambs2 should make hay and see the corn cut4 ,they would still want the wisely sympathetic teacher1 not to arouse interest--that is not necessary1 but to keep it alive by keeping pace with the child's natural development4 ,it is not merely living in the country that develops the little child's interest in shape and colour and scent into something deeper4 ,people still spend all their time in the fields and forests and see and feel nothing of the beauties of ,nature1 and of their influence on the human heart2 and this1 said ,froebel--and it is just what ,mr4 ,clutton ,brock is saying now--is because the child fails to find the same feelings among adults4 ,two effects follow3 the child feels the want of sympathy and loses some respect for the elder1 and also he loses his original joy in ,nature4 ,there is in every human being the passionate desire for this self-forgetfulness--to which it attains when it is aware of beauty--and a passionate delight in it when it comes4 ,the child feels that delight among spring flowers2 we can all remember how we felt it in the first apprehension of some new beauty of the universe1 when we ceased to be little animals and became aware that there was this beauty outside us to be loved4 ,and most of us must remember1 too1 the strange indifference of our elders4 ,they were not considering the lilies of the field2 they did not want us to get our feet wet among them4 ,we might be forgetting ourselves1 but they were remembering us2 and we became suddenly aware of the bitterness of life and the tyranny of facts4 ,now parents and nurses 7and teachers7 have1 of course1 to remember children when they forget themselves4 ,but they ought to be aware that the child1 when he forgets himself in the beauty of the world1 is passing through a sacred experience which will enrich and glorify the whole of his life4 ,children1 because they are not engaged in the struggle for life1 are more capable of this aesthetic self-forgetfulness than they will afterwards be2 and they need all of it that they can get1 so that they may remember it and prize it in later years4 ,in these heaven-sent moments they know what disinterestedness is4 ,they have a test by which they can value all future experience and know the dullness and staleness of worldly success4 ,therefore it is a sin to check1 more than need be1 their aesthetic delight 7,the ,ultimate ,belief74 ,we cannot all give to our children the experiences we should like to supply1 but if we are clear that we are aiming at enjoyment of ,nature1 and not at supplying information1 we shall come nearer to what is desirable4 ,for years1 almost since it opened in #aijh1 ,miss ,reed of the ,michaelis ,free ,kindergarten has taken her children to the country4 ,it means a great deal of work and responsibility1 it means collecting funds and giving up one's scanty leisure1 it means devoted service1 but it has been done1 and it has been kept up even during war time1 though with great difficulty as to funds1 because of the inestimable benefit to the children4 ,miss ,stokes of the ,somers ,town ,nursery ,school secured a country holiday for her little ones in various ways1 partly through the ,children's ,country ,holiday ,fund1 but since the war she has been unable to secure help of that kind1 and has managed to take the children away to a country cottage4 ,a paragraph in the report says3 ,the children in the country had a delightful time1 and what was seen and done during their holiday is still talked about continually4 ,these joys entered into all the work of the nursery school and helped the children for months to retain a breath of the country in their ,london surroundings4 ,they realised much from that visit4 ,cows now have horns1 wasps have wings and fly--alas they sting also4 ,hens sit on eggs1 an almost unbelievable thing4 ,fishes1 newts1 tadpoles1 were all met with and greeted as friends4 ,children and helpers alike returned home full of health and vigour and longing for the next time4 ,one little maid wept bitterly1 and there seemed no joy in life at home until she came across the school rabbit1 which was tenderly caressed1 and consoled her with memories of the country and hopes for future visits4 ,in the days when teachers argued about the differences between ,object-lessons and ,nature-lessons1 one point insisted upon was that the ,nature-lesson far surpassed the ,object-lesson because it dealt with life4 ,we have learned now that we should as much as we can surround our children with life and growth4 ,even indoors it is easy to give the joy of growing seeds and bulbs and of opening chestnut branches3 without any cruelty we can let them enjoy watching snails and worms and we can keep caterpillars or silkworms and so let them drink their fill of the miracle of development4 ,but beauty comes to children in very different ways1 and always it is ,nature1 though it may not be life4 ,children revel in colour1 colour for its own sake1 and should be allowed to create it4 ,in a modern novel there is a description of a mother doing her washing in the open air and at her feet sat a baby intent upon the assimilation of a gingerbread elephant1 but now and then tugging at her skirts and holding up a fat hand4 ,each time he was rewarded by a dab of soapsuds1 which she deposited good-naturedly in his palm4 ,he received it with solemn delight2 watching the roseate play of colour as the bubbles shrank and broke1 and the lovely iridescent treasure vanished in a smear of dirty wetness while he looked4 ,then he would beat his fists delightedly against his mother's dress and presently demand another handful4 ,the following notes from another student's report show how this may spring naturally out of the children's life3#bc ,footnote #bc3 ,miss ,edith ,jones4 ,we were spinning the teetotum yesterday and it did not spin well so we made new ones4 ,while the children were painting their tops1 ,oliver grew very eager when he found he could fill in all the spaces in different colours1 but ,betty made her colours very insipid4 ,i want them to get the feeling of beautiful colour1 so ,i shall show them a book with the colours graded in it1 and we shall each have a paper and paint on it all the rich colours we can think of4 ,the colours will probably run into each other1 and so the children will get ideas about the blending of colours1 but ,i will watch to see that they do not get the colour too wet4 ,if they are not tired of painting ,i want to show them a painted circle to turn on a string and they can make these for themselves1 using the colours they have already used4 ,i want the children to do some group work1 and ,i thought we might make a village with shops and houses under the trees in the garden and have little men and women to represent ourselves4 ,the suggestion will probably have to come from the teacher1 but the children will probably have the desire when it is suggested1 and ,i hope we shall be able to go on enlarging our town on the pattern of the towns the children know4 ,if they want bricks for their houses they can dig clay in the garden4 ,report4--,the children wanted to make a tea-set1 so we carried our clay outside4 ,they began discussing why their china would not be so fine as the china at home1 and ,i said the clay might be different4 ,then ,bernard asked what sort of china we should get from the clay in the garden1 and ,i told him that kind of clay was generally made into bricks1 and suggested making bricks4 ,from that we went on to the use of bricks1 and to-morrow we are going to dig1 and make bricks to build a town4 ,bernard is anxious to know how we shall make mortar4 ,just then it started to rain1 and ,bernard said that if the sun kept shining and it rained hard enough we should have a rainbow1 and he wished it would come so as to see the beautiful colours4 ,i thought this rather a coincidence1 and told him ,i had a book with all the rainbow colours in it4 ,they asked to see it1 so ,i showed it and suggested painting the colours ourselves4 ,those who had finished their dishes started1 and we talked about the richness of the colours4 ,one or two children started with very watery colour1 so ,i showed them the book and began to paint myself4 ,they all enjoyed it very much1 especially the different colours made where the colours ran into each other4 ,the results pleased them and they are to be used as wall-papers to sell in our town1 but ,sybil wants to have a toy shop1 and she is going to make a painted circle for it like the one ,i showed4 ,this is clearly the time to show a glass prism and to let these children make rainbows for themselves1 to tell the story of ,iris1 and to use any colour material1 ,milton ,bradley spectrum papers1 ,montessori silks1 colour top1 and anything else so long as the children keep up their interest4 ,the interest in colour need never die out2 it will probably show itself now in finer discrimination1 and more careful reproduction of the colours of flowers and leaves1 and the sympathy given will heighten interest and increase enjoyment4 ,here are some notes showing children's numerous activities in a suburban garden where they were allowed to visit a hen and chickens4 ,monday#bd--,to-day the children took up their mustard and cress1 dug and raked the ground ready for transplanting the lettuces4 ,after their rest we went to see the chickens at the ,hall 7the ,students' ,hostel71 and the ,hall garden seemed to them a wonderful place4 ,they watched the trains go in and out of the station at the foot of the garden1 and explored all the side doors1 going up and down all the steps and into the cycle shed4 ,they helped ,miss ,s4 to stir the soot water1 then they went to the grassy bank and ran down it1 slid down it1 and rolled down it4 ,they peeped over the wall into the next garden1 they peeped through holes in the fences and finished up with a swing in the hammock4 ,each child had twenty swings1 and they enjoyed counting in time with the swaying of the hammock1 and swayed their own bodies as they pushed4 ,footnote #bd3 ,these notes are part of those already given on pp4 #fh-ga4 ,another example of love and rhythm was when they went to say good-bye to the hen and chickens1 and kept on repeating ',good-bye1 good-bye' all together1 nodding their heads at the same time4 ,i did not know if ,i should have let them do so much1 but ,i was not sure that we should be allowed to come back and ,i wanted them to enjoy the garden4 ,wednesday4--,first we watered the lettuces we had transplanted1 and transplanted more4 ,then1 as we had permission to come again1 we took some of our lettuces to the chickens4 ,we saw the mother hen with one wing spread right out1 and the children were much surprised to see how large it was4 ,we looked at the roses1 and saw how the bud of yesterday was full blown to-day4 ,the children again ran down and rolled down the bank1 and had turns in the hammock1 this time to the rhythm of ,margery ,daw sung twice through1 and then counting up to twenty4 ,very often they went to watch the trains4 ,cecil is particularly interested in them1 and wanted to know how long was the time between4 ,he said three minutes1 ,i guessed nine1 but we found they were irregular4 ,in the intervals while waiting for a train to pass1 we played a 'listening' game1 listening to what sounds we could hear4 ,a thrush came and sang right over our heads1 so the listening was concentrated on his song1 and we tried to say what we thought he meant to say4 ,one child said1 ',he says1 ,come here1 come here1' but they found this too difficult4 ,we also watched a boy cleaning the station windows1 and ,dorothy said1 ',miss ,beer1 isn't it wonderful that you can see through glass8' ,i agreed1 but made no other remark because ,i did not know what to say4 ,we rested outside to-day under an almond tree4 ,i pointed out how pretty the sky looked when you only saw it peeping through the leaves4 ,after rest the children noticed feathery grasses1 and spent the rest of the morning gathering them4 ,i suggested that they should see how many kinds they could find4 ,they found three1 but were not enthusiastic about it1 being content just to pluck1 but they were delighted when they found specially long and beautiful grasses hidden deep under a leafy bush4 ,they also found clover leaves1 and ,i told them its name and sang to them the verse from ',the ,bee1' with ',the sweet-smelling clover1 he1 humming1 hangs over4' ,thursday4--,brushed and dusted the room1 gave fresh water to the flowers1 and then went to gardening4 ,the children were delighted to find ladybirds on the lettuces they were transplanting1 and we also noticed how the cherries were ripening4 ,they joined the ,transition ,class for games4 ,later1 while playing with the sand1 ,cecil made a discovery4 ,he said1 ',miss ,beer1 do you know1 ,i know what sand is1 it's little tiny tiny stones4' ,it may be worth while to notice some things in these notes4 ,first the pleasure in exploring the new surroundings and then the variety of delights4 ,our landscape gardener mentions that any slope to our grounds should be welcomed4444 ,for as we leave the level land and flee to the mountains to spend our vacation1 so will a child avoid the street and seek the gutter and the bank on the unimproved lot to enjoy its pastime4 ,our own children have been fortunate enough to have a bank for their play1 and though1 unfortunately1 extension of buildings has taken away much of this1 we have had abundant opportunity to see the value of sloping ground4 ,then there are the discoveries1 the feathery grasses1 especially those which were hidden1 the ladybirds1 that sand is really tiny tiny stones--has every adult noticed that1 or is sand just sand8--and the wonder that we can see through glass1 a wonder realised by a little girl of four years old4 ,also we can notice what the children did not desire4 ,they liked listening to the thrush1 but to make out what the thrush was saying was beyond them4 ,they liked gathering feathery grasses1 but to sort these into different kinds gave no pleasure1 though older children would have enjoyed trying to find many varieties4 ,perhaps teachers with a fair amount of experience might have felt like the beginner who frankly says1 ,i didn't say anything more because ,i didn't know what to say1 when ,dorothy discovered the wonderfulness of glass4 ,perhaps we are silent because the child has gone ahead of us4 ,it is wonderful1 but we have never thought about it4 ,in such cases we must1 as ,froebel says1 become a learner with the child and humbly1 with real sympathy and earnestness1 ask1 ,is it wonderful1 ,i suppose it is1 but ,i never thought about it1 why do you call it wonderful8 ,if the child answers1 it is well1 if not the teacher can go on thinking aloud1 thinking with the child4 ,let's think what other things we can see through4 ,we can never understand it1 we can only reach the fact of transparency as a wonderful property of certain substances and consider which possess this magic quality4 ,there is water of course1 and there is jelly or gelatine1 but these are not hard1 they are not stones as glass seems to be4 ,the child will be pleased too to see a crystal or a bit of mica1 but the main thing is that we should not imagine we have disposed of the wonder by a mere name with a glib1 ,oh1 that's just because it's transparent1 but that we realise1 and reinforce and deepen the child's sense of wonderfulness4 ,so teacher and child enter into the thoughts of ,him ,who endlessly was teaching ,above my spirits utmost reaching1 ,what love can do in the leaf or stone1 ,so that to master this alone1 ,this done in the stone or leaf for me1 ,i must go on learning endlessly4 ,,chapter ,x ,a ,,way ,,to ,,god ,wonders chiefly at himself ,who can tell him what he is ,or how meet in human elf ,coming and past eternities4 ,,emerson4 ,it is of set purpose that this short chapter1 referring to what we specially call religion1 is placed immediately after that on the child's attitude to ,nature4 ,the actual word religion1 which1 to him1 expressed being bound1 did not appeal to ,froebel so much as one which expressed ,one-ness with ,god4 ,as a son can share the aspirations of his father1 so man a thought of ,god can aspire ,from earth's level where blindly creep ,things perfected more or less ,to the heaven's height far and steep4 ,but we begin at earth's level1 and a child's religion must be largely a natural religion4 ,how to introduce a child to religion is a problem which must have many solutions4 ,in ,froebel's original training course1 his ,kindergarten teachers were to be trained to the observation and care of the earliest germs of the religious instinct in man4 ,these earliest beginnings he found in different sources4 ,first come the relations between the child and the family1 beginning with the mother2 fatherhood and motherhood must be realised before the child can reach up to the ,father of all4 ,then there is the atmosphere of the home1 the real reverence for higher things1 if it exists1 affects even a little child more than is usually supposed1 but children are quick to distinguish reality from mere conventionality though the distinction is only half conscious4 ,reality impresses1 while conventionality is apt to bore4 ,even to quite young children ,froebel's ideal mother would begin to show ,god in nature4 ,some one put into the flowers the scent and colour that delight the child--some one whom he cannot see4 ,the sun1 moon and stars give light and beauty1 and love is what they mean to show4 ,this mother teaches her little one some sort of prayer1 and the gesture of reverence1 the folded hands1 affects the child even if the words mean little or nothing4 ,akin to the feeling of community between the child and his family is the joining in religious worship in church1 the entrance in a common life1 and the emotional effect of the deep tones of the organ4 ,then there is the interdependence of the universe3 the baby is to thank ,jenny for his bread and milk1 ,peter for mowing the grass for the cow1 until you come to the last ring of all1 ,god's father love for all4 ,next to this comes the child's service2 others work for him and he also must serve4 ,every age has its duties1 and duties are not burdens1 and it is necessary that feeling should have expression1 for even a child's love unfostered 7by action in form of service7 droops and dies away4 ,there is also the desire for approbation4 ,the child must be roused to good by inclination1 love1 and respect1 through the opinion of others about him1 and this should be guided until he learns to care chiefly for the approval of the ,god within4 ,right ideals must be provided3 religion is a continually advancing endeavour1 and its reward must not be a material reward4 ,we ought to lift and strengthen human nature1 but we degrade and weaken it when we seek to lead it to good conduct by a bait1 even if this bait beckons to a future world4 ,the consciousness of having lived worthily should be our highest reward4 ,froebel goes so far as to say that instead of teaching the good will be happy1 and leaving children to imagine that this means an outer or material happiness1 we ought rather to teach that in seeking the highest we may lose the lower4 ,renunciation1 the abandonment of the outer for the sake of securing the inner1 is the condition for attaining highest development4 ,dogmatic religious instruction should rather show that whoever truly and earnestly seeks the good1 must needs expose himself to a life of outer oppression1 pain and want1 anxiety and care4 ,even a child1 though not a baby1 can be led to see that to do good for outer reward is but enlightened selfishness4 ,these suggestions are taken for the most part from the ,mother ,songs1 some from ,the ,education of ,man4 ,each parent or teacher must use what seems to her or to him most valuable4 ,some may from the beginning desire to teach the child a baby prayer1 or at least to let him hear ,god bless you4 ,others may prefer to wait for a more intelligent stage1 perhaps when the child begins to ask the invariable questions--who made the flowers1 the animals2 who made me8 ,if so1 we must remember that children see1 and hear1 and think1 that often in thoughtless ejaculations1 or in those of heartfelt thankfulness1 children may hear the name of ,god2 that a simple story may have something that stirs thought2 that churches are much in evidence2 and that the conversation of little playfellows may take an unexpected turn4 ,to me it seems a great mistake to put before young children ideas which are really beyond the conception of an adult4 ,there are many stories told of how children receive teaching about the ,omniscience or ,omnipotence of ,god4 ,the stories sound irreverent1 and are often repeated as highly amusing1 but they are really more pathetic4 ,miss ,shinn tells of one poor mite who resented being constantly watched and said1 ,i will not be so tagged1 and another said1 ,then ,i think ,he's a very rude man1 when1 in reply to her puzzled questions1 she was told that ,god could see her even in her bath4 ,and the boy who said1 ,if ,i had done a thing1 could ,god make it that ,i hadn't8 must have made his instructor feel somewhat foolish4 ,it never does harm for us honestly to confess our own limitations and our ignorance1 and that is better than weak materialistic explanations1 which after all explain nothing4 ,to tell a child that the ,great ,father is always grieved when we are unkind or cowardly1 always ready to help us and to put kindness and bravery into our hearts1 that we know ,he has power to do that if we will let ,him1 but that ,his power is beyond our understanding3 to say that ,he is able to keep us in all danger1 and that even if we are killed we are safe in ,his keeping1 surely that is enough4 ,he who blessed the children uttered strong words against him who caused the little ones to stumble4 ,from every point1 from every object of nature and life there is a way to ,god4444 ,the things of nature form a more beautiful ladder between heaven and earth than that seen by ,jacob4444 ,it is decked with flowers1 and angels with children's eyes beckon us toward it4 ,this is true1 but it does not mean that we are always to be trying to make things sacred1 but that we are to realise that all beauty and all knowledge and all sympathy are already sacred1 and that to love such things is to love something whereby the ,creator makes ,himself known to us1 that to enjoy them is to enjoy ,god4 ,religion is not always explained as implying the idea of being bound1 but sometimes as being set free from the bonds of the lower or animal nature4 ,in this sense ,mr4 ,clutton ,brock may well call it a sacred experience for the child1 when he forgets himself in the beauty of the world4 ,if we could all rise to a wider conception of the meaning of the word religion1 we should know that it comes into all the work of the day1 that it does not depend alone upon that special ,scripture lesson which may become mere routine4 ,the greatest ,teacher of all taught by stories1 and when any story deepens our feelings for human nature and our recognition of the heights to which it can rise1 when it makes us long for faith1 courage1 and love to go and do likewise1 who shall say that this is not religious teaching1 teaching which helps to deliver us from the bonds that hamper spiritual ascent4 ,many of us will feel with ,froebel that the fairy-tale1 with its slumbering premonition of being surrounded by that which is higher and more conscious than ourselves1#be has its place1 and an important place1 in religious development4 ,footnote #be3 ,p4 #he4 ,the fairy sense1 says ,dr4 ,greville ,macdonald1 is innate as the religious sense itself 444 the fairy stories best beloved are those steeped in meaning--the unfathomable meaning of life 444 such stories teach--even though no lesson was intended--the wisdom of the ,book of ,job3 wisdom that by this time surely should have made religious teaching saner1 and therefore more acceptable4#bf ,footnote #bf3 ,the ,fairy-,tale in ,education1 by ,greville ,macdonald1 ,m4,d41 ,child ,life1 ,dec4 #aiah4 ,fairies1 like angels1 may be ,god's messengers4 ,a child who had heard of ,st4 ,cuthbert as a shepherd boy being carried home from the hillside when hurt1 by a man on a white horse1 repeated the story in her own words1 and he thought it was a fairy of ,god's sent to help him4 ,there is1 however1 nothing the children love more than the ,bible story1 the story which shows1 so simply1 humanity struggling as the children struggle1 failing as the children fail1 and believing and trusting as the children believe1 and as we at least strive to do1 in the ultimate victory of ,right over ,wrong1 of ,good over ,evil4 ,but just because the stories are often so beautiful and so inspiring1 the teacher should have freedom to deal with them as the spirit moves her4 ,what experience has taught me in this way has already been passed on to younger teachers in ,education by ,life1 and there seems little more to add4 ,wonders chiefly at himself ,who can tell him what he is4 ,it is for us to tell the child what he is1 that he1 too1 like all the things he loves1 is a manifestation of ,god4 ,i am a being alive and conscious upon this earth2 a descendant of ancestors who rose by gradual processes from lower forms of animal life1 and with struggle and suffering became man4#bg ,footnote #bg3 ,the ,substance of ,faith ,allied with ,science1 ,sir ,oliver ,lodge 7,methuen74 ,the colossal remains of shattered mountain chains speak of the greatness of ,god2 and man is encouraged and lifts himself up by them1 feeling within himself the same spirit and power4#bh ,footnote #bh3 ,the ,education of ,man4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,rhythm ,lo with the ancient roots of ,man's nature ,twines the eternal passion of song4 ,the very existence of lullabies1 not to mention their abundance in all countries1 the very rockers on the cradles testify to the rhythmic nature of man in infancy4 ,in his ,mother ,songs1 ,froebel couples rhythm with harmony of all kinds1 not only musical harmony but harmony of proportion and colour1 and in urging the very early training of the germs of all this1 he gives perhaps the chief reason for training4 ,if these germs do not develop and take shape as independent formations in each individual1 they at least teach how to understand and to recognise those of other people4 ,this is life-gain enough1 it makes one's life richer1 richer by the lives of others4 ,it is to the genius of ,m4 ,jacques ,dalcroze that the world of to-day owes some idea of what may be effected by rhythmic training1 and ,m4 ,dalcroze started his work with the same aim that ,froebel set before the mother1 that of making the child capable of appreciation1 capable of being made richer by the lives of others4 ,but ,froebel prophesied that far more than appreciation would come from proper rhythmic training1 and this ,m4 ,dalcroze has amply proved4 ,through movement the mother tries to lead the child to consciousness of his own life4 ,by regular rhythmic movement--this is of special importance--she brings this power within the child's own conscious control when she dandles him in her arms in rhythmic movements and to rhythmic sounds1 cautiously following the slowly developing life in the child1 arousing it to greater activity1 and so developing it4 ,those who regard the child as empty1 who wish to fill his mind from without1 neglect the means of cultivation in word and tone which should lead to a sense of rhythm and obedience to law in all human expression4 ,but an early development of rhythmic movement would prove most wholesome1 and would remove much wilfulness1 impropriety and coarseness from his life1 movements1 and action1 and would secure for him harmony and moderation1 and1 later on1 a higher appreciation of nature1 music1 poetry1 and art 7,education of ,man74 ,here1 then1 is an aim most plainly stated1 higher appreciation of nature1 music1 poetry and art1 and if we adopt it1 we must make sure that we start on a road leading to that end4 ,to ,kindergarten children1 apart from movement1 rhythm comes first in nursery rhymes1 and if we honestly follow the methods of the mother we shall not teach these1 but say or sing them over and over again1 letting the children select their favourites and join in when and where they like4 ,this is the true ,babies' ,opera1 as ,walter ,crane justly names an illustrated collection4 ,froebel's ,mother ,songs1 though containing a deal of sound wisdom in its mottoes and explanations1 is an annotated1 expurgated1 and decidedly pedantic version of the nursery rhymes of his own country4 ,that these should ever have been introduced to our children arose from the fact that the first ,kindergarten teachers1 being foreigners1 did not know our own home-grown productions4 ,long since we have shaken off the foreign product1 in favour of our own ,sing a ,song of ,sixpence1 ,baa1 ,baa1 ,black ,sheep and their refreshingly cheerful compeers4 ,froebel's book suggests songs to suit all subjects and all frames of mind--the wind1 the moon1 and stars1 the farm with its cows and sheep1 its hens and chickens1 the baker and carpenter1 fish in the brook and birds in nests1 the garden and the ,christmas fair4 ,we can supply good verses for all these if we take pains to search1 and if we eschew ignorant and unpoetic modern doggerel as we eschew poison4 ,besides the nursery rhymes1 we have ,stevenson1 with his ,wind1 ,shadow1 and ,swing1 ,christina ,rossetti's ,wrens and ,robins1 her ,rainbow ,verses and ,brownie1 ,brownie1 let down your milk1 ,white as swansdown1 smooth as silk4 ,there are many others1 and a recent charming addition to our stock is ,chimneys and ,fairies1 by ,rose ,fyleman4 ,one thing we should not neglect1 and that is the child's sense of humour4 ,for the very young this is probably satisfied by the cow that jumps over the moon1 the dish that runs after the spoon1 ,jill tumbling after ,jack1 and ,miss ,muffet running away from the spider4 ,but older children much enjoy nonsense verses by ,lewis ,carroll or by ,lear1 and ,john ,gilpin is another favourite4 ,it is a mistake to keep strictly within the limits of a child's understanding of the words4 ,what we want here1 as in the realm of ,nature1 is joy and delight1 the delight that comes from musical words and rhythm1 as well as from the pictures that may be called up4 ,even a child of four can enjoy the poetry of the ,psalms without asking for much understanding4 ,the mother repeats her rhymes and verses solely to give pleasure1 and if our aim is the deepening of appreciation1 there is no reason for leaving the green and grassy path that ,nature has showed to the mother for the hard and beaten track of recitation4 ,in our own ,kindergarten there has never been either rote learning or recitation4 ,the older children learn the words of their songs1 but not to a word-perfect stage1 because words and music suggest each other4 ,except for that we just enjoy our verses1 the children asking for their favourites