A GRADED COURSE OF NATURE-STUDY 409 



In field lessons observe and identify. Note habits, song, 

 food, nest building,* eggs,* care of young. Emphasize the 

 beauty and song of birds. Try to have children associate 

 songs and calls with particular birds. (108^ in, 112, 120, 

 478, 113, 109.) List: Crow,* robin,* blue-bird,* blackbird, 

 redheaded woodpecker.* (no.) Let the children put out 

 bits of string, hair, feathers, etc. for the robins, sparrows, 

 bluebirds, and wrens. Teach boys the wrong of robbing 

 nests, stoning birds, etc. 



Have hen and chickens * at the school. Let children care 

 for them. Observe parental care of the old hen. Food. 

 Visit a poultry yard, and note different kinds of chickens, 

 etc. Note the beauty and the crowing of the cock. What 

 the hen gives us : Eggs, meat, feathers. Why does the hen 

 scratch? How should we care for chickens? (G, S, R.) 



Frogs : Take the class to a ditch or pool where there are 

 frogs' eggs. Observe where they are placed. Collect some 

 and place in jars or aquaria — only a few in a jar — and let 

 them hatch and develop. The children should make in- 

 formal observations of the changes.* Have a frog in a vi- 

 varium, (24). Feed it worms and insects. Observe how it 

 eats. Care for it. (I.) 



Earthworms : When the frost comes out of the ground 

 observe the return of earthworms. Collect some, and put 

 in a worm cage and feed. Observe. (B.) 



Insects: Visit a hive, and observe the bees at work.. 

 Better still if an observation hive is accessible. Observe 

 bees in the flowers, laden with pollen. Simple study of the 

 form of the bee, its social hfe, and honey gathering. (J, 



144, I33-) 



Observe an ant-hill, noting numbers, cocoons, feeding, 



