Maud Summers

“ Proserpina told her all about King Pluto’s castle.
“I was so unhappy, Mother dear,” she said, “that I did not eat anything until to-day. Then King Pluto gave me some fruit that had grown in one of your gardens.”
“Oh, my little Proserpina!” said Mother Ceres. “Why did you eat it?”
“I did not eat all of it,” said the little girl. “I swallowed only six seeds.”
“My child,” said Mother Ceres sadly, “you ate those six seeds in King Pluto’s castle. So you will have to spend six months of every year under the ground with him. While you are gone nothing shall grow. ”

“ The next day the old fox went to Whitey’s house.
Greedy little Whitey was eating the cabbage that her house was made of.
“Tap, tap!” came a knock at the door.
Then a soft voice said, “Little pig!
Little pig! Let me come in.”
“Who are you?” said Whitey.
“A friend of your mother’s,” said Mr. Fox.
“I have something good for you to eat.”
“No, no! You can not come in.
You are not a friend,” said Whitey. ”

“ When the moon shines, and the stars are bright, and the warm winds blow, the fairies meet together. They come from everywhere.
The fairy queen, Titania, sends one to hang pearls of dew on the flowers. She sends another to kill the worms that are eating the roses. She sends others to frighten away the birds that cry at night. ”

“ It is quite possible to have a repetition of words with an ever-changing variety in valuable thought. This variety holds the interest of the children and at the same time accustoms the eye to the repeated symbol. The symbol elements in the action sentences, observation lessons, nursery rhymes, and stories must be repeated many times, but, to preserve interest in them and to increase their meaning, the greatest care must be taken in the selection and the presentation of the thought element. If the teacher of elementary reading can master this part of her work, her success is well-nigh assured. ”

“ One day he saw across the garden the statue of a faun that had no head.
“I will make a head for that statue,” said Angelo.
He made a head of a laughing faun. The mouth was open so that the teeth could be seen.
About this time the Grand Duke was walking in his garden. He stopped to look at the statue made by the boy artist.
“Well done, Angelo!” said the Grand Duke. “But, see! You have made an old faun. He should not have all his teeth.”
“That is so,” said Angelo, and he quickly took out some of the teeth.
This pleased the Grand Duke so much that he asked Angelo to live with him in his castle. ”

“ THE MINER.
Here is a miner at work.
He is away down in a deep coal mine.{95}
The sun does not shine in the dark coal mine.
So the miner has a little lamp in his cap.
Now he can see the hard, black coal.
See him lift his pick ax.
Click, click, click-ity click!
Hear the song of the pick ax!
He digs out the coal with his sharp pick.
All day long the busy miner is at work.
At night he comes out of the dark coal mine.
He gets into a strong iron basket.
Then he goes up, up, up, out of the mine.
How happy he must be to see the bright sunshine!
{96}
THE ENGINE.
“Puff, puff, puff!” ”

“ Children are so influenced by rhythm that it is impossible to train them aright without giving due consideration to this form of expression. There are many interesting complete rhymes and poems that are valuable for reading lessons. In content the poetry of childhood should contain familiar images, tinged with enough of mystery to give that subtle mingling of sense and nonsense which stirs the imagination of the child and also relates him to the actual world in which he lives. ”

“ THE FEAST OF EGGS.
There was once a princess who left her beautiful castle. She went to live in a little house in the country.
One day she told her servant to go to the village and buy some eggs for supper.
“Eggs!” said the servant. “There are no birds’ eggs.”
“I did not ask for birds’ eggs,” said the princess. “Buy hens’ eggs, of course.”
The servant shook her head and said, “We have no hens. I do not know what kind of birds they are.”
The princess thought that she would surprise the boys and the girls of the village. So she sent an old man far away. ”

“ One day West Wind blew the tops of the trees.
He blew the corn in the fields.
He blew the apples off the trees.
Just then the bright sun came out.
“I am stronger than you,” said West Wind.
“No! I am stronger than you,” said the sun.
Then West Wind said, “Do you see that man?
He has on a warm coat.
I can make the man take it off.”
“Can you?” said the sun.
West Wind blew, and blew, and blew. ”

“ Let each child read the entire lesson silently to get the thought (whole to parts) . When the child does not recognize a word and cannot get it from the context or the sound elements, tell him what it is, in as simple a way as he would be told about a new object in the home. When he has finished reading the child may show that he is ready to give the thought. The teacher requests a pupil to give in his own language what he has just read. ”

“ Queen Darkness gladly carried their good servant, the Moon, to her dark castle to live with Queen Sunshine’s children.
She named them the Star-children. Queen Darkness always keeps the Star-children near her. The little ones are so close together that they look like a silver ribbon on her dress. ”

