154 NATURE STUDY. 



folks see so much more in germinating seed or develop- 

 ing bud, when they have connected the plant babies 

 with the babies in their homes, the way in which 

 their baby brothers are cared for and fed and grow. 



In any work which requires the pupils to think rather 

 than to merely see, our success as teachers will largely 

 depend on our power and habit of calling up the apper- 

 ceiving ideas or concepts of the children, and building 

 on these. As illustrated in the study of the rabbit in 

 Chapter II, pupils understand much better the move- 

 ments and limbs and feeding and teeth of the rabbit 

 when they are related to their own body and way of 

 moving and eating. 



We see the wisdom, considering this same principle 

 of apperception, of reviewing at the beginning of each 

 lesson those parts of previous lessons on which the new 

 lesson must be built or based, of being sure of our foun- 

 dations before beginning new work. 



The law of interest, that the mind most clearly re- 

 ceives or perceives, is most deeply impressed by and most 

 strongly retains or apperceives, those ideas which ex- 

 cite or are accompanied by interest, has been strongly 

 emphasized in the discussion of aim. In general, the 

 surest evidence of interest is attention. Until the 

 teacher has attention she can accomplish comparatively 

 little. 



No matter how careful the teacher is to bring the 

 material before the child, to make sure that he sees, 

 and to build on the foundations already laid, on the 



