SPRING NATURE STUDY. 573 



THE GERMINATION OF THE BEAN. 



A Series of Lessons planned for First-Year Children. 



LESSON I. PLANTING THE BEANS. 



Read and discuss with the children "An April Welcome" 

 or " Waiting to Grow." 



Tell them that We have something we want Spring to 

 wake up. Tell about the Bean Mother who was like the 

 " old woman who lived in a shoe, who had so many chil- 

 dren she didn't know what to do ; " only she knew what to 

 do; how she placed her seed-babies, five or six together, in 

 seed cradles, each seed fastened tightly to the cradle (show 

 picture of bean pod) ; how she wrapped each baby in a 

 coat ; how when Jack Frost came the cradles turned from 

 a beautiful green or yellow to brown, and the babies all 

 went to sleep ; how some one took them out of their dry 

 cradles, and took care of them all winter. We have them 

 here. 



It is time for them to wake up. They want to grow. 

 How can we help them ? What do boys and girls need to 

 grow ? What do our beans need ? Talk about necessity 

 of food, water, air, sunshine, care. Have children plant 

 the beans. It is best to have portions of the box or flower 

 pots assigned to each child or group of children. It will 

 add to the sense of ownership and hence to the interest. 



Sing with or to the children or read and discuss with 

 them (from "Songs for Little Children" by Eleanor Smith): 



14 Wake," says the sunshine, 

 "It's time to get up ; 



Wake, pretty daisy and sweet buttercup. 



Why, you've been sleeping the whole winter long. 



Hark ! hark ! don't you hear ? 'Tis the blue-bird's first song." 



