Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-04-13

alight with youth and enthusiasm.
Her face is utterly innocent of a
wrinkle or other visible sign Of age.
She was spoofing us-that stuff
about Is years of age and wrinkles.
We knew she was spoofing us, and
laughed accordingly. And she
laughed. And we returned to the
lobby and found sofa in a quiet
corner and asked her to tell us some
thing about her famous natural
method of educating children.
.''How do you boys remember the
number of days in each month"; she
asked.
simultaneously wej started:
Thirty days has September"
That's the answer to my meth
3D." she said. COR part of the an
swer."
Jingles for Facts
Her daughter Winifred Sackvllle
Stoner, Jr., (who, by the way, now is
the wife of the Count DeBruche)
passed her college, entrance eXami
nations at nine years Of age. She
was practically through college at
twelve. She spoke twelve languages
, at that age. Her husband is reputed
to speak sixteen. But that is another
story. DR.. M. v. O'Shea, of the Uni
versity of Wisconsin, said Of Wini.
fred at the age of twelve:
This little girl knows more and
can do more than the average uni
versity graduate"
How did her mother do it? That
was the thing we wanted to know
If such a thing could be learned, or
partly learned, or glimpsed, in the
space of a short Interview.
"Winifred," said her mother. sis
not a genius and not prodigy. l
despise that word-prodigy. A prodi-
gy is a monstrosity. Winifred is not
monstrosity. You can look at her
picture and decide for yourselves,
boys, whether she is or not"
We leaked and saw a face Of mag
nificent beauty and magnificent in
telligence.
Publish that one, why don't you,
instead of this wrink1ed old face of
mine," her mother suggested.
We laughed again at her wrinkles.
"Winifred is just normal,
healthy, happy girl she went on.
"She always played to a purpose
Never aimlessly. That is how she
was educated-in her play. The tools
of her education were two in mum.
Der. Write them down, son.
First, jingles for facts. You know
how you told me the number of days
in each month? That is how Wini-
fred learned facts.
Second, typical questions for
mathematics.
Learned Geometry
"Winifred learned geometry by
jingles."
Never having learned geometry by
any method, and never having got
into the approximate edges of a
comprehension Of it, this deponent
was stunned.
mother, seeing how pale We turned
around the gills when she said it.
Learned geometry by jingles."
Then she took from a portfolio in
her lap a folder entitled, Mother
Stoner's Geomies," written by the
daughter, consisting of a child's
drawing of every geometrical fig
ure, from the right angle triangle to
the mixacoccus, all put together in
way to make them in a grotesque
semblance of human figures, and
all with titles, such as "Mr. Right
Angle de Triangle" Miss Isosceles
de Triangle" Mother Oblate Spher-
DID, Lady Mixacoccus," etc.
And with the drawings were geo
metrical jingles written by Winifred:
Eighteen forms of polygon land
care regulars that hold command.
''Triangles four with angles
three
and three sides we plainly
see.''
To be sung to the air of Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star"
Mrs. Stoner's method Of natural
education is presented in detail in
her famous book. 1t sold 100000
copies in one year, the greatest rec
ord ever made by a book on educa-
ton.
You can see by that record that
tits not a dry book" said Mrs.
Stoner.
Educate Through Play
Education is too dry. That IS
why children dread it. Our chill
dren do not come out of school as
| workers of art. They come out as
sausages. Examinations-Lord they
are hellsh. I believe examinations
have killed more people than war
And vacations-you don't water a
plant nine months in the year and
| leave it dry the balance of the time,
do you?
Educate the child through play
| Games with aims. Children love