FARM VOICES. This noisy game is based upon one which is in high favor among Norwegian children. In Kindergarten it will often be better not to use the whole game, but to play one part repeatedly, choosing, of course, the verse related to the other exercises. Lest exception should be taken to the use made of the word cattle, which is ordinarily understood in a more limited sense, I would say that Worcester and Webster define cattle as a collective noun, including not only cows, oxen, etc., but horses, sheep, goats and swine; although it is more especially used with reference to cows, bulls, and their young. SUGGESTIONS FOR PLAYING THE GAME. Verse I. A drover, and his cows, sheep and pigs (two or three of each), and the donkey, are chosen, and go to the farthest corner of the room. The remaining children form a circle and begin the song. At opposite points in the circle the children separate and step back until they stand in two straight lines. While they are thus "clearing the way" the drover drives his cattle between the lines of children. When the children sing, "The cows are lowing," the cows must moo their best; and likewise the sheep, the pigs and the donkey, all in turn, must answer with the appropriate noises. After the drover and his cattle have passed out at the other end of the lines, they take their places as children again, and the farmer and his poultry are chosen. Verse II. The play in this verse only differs from the other in the gait and cries of the creatures. Verse III. Let the children forming the circle drop hands, so as to allow the "birds" to fly in and out freely during the singing of the first four lines. When the line about the robins is sung, the play-robins must stop flying and chirp, and then fly to the nearest place in the circle; and so also the sparrows, the pigeons and the bobolink as they are mentioned in the song. The long ears of the donkey may be indicated by the child's hands placed at each side on the top of the head, fingers close together and pointing upward. The flapping of the rooster's wings as he begins to crow may be imitated; and, in fact, any gestures which will add life and spirit to the game may be introduced. Boston. EMILIE POULSSON. A COLOR LESSON. The first to come is cherry red, Yellow's like May's curly head, And green, like the moss by the big tree's root. Blue like the water, the sky, the flowers, And baby's eyes so tender, While purple reminds us of pansy beds, And the sunset's royal splendor. E. M. W. GIFT LESSONS. III. SECOND GIFT-CONTRAST OF FORM. The children have played with the Second Gift several times and have enjoyed the investigation that is usually induced by free play. The forms are becoming old friends. Miss Alice has from the first called them by their respective names, ball, cylinder, and cube. The children have adopted the names and learned to apply them properly just as they would connect the name and face of a new playmate. The object of the following play is to bring to the minds of the children a more definite idea of the forms, through contrast. In order to do this, it is only necessary to give opportunity, through the play, for experience with the forms. Sense impressions which come from handling, experimenting, tracing resemblances and differences, will give a familiarity with the forms and their relation to each other which no abstract lesson on surfaces, edges, and corners could give. After the boxes have been distributed, Miss Alice says, "Let us talk about how we will play to-day, before we open our boxes." She has found that a clear idea must be given, round which the play is to center, before the material is taken out, as it is useless to attempt to get the undivided attention of the children after the material is before them. Having suggested a central thought, then the little wanderer who always wants to make a boat, an engine, or a wagon, can be kept from getting too far out of the current by utilizing the individual thought to the enhancement of the general one. The suggestion comes from Miss Alice, "Let us play that this is baking day. Miss Alice makes a play-lesson of this And now • In some such happy way, they are led to an orderly arrangement of their material; and indirectly, to a consciousness of the characteristic features of the different forms. The boxes are now turned down on the side as ovens. The lids are placed on the table as kneading-boards. While going through the motion of kneading dough they sing the third verse of "Alice's Supper:" "Far down in the kitchen The fire doth glow, *We have found it a good plan when using this Gift to remove the sticks when they are not needed in the play, before giving out the boxes, -as children will immediately begin placing the uprights, and this may not always be desirable. And this is the song she is singing today, As merry and busy she's working away, 'Tis the whitest dough, whether near or far, And it's for the children's supper, ha! ha!" (Songs for Little Children.) "We have the dough all ready, how would you like to make some appledumplings for dinner? The dough must be rolled thin for this. See if you can find a good way to make a rolling-pin.” Of course the cylinder is selected. A willow stick is put through the perforation, and forthwith each little cook begins to roll out the imaginary dough. "Now what have you that will be most like an apple-dumpling?" Several children hold up their balls. Then all roll them round and round in their hands and when satisfied that the dumplings are quite ready they are tucked away in the ovens. Since this is baking day, we must lay in a good supply of bread. Which of your blocks is almost exactly the shape of the loaves of cream bread which we get at Mr. Blank's bakery?" "Yes, the cube." "Mr. Blank bakes each loaf separately in a deep, square pan, but we will have to shape our loaves before we put them in the oven.' This suggestion meets with ready approval and all begin to make-believe pat, press, and shape the cubical loaf of bread. Then it is placed in the other end of the oven, and the busy cooks are ready to out. A quantity of round biscuit are cut Then they decide that the remaining cube will do very well as a square biscuit-cutter. The biscuit disposed of, they find the oven is not yet full. The cylinder only remains, for the second cube has been patted, pressed, and smoothed into shape and slipped into the oven as another loaf of bread. The vacant space in the oven, and the suggestive form of the cylinder,—what more natural than that Minnie should exclaim, "Oh, let us make a jelly-roll for tea!" After it has been rolled in the hands and on table, over and over again, Miss Alice says, 'Now the ends must be trimmed off nice and smooth, as mother does." The willow stick is used as a knife, and is passed back and forth across the ends of the cylinder. Thus without any direct reference to curved and flat surface, turn their attention to the next piece of Eg.2, work. Lilian suggests biscuit. "Oh, yes,” exclaims another, "Those nice little round and square biscuit which we have for lunch." 