Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1903-02-18


need In writing about him.
The city teacher, whose school building
Is amid birch walls aud asphalt pave.
ments, Is often at loss to knog how or
what to teach, or where to find the ma
teriai for lesson in the course on Nature.
but we workers in the country have no
SUCH scarcity to complain of. All the
gorgeous fail flowers grow in attendance
near us; soldet rod piumes are in every
fence corner, wild asters and frost flow
ers crowd the roadside, the cardinal
Hover i'lumines tho newly cleared lots.
jewel weed Is blooming, aud fall dande
hons and mi'kwesd are sending out their
winged seeds from field and hillside.
drasshoppers aud crlckets make the air
resonant with their noise, countless birds
are flying bout US, beetles are every " here.
spiders can be found In every shed, and
caterpillsrs are walking on the roads
all the time.
Then the sky is always spread Out
ABOVE us unhidden by towering walls
With its clouds, its wonderful sunsets and
It's varying winds, and every rainstorm
brings opportunity for lesson OF inter
est The pastures aud rosdsides will
furnish stones OF many kinds. So we
have so much material that the question
is what TO use first.
1t Is good plan, and one most gener-
| ally followed, to teach flowers and insects
Ia their seasons, leaving the study OF
| stones aud clouds until winter puts other
| things away from US.
The trees which shed their leaves are
best taught In the fall when their color.
Ing is most brilliant; the evergreens In
the winter, and the children wilt be read
and eager to look for the bursting leaf
buds in the spring II the autumn lessons
have taught them about their formation
and what to expect.
And when teaching the names and
habits OF the wild flowers, let Us not
neglect the opportunity to call the atten-
ton of the children to the graceful
arrangement OF flowers in vases.
When the violets come In the spring we
all get punches OF them-just as many ss
the little hands can hold, tightly jammed
out their delicate beauty.
Lead the children to notice how the
violets grow-to see that there is always
a quantity OF green leaves with the bios
SONS. Help them to arrange them natur.
ally, and they will soon see how much
more beautiful their flowers will be, II
loosely arranged In vase of suitable
shape.
In insect teaching, take, for instance
he grasshoppsr, one Of the most common
September creatures. The little ones will
be Interested to notice his legs, to see that
the feet point in different directions, and
they eau watch him as he swings on the
grass and see why. They will tell you
why his hind legs are SO much larger and
stronger than the others. Put one In a
glass jar with little earth In it, and let
them feed 1t to fad out what 1t likes best
rs food, and they will soon see why the
farmer is its enemy.
They will hear it'll delight that he has
five eyes; that The large ones on the sides
of his head are arranged so he can see
behind him, and that he bas three small
ones In his forehead.
The idea that he breathes through holes
in his sides will be new to most OF them,
and they will be enthusiastic to discover
OF her strange facts. The Egyptian GUS
tom of eating locusts will be interesting,
and we must not forget to tell them the
Greek story of the origin of the grass
hopper; OF the mythical Aurora, who,
hen she found that her husband, Timo-
theus, had immortal life but not immortal
youth, changed that aged spouse into a
grass hopper.
The ha bits OF the cricket and the ant
can be taken up together, and the idle
ways OF the one contrasted with the dill
geuce OF the other. Whittier's poem Of
king Solomon and Tue Ants" will help
fix the lesson Ia the children's minds.
The bees and their ways will be fascina-
ting subjects for lessons and Saxe's poem
of King Solomon and The Bees" will
help teach ii.
Chi dren, as well as grown people,
remember their lessons much better II an
interesting story or poem is told in con-
hNNAiou W I'M H. aNHOP AaOASo q
short story for nearly syery common
Insect and animal and "Guerber's Classic
Myths" tells the myth stories very charm
ingiy. Mrs. l.. l. Wilson's "Naturs
STUDY" is very helpful The dragon fly
and mosquito have many ways that are
curious aud the children may find some of
the little egg boats floating ON the sur
face OF the nearest pool.
The spider, with his many eyes and his
wonderful skin, may be imprisoned in a
jar aud fed while he children watch him.
Read "Fhe Spider and The fly, and tell
them the story OF the boastful Arachne,
who, for her presumption in insisting
that she could spin as well as Minerva,
the goddess of that art, was changed by
that irate divinity into spider and con-
demned to spin aud weave for all time.
The flight Of the birds south at this
season should be commented on, and the
geography Of the country will be more
firmly fixed in the minds OF the children