and getting new ones sometimes by request sometimes not4 ,anything not enjoyed is laid aside4 ,we need variety1 but everything must be good of its kind1 and verses about children are seldom for children4 ,because children love babies1 they love ,where did you come from1 baby dear8 but nothing like ,tennyson's ,baby1 wait a little longer1 and especially nothing of the ,toddlekins type has any place in the collection of a self-respecting child4 ,it is doubtful if ,eugene ,field's verses are really good enough for children4 ,all children enjoy singing1 but here1 as in everything1 we must keep pace with development1 or the older ones1 especially the boys1 may get bored by what suits the less adventurous4 ,in all cases the music should be good and tuneful1 modelled not on the modern drawing-room inanity1 but on the healthy and vigorous nursery rhyme or folk song4 ,children also enjoy instrumental music1 and will listen to piano or violin while quietly occupied1 for example if they are drawing4 ,one ,nursery ,school teacher plays soft music to get her babies to sleep1 and our little ones fidget less if some one sings softly during their compulsory rest4 ,the ,kindergarten ,band is another way in which children can join in rhythm4 ,it came to us from ,miss ,bishop and is probably the music referred to in the description of the ,pestalozzi-,froebel ,house4 ,the children are provided with drums1 cymbals1 tambourines1 and triangles1 and keep time to music played on the piano4 ,they can do some analysis in choosing which instruments are most suitable to accompany different melodies or changes from grave to gay1 etc4 ,a full account was given in ,child ,life for ,may #aiag4 ,several years ago1 knowing nothing of ,m4 ,dalcroze1 ,miss ,marie ,salt began an experiment1 the results of which are likely to be far-spreading and of great benefit4 ,desiring to help children to appreciation of good music1 ,miss ,salt experimented deliberately with the ,froebelian learn through action1 and her success has been remarkable4 ,because of its freedom from any kind of formality1 this system is perhaps better suited to little children than the ,dalcroze work1 unless that is in the hands of an exceptionally gifted teacher4 ,m4 ,dalcroze himself is delightfully sympathetic with little ones4 ,miss ,salt tells her own story in an appendix to ,mr4 ,stewart ,macpherson's ,aural ,culture based on ,musical ,appreciation4 ,good music is played and the children listen and move freely in time to it1 sometimes marching or dancing in circles1 sometimes quite freely expressing whatever feeling the music calls forth in them4 ,the stress is laid on listening2 if you see a picture you reproduce it1 if the music makes you think of trees or wind1 thunder or goblins1 you become what you think of4 ,it is astonishing to see how little children learn in this way to care for music by ,schumann1 ,mendelssohn1 ,grieg1 ,dvork1 ,brahms1 ,chopin1 and ,beethoven4 ,the music is of course selected with skill1 and care is taken that the expression shall not make the children foolishly self-conscious4 ,emphasis is always placed on listening1 and the children's appreciation is apparent4 ,such appreciation must enrich their lives4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,from ,,fancy ,,to ,,fact ,creeps ever on from fancy to the fact4 ,fairy tales suit little children because their knowledge is so limited1 that the fairies must have done it is regarded as a satisfactory answer to early problems1 just as it satisfied childlike ,man4 ,things that to us are wonderful1 children accept as commonplace1 while others commonplace to us are marvels to the child4 ,but fairy tales do not continue to satisfy all needs4 ,as knowledge grows the child begins to distinguish between what may and what may not happen1 though there will always be individual differences1 and the more poetic souls are apt to suffer when the outrush of their imagination is checked by a barbed wire of fact4 ,the question ,is it true8 and the desire for true stories arise in the average child of seven to eight years1 and at that age history stories are enjoyed4 ,real history is of course impossible to young children1 whose idea of time is still very vague1 and whose understanding of the motives and actions of those immediately around them is but embryonic4 ,they still crave for adventure and romance1 and they thrill to deeds of bravery4 ,bravery in the fight appeals to all boys and to most girls1 and it is a question for serious consideration how this admiration is to be guided1 it certainly cannot be ignored4 ,it is legitimate to admire knights who ride about redressing human wrongs1 fighting dragons and rescuing fair ladies from wicked giants1 and at this stage there is no need to draw a hard and fast line between history and legendary literature4 ,it is good to introduce children1 especially boys1 to some of the ,arthurian legends if only to impress the ideal1 ,live pure1 speak true1 right wrong1 else wherefore born8 ,stories should always help children to understand human beings1 men and women with desires and feelings like our own4 ,but in history and geography stories we deal particularly with people who are different from ourselves1 and we should help children to understand1 and to sympathise with those whose surroundings and customs are not ours4 ,they may have lived centuries ago1 or they may be living now but afar off1 they may be far from us in time or space1 but our stories should show the reasons for their customs and actions1 and should tend to lessen the natural tendency to feel superior to those who have fewer advantages1 and gradually to substitute for that a sense of responsibility4 ,but the narration of stories is not the only way in which we can treat history4 ,our present ,minister of ,education says that history teaching ought to give discipline in practical reasoning and help in forming judgements1 not merely in remembering facts4 ,indeed he went so far as to say eliminate dates and facts by which1 of course1 he only meant that the power of reasoning1 the power of forming judgements is of far more consequence than the mere possession of any quantity of facts and dates4 ,training in reasoning1 however1 must involve training in verification of facts before pronouncing judgement4 ,training in practical reasoning takes a prominent place in that form of history teaching introduced by ,professor ,dewey4 ,according to him1 history is worth nothing unless it is an indirect sociology1 an account of how human beings have learned1 so far as the world has yet learned the lesson1 to co-operate with one another1 a study of the growth of society and what helps and hinders4 ,so he finds his beginnings in primitive life1 and although there is much in this that will appeal to any age1 there is no doubt that children of seven to ten or eleven revel in this material4 ,if used at all it should be used as thinking material--here is man without tools1 without knowledge1 everything must be thought out4 ,it does not do much good to hand over the material as a story1 as some teachers use the ,dopp series of books4 ,these books do all the children's thinking for them4 ,every set of children must work things out for themselves1 using their own environments and their own advantages4 ,the teacher must read to be ready with help if the children fail1 and also to be ready with the actual problems4 ,it is astonishing how keen the children are1 and how often they suggest just what has really happened4 ,where there is space out-of-doors and the children can find branches for huts1 clay for pots1 etc41 the work is much easier for the teacher and more satisfactory4 ,but even where that is impossible and where one has sometimes to be content with miniature reproductions1 the interest is most keen4 ,children under eight cannot really produce fire from flints or rubbing sticks1 nor can they make useable woollen threads with which to do much weaving4 ,but even they can get sparks from flint1 make a little thread from wool1 invent looms and weave enough to get the ideas4 ,the romance of long ago ought to be taken advantage of to deepen respect for the dignity of labour4 ,our lives are so very short that we are apt to get out of perspective in the ages4 ,reading and writing are so new--it is only about four hundred years since the first book was printed in ,england1 the ,roman occupation lasted as long1 and who thinks of that as a long period8 ,perhaps it is because we are in the reading and writing age that our boys and girls must become braw1 braw clerks1 instead of living on and by the land4 ,history1 particularly primitive history1 should help us all to be grateful to those unknown pioneers of the human race to whose struggles and suffering1 discoveries and energies our present favoured mode of existence on the planet is due4 ,the more people realise the effort that has preceded them and made them possible1 the more are they likely to endeavour to be worthy of it3 the more pitiful also will they feel when they see individuals failing in the struggle upward and falling back toward a brute condition2 and the more hopeful they will ultimately become for the brilliant future of a race which from such lowly and unpromising beginnings has produced the material vehicle necessary for those great men who flourished in the recent period which we speak of as antiquity4#bi ,footnote #bi3 ,the ,substance of ,faith1 p4 #ah4 ,professor ,dewey urges that the industrial history of man is not a materialistic or merely utilitarian affair1 but a matter of intelligence1 a record of how men learned to think1 and also an ethical record1 the account of the conditions which men have patiently wrought out to serve their ends4 ,this interest in how human beings have created themselves and their surroundings ought to be deeply interesting to any and every age4 ,young children can reach so little that one hopes the interest aroused will be lasting and lead to fruitful work later4 ,but it certainly makes a good foundation for the study of history and geography1 if history is treated as sociology and if geography is recognised as the study of man in his environment4 ,coming now to practical details1 in our own work we have followed fairly closely the suggestions made by ,professor ,dewey1 but everything must vary from year to year according to the suggestions of the children or their apparent needs4 ,one extra step we have found necessary1 and that is to spend some time over a desert island or ,robinson ,crusoe stage4 ,some children can do without it1 but all enjoy it1 and the duller children find it difficult to imagine a time when you could buy it in a shop does not fit all difficulties4 ,they can easily grasp the idea of sailing away to a land where no man had ever been before1 and playing at desert island has always been a joy4 ,the starting-points for primitive life have been various2 sometimes the work has found its beginning in chance conversation1 as when a child asked1 ,are men animals8 and the class took to the suggestion that man meant thinking animal1 and began to consider what he had thought4 ,often after ,robinson ,crusoe there has been a direct question1 ,how did ,robinson ,crusoe know how to make his things2 had any one taught him8 ,who made the things he had seen2 who made the very first and how did he know8 ,one answer invariably comes1 ,god taught them1 which can be met by saying this is true1 but that ,god teaches by putting things into the world and giving men power to think4 ,this leads to a discussion about things natural1 what ,god makes and what man makes1 which is sometimes illuminating on the limited conceptions of town children4 ,years ago we named primitive man the ,long-,ago ,people1 and the title has seemed to give satisfaction1 though once we had the suggestion of ,old-,time ,men4 ,we always start with the need for food1 and the children suggest all the wild fruits they know1 often leaving out nuts till asked if there is anything that can be stored for winter4 ,roots are not always given1 but buds of trees is a frequent answer4 ,children in the country ought to explore and to dig1 and in our own playground we find at least wild barley1 blackberries of a sort1 cherries1 hard pears1 almonds and cherry gum4 ,killing animals for food is suggested1 and the children have to be told that the animals were fierce and to realise that in these times man was hunted1 not hunter4 ,little heads are quite ready to tackle the problem of defence and attack4 ,they could throw stones1 use sticks that the wind blew down1 pull up a young tree1 or a lot of people could hang on to a branch and get it down4 ,when one child suggested finding a dead animal and using it for food1 some were disgusted1 but a little girl said1 ,i don't suppose they would mind1 they wouldn't be very particular4 ,the idea of throwing stones starts the examination of different kinds1 which have to be provided for the purpose4 ,flint is invariably selected1 and for months the children keep bringing lovely sharp flints1 but there is much careful observation1 observation which has a motive4 ,i would put a stone in a stick and chuck it at them is followed by much experiment at fixing4 ,string is of course taboo1 but bass is allowed because it grows1 also strips of skin4 ,we very often get the suggestion they might find a stone with a hole in it1 which leads to renewed searching and to the endeavour to make holes4 ,to make a hole in flint is beyond us1 but in a softer stone it can be done4 ,then may come the question of safety and tree-climbing1 and how to manage with the babies4 ,children generally know that tiny babies can hold very tight1 and have various ideas for the mother4 ,how to keep the baby from falling brings the idea of twisting in extra branches1 which is recognised as a cradle in the tree1 and the children delight in this as a meaning for ,rock-a-bye1 baby1 in the tree-top4 ,the possibility of tree-shelters comes in1 and various experiments are made1 sometimes in miniature1 sometimes in the garden4 ,out of this comes the discussion of clothes4 ,animals' skins is an invariable suggestion1 though all children do not realise that what they call fur means skin4 ,skin is provided1 and much time is taken in experimenting to see if it can be cut with bits of flint4 ,how could the long-ago people fasten on the skins1 brings the answers by thorns1 tie with narrow pieces1 and the children are pleased to see that their own leather belts are strips or straps4 ,sometimes much time is taken up in cutting out skins to wear from paper or cheap calico1 the children working in pairs1 one kneeling down while the other fits on the calico to see where the head and legs come4 ,the skins are painted or chalked1 and pictures are consulted to see whether the chosen animals are striped or spotted4 ,it may be stated here that we are not very rigid about periods or climates1 and that our long-ago people are of a generalised type4 ,our business is not to supply correct information on anthropological questions1 but to call forth thought and originality1 to present opportunities for closer observation than was ever evoked by observation lessons1 and for experiments full of meaning and full of zest4 ,naturally we do not despise correct information1 but these children are very young and all this work is tentative4 ,we are never dogmatic1 it is all ,do you think they might have 444 or ,well1 ,i know what ,i should have done2 ,i should have 444 and the teacher's reply is usually ,suppose we try4 ,children are apt of course to make startling remarks1 but it is only the teacher who is startled by3 ,was all this before ,god's birthday8 ,i don't think ,god had learned to be very clever then4 ,it is a curious fact1 but orthodox opinion has only twice in the course of many years brought up ,adam and ,eve4 ,probably this is because we never talk about the first man1 but about how things were discovered4 ,the first time the question did come up ,miss ,payne was taking the subject1 and she suggested that ,adam and ,eve were never in this country1 which disposed of difficulties so well that ,i gave the same answer the only time ,i ever had to deal with the question4 ,when we come to the problem of fire1 we always use parts of ,miss ,dopp's story of ,the ,tree-,dwellers4 ,if the children are asked if they ever heard of fire that comes by itself1 or of things being burned by fire that no human being had anything to do with1 one or two are sure to suggest lightning4 ,they will tell that lightning sometimes sets trees on fire1 that thunderstorms generally come after hot dry weather1 and that if lightning struck a tree with dry stuff about the fire would spread1 and the long-ago people would run away4 ,a question from the teacher as to what these people might think about it may bring the suggestion of a monster2 if not1 one only has to say that it must have seemed as if it was eating the trees to get ,they would think it was a dreadful animal4 ,then the story can be told of how the boy called ,bodo stopped to look and saw the monster grow smaller1 so he went closer1 fed it on wood1 and liked to feel its warm breath after the heavy rain that follows thunder--why had the monster grown smaller8--found that no animal would come near it and so on4 ,we never tell of the fire country1 though sometimes the children read the book for themselves a little later4 ,we have never succeeded in making flames1 but it is thrilling to get sparks from flint4 ,once a child brought an old tinder box with steel and flint1 but even then we were not skilful enough to get up a flame4 ,still it is something to have tried1 and we are left with a respectful admiration for those who could so easily do without matches4 ,what made these long-ago people think of using their fire to cook food8 ,our children have suggested that a bit of raw meat fell into the fire by accident1 and we have also worked it out in this way4 ,we were pretending to warm ourselves by the fire1 and ,i said my frozen meat was so cold that it hurt my teeth4 ,hold it to the fire then4 ,we burned our fingers1 and sticks were suggested1 but we sucked the burnt fingers1 and ,i said1 it tastes good1 and the children shouted with glee ,because the meat's roasted really4 ,then something was supposed to drop1 and the cry was ,gravy6 catch it in a shell1 dip your finger in and let your baby suck it4 ,a small shell was suggested1 and the boy who said ,and put a stick in for a handle was dubbed the spoon-maker4 ,at that time we were earning names for ourselves by suggestions2 we started with ,fair ,hair1 ,curly ,hair1 ,big ,teeth1 ,long ,legs1 and arrived at ,quick ,runner1 ,climber1 and even ,thinker4 ,we have got at pottery in a similar way4 ,the meat was supposed to be tough4 ,soak it came at once1 and ,could you get hot water8 ,then came suggestions3 a stone saucepan1 scoop out a stone and put it on the fire1 build a stone pan and fix the stones with cherry gum1 dig a hole in the ground and put fire under2 that would be a kind of oven4 ,when asked if water would stay in the hole1 and if any kind of earth would hold water1 the answer may be1 ,no1 nothing but clay1 and you'd have to make that4 ,no6 you get clay round a well4 ,my cousin has a well1 and there's clay round it4 ,why1 there's clay in the playground4 ,you could put the meat into a skin bag or a basket4 ,asked if the skin or basket could be set on the fire1 or if anything could be done to keep the basket from catching fire1 the answer comes1 ,yes1 dab clay round it4 ,then1 joyfully1 it would hold water and you could boil4 ,what would happen to the clay when it was put on the fire8 ,this has to be discovered by a quick experiment1 but the children readily guess that when the hot water is taken off the fire there would be a sort of clay basin4 ,then they could make more6 and plates and cups6 ,experiments depend upon circumstances and upon the age of the children4 ,a thick and tiny basin put into a hot part of an ordinary fire does harden and hold water to a certain extent even without glazing4 ,but elaborate baking may also be done4 ,i have found it convenient to take weaving as a bridge to history stories1 by using ,sir ,frederick ,leighton's picture of the ,phoenicians bartering cloth for skins with the early ,britons4 ,the children are told that the people dressed in cloth come from near the ,bible-story country1 and those dressed in skins are the long-ago people of this very country4 ,what would these people think of the cloth8 ,they would think it was animals' skins4 ,and what would they do8 ,they'd feel it and look at it4 ,so cloth is produced and we pull it to pieces1 first into threads and then into hairs1 and the children say the hairs are like fur4 ,then sheep's wool is produced and we try to make thread4 ,attempts at thread-making and then at weaving last a long time1 and along with this come some history stories1 probably arising out of the question1 ,how did people know about all this8 ,the children are told about the writings of ,julius ,caesar1 and pictures of ,roman ships and houses are shown1 beside pictures of coracles and bee-hive dwellings1 etc4 ,old coins1 a flint battle-axe1 some ,roman pottery are also shown1 along with descriptions and pictures of the ,roman villa at ,brading and other ,roman remains4 ,the children are thus helped to realise that other countries exist where the people were far ahead of those in this country1 and they can begin to understand how social conditions vary1 and how nations act upon each other4 ,the work varies considerably from year to year1 according to how it takes hold upon the children's interest4 ,but children of eight to nine are usually considered ready for broad ideas of the world as a whole1 and the inquiry into where ,julius ,caesar came from1 and why he came1 gives a fair start4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,new ,,needs ,,and ,,new ,,helps ,i am old1 so old1 ,i can write a letter4 ,writing and reading have no place in the actual ,kindergarten1 much less arithmetic4 ,the stories are told to the child2 drawing1 modelling and such-like will express all he wants to express in any permanent form1 and speech1 as ,froebel says1 is the element in which he lives4 ,his counting is of the simplest1 and the main thing is to see that he does not merely repeat a series while he handles material1 but that the series corresponds with the objects4 ,even this can be left alone if it seems to annoy the little one4 ,in the school he is on a very different level1 he has attained to the abstract1 he can use signs3 he can express thoughts which he could not draw1 and can communicate with those who are absent4 ,he can read any letter received and he is no longer dependent on grown-ups for stories4 ,he can count his own money and can get correct change in small transactions1 and he can probably do a variety of sums which are of no use to him at all4 ,between these two comes what ,froebel called the ,transition or ,connecting ,class1 in which the child learns the meaning of the signs which stand for speech1 and those which make calculation less arduous for weak memories4 ,much has been written as to when and how children are to be taught to read4 ,some great authorities would put it off till eight or even ten4 ,stanley ,hall says between six and eight1 while ,dr4 ,montessori teaches children of five and even of four4 ,froebel would have supported ,stanley ,hall and would wait till the age of six4 ,the strongest reason for keeping children back from books is a physiological one4 ,in the ,psychology and ,physiology of ,reading#cj strong arguments are adduced against early reading as very injurious to eyesight1 so it is surprising that ,dr4 ,montessori begins so soon4 ,it has been said that her children only learn to write1 not to read1 but it is to be supposed that they can read what they write1 and therefore can read other material4 ,footnote #cj3 ,macmillan4 ,if we agree not to begin until six years old1 the next question is the method4 ,the alphabetic1 whereby children were taught the letter names and then memorised the spelling of each single word1 has no supporters4 ,but controversy still goes on as to whether children shall begin with word wholes or with the phonic sounds4 ,it is not a matter of vital importance1 for the children who begin with words come to phonics later1 and so far as ,english is concerned1 the children who begin with phonics cannot go far without meeting irregularities1 unless indeed they are limited to books like those of ,miss ,dale4 ,in other languages which are phonic the difficulties are minimised4 ,children in the ordinary ,elementary ,schools in ,italy1 though taught in large classes1 can write long sentences to dictation in four or five months4#ca ,but in ,italian each letter has its definite sound and every letter is sounded4 ,it is true that these children appear to spend most of their time in formal work4 ,footnote #ca3 ,a class of children who began in the middle of ,october wrote correctly to dictation on ,march #bh1 ,patria e lavoro siamo1 miei cari bambini1 parole sante per voi4 ,amate la nostra cara e bella ,italia1 crescete onesti e laboriosi e sarete degni di lei4 ,the ,froebelian who believes in learning by action will1 of course1 expect the children to make or write from the beginning as a method of learning1 whether she begins with words or with sounds4 ,but in ,english1 unless simplified spelling is introduced1 the time must soon come when reproduction must lag behind recognition4 ,one child said with pathos one day1 ,may we spell as we like to-day1 for ,i've got such a lot to say8 ,the phonic method dates back to about #aecj4 ,the variety used in the ,pestalozzi-,froebel ,house is said to have originated with ,jacotot 7#aghj-ahdj74 ,it is called the ,observing-,speaking-,writing and ,reading ,method4 ,froebel's own adaptation was simpler2 it was his principle to begin with a desire on the part of the child1 and he gives his method in story form1 ,how ,lina learned to write and read4 ,lina is six1 she has left the ,kindergarten and is presently to attend the ,primary ,school4 ,she notices with what pleasure her father1 perhaps a somewhat exceptional parent1 receives and answers letters4 ,she desires to write and her mother makes her say her own name carefully1 noticing first the open or vowel sounds and then by noting the position of her tongue she finds the closed sounds4 ,as she hears the sound she is shown how to make it4 ,her father leaves home at the right moment1 ,lina writes to him1 receives and is able to read his answer1 printed like her own in ,roman capitals4 ,he sends her a picture book and she is helped to see how the letters resemble those she has learned and the reading is accomplished4 ,in ,england the phonic method best known is probably ,miss ,dale's4 ,it is very ingenious1 the analysis is thorough and the books are prettily got up1 but to those who feel that reading1 though a most valuable tool1 still is but a tool and one not needed for children under seven1 the method seems over-elaborate4 ,much depends upon the teacher but to see fifty children sitting still while one child places the letters in their places on the board suggests a great deal of lost time4 ,the system is also so rigidly phonic that it is a long time before a child can pick up an ordinary book with any profit4 ,stanley ,hall holds that it is best to combine methods1 and probably most of us do this4 ,the growing agreement is1 he says1 that there is no one and only orthodox way of teaching and learning this greatest and hardest of all the arts1 in which ear1 mouth1 eye and hand must each in turn train the others to automatic perfection1 in ways hard and easy1 by devices old and new1 mechanically and consciously1 actively and passively 444 this is a great gain and seems now secure4 ,while a good pedagogic method is one of the most economic--both of labour and of money--of all inventions1 we should never forget that the brightest children1 and indeed most children1 if taught individually or at home1 need but very few refinements of method4 ,idiots1 as ,mr4 ,seguin first showed1 need and profit greatly by very elaborated methods in learning how to walk1 feed and dress themselves1 which would only retard a normal child4 ,above all it should be borne in mind that the stated use of any method does not preclude the incidental use of any and perhaps of all others4 ,an adaptation of phonic combined with the word method can be found in ,education by ,life4 ,it is simpler than ,miss ,dale's1 and being combined with the word method1 children get much more quickly to real stories4 ,stanley ,hall advocates the individual teaching of reading1 and since ,dr4 ,montessori called every one's attention to this we have used it much more freely1 and have found that once the children know some sounds1 there is a great advantage in a certain amount of individual learning1 but class teaching has its own advantages and it seems best to have a combination4 ,long since we taught a boy who was mentally deficient and incapable of intelligent analysis1 by whole words and corresponding pictures4 ,miss ,payne has developed this to a great extent4 ,it is practically an appeal to the interest in solving puzzles4 ,the children choose their own pictures and are supplied with envelopes containing either single sounds1 or whole words corresponding with the picture4 ,they lay h on the house1 g on the girl1 p on the pond1 and later do the same with words4 ,they certainly enjoy it1 and no one is ever kept waiting4 ,sometimes the puzzle is to set in order the words of a nursery rhyme which they already know1 sometimes it is to read and draw everything mentioned4 ,it is not only how children learn to read that is important3 even more so is what they read4 ,much unintelligent reading in later life is due to the reading primer in which there was nothing to understand4 ,children should read books1 as adults do1 to get something out of them4 ,the time often wasted in teaching reading too soon would be far better employed in cultivating a taste for good reading by telling or reading to the children good stories and verses4#cb ,footnote #cb3 ,it is difficult to find easy material that is worth giving to intelligent children1 and we have been glad to find ,brown's ,young ,artists' ,readers1 ,series ,a4 ,a revolution is going on just now in the method of teaching writing4 ,it is now generally recognised that much time and effort have been wasted in teaching children to join letters which are easier to read unjoined4 ,a very interesting article appeared in the ,fielden ,school ,demonstration ,record ,no4 ,,ii41 and ,mr4 ,graily ,hewitt has brought the subject of writing as it was done before copperplate was invented very much to the fore4 ,the ,child ,study ,society has published a little monograph on the subject giving the experience of different teachers and specimens of the writing4 ,little ,marjorie ,fleming was a voracious reader with a remarkable capacity for writing4 ,her spelling was unconventional