'How can we cut out the round ones?" With ready ingenuity, they are contrasted by means of actions involved in the play. The jelly-roll safely deposited, the oven is closed and remains so for about a minute, which, in play time, is supposed to be long enough for the successful baking of the contents. (Fig. 2.) Jamie thinks the dumplings will be done first because they were first in the oven. The children think it would be nice for the dumpling to be taken up on a large platter, as is done at home. A shallow box is produced to serve as a platter, the dumplings are carefully placed upon it and it is then set in the middle of the table. Then the bread is taken out and last the jelly-roll. "Now it is time to cut the bread for supper. Some people I know are very fond of crusts, let us see how many of these nice, square, outside pieces we Fig. 3. can get." The willow stick is used as a knife and the children enjoy the play of cutting slices from the faces of the cube. (Fig. 3.) All discover that there will "be a good many outside pieces." And the older ones agree that "there will be crusts for six children in the family." "And now we must slice the jelly-roll. What kind of slices will it make?" "Yes, Elsie, round ones." They slice off of one end for a time, and then from the other. Toward the close, the boxes are turned right side up, are thus converted into bread boxes and in them the day's baking is placed. ing is placed. The play time is ended. The balls are returned to their owners and the boxes are taken up by the child who is Miss Alice's "helper" for the day. ANNIE MOORE. New Albany, Ind. A LETTER BY FRIEDRICH FROEBEL.* KEILHAU, JUNE, 1847. MY DEAR HERMANN:-Your report concerning Mr. K has afforded me great pleasure. He would be glad to resign his position of public school leader, you say, in order to devote his full strength to the Kindergarten. I feel sure he will never repent of his resolve, as I never yet found anybody who had repented of the resolve to devote himself (or herself) to this method of educating children according to the laws of life and evolution. For whoever will do so deliberately and with a devoted soul, will realize a gain double or many times his stake by receiving his own self back as a perfect whole. (1) Concerning educational institutions *Edited by A. H. Heinemann. for children's maids I would say that I should have had one going for a long time but for the obstacles offered by society in general, the greatest of which is the low esteem in which such maids are held. Even after having graduated from such an institution, a girl will prefer a situation as cook or house maid to that of nursery maid, because the former are esteemed so much higher and paid so much better, that accepting a place with children would be considered a drop in society. If you have not seen such cases, you will never believe them possible. But here they are, first, among the servants themselves, who look upon their period of nursery time as their novitiate of service, to be shortened as much as possible. But this contempt felt by the servants themselves, is the natural consequence of the second factor in the dilemma which is the disrespect with which mothers will treat their children's maids. Not until this erroneous conduct on the part of the mothers of the people has undergone a complete change, is there any possibility of improvement in the training of little children intrusted to maids. If mothers knew the importance of proper education during the first years of the lives of their children, they would surely be the first to demand that their nursery maids have the necessary educational qualifications and would never be behindhand in esteeming and treating the maids accordingly. It is a matter of course that nursery maids should not hold a position subordinate to that of any other household servant, as they do frequently, for so long as this estimate. determines the relative positions of the servants, no change for the better can be expected either in the maids or for their little wards. There is little hope for improvement until the mothers will begin to educate their own selves. Let them attend Kindergartens and study the system themselves. Then they will grow able to know what to expect of their maids and how to judge of the capacities of the lat co-operation of the mothers and the comprehension they have of their true natural calling, the care of childhood. But they are not as yet acquainted with the first preliminaries of the education of man, which ignorance causes them to expect that the official educators of youth should make good again what they, the mothers, have spoiled. This evil we have to overcome, and I know of no other means so thorough and certain to effect this purpose as the Kindergarten. Let young women go there and see the development of child-life going on before their eyes, noticing and understanding the laws and workings of it. (2) Yours, etc., FRIEDRICH FROEBEL. NOTES. (1) Enthusiasm is faith à outrance, and how great a portion of this boundless enthusiasm Froebel possessed, is made evident in this advice which he gives to the teacher, Mr. K—. This young man was a public school teacher at Eisenach, which means, in Germany, an official position and regular income secured for life, free from cares or anxiety about the future and any vicissitudes in its lap. No political revolution, no change of parties in power can affect such a position; the German public school teacher is settled permanently. And this secure position in life Froebel boldly advised to be thrown to the wind to obtain freedom to serve the Kindergarten movement which, at the time, did offer nothing but the certainty of continual suffering and privations. To make up for such an immense sacrifice, Froebel offers the sublimity of enthusiasm in the service of childhood. As Christ said: "Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it ;" just so says Froebel to him who would follow him, that he shall recover his loss many times and receive his own self back in a blessed and perfected condition. Froebel himself had done the same thing; he had sacrificed every prospect of outward success to his idea of the education of man; he had submitted to incredible privations |