“ The reading of poems aloud should be a regular part of the school program, not only to stimulate the imagination, but also to give the enjoyment that comes from the cadence of rhythmic language and to train the ear to make fine discriminations. Ear training and voice culture are so intimately related that it is impossible to cultivate one without cultivating the other, for they sustain to each other the vital relation of impression and expression. ”

“ Now I can work.”
“Yes,” said the fairy, “this is your ax, but it is a steel ax.
Did you not like the gold ax and the silver ax?”
“This is my ax,” said the woodman.
“The gold ax was not mine, and the silver ax was not mine.”
“You are an honest woodman,” said the fairy. ”

“ The teacher may write on the blackboard simple sentences based upon these observations and descriptions. Anything in the environment of the home or the school which interests the child should be utilized. Encourage the children to observe their household pets and to tell the other children about them. Whatever the child makes in the time devoted to handicraft, or observes in the nature lessons, or plays in the recreation period may be used as material for reading lessons. Color is so intimately connected with the emotional life that its value and importance should be recognized. ”

“ Mary liked to plant flowers beside the road and in the fields.
She told her father that she wanted to make people happy who had no gardens. So Father called her The Traveler’s Joy.
But Mary liked best of all to play in the Squire’s meadow. It was filled with beautiful flowers and singing birds.
Mary cried when her father told her that he and the Squire were no longer friends. He said she must not play in the meadow with the Squire’s great dog, Saxon.
One day, the gardener gave Mary some pretty cowslips. She forgot what her father had told her, and ran down to the Squire’s meadow to plant them. ”

“ Father said, “I will tell you the story of the sap.
All winter the maple trees were asleep.
When spring came the warm rain ran down to the roots of the trees.{100}
‘Awake!’ said the rain, ‘It is time to grow.’
The bright sun looked down and said to the trees,
‘Awake! It is time for the sap to run.’
Sap helps the little buds to grow.
In the spring the maple tree has more sap than it needs.
So we make a hole in the tree and the sap runs out.
Maple sugar is made from the sweet sap of the maple tree.”
III
Near the maple trees there was a log house. ”

“ Freedom of expression usually accompanies the reading of interesting thought. The child will usually use natural, clear tones in reading, as he does in talking, if he understands what he reads. Many children read poorly because they neither understand nor feel any meaning in the words. Both gesture and language will be spontaneous if prompted by right thinking and right feeling. The dramatic presentation of a story, however crude, becomes a great aid.
Word Repetition. Many repetitions of words, phrases, and sentences are necessary in mastering the symbol. ”

“ PATTIE’S NEW DRESS.
When Pattie was a little girl, long ago, she needed a warm new dress.
Grandmother said, “I’ll spin the wool for it.”
“And I’ll weave the cloth,” said Sister Rachel.
“And I’ll make the dress,” said the little girl’s mother.
The sheep had given the wool from their backs for Pattie’s new dress.
“It is as soft as down, and as white as milk, and as beautiful as snow,” said Pattie.
Grandmother carded the wool fine and smooth. Then she fastened it on her spindle and sent the spinning-wheel whirling round. ”

“ One day the farmer and his son came into the field.
The farmer looked at the wheat and said, “This wheat is ripe.
It must be cut.
We will get our friends to come and help us.”
“Oh, Mother!” said the little ones.
“The farmer says the wheat must be cut.
What shall we do?
We are not strong enough to fly.”
“We need not fly away to-day,” said the mother lark.
“But are you not afraid?” asked the little ones.
“No,” said the mother lark.
“The farmer’s friends will not cut his wheat.”
{149} II
In a day or two the farmer and his son came again to the field. ”

“ An understanding of the parts gives a fuller meaning to the whole. The mind analyzes in order to reach a better synthesis. When we wish to make known to a child a coat, for instance, we do not show him separately the sleeves, the lapels, the pockets, the buttons. We hold up the whole garment and say, "Here is a coat." It is necessary to do the same in teaching reading. Give the child first an image of the whole situation which he is to think himself into, and then come to the details to make the whole clear. ”

“ What a good time the children had getting ready for the feast! They gathered the wild plums and grapes. They put pop-corn in the ashes of the wide fireplace. Then they watched until the “Snap! Crack! Snap!” was heard.
The Indians came, gaily dressed in skins, and paint, and feathers. They brought five large deer to the feast.
The Indians came in time for breakfast and stayed three whole days. So they must have had a good time. They played games, and danced, and sang.
Before the feast the Indians and the Pilgrims thanked God for His goodness to them. ”

“ Phonic drill and reading are distinct processes and should be taught at different periods of the day during the first two years of school. The purpose of the elementary reading lesson is to associate permanently the thought and the symbols which represent it, so that the thought can be gained from the written or printed language. The purpose of the elementary phonic lesson is to associate permanently sounds and the characters which represent them, so that new words can be readily recognized. ”