at times1 but there was never any doubt about her meaning4 ,she expressed herself strongly on many subjects1 and one of these was arithmetic4 ,i am now going to tell you the horrible and wretched plaege 7plague7 that my multiplication gives me you cant conceive it the most ,devilish thing is #h times #h and #g times #g it is what nature itself cant endure4 ,yet if you speak with the tongues of men and angels and make not mention of arithmetic it profiteth you nothing1 says ,miss ,wiggin4 ,there are a few little children who are really fond of number work4 ,there are not many of them1 and they would probably learn more if they were left to themselves4 ,there are even a few mathematical geniuses who hardly want teaching1 but who are worthy of being taught by a ,professor of ,mathematics1 always supposing that he is worthy of them4 ,but the majority of children would probably be farther advanced at ten or twelve if they had no teaching till they were seven4 ,they ought to learn through actual number games1 through keeping score for other games1 and through any kind of calculation that is needed for construction or in real life4 ,there are but few true number games1 but dominoes and card games introduce the number groups4 ,in ,old maid the children pair the groups and so learn to recognise them2 in dominoes they use this knowledge1 while ,snap involves quick recognition4 ,any one can make up a game in which scoring is necessary4 ,ninepins or skittles is a number game1 and one can score by using number groups1 or by fetching counters1 shells1 beads1 etc41 as reminders4 ,the number groups are important2 they form what ,miss ,punnett calls a scheme for those who have no great visualising power1 and they combine the smallest groups into large ones4 ,it ought to be remembered that the repetition of a group is an easier thing to deal with than the combination of two groups1 that is1 six is a name for two threes and eight for two fours1 but five and seven have not so definite a meaning4#cc ,footnote #cc3 ,this very morning a child cutting out brown paper pennies for a shop said1 ',look6 there are two sixes2 that would be a big number6' ,the ,tillich bricks are good playthings1 and so is cardboard money--shillings1 sixpences1 threepences1 pence and halfpence4 ,when the names have a meaning the children will want signs1 i4e4 figures4 ,clock figures 7,roman7 can be used first as simplest1 showing the closed fingers and the thumb for ,v2 the only difficulty is ,,ix4 ,the ,arabic figures can be made by drawing round the number groups1 or by laying out their shapes in little sticks4 #e and #h show very plainly how to arrange five and eight sticks2 for two and three they are placed horizontally1 the curves merely joining the lines4 ,in teaching children to count1 the decimal system should be kept well in mind1 and the teacher should see that thirteen means three-ten1 and that the children can touch the three and the ten as they speak the word4 ,eleven and twelve ought to be called oneteen and twoteen1 half in joke4 ,the idea of grouping should never be lost sight of1 and larger numbers should at first be names for so many threes1 fours1 fives1 etc4 ,in order to keep the meaning clear the children should say threety1 fourty and fivety1 but there should be no need to write these numbers4 ,the ,kindergarten sticks tied in bundles of ten are quite convenient counting material when any counting is necessary4 ,tram tickets and cigarette pictures can be used in the same way4 ,the decimal notation is a great thing to learn1 how great any one will discover who will take the trouble to work a simple addition sum1 involving hundreds1 in ,roman figures4 ,children are always taught the number of the house they live in1 which makes a starting-point4 ,if1 for instance1 #ce is compared with ,,xxxv a meaning is given to the #c4 ,many teachers make formal sums of numbers which could quite well be added without any writing at all4 ,by using any kind of material by which ten can be made plain as a higher unit--bundles of sticks or tickets1 ,sonnenschein's apparatus1 ,miss ,punnett's number scheme1 or the new ,montessori apparatus with its chains of beads3 the material used is of no great consequence--children should be able to deal as easily with tens as with ones1 and there is no need for little formal sums which have no meaning4 ,everything in daily life should be used before formal work is attempted4 ,measure1 reckon1 weigh1 compare1 said ,rousseau4 ,children love to measure1 whether by lineal or liquid measure1 or by learning to tell the time or to use a pair of scales4 ,there are a few occasions when interest is in actual number relations1 as when a child for himself discovers that two sixes is six twos4 ,one boy on his own account compared a shilling and an hour1 and said that he could set out a shilling in five parts by the clock4 ,he looked at the clock and chose out a sixpence1 a threepence1 and #c pennies4 ,but usually what is abstract belongs to a stage farther on4 ,so we can end where we began1 by letting ,froebel once more define the ,kindergarten4 ,crches and ,infant ,schools must be raised into ,kindergartens wherein the child is treated and trained according to his whole nature1 so that the claims of his body1 his heart and his head1 his active1 moral and intellectual powers1 are all satisfied and developed4 ,not the training of the memory1 not learning by rote1 not familiarity with the appearances of things1 but culture by means of action1 realities and life itself1 bring a blessing upon the individual1 and thereby a blessing upon the whole community2 since each one1 be he the highest or the humblest1 is a member of the community4 ,,part ,,ii ,,the ,,child ,,in ,,the ,,state ,,school ,i4 ,,things ,,as ,,they ,,are ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,certain ,,characteristics ,,of ,,growth ,early in the nineteenth century two men1 moved by very different impulses1 founded what might be considered the beginnings of the ,infant ,school4 ,for nearly fifty years their work grew separately1 but now they are merged together into something that seems to be permanent4 ,in a bleak ,lanarkshire factory village in the south of ,scotland1 ,robert ,owen1 millowner1 socialist and ,welshman1 found that unless he could provide for the education of the children of his factory hands1 no parents would consent to settle in the district and he would be without workers in his mill4 ,as a consequence ,owen found himself in the position of education authority1 privy purse and organiser1 and he did not flinch from the situation2 he imposed no cheap makeshift1 because he believed in education as an end and not as an economic means2 a twofold institution was therefore established by him in #ahaf1 one part for the children of recognised school age1 presumably over six1 and one for those under school age1 whose only entrance test was their ability to walk4 ,it is with the latter that we are concerned4 ,the instructions given by ,owen to the man and the women he chose for his ,infant ,school may serve to show his general aim2 the babies under their care were above all to be happy1 to lead a natural life1 outdoor or indoor as weather permitted2 learning their surroundings1 playing1 singing1 dancing1 not annoyed with books1 not shadowed by the needs of the upper school1 but living the life their age demanded4 ,in the light of the #aiah ,education ,bill this seems almost prophetic4 ,their guardians were selected solely on the grounds of personality1 and expected to work in the spirit in which ,owen conceived the school4 ,they were gentle1 without personal ambition1 fond of children1 caring only for their welfare2 but the sole guiding principle was ,owen1 and this was at once the success and doom of the school1 for the personality of ,owen was thus made the pivot round which the school revolved2 without him there was nothing to take hold of4 ,very soon the experiment became known3 persons with the stamp of authority came to see it1 and even official hearts were moved by the reality of the children's happiness and their consequent development4 ,the visitors felt1 rather than knew1 that the thing was right4 ,arrangements were made to establish similar institutions in ,london1 and after one or two experiments1 a permanent one was founded which was under the control of a man named ,wilderspin4 ,wilderspin's contribution to education is difficult to estimate2 certainly he never caught ,owen's spirit1 or realised his simple purpose3 he had ambitions reaching beyond the happiness of the children2 and far from trying to make their education suit their stage of growth1 he sought to produce the ,infant ,prodigy1 just as a contemporary of his sought to produce the ,infant ,saint4 ,from what we can see1 his aim was what he honestly believed to be right1 as far as his light went2 but he sought for no light beyond his own2 and his outlook was not so narrow as his application was unintelligent4 ,owen was still in ,lanarkshire to be consulted2 ,rousseau had already written mile1 ,pestalozzi's work was by this time fairly well known in ,england1 the children were there to be studied1 but ,wilderspin pursued his limited and unenlightened work1 until the ,infant ,school was almost a dead thing in his hands and in the hands of those who followed4 ,the following is ,birchenough's account3 ,the school was in charge of a master and a female assistant1 presumably his wife4 ,much attention was given to training children in good personal habits1 cleanliness1 tidiness1 punctuality1 etc41 and to moral training4 ,great stress was laid on information4444 ,the curriculum included reading1 writing1 arithmetic1 geometry1 lessons on common objects1 geography1 singing and religion1 and an effort was made to make the work interesting and 'concrete4' ,to this end much importance was attached to object-lessons1 to the use of illustrations1 to questioning and exposition1 while the memory was aided by means of didactic verse4444 ,the real teaching devolved upon the master and mistress4 ,this was of two kinds3 class teaching to a section of the children of approximately equal attainments either on the floor or in the class-room1 and collective teaching to the whole school1 regardless of age1 on the gallery4 ,it is a curious coincidence that in #ahaf1 the year of ,owen's experiment1 a humble educational experiment was begun by ,frederick ,froebel in a very small village in the heart of the ,thuringian forest4 ,like ,owen1 his aim was education solely for its own sake1 and he had a simple faith in the human goodness of the older ,germany4 ,but he came to education as a philosopher rather than a social reformer1 with a strong belief in its power to improve humanity4 ,this belief remained with him2 it is embodied in his aim1 and leavened all his work4 ,the first twenty years of his experience convinced ,froebel that the neglect or mismanagement of the earliest years of a child's life rendered useless all that was done later4 ,what came to ,owen as an inspiration grew in ,froebel to be a reasoned truth1 and like ,owen he put it into practice4 ,in #ahcg the little ,kindergarten at ,blankenburg was begun1 with the village children as pupils2 the beautiful surroundings of forest-covered hills and green slopes made a very different background from the bleak little ,lanarkshire village1 overshadowed by the factory1 where ,owen's school stood1 but the spirit was the same2 the children were in surroundings suitable for their growth1 and the very name of ,kindergarten does more to make ,froebel's aim clear than any explanation4 ,he lived to see other ,kindergartens established in different parts of ,thuringia1 and about the middle of the nineteenth century some of his teachers came to ,england1 and did similar work in ,london1 ,croydon and ,manchester4 ,the private ,kindergarten became an established thing1 and educationalists came to understand something of its meaning4 ,in #ahgj the ,london ,school ,board suggested that the ,kindergarten system should be introduced into their ,infant ,schools1 and in doing so they were unconsciously the factors in bringing together the work initiated by ,owen and by ,froebel4 ,the ,infant ,school of ,wilderspin1 already briefly described1 was almost a dead thing1 with its galleries and its mechanical prodigies1 its object-lessons and its theology2 now it was breathed upon by the spirit of the man who said3 ,play is the highest phase of child development1 of human development at this period3 for it is the spontaneous representation of the inner1 from inner necessity and impulse4 ,play is the purest1 most spiritual activity of man4 ,the plays of childhood are the germinal leaves of all later life4 ,if the child is injured at this period1 if the germinal leaves of the future tree of his life are marred at this time1 he will only with the greatest difficulty and the utmost effort grow into strong manhood4 ,it is perhaps not altogether to be wondered at that teachers at first seized the apparatus rather than the spirit of the ,kindergarten when we remember that we have not accepted in anything like its fulness the teaching of ,froebel4 ,formalism and materialism always die slowly3 play in the ,board ,school was interpreted as something that had to be dictated and taught3 the gifts1 occupations and games were organised1 and appeared on the time-table as subjects side by side with ,wilderspin's theology and object-lessons4 ,the combination must have been curious1 but even with its formalism the change was welcome to the children3 at least they could use their hands and do something2 at least they could leave their back-breaking galleries and dance and skip1 even though the doing and the dancing were according to strict rule4 ,the change was not welcome to all teachers4 ,as late as #aijg a headmistress who was a product of the training of that time remarked3 ,we have ,kindergarten on ,wednesday afternoons and then it is over for the week4 ,but there were teachers who saw beneath the bricks and sticks and pretty movements1 who felt the spiritual side and kept themselves alive till greater opportunities came4 ,what was imperishable has remained2 the system of prescribed activities is nearly dead1 but the spirit of the true ,kindergarten is more alive than ever4 ,the change from the early 'eighties till now is difficult to describe1 because it is a growth of spirit1 a gradual change of values1 rather than a change in outward form2 there has been no definite throwing off1 and no definite adoption1 of any one system or theory2 but the difference between the best ,infant ,schools of #ahhj and the best ,infant ,schools of to-day is chiefly a difference in outlook4 ,the older schools aimed at copying a method1 while the schools of to-day are more concerned with realising the spirit4 ,at present we are trying to reconstruct education for the new world after the war1 and so it is convenient to regard the intervening period of nearly half a century as a transition period3 during that time the education of the child under eight has changed much more than the education of older children1 at least in the elementary school2 and there have been certain marked phases that1 though apparently insignificant in themselves1 have marked stages of progress in thought4 ,perhaps the most significant and most important of these was the effect of the child-study movement on the formal and external side of ,kindergarten work4 ,it is first of all to ,america that we owe this1 to the pioneer ,stanley ,hall1 and more especially here to ,mr4 ,earl ,barnes4 ,very slowly1 but surely1 it was evident to the more enlightened teachers that children had their own way of learning and doing1 and the adult-imposed system meant working against nature4 ,for the logical method of presenting material from the simple to the complex1 from the known to the unknown1 from the concrete to the abstract1 was substituted the psychological method of watching the children's way of learning and developing4 ,teachers found that what they considered to be the simple was not the simple to children2 what they took to be the known was the unfamiliar to children4 ,for instance1 the simple in geography1 in the adult sense1 was the definition of an island1 with which most of us began that study1 and in geometry it was the point4 ,to children of the ordinary type1 both are far-away ideas1 and not related to everyday experiences2 the known in arithmetic1 for example1 was to teachers the previous lesson1 quite regardless of the fact that arithmetic enters into many problems of life outside school4 ,the life in school and the life outside school were1 in these early days of infant teaching1 two separate things1 and only occasionally did a teacher stoop to take an example from everyday life4 ,a little girl in one of the poorest schools brought her baby to show her teacher1 and proudly displayed the baby's powers of speech--,say a pint of 'alf-an-'alf for teacher1 said the little girl to the baby by way of encouragement to both4 ,this is the kind of rude awakening teachers get1 from time to time1 when they realise how much of the real child eludes them4 ,psychology has made it clear that life is a unity and must be so regarded4 ,part of this child-study movement has resulted in the slow but sure death of formalism3 large classes1 material results1 and a lack of psychology made formalism the path of least resistance4 ,painting became blobbing1 constructive work was interpreted as courses of paper folding1 cutting1 tearing2 books of these courses were published with minute directions for a graduated sequence4 ,the aim was obedient imitation on the part of the child1 and the imagined virtues accruing to him in consequence were good habits1 patience1 accuracy and technical skill4 ,self-expression and creativeness were still only theories4 ,a second interesting phase of the transition period was the method adopted for the training of the senses4 ,from the days of ,comenius till now the importance of this has held its place firmly1 but the means have greatly changed4 ,pestalozzi's object-lesson was adopted by ,wilderspin and thoroughly sterilised2 many teachers still remember the lessons on the orange1 leather1 camphor1 paper1 sugar1 in which the teacher's senses were trained1 for only she came in contact with the object1 and the children from their galleries answered questions on an object remote from most of their senses1 and only dimly visible to their eyes4 ,similar lessons were given after #ahgj on ,froebel's gift ,,ii4 in which the ball1 cylinder and cube were treated in the same manner3 progress was slow1 but sometimes the children followed nature's promptings and played with their specimens2 this was followed by books of gift-plays1 where organised play took the place of organised observation4 ,about #ahij or thereabouts the ,nature ,study movement swept over the schools1 and nature specimens then became the material for sense training3 as far as possible each child had a specimen1 and by the minute examination of these1 stimulated their senses and stifled their appreciation of all that was beautiful4 ,question and answer still dominated the activity2 the poor little withered snowdrop took the place of the dead camphor or leather4 ,but underlying all the paralysing organisation the truth was slowly growing1 and the children were being brought nearer to real things4 ,a third phase in this transition period is that known as correlation2 most teachers remember the elaborate programmes of work that drove them to extremes in finding connections4 ,the following1 taken from a reputable book of the time1 will exemplify the principle3 ,a ,,week',s ,,programme ,object ,lesson ,the ,horse4 ,phonetics ,the ,foal1 oa sound4 ,number ,problems on the work of horses4 ,story ,the ,bell of ,atri story of a horse ringing a bell4 ,song ,busy ,blacksmith shoeing a horse4 ,game ,the ,blacksmith's ,shop4 ,reading ,on the ,horse4 ,poetry ,kindness to ,animals4 ,paper ,cutting ,the ,bell of ,atri4 ,paper ,folding ,a ,trough4 ,free-arm ,drawing ,a ,horseshoe4 ,clay ,modelling ,a ,carrot for the ,horse4 ,brushwork ,a ,turnip for the ,horse4 ,brown ,paper ,drawing ,a ,stable4 ,underneath it all the truth was growing1 namely1 the need of making associations and so unifying the children's lines4 ,but the process of finding the truth was slow and cumbersome4 ,a fourth phase of the early ,infant ,school was the strong belief of both teachers and inspectors in uniformity of work and of results4 ,it is difficult to disentangle this from the paralysing influences of payment by results and large classes3 it was probably the teachers' unconscious expression of the instinct of self-preservation1 when working against the heaviest odds4 ,but it was constantly evident to the teacher that any attempt on a child's part to be an individual1 either in work or in conduct1 had to be arrested3 and the theory of individual development was regarded as so ,utopian that the idea itself was lost4 ,goodness was synonymous with uniform obedience and silence2 naughtiness with individuality1 spontaneity and desire to investigate4 ,a frequently-heard admonition on the part of the teacher was1 ,teacher didn't tell you to do it that way--that's a naughty way2 but such an attitude of mind was doubtless generated by the report of the inspector when he commended a class by saying3 ,the work of the class showed a satisfactory uniformity4 ,to obtain uniform results practice had to come before actual performance1 and many weary hours were spent over drill in reading1 drill in number1 drill in handwork1 drill in needlework4 ,the extreme point was reached when babies of three had thimble and needle drill long before they began needlework4 ,there were also conduct drills2 ,miss ,grant1 of ,devons ,road ,school1 remembers a school where the babies practised their conduct before the visit of the spectre1 as they called him1 he being represented as a stick set up on a chair4 ,there is a curious symbolism in the whole occasion4 ,it is difficult to see the good underlying this phase1 but it was there4 ,there is undoubtedly a place for practice1 though not before performance1 and uniformity was undoubtedly the germ of an ideal4 ,all these phases stand for both progress and arrest4 ,the average person is readier to accept methods than investigate principles2 but we must recognise that all struggles and searchings after truth have made the road of progress shorter for us by many a mile4 ,perhaps the chief cause of stumbling lay in the fact that there was no clearly realised aim or policy except that of material results4 ,there were many fine-sounding principles in the air1 but they were unrelated to each other2 and the conditions of teaching were likely to crush the finest endeavours1 and to make impossible a teaching that could be called educative4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,the ,,infant ,,school ,,of ,,to-,,day ,taking neither the best nor the worst1 but the average school of to-day1 it will be profitable to review shortly where it stands1 to consider how far it has learnt the lessons of experience1 and what kind of ideal it has set before itself4 ,in externals there have been many improvements4 ,modern buildings are better in many ways2 there is more space and light1 and the surroundings are more attractive4 ,most of the galleries have disappeared1 but the furniture consists chiefly of dual desks1 fixed and heavy1 so that the arrangement of the room cannot be changed4 ,the impression given to a visitor is that it is planned for listening and answering1 except in the ,baby ,room1 where there are generally light tables and chairs1 and consequently no monotonous rows of children1 unless a teacher arranges them thus from sheer habit4 ,in each room is a high narrow cupboard about one quarter of the necessary size for all that education demands2 most education authorities provide some good pictures1 but the best are usually hung on the class-room wall behind the children1 and all are above the children's eye level4 ,oh1 teacher1 my neck do ache6 was the only appreciative remark made by a child after a tour made of the school pictures1 which were really beautiful4 ,as a rule the windows are too high for the children to see from1 and the lower part is generally frosted4 ,in a new school which had a view up one of the loveliest valleys in ,great ,britain1 the windows were of this description2 the head of the school explained that it was a precaution in case the children might see what was outside2 in other words1 they might make the mistake of seeing a real river valley instead of listening to a description of it4 ,in country schools of the older type the accommodation is not so good1 but the newer ones are often very attractive in appearance1 and have both space and light4 ,the school garden is a common feature in the country1 and it is to be regretted so few even of the plot description are to be found in town schools4 ,of late years the apparatus has improved1 though there is still much to be done in this direction4 ,instead of the original tiny boxes of gifts we have frequently real nursery bricks of a larger and more varied character1 and many other nursery toys4 ,one of the best signs of a progressive policy is that large numbers of little toys have taken the place of the big expensive ones that only an occasional child could use4 ,it is a pity that the use of toys comes to so sudden an end1 and that learning by this method does not follow the babies after they have officially ceased to be babies1 as is the custom in real life4 ,one of the most striking changes for the better is the evidence of care of the children's health1 of which some of the external signs are doctor1 nurse and care committee4 ,a sense of responsibility in this respect is gradually growing in the schools2 a fair number provide for sleep1 a few try to train the children to eat lunch slowly and carefully1 and some try to arrange for milk or cod-liver oil in the case of very delicate children4 ,though these instances are very much in the minority1 they represent a change of spirit4 ,this is one of the striking characteristics of the new ,education ,bill4 ,a legacy from the old formalism lies in the fact that every room has a highly organised time-table1 except perhaps in the ,babies' ,room1 where the children's actual needs are sometimes considered first4 ,the morning in most classes is occupied with ,scripture1 ,reading1 ,arithmetic1 ,writing1 and some less formal work1 such as ,nature lesson or ,recitation2 some form of ,physical ,exercise is always taken4 ,the afternoons are mostly devoted to ,games1 ,stories1 ,handwork and ,singing3 this order is not universal1 but the general principle holds1 of taking the more difficult and formal subjects in the morning4 ,in the ,babies' ,room some preparation for reading is still too frequent4 ,the lessons are short and the order varied1 but in one single morning or afternoon there is a bewildering number of changes4 ,some years ago the unfortunate principle was laid down in the ,code1 that fifteen minutes was sufficient time for a lesson in an ,infant ,school1 and though this is not strictly followed the lessons are short and numerous1 giving an unsettled character to the work2 children appear to be swung at a moment's notice from topic to topic without an apparent link or reason3 for example1 the day's work may begin with the story of a little boy sent by train to the country1 settled at a farm and taken out to see the cow and the sow3 soon this is found to be a reading lesson on words ending in ow1 but after a short time the whole class is told quite suddenly1 that one shilling is to be spent at a shop in town1 and while they are still interested in calculating the change1 paints are distributed1 and the children are painting the bluebell4 ,the whole day is apt to be of this broken character1 which certainly does not make for training in mental concentration1 or for a realisation of the unity of life4 ,some teachers still aim at correlation1 but in a rather half-hearted way3 others have entirely discarded it because of its strained applications1 but nothing very definite has taken its place4 ,the curriculum which has been given is varied in character1 and sometimes includes a free period4 ,except in the ,babies' ,class the three ,r's occupy a prominent place1 and children under six spend relatively a great deal of time in formal subjects1 while children between six and seven1 if they are still in the ,infant ,school1 are taught to put down sums on paper1 which they could nearly always calculate without such help4 ,as soon as a child can read well1 and work a fair number of sums on paper1 he is considered fit for promotion1 and the question of whether he understands the method of working such sums1 is not considered so important as accuracy and quickness4 ,the test of so-called intelligence for promotion is reading and number1 but it is really the test of convenience1 so that large numbers of children may be taught together and brought1 against the laws of nature1 to a uniform standard4 ,this poison of the promotion and uniformity test works down through the ,infant ,school3 it can be seen when the babies are diverted from their natural activities to learn reading1 or when they are examined3 it can be seen when a teacher yields up her bright children to fill a few empty desks1 it can be seen in the grind at reading and formal arithmetic of the children under six1 when weary and useless hours are spent in working against nature1 and precious time is wasted that will never come back4 ,yet we say we believe that ,children have their youth that they may play1 and that ,play is the purest1 most spiritual activity of man at this stage childhood4 ,the lack of any clear aim shows itself in the fluid nature of the term results2 to some teachers it signifies readiness for promotion1 or a piece of work that presents a satisfactory external appearance1 such as good writing1 neat handwork1 an orderly game1 fluent reading4 ,to others it means something deeper1 which they discover in some chance remark of a child's that marks the growth of the spirit1 or the awakening of the interest of a child whose development is late1 or the quickened power of a child to express2 or evidence of independent thought and the power to use it1 in some piece of handwork1 or appreciation of music or literature4 ,according to the meaning attached to the term results so the method of the teacher must vary2 but one gets the general impression that in this respect matters are in a transitional state2 the first kind of teacher is always a little uncertain of her ground and a little fearful that she is not quite up-to-date1 while the second class of teacher is sometimes a little timid1 and not quite sure that she is prepared to account for the rather subtle and intangible outcome of her work4 ,the same transitional character holds in the case of discipline3 while what is known as military discipline still prevails in many schools1 