.... The Robin .... .Claire D. Senseman .Isla Paschal Richardson Training For Unselfishness The Value of Sanitary Sand ....H. B. Adriance Teaching by Example ..Bertha Hayword Higgins 26 The Imaginative Time ........ Anna Mae Brady 28 The Swing in the Old Apple Tree The Brook .... ..Geo. F. Shalley 30 ..Geo. F. Shalley 32 The Runaway Turkey ....Phoeba Ethel Sledge 38 Unspoiling The Spoiled Child.......... Thankfulness 24 The Way Out of It 25 ....F. S. Putnam 150 .F. E. Olson 152 .F. G. Sanders 157 .F. G. Sanders 158 ...Gail Hoffman 159 Ira Wood Crawford 160 U Uses For The Shoe Horn at School...... .Gertrude Vaughn Uses For Sand Paper in The School Room.... ...Gertrude Vaughn 12 17 ... Published bi-monthly during the school year as follows: September 1st, Entered at the P. O., Manistee, Mich., as Second Class Mall Matter, September-October, 1923. DEAR BEGINNERS By Dr. Jenny B. Merrill This opening letter of the New School Year is directed to you for I well know how your hearts beat high with expectation of your first day as a recognized teacher. We older ones welcome you "into the ring," into the reading circle of our magazine, into the family circles of the children's homes, as well as to the happy play circle of the kindergarten world. We want you to be cheerful and happy in this new school home. The children's hearts are beating high too as well as yours. Always remember that the very best way to realize it, is to get in touch, if possible, with a child in the home who is about to start on this new world journey. Indeed, my first word to you, whether a beginner or an experienced kindergartner is keep in touch with the child's mother, with the child's home, with the child's past, with the child's play things, yes, and with his very food and sleeping hours for that often explains difficulties. I fear now you are saying this is not what I want to know now. Yet it is, and it is very vital to your success to think about these very things and to let them weigh upon you day by day, as you give yourself to observation. a leader. as The children are to be your study. Think of yourself as a student as well as a teacher, a follower as well as This attitude of mind will be the beginning of your sucess. It is to be hoped that you have had access to your schoolroom before the children gather, and have made it an attractive place. It is not necessary, not wise to overload the room. I remember going into a kindergarten room where in a very prominent place stood a doll's chair. Even without a doll in it, it would catch the eye of any little girl and help her feel at home. A doll's carriage, a boy's wagon, a big ball, a box of blocks, a few bright flowers, several picture books of animals or children at play, a seashore in the sand-box, or a country scene on the blackboard, a toy horse or dog or elephant. these at least one or more of them will be your attractions. Something to talk about at once, something to say to little timid Willie, “Come, and see this or that." Or, even better, "Johnnie boy, will you show Willie our picture books?" or "Mary, will you take Annie over to our doll's house?" or if there is no doll's house, "Mary, show Annie one of our nice little chairs. Let her sit on one. Perhaps her mother will VOL. XXXVI-No. I let her bring a red ribbon tomorrow to tie on her Create a helpful, cheerful, sunny atmosphere in this a This is your opportunity to hold them to a very The piano should not be used very much at first. up. Paper and crayon given to each child may be all that is needed to keep their hands busy while necessary details are attended to. These differ so that it is useless to mention them. Whatever it is advisable to attend to. for the sake of the rest of the school, as data for reports, must be cheerfully done; let the children help if they can. Children love to count and will chime in if a few lead, then when you write the correct numbers on paper or blackboard, let the children watch while you do it. Perhaps you will chat about it pleasantly as you do it, saying, "A lady who is our friend will come in soon and ask me for this paper. It is like a little letter." Then as is done in some large kindergartens, you may say, "Would you like to take a letter home to mother today?" This letter is often a slip of paper, asking for certain facts in case the registration is not complete. It is well to have a paper of pins at hand to pin each paper on the child so that little hands will be free as they should be. If you are not a beginner, but one who has belonged to our circle of readers for some time, I hope you have saved your magazines and in addition to these gentle reminders, will also re-read last year's first letter in which I wrote of other things that may be more helpful than these which have forced themselves upon me today. Your friend, J. B. M. In several cities where there is a large number of kindergartens, and where often one supervisor supervises both kindergartens and one or more of the primary grades, an excellent plan of forming committees of kindergartners is in use. These committees work with the supervisor in planning outlines on various subjects. This plan aids both supervisor