Chapter IV: To the Teacher

See the suggestions for the corresponding chapter in “The Fall
of the Year,” the first volume in this series. Lest you may not
have that book at hand, let me repeat here the gist of what I
said there: that you make this chapter the purpose of one or
more field excursions with the class--in order to see with your
own eyes the characteristic sights of spring as recorded here;
secondly, that you use this, and chapters VI and X, as school
tests of the pupil’s knowledge and observation of his own fields
and woods; and thirdly, let the items mentioned here be used as
possible subjects for the pupil’s further study as themes for
compositions, or independent investigations out of school hours.
The finest fruit the teacher can show is a school full of
children personally interested in things. And what better things
than live things out of doors?