Norwich bulletin., 1921-03-28
cnlLD TRAINING AT HOME
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE.

BY Margaret w. Morley, Author of The |
Insect Folk, The Renewal Of Life.
Sooner or later every normal child will
be curious as to his origin. Fortunate is
the one whose mother realizes the i'm
| portance of answering truthfuliy this
natural question Of origin and Of answer
ing it soon enough, that is, before harm
full and ugly thoughts have been put into
the child's mind by ignorant or vicious
persons. Any mother can prepare the
| way for a full answer as soon as her
child is old enough to be interested in
planting seed and watching 1t grow II
there is no out-of-doors garden at hand.
a pretty way to -impart the knowledge Is
to plant bean in a flower pot and inter-
est the child in watching its growth from
day to day.
| How pleased he will be when the bean
plant begins to blossomi Try to make
this blossoming important and thus bold
his interest. Show the little blossom to
his friends and playmates, or better still.
encourage him to show 1t. Tell hun that
he must not pick the blossom because
from it will come more beans. II pos
sible. place the plant in an open window
where the bees can find the flowers.
After a time, the flower will wither
and its pretty petals fall on, but there
Is left behind a tiny green bean which
: grew in the heart of the flower. Watch
1t become larger and larger as thP days
! pass. Finally, the pod will be filled with
little bean childrenl Hold the nlant
against the light and show the child the
tiny beans in the pod without picking II.
4 Each bean Is attached to the pod by a
5 tiny stem. Tell the child how the life Of
4 the mother plant passes into Fhe little
= young means and feeds them and en-
ables them to grow until they are large
S enough to leave the mother plant and
: start out in life for Themselves. When
the young leans are fully formed and
beans fall out, and, If they fall on good
e soil in time they too will begin 10 sproui
j and grow into other bean nlants.
8 Show the child as many seeds and seed
J, pods as possible. those hanging from tbs
|. trees. those growing on tie plants and
weeds in the garden. All flowers srcw
from seeds. Everything that lives seems
q little young kitten started as tiny seet
+ that grew in a place prepared for it with
: In its mother. We should be very care
full of the mother eat, very kind and
n gentle with her and never hurt her. Feasi
the child to respect motherhood in tn
animals as well as in humanity: giv'
him lovely thought about mothers anI
their young children; and thus make nc
. therhood beautiful and sacred in his mind
e Make the development and birth Of tn
y infant life so familiar and SO natura
= to the child that when the time comes fo
= him to ask questions, the answer can b
- easily given by the neither and easil.
= understood by the child who has beeI
: prepared and who will often answer tn
= question himself with li;tls help from
his mother. She might say. "Tou renem
. Der about the seeds. dont~vou. and how
they grew in their little hole at the hear
. of the flower? You remember how VI
3 talked about the little kittens and hov
8 they started the same Ray as the Ittl
r seedsr The child WIN oftsn ask. "Ant
g was little seed IKE that II net, III
mother can say, 'rYou we're onoe a TIM
: seed like that. Everybody was An,
L think what a lot Of growing yon did +
= make such a dear, Dig cli;ld With hand
y and feet and ears and eyes and every
a thing else"
= Where pure thoughts are kiged, loos
~ thoughts cannot enter.