Vol. XV

No. 5

Placed in an environment of natural interests, the rural school is the logical place to prepare the child for a whole some country life. This can best be done by:

1. Developing a love for nature, which in turn will form the real basis for an agricultural education.

2. Creating common community interest and a social life.

3. Creating a love for simple, beautiful buildings, furnishings, equipment and attractive surroundings.

Expensive equipment in the school room is not necessary, since much of this may be made by the pupils and obtained from the fields and homes at small cost. The teacher, of course, must be the guiding factor. He or she must be trained to meet farm problems and country life problems in general. The following suggestions and plans which may help to carry out the three essentials have been worked out successfully and may be correlated with the present system of vocational education to good advantage.

Developing a Love for Nature. To have a love for country, it is necessary to have a love for natureto be able to enjoy a sunset, snow clad fields, brooks, woodland and the end

less and ever-varying beauties which the different seasons bring. This will naturally lead up to a study of the agricultural subjects which in the elementary schools should be taught by the "nature study" method; that is, with the objects right at hand and in the open when possible.

Field Trips.

(a) To study local geography and land and water forms in general.

(b) To study native trees, shrubs and plants.

(c) To study birds.
(d) For recreation.

Museum.

Every rural school should have a museum of local products. A special case or set of shelves can be made by the boys. This should be neatly painted to correspond with the wood work of the room. The local products will largely determine what is to be collected; however, the following, which may be used in class work, are suggested:

(a) Grasses, grown in community. Press and mount specimens on gray, tan or white cardboard of uniform size. These may be bound together in portflio form if desirable.

(1) Soil types: clay, loam, sand. Place in pint jars or bottles.

(e) Feeds for farm animals: grains, different kinds of hay.

(f) Fertilizers: samples in bottles. and labeled.

(g) Feathers of the different breeds of poultry: mounted on uniform pieces of cardboard together with picture of fowl.

(h) Weeds: seeds glued on cardboard or placed in small bottles; also mounted specimens of plants.

(i) Wood of native trees: very thin pieces of cross grained sections mounted on uniform pieces of heavy cardboard together with a picture of the tree and pressed leaf of tree.

(j) Collection of birds' nests.

Weather Record.

Reserve a space on the blackboard for the daily weather record. The following are suggested items for this record:

(a) Time of sunrise.
(b) Time of sunset.
(c) Direction of wind.
(d) Kind of weather.
(e) Temperature.
(f) Remarks.

Sand Table.

A large, strongly-built sand table will be a great aid in the study of land and water forms in Geography, picturing stories in English, Reading and History, platting out home and school

gardens and in laying out model farms. Toy buildings, twigs, grass and many other things which the imagination will suggest will help in working out these lessons. School Garden.

This should be platted on the sand table, drawn to a scale on paper and each vegetable crop marked off during the months preceding the time of planting. This drawing should be the first. topic in the "Garden Book" which should be made and used in keeping a record of the different crops in the garden; as, preparation of the soil, time of planting, cultivation, harvesting, etc. Seed catalogues may be obtained by each pupil and a picture of each vegetable planted, cut from these and mounted, will add interest to the record book.

A flower garden should also be planted in connection with the vegetable garden. The children will take the keenest delight in all of this work.

Excursions to Farm Homes.

An occasional visit to farm homes in the community, for the purpose of studying live stock, poultry, crops, arrangement of farm buildings, machinery, water supply, etc.

Agricultural Maps of County and State.

Draw outline maps and mount pictures of the different farm crops and live stock peculiar to each region, to show the agricultural resources. Bits of the real grain and grasses may be mounted also.

Bird Houses and Drinking Fountain.

Since the birds are invaluable to the farmer, they should be protected and cared for in every possible way. The boys should construct houses and place these around the school grounds. A

drinking fountain may be made by placing a crock or jar in a depression and banking it with stones and soil. It may be made attractive with plants and vines. A table for feeding purposes in winter will also attract the birds.

Study Nature Poems and Selections from the Standard Poets and Authors.

Bryant, Whittier, Longfellow, Lowell, Whitman, Riley, Burrows, Shelly, Keats, Van Dyke and many others.

Social Life.

Without social life and community interests the most vital factor in promoting a wholesome country life is lacking. The rural school should be the social center of every community, since every one in the community is directly interested.

Play Ground.

The play ground should be well equipped with swings, tennis courts. and for playing the various games of ball. These grounds should be kept open the entire summer for use of the entire community.

Plenty of organized games should be provided for the older children and imitative games for the smaller.

Contests and Clubs.

Some good, active clubs and contests should be organized along the following lines: Sewing, cooking, poultry, corn, gardening, canning and live stock.

School Exhibitions.

Displays of products in contests, drawings, compositions, etc., should be made frequently. Parents and friends should be invited to the school to see these.

Special Days and Entertainments. These should be observed as often as possible. Send out written invitations to parents. Have parents also take part in the programs.

Farmers' Clubs.

Encourage the organization of Farmers' Clubs: meetings to be held in the school house.

Home Economics Classes for Women.

Special outlines of study are provided for these. The classes organized among the women of the community will help to correlate the home and school in the study of Home Economics.

School Library.

Every school year should see new books added to the school library. Funds raised from entertainments may be used to purchase these books.

(a) Young Peoples' Reading Circle books.

(b) Works of standard authors and poets.

(c) Books on agriculture and home economics.

(d) Files of bulletins from the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Colleges.

(e) Farm papers and magazines brought from the homes.

A substantial reading table should be found in every school.