254 NATURE STUDY. 



the first person what "I" or "we" did and saw and 

 thought. The narrative or personal form is more exact, 

 because it is more concrete or specialized. As the chil- 

 dren generalize, and tell about "buds" instead of u my 

 bud," " trees " instead of "the tree I studied," their 

 language becomes less clear and exact. 



On the other hand, in narration, and still more in 

 personification, there is great opportunity for the use of 

 the imagination, and the tendency is to give play to the 

 fancy at the expense of truth and accuracy. This ten- 

 dency can be corrected by having careful drawings 

 made, the work in drawing preceding, if possible, the 

 oral or written work ; and by sometimes requiring, par- 

 ticularly from the older pupils and from those whose 

 imagination is most active, impersonal descriptions, giv- 

 ing the " cold facts." 



In determining the form of expression to be used in 

 our nature work, we will call music to our aid to ex- 

 press emotions of joy and pleasure ; we will sing about 

 spring, about sunshine and happy birds. Language we 

 will use to tell about life and action and habit ; the de- 

 velopment of the buds, the germination of seeds, the 

 beauty and work of leaves and flowers. In this, litera- 

 ture, and particularly poetry, will greatly aid us. We 

 will make use of the idea of apperception by having 

 our pupils occasionally personify and write in the first 

 person and not confine them to impersonal abstract de- 

 scription. We will have the children try to tell about 

 the form and structure of buds and seeds and leaves 

 and flowers, endeavor to make word pictures of them ; 



