56 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [14:2— Feb., 1918 



of leaves make a part of the art work, with color added and the 

 leaves pasted on a bare branch form a splash of color for a gloomy 

 corner — then a song of the glory of the golden crimson leaves of 

 the maple tree mean something to the singer. A rather good 

 example of this occurred when an eighth grade was studying the 

 heavens. A girl remarked "We sang a song in the fourth grade 

 which never meant any thing to me before but now I understand 

 it." The words of the song were repeated: 



The man in the moon who sails in the sky 



Is a most courageous skipper, 

 But he made a mistake when he tried to take 



A drink of milk from the dipper. 

 He dipped it into the milky way, 

 And slowly, cautiously filled it; 

 But the little bear howled, 

 And the great bear growled 

 And frightened him till he spilled it. 



Every child in that class had had the song in the fourth grade 

 and not one had ever understood a word of it before. 



The flower study in the primary grades are later used in the 

 drawing or painting lessons or may be personified in a little play. 

 The "Flower Babies" as the spring flowers were called in a recent 

 pageant were all personified by first and second grade children. 



The animals studied are permitted the freedom of the class room 

 and furnish models for embryonic Michael Angelos who model 

 them in clay. Their queer pranks are retold in the form of oral 

 composition or are the subjects for exercises in paper cutting. 

 Guinea pigs, a duck, a ground hog, a dog, pigeons, and a sheep 

 have each had their place on the program and each has been the 

 incentive for song or story and each has posed as a model for work 

 in the art classes. 



In the intermediate grades the work is a little more fully nature 

 work with the other activities growing out of it. The animals 

 studied are classified as to their characteristics as fur bearing 

 animals, animals that hibernate, those that make good pets and 

 so on. The trees of the district are studied and charts made of 

 their fruit and leaves; the life histories of the common insects are 

 worked out and their economic values discussed, and field trips are 

 taken and the weeds studied. Each fall the jimson weed causes 

 trouble among small children in congested sections. Last fall a 

 study of its dangers was made and a campaign was conducted to 



