should be given the opportunity to experiment by means of
pantomime until his image has become so clear that he can express it in
a less real way. Few children fail to draw and paint reasonably well
when afforded this opportunity that should be denied to none. In order
to secure the best results the teacher should be careful not to repress
spontaneity by criticising too severely; on the other hand she should
induce the child to make such comparisons of his work with his image and
with the object when present, as to prevent the formation of careless
habits of work. Although water colors are used in some schools, such
materials present more difficulties than it seems worth the while for
the child to encounter. More satisfactory results have thus far been
reached by the use of blackboard crayon, colored crayon, and charcoal.

_Language._ When the child talks about what he has experienced, his
language is almost invariably simple and direct. The lessons in this
book afford ample opportunity for the use of the fundamental forms of
language in communicating actual experience. Many of the stories may
well be supplemented by stories that the child tells himself. Care
should be taken, however, to keep the child within the limits of what
was possible during the age to which his story refers. Much benefit is
derived from allowing the children of the class to dramatize a story
after they have read it and represented it by means of pantomime.
Although there is ample room for written work, it is _oral_ rather than
written language that should receive emphasis at this time.

_Field Lessons._ The geographical phases of the work are referred to so
frequently throughout the text as well as under the special suggestions
for each lesson, that little need be added at this time except to
emphasize the fact that the teacher should make use of every opportunity
to cultivate in the child an intelligent interest in his natural
environment. Perhaps nothing will contribute more toward developing this
interest than field lessons. The value of these lessons will depend upon
whether an adequate motive is aroused in the child for taking the trip
and upon whether he is given the opportunity to make use of the
experience gained in a practical way. There are schools in crowded
quarters of large cities where it does not yet seem practicable to take
an entire class out on a field lesson. But it is always feasible to make
use of informal observations that t