and kindergartner. It is democratic and inspiring. It makes every one responsible to think ahead. Outlines are presented by committees for criticism and for modification to the whole body of kindergartners. Thus the good motto, "Each for all and all for each," is put into practice. Miss Ada Van Stone Harris of Pittsburg, whose recent loss many feel deeply, was one of the first to adopt this plan of democratic supervision in the City of Rochester, N. Y. secure Miss Marion S. Hanckel of Richmond, Virginia, is one of the supervisors who is at present forming such committees. Miss Hanckel hopes to better results by thus making all the kindergartners may plan together appointing a Chairman. Upon request, Miss Hanckel has kindly sent thru me to the Kindergarten Magazine, reports submitted last year by the committees on English. These will be published in our next issue. I advise our readers to study these reports over and over again each month during the coming term, and to apply what they can in connection with other helps I may add. Keep speech in mind. Speak quietly but clearly yourself. Do not mention children's mistakes, but repeat in correct form what they say incorrectly, looking the child directly in the eye, requiring him or her also to look at you. This is not only good for speech, but it is also a training in habits of attention and good manners. Many children are not spoken to in this direct way at home before coming to kindergarten and often acquire slovenly speech and shy manners. Kindergartners are among the most responsible teachers in starting good habits of speech. Conversation and story telling are our great weapons. Let us use them well during these first months. So let us first consider WHAT TO TALK ABOUT Taking all things into consideration, I have found that the easiest thing to talk about to hold attention and invite to natural conversation in the early days is A PICTURE Choose your picture well. It may be any picture of children at play, or of pets especially at feeding time. The picture should be quite large, mounted on cardboard, so that it will stand on a ledge, and may later be passed from hand to hand without inquiry. I have two such pictures before me; they were covers from a popular magazine. They are mounted on a gray card (obtained from the laundry wash.) I have talked to a little girl not quite three years old many times this winter about these two pictures. In one picture a little boy is standing on a chair having his little blue coat buttoned. CONVERSATION "What is mamma doing? Yes, she is buttoning her little boy's coat. What color is his coat? What color is his hat? Where do you think this little boy is going? Is mamma ready to go with him? Is this a warm coat? What are these on the boy's legs? Mamma is wrapping her little boy well. It must be cold. Did mamma wrap you up so warm to come to kindergarten? No, indeed. It is not cold now but by and by it will be. What kind of a hat did you wear this morning? A straw hat? No hat? Here is a little hat I found on the floor! Did you see all the nice books I have out in the closet? What are they for? Will you hang your hat up when you come to kindergarten? Is this little boy in the picture? going to kindergarten? Does he look old enough? Where shall I put this picture?" Thus you lead the children to feel at ease by talking about familiar things in an easy going way and yet you lead them on to think a little beyond the objects in the picture, as the weather, whether mother is going out, whether the child is old enough to go to school, where to keep the picture, what to do with hats, etc. Be sure to give plenty of time for the children's answers. The second picture is a home scene with two children, probably a brother and sister, sitting in a big arm chair looking at a picture book. It suggests friendliness and pleasure and questions will arise as before. "Who has a picture book at home? Have you a brother? Are you friendly? Do you show your book to him? If you jerk it away what happens? If I let you have a picture book, will you let the little girl who is sitting by you look at it with you? I want you all to be kind and friendly to each other. Now I will give some of you a picture book to look at and you may show it to another child and talk about it too. (Never give the children the old idea that talking is not allowed in school!. No, no, no! Later they will learn that it is best sometimes to be quiet and listen.) I am well aware that these two conversations would not suit all early conditions. Neither is it at all necessary to have just these pictures. But I hope I have conveyed to beginners, especially to those who have had to begin with limited training, how a picture leads to thought and to exchanging thoughts in simple ways, and also how by a question you may lead a child to see more than is actually in the picture and so arouse imagination, and gradually make up a story about it. Another way to use pictures in early work is to have one for each child. Give a few minutes to look quietly at the picture. Then ask who will come and hold his picture so we can all see it and tell us about it. Ask several to do