Turn, turn quickly and you'll see

Ball so round appear in me.

Fig. 9.-If the string be attached to the hook at the edge of the flat face thus (fig. 9), a double cone is seen.

Now another figure see,

Two round cones appear in me.

By means of these little exercises the child begins to learn that one form is contained in another. The sphere contains both the cube and cylinder, and the cylinder contains the cone. When the children learn clay modelling they prove this for themselves. The sphere is round, the cube has not one round face, all its faces are square. Let us see how many faces the cube has. One 5. The cube at the front and one at the back, two. One at the and sphere right side and one at the left, two more; one at the top and one at the bottom, two more; (touch each face as it is mentioned, and let the children count). The cube, then, has six faces, while the sphere has only one, which is round, and all the cube's faces are square. Then the cube has corners, count them, there are eight; and the sphere has no corners. The cube has edges round its square faces (count the edges), there are twelve, and the sphere has not one edge. We will try to make the cube roll. Why cannot it?' 'Its corners and edges will not let it roll.' But it can stand. On what does it stand?' 'It stands on 'Can it stand on an edge or corner?' (Let the children try to make it stand on

one of its square faces.' 'Not unless we hold it.' its edge.)

The Cube

Exercises with the cube

Eight corners, and twelve edges, see,
And faces six, belong to me;

One face behind, and one before,

One top, one bottom, that makes four,
One at the right, at left side one,

And that counts six, if rightly done.

Fig. 10.-If the cube be suspended by a double string from the centre of one of its square faces, and rotated quickly, a cylinder is shown.

Turn me quickly, and you'll see

Like a cylinder I'll be.

Fig. 11.--When the cube is suspended by a hook in the centre of one of its edges, and turned quickly, a form is shown that resembles the hub of a wheel.

When the cube is suspended by a hook in one of the corners, and quickly turned, it looks like a double cone.

Swinging by my corner
Quickly round I go,

Looking like two round cones,
With their points you know.

The children should now see the three together, and note the points of resemblance. The cylinder can roll like 6. The sphere, the sphere, or stand like the cube; it has the qualities cylinder, and of each, and is, therefore, the connecting link becube

tween them.

The children may be allowed to distinguish the objects of

S

Gift II. by touch only.

Guessing game

Let a child come out and be blindfolded, or close its eyes without being blindfolded, then give to it the sphere, or cylinder, or cube, while the

When the correct name is obtained the teacher asks, 'How did you know it was the cylinder?' (supposing this has been the form given), and the child is encouraged to give the reason why he knew.

Games constituted so important a part of Froebel's system that his nephew Karl gives Play School as the best English Mutter- und equivalent of Kindergarten. But the term games Kose-Lieder as used by Froebel means much more than simple play; it means play skilfully directed to the exercise of the limbs, to the expression of the emotions, to the strengthening of the character, and even to the imparting of knowledge. The games grew naturally out of the Mutter- und Kose-Lieder' published in 1843. This, as the title indicates, is a book of songs intended for the use of mothers. Each song had a commentary in which the appropriate movements for the child were described, and its moral or educational significance was pointed out. In Patsche-Kuchen, for instance, the movements associated with the English Pat-a-cake are described, and we are told that the game 'had its origin in an effort to make the impulsive movements of the infant the means of introducing him to a knowledge of the activities about him, and to their reciprocal relationships. The bread or, better still, the little cake which the child likes so much he receives from his mother; the mother, in turn, receives it from the baker. So far so good. We have found two links in the great chain of life and service.

Let us beware, however, of making the child feel that these links complete the chain. The baker can bake no cake if the miller grinds no meal; the miller can grind no meal if the farmer brings him no grain; the farmer can bring no grain if his field yields no crop; the field can yield no crop if the forces of Nature fail to work together to produce it; the forces of Nature could not conspire together were it not for the all-wise and beneficent Power who incites and guides them to their predetermined ends.' 1

So far from attempting to supersede the mother in the education of the young, Froebel published his 'Mutter- und Kose-Lieder' in order to make her work more Games intelligent and effective. Still, he maintained that, however intelligent and effective it might be, there was need for the Kindergarten. In the home a child does not mix with his equals. His parents stand on a higher plane, and, if he has brothers and sisters, they are either older or younger. At school he meets many children of his own age; his intercourse with them develops the social feelings, compels him to practise self-restraint, and teaches him respect for the rights of others. The Kindergarten being a complement of the home, the action song which the child practises with his mother has its complement in the musical game which he plays with his fellows. Froebel invented several, and since his day the ingenuity of teachers has added largely to the number.

In this (as in every other department) continued progress is possible. What we need is, not to copy the details, but to apply the principles of the method. The letter Conclusion killeth, but the spirit giveth life.' With the right spirit an infant school may be a veritable children's garden, though Froebel might fail to recognise any appliance or device employed in it; without the right spirit the Kindergarten may be a prison, the gifts unwelcome, the occupations unprofitable, and the games irksome.

Blow, Mottoes and Commentaries of Froebel's Mother-Play, p. 126.

QUESTIONS SELECTED FROM EXAMINATION PAPERS SET BY THE ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

ORDER, ATTENTION, DISCIPLINE

1. Why should young teachers be restricted from the use of corporal punishment, (a) for the sake of their scholars? (b) for their own sake?

2. Point out some of the ways in which school discipline may be useful in producing habits of ready obedience, and name some characteristic features of good discipline.

3. Show that rewards may be usefully employed in stimulating children to work. Name some rewards that may be connected with the daily work of the school.

4. Show that clear distinction may be drawn between truthfulness and 'telling tales.' How can older boys be employed in assisting to maintain the discipline of a school?

5. Show that inattention in a class may proceed from the faults of a teacher, or from causes other than faults in the children themselves.

6. Show that harshness and untruthfulness in a teacher influence the character and behaviour of children out of school.

7. Show that copying, especially in Arithmetic, may be the result of bad teaching or of bad discipline. What precautions would you take to prevent the growth of such a habit?

8. Is it a sufficient definition of good discipline to say that it is the power exercised by the teacher over the children'? Give some distinguishing marks of good discipline.

9. Show that what is called stupidity in children may arise from faults on the part of the teacher. Name some of the faults.

10. What is truthfulness? Name some ways in which a child may be untruthful in act without saying a word.

II. If you found the class you were teaching getting listless and sleepy, what causes would you suppose to be at work and what would be your

remedies?