290 NATURE STUDY REVIEW [8 :8— Nov., 1912 



ture is not mentioned much before grade 3 ; the naming of the bird 

 is not mentioned before grade 2, and the name of the cat only 

 once before grade 2. The added interests for the cat in grade 

 2 are, classification, name, sex, sensory response, and for 

 grade 3, moral and intellectual qualities of the cat and adaptation. 

 The added interest in the bird in grades 2 and 3 are name and 

 color ; sex and geographical distribution have not been mentioned 

 before grade 3. 



Conclusion. 



In conclusion I would say that it is obvious from all points 

 of view, according to this investigation, that at a very early age 

 children are interested in physical phenomena as well as plant 

 and animal life; that the young child is essentially motor sensory 

 and dynamic. The kindergarten child's early motor interest is 

 in the things that he himself can do, things for which he him- 

 self furnishes the motor power; it is the engine that he can pull 

 and push ; that he can take to pieces and put together again ; the 

 bird that he can feed and care for; the flower he can pick; the 

 plant he can water and "make grow" that are of primary interest. 



Children's toys furnish to the child opportunity for much ex- 

 perimentation and constructive play; it is in the appropriate 

 selection of toys, i. e., toys to meet the child on his own level, 

 the direction, guidance and utilization of these play impulses 

 in educative channels that nature-play passes into nature-study. 

 We must keep alive the eagerness to find how things zi'ork and 

 are made in order to establish the scientific habit of mind. 



Nature Study in Terms of Materials. 



In terms of materials then we can say that the child should 

 have "active" materials, i. e., materials with which the child 

 may construct, create, produce and actively inquire. The child's 

 instinct to nurture, to protect, to control should be fostered in 

 the care of animals and plants. It is fundamental then that the 

 age of the child must be considered in selecting animals and 

 plants of which the young child may make pets. The instinct to 

 make, to create, to investigate, to explore should be encouraged 

 in the physical nature materials, simple physical experiments, 

 the school garden, the home garden under the auspices of the 

 school, the excursions. The crucial thing is, that it is "real" 

 things in relation to "real" life processes that interest the child, 

 And no amount of symbolization or pseudo-science can give to the 

 child the elements necessary for constructive thinking upon which 