so. Accept very simple efforts. This method leads to more speaking by the child than questioning. Again, after looking at the pictures in hand, ask the children to exchange them, explaining at first that the pictures are not to keep, but that you will bring them out again another day, and pass them around. You may also interest the children in putting pictures away and in handling them carefully. Let them bring one picture at a time and build an ordinary pile, the others meanwhile watching. Do not hurry. Be very much interested in good piling. Some of the older ones may like to count while this is being done, so we will know how many pictures we have. It may be better just to watch. An older child may then be trusted to put the pictures away in a box or on a particular shelf so that we shall know just where to find them by always using the same place. Thus the habit of orderliness is begun, also helpfulness in collecting and putting away in order that we may enjoy the pictures again. (Remember Dr. Agnes Rogers' paper on children's habits in the May-June Magazine. Re-read it. Remember the list of habits of movement given in the same magazine number, page 151, by Luella A. Palmer. Turn to it. Re-read it. Have you sent to Miss Niña C. Vanderwalker for the list of habits to be published by the Bureau of Educaton, Washington, D. C.?) STORIES AND SONGS The stories chosen to be told in September and October must depend upon the pre-school experiences of the children. 3 kindergarten slide, or a sand table and a pail, then the meaning can be made clearer. A pail and water, a boy and girl are well known and so the children always delight in this simple nursery rhyme which is really a story, a very realistic story to a child of four or five. Tell it, draw it, play it. Analyze the story of Goldilocks and you will see why it is so universally used and loved. The only unfamiliar objects are the bears. A house, three cups or bowls, three chairs, three beds, a naughty little girl who ran away from home, got in trouble and gladly ran back home to mother! Do you know it took an able writer to make those simple objects into a child's story? Robert Southey, the English poet, wrote it. Goldilocks may be the principal story for several weeks unless you are favored with children who have known it before coming to kindergarten. If many know it, let them tell it themselves, then draw it and play it. Let them tell you how to play it. Intelligent children of five years can do so. Another simple story for September "Little Pigs and his Five Senses." Some one cleverly has made this little pig story to help the children to realize their own senses. Tell it and hear the children laugh. You will find it in Miss Palmer's "Play Life in the First Eight Years." Choose one or two of Miss Poulsson's finger plays. Turn them into stories showing appropriate pictures, and then illustrate with the hand movements. If you have children who are well advanced, more stories may be used in September and October, several being based upon Nature Songs. Every song should be a story to the child. For one of the best lists of stories for the kindergarten, consult Bulletin, 1919, No. 16. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. (10c.) "The Wake up and Go to sleep story" in The Child's World not only interests in the daily bed time of the child, but has much repetition and brings in animal life. It can easily be dramatized. Talks can be given about sleeping hours for children if they come from homes that need such advice. The Good Shepherd and the Lost Sheep in the Gospel of Luke arouses the child's sympathy tho its symbolic meaning should come much later. Children may have heard (Play Bopeep and Little Boy Blue.) stories at home or in Sunday School, or they may never have heard a story told. "What a vast difference!" To the latter, simple made-up stories about interesting pictures, so that you can be sure the child is following you, are the best for September. After showing pictures of animals or playing with toy animals, making the sounds of animals, and telling a few Mother Goose rhymes, you may then be able to tell the story of "Godilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Little Pigs Senses." City children know so few animals but are more likely to know "bears" than "cows." Even the simple "Jack and Jill' is not clearly understood by children who do not know a hill. One kindergartner let "Jack" climb on a chair! Anything is better than nothing, but if there is a Miss Poulsson's "Songs of a Little Child's Day," are stories as well as songs. They suggest cleverly the best habits for a child at home and in the kindergarten, social habits of prompt obedience, carefulness, bravery, tidiness and courtesy. HELPFULNESS He brings his father's slippers He shuts the door for Grandma Singing is a kind of talking to give a happy way of expressing our feelings and also to arouse cheerful feelings. Then let storytelling precede the song so that the expression in song will come from with A greeting song and clock song belong to the first month. Children should be greeted individually as they arrive, but in the circle a greeting song is