THE CHILD AND NATURE STUDY ON THE FARM. 2O9 



Tjeen put into a sympathetic mood by the love they bore the subject ! 

 Then, too, the poem broadened their ideas and, we trust, tended to 

 cultivate a taste for good literature. 



We also wrote down in a book each evening for the children the 

 interesting things of the day. This stimulated their observation, 

 and as they clothed their observations in language, it fixed the 

 ideas more in their minds, and incidentally it was a good exercise 

 in composition. 



It was interesting to note the influence this work had upon the 

 ■children. It put the children in a sympathetic relation with their 

 surroundings and in a loving communion with nature. It enriched 

 their lives. Each drive or walk was full of expectancy, and what 

 thrills of joy they experienced when some unlooked-for bird came 

 within their vision, or a nest was discovered, or they chanced upon 

 •some new flower! We remember with what keen pleasure our lit- 

 tle boy saw the first toad of this season, as it was hopping into the 

 garden in the cool of the evening. 



Of the cruelties of children we are all aware, but this bit of na- 

 ture study has made our children respect the lives of God's creation. 

 "Be careful, now, don't hurt it," we overheard our oldest little 

 girl saying to her sister as they watched a caterpillar crawling on 

 the door-step. 



The spiders that have found their way into the house are carried 

 ■outdoors, and my little boy objected even to that, saying, "Let them 

 stay. Mamma, I like to watch them spin their web." 



Nature study is a valuable educational factor. We place rela- 

 tively too high an estimation upon books and the school-room. We 

 "have gotten into the habit of shifting the responsibilities of our chil- 

 dren's education upon the teachers to the neglect of what should be 

 done in the home. 



Nature study follows the natural order of education. It begins 

 the child's education with the things that surround him. Our stock 

 of knowledge of common things should be great. Few of us may 

 travel. 



Nature study is studying things and not about things. A child 

 was asked if she had ever seen the great dipper. She replied, "Oh, 

 yes, in my geography." Books are valuable to supplement the 

 child's observations and to extend his knowledge. 



As the child observes the objects, he is getting his own ideas, 

 forming his own judgments — in fact, thinking for himself, not ac- 

 cepting what others hdve observed, not thinking in other people's 



