Plockhorst As an aid in the preparation of the story, the teacher will find "The Story of a Beautiful Life" by Canon Farrar, most helpful. The text is very beautiful and it contains numerous photographs of famous paintings illustrating the life of Christ. For the first lessons use the Madonnas, showing only one new one each day. Call attention to the beauties in each one, compare them, and explain that these are but copies of large pictures that were painted, many of them, years ago, by great artists. Lead the children to talk freely about the pictures and the story as they already know it, correcting any erroneous ideas which they may express. Then show the pictures of the shepherds and describe the little town of Bethlehem with its quaint, flat-roofed houses, the inn that was full to overflowing, and tell why so many people had come. "The Arrival of the Shepherds" gives a far more vivid impression of the humble birthplace of the Master than any words can. It is always a great favorite with the children. When describing Bethlehem it is well to read Phillips Brooks' Holy Family 1 C. Müller It has been well said that no man is a complete man who goes through life blind to beauty. If this be true, then, we cannot begin too early to teach the child to seek for the beautiful and to love it. Not alone the beauty that is seen through the eye, but the beauty of goodness, truth and love. With this thought uppermost, what better way can we present the Christ story than through beautiful pictures? All children love pictures, the most listless or wayward will be all attention when invited to look at pictures, and they may be taught to love and appreciate those of real merit in spite of the comic supplement. Madonna Murillo beautiful poem, "Little Town of Bethlehem." In presenting the "Worship of the Wise Men" tell the story of the Three Wise Men, their long journey across the deserts on camels to offer gifts. The Wise Men crossing the desert, with the star in the East, makes a most effective blackboard drawing, using charcoal for the shadows. Follow with the "Flight into Egypt" and explain why Mary and Joseph hurried away from Bethlehem. Then show the Boy Christ in the Temple, and last the pictures of the mature Christ. As fast as each picture is studied, place it within easy view of the children and when all are up, a voting contest may be held. Number each picture and have pupils write the number of their favorite picture with their name on a card. The picture receiving the most votes may be given by the teacher to the room and the children will like to bring pennies to purchase a simple frame. Ask the children to tell why they like the picture they have chosen better than the others. It will teach them to think. The story so realistically told through the pictures places before the children an ideal motive for expression. Our love and gratitude for the Christ Child, the world's first Christmas gift, is best expressed through our active giving to others, and the little hearts are joyous while little hands are busy with simple gifts. A penny will purchase two of the small size Perry pictures and these may be used to decorate calendars, book-marks and blotters, or a frame can be folded from paper and the picture fastened in. Other uses for the pictures will occur to both pupils and teacher. Beside the Christ story there are many beautiful stories for the Christmas season. In "Classic Stories," by Lida McMurry, will be found "The Little Match Girl" and "The Fir Tree." In the appendix are excellent suggestions for treating the stories. The "Story Hour," by Kate Douglass Wiggin, also has several good ones and the "Primary Plan. Book" for December has a wide range of material. contains the "Little Town of Bethlehem." It Blackboard and Sand Table Series Illustrations by Prof. C. F. WHITNEY, Salem State Normal School, and Text by A. C. I The Lumberman's Camp N making this hut from cardboard or manila paper, the children learn about horizontal, perpendicular, and parallel lines, also the diagonals. It is very simple and would make a good first lesson in this form of construction work. The whole is cut from one piece of paper or cardboard (see diagram). The children think and plan first how to cut it by making drawings of the parts as they think out one: what sort of a piece will be needed for the whole roof, etc. The roof will take one big oblong of paper. Some child goes to the board and draws this oblong. Shall we draw this separately? Who can think of a nice way to draw both the roof and the front side together? The roof is just above the front side. Now what parts of the shanty are joined to this front? (Hands go up.) The ends! What is joined to the end? The back? The diagram thus rudely drawn, the children think out the places where, in pasting together, laps will be needed. When all is drawn and understood, the children are given paper and rulers and told how to rule off each line and measure it, having been given the measurements. Let them measure and draw one line at a time and see that every one has it right before passing to the next line. The folding and pasting will be play after this hard work. After the "shanties" are made and set up they may be painted with water colors in imitation of rough boards, etc. Here will come in a little lesson on parallel lines. Select the best for a picture of your own in the room. THE BACKGROUND The background to this sand table is blackboard work. The foreground ends at the line where the bit of savin is set for a tree in the sand behind the hut. up In about one half the space to be occupied on the blackboard by this background make a good many horizontal strokes with the broad side of the chalk crayon. Just below this work erase the board very carefully, the whole width of the picture. At the right, rub in a broad, deep space with black chalk. Against this white, gray and black background, put in the dark trees, the grayer ones by simply drawing the eraser from side to side or upward and downward through the white background. Put in the dark or tree bits and the black trunks with black chalk. The bit of lake suggested behind the pine at the left is blackboard rubbed over with a slightly chalky eraser, a touch of light with white chalk at the extreme end of the shore, a line with black chalk to indicate the shadow at the water margin, and a few trailing finger marks to suggest ice. The log hut and the wood pile were made with a very few parallel strokes with short length of chalk crayon held broadside to the board. The snow in the sand table foreground is a bit of white cotton. The sticks near the door of the hut are for the fire when work shall be over. Language Lesson on Occupations THE LUMBERMEN'S WORK Beside the usual stories of cutting down the trees, floating the logs down stream, sawing them at the mill, etc., bring out the thought of the necessity of planting new trees to take the place of so many cut down. Accentuate the need of care about wasting lumber and wood, and our dependence, in a hundred ways, upon the trees. Bring out also the dependence of trees upon the ministrations of the birds, each tree having its own particular guardian in feathers. The danger to trees and so to us if the birds are disturbed. Tell stories of camp life of the lumber men. |