Introduction 



Purpose and Plan of the Course 



The aim in preparing this course of lessons has 

 been to make a direct appeal to those faculties of 

 perception, curiosity, and wonder which are begin- 

 ning to assert themselves in the child of nine; to 

 foster these faculties, already active in some children, 

 and to arouse them in others; to open their eyes to 

 some of the marvels of the universe ; to impress their 

 minds with the idea of its law and order; and to 

 arouse in their hearts a response to the divine love 

 manifested in the world in which we live. 



'' Wherever it may look, the young mind is im- 

 pressed with the mystery of the unknown. The 

 child looks out to Nature with great eyes of wonder." ^ 

 It is this wonder which directs the growing intelli- 

 gence of the child. It gives the perception some- 

 thing to work upon, and the reason something to do. 

 It urges attention and interest on to what is unknown. 



These lessons, therefore, have been arranged in 

 such a way as to proceed from what the child has 

 already perceived to what he must look for. Accord- 

 ingly, Part I deals with the trees, plants and flowers 

 that every child has seen and knows; Part II, with 

 insect and animal life, of which the child has known 



1 The Nature-Study Idea. By L. H. Bailey, 

 xi 