there are a very fair number with whom the grip has relaxed2 but it is a courageous teacher that will admit the term free discipline which has nearly as bad a reputation as free thought used to have1 and few are prepared to go all the way4 ,probably the reason lies in the vagueness of the meaning of the term1 and the fact that its value is not clearly realised because it is not clearly understood4 ,teachers have not faced the question squarely3 ,what am ,i aiming at in promoting free discipline4 ,taking a general view of the present school1 one gets the impression of a constant change of activity on the part of the children1 but very little change of position1 a good deal of provision for general class interest1 but little for individual interest2 of less demand than formerly for uniformity of results1 but the existence of a good deal of uniformity of method1 arresting the teacher's own initiative2 of very constant teaching on the part of the teacher and a good deal of listening and oral expression on the part of the children1 of many lessons and little independent individual work4 ,below all this there is evident a very friendly relationship between the teacher and the children1 a good deal of personal knowledge of the children on the part of the teacher1 and a good deal of affection on both sides4 ,there is less fear and more love than in the earlier days1 less government and more training1 less restraint and more freedom4 ,and the children are greatly attached to their school4 ,from consideration of the foregoing summary it will be seen that education in the ,infant ,school is a thing of curious patches1 of strength and weakness1 of light and shade2 perhaps the greatest weakness is its lack of cohesion1 of unification3 on the one hand we find much provision for the children's real needs1 much singleness of purpose in the teacher's work1 such a genuine spirit of whole-hearted desire for their education3 on the other hand1 an unreasoning sense of haste1 of pushing on1 of introducing prematurely work for which the children admittedly are unready2 an acceptance of new things on popular report1 without scientific basis1 and a lack of courage to maintain the truth for its own sake1 in the face of so-called authority1 and a craving to be modern4 ,at the root of all this inconsistency and possibly its cause1 is the lack of a guiding policy or aim1 the lack of belief in the scientific or psychological basis of education1 and consequently the want of that strong belief in absolute truth which helps the teacher to pass all barriers4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,some ,,vital ,,principles ,if it be true that the ,infant ,school of to-day suffers from lack of a clear basis for its general policy1 it will be profitable to have clearly before us such principles as great educators have found to be most vital to the education of young children4 ,we all believe that we have an aim and a high aim before us3 it has been variously expressed by past educationalists1 but in the main they all agree that the aim of education is conduct4 ,in actual practice1 however1 we act too often as if we only cared for economic values4 ,if we are to live up to our educational profession1 we must look our aim in the face and honestly practise what we believe4 ,while training of character and conduct is the accepted aim for education in general1 to make this useful and practical each teacher must fix her attention on how this ultimate aim affects her own special part of the whole work4 ,by watching the free child she will discover how best she can help him3 he knows his own business1 and when unfettered by advice or command shows plainly that he is chiefly concerned with gaining experience4 ,he finds himself in what is to him a new and complex world of people and things2 actual experience is the foundation for complete living1 and the stronger the foundation the better the result of later building4 ,the first vital principle then is that the teacher of young children must provide life in miniature2 that is1 she must provide abundant raw material and opportunities for experience4 ,the next question is that of the best method of gaining this actual experience4 ,the child is unaware that he is laying foundations1 he is only vaguely conscious that he finds great pleasure in certain activities1 and that something impels him in certain directions4 ,he realises no definite future1 he is content with the present2 he cannot work for a purpose other than the pleasure of the moment2 without this stimulus concentration is impossible4 ,in the activities of this stage he probably assimilates more actual matter than at any other period of his life1 and it is the same with his acquirements of skill4 ,in happy unconsciousness he gains knowledge of his own body and of its power1 of the external world1 of his mother tongue and of his relations to other people3 he makes mistakes and commits faults1 but these do not necessarily cripple or incriminate him4 ,he is not considered a social outcast because he once kicked or bit1 or because he threw his milk over the table2 he learns to balance and adjust his muscles on a seesaw1 when a fall on soft grass is a matter of little importance1 and this is better than waiting till he is compelled hastily to cross a river on a narrow plank4 ,it is all a kind of joyous rehearsal of life which we call ,play4 ,we can force a child to passivity1 to formal repetitions of second-hand knowledge1 to the acquisition of that for which he has no apparent need1 but we can never educate him by these things4 ,children do not play because they are young1 they have their youth that they may play1 as surely as they have their legs that they may walk4 ,the second principle is therefore that the method of gaining experience lies through ,play1 and that by this road we can best reach work4 ,the third principle is the nature of the experience that a child seeks to gain--the life he desires to live4 ,how can we he sure that the surroundings we provide and the activities we encourage are in accord with children's needs8 ,let us imagine a child of about five to six years of age1 one of a family1 living in a small house to which a garden is attached2 inside he has the run of the house1 but keeps his own toys1 picture books and collections of treasures4 ,we will suppose that not being at school he is free to arrange his own day1 sometimes alone1 and sometimes with other children1 or with his parents4 ,what does he do8 ,he is interested in inanimate things1 especially in using them1 and so he plays with his toys4 ,he builds bricks1 runs engines1 solves simple puzzle pictures1 asks to work with his father's gardening tools1 or his mother's cooking utensils4 ,he is interested in the life of the garden1 in the growing things1 in the snail or spider he finds1 in the cat1 dog or rabbit of the family2 he wants to dig1 water and feed these various things1 but he declines regular responsibility2 his interest is in spurts4 ,he is interested in sounds1 both in those he can produce and in those produced by others3 soon he is interested in music1 he will listen to it for considerable periods1 and may join in it3 at first more especially on the rhythmical side4 ,so1 too1 he likes the rhythm of poetry and the melody sounds of words4 ,he is interested in making things2 on a wet day he will ask for scissors and paste1 or bring out his paint box or chalks2 on a fine day he mixes sand or mud with water1 or builds a shelter with poles and shawls2 at any time when he has an opportunity he shuts himself into the bathroom and experiments with the taps1 sails boats1 colours water1 blows bubbles1 tries to mix things1 wet and dry4 ,he is interested in the doings of other people1 in their conduct and in his own2 he is more interested in their badness than in their goodness3 ,tell me more of the bad things your children do1 said a little boy to his teacher aunt1 and the request is significant and general2 we learn so little by mere uncontrasted goodness4 ,he is interested in the words that clothe narrations and in their style1 he is impatient of a change in form of an accepted piece of prose or poetry4 ,he is hungry for the sounds of telling words and phrases4 ,he is interested in reproducing the doings of other people so that he may experience them more fully1 and this involves minute observation1 careful and intelligent imitation1 and vivid imagination4 ,his own word for it is pretence4 ,there are other things that he grasps at more vaguely and later2 he is dimly aware that people have lived before1 and he is less dimly aware that people live in places different from his own surroundings4 ,he realises that some of the stories1 such as the fairy stories1 are true in one sense1 a sense that responds to something within himself2 that some are true in another more material1 and external sense1 one concerned with things that really happen4 ,he hears of black men1 and of ships that carry people across the sea1 and of things that come back in those ships4 ,he is interested in the immaterial world suggested by the mysteries of woods and gardens1 he has a dim conception that there is some life beyond the visible1 he feels a power behind life and he reveals this in his early questions4 ,he is keenly interested in questions of birth and death1 and sometimes comes into close contact with them4 ,he feels that other wonders must be accounted for--the snow1 thunder and lightning1 the colours of summer1 the changeful sea4 ,at first the world of fairy lore may satisfy him1 later comes the life of the undying spirit1 but the two are continuous4 ,he may attend religious observances1 and these may help or they may hinder4 ,he is keenly interested in games1 whether they are games of physical skill1 of mental skill1 or games of pretence4 ,here most especially he comes into contact with other people1 and here he realises some of the experiences of social life4 ,such are the most usual sides of life sought by the ordinary child1 and on such must we base the surroundings we provide for our children in school1 and the aspects of life to which we introduce them1 commonly called subjects of the curriculum4 ,our third principle is therefore1 evident3 we find1 in the child's spontaneous choice1 the nature of the surroundings and of the activities that he craves for2 in other words1 he makes his own curriculum and selects his own subject matter4 ,the next consideration is the atmosphere in which a child can best develop character by means of these experiences4 ,a young child is a stranger in an unknown1 untried country3 he has many strange promptings that seek for satisfaction2 he has strong emotions arising from his instincts1 he feels crudely and fiercely and he must act without delay1 as a result of these emotions4 ,he is like a tourist in a new strange country1 fresh and eager1 and with a similar holiday spirit of adventure3 the stimulation of the new arouses a desire to interpret1 to investigate and to ask questions3 it arouses strong emotions to like or dislike1 to fear1 to be curious2 it leads to certain modes of conduct1 as a result of these emotions4 ,picture such a young tourist buttonholed by a blas guide1 who had forgotten what first impressions meant1 who insisted on accompanying him wherever he went1 regulating his procedure by telling him just what should be observed and how to do so1 pouring out information so premature as to be obnoxious1 correcting his taste1 subduing his enthusiasm1 and modifying even his behaviour4 ,the tourist would presumably pay off the unwelcome guide1 but the children cannot pay off the teacher3 they can and do rebel1 but docility and adaptability seem to play a large part in self-preservation4 ,for the young child freedom must precede docility1 because the only reasonable and profitable docility is one that comes after initiative and experiment have been satisfied1 and when the child feels that he needs help4 ,the world that the free child chooses represents every side of life that he is ready to assimilate1 and his freedom must be intellectual1 emotional and moral freedom4 ,in the school with the rigidly organised time-table1 where the remarks of the children provoke the constantly repeated reproach3 ,we are not talking of that just now1 where the apparatus is formal and the method of using it prescribed1 where home life and street life are ignored1 where there are neither garden nor picture books1 where childish questions are passed over or hastily answered1 where the room is full of desks and the normal attitude is sitting1 where the teacher is teaching more often than the children are doing1 there is no intellectual freedom4 ,where passion and excitement are instantly arrested1 where appreciation for strong colours1 fierce punishments1 loud noises1 is killed1 where fear is ridiculed1 where primitive likes and dislikes are interpreted as coarseness1 there is no emotional freedom4 ,a child must have these experiences if he is to come to his own later3 this is not the time to stamp out but only to deflect and guide2 otherwise he becomes a weak and pale reflection of his elders1 with little resource or enthusiasm4 ,where it is almost impossible to be openly naughty1 where there is no opportunity for choice or for making mistakes1 where control is all from the teacher and self-control has no place1 there is no moral freedom4 ,the school is not for the righteous but for the so-called sinner1 who is only a child learning self-control by experience4 ,self-control is a habit gained through habits2 a child must acquire the habit of arresting desire1 of holding the physical side in check1 the habit of reflection1 of choice1 and most of all the habit of either acting or holding back1 as a result of all this4 ,if in the earliest years his will is in the hands of others1 and he has the habit of obedience to the exclusion of all other habits1 then his development as a self-reliant individual is arrested1 and may be permanently weakened4 ,there is no other way to learn life1 and build up an ideal from the raw material he has gained in other ways4 ,in the rehearsal of life at school he can do this without serious harm2 but every time a mode of conduct is imposed upon him when he might have chosen1 every time he is externally controlled when he might have controlled himself1 every time he is balked in making a mistake that would have been experience to him1 he will be proportionally less fit to choose1 to exercise self-control1 to learn by experience1 and these are the chief lessons at this impressionable period4 ,the fourth principle therefore is that the atmosphere of freedom is the only atmosphere in which a child can gain experiences that will help to develop character and control conduct4 ,these four vital principles will be applied to practical work in the following chapters4 ,,ii4 ,,practical ,,application ,,of ,,vital ,,principles ,before applying these principles it is necessary for practical considerations to set out clearly the various stages of this period4 ,during the first eight years of life1 development is very rapid and not always relatively continuous4 ,sometimes it takes leaps1 and sometimes appears for a time to be quiescent4 ,but roughly the first stage1 of a child's developing life ends when he can walk1 eat more or less ordinary food1 and is independent of his mother4 ,at this point the ,nursery ,school stage begins3 the child is learning for himself his world by experience1 and through play he chooses his raw material in an atmosphere of freedom4 ,when the period of play pure and simple begins to grow into a desire to do things better1 to learn and practise for a more remote end--in other words1 when the child begins to be willing to be taught1 the transitional period from play to work begins4 ,it can never be said to end1 but the relative amount of play to work gradually defines the life of the school3 and so the transitional period merges into the school period4 ,thus we are concerned first with the ,nursery ,school period which corresponds to what ,froebel meant by his ,kindergarten and ,owen by his ,infant ,school2 secondly1 with the transitional period which has been far too long neglected or rushed over1 and which roughly corresponds to the ,standard ,i4 of the ,elementary ,school2 and thirdly1 we have the beginnings of the ,junior ,school where work is the predominant factor4 ,in spite of ,shakespeare's assertion1 there is much in a name1 and if these names were definitely adopted1 teachers would realise better the nature of their business4 ,the following chapters seek to apply practically the four vital principles to these periods of a child's life1 but in many cases the ,transition ,classes and the ,junior ,school are considered together4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,the ,,need ,,for ,,experience ,the first vital principle is that the teacher of young children must provide for them life in miniature1 i4e4 she must provide abundant raw material and opportunities for acquiring experience4 ,the practical translation of this in the words of the teacher of to-day is1 ,i must choose furniture1 and requisition apparatus4 ,the teacher of to-morrow will say to her children1 ,i will bring the world into the school for you to learn4 ,the ,local ,education ,authority of to-day says1 ,we must build a school for instruction4 ,the ,local ,education ,authority of to-morrow will say1 ,we must make a miniature world for our children4 ,the world of the ,nursery ,school child probably requires the most careful thought in this respect3 a large room with sunlight and air1 low clear windows1 a door leading to a garden and playground1 low cupboards full of toys1 low-hung pictures1 light chairs and tables that can be pushed into a corner1 stretcher beds equally disposable1 a dresser with pretty utensils for food2 these are the chief requirements for satisfying physical needs1 apparent in the actual room4 ,physical habits will be considered later1 under another heading4 ,outside1 in the playground1 there should be opportunities for physical development1 for its own sake3 swings1 giant strides1 ladders laid flat1 slightly sloping planks1 and a seesaw should all be available for constant use2 if the children are not warned or given constant advice about their own safety1 there is little fear of accidents4 ,thus the purely physical side of the children is provided for1 the side that they are1 if healthy1 quite unconscious of2 what else does experience demand at this stage8 ,roughly classified1 the raw experience of this stage may be divided into the experience of the natural world of living things1 the world of inanimate things1 and the social world4 ,for the natural world there should be the garden outside1 with its trees1 grass and flower beds2 with its dovecot and rabbit hutch1 and possibly a cat sunning herself on its paths2 inside there will be plants and flowers to care for2 the elements1 especially water1 earth and air1 are very dear to a young child1 and it is quite possible to satisfy his cravings with a large sand-heap of dry and wet sand2 a large flat bath for sailing boats and testing the theory of sinking and floating2 a bin of clay2 a pair of bellows and several fans to set the air in motion4 ,there is always the fire to gaze at on the right side of the fire-guard1 and appreciation of the beauty of this element should be encouraged4 ,the world of inanimate things includes most of the toys that stimulate activity and give ideas4 ,the chief that should be found in the cupboards1 round the walls1 or scattered about the room1 are bricks of all sizes and shapes1 skittles1 balls and bats or rackets1 hoops1 reins1 spades and other garden tools2 pails and patty pans for the sand-heap2 pipes for bubbles1 shells1 fir-cones1 buttons1 acorns1 and any collection of small articles for handling2 all kinds of vehicles that can be pushed1 such as carts1 barrows1 prams1 engines2 drums and other musical instruments2 materials for construction and expression1 such as chalks1 boards1 paints and paper4 ,for experiences of the social world1 which is not very real at this individualistic period1 come the dolls and doll's house1 horses and stables1 tea-things1 cooking utensils1 ,noah's ark1 scales for a shop1 boats1 soldiers and forts3 a very important item in this connection is the collection of picture-books3 they must be chosen with the greatest care1 and only pictures of such merit as those of ,caldecott1 ,leslie ,brooke and ,jessie ,wilcox ,smith should be selected4 ,pictures form one of the richest sources of experience at this stage1 as indeed at any stage of life1 and truth1 beauty and suggestiveness must be their chief factors4 ,the toys should be above all things durable1 and if possible washable4 ,broken and dirty toys make immoral children4 ,besides the material surroundings there are opportunities1 the seizing of which gives valuable experiences4 ,these belong to the social world1 and lie chiefly in the training in life's social observances and the development of good habits4 ,this side of life is one of the most important in the ,nursery ,school1 and needs material help4 ,the lavatories and cloakrooms should be constructed so that there is every chance for a child to become self-reliant and fastidious4 ,the cloakrooms should be provided with low pegs1 boot holes1 clothes brushes and shoe brushes3 there should be low basins with hot and cold water1 enamel mugs and tooth brushes for each child1 nail brushes1 plenty of towels1 and where the district needs it1 baths4 ,the type provided by the ,middlesex ,education ,authority at ,greenford ,avenue ,school1 ,hanwell1 gives a shower bath to a whole group of children at once1 thus making a more frequent bath possible4 ,perhaps for very small children of the ,nursery ,school age separate baths are more suitable4 ,this is a question for future experience on the part of teachers4 ,there should be plenty of time for the children to learn to wash and dress themselves4 ,in the school-room there should either be tablecloths1 or the tables should be capable of being scrubbed by the children after each meal4 ,their almost inevitable lack of manners at table gives an invaluable opportunity for training1 and again in such a case there should be no question of haste4 ,the meals should be laid1 waited on and cleared away1 and the dishes washed by the children themselves1 and they should be responsible for the general tidiness of the room4 ,this involves tea-cloths1 mops1 dusters1 washing bowls1 brushes and dustpans4 ,in the ,transition ,classes and ,junior ,school the furniture and apparatus can be to a great extent very much the same1 their difference lying chiefly in degree4 ,it is a pity to bring the age of toys to an abrupt conclusion2 in real life the older children still borrow the toys of the younger ones while there are some definitely their own3 such are1 jigsaw and other puzzles1 dominoes1 articles for dramatic representation1 playing cards1 toys for games of physical skill1 such as tops1 kites1 skipping ropes1 etc4 ,such prepared constructive materials as meccano--and a great mass of raw material for construction1 generally termed waste4 ,there should be a series of boxes or shelves where such waste products of the home1 or of the woods1 or of the seashore1 or of the shop1 might be stored in some classified order3 the collective instinct is stronger than the more civilised habit of orderliness3 here is an opportunity for developing a habit from an instinct4 ,there should also be materials for expression1 such as clay1 paper1 chalk1 pencil1 paints1 weaving materials1 cardboard1 and scenery materials2 and such tools as scissors1 cardboard knives1 needlework tools1 paste brushes1 and others that may be necessary and suitable4 ,the rooms should be large and suitable for much moving about3 the most usual conditions should be a scattered class and not a seated listening class4 ,this means light chairs and tables or benches where handwork can be done2 low cupboards and lockers so that each child can get at his own things2 broad window-sills for plants and flowers and a bookcase for reading and picture books4 ,here again good picture-books are as essential as1 even more essential than1 readers in the ,transition ,class4 ,they will be a little more advanced than in the ,nursery ,school1 and will be of the type of the ,pied ,piper illustrated1 or pictures of children of other lands and times4 ,some of ,rackham's1 of ,harold ,copping's1 of the publications by ,black in ,peeps at ,many ,lands1 are suitable for this stage4 ,readers should be chosen for their literary value from the recognised children's classics1 such as the ,peter ,rabbit type1 ,alice in ,wonderland1 ,water-,babies1 and not made up for the sake of reading practice4 ,the pictures on the walls should be hung at the right eye-level1 and the windows low enough for looking at the outside world--whatever it may be4 ,the teacher's desk should be in a corner1 not in the central part of the room1 for she must remember that the children are still in the main seeking experience1 not listening to the experience of another4 ,they should have access to the garden and playground1 and all the incitements to activity should be there--similar to those of the ,nursery ,school1 or those provided by the ,london ,county ,council in parks4 ,the bare wilderness of playground now so familiar1 where there is neither time nor opportunity for children to be other than primitive savages1 does not represent the outside world of beauty and of adventure4 ,the lower classes of ,junior ,school should differ very little in their miniature world4 ,life is still activity to the child of eight1 and consequently should contain no immovable furniture4 ,there will be more books1 and the children may be in their seats for longer periods2 the atmosphere of guided but still spontaneous work is more definite1 but the aim in choice of both furniture and apparatus is still the gaining of experience of life1 by direct contact in the main4 ,such is the ,requisition ,sheet to be presented to the ,stores ,superintendent of the ,local ,education ,authority in the future1 with an explanatory note stating that in a general way what is actually required is the world in miniature6 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,gaining ,,experience ,,by ,,play ,the ,second ,principle is that the method of gaining experience lies through ,play and that by this road we can best reach work4 ,play is marked off from work chiefly by the absence of any outside pressure1 and pleasure in the activity is the characteristic of play pure and simple3 if a child has forced upon him a hint of any ulterior motive that may be in the mind of his teacher1 the pleasure is spoilt for him and the intrinsic value of the play is lost4 ,in bringing children into school during their play period1 probably the most important formative period of their lives1 and in utilising their play consciously1 we are interfering with one of their most precious possessions when they are still too helpless to resent it directly4 ,too many of us make play a means of concealing the wholesome but unwelcome morsel of information in jam1 and we try to force it on the children prematurely and surreptitiously1 but ,nature generally defeats us4 ,the only sound thing to do is to play the game for all it is worth1 and recognise that in doing so education will look after itself4 ,to understand the nature of play1 and to have the courage to follow it1 is the business of every teacher of young children4 ,the ,nursery ,school1 especially if it consists chiefly of children under five1 presents at first very hard problems to the teacher2 however strong her belief in play may be1 it receives severe tests4 ,so much of the play at first seems to be aimless running and shouting1 or throwing about of toys and breaking them if possible1 so much quarrelling and fighting and weeping seem involved with any attempts at social life on the part of the children2 there seems very little desire to co-operate1 and very little desire to construct2 as a rule1 a child roams from one thing to another with apparently only a fleeting attempt to play with it2 yet on the other hand1 to make the problem more baffling1 a child will spend a whole morning at one thing3 quite lately one child announced that he meant to play with water all day1 and he did2 another never left the sand-heap1 and apparently repeated the same kind of activity during a complete morning2 visitors said in a rather disappointed tone1 they just play all the time by themselves4 ,one teacher brought out an attractive picture and when a group of children gathered round it she proceeded to tell the story2 they listened politely for a few minutes1 and then the group gradually melted away2 they were not ready for concentrated effort4 ,if those children had been in the ordinary ,baby ,room of a school they would have been quite docile1 sitting in their places apparently listening to the story1 amiably using their bricks or other materials according to the teacher's directions1 but they would not1 in the real sense1 have been playing4 ,this is an example of the need for both principle and courage4 ,it is into this chaotic method of gaining experience that the teacher comes with her interpretive power--she sees in it the beginnings of all the big things of life--and like a bigger child she joins1 and like a bigger child she improves4 ,she sees in the apparent chaos an attempt to get experience of the different aspects of life1 in the apparently aimless activity an attempt to realise and develop the bodily powers1 in the fighting and quarrelling an attempt to establish a place in social life4 ,it is all unconscious on the part of a child1 but a necessary phase of real development4 ,gradually the little primitive man begins to yield to civilisation4 ,he is interested in things for longer and asks for stories1 music and rhymes1 and what does this mean8 ,as he develops a child learns much about life in his care of the garden1 about language in his games1 about human conduct from stories2 but he does these things because he wants to do them1 and because there is a play need behind it all1 which for him is a life need2 in order to build a straight wall he must classify his bricks1 in order to be a real shopman he must know his weights1 in order to be a good workman he must measure his paper2 all the ideas gained from these things come to him along with sense activity2 they are associated with the needs and interests of daily life2 and because of this he puts into the activity all the effort of which he is capable1 or as ,dewey has expressed it1 the maximum of consciousness into the experience which is his play4 ,this is real sense training1 differing in this respect from the training given by the ,montessori material1 which has no appeal to life interest1 aims at exercising the senses separately1 and discourages play with the apparatus4 ,it is activity without a body1 practice without an end1 and nothing develops from it of