about snow. No attempt should be made at "science" teaching, so-called.
All that should be sought is to get the pupil thoughtfully to observe,
and thus to awaken his interest in the world about him.

Lessons should be conversational in form, which is always a most
pleasing style for children, as it is the most natural. The work of the
teacher is to awaken and stimulate interest, not to impart information.
The attention of the child should be directed to what lies around him.
He must observe, and think, and express his thoughts. Nor should his
observations be confined to the school and school hours. He should be
encouraged to obtain his information by his own searching, without
guidance, and report the results.

The development of clear mental pictures is stimulated by expression.
"Expression is the test of the pupil's knowledge." Hence, the child
should be required to reproduce what he has learned. He may do this by
modeling, drawing, and oral and written description. These are placed in
the order which should be followed in the training of children.

The inclination of nearly every child left to his own mode of
development is to make, in some plastic material, what he has seen.
Trying to fashion the hills and valleys with which he is familiar
excites his interest, and leads to closer observation. This may be
followed by the reproduction in molder's sand, or in clay, of the forms
seen in pictures or learned from description. Definitions of the various
forms, hill, mountain, valley, island, etc., should be developed as they
are molded. The memorizing of definitions should seldom be required, and
should never be made a test of the pupil's knowledge.

Reproduction by the hand should be followed by drawing, whenever this