96 HOW NATURE STUDY SHOULD BE TAUGHT 



Oh, no, some scientific appreciator of a mother 

 may say, that is crude ; it flavors of the Middle 

 Ages, of the amateur, of those who love their 

 mother from the heart. This is an age of scien- 

 tific spirit, an age of the intellect rather than of 

 the affections. 



Do nothing so simple as that ; learn really to 

 know your mother, and then you can love her with 

 solid, intellectual appreciation. 



First collect some pictures and drawings of all 

 the mothers you can find ; arrange them side by 

 side and compare your mother with them. That 

 will add to your knowledge of the comparative 

 merits of mother's personal appearance. 



Devote a half-hour at a certain time every day 

 to the study of mothers. Draw pictures of them ; 

 make a detailed list of color of hair, number of 

 eyes, nostrils, ears; length of chin, height, weight, 

 number of fingers on each hand ; state the age, past 

 history and a hundred or more other facts. Ar- 

 range these details under a few heads, draw a 

 bracket before each, and collocate these in line 

 under one big brace, with the word Mother 

 written in capital letters. 



Make a drawing of your own mother standing 

 erect, and also bending down to kiss you as you 



