Arizona republican., 1913-09-21
COLOR MUSIC
 FOR CHILDREN
Lucy Terrill Ellis of PhOe- nix Kindergarten Writes Interestingly of Some New Things in Child Education

Some one has said that music is ! the mamma from heaven with which l God feeds our souls" and Rusllin tells us this: "Of all Gods gifts to
 the sight of man. color is the holiest.
 the most divine, the most solemn Mrs. Fannie F. Hughey of St. Louis i has combined color and music into l a wonderful system of teaching lit | 1 tie children. That she may have an l ideal environment in presenting this 1 new method, the James Milikin Uni i versity of Decatur, H., has invited l 1 Mrs. Hughey to come to Decatur and l
 establish her model kindergarten and | 1 training school. The question might | 1 be asked why should she rass by l Chicago and St. Louis The reason l is simply Amerca's highest authori- | ties on education who have studied her work have expressed it as their i opinion that q move to q small city | with healthfuI surroundings and plenty of room for school gardens
 would be the Wisest plan. United States Commissioner of Education P. | r. ClaXton urged her to wait ten
 years if necessary in order to find
 such a place in which to establish her ! school. MT. ClaXton recommends the ! system enthusiastically. and he is 1 keenly alive to all the rights of
 young childhood. The General Fed l eration of Women's Clubs in San 1 Francisco recognized with much
 praise Mrs. Humphreys work. as did
 also the national musical conventions
 in Chicago.
 The Hughey color music is more
 than a musical kindergarten. It is
 q real Kindergarten with a fascinat-
 ing entrance for little children into l the world of music. She has been
 called Americas Montessori, with all
 the Dotteressfs recognition of the
 child's health, activity and individu-
 ality. Some style the system the
 Montessori Plus, because it includes
 music, the lack of which so many
 criticize in the Montessori method,
 that the music fairies in fairyland
 send the birds down to earthland to
 teach little children to sing, attracts
 at once the chiId's imagination. The
 first color a baby recognizes is red.
 and it is the first of the primary
 colors of the rainbow. In musicland
 the home of the happy fairies. the
 birds are pure white The litle fairy
 queen sits on her throne made of
 dew drops. She sends bird to the
 children's circle to teach them their
 first tone; as he flies through the
 rainbow he chooses the color red the
 love color, and the children are taught 1 to call him the little red doh bird. The bird must have it's nest and here it is on the piano; the teacher lays on middle c little disc of the same color as the red bird, which at the 3 physiological moment had been shown the child. Then the doh bird z sings and every little youngster tries I to sing like him. But that isn't all the biId must perch somewhere, so the teacher produces a five-rail fence 4 which she says is called the staff and on one of the rails the doh bird perches. They soon know the birds name. nest and perch and tone. and 5 in some of the charming little games to have a little four -year-old fly to a little partner and sing. I'm a lit a tie doh bird, doh doh doh" All on S the red birds note is a joy to q q musician. The next bird introduced S to the children is the blue bird, called soh; third the little me or yellow bird. Sooner than one can believe these little children will stand on a q play perch and sing the three tones S in perfect harmony. And such fun and belief each little bird has in him T self. The red bird strikes doh with H out hesitation, the blue bird knows his note soh and the dear little vel & low bird sings me. Just imagine the 4 splendid opportunity for occupation work and gift work, for the birds a take you into the garden with the ! flowers and the woods The games 4 are adaptable to many of the games
 known in the kindergarten
 8 With stories of fairies and their H interest in and love for little chfI- X af1 wit hir1C
 games, Mrs. Hughey works out the
 music lesson in a way that is not
 teaching. but playing and laughing l and loving and doing With birds. 8 colors and tones little children learn tone placement and harmony as un-
 consciously as they are taught in the
 ideal Kindergarten, where only little songs are learned. Just this I trust 4 may give the idea very vague. in deed. and just this first step in what is a great movement forward in the childs department Of teaching music. S The tonic, dominant and third are T the three primary colors, red, blue S and yellow, the second is orange, the E fourth green, the octave light red and the sixth violent. A child's imagina- 2 tion is Very active and sensitive. his; power of imitation just as keen. His world is made up of imagination and imitation. If we would have him love T music and desire it we must go to him where he is, rather than have him come up to us, with our grown up ideas.
 In keeping abreast with the new educational regime, which gives to the young child liberty, individuality and personal comfort, the Mounthrop q chair fits perfectly into the new or ! der of things. It is hygienic for the young student, throws off the me chanical routine of the oil- time class