social and is often accompanied by children shaking hands with the next child or even several near by. If one runs across the ring to teacher or to a particular friend it is all the more social. Encourage such spontaneity. A lullaby is also desirable. Sing it yourself to the children as they play "Go to Sleep." Later let them sing it to dolly as they make believe rock her in the swaying arm motion so familiar. GAMES AND EXERCISES Games and stories and song are so interwoven in the kindergarten that they have already been considered in part. There are also simple imitative motions desirable in September that are not exactly games but that lead the children gradually into more fully developed games as, swinging arms, rolling hands, lifting feet as if running, bowing heads, stretching arms out, up, down, waving one hand as if it held a flag, pretending to climb by lifting feet and imagining a ladder in front of you, beating a drum, tooting a horn, playing throw and catch a ball tho none is in hand, drawing in long breaths and breathing out slowly, bending the knees to grow small, stretching on tip-toe to grow tall, turning side wise, extending arms, then rotating in big circles, opening and shutting hands, slowly and rapidly, making a steeple, ringing the church bell, flying like a bird, swimming like a fish, etc. etc. Such exercises are useful as gymnastics all the year and with big as well as with young children. As much as possible a playful thought, should be back of each motion. a Pretend to pick a flower, smell it, let a neighbor smell it. What kind of flower is it? What color? Pick more flowers, put them in water-pail in play, no flowers and no water but just "pretend." Children will laugh and be merry and learn to use their imagination. When the children first form a ring, it is best in large kindergartens to have a few make a small ring while the others watch. Then send a child to lead another young or timid child into the ring, until all are in. In very large kindergartens, (tho there should be none,) sometimes have two or more rings or concentric rings. Let children face out and then face in several times. Let a child find the center of the ring. Then beckon to another child to come to the center. The two shake hands, bow and the first one returns to the ring. Repeat this many times. Almost every child will wish to be chosen and will watch the This game is called "The center child attentively. Quiet Game" or "The Polite Game" and simple as it is, it is a great favorite. One child may run around the ring on the inside another on the outside. Change "run to "skip" or "fly." Do not vary much on one day. The young children all want their turn to come. Two children skip together then four, eight, etc. Even better have free skipping to music without thought of line or circle. If the kindergartner can use the piano freely, the rhythms will come more naturally and as young children are often very graceful, let those who are, be models for those who are not. Do not make the graceful child self-conscious by praise. For strong contrasts, the children love to play. (1) We are little ponies, going around and around We have hoofs upon our feet and stamp upon the ground. (2) We are little pussies, going around and around We have cushions on our feet and never make a sound. The ring may be called a Merry-go-round and the children pretend to jump on a pony and ride around. Sometimes one child stands in the middle to play the organ while those in the circle sing. NATURE As soon as the children are at home in their new environment, the fall walks become an important feature for they are the best months for out-of-door nature lessons, not lessons but life-living with the falling leaves, gathering them to take indoors finding an acorn, watching a squirrel, finding a cocoon, listening to the crickets, watching the birds, possibly finding fall flowers and gathering seed vessels. It is not to learn facts about nature but to let interest in living things grow, to encourage curiosity about the little things about us, that older folks often pass by but which are really wonderful. The seeing eye, the hearing ear, the gentle hand, the quiet step, the up-lifted head to the sky, to the clouds, to the waving branches, to the flying bird, these are what we seek on these walks. Of course, we also seek health in the open air. We seek also treasures to carry indoors, flowers, nuts, seeds, stones, cocoons and many colored leaves. The kindergarten may be located where workmen will be seen. The activities of outdoor life always interest children. I once saw children in a kindergarten imitate all that the workmen did in gathering leaves in a city park. The children first scattered the leaves which they had gathered the day previous on the kindergarten floor. Then several days were chosen for workmen. They came with rakes. One child brought a wagon and was driver, another being the horse. One man told the others what to do theu work began, the leaves were raked together in piles, the cart was loaded, and the cart was driven back to the corner of the room full of leaves. These were scattered, no doubt, next day with just as |