a constructive or expressive nature4 ,in the nursery class therefore our curriculum is life1 our apparatus all that a child's world includes1 and our method the one of joyful investigation1 by means of which ideas and skill are being acquired4 ,the teacher is player in chief1 ready to suggest1 co-operate1 supply information1 lead or follow as circumstances demand3 responsibility must still belong to the children1 for while most of them know quite naturally how to play1 there are many who will never get beyond a rather narrow limit1 through lack of experience or of initiative4 ,it is quite safe to let experience take its chance through play1 but there are certain things that must be dealt with quite definitely1 when the teacher is not there as a playmate1 but as something more in the capacity of a mother4 ,it is impossible to train all the habits necessary at this time1 through the spontaneous play1 although incidentally many will be greatly helped and made significant by it4 ,if the children come from poor homes where speech is imperfect1 probably mere imitation of the teacher1 which is the chief factor in ordinary language training1 will be insufficient4 ,it will be necessary to invent ways1 chiefly games1 by which the vocal organs may be used2 this may be considered play1 but it is more artificial and less spontaneous than the informal activity already described4 ,it is well to be clear as to the kind of exercises best suited to make the vocal organs supple1 and then to make these the basis of a game3 for example1 little children constantly imitate the cries of ordinary life2 town children could dramatise a railway station where the sounds produced by engines and by porters give a valuable training2 they could imitate street cries1 the sound of the wind1 of motor hooters1 sirens1 or of church bells4 ,country children could use the sounds of the farm-yard1 the birds1 or the wind4 ,in the recognition of sound1 which is as necessary as its production1 such a guessing game could be taught as ,i sent my son to be a grocer and the first thing he sold began with s and ended with p1 using the sounds1 not names of the letters4 ,for the acquisition of a vocabulary1 such a game as the ,family ,coach might be played and turned into many other vehicles or objects about which many stories could be told4 ,all the time the game must be played with the same fidelity to the spirit of play as previously1 but the introduction must be recognised as more artificial and forced1 and this can be justified because so many children are not normal with regard to speech1 and only where this is the case should language training be forced upon them4 ,habits of courtesy1 of behaviour at table1 of position1 of dressing and undressing1 of washing hands and brushing teeth1 and many others1 must all be taught1 but taught at the time when the need comes4 ,occasions will certainly occur during play1 but the chances of repetition are not sufficient to count on4 ,thus we summarise the chief business of the ,nursery ,school teacher when we say that it is concerned chiefly with habits and play and right surroundings4 ,play in the ,transition ,class is less informal4 ,after the age of six certain ambitions grow and must be satisfied4 ,the aspects of life are more separated1 and concentration on individual ones is commoner2 this means more separation into subjects1 and thus a child is more willing to be organised1 and to have his day to some extent arranged for him4 ,while in the nursery class only what was absolutely necessary was fixed1 in the ,transition ,class it is convenient to fix rather more1 for the sake of establishing certain regular habits1 and because it is necessary to give the freshest hours to the work that requires most concentration4 ,we must remember1 however1 that it is a transition class1 and not set up a completely fashioned time-table for the whole day4 ,reading and arithmetic must be acquired both as knowledge and skill1 the mother tongue requires definite practice1 there must be a time for physical activity1 and living things must not be attended to spasmodically4 ,therefore it seems best that these things be taken in the morning hours1 while the afternoon is still a time for free choice of activity4 ,the following is a plan for the ,transition ,class1 showing the bridge between absolute freedom and a fully organised time-table-- ,,morning4 ,,afternoon4 ,monday ,nature ,reading ,stories from ,organised games and work4 and ,number4,scripture or other handwork4 ---------,care -----------literature1 and ----------------------- ,tuesday of the ,reading stories of social ,music and handwork4 room4 and ,number4life2 music and ---------,nature -----------singing2 industrial----------------------- ,wednesdaychart ,reading activities such as ,excursion or handwork4 and and ,number4solving puzzles1 ---------,general-----------playing games of ----------------------- ,thursday talk4 ,reading skill1 looking at ,dramatic representation and ,number4pictures1 arrangingincluding preparations4 --------- -----------collections4 ----------------------- ,friday ,reading ,gardening or handwork4 and ,number4 ,granting this arrangement we must be clear how play as a method can still hold4 ,it does not hold in the informal incidental sense of the ,nursery ,school3 there are periods in the ,transition ,class when the children know that they are working for a definite purpose which is not direct play--as in reading2 and there are times when they are dissatisfied with their performances of skill and ask to be shown a better way1 and voluntarily practise to secure the end1 as in handwork1 arithmetic and some kinds of physical games4 ,the remainder is probably still pursued for its own sake4 ,how then can this play spirit be maintained side by side with work8 ,first of all1 the children should not be required to do anything without having behind it a purpose that appeals to them2 it may not be the ultimate purpose of their good1 but a secondary reason may be given to which they will respond readily1 generally the pretence reason4 ,arithmetic to the ordinary person is a thing of real life2 we count chiefly in connection with money1 with making things1 with distributing things1 or with arranging things1 and we count carefully when we keep scores in games2 in adult life we seldom or never count or perform arithmetical operations for sheer pleasure in the activity1 but there are many children who do so in the same spirit as we play patience or chess4 ,and all this is our basis4 ,the arithmetical activities in the ,transition ,class should therefore be based on such everyday experiences as have been mentioned1 else there will be no associations made between the experiences of school and those of life outside4 ,the two must merge4 ,there is no such thing as arithmetic pure and simple for children unless they seek it2 they must play at real life1 and the real life that they are now capable of appreciating4 ,skill in calculation1 accuracy and quickness can be acquired by a kind of practice that children are quite ready for1 if it comes when they realise the need2 most children feel that their power to score for games is often too slow and inaccurate2 as store clerks they are uncertain in their calculations2 they will be willing to practise quick additions1 subtractions1 multiplications and divisions1 in pure arithmetical form1 if the pretence purpose is clearly in view1 which to them is a real purpose2 the same thing occurs in writing which should be considered a side issue of reading2 meaningless words or sentences are written wearily and without pains1 but to write the name of a picture you have painted1 at the bottom of it1 or to write something that ,cinderella's ,godmother said1 or bit by bit to write a letter1 will be having a purpose that gives life to an apparently meaningless act1 and thoroughness to the effort4 ,in handwork1 too1 at this stage1 practice takes an important place3 a child is willing to hem1 to try certain brush strokes1 to cut evenly1 and later on to use his cardboard knife to effect for the sake of a future result if he has already experimented freely4 ,this is in full harmony with the spirit of play1 when we think of the practiced strokes and throws of the later games1 but it is a more advanced quality of play1 because there is the beginning of a purpose which is separated from immediate pleasure in the activity1 there is the hint of an end in view though it is a child's end1 and not the adult or economic one4 ,the training of the mother tongue can be made very effective by means of games3 in the days when children's parties were simple1 and family life was united1 language games in the long dark evenings gave to many a grip of words and expressions4 ,children learnt to describe accurately1 to be very fastidious in choice of words1 to ask direct questions1 to give verbal form to thought1 all through the stress of such games--,man and his ,shadow1 ,clumps1 ,subject and ,object1 ,russian ,scandal1 the ,minister's ,cat1 ,i see a ,light1 ,charades1 and acting of all kinds4 ,no number of picture talks1 oral compositions1 or observations can compete in real value with these games1 because behind them was a purpose or need for language that compelled the greatest efforts4 ,physical development and its adjustment to mental control owes its greatest stimulus to games4 ,when physical strength1 speed1 or nimble adjustability is the pivot upon which the game depends1 special muscles are made subservient to will3 behind the game there is the stimulus of strong emotion1 and here is the greatest factor in establishing permanent associations between body and mind2 psychologists see in many of these games of physical activity the evolution of the race3 drill pure and simple has its place partly in the same sense as practice in number or handwork1 and partly as a corrective to our fallacious system of education by listening1 instead of by activity3 and we cannot in a lifetime acquire the powers of the race except by concentrated practice4 ,but no amount of drill can give the all-round experience necessary for physical readiness for an emergency1 physical and mental power to endure1 active co-operation1 where self-control holds in check ambitious personal impulses3 and no drill seems to give grace and beauty of motion that the natural activity of dancing can give4 ,it is through the games that ,british children inherit1 and by means of which they have unconsciously rehearsed many of the situations of life1 that they have been able to take their place readily in the life of the nation and even to help to save it4 ,again1 as in other directions1 children must be made to play the game in its thoroughness1 for a well-played game gives the right balance to the activities3 drill is more specialised1 and has specialisation for its end3 a game calls on the whole of an individual3 he must be alert mentally and physically2 and at the same time the sense of fairness cannot be too strongly insisted on2 no game can be tolerated as part of education where there is looseness in this direction1 from the skittles of the nursery class to the cricket and hockey of the seventh standard1 and nothing will so entirely outrage the children's feelings as a teacher's careless arbitration4 ,in physical games1 too1 the social side is strongly developed3 leadership1 self-effacement and co-operation are more valuable lessons of experience than fluent reading or neat writing or accurate additions3 but they have not counted as such in our economic system of education2 they have taken their chance3 few inspectors ask to see whether children know how to play the game1 and yet they are so soon to play the independent game of life4 ,but the individual output of reading and sums of a sneaking and cowardly1 or assertive and selfish child1 is as good probably as that of a child that has the makings of a hero in him4 ,and then we wonder at the propensities of the lower classes4 ,it is because we have never made sure that they can play the game4 ,to summarise3 play in the ,nursery ,school stage is unorganised1 informal1 and pursued with no motive but pleasure in the activity itself2 it is mainly individual4 ,play in the ,transition ,class is more definitely in the form of games1 i4e4 organised play1 efforts of skill1 mental or physical2 it becomes social4 ,play in the ,junior ,school is almost an occasional method1 because the work motive is by this time getting stronger4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,experience ,we find in the child's spontaneous choice the nature of the surroundings and of the activities he craves for2 in other words1 he makes his own curriculum1 and selects his own subject matter4 ,the next problem we have to solve is how to unify the bewildering variety of ideas and activities that a child seeks contact with during a day4 ,we found that the curriculum of the ,infant ,school of to-day presented a rather confusing variety of ideas1 not necessarily arranged as the children would have chosen2 they would certainly not have chosen to break off some intense interest1 because an arbitrary timetable hurried them to something else1 and they would have been right4 ,if we asked the children their reasons for choosing1 we would find no clue except that they chose what they wanted to1 neither could they tell us why they spent so much more time over one thing than another4 ,if a similar study were to be made of a child from a slum also free to arrange his day1 we should find that while certain general features were the same others would be different3 he would ask for different stories1 probably play different games1 or the same games in a different way1 his back-yard would present different aspects1 the things he made would be different4 ,it is evident that the old correlation method has little or nothing to do with the matter2 a child may or may not draw the rabbit he feeds1 he certainly does not play a rabbit game because of the rabbit he has fed1 nor does he build a rabbit-hutch with his bricks4 ,he might try to make a real one if the rabbit really needed it1 but that arises out of an obvious necessity4 ,if he could put his unconscious promptings into words1 he would say he did the things because he wanted to1 because somebody else did them1 or because of something he saw yesterday1 and so on2 but he would always refer back to himself4 ,the central link in each case is in the child1 with his special store of experiences derived from his own particular surroundings2 he brings to new experiences his store of present experiences1 his interests not always satisfied1 his powers variously used1 he interprets the new by these1 and seeks for more in the line of the old4 ,it is life he has experienced1 and he seeks for more life4 ,how then can we secure for him that the new experiences presented to him in school will be in line with the old8 ,we will take three typical cases of children to illustrate the real nature of this problem4 ,the first is the case of a child living in a very poor district of ,london or of any large town4 ,the school is presumably situated in a narrow street running off the ,high ,street of the district1 the street where all the shopping is done2 at the corner is a hide factory with an evil smell4 ,most of the dwelling-houses abut on the pavement1 some with a very small yard behind1 some without any4 ,several families live in one house1 and often one room is all a family can afford2 as that has to be paid for in advance the family address may change frequently4 ,the father may be a dock labourer with uncertain pay1 a coster1 a rag and bone merchant1 or he may follow some unskilled occupation of a similarly precarious nature2 in consequence the mother has frequently to do daily work1 the home is locked up till evening1 and she often leaves before the children start for morning school4 ,it is a curious but very common fact that1 free though these children are1 they know only a very small radius around their own homes4 ,they are accustomed to be sent shopping into ,high ,street1 where household stores are bought in pennyworths or twopennyworths1 owing to uncertain finance and no storage accommodation4 ,generally there is one tap and one sink in the basement for the needs of all the families in the house4 ,there is usually a park somewhere within reach1 but it may be a mile away2 in it would1 at least1 be trees1 a pond1 grass1 flowers4 ,but an excursion there1 unless it is undertaken by the school1 can only be hoped for on a fine ,bank ,holiday2 there is neither time nor money to go on a ,saturday1 and ,sunday cannot be said to begin till dinner-time1 about #c ,p4,m41 when the public-houses close1 and the father comes home to dinner4 ,it is difficult to imagine the conversation of such a household2 family life exists only on ,sunday at dinner-time2 the child's background of family life is a room which is at once a bedroom1 living room and laundry4 ,there is nearly always some part of a meal on the table1 and some washing hanging up4 ,outside there are the dingy street1 the crowded shops1 the pavement to play on1 and both outside and in1 the bleaker and more sordid aspects of life1 sometimes miserable1 sometimes exciting4 ,on ,saturday night the lights are brilliant and life is at least intense4 ,bed is a very crowded affair1 in which many half-undressed children sleep covered with the remainder of the day's wardrobe4 ,what store of experiences does a child from such a neighbourhood bring to school1 to be assimilated with the new experiences provided there8 ,what do such terms as home1 dinner1 bed1 bath1 birth1 death1 country1 mean to him8 ,they mean something4#cd ,footnote #cd3 ,see ,child ,life1 ,october #aiaf4 ,not a mile away we may come to a very respectable suburb of the average type2 and what is said of it may apply in some degree to a provincial or country town or1 at least1 the application can easily be made4 ,the school probably stands at the top corner of a road of houses rented1 at #be to #ce per annum1 with gardens in front and behind4 ,the road generally runs into a main road with shops and traffic4 ,here and there in the residential road are little oases of shops1 patronised by the neighbourhood1 and some of the children may live over these4 ,the home life is more ordinary and needs less descriptive detail1 but there are some features that must be considered4 ,the decencies1 not to say refinements of eating1 sleeping and washing are taken for granted3 there is often a bath-room and always a kitchen4 ,the father's occupation may be local1 but a good many fathers will go to town2 there is generally a family holiday to the sea1 or less often to the country4 ,in the house the degree of refinement varies2 there are nearly always pictures of a sort1 books of a sort1 and the children are supplied with toys of a sort4 ,they visit each other's houses1 and the observances of social life are kept variously4 ,often the horizon is very narrow2 the mother's interest is very local and timid2 the father's business life may be absolutely apart from his home life and never mentioned there4 ,the family conversation while quite amiable and agreeable may be round very few topics1 and the vocabulary1 while quite respectable1 may be most limited4 ,children's questions may be put aside as either trivial or unsuitable4 ,in one sense the slum child may be said to have a broader background1 the realities of life are bare to him on their most sordid side1 there is neither mystery nor beauty around life1 or death1 or the natural affections4 ,the suburban child may on the contrary be balked and restricted so that unnecessary mystery gives an unwholesome interest to these things and conventionality a dishonest reserve4 ,a suburb of this type is described by ,beresford in ,housemates3--,in such districts 7as ,gospel ,oak7 ,i am depressed by the flatness of an awful monotony4 ,the slums vex me far less4 ,there ,i find adventure and jest whatever the squalor2 the marks of the primitive struggle through dirt and darkness towards release4 ,those horrible lines of moody1 complacent streets represent not struggle1 but the achievement of a worthless aspiration4 ,the houses1 with their deadly similarity1 their smug1 false exteriors1 their conformity to an ideal which is typified by their poor imitative decoration1 could only be inhabited by people who have no thought or desire for expression4444 ,the dwellers in such districts are cramped into the vice of their environment4 ,their homes represent the dull concession to a state rule2 and their lives take tone from the grey1 smoke-grimed repetition of one endlessly repeated design4 ,the same foolish ornamentation on every house reiterates the same suggestion4 ,their places of worship1 the blank chapels and pseudo-,gothic churches rear themselves head and shoulders above the dull level1 only to repeat the same threat of obedience to a gloomy law4444 ,the thought of ,gospel ,oak and its like is the thought of imitation1 of imitation falling back and becoming stereotyped1 until the meaning of the thing so persistently copied has been lost and forgotten4 ,a third case is that of the country child1 the child who attends the village school4 ,many villages lie several miles from a railway station1 so that the younger children may not see a railway train more than once or twice a year4 ,the fathers may be engaged in village trades1 such as a shoemaker1 carpenter1 gardener1 general shop merchant1 farm labourer1 or farmer4 ,the village houses are often cramped and small1 but there is wholesome space outside1 and generally a good garden which supplies some of the family food2 milk and eggs are easily obtainable1 and conditions of living are seldom as crowded as in a town4 ,the country children see more of life in complete miniature than the slum or the suburban child can do1 for the whole life of the village lies before him4 ,the school is generally in the centre1 with a good playground1 and of late years a good school garden is frequent4 ,the village church1 generally old1 is another centre of life1 and there is at least the vicarage to give a type of life under different social conditions4 ,the home intellectual background may vary1 but on the whole cannot be reckoned on very much2 though in some ways it is more narrow than the suburban one1 it is often less superficial4 ,in a different way from the slum child1 but none the less definitely1 the country child comes face to face with the realities of life1 in a more natural and desirable way than either of the others4 ,it is difficult to estimate some of the effects of living in the midst of real nature on children2 unconsciously1 they acquire much deep knowledge impossible to learn through nature study1 however good1 a kind of knowledge that is part of their being2 but how far it affects them emotionally or enters into their scheme of life1 is hard to say4 ,as they grow up much of it is merely economic acquirement3 if they are to work on the land1 or rear cattle1 or drive a van through the country1 it is all to the good2 but one thing is noticeable1 that they take very quickly to such allurements of town life as a cinema1 or a picture paper or gramophone1 and this points to unsatisfied cravings of some sort1 not necessarily so unworthy or superficial as the means sought to satisfy them4 ,from these rather extreme cases we get near the solution of the problem2 it is quite evident that each of these children brings to school very different contributions of experience on which to build1 though their general needs and interests are similar4 ,therefore the curriculum of the school will depend on the general surroundings and circumstances of the children1 and all programmes of work and many questions of organisation will be built on this4 ,the model programme so dear to some teachers must be banished1 as a doctor would banish a general prescription2 no honest teacher can allow this part of her work to be done for her by any one else4 ,therefore the central point is the child's previous experience1 and on this the experience provided by school1 i4e4 curriculum and subject matter1 depends4 ,one or two examples of the working out of this might make the application clearer4 ,probably the realities of life in relation to money differ greatly4 ,the kind of problem presented to the poor town child will deal with shopping in pennyworths or ounces1 with getting coals in pound bagfuls4 ,clothes are generally second-hand1 and so ordinary standard prices are out of the question4 ,bread is bought stale and therefore cheaper1 early in the morning4 ,preserved milk only is bought1 and that in halfpenny quantities4 ,only problems based on these will be real to this child at first4 ,the suburban child's economic experience may be based on his pocket-money1 money in the bank1 and the normal shopping of ordinary life4 ,the country child is frequently very ignorant of money values2 probably it will be necessary to take the country general shop as the basis4 ,he could also begin to estimate the produce of the school garden4 ,,the ,,nursery ,,school ,,programme ,it is quite obvious from the nature of play at this stage that a time-table is out of the question and in fact an outrage against nature4 ,only for social convenience and for the establishment of certain physical habits can there be fixed hours4 ,there must be approximate limits as to the times of arrival and departure1 but nothing of the nature of marking registers to record exact minutes4 ,little children sometimes sleep late1 or1 on the other hand1 the mothers may have to leave home very early2 all this must be allowed for4 ,there should be fixed times for meals and for sleep1 and these should be rigidly observed1 and there should be regular times for the children to go to the lavatories2 all these establish regularity and self-control1 as well as improving general health4 ,but anything in the nature of story periods1 games periods1 handwork periods1 only impedes the variously developing children in their hunger for experiences4 ,their curriculum is life as the teacher has spread it out before them2 there are no subjects at this stage2 the various aspects ought to be of the nature of a glorious feast to these young children4 ,traherne says in the seventeenth century3-- ,will you see the infancy of this sublime and celestial greatness8 ,those pure and virgin apprehensions ,i had in my infancy1 and that divine light wherewith ,i was born1 are the best unto this day wherein ,i can see the ,universe4444 ,verily they form the greatest gift ,his wisdom can bestow1 for without them all other gifts had been dead and vain4 ,they are unattainable by books and therefore will ,i teach them by experience4444 ,certainly ,adam in ,paradise had not more sweet and curious apprehensions of the world than ,i when ,i was a child4 ,all appeared new and strange at first1 inexpressibly rare and delightful and beautiful4 ,i was a little stranger which at my entrance into the world was saluted and surrounded with innumerable joys4444 ,i knew by intuition those things which since my apostasy ,i collected again by the highest reason4444 ,all things were spotless and pure and glorious2 yea1 and infinitely mine1 and joyful and precious4444 ,i saw in all the peace of ,eden4444 ,is it not that an infant should be heir of the whole world1 and see those mysteries which the books of the learned never unfold8 ,the corn was orient and immortal wheat which never should be reaped1 nor was ever sown4 ,i thought it stood from everlasting to everlasting4 ,the dust and stones of the street were as precious as gold3 the gates were at first the end of the world4 ,the green trees when ,i saw them first through one of the gates transported and ravished me3 444 the skies were mine1 and so were the sun and moon and stars1 and all the world was mine3 and ,i the only spectator and enjoyer of it4444 ,so that with much ado ,i was corrupted and made to learn the dirty devices of this world1 which ,i now unlearn1 and become1 as it were1 a little child again that ,i may enter into the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,if this is what life means to the young child1 and ,traherne only records what many of us have forgotten there is little need for interference3 we can only spread the feast and stand aside to watch for opportunities4 ,the following extract is given from a teacher's note-book3 it shows how many possibilities open out to a teacher1 and how impossible it is to keep to a time-table1 or even to try to name the activities4 ,the children concerned were about five years old1 newly admitted to a poor school in ,s4,e4 ,london4 ,the records are selected from a continuous period1 and do not apply to one day3-- ,,plans ,,for ,,the ,,day ,,what ,,actually ,,happened ,number ,occupations4--,this will ,the children played1 freely be entirely free and the children chalking most of the time2 those will choose their own toys and threading beads were most put them away4 interested4 ,again ,i noticed the lack of idea of colour2 ,i found one new boy placing his sticks according to colour1 without knowing the names of the colours4 ,the boys thought the soldiers belonged to them1 and laughed at a little girl for choosing them4 ,language ,training4--,i have ,i realised this was a failure1 discovered that they love to for ,i asked the children to use imitate sounds1 so we will play their boards and chalks for a at this4 ,they could draw a cat definite drawing1 and they should and say miauw1 and a duck and have had the time to use them say quack4 ,they could also freely and discover their use4 ,i imitate the wind4 got very little information about their vocabulary4 ,language ,training 7another ,i found that many children day74--,i shall try to induce the pronounced words so strangely children to speak to me about their that ,i could only with difficulty homes1 in order to discover any recognise them4 ,one said she difficulties of pronunciation and had a bresser with clates to make them more fluent4 on it and knies ,others spoke of manckle1 firebrace1 forts4 ,one child speaking of curly hair called it killeyer4 ,we had no time for the story4 ,playing with ,toys4--,the ,noah's arks1 dolls1 and bricks children will choose their own toys1 were used1 and ,i found that the and as far as possible ,i will put girls who had no dolls at home a child who knows how to use them were delighted to be able to dress next to one who desires to sit and undress them and put them still4 to bed4 ,one little girl walked backwards and forwards before the class getting her doll to sleep2 the boys were making a noise with their arks and she remarked on this1 so we induced them to be silent while the dolls were put to sleep4 ,the boys arranged their animals in long lines4 ,the bricks were much more carefully put away to-day4 ,,the ,,transition ,,and ,,the ,,junior ,,school ,,programme ,even after the ,nursery ,school period much of the curriculum and subject matter is in the hands of the children themselves1 though the relative proportions will