CENTRAL SPRING THOUGHT;-Natufe the Source of all Supply. 



Call attention to the fact that all the animals studied in the fall 



derive their sustenance from vegetation. 



Man's dependance upon the soil for all materials supplied by animals. 



What plant products so far studied have come directly from the soil? 



Work out experimentally that moisture, warmth and air are necessary for germination. 



Find also whether the dark and soil are also necessary. 

 Count the number of seeds in a small cup or can before and after soaking. 



Simple studies upon the origin of soils from rock fragments. 



Collect and study the four important types; sand, clay, loam and muck. 



Absorption and retention of moisture by these varieties of soil. 



Have a simple rain-gauge made and measure rainfall. 

 Make a small "hot bed," compare temperatures inside and outside, 



explain principle and start seeds for garden. 

 Importance of rain, sun and soil in growth of plants. 



Compare our own with desert regions. 

 Indoor germination of seeds for garden with more or less detailed study. 



Seed testing experiments between moist blotting-paper. 

 Collect horse-chestnuts that have wintered out-doors and are bursting open, 



plant in rich soil and care for until Arbor-day. 

 Have children select various nuts and fruit .seeds for germination. 

 Gardening with each an individual bed and some few in common. 



Importance of cultivation and keeping down of weeds. 

 Simple study of the earthworm as a friend of the gardener. 

 Animal enemies in the garden, transferred to the school-room, fed, 



and development carefully observed. 



The habits and damage to furs and woolens by the clothes moth. 

 Importance to the farmer, gardener and fruit grower of birds and bats. 



Establish a bird hospital for birds too early out of the nest. 



Make each child feel responsible for the protection of helpless birds against cats and boys. 

 Collect toads for the garden and emphasize their importance. 



Flowers of horse chestnut and pine compared. 

 Arrange to have garden cared for during summer vacation. 



SUGGESTIONS TO THIRD GRADE TEACHER. 



The chief purpose of the Nature work of this grade is to get the child sympathetically 

 interested in animals and plants, to show him their need for protective coverings against the 

 winter's cold and to acquaint him with the raw materials from which he may select those re- 

 quired for his own protection. During the first two years the child's interest has centered 

 about the primitive type of home and the simple maintenance of life in field and forest. Ani- 

 mals have been viewed only as enemies to be disposed of, or as the source of those materials 

 required for his immediate existence. If this life has been lived to the full the interest of the 

 child may now be diverted towards domesticated animals and they become the object 

 of his solicitude and care. If this phase of the Nature work is omitted, and a substitute 

 not provided in the home, the savage nature is longer retained and loses but little in 

 its intensity. If the work is successfully presented the child loses his pleasure in the wanton 

 taking of life and more humane feelings towards animals and mankind are started. We need 

 not be surprised if these seeds are slow in developing and the fruit long delayed. The mak- 

 ing over of an individual is no simple task. 



The horse chestnut is selected as a type because of its availability throughout the northern 

 states, because of its beauty and the interest which attaches to all its parts. Some other tree 

 may be substituted until a small group of these can be started about the school grounds, either 

 from the nuts or by transplanting. A cleaned sheep skull and fragments of jaws of a cow and 

 horse may usually be obtained from the fields. The teacher should acquaint herself with the 

 habits of domesticated sheep and the play of the lambs and interpret in the light of their wild 

 ancestry. Have children fully appreciate the special characteristics of the shepherd dog and 



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