trafton] OUTLINE OF NATURE-STUDY 135 



III. Christmas toys; such as magnets, electro-magnet, motor, steam engine, 



air ships, gyroscope, compass. 

 Problems — 



What power does the magnet possess that makes it useful? 



How does the stem engine work? 



How does an aeroplane differ from a dirigible balloon? 



How does the compass work? 



IV. Winter Sports. 

 Coasting. 



Formation of snow, action of gravity on sled, increase in speed, other 

 illustrations of action of gravity. 

 Problems — 



How many different kinds of sleds are there? 



Under what conditions does snow fall? 



What other illustrations of the action of gravity can you think of? 



V. Sky Studies. 

 The sun. 



Its size, distance, motions, relation to earth. 



Observations on its change in position at sunrise, noon and sunset; 

 and on the change of time of sunrise and sunset. 

 Problems — 



In what ways is the sun different from the earth? 

 What things that we do are influenced by the sun? 



Spring 



I. The Awakening Life of Spring. 



1. Trees. 



A. .Study of twigs of nut trees. 



B. Watch development of twigs kept in water indoors. 



C. Watch development of buds outdoors ; keep record of dates 



when buds open. 

 Problems — 



How can we identify each of these trees before the buds open? 

 What is there in the buds that develops into leaves and flowers? 



2. Wild flowers. 



Brightly colored flowers, such as, pasque flower, hepatica, wild 

 ginger, bellwort, wild phlox, Jack-in-the-pulpit. 

 Problems — 



Which do you like better the heaptica or wild ginger? 

 What makes the Jack-in-the-puplit an interesting flower? 

 How can we tell the bell wort from other flowers? 

 Of what use are the different parts of the phlox flower? 



3. Cultivated flowers. 



A. Calendar of garden flowers. 



B. Study of flowers growing from bulbs. 

 Problems — 



Which do you like best of the flowers that grow from bulbs? 

 What has been done to raise these flowers? 



