The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-09-06

"uSe or StOrleS Ill TIC pIiiidIy ScHool,
Gymnastics, music and drawing" the lat
ter including weaving, embroidery, clay
modelling and other occupations
These subjects and others of Importance
would properly come under the head of
primary work. But it is impossible in
paper of this sort to take up and do justice
to all these subjects, SO l shall touch upon
primary language and number lessons only.
In teaching primary numbers, l find it
desirable to have table at which large
part of the work may be done. A variety
of objects may be made of use in teaching
numbers. Light wooden cubes are about
the best of any. They may be combined in
countless ways and various objects be con-
structed of them by the children. have
used kindergarten third gift cubes in my
work. They come in one inch cubes, eight
in each set. have a set for each child in
a class. The eight cubes form larger one
which may be divided into halves, quarters
and eighths, for use in illustrating fractions.
Besides cubes many teachers use beads,
sticks, wooden tooth-picks, pegs, buttons,
spOols, and various objects cut from paper
or cardboard.
For beads use the ordinary second gift
KinderAarten beads. They are in three
forms: balls, cylinders and cubes, and of
six colors. The children string them on
wires, according to direction or after their
own fancy. They use them also in making
up examples about various objects. The
cubes nicely represent boxes and the cylin-
ders barrels. In fact there is almost no
limit to the objects imaginative children
will give examples about. On some Oc-
casions l have known the beads to change
to horses, elephants and tigers, with startling
raridity.
Stick laying is an occupation which may
be made use of in drawing lessons and
amusements as well as in numbers.
The sticks represent straight lines and
may be had in any lengths from one to five
inches. Some prefer the uncolored sticks
and have seen pegs and tooth-picks used
in similar way.
The sticks have are in assorted lengths
and six colors: red, yellow, blue, green,
orange and violet. We use them in so
many ways that 1 scarcely know what
special one to mention. Anything that can
be represented in drawing containing only
straight lines may be represented by stick
laying. Green sticks may be used to repre-
sent plants, trees, or any object requiring
that color, and each color in like manner
has some appropriate use.
One of the most common uses of sticks is
to give certain number of sticks to each
pupil in class and have the sticks put in
vertical position, part on the right and part
on the left of the child. Let us suppose the
| number of sticks to be five on the left and
four on the right. The sticks appear as five
and four and when put together as nine.
The combination taught is 5 plus equals 8.
Any example may be taught in any of
these exercises. In this let us take plus
and plus 8. The child receives plus 8
| green sticks as in the previous exercise and
after gaining the perception of plus as 6
|
The teacher then puts beads on the diff
ferent sticks and tells story of six birds in
a tree. At the end of the story three of the
birds fly away taking away three beads).
How many remains? The children readily
perceive that minus 3 leaves 8.
| These examples may be modified or
changed to teach any number of combina-
tions, and there is no need of lessons being
uninteresting from any lack of variety.
Colored bristol board is useful for cut paper
| forms. The forms / have used most are
| the crescent and the right angled isosceles
triangle. Two sheets of bristol of contrast
ing colors, scissors. a pencil and few
minutes work will supply any number of
these forms at small expense.
| Other forms will do, but find the chill
dren enjoy using these, so L have not
changed. One of my boys made fifty forms
of beauty or life by varying the positions of
just four trianges.
1t is difficult to give definite conception
of this work in paper. l would advise
uhJ HCieoii uColilS W SCb ~ CollCSt lutd VI
the work to visit schools and see the chill
dren at their occupations.
have named several objects and given
the merest hints at the ways in which we
use them. 1t is best to have some variety
in the objects used, that the children may
not use one so continually as to lose interest
i'm it.
Children enter our schools when but five
years of age. have generally found that
they then have very few ideas of the rela-
tons of objects. The majority can readily
pick out three objects, but do not know the
number 4.
Beginning with what is known to them,
they are led by easy steps from the known
to the unknown. They first learn the per-
ception of a number and its name, then the
analysis of the numbers, /. e., the parts
which compose it.
One fact at time with drill upon the
work previously done is all / attempt to
teach in one recitation. After the teaching
of facts by means of objects, the pupils are
drilled upon tie facts with mental work and
reviews. For the first year combinations of