vary according to the children's experiences4 ,it is pretty evident to the honest-minded teacher that the subjects are1 in school terms1 nature work and elementary science1 mathematics1 constructive and expressive work1 literature1 music1 language1 physical exercise and religion4 ,the business of the younger child is with real things and activity1 not with symbols and passivity1 therefore he is not really in need of reading1 writing1 or arithmetic4 ,we hear arguments from ambitious teachers that children are fond of reading lessons because they enjoy the fantasies in which these lessons are wrapped1 or the efforts made by the teacher to create interest2 we hear that children ask to be taught to read2 they also ask to be taught to drive a tram or to cook a dinner2 but it is all part of the pretence game of playing at being grown up4 ,they do not need to read while stories and poetry can be told or read to them2 they are not ready to make the effort of working for a remote economic end1 where there is no real pleasure in the activity1 and no opportunity of putting their powers to use4 ,no child under six wants to sit down and read1 and it would be very harmful if he did2 his business is with real things and with his vocabulary1 which is not nearly ready to put into symbols yet4 ,if reading is delayed1 hours of weary drudgery will be saved and energy stored for more precious attainments4 ,therefore in the transition class 7i4e4 children over six at lowest7 the only addition to the curriculum already set out for the nursery class1 would be arithmetic and reading1 including writing4 ,the other differences would be in degree only4 ,in the junior class 7with children over seven at lowest7 a desire to know something of the doings of people in other countries1 to hear about other parts of our own land1 will lead to the beginnings of geography2 while with this less imaginative and more literal period comes the request for stories that are more verbally true1 and questions about origins1 leading to the beginnings of history4 ,it is very much easier to give the general curriculum than to deal with the choice of actual material1 because that is involved largely with the principle of the unity of experience1 and1 as we know1 experiences vary4 ,the normal town and country child1 and the abnormal child of poverty have all certain human cravings in common1 and these are provided for in the aspects of life or subjects that have been named--but this is far too general an application to be the end of the matter2 each subject has many sides to offer4 ,there may be for example the pottery town1 the weaving town1 the country town1 the fishing town1 the colliery town3 in the country there is the district of the dairy farmer1 of the sheep farmer1 of the grain grower and miller1 of the fruit farmer1 of the hop grower1 and many districts may partake of more than one characteristic4 ,perhaps the most curious anomaly of experience is that of the child of the ,london slums who goes hopping into some of the loveliest parts of ,kent1 in early autumn4 ,and so in a general way at least the concentrated experience of school must fill gaps and supply experiences that life has not provided for4 ,one of the pottery towns in ,staffordshire is built on very unfertile clay2 there are several potteries in the town belching out smoke1 and1 in addition1 rows of monotonous smoke-blackened houses2 almost always a yellow pall of smoke hangs over the whole district1 and even where the edge of the country might begin1 the grass and trees are poor and blackened1 and distant views are seen through a haze4 ,there are almost no gardens in the town1 and very little attempt has been made to beautify it1 because the results are so disappointing4 ,beauty1 therefore1 in various forms must be a large part of the curriculum3 already design is a common interest in the pottery museums of the district1 and this could be made a motive for the older children2 but in the ,junior and ,nursery ,school pictures of natural beauty1 wild flowers if it is possible to get them1 music1 painting and drawing1 and literature should bulk largely enough to make a permanent impression on the children4 ,in a very remote country village where life seems to go slowly1 and days are long1 children should be encouraged1 by means of the school influence1 to make things that absorb thought and interest1 to tell and hear stories4 ,storytelling in the evening round the fire is a habit of the past1 and might well supply some of the cravings that have to be satisfied by the pictures4 ,most of us have to keep ourselves well in hand when we listen to a recitation in much the same way as when a slate pencil used to creak2 it would be very much better if the art of storytelling were cultivated at school1 encouraged at home1 and applied to entertainments4 ,indeed the entertainments of a village school1 instead of being the unnatural and feverish production of hours of overtime1 might well be the ordinary outcome of work both at school and at home--and thus a motive for leisure is naturally supplied and probably a hobby initiated4 ,it is profitable sometimes to group the subjects of experience in order to preserve balance4 ,all getting of experience is active1 but some kinds more obviously than others4 ,undoubtedly in hearing stories and poetry1 in watching a snail or a bee1 in listening to music1 the activity is mental rather than physical and assimilation of ideas is more direct2 in discovering experiences by means of construction1 expression1 experiment or imitation1 assimilation is less direct but often more permanent and secure4 ,froebel discriminates between impression and expression1 or taking in and giving out1 and although he constantly emphasised that the child takes in by giving1 it is convenient to recognise this distinction4 ,another helpful grouping is the more objective one4 ,some subjects refer more particularly to human conduct1 the enlargement of experiences of human beings1 and the building up of the ideal3 these are literature1 music1 history and geography2 others refer to life other than that of human beings1 commonly known as nature study and science2 others to the properties of inanimate things1 and to questions throughout all life of measurement1 size and force--this is known as mathematics2 others of the life behind the material and the spiritual world--this is known as religion4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,gaining ,,experience ,,through ,,freedom ,the atmosphere of freedom is the only atmosphere in which a child can gain experiences that will help to develop character4 ,the principle of ,freedom underlies all the activities of the school and does not refer to conduct simply2 intellectual and emotional aspects of discipline are too often ignored and we have as a product the commonplace1 narrow1 imitative person1 too timid or too indolent to think a new thought1 or to feel strongly enough to stand for a cause4 ,self-control is the goal of discipline1 but independent thinking1 enthusiasm and initiative are all included in the term4 ,it will be well to discriminate between the occasions1 both in the ,nursery ,school and in the transition and junior classes1 when a child should be free to learn by experience and when he should be controlled from without4 ,we shall probably find occasions which partake of the nature of each4 ,the ,nursery ,school is a collection of individuals presumably from #b-a_/b to #e-a_/b years of age4 ,they know no social life beyond the family life1 and family experience is relative to the size of the family4 ,in any case they have not yet measured themselves against their peers1 with the exception of the occasional twin4 ,a few months ago about twenty children of this description formed the nucleus of a new ,nursery ,school where1 as far as possible1 the world in miniature was spread out before them1 and they were guided in their entrance to it by an experienced teacher and a young helper4 ,for the first few weeks the chief characteristic was noise2 the children rushed up and down the large room1 shouting1 and pushing any portable toys they could find4 ,one little boy of #b-a_/b employed himself in what can only be called punching the other children1 snatching their possessions away from them and responding to the teacher by the law of contra-suggestion4 ,he was the most intelligent child in the school4 ,he generally left a line of weeping children behind him1 and several began to imitate him4 ,the pugnacious instinct requires little encouragement4 ,lunch was a period of snatching1 spilling1 and making plans to get the best4 ,many of the toys provided were carelessly trampled upon and broken3 requests to put away things at the end of the day were almost unavailing4 ,when the time for sleeping came in the afternoon many of the children refused to lie down3 some consented but only to sing and talk as they lay4 ,only one1 a child of #b-a_/b1 slept1 because he cried himself to sleep from sheer strangeness4 ,this apparently unbeautiful picture is only the first battle of the individual on his entrance to the life of the community4 ,on the other hand1 there were intervals of keen joy3 water1 sand and clay chiefly absorbed the younger children3 the older ones wanted to wash up and scrub1 and many spent a good deal of time looking at picture-books4 ,this was the raw material for the teacher to begin with3 the children came from comfortable suburban homes3 none were really poor1 and many had known no privation4 ,they were keen for experiences and disposed to be very friendly to her4 ,after five months there is a marked difference in spirit4 ,the noise is modified because the children found other absorbing interests1 though at times nature still demands voice production4 ,during lunch time and sleeping time there is quiet1 but the teacher has never asked for silence unless there was some such evident reason4 ,there is no silence game4 ,the difference has come from within the children4 ,all now lie down in the afternoon quietly1 and the greater number sleep2 but there has been no command or any kind of general plan3 again the desire has gradually come to individuals from suggestion and imitation4 ,lunch is quite orderly1 but not yet without an occasional accident or struggle4 ,there is much less fighting1 but primitive man is still there4 ,the most marked development is in the growth of the idea of taking turns2 the children have begun to master this all-important lesson of life4 ,the strong pugnacious habit in the little punching boy reached a point that showed he was unable to conquer it from within3 about two months after his arrival the teacher consulted his mother1 who confirmed all that the teacher had experienced3 her prescription was smacking4 ,after a good deal of thought and many ineffectual talks and experiments with the boy1 the teacher came to the conclusion that the mother was right3 she took him to the cloakroom after the next outbreak and smacked his hands3 he was surprised and a little hurt1 but very soon forgot and continued his practices3 on the next occasion the teacher repeated the punishment and it was never again necessary4 ,for a few days he was at a loss for an occupation because punching had become a confirmed habit1 but soon other interests appealed to him3 he has never changed in his trust in his teacher of whom he is noticeably very fond1 and he has now realised that he must control a bad habit4 ,this example has been given at length to illustrate the relation of government to freedom4 ,if these children had been in the ordinary ,baby ,room1 subject to a time-table1 to constant plans by the teacher for their activities1 few or none of these occasions would have occurred3 the incipient so-called naughtiness would have been displayed only outside1 in the playground or at home3 there would have been little chance of chaos1 of fighting1 of punching1 of trying to get the best thing and foremost place1 there would have been little opportunity for choice and less real absorption1 because of the time-table4 ,the children would have been happy enough1 but they would not have been trained to live as individuals4 ,outward docility is a fatal trait and very common in young children2 probably it is a form of self-preservation4 ,but the real child only lies in wait to make opportunities out of school4 ,the school is therefore not preparing him for life4 99 99 99 99 99 ,freedom in the transition and the junior school must be differently applied3 individual life begins to merge into community life1 and the children begin to learn that things right for individuals may be wrong for the community4 ,but the problem of freedom is not as easy as the problem of authority3 standards must be greatly altered and outward docility no longer mistaken for training in self-control4 ,individual training cannot suddenly become class discipline1 neither can children be switched from the ,nursery ,school to a full-blown class system4 ,the idea of class teaching must be postponed1 for out of it come most of the difficulties of discipline1 and it is not the natural arrangement at this transitional period4 ,a teacher is imposing on a number of very different individuals a system that says their difficulties are alike1 that they must all work at one rate and in one way3 and so we have the weary reading round class1 when the slow ones struggle and the quick ones find other and unlawful occupation3 we have the number lessons broken by the teacher's breathless attempts to see that all the class follows3 we have the handwork that imposes an average standard of work that fits nobody exactly4 ,intellectual freedom can only come by individual or group work1 while class teaching is only for such occasions as a literature or a singing lesson1 or the presentation of an occasional new idea in number4 ,individual and group work need much organisation1 but while classes consist of over forty children there is no other way to permit intellectual and moral freedom4 ,of course the furniture of the room will greatly help to make this more possible1 and it is hoped that an enlightened authority will not continue to supply heavy iron-framed desks for the junior school1 those described as desks for listening4 ,the prevailing atmosphere should be a busy noise and not silence--it should be the noise of children working1 oftener than of the teacher teaching1 i4e4 teaching the whole class4 ,the teacher should be more frequently among the children than at her desk1 and the children's voices should be heard more often than hers4 ,such children will inevitably become intellectually independent and morally self-controlled4 ,most of the order should be taken in hand by children in office1 and they should be distinguished by a badge3 most questions of punishment should be referred to them4 ,this means a constant appeal to the law that is behind both teacher and children and which they learn to reach apart from the teacher's control4 ,where 'thou shalt' of the law becomes ',i will' of the doer1 then we are free4 ,,iii4 ,,consideration ,,of ,,the ,,aspects ,,of ,,experience ,the aim of the following chapters is to show how principles may be applied to what are usually known as subjects of the curriculum1 and what place these subjects take in the acquisition of experience4 ,an exhaustive or detailed treatment of method is not intended1 but merely the establishment of a point of view and method of application4 ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,experiences ,,of ,,human ,,conduct ,it is always difficult to see the beginnings of things3 we know that stories form the raw material of morality1 it is not easy to trace morality in ,little ,black ,sambo1 ,the ,three ,bears1 ,alice in ,wonderland1 or ,the ,sleeping ,beauty1 but nevertheless morality is there if we recognise morality in everyday things4 ,it is not too much to say that everybody should have an ideal1 even a burglar3 his ideal is to be a good and thorough burglar1 and probably if he is a burglar of the finer sort1 it is to play fair to the whole gang4 ,it is better to be a burglar with an ideal than a blameless person with very little soul or personality1 who just slides through life accepting things3 it is better to have a coster's ideal of a holiday than to be too indifferent or stupid to care or to know what you want4 ,now ideals are supposed to be the essence of morality and morality comes to us through experience1 and only experience tests its truth4 ,the story with a moral is generally neither literature nor morality1 except such unique examples as ,the ,pilgrim's ,progress or ,everyman4 ,the kind of experience with which morality is concerned is experience of human life in various circumstances1 and the way people behave under those circumstances4 ,the beginning of such experience is our own behaviour and the behaviour of other people we know1 but this is too limited an experience to produce a satisfactory ideal2 so we crave for something wider4 ,it is curious how strong is the craving for this kind of experience in all normal children1 in whom one would suppose sense experiences and especially muscular experiences to be enough4 ,the need to know about people other than ourselves1 and yet not too unlike1 in circumstances other than our own1 and yet not too strange1 seems to be a necessary part of our education1 and we interpret it in the light of our own personal conduct4 ,out of this1 as well as out of our direct experience1 we build our ideal4 ,when one realises how an ideal may colour the whole outlook of a person1 one begins to realise what literature means to a child4 ,the early ideal is crude2 it may be ,jack the ,giant-,killer1 or an engine-driver1 ,cinderella1 or the step-cleaner2 this may grow into ,hiawatha or ,robinson ,crusoe1 for boys1 and a fairy tale ,princess or one of the ,little ,women for girls4 ,in every hero a child half-unconsciously sees himself1 and the ideal stimulates all that hidden life which is probably the most important part of his growth4 ,as indirect experiences grow1 or in other words as he hears or reads more stories1 his ideal widens1 and his knowledge of the problems of life is enlarged4 ,this is the raw material of morality1 for out of his answers to these problems he builds up standards of conduct and of judgement4 ,he projects himself into his own ideal1 and he projects himself into the experiences of other people3 he lives in both3 this is imagination of the highest kind1 it is often called sympathy1 but the term is too limited1 it is rather imaginative understanding4 ,there is another side of life grasped by means of this new world of experience1 and that is1 the spiritual side that lies between conduct and ideals2 children have always accepted the supernatural quite readily and it is not to be wondered at1 for all the world is new and therefore supernatural to them4 ,magic is done daily in children's eyes1 and there is no line between what is understandable and what is not1 until adults try to interpret it for them4 ,they are curious about birth and death and all origins3 thunder is terrifying1 the sea is enthralling1 the wind is mysterious1 the sky is immense1 and all suggest a power beyond3 in this the children are reproducing the race experience as expressed in myths1 when power was embodied in a god or goddess4 ,therefore the fairy world or the giant world1 or the wood full of dwarfs and witches' houses1 is as real to them1 and as acceptable1 as any part of life4 ,it is their recognition of a world of spirits which later on mingles itself with the spiritual life of religion4 ,that life is behind all matter1 is the main truth they hold1 and while it is difficult here to disentangle morality from religion1 it is supremely evident that a very great and significant side of a child's education is before us4 ,it is by means of the divine gift of imagination1 probably the most spiritual of a child's gifts1 that he can lay hold of all that the world of literature has to offer him4 ,because of imagination he is independent of poverty1 monotony1 and the indifference of other people2 he has a world of his own in which nothing is impossible4 ,edwin ,pugh says of a child of the slums who was passionately fond of reading cheap literature3--,it was by means of this penny passport to ,heaven that she escaped from the ,hell of her surroundings4 ,it was in the maudlin fancies of some poor besotted literary hack maybe1 that she found surcease from the pains of weariness1 the carks and cares of her miserable estate4 ,a teacher realising this1 should feel an almost unspeakable sense of responsibility in having to select and present matter3 but the problem should be solved on the one hand by her own high standard of story material1 and on the other by her knowledge of the child's needs4 ,according to his experiences of life the interpretation of the story will differ3 for example1 it was found that the children of a low slum neighbourhood translated ,jack the ,giant-killer into terms of a street fight3 to children living by a river or the sea1 the ,water-,babies would mean very much1 while ,jan of the ,windmill would be more familiar ground for country children4 ,fairy stories of the best kind have a universal appeal4 ,in choosing a story a teacher should be aware of the imperishable part of it1 the truth around which it grew2 sometimes the truth may seem a very commonplace one1 sometimes a curious one4 ,for example1 very young children generally prefer stories of home life because round the family their experience gathers3 the subject seems homely1 but it is really one of the fundamental things of life and the teacher should realise this in such a way that the telling or reading of the story makes the kernel its central point4 ,to some children the ideal home life comes only through literature3 daily experiences rather contradict it4 ,humour is an important factor in morality2 unless a person is capable of seeing the humor of a situation he is likely to be wanting in a sense of balance2 the humor of a situation is often caused by the wrong proportion or wrong balance of things3 for example the humour of ,the ,mad ,tea-,party lies1 partly at least1 in the absurd gravity with which the animals regarded the whole situation1 the extreme literal-mindedness of ,alice1 and the exaggerated imitation of human beings3 a really moral person must have balance as well as sympathy1 else he sees things out of proportion4 ,these examples make evident that we are not to seek for anything very patently high-flown in the stories for children2 it is life in all its phases that gives the material1 but it must be true life3 not false or sentimental or trivial life3 this will rule out the pretty stories for children written by trivial people in teachers' papers1 or the pseudo-nature story1 or the artificial myth of the ,how did type1 or the would-be childish story where the language is rather that of the grown-up imitating children than that of real children4 ,of late years1 with the discovery of children1 children's literature has grown1 and there is a good deal to choose from past and present writers4 ,there is no recognised or stereotyped method of telling a story to children3 it is something much deeper than merely an acquired art1 it is the teacher giving something of her personality to the children1 something that is most precious4 ,one of the finest of our ,english ,kindergarten teachers once said1 ,i feel almost as if ,i ought to prepare my soul before telling a story to young children1 and this is the sense in which the story should be chosen and told4 ,there are1 of course1 certain external qualifications which must be so fully acquired as to be used unconsciously1 such as a good vocabulary1 power over one's voice1 a recognition of certain literary phases in a story1 such as the working up to the dramatic crisis1 the working down to the end so that it shall not fall flat1 and the dramatic touches that give life2 these are certainly most necessary1 and should be studied and cultivated2 but a teacher should not be hampered in her telling by being too conscious of them4 ,rather she should feel such respect and even reverence for this side of a child's education that the framework and setting can only be of the best1 always remembering at the same time what is framework and setting1 and what is essence4 ,much that has been said about the method and aim of stories might apply to those taken from the ,bible1 but they need certain additional considerations4 ,here religion and morality come very closely together3 the recognition of a definite personality behind all circumstances of life1 to whom our conduct matters1 gives a soul to morality4 ,the ,old ,testament is a record of the growth of a nation more fully conscious of ,god than is the record of any other nation1 and because of this children can understand ,god in human life when they read such stories as the childhood of ,moses and of ,samuel4 ,children resemble the young ,jewish nation in this respect3 they accept the direct intervention of ,god in the life of every day4 ,their primitive sense of justice1 which is an eye for an eye1 will make them welcome joyfully the plagues of ,egypt and the crossing of the ,red ,sea4 ,it would be premature to force on them the more mature idea of mercy1 which would probably lead to confusion of judgement3 they must be clear about the balance of things before they readjust it for themselves4 ,much of the material in the ,old ,testament is hardly suitable for very young children1 but the most should be made of what there is3 the lives of ,eastern people are interesting to children and help to make the phraseology of the ,psalms and even of the narratives clear to them4 ,wonder stories such as the ,creation1 the ,flood1 the ,burning ,bush1 ,elijah's experiences1 appeal to them on another side1 the side that is eager to wonder3 the accounts of the childhood of ,ishmael1 ,isaac1 ,joseph1 ,moses1 ,david and ,samuel1 and the little ,syrian maid1 come very close to them4 ,such stories should be given to young children so that they form part of the enchanted memory of childhood--which is permanent4 ,with the ,new ,testament the problem is more difficult3 one hesitates to bring the life of ,christ before children until they are ready to understand1 even in some degree1 its significance2 the subject is apt to be dealt with either too familiarly1 and made too commonplace and everyday a matter1 or as something so far removed from human affairs as to be mysterious and remote to a child4 ,to mix ,old and ,new ,testament indiscriminately1 as1 for example1 by taking them on alternate days1 is unforgivable1 and no teacher who has studied the ,bible seriously could do so1 if she cared about the religious training of her children1 and understood the ,bible4 ,if the children can realise something of the sense in which ,christ helped human beings1 then some of the incidents in ,his life might be given1 such as ,his birth1 ,his work of healing1 feeding and helping the poor1 and some of ,his stories1 such as the lost sheep1 the lost son1 the sower1 the good ,samaritan4 ,it is difficult to speak strongly enough of the mistreatment of ,scripture1 under the name of religion3 it has been spoilt more than any other subject in the curriculum1 chiefly by being taken too often and too slightly1 by teachers who may be in themselves deeply religious1 but who have not applied intelligence to this matter4 ,the religious life of a young child is very direct3 there is only a little in the religious experiences of the ,jews that can help him1 and much that can puzzle and hinder him2 their interpretation of ,god as revengeful1 cruel and one-sided in ,his dealings with their enemies must greatly puzzle him1 when he hears on the other hand that ,god is the ,father of all the nations on the earth4 ,what is suitable should be taken and taken well1 but there is no virtue in the ,bible misunderstood4 ,poetry is a form of literature which appeals to children if they are not made to learn it by rote4 ,unconsciously they learn it very quickly and easily1 if they understand in a general way the meaning1 and if they like the sound of the words4 ,rhythm is an early inheritance and can be encouraged by poetry1 music and movement4 ,the sound of words appeals strongly to young children1 and rhyming is almost a game4 ,the kind of poetry preferred varies a good deal but on the whole narrative or nonsense verses seem most popular2 few children are ready for sentiment or reflection even about themselves1 and this is why some of ,stevenson's most charming poems about children are not appreciated by them as much as by grown-up people4 ,and for the same reason only a few nature poems are really liked4 ,without doubt1 the only aim in giving poetry to children is to help them to appreciate it1 and the only method to secure this is to read it to them appreciatively and often4 ,besides such anthologies as ,the ,golden ,staircase1 ,e4,v4 ,lucas's ,book of ,verses for ,children1 and others1 we must go to the ,bible for poems like the ,song of ,miriam1 or of ,deborah1 and the ,psalms2 to ,shakespeare for such songs as ,where the ,bee ,sucks1 ,i know a ,bank1 ,ye ,spotted ,snakes1 either with or without music2 to ,longfellow's ,hiawatha for descriptive pieces1 and to ,scott and ,tennyson for ballads and songs1 and to many other simple classic sources outside the ordinary collections4 ,in both prose and poetry1 probably the ultimate aim is appreciation of beauty in human conduct4 ,clutton ,brock says1 ,the value of art is the value of the aesthetic activity of the spirit1 and we must all value that before we can value works of art rightly3 and ultimately we must value this glory of the universe1 to which we give the name of beauty when we apprehend it4 ,again he says1 ,parents1 nurses and teachers ought to be aware that the child when he forgets himself in the beauty of the world is passing through a sacred experience which will enrich and glorify the whole of his life4 ,if all this is what literature means in a child's experiences of life1 then it must be given a worthy place in the time-table and curriculum and in the serious preparation by the teacher for her work4 ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,experiences ,,of ,,the ,,natural ,,world ,the first experiences the child gains from the world of nature are those of beauty1 of sound1 colour and smell4 ,flowers at first are just lovely and sweet-smelling2 the keen senses of a child are more deeply satisfied with colour and scent than we have any idea of1 unless some faint memory of what it meant remains with us4 ,but he begins to grasp real scientific truth from his experiences with the elements which have for him such a mysterious attraction2 by the very contact with water something in the child responds to its stimulus4 ,mud and sand have their charms1 quite intangible1 but universal1 from prince to coster2 a bonfire is something that arouses a kind of primeval joy4 ,again1 race experience reproducing itself may account for all