SPRING NATURE STUDY. 529 



Brave little fellow ! the skies may be dreary, 

 Nothing cares he while his heart is so clieery. 

 Hark! how the music leaps out from his throat! 

 Hark! was there ever so merry a note ? 

 Listen awhile, and you'll hear what he's saying 

 Up in the apple tree swinging and swaying, 

 * Dear little blossoms down under the snow, 

 You must be weary of winter, I know ; 

 Hark while I sing you a message of cheer ; 

 {. Summer is coming, and springtime is here. 

 Little white snowdrop ! I pray you arise ; 

 Bright yellow crocus ! come open your eyes ; 

 Sweet Jittle violets hid from the cold, 

 Put on your mantles of purple and gold ; 

 Daffodils ! daffodils ! say, do you hear ? 

 Summer is coming and springtime is here.' " 



Author not known. 



Write part of it on' the blackboard, and have children copy 

 it for their writing-lesson. Let some or all commit it to 

 memory. Continue the spring notes as long as the children 

 are interested. They may be varied by having the class 

 together make a little book, to be hung on the wall, record- 

 ing the discoveries of a week or two, each pupil contribut- 

 ing a leaf with his own observations, written in his not 

 the teacher's best style, and, when possible, illustrated. 



INDIVIDUAL SPRING NOTES. PAPERS BY CHILDREN. 



The boys and girls in the third grade may keep individ- 

 ual " spring notes," in place of the " Spring Calendar," 

 recording the observations of the class, or, better, supple- 

 menting that record. In the writer's experience even 

 second-grade pupils or many of them have kept such 

 individual spring notes with excellent results. 



The following papers are given, just as written by the 

 children, but with errors in spelling and capitals corrected, 

 to illustrate how some of these notes have been kept. 



