The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1919-01-04

chance TO impress foreseg upon the
young mind clean and wholes ONE
knowledge Of one of the most impor-
tant facts of nature.
Let the mother strive for two things.
to start the child with beautiful and
reverent feeling con corning the origin
of life; to give this knowledge before
the child can learn it in a harmful way
outside the home.
1t is well to anticipate the direct
question by getting ready before the
child is old enough to ask it. How to
do this? Begin, perhaps, with seeds.
Show the seed-pods of any plant. The
seeds are the children Of the plant.
The plant gives them protection and
feeds them with its juices. They are
part of the plant. The plant is the
mother of the seeds. When the seeds
are ripe the pod opens and the seeds
leave their mother to live their own
separate lives.
Dwell upon the care the mother plant
takes Of her little seed children, of the
beautiful flower petals she wraps about
the tiny pod. Speak often and rev.
erently of motherhood. Make the little
boy as well as the little girl under
stand and love the mother.
Lessons From Nature.
In the springtime show birds nests
if possible. If not, show pictures and
talk about the building and how both
parents engage in it. Then show or tell
about the, eggs. Explain how the eggs
grew inside the mother-brd. They are
a part of her just as the seeds are
part of the plant. When the eggs are
ready the bird lays them in the pretty
nest and sits on them to keep them
warm. The father bird sings to her
and feeds her. Both birds love the
baby birds and as soon as they hatch
out, father bird and mother bird feed
them and care for them and teach them
to fly. A hen sitting on hereeggs can
be used to teach the lesson. 1.-THE
egg grew in the hen. How wonderful
it Is that little egg can change into a
beautiful bird or cunning little chick
en-! AS the child grows older lead
him to notice that the seed grows into
plant just like the parent, that the
egg becomes a bird like the parent.
Tell the child how important it is for
children to come from good parents.
Speak Of parents and children when
talking Of plants and birds; this will
cause the child unconsciously to con-
meet the ideas gained about plants and
birds with human life.
When a chance comes to show the
child young kittens or puppies or rab-
bits or the young of any animal, tell
him quite frankly, whether he asks or
not, that of course the young ones
Il come from the mother, that before
they were born they We're a part Of
her. Make it all seem natural to the
child.
Teach Mother-Love.
Dwell upon the love and care the
mother everywhere bestows upon her
| children. Include father-loye wherever
Ia iSss.z4..e4s.s-a4l- sssss5.
When at last the great question
comes, the child will probably answer
| it himself: Mamma, did I come from
your" Eyes, darling, you We're once a
part Of mother. How mother loves her
little son (daughter) !"
Each mother will think of way to
tell the story according to clrcum-
stances, Only remember two things.
Tell the story properly before anybody
gets ahead Of you and poisons the
childs mind. And tell it in way to
make the child reverence and love
parenthood