THE CHILD AND NATURE STUDY 79 



hands as well as minds, a thing which appeals greatly to 

 them at this age, but to acquire habits of careful, thought- 

 ful application, and a sense of responsibility which results 

 in the trustworthiness we would have every boy and girl 

 possess. It is doubtful whether there is any other period 

 in the life of the child when the feeling of responsibility 

 can be as well and as permanently developed as in the 

 intermediate grades. 



Grammar grades. — When the children have reached 

 the grammar grades their experiences are becoming more 

 unified; their knowledge grouped into larger wholes. They 

 have discovered something of the laws that govern life 

 and living things. They realize that to a certain degree 

 they may control natural processes. They have become 

 to some extent investigators desiring to search out the 

 truth of things for themselves. They recognize more 

 than ever before that they are a part of the social order 

 in which they live and work, and begin to appreciate the 

 necessity of cooperation with their fellows. 



Because of the above characteristics certain phases of 

 the nature work will appeal strongly to children of gram- 

 mar-school age. They will enjoy working out some of 

 the more intricate problems that the nature world pre- 

 sents. They are ready to try some simple experiments 

 in plant breeding, to test some of the fundamental 

 relations which exist between soil conditions and plant 

 life, to plan original designs for the artistic arrangement 

 of plants for ornamental purposes. They are prepared 

 also to group together, according to common character- 

 istics, the plants and animals they have become ac- 

 quainted with. 



