Evening star., 1927-10-30
FICTION AND
HUMOR
District Children Studying Trees and Stars Well Boz

the nature work in the public schools
with the pressing realities OF every'
day life. The teachers seek to de-
velop workers rather than idle
dreamers on the lap OF nature.
y X ~
THIS phase of the work is empha-
sized especially when the children
return to school the next Fall-now
in the sixth grade. Some timely
economic problem is given them for
work and consideration. This Fall
they have been engaged in an eradlca-
ton campaign against the bagworm
and tussock moth, which We're doing
great deal of damage to foliage in
the parks and yards. The children
of each school were divided into two
teams. Then a city-wide contest was
held. Every morning hundreds or
cocoons were brought in. During the
recess periods the youngsters would
scamper about looking for other speci-
| mems to add to their totals.
The result was that the children
| of the Gales School, located in one OF
| the most congested parts of the city,
| collected more than 10000 tussock
moth nests. The f. V. Brown School
! Of Chevy Chase gathered slightly more
/ than 5000 bagworn cocoons. Other
schools ran up totals of 1000 or more.
| This work has meant a big saving to
| the city. Nature study work pays for
| itself as it goes.
| simultaneously with the bagworm
| collecting the children are studying
! the Fall hirds--on somewhat higher
| level than during the two previous
| Falls. The classes once more are
| fy1t 70 GalHc and TxnndG---
with the leaves dropping around them
and the exhilarating touch of frost in
| the air that sends them home hungry
| to supper. They learn something OF
| the food habits of birds and watch the
| migrants as they wing their way
| South.
Then there is the birdhouse class.
Late in the Fall it starts to make
| simple structures to be placed on
| trees. gate posts and fences, where the
birds can build their nests in the
/ Spring. Last year more than 5000
such houses were constructed-an in
estimable boon to the feathered life
of Washington. The work here has
excited the envy of other large Amer
| lean cities and numerous requests
have been received for an outline OF
the campaign. Efforts of the children
| doubtless have added appreciahly
already to the number of wrens. blue
birds, flickers and chickadees in the
city and its immediate environs.
Building of birdhouses. of course, is
not confined to the sixth grade, but
| it finds it's greatest impetus there.
Here is another instance in which ma
ture education pays its way in Wash
ington.
| The Christmas tree again becomes
| the object of the December lesson.
But now, instead of learning the diff
| ferent sorts of evergreens, the chill
dren are introduced to the wonderful
story of the wisdom and ingenuity of
| nature in adapting all the life she
| fashions to the environs she places it
| in The evergreen is really quite re-
! markable bundle of adaptations to
life in the Winter woods. The boughs
bend easily and the pine needles point
down not just because 1t happened
that way. These characteristics are
essential to the trees survival, en-
abling it to throw off easily heavy
! loads of snow.
/ In January the Winter stars are
studied--and at higher level again
than that at which the fourth.grade
| children contemplated the heavens of
a June night and the fifth.grade chill
dren gazed upon the sparkling diadem
of December. The consultations are
distinguished. The sixth graders
learn to do something quite beyond
! the majority of their parents-to pick
out of the seeming chaos of twin
king lights such groups as the two
dippers, Cassiopeia's Chair. the Dragon,
| Orion and the Hunting Dogs. the Bull
and the Pleiades.
| Children have sharp eyes and there
are certain tests of eyeslght connected
with star observation in which they
are able to make excellent records.
| One is to count seven of the Pleiades.
A great many children can do so on
a clear night. One little boy last
| January was able to see eight. That
represents about the limit with the
naked eye. Another test is to detect
| the faint star Alcor, in the handle of
the Big Dipper. Children frequently
report to the teachers that they have
seen it and some of the reports un-
douhtedly are true-although the
| teachers themselves strain their eyes
in vain. The moon also is popular
object of observation, and some OF the
| children look at it through small
| telescopes.
During February in this grade the
class is given a bare touch Of elec-
tricity and magnetism. 1t is possible
to explain simple experiments with
apparatus like the horseshoe magnet.
X X X
DCRING the Winter months also
- the life habits of fish are studied.
with a globe of goldfish in each
schoolroom as observational material.
| The feeding of these fish is left en-
| tirely to the children. Groups OF
them are to be found crowded about
the tank whenever permitted by the
| classroom teacher.
| The Spring flower study Is directed
particularly toward the need for con-
servation. The children are furnished
outlines Of different local flowers by
| the Wild Flower Preservation So
| cietv. These they fill in with water
! color or crayon, learning in this way
to identify better the numerous va
| reties found in their daily walks.
| Later in the Spring the housefly.
| the mosquito and the snake become
| objects of special study. Every nature
study teacher carries To her classes a
| harmless green snake. handles the
| little creature fearlessly in front of
| the children and tries to explain it's
economic yalue to mankind. The
| dread OF snakes. according to one
school Of psychology. is deeply i'm
| planted in the human mind. 1t need
not exist at all. according to another
| school. We're it not for foolish early
training. Everything possible is done
| to overcome this dread of the harmless
snakes. Many of the children catch
snakes of their own and make pets
| Of them
The teachers take care. however,
to instill a proper respect for poison.
Gus snakes. The characteristic body
forms and markings of the copper.
head and rattlesnake. the only two
vemenous reptiles at all likely to be
encountered around Washington, are
described in Dainstakine detail