this1 and it must be satisfied4 ,the demand for contact with the rest of nature is a strong and fierce part of human nature1 and it means the growth of something in life that we cannot do without4 ,we induce children to come into our schools when this hunger is at its fiercest1 and very often we do nothing to satisfy it1 but set them in rooms to look at things inanimate when their very being is crying out for life4 ,i want something and ,i don't know what to want is the expression of a state very frequent in children1 and not infrequent in grown-up people1 because they have been balked of something4 ,how1 then1 can we provide for their experience of this side of life8 ,we have tried to do so in the past by object and nature lessons1 but we must admit that they are not the means by which young children seek to know life1 or by which they appreciate its beauty4 ,we have been trying to kill too many birds with one stone in our economic way2 to train the powers of observation1 to teach a child to express himself1 to help a child to gain useful knowledge about living things1 have been the most usual aims4 ,and the method has been that of minute examination of a specimen from the plant or animal world1 utterly detached from its surroundings1 considered by the docile child in parts1 such as leaves1 stem1 roots1 petals1 and uses2 or head1 wings1 legs1 tail1 and habits4 ,the innocent listener might frequently think with reason that a number lesson rather than a nature lesson was being given4 ,the day of the object lesson is past1 and to young children the nature lesson must become nature work4 ,it is in the term nature lesson that the root of the mischief lies3 nature is not a lesson to the young child1 it is an interest from which he seeks to gain more pleasure1 by means of his own activity3 plants encourage him to garden1 animals stir his desire to watch1 feed and protect2 water1 earth and fire arouse his craving to investigate and experiment3 there is no motive for passive study at this juncture1 and without a motive or purpose all study leads to nothing4 ,adults compare1 and count the various parts of a living thing for purposes of classification connected with the subdivisions of life which we call botany and zoology2 but such things are far removed from the young child's world--only gradually does it begin to dawn on him that there are interesting likenesses1 and that in this world1 as in his own1 there are relationships2 when he realises this1 the time for a nature lesson has come4 ,but much direct experience must come first4 ,in setting out the furnishing of the school the need for this activity is implied4 ,no school worthy of the name can do without a garden1 any more than it can do without reading books1 or blackboards1 indeed the former need is greater3 if it is possible1 and possibilities gradually merge into acceptances1 a pond should be in the middle of the garden1 and trees should also be considered as part of the whole4 ,it is not difficult for the ordinary person to make a pond1 or even to begin a garden4 ,in a school situated in ,s4,e4 ,london in the midst of rows of monotonous little houses1 and close to a busy railway junction1 a miracle was performed3 the playground was not very large1 and of the usual uncompromising concrete4 ,the children1 most of whose fathers worked on the railway1 lived in the surrounding streets1 and most of them had a back-yard of sorts2 they had little or no idea of a garden4 ,one of the teachers had1 however1 a vision which became a reality4 ,she asked her children to help to make a garden1 and for weeks every child brought from his back-yard his little paper bag of soil which was deposited over some clinkers that were spread out in a narrow border against the outside wall2 in a few months there was a border of two yards in which flowers were planted3 the caretaker1 inspired by the sight1 did his share of fixing a wooden strip as a kind of supporting border to the whole3 in two years the garden had spread all round the outside wall of the playground1 and belonged to several classes4 ,an even greater miracle was performed in a dock-side school1 where to most of the children a back-yard was a luxury beyond all possibility4 ,the school playground was very small1 and evening classes made a school garden quite impossible4 ,but the head mistress was one who saw life full of possibilities1 and so she saw a garden even in the sordidness4 ,round the parish church was a graveyard long disused1 and near one of the gates a small piece of ground that had never been used for any graveyard purpose3 it was near enough to the school to be possible1 and in a short time the miracle happened--the entrance to the graveyard became a children's flowering garden4 ,inside the school where plants and flowers in pots are numerous1 a part of the morning should be spent in the care of these3 few people know how to arrange flowers1 and fewer how to feed and wash them2 if there are an aquarium or chrysalis boxes1 they have to be attended to3 all this should be a regular duty with a strong sense of responsibility attached to it2 it is curious how many people are content to live in an atmosphere of decaying matter4 ,if the children enjoy so intensely the colour of the leaves and flowers they will be glad to have the opportunity of painting them2 this is as much a part of nature work as any other1 and it should be used as such1 because it emphasises so strongly the side of appreciation of beauty1 a side very often neglected4 ,it is here that the individual paint box is so important4 ,if children are to have any sense of colour they must learn to match very truthfully2 there is a great difference between the blue of the forget-me-not and of the bluebell1 but only by experiment can children discover that the difference lies in the amount of red in the latter4 ,by means of discoveries of this kind they will see new colours in life around them1 and a new depth of meaning will come to their everyday observations4 ,this is true observation1 not the look and say of the oral lesson1 which has no purpose in it1 and leads to no natural activity1 or to appreciation4 ,it is difficult to satisfy the interest in animals4 ,in connection with the ,nursery ,school the most suitable have been mentioned4 ,the transition and junior school children may see others when they go for excursions4 ,at this stage1 too1 children have a great desire to learn about wild animals1 and the need often arises out of their literature3 the camel that brought ,rebecca to ,isaac1 the wolf that adopted ,mowgli1 the reindeer that carried ,kay and ,gerda1 the fox that tried to eat the seven little kids1 ,androcles' lion1 and ,black ,sambo's tiger1 might form an interesting series1 helped by pictures of the creature in its own home4 ,it is difficult to say whether this may be termed literature1 geography1 or nature study4 ,the difficulty serves to show the unity of life at this period4 ,books such as ,seton ,thompson's1 ,long's1 and ,kearton's1 and many others1 supply living experiences of animal life impossible to get from less direct sources4 ,as children get older1 and have the power to look back1 they will feel the necessity of keeping records2 and thus the ,nature ,calendar1 forerunner of geography1 will be adopted naturally4 ,another important feature in nature experiences is the excursion4 ,froebel says3 ,not only children and boys1 but indeed many adults1 fare with nature and her character as ordinary men fare with the air4 ,they live in it and yet scarcely know it as something distinct 444 therefore these children and boys who spend all their time in the fields and forests see and feel nothing of the beauties of nature and their influence on the human heart4 ,they are like people who have grown up in a very beautiful country and who have no idea of its beauty and its spirit 444 therefore it is so important that boys and adults should go into the fields and forests1 together striving to receive into their hearts and minds the life and spirit of nature4 ,it is evident from this that excursions are as necessary in the country as in the town1 where instead of the fields and forests perhaps only a park is possible1 but there is no virtue in an excursion taken without preparation4 ,the teacher must first of all visit the place and see what it is likely to give the children4 ,she must tell them something of it1 give them some aim in going there1 such as collecting leaves or fruits1 or recording different shapes of bare trees1 or collecting things that grow in the grass4 ,these are examples of what a town park might yield4 ,within one group of children there might be many with different aims4 ,during the days following the excursion time should be spent in using these experiences1 either by means of painting and modelling1 or making classified collections of things found1 or compiling records1 oral or written4 ,otherwise the excursion degenerates into a school treat without its natural enjoyment4 ,with regard to the inevitable gaps in the children's minds in connection with the world of living things1 such pictures as the following should be in every town school3 a pine wood1 a rabbit warren1 a natural pond1 a ditch and hedge1 a hayfield in ,june1 a wild daffodil patch1 a sheet of bluebells1 a cornfield at different stages1 an orchard in spring and in autumn1 and many others4 ,these must be constantly used when they are needed1 and not misused in the artificial method known as picture talks4 ,there is another side to nature work4 ,froebel says3 ,the things of nature form a more beautiful ladder between heaven and earth than that seen by ,jacob2 not a one-sided ladder leading in one direction1 but an all-sided one leading in all directions4 ,not in dreams is it seen2 it is permanent1 it surrounds us on all sides4 ,froebel believed that contact with nature helps a child's realisation of ,god1 and any one who believes in early religious experience must agree2 a child's early questions and difficulties1 as well as his early awe and fear show it--he is probably nearer to ,god in his nature work than in many of the daily ,scripture lessons4 ,all his education should be permeated by spiritual feeling1 but there are some aspects in which the realisation is clearer1 and possibly his contact with nature stands out as the highest in this respect4 ,there is no conscious method or art in bringing this about2 the teacher must feel it and be convinced of it4 ,thus we come to the conclusion that the ,nursery ,school nature work can be safely left to look after itself1 provided the surroundings are satisfying and the children are free4 ,in the transition and the junior school there should be no nature lessons of the object lesson type1 but plenty of nature work1 leading to talks1 handwork1 and poetry4 ,the aim is not economic or informational at this stage1 but the development of pure appreciation and interest4 ,there can hardly be a regular place on the time-table for such irregular work1 comprising excursions1 gardening1 handwork1 and literature at least1 and depending on the weather and the seasons4 ,there should always be a regular morning time for attending to plants and animals and for the ,nature ,calendar1 but no living teacher will be a slave to mere time-table thraldom4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,experiences ,,of ,,mathematical ,,truths ,by means of toys1 handwork and games1 as well as various private individual experiments1 a child touches on most sides of mathematics in the nursery class4 ,in experimenting with bricks he must of necessity have considered relative size1 balance and adjustment1 form and symmetry2 in fitting them back into their boxes some of the most difficult problems of cubic content2 in weighing out pretence sugar and butter by means of sand and clay new problems are there for consideration2 in making a paper-house questions of measurement evolve4 ,this is all in the incidental play of the ,nursery ,school1 and yet we might say that a child thus occupied is learning mathematics more than anything else4 ,here1 if he remained till six1 he did a certain amount of necessary counting1 and he may have acquired skill in recognising groups1 he may have unconsciously and incidentally performed achievements in the four rules1 but never1 of course1 in any shortened or technical form4 ,probably he knows some figures4 ,it is best to give these to a child when he asks for or needs them1 as in the case of records of games4 ,on the other hand he may be content with strokes4 ,various mathematical relationships are made clear in his games or trials of strength1 such as distance in relation to time or strength1 weight in relation to power and to balance1 length and breadth in relation to materials1 value of material in relation to money or work4 ,by means of many of his toys the properties of solids have become working knowledge to him4 ,here1 then1 is our starting-point for the transition period4 ,,after ,,the ,,nursery ,,stage ,undoubtedly the aim of the transition class is partly to continue by means of games and dramatic play the kind of knowledge gained in the ,nursery ,school2 but it has also the task of beginning to organise such knowledge1 as the grouping into tens and hundreds4 ,this organisation of raw material and the presenting of shortened processes1 as occur in the first four rules1 forms the work also of the junior school4 ,to give to a child shortened processes which he would be very unlikely to discover in less than a lifetime1 is simply giving him the experience of the race1 as primitive man did to his son4 ,but the important point is to decide when a child's discovery should end and the teacher's demonstration begin4 ,this is the period when we are accustomed to speak of beginning abstract work2 it is well to be clear what it means1 and how it stands related to a child's need for experience4 ,when we leave the problems of life1 such as shopping1 keeping records of games and making measurements for construction2 and when we begin to work with pure number1 we are said to be dealing with the abstract4 ,formerly dealing with pure number was called simple1 and dealing with actual things1 such as money and measures1 compound1 and they were taken in this order4 ,but experience has reversed the process1 and a child comes to see the need of abstract practice when he finds he is not quick enough or accurate enough1 or his setting out seems clumsy1 in actual problems4 ,this was discussed at greater length in the chapter on ,play4 ,for instance1 he might set down the points of a game by strokes1 each line representing a different opponent3 ,john ,henry ,tom ,he will see how difficult it is to estimate at a glance the exact score1 and how easy it is to be inaccurate4 ,it seems the moment to show him that the idea of grouping or enclosing a certain number1 and always keeping to the same grouping1 is helpful3 ,john #a ten and #f singles4 ,henry #a ten and #a single4 ,tom #c singles4 ,after doing this a good many times he could be told that this is a universal method1 and he would doubtless enjoy the purely puzzle pleasure in working long sums to perfect practice4 ,this pleasure is very common in children at this stage1 but too often it comes to them merely through being shown the trick of carrying tens4 ,they have reached a purely abstract point1 but they cannot get through it without some more material help4 ,the following is an example of the kind of help that can be given in getting clear the concept of the ten grouping and the processes it involves3 ,illustration3 ,board with hooks1 in ranks of nine1 and rings ,the whole apparatus is a rectangular piece of wood about #c_/d of an inch thick1 and about #cx#a-a_/b feet of surface4 ,it is painted white1 and the horizontal bars are green1 so that the divisions may be apparent at a distance2 it has perpendicular divisions breaking it up into three columns1 each of which contains rows of nine small dresser hooks4 ,it can be hung on an easel or supported by its own hinge on a table4 ,each of the divisions represents a numerical grouping1 the one on the right is for singles or units1 the central one for tens1 and the left side one for hundreds3 the counters used are button moulds1 dipped in red ink1 with small loops of string to hang on the hooks3 it is easily seen by a child that1 after nine is reached1 the units can no longer remain in their division or house1 but must be gathered together into a bunch 7fastened by a safety pin7 and fixed on one of the hooks of the middle division4 ,sums of two or three lines can thus be set out on the horizontal bars1 and in processes of addition the answer can be on the bottom line4 ,it is very easy1 by this concrete means1 to see the process in subtraction1 and indeed the whole difficulty of dealing with ten is made concrete4 ,the whole of a sum can be gone through on this board with the button-moulds1 and on boards and chalk with figures1 side by side1 thus interpreting symbol by material2 but the whole process is abstract4 ,the piece of apparatus is less abstract only in degree than the figures on the blackboard1 because neither represents real life or its problems3 in abstract working we are merely going off at a side issue for the sake of practice1 to make us more competent to deal with the economic affairs of life4 ,there is a place for sticks and counters1 and there is a place for money and measures1 but they are not the same3 the former represents the abstract and the latter the concrete problem if used as in real life3 the bridge between the abstract and the concrete is largely the work of the transition class and junior school1 in respect of the foundations of arithmetic known as the first four rules4 ,games of skill1 very thorough shopping or keeping a bankbook1 or selling tickets for tram or train1 represent the kind of everyday problem that should be the centre of the arithmetic work at this transition stage2 and out of the necessities of these problems the abstract and semi-abstract work should come1 but it should never precede the real work4 ,a real purpose should underlie it all1 a purpose that is apparent and stimulating enough to produce willing practice4 ,a child will do much to be a good shopkeeper1 a good tram conductor1 a good banker2 he will always play the game for all it is worth4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,,experiences ,,by ,,means ,,of ,,doing ,in the ,nursery ,school activity is the chief characteristic3 one of its most usual forms is experimenting with tools and materials1 such as chalk1 paints1 scissors1 paper1 sand1 clay and other things4 ,the desire to experiment1 to change the material in some way1 to gratify the senses1 especially the muscular one1 may be stronger than the desire to construct4 ,the handwork play of the ,nursery ,school is therefore chiefly by means of imitation and experiment1 and direct help is usually quite unwelcome to the child under six4 ,there is little more to be said in the way of direction than1 ,provide suitable material1 give freedom1 and help1 if the child wants it4 ,but the case is rather different in the transitional stage4 ,as the race learnt to think by doing1 so children seem to approach thought in that way2 they have a natural inclination to do in the first case2 they try1 do wrongly1 consider1 examine1 observe1 and do again3 for example1 a girl wants to make a doll's bonnet like the baby's2 she begins impulsively to cut out the stuff1 finds it too small1 tries to visualise the right size1 examines the real bonnet1 and makes another attempt4 ,at some apparently odd moment she stumbles on a truth1 perhaps the relation of one form to another in the mazes of bonnet-making2 it is at these odd moments that we learn4 ,or a boy may be painting a ,christmas card1 and in another odd moment he may feel something of the beauty of colour1 if1 for example1 he is copying holly-berries4 ,no purposeless looking at them would have stirred appreciation4 ,whether the end is doing1 or whether it is thinking1 the two are inextricably connected2 in the earlier stages the way to know and feel is very often by action1 and here is the basis of the maxim that handwork is a method4 ,this idea has often been only half digested1 and consequently it has led to a very trivial kind of application2 a nature lesson of the look and say description has been followed by a painting lesson2 a geography lesson1 by the making of a model4 ,if the method of learning by doing was the accepted aim of the teacher then it was not carried out1 for this is learning and then doing1 not learning for the purpose of doing1 but doing for the purpose of testing the learning1 which is quite another matter1 and not a very natural procedure with young children4 ,many people have tried to make things from printed directions1 a woman may try to make a blouse and a man to make a knife-box2 their procedure is not to separate the doing and the learning process2 probably they have first tried to do1 found need for help1 and gone to the printed directions1 which they followed side by side with the doing2 and in the light of former failures or in the course of looking or of experimenting1 they stumbled upon knowledge3 this is learning by doing4 ,therefore the making of a box may be arithmetic1 the painting of a buttercup may be nature study1 the construction of a model1 or of dramatic properties may be geography or history1 not by any means the only way of learning1 but one of the earlier ways and a very sound way2 there is a purpose to serve behind it all1 that will lead to very careful discrimination in selection of knowledge1 and to pains taken to retain it4 ,if this is fully understood by a teacher and she is content to take nature's way1 and abide for nature's time to see results1 then her methods will be appropriately applied3 she will see that she is not training a race of box-makers1 but that she is guiding children to discover things that they need to know in a natural way1 and ensuring that as these facts are discovered they shall be used4 ,consequently neither haste nor perfection of finish must cloud the aim2 it is not the output that matters but the method by which the children arrive at the finished object1 not forty good boxes1 but forty good thinkers4 ,dewey has put it most clearly when he says that the right test of an occupation consists in putting the maximum of consciousness into whatever is done4 ,froebel says1 ,what man tries to represent or do he begins to understand4 ,this is what we should mean by saying that handwork is a method of learning4 ,but handwork has its own absolute place as well4 ,a child wants to acquire skill in this direction even more consciously than he wants to learn3 if he has been free1 in the nursery class1 to experiment with materials1 and if he knows some of his limitations1 he is now1 in the transition class1 ready for help1 and he should get it as he needs it4 ,this may run side by side with the more didactic side of handwork which has been described1 but it is more likely that in practice the two are inextricably mixed up2 and this does not matter if the two ends are clear in the teacher's mind2 both sides have to be reckoned with4 ,the important thing to know is the kind of help that should be given1 and when and how it is needed4 ,it is well to remember that in this connection a child's limitations are not final1 but only mark stages3 for example1 in his early attempts to use thick cardboard he cannot discover the neat hinge that is made by the process known as a half-cut2 he tries in vain to bend the cardboard1 so as to secure the same result4 ,there are two ways of helping him3 either he can be quite definitely shown and made to imitate1 or he can be set to think about it2 he is given a cardboard knife and allowed to experiment3 if he fails1 it may be suggested that a clean edge can only be got by some form of cutting2 probably he will find out the rest of the process4 ,the second method is the better one1 because it promotes thinking1 while the first only promotes pure imitation and the habit of reckoning on this easy solution of difficulties4 ,a dull child may have to be shown1 but there are few such children1 unless they have been trained to dulness4 ,imitation is not1 however1 always a medicine for dulness1 nor does it always produce dulness4 ,there is a time for imitation and there is a kind of imitation that is very intelligent4 ,for example1 a child may come across a toy aeroplane and wish to make one2 he will examine it carefully1 think over the uses of parts and proceed to make one as like it as possible3 here again is the maximum of consciousness1 the essence of thinking4 ,or the imitation may consist in following verbal directions3 this is far from easy if the teacher is at all vague1 and promotes valuable effort if she is clear but not diffuse3 the putting of words into action necessitates a considerable amount of imagining1 and the establishment of very important associations in brain centres4 ,such cases might occur in connection with weaving1 cardboard and paper work1 or the more technical processes of drawing and painting1 where race experience is actually given to a child1 by means of which he leaps over the experiences of centuries4 ,this is progress4 ,if a teacher is to take handwork seriously1 and not as a pretty recreation with pleasing results1 she should be fully conscious of all that it means1 and apply this definitely in her work3 it is so easy to be trivial while appearing to be thorough by having well-finished work produced1 which has necessitated little hard thinking on the child's part4 ,construction gives a sense of power1 a strengthening of the will1 ability to concentrate on a purpose in learning1 a social sense of serviceableness1 a deepened individuality3 but this can only be looked for if a child is allowed to approach it in the right way1 first as an experimenter and investigator1 or as an artist1 and afterwards as a learner1 who is also an individual1 and learns in his own way and at his own rate3 but if the teacher's ambition is external and economic then the child is a tool in her hands1 and will remain a tool4 ,we cannot expect the fruits of the spirit if our goal is a material one4 ,one of the lessons of the war is economy4 ,in handwork this has come to us through the quest for materials1 but it has been a blessing1 if now and then in disguise4 ,in the more formal period of handwork only prepared1 almost patented material was used2 everything was requisitioned and eager manufacturers supplied very highly finished stuff4 ,not very many years ago1 the keeper of a ,kindergarten stall at an exhibition said1 while pointing to cards cut and printed with outlines for sewing and pricking1 ,we have so many orders for these that we can afford to lay down considerable plant for their production4 ,an example in another direction is that of a little girl who attended one of the best so-called ,kindergartens of the time3 she was afflicted1 while at home1 with the don't know what to do malady2 her mother suggested that she might make some of the things she made at school1 but she negatived that at once with the remark1 ,i couldn't do that1 you see1 because we have none of the right kind of stuff to make them of here4 ,it is quite unnecessary to give more direct details as to the kind of work suitable and the method of doing it2 more than enough books of help have been published on every kind of material1 and it might perhaps be well if we made less use of such terms as clay-modelling1 cardboard-work1 raffia1 and took handwork more in the sense of constructive or expressive work1 letting the children select one or several media for their purpose2 they ought to have access to a variety of material2 and except when they waste1 they should use it freely4 ,it is limiting and unenlightened to put down a special time for the use of special material1 if the end might be better answered by something else3 if modelling is at #aa4cj on ,monday and children are anxious to make ,christmas presents1 what law in heaven or earth are we obeying if we stick to modelling except the law of ,red ,tape4 ,,chapter ,,xxv ,,experiences ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,man ,this aspect of experience comes in two forms1 the life of man in the past1 with the memorials and legacies he has left1 and the life of man in the present under the varying conditions of climate and all that it involves4 ,in other words these experiences are commonly known as history and geography1 though in the earlier stages of their appearance in school it is perhaps better to call the work--preparation for history and geography4 ,they would naturally appear in the transition or the junior class1 preferably in the latter1 but they need not be wholly new subjects to a child2 his literature has prepared him for both2 to some extent his experiments in handwork have prepared him for history1 while his nature work1 especially his excursions and records1 have prepared him for geography4 ,that he needs this extension of experience can be seen in his growing demands for true stories1 true in the more literal sense which he is coming fast to appreciate2 undoubtedly most children pass through a stage of extreme literalism between early childhood and what is generally recognised as boyhood and girlhood4 ,they begin to ask questions regarding the past1 they are interested in things from abroad1 however vague that term may be to them4 ,perhaps it will be best to treat the two subjects separately1 though like all the child's curriculum at this stage they are inextricably confused and mingled both with each other1 and with literature1 as experiences of man's life and conduct4 ,the beginnings of geography lie in the child's foundations of experience4 ,probably the first real contact1 unconscious though it may be1 that any child has in this connection is through the production of food and clothing4 ,a country child sees some of the beginnings of both1 but it is doubtful how much of it is really interpreted by him2 the village shop with its inexhaustible stores probably means much more in the way of origins1 and he may never go behind its contents in his speculations4 ,it is true he sees milking1 harvesting1 sheep-shearing1 and many other operations1 but he often misses the stage between the actual beginning and the finished product--between the wool on the sheep's back and his ,sunday clothes1 between the wheat in the field and his loaf of bread4 ,the town child has many links if he can use them3 the goods train1 the docks1 the grocer's1 green-grocer's or draper's shop1 foreigners in the street1 the vans that come through the silent streets in the early morning2 in big towns1 such markets as ,covent ,garden or ,leadenhall or ,smithfield2 such a river as the ,thames1 ,humber or ,mersey--from any one of these beginnings he can reach out from his own small environment to the world4 ,a town child has very confused notions of what a farm really means to national life1 and a country child of what a big