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Chapter VI FIELD-LORE AND NATURALISTS’ BOOKS Reverence for Life.—Is it advisable, then, to teach the children the elements of natural science, of biology, botany, zoology? On the whole, no: the dissection even of a flower is painful to a sensitive child, and, during the first six or eight years of life, I would not teach […]

Chapter V ‘LIVING CREATURES’   A Field of Interest and Delight.—Then, as for the ‘living creatures,’ here is a field of unbounded interest and delight. The domesticated animals are soon taken into kindly fellowship by the little people. Perhaps they live too far from the ‘real country’ for squirrels and wild rabbits to be more to

Chapter IV FLOWERS AND TREES   Children should know Field-crops.—In the course of this ‘sight-seeing’ and ‘picture-painting,’ opportunities will occur to make the children familiar with rural objects and employments. If there are farm-lands within reach, they should know meadow and pasture, clover, turnip, and corn field, under every aspect, from the ploughing of the land

Chapter III ‘PICTURE-PAINTING’  Method of.—So exceedingly delightful is this faculty of taking mental photographs, exact images, of the ‘beauties of Nature’ we go about the world for the refreshment of seeing, that it is worth while to exercise children in another way towards this end, bearing in mind, however, that they see the near and

Chapter II ‘SIGHT-SEEING’   By-and-by the others come back to their mother, and, while wits are fresh and eyes keen, she sends them off on an exploring expedition—Who can see the most, and tell the most, about yonder hillock orp.46brook, hedge or copse. This is an exercise that delights children, and may be endlessly varied,

PART II OUT-OF-DOOR LIFE FOR THE CHILDREN ——♦♦—— Chapter I A Growing Time Meals out of Doors.—People who live in the country know the value of fresh air very well, and their children live out of doors, with intervals within for sleeping and eating. As to the latter, even country people do not make full

Chapter VII ‘THE REIGN OF LAW’ IN EDUCATION   Common Sense and Good Intentions.—Besides, though this physical culture of the brain may be only the groundwork of education, the method of itp.38indicates what should be the method of all education; that is, orderly, regulated progress under the guidance of Law. The reason why education effects so

Chapter III OFFENDING THE CHILDREN Offences.—The first and second of the Divine edicts appear to include our sins of commission and of omission against the children: we offend them, when we do by them that which we ought not to have done; we despise them, when we leave undone those things which, for their sakes,