Show NORMAL NORMAh SCHOOL k The articles published in this department are written by students of the Normal School They are the unaided productions of students and neither the Normal School nor the CHRONICLE is responsible for any d statements they contain SCIENCE r The little child has all its life been a student of Nature A few years ago when the child entered entered entered en en- the a at the age of six the doors were barred against all that it knew anything about or cared for But now thanks to all our great educators l sciences or n nature a t ure if you please are taken into the school life of the children children children chil chil- L dren and the chart slate pencil and rod are a thin thing g of the past I do not r 1 mean th the chart chart slate and pencil are not used they are but not un until til the child is ready for th them m. m But to come back to our subject what can interest the little child more Aj than the animal life which surrounds him The cat the dog the bird and f a athe the horse the child delights in all of J these Place before the child any I moving thing and it is not satisfied until it has touched it and knows more about it The child studies in that he becomes acquainted with all the animals and insects he meets What little child has not tried for hours to N catch the butterfly grasshopper and the bee There never was a child that rt did not love flowers when he sees one t the he wants to hold it smell it and then put it in his mouth and pull it to pieces We might in this this way cons consider der j all al of the bra branches hes of science SCIence but time r will not permit It would be of interest to all intend- intend i r i ing to teach teah to visit our Class lass and see with what interest the children Iy J. J enter into the study of all forms of life After they have studied the subjects i they then mould and paint them In Inthis b this all are interested They love loveto f to model objects out of sand and cl clay Y painting is always a delight The child will paint the objects crude though they may be they are always satisfactory to dry h. h him This last week we had the acorn peanuts pine nuts and black walnuts r. r for the botany lesson The attempts at and painting painting paint paint- h ing in many cases would have been a credit to most of the teachers The Ther r time was so short that only the acorn and peanut were studied The following following following follow follow- ing outline was used by one of the teachers if T What is it I hold in my hand t P It Ir is an acorn T What is the shape of the acorn lv l P The top part is like a saucer the 1 3 bottom part like a cone T What is the color of the acorn P The top part is gray the bottom part is brown You may all break your nuts open and tell me a story about the shell The shell is not very hard What did you find when you broke the shell t I found a nut I am going to tell you a new word for the inside of a nut it is called the they y kernel F What i is on the inside of the shell A thin brown skin What is this skin good for It is the lining of the shell to protect protect protect pro pro- the kernel What is the shell good for The shell protects the kern kernel l. l r. r What is the kerne good for r It is good to eat and to make new F plants What is the color of the kernel I The kernel is white Who can tell me a story why the acorn is this color why isn't it red 1 It is brown because insects and birds cannot see it so well y How are acorns scattered Squirrels and birds help to scatter the acorns Will Vill acorns float ou on water and does that help to scatter them 1 A AYes Yes they will float and stop on the sides of the creek and prow grow What kind of a tree does the acorn grow on In the East oak n they grow on trees but here on a bush called the scrub oak The peanut is taken next next each each child has one The teacher will have to tell the child how the peanuts grow They grow on vines and when the flower on the vine vine blooms it is covered over with earth or soil oil and the peanut is made It is al also so called the earthnut What is the shape of the peanut ti tiIt It is long and round 1 What is the color of the peanut The peanut is is a light You may break your peanut open and tell me a story about the shell The shell is not very hard Does the shell of the peanut look 1 like that of the acorn and who can cantell cantell tell me a story about it N No 0 the shell of the peanut is not like the acorn it has veins in it When you broke the shell what did you find I found the kernel What t was on the kernel A thin brown skin What is the skin good for To keep the kernel from get getting ng hurt What is the color of the kernel The kernel is a lighter yellow than the shell What is the kernel good for ji a i j It is good to eat and to make new plan plants ts Why does the kernel need a shell To keep it warm and to protect it from getting hurt and eaten by worms No one can imagine the interest the children have in all such lessons and how much they know about all such su subjects Teachers study the child arouse the self-activity self of the inner nature and teaching that has before been a drudgery ery will now be the most enjoyable pleasure h B. B Parsons |