rilF. TEACH UK'S CORNER 405 



the material for readiiij^^ lessons and for reprodiietion work in the language 

 lessons. The Ijoys of the elass were especially interested in this bit of astron- 

 omw 



Last spring, one day while the children were at work in the school room, 

 a beautiful Cecropia moth emerged from the cocoon which we had been 

 watching for weeks. Then the children were told the life stor\- of the moth. 



Each boy and girl in this class (which is now beginning the fifth grade) 

 has a garden plot near the school. The interest was so great last year that 

 most of the children visited their gardens and cared for them throughout the 

 summer vacation. A garden sn])ervisor came twice a week to direct the gar- 

 den work. 



Several of the children sold some of their garden produce, and were very 

 proud of the money thus earned. 



Each pupil in the class has a "Garden Diary and Composition Book" 

 made in the class room. The covers of different colors are decorated with 

 pictures of vegetables and flowers. In these books, carefully entered with pen 

 and ink, may be found the daily records of the garden work of the past year, 

 also the weather report for each day during the gardening season. When 

 school opened last fall, each pupil wrote in his book an account of the summer's 

 work in the garden. In these books have been written the life story of the 

 cecropia, and the account of an experiment performed in the room to show 

 that plants give off moisture. 



During the winter, the class had a number of simple lessons and drawings 

 in elementary botan^^ They are now getting ready to plant their gardens 

 again. Some of the boys are making boxes, in the Manual Training Depart- 

 ment, in which to plant tomato and cabbage seeds. When these plants 

 are removed to the garden plots, the boxes will be filled with flowers and put 

 outside the windows of the school room. 



Alost of the studies of the class room have been based upon the garden 

 and other nature study work of this class. This experiment has been very 

 successful, especially in arithmetic. The boys and girls have found it easy 

 and interesting to find the perimeter and the area of the garden plots, to find 

 the cost of corn at so much a dozen ears, to measure and weigh vegetables, 

 and make out bills for vegetables, seeds and flowers. 



The\ have not used a text book for spelling at all, Init have learned to spell 

 the words they have used in their written work. 



Nearly all of the pupils of this class belong to the National Audubon Society, 

 and most of them have attractive bird houses in their back yards. They have 

 learned several poems about birds. 



The Chickadee 



The chickadee wears The chickadee's song 



A cunning black cap Is "Chick-a-dee-dee." 



In all his affairs, It is not very long. 



The Chickadee wears The Chickadee's song, 



With genial airs Not much in a throng, 



The dear little chap — But it satisfies me. 



The Chickadee wears The Chickadee's song 



A cunning black cap. Is "Chick-a-dee-dee." 