railway station or dock involves4 ,all children need to know what other parts of their own land look like1 and what is produced2 they ought to trace the products within reach to their origin1 and this will involve descriptions of such things as fisheries at ,hull or ,aberdeen1 the coal mines of ,wales or ,lanarkshire1 pottery districts of ,stafford1 woollen and cotton factories of ,yorkshire and ,lancashire1 mills driven by steam1 wind and water1 lighthouses1 the sheep-rearing districts of ,cumberland and ,midlothian1 the flax-growing of northern ,ireland1 and much else1 and the means of transit and communication between all these4 ,the children will gradually realise that many of the things they are familiar with1 such as tea1 oranges1 silk and sugar1 have not been accounted for1 and this will take them to the lives of people in other countries1 the means of getting there1 the time taken and mode of travelling4 ,they will also come to see that we do not produce enough of the things that are possible to grow1 such as wheat1 apples1 wool and many other common necessaries1 and that we can spare much that is manufactured to countries that do not make them1 such as boots1 clothes1 china and cutlery4 ,there will come a time when the need for a map is apparent3 that is the time to branch off from the main theme and make one2 it will have to be of the very immediate surroundings first1 but it is not difficult to make the leap soon to countries beyond4 ,previous to the need for it1 map-making is useless4 ,this working outwards from actual experiences1 from the home country to the foreign1 from actual contact with real things to things of travellers' tales1 is the only way to bring geography to the very door of the school1 to make it part of the actual life4 ,the beginning of history1 as of geography1 lies in the child's foundations of experience4 ,in the country village he sees the church1 possibly some old cottages1 or an ,elizabethan or ,jacobean house near2 in the churchyard or in the church the tombstones have quaint inscriptions with reference possibly to past wars or to early colonisation4 ,the slum child on the other hand sees much that is worn out1 but little that is antiquated1 unless the slum happen to be in such places as ,edinburgh or ,deptford1 situated among the remains of really fine houses3 but he realises more of the technicalities and officialism of a social system than does the country child2 the suburban child has probably the scantiest store of all2 his district is presumably made up of rows of respectable but monotonous houses1 and the social life is similarly respectable and monotonous4 ,there are certain cravings1 interests and needs1 common to all children1 which come regardless of surroundings4 ,all children want to know certain things about people who lived before them1 not so much their great doings as their smaller ones2 they want to know what these people were like1 what they worked at1 and learnt1 how they travelled1 what they bought and sold3 and there is undoubtedly a primitive strain in all children that comes out in their love of building shelters1 playing at savages1 and making things out of natural material4 ,one of the most intense moments in ,peter ,pan to many children is the building of the little house in the wood1 and later on1 of the other on the top of the trees3 that is the little house of their dreams4 ,they are not interested in constitutions or the making of laws2 wars and invasions have much the same kind of interest for them as the adventures of ,una and the ,red ,cross ,knight4 ,how are these cravings usually satisfied in the early stages of history teaching of to-day8 ,as a rule a series of biographies of notable people is given1 regardless of chronology1 or the children's previous experiences1 and equally careless of the history lessons of the future2 ,joan of ,arc1 ,alfred and the ,cakes1 ,gordon of ,khartoum1 ,boadicea1 ,christopher ,columbus1 ,julius ,caesar1 form a list which is not at all uncommon2 there is no leading thread1 no developing idea1 and the old test1 the children like it1 excuses indolent thinking4 ,on the other hand1 the desire to know more of the ,robinson ,crusoe mode of life has been apparent to many teachers for some time1 but the material at their disposal has been scanty and uncertain4 ,it is to ,prof4 ,dewey that we owe the right organisation of this part of history4 ,he has shown that it is on the side of industry1 the early modes of weaving1 cooking1 lighting and heating1 making implements for war and for hunting1 and making of shelters1 that prehistoric man has a real contribution to give3 but for the beginnings of social life1 for realisation of such imperishable virtues as courage1 patriotism and self-sacrifice1 children must go to the lives of real people and gradually acquire the idea that certain things are1 so to speak1 from everlasting to everlasting1 while others change with changing and growing circumstances4 ,the prehistoric history should be largely concerned with doing and experimenting1 with making weapons1 or firing clay1 or weaving rushes1 or with visits to such museums as ,horniman's at ,forest ,hill4 ,the early social history may well take the form best suited to the child1 and not appeal merely to surface interest4 ,and the spirit in which the lives of other people are presented to children must not be the narrow1 prejudiced1 insular one1 so long associated with the people of ,great ,britain1 which calls other customs1 dress1 modes of3 living1 funny or absurd or extraordinary1 but rather the scientific spirit that interprets life according to its conditions and so builds up one of its greatest laws1 the law of environment4 ,the geography syllabus1 even more than the history one1 depends for its beginnings at least on the surroundings of the school--out of the mass of possible materials a very rich and comprehensive syllabus can be made1 beginning with any one of the central points already suggested4 ,above all there should be plenty of pictures1 not as amplification1 but as material1 by means of which a child may interpret more fully2 a picture should be of the nature of a problem or of a map--and picture reading should be in the junior school what map reading is in the upper school4 ,in both history and geography the method is partly that of discovery2 especially is this the case in that part of history which deals with primitive industries1 and in almost the whole of the geography of this period4 ,the teacher is the guide or leader in discovery1 not the story-teller merely1 though this may be part of his function4 ,the following is a small part of a syllabus to show how geography and history material may grow naturally out of the children's experiences4 ,it is meant in this case for children in a ,london suburb1 with no particular characteristics3-- ,,geography ,it grows out of the shops of the neighbourhood and the adjoining railway system4 ,home-produced ,goods-- ,a4 ,the green-grocer's shop4 ,tracing of fruit to its own home source1 or to a foreign country4 ,home-grown fruit4 ,the fruit farm1 garden1 orchard1 and wood4 ,the packing and sending of fruit4--,railway lines4 ,covent ,garden2 the docks2 fruit stalls2 jam factories4 ,b4 ,a grocer's or corn-chandler's shop4 ,flour and oatmeal traced to their sources4 ,the farm4 ,a wheat and grain farm at different seasons4 ,a dairy farm and a sheep farm4 ,a mill and its processes4 ,woollen factories4 ,a dairy4 ,making of butter and cheese ,distribution of these goods4 ,c4 ,a china shop1 leading to the pottery district and making of pottery4 ,foreign ,goods-- ,furs--,red ,indians and ,canada4 ,dates--,the ,arabs and the ,sahara4 ,cotton--,the ,negroes and equatorial regions4 ,cocoa--,the ,west ,indies4 ,the transit of these1 their arrival and distribution4 ,the need for a map will come early in the first part of the course1 and the need for a globe in the second4 ,,history ,this grows naturally out of the geography syllabus and might be taken side by side or afterwards4 ,the development of industries4 ,the growth of spinning and weaving from the simplest processes1 bringing in the distaff1 spinning-wheel1 and loom4 ,the making of garments from the joining together of furs4 ,the growth of pottery and the development of cooking4 ,the growth of roads and means of transit4 ,this will involve a good deal of experimental and constructive handwork4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,,experiences ,,recorded ,,and ,,passed ,,on ,reading and writing are held to have lifted man above the brute2 they are the means by which we can discover and record human experience and progress1 and as such their value is incalculable4 ,but in themselves they are artificial conventions1 symbols invented for the convenience of mankind1 and to acquire them we need exercise no great mental power4 ,a good eye and ear memory1 and a certain superficial quickness to recognise and apply previous knowledge1 is all that is needed for reading and spelling2 while for writing1 the development of a specialised muscular skill is all that is necessary4 ,in themselves they do not as a rule hold any great interest for a child3 sometimes they have the same puzzle interest as a long addition sum1 and to children of a certain type1 mechanical work such as writing gives relief2 one of the most docile and uninteresting of little boys said that writing was his favourite subject1 and it was easy to understand3 he did not want to be stirred out of his commonplaceness2 unconsciously he had assimilated the atmosphere and adopted the standards of his surroundings1 which were monotonous and commonplace in the extreme1 and so he desired no more adventurous method of expression than the process of writing1 which he could do well4 ,imitation is often a strong incentive to reading1 it is part of the craving for grown-upness to many children2 they desire to do what their brothers and sisters can do4 ,but during the first stage of childhood1 roughly up to the age of six or even later1 no child needs to learn to read or write1 taking need in the psychological sense3 that period is concerned with laying the foundation of real things and with learning surroundings2--any records of experience that come to a child can come as they did to his earliest forefathers--by word of mouth4 ,when he wants to read stories for himself1 or write his own letters1 then he is impelled by a sufficiently strong aim or incentive to make concentration possible1 without resorting to any of the fantastic devices and apparatus so dear to so many teachers4 ,indeed it is safe to say of many of these devices that they prove the fact that children are not ready for reading4 ,when a child is ready to read and write the process need not be a long one3 by wise delay many tedious hours are saved1 tedious to both teacher and children2 they have already learnt to talk in those precious hours1 to discriminate sounds as part of language training1 but without any resort to symbols--merely as something natural4 ,it has been amply proved that if a child is not prematurely forced into reading he can do as much in one year as he would have done in three1 under more strained conditions4 ,with regard to methods a great deal has been written on the subject2 it is pretty safe to leave a teacher to choose her own--for much of the elaboration is unnecessary if reading is rightly delayed1 and if a child can read reasonably well at seven and a half there can be no grounds for complaint4 ,if his phonetic training has been good in the earlier stages of language1 then this may be combined with the look and say method1 or method of reading by whole words4 ,the cat on the mat type of book is disappearing1 and its place is being taken by books where the subject matter is interesting and suitable to the child's age2 but as in other subjects the book chosen should be considered in reference to the child's surroundings1 either to amplify or to extend4 ,writing is1 in the first instance1 a part of reading3 when words are being learnt they must be written1 or in the earliest stages printed1 but only those interesting to the children and written for some definite purpose should be selected3 a great aid to spelling is transcription1 and children are always willing to copy something they like1 such as a verse of poetry1 or their name and address4 ,as in arithmetic and in handwork1 they will come to recognise the need for practice1 and be willing to undergo such exercise for the sake of improvement1 as well as for the pleasure in the activity--which actual writing gives to some children4 ,we must be quite clear about relative values4 ,reading and writing are necessities1 and the means of opening up to us things of great value2 but the art of acquiring them is of little intrinsic value1 and the recognition of the need is not an early one2 nothing is gained by beginning too early1 and much valuable time is taken from other activities1 notably language4 ,the incentive should be the need that the child feels1 and when this is evident time and pains should be given to the subject so that it maybe quickly acquired4 ,but the art of reading is no test of intelligence1 and the art of writing is no test of original skill4 ,the claims of the upper departments must be resisted4 ,,chapter ,,xxvii ,,the ,,things ,,that ,,really ,,matter ,the first thing that matters is what is commonly called the personality of the teacher2 she must be a person1 unmistakable from other persons1 and not a type2 what she has as an individual1 of gifts or goodness1 she should give freely1 and give in her own way2 that she should be trained is1 of course1 as indisputable as the training of a doctor1 but her training should have deepened her personality4 ,pestalozzi's curriculum and organisation left much to be desired2 what he has handed down to us came from himself and his own experience1 not from anything superimposed3 records of his pupils constantly emphasise this3 it was his goodness assimilated with his outlook on life and readiness to learn by experience1 that mattered1 and it was this that remained with his pupils4 ,the teacher's own personality must dominate her choice of principles else she is a dead method1 a machine1 and not a living teacher4 ,she must not keep her interests and gifts for out-of-school use2 if she has a sense of humour she must use it1 if she is fond of pretty clothes she must wear them in school1 if she appreciates music she must help her class to do the same1 if she has dramatic gifts she must act to them4 ,her standard of goodness must be high1 and she must be strong enough to adopt it practically1 so that she is unconscious of it3 goodness and righteousness are as essential as health to a teacher3 for something intangible passes from the teacher to her children1 however young and unconscious they may be1 and nothing can awaken goodness but goodness4 ,part of her personality is her attitude towards religion4 ,it is difficult to think of a teacher of young children who is not religious1 i4e4 whose conduct is not definitely permeated by her spiritual life3 young children are essentially religious1 and the life of the spirit must find a response in the same kind of intangible assumption of its existence as goodness4 ,no form of creed or dogma is meant1 only the life of the spirit common to all4 ,but of course there may be people who refuse to admit this as a necessity4 ,the next thing that matters is that all children must be regarded as individuals3 there has been much more talk of this lately1 but practical difficulties are often raised as a bar4 ,if teachers and parents continue to accept the conditions which make it difficult1 such as large classes1 and a need to hasten1 there will always be a bar3 if individuality is held as one of the greatest things in education1 authorities cannot continue to economise so as to make it impossible4 ,it is the individual part of each child that is his most precious possession1 his immortal side3 ,froebel calls it his divine essence1 and makes the cultivation of it the aim of education2 he is right1 and any more general aim will lead only to half-developed human beings4 ,if we accept the principle that only goodness is fundamental and evil a distortion of nature1 we need have no fear about cultivating individuals4 ,every doctor assures us that all normal babies are naturally healthy2 they are also naturally good1 but evil is easily aroused by arbitrary interference or by mismanagement4 ,the third thing that matters belongs more especially to the intellectual life2 it might be described as the making of right associations4 ,more than any other side of training1 the making of associations means the making of the intelligent person4 ,to see life in patches is to see pieces of a great picture by the square inch1 and never to see the relationship of these to each other--never to see the whole4 ,the fourth thing that matters is the making of good and serviceable habits3 much has been said on this1 in connection with the nursery class1 and it is at that stage that the process is most important1 but it should never cease4 ,if a child is to have time and opportunity to develop his individuality he must not be hampered by having to be conscious of things that belong to the subconscious region4 ,to start a child with a foundation of good habits is better than riches4 ,the fifth thing that matters is the realisation by teachers that opportunities matter more than results2 opportunities to discover1 to learn1 to comprehend all sides of life1 to be an individual1 to appreciate beauty1 to go at one's own rate2 some are material in their nature1 such as the actual surroundings of the child in school2 others are rather in the atmosphere1 such as refraining from interference1 encouragement1 suggestion1 spirituality4 ,the teacher has the making of opportunities largely in her own hands4 ,the sixth thing1 that matters is the cultivation of the divine gift of imagination2 both morality and spirituality spring from this2 meanness1 cowardice1 lack of sympathy1 sensuality1 materialism1 quickly grow where there is no imagination4 ,it refines and intensifies personality1 it opens a door to things beyond the senses4 ,it makes possible appreciation of the things of the spirit1 and appreciation is a thousand times more important than knowledge4 ,the last thing that matters is the need for freedom from bondage1 of the body and of the soul4 ,only from a free atmosphere can come the best things--personality1 imagination and opportunity2 and all are great needs1 but the greatest of all is freedom4 ,,bibliography ,,froebel4 ,the ,education of ,man4 7,appleton47 ,,macdougall4 ,social ,psychology4 7,methuen47 ,,groos4 ,the ,play of ,man4 7,heinemann47 ,,drummond4 ,an ,introduction to ,child ,study4 7,arnold47 ,,kirkpatrick4 ,fundamentals of ,child ,study4 7,macmillan47 ,,dewey4 ,the ,school and the ,child4 7,blackie47 ,the ,dewey ,school4 7,the ,froebel ,society47 ,,stanley ,,hall4 ,aspects of ,education4 ,,findlay4 ,school and ,life4 7,g4 ,philip ,son47 ,,sully4 ,children's ,ways4 7,longmans47 ,,caldwell ,,cook4 ,the ,play ,way4 7,heinemann47 ,e4,r4 ,,murray4 ,froebel as a ,pioneer in ,modern ,psychology4 7,g4 ,philip ,son47 ,edited by ,h4 ,,brown ,,smith4 ,education by ,life4 7,g4 ,philip ,son47 ,,margaret ,,drummond4 ,the ,dawn of ,mind4 7,arnold47 ,,boyd4 ,from ,locke to ,montessori4 7,harrap47 ,,kilpatrick4 ,montessori ,examined4 7,constable47 ,,wiggin4 ,children's ,rights4 7,gay ,hancock47 ,,birchenough4 ,history of ,elementary ,education4 7,univ4 ,tutorial ,press47 ,,macmillan4 ,the ,camp ,school4 7,allen ,unwin47 ,,hardy4 ,the ,diary of a ,free ,kindergarten4 7,gay ,hancock47 ,,scott4 ,social ,education4 7,ginn47 ,,tylor4 ,anthropology4 7,macmillan47 ,,kingston ,,quiggin4 ,primeval ,man4 7,macdonald ,evans47 ,,solomon4 ,an ,infant ,school4 7,the ,froebel ,society47 ,,felix ,,klein4 ,mon ,filleul au ,jardin d',enfants4 ,i4 ,comment il s'lve4 ,,ii4 ,comment il s'instruit4 7,armand ,colin1 ,paris47 ,e4 ,,nesbit4 ,wings and the ,child4 7,hodder and ,stoughton47 ,,wells4 ,floor ,games4 7,palmer47 ,,ruskin4 ,the ,two ,paths4 ,,dopp4 ,the ,place of ,industries in ,industrial ,education4 7,univ4 of ,chicago ,press47 ,,pritchard ,,and ,,ashford4 ,an ,english ,primary ,school4 7,harrap47 ,,hall4 ,days before ,history4 7,harrap47 ,,hall4 ,the ,threshold of ,history4 7,harrap47 ,,spalding4 ,piers ,plowman ,histories4 ,junior4 ,bk4 ,,ii4 7,g4 ,philip ,son47 ,,shedlock4 ,the ,art of ,story-telling4 ,,bryant4 ,how to ,tell ,stories4 7,harrap47 ,,klein4 ,de ce qu'il faut raconter aux petits4 7,blond et ,gay47 ,the ,eurhythmics of ,jaques-,dalcroze4 7,constable47 ,,findlay4 ,eurhythmics4 7,dalcroze ,society47 ,,white4 ,a ,course in ,music4 7,camb4 ,univ4 ,press47 ,,stanley ,,hall4 ,how to ,teach ,reading4 7,heath47 ,,benchara ,,branford4 ,a ,study of ,mathematical ,education4 ,fielden ,demonstration ,school ,record ,,ii4 7,manchester ,univ4 ,press47 ,,punnett4 ,the ,groundwork of ,arithmetic4 7,longmans47 ,,ashford4 ,sense ,plays and ,number ,plays4 7,longmans47 ,,index ,abrahall1 ,miss ,h41 ,adam and ,eve question1 ,adler1 ,dr4 ,felix1 ,aim of education and of human life1 ,america1 ,kindergartens in1 ,anderson1 ,professor ,a41 ,animals and nature study1 ,apparatus4 ,see ,equipment ,arithmetic1 transition class1 ,arnswald1 ,colonel von1 ,art training1 drawing1 etc41 ,see also ,colour1 ,rhythm1 etc41 ,assistance1 warning1 ,baby ,camp1 ,barnard1 ,dr4 ,h41 ,barnes1 ,prof4 ,earl1 ,beauty1 conduct1 appreciation of beauty in1 ,see also ,colour1 ,rhythm1 etc4 ,beer1 ,miss ,h41 notes of1 ,beresford's ,housemates1 description of a suburb1 ,bergson1 ,bermondsey ,settlement ,free ,kindergarten1 ,biological view of education1 ,birchenough1 ,bird1 ,mr41 and his family1 ,birmingham ,kindergartens1 ,bishop1 ,miss ,caroline1 ,blankenberg ,kindergarten1 ,blow1 ,miss1 ,bradford ,joint ,conference1 ,brock1 ,mr4 ,clutton1 quotations1 etc41 ,brooke1 ,stopford1 ,brown1 ,frances1 ,grannie's ,wonderful ,chair1 ,browning1 ,brown's ,young ,artists' ,headers1 ,buckton1 ,miss1 ,buildings4 ,see ,equipment and ,surroundings ,caldecott ,nursery ,school1 ,camp ,school1 ,child study1 ,class discipline1 ,cleanliness and order1 ,clough1 ,a4,h41 ,clouston1 ,dr41 ,colour1 ,comenius1 ,conduct-- aim of education1 experiences of--,see also ,moral ,teaching ,connectedness1 continuity4 ,see ,unity ,constructive play1 varieties of making--,see also ,handwork ,cook1 ,mr4 ,caldwell1 ,the ,play ,way1 etc41 ,cooke1 ,mr4 ,e41 ,cooking1 ,co-operation in play1 ,correlation1 ,infant ,school programme in ,transition period1 present-day ,infant ,schools1 ,country child1 ,country life for the child1 ,crane1 ,walter1 ,creation4 ,see ,constructive ,play ,crche4 ,see ,nursery ,school ,curriculum-- principle guiding selection1 transition class1 ,daleroze1 ,m4 ,jacques1 rhythmic training1 ,dale1 ,miss1 phonic reading books1 ,decimal system1 ,definition of education1 ,desert island play1 ,dewey1 ,prof41 quotations1 etc41 ,dickens on ,infant ,gardens1 ,discipline1 ,docility v4 self-control1 ,dopp ,series1 ,dramatic play1 ,drawing1 ,drill v4 games1 ,drummond1 ,dr41 ,ebers1 ,edinburgh1 ,free ,kindergartens1 ,education ,act of #ahgj1 of #aiai1 ,education by ,life1 ,education of ,man1 ,environment-- school equipment1 etc4 ,see ,equipment source of child's experience1 ,equipment and surroundings1 miniature world1 ,montessori didactic apparatus1 transition classes and ,junior ,school1 ,ewing1 ,mrs41 stories of1 ,experience1 education by means of1 child's desires and needs1 grouping subjects of experience1 material and opportunities1 morality and indirect experiences1 passing on experience1 ,fairy tales1 ,field1 ,eugene1 verses of1 ,findlay1 ,miss1 ,fisher1 ,mr41 ,fleming1 ,marjorie1 ,floor ,games1 ,flowers and plants1 #ic1 #bja4 ,see also ,garden1 ,nature ,work ,folsung1 ,formalism1 ,freedom-- apparent result at first1 definition1 ,froebel on1 ,montessori1 ,dr41 work of1 vital principle1 warning against interference1 ,freud1 ,froebel and ,froebelian principles-- aim of education1 beauty1 biologist educator and ,froebel1 definitions of ,kindergarten1 excursions1 impression and expression1 ,montessori and ,froebelian systems1 society1 ,furniture1 ,see also ,equipment ,fyleman1 ,rose1 ,chimney sand ,fairies1 ,games1 ,garden1 activities in a suburban garden1 best use of ground1 possibilities in difficult places1 ,geography1 illustrative syllabus1 ,glasgow1 ,phoenix ,park ,kindergarten1 ,glenconner1 ,lady1 ,grant1 ,miss1 ,greenford ,avenue ,school1 ,hanwell1 ,groos1 ,habits1 training in1 physical habits and fixed hours1 ,hall1 ,stanley1 references to1 ,handwork1 ,hansen1 ,g41 ,hardy1 ,miss ,l41 ,heerwart1 ,miss1 ,herb garden and sense training1 ,herbartian correlation1 ,hewit1 ,mr4 ,graily1 ,high ,schools for ,girls1 ,kindergartens in1 ,history1 discipline in practical reasoning1 illustrative syllabus1 indirect sociology1 industrial1 practical details1 prehistoric1 stories1 ,hodsman1 ,miss1 ,hoffman1 ,mr41 ,home surroundings1 reproduction in school1 source of child's experience1 ,howden1 ,miss1 ,humour1 factor in morality1 ,hygiene of ,mind1 ,imagination and literature1 ,imitative play1 ,individual1 child as1 ,see also ,freedom ,infant ,schools1 early ,infant ,schools1 formalism1 causes1 etc41 ,kindergarten system1 perversion of1 present-day schools1 buildings1 furniture1 etc41 change in spirit since the 'eighties1 effect of child study movement1 etc41 curriculum1 lack of clear aim and continuity1 discipline1 formalism1 promotion and uniformity1 health1 care of1 teachers1 training of1 transition period1 ,instinct1 ,interests of a child1 ,interference1 warning1 ,international ,educational ,exposition and ,congress of #ahed1 ,investigation impulse1 ,junior ,school4 ,see ,transition ,classes and ,junior ,school ,keilhau1 ,kindergarten ,band1 ,kindergartens1 ,america1 first ,english1 ,froebelian principles ,see ,froebel1 ,germany1 ,kids' ,guards1 ,london ,school ,board ,infant ,schools1 proposed introduction1 perversion of system in ,infant ,schools1 ,schrader1 ,henrietta1 work of1 ,klein1 ,abb1 ,krause1 ,language training1 games for1 ,lawrence1 ,miss ,esther1 ,levana1 ,literature ,see also ,stories and ,poetry ,lodge1 ,sir ,o41 ,macdonald1 ,george1 stories of1 ,macdonald1 ,dr4 ,greville1 ,m',millan1 ,miss ,margaret1 ,macpherson1 ,mr4 ,stewart1 ,magic ,cities1 ,marenholz1 ,madame von1 ,mathematics1 transition class1 ,maufe1 ,miss1 ,medical view of education1 ,dr4 ,montessori1 ,meum and tuum training1 ,miall1 ,mrs41 ,michaelis1 ,madame1 ,michaelis ,nursery ,school1 ,notting ,dale1 ,middendorf1 ,mission ,kindergarten1 ,moltke1 von1 ,montessori1 ,dr4 ,maria-- ,froebelian views of1 medical view of education1 play activities1 failure to understand1 ,moral teaching-- humour as factor in morality1 ,see also ,religion1 ,service for the ,community1 ,stories ,morgan1 ,lloyd1 ,mother ,songs1 ,music1 ,kindergarten ,band1 ,name of school for little children and its importance1 ,nature work1 experiences of the natural world1 activities in a suburban garden1 aim of1 animals1 excursions1 movement c4 #ahij1 nature calendar1 object lesson and nature lesson1 pictures1 use of1 plants and flowers1 religion and nature work1 ,necessities of the ,nursery ,school1 ,see also ,equipment and ,principles ,nesbit1 ,mrs41 ,magic ,cities1 ,net beds1 ,number work4 ,see ,mathematics ,nursery rhymes and nonsense verses1 ,nursery ,school-- name question1 requirements of1 ,obedience v4 self-control1 ,oberlin schools1 ,object lessons1 ,observation of children1 ,odds and ends1 use of1 ,open-air question1 ,owen1 ,robert1 ,rational ,infant ,school1 ,paper-folding1 ,parents' evenings1 ,payne1 ,miss ,janet1 ,peabody1 ,miss1 ,periods of a young child's life1 ,pestalozzi1 ,pestalozzi-,froebel ,house1 ,phillips1 ,miss ,k41 ,phonic method of teaching reading1 ,physical requirements1 ,picture books1 ,pictures1 ,play-- biologist educator's view1 constructive1 co-operation in1 courage in the teacher1 definitions1 distinction from work1 ,froebel's theory of1 practice at ,keilhau1 imitative1 material1 ,froebel's ,gifts1 etc41 self-expression in1 theories of1 transition class1 ,play ,way1 ,the1 ,playground1 equipment1 etc41 garden essential1 transition class1 ,poetry1 ,poor and well-to-do children1 different requirements1 ,possession1 child's need of1 meum and tuum training1 ,preparation theory of play1 ,priestman1 ,miss1 ,principles1 vital principles1 ,pugh1 ,edwin1 ,punnett1 ,miss1 ,reading and writing1 age for1 matter and methods1 phonic method1 etc41 ,recapitulation theory of play1 ,recreation theory of play1 ,reed1 ,miss1 ,religion1 age for first teaching1 ,see also ,stories ,reproducing1 ,see ,imitative ,play ,results1 payment by1 ,rhythm and rhythmic training1 ,robinson ,crusoe stage of history teaching1 ,ronge1 ,madame1 ,rossetti1 ,christina1 verses for children1 ,rousseau1 ,rowland1 ,miss1 ,royee1 ,prof41 ,st4 ,cuthbert1 story of1 ,salt1 ,miss ,marie1 ,sayings of the ,children1 ,schepel1 ,miss1 ,schiller1 ,letters on ,aesthetic ,education1 ,schiller-,spencer theory of play1 ,school and ,life1 ,schools of ,to-morrow1 ,schrader1 ,henrietta1 ,sguin1 ,self-consciousness1 ,self-control and external control1 ,sense-training1 herb garden1 ,service for the community1 training to-- ,froebel and ,montessori system1 games1 social side1 idea of unity1 religion1 part of1 ,sesame ,house for ,home-,life ,training1 ,sharpley1 ,miss ,f41 ,shinn1 ,miss1 ,sleep1 provision for1 ,slum child's experience1 ,somers ,town ,nursery ,school1 ,speech and vocabulary1 ,spiritual life and stories1 ,spontaneity in play1 ,staff question1 training1 etc41 ,see also ,teachers ,stevenson1 nursery songs1 ,stokes1 ,miss1 ,stories and story-telling1 fairy tales1 how to tell1 illustrations1 made by children1 moral teaching1 religious teaching1 repetition or accumulation stories1 selection1 true stories--history1 legend1 geography1 ,story of a ,sand ,pile1 ,suburban child's experience1 ,supernatural1 the child's acceptance of1 ,surroundings4 ,see ,equipment and ,surroundings ,table manners1 ,teacher-- function1 personality question1 religion1 training1 ,thornton-le-,dale ,kindergarten1 ,time-table thraldom1 instance from a teacher's note-book1 ,tools1 ,touch1 sense of1 ,toys1 transition classes and ,junior ,school1 ,wells1 ,mr41 on1 ,traherne1 ,transition classes and ,junior ,school1 bridge between freedom and timetable1 curriculum1 discipline1 equipment1 etc41 freedom and class teaching1 handwork1 help1 methods of1 imitation1 nature work1 play spirit1 ,ultimate ,belief1 ,uniformity in ,infant ,schools1 ,unity of aim and unity in experience1 cases illustrating problem1 previous experience of the child1 basing curriculum on1 ,war1 effect on ,nursery ,school movement1 ,warne1 illustrated stories for children1 ,water1 attraction of1 ,water-,babies1 ,wells1 ,mr41 ,what is a ,kindergarten81 ,when can ,i make my little ,ship81 ,wiggin1 ,miss ,k4,d41 ,wilderspin's ,infant ,school1 ,windows1 ,wordsworth1 ,wragge1 ,miss ,adelaide1 ,writing4 ,see ,reading and ,writing ,,the ,,end