It will be seen from what has been said that the plan
of the children
marching from one post to the other, is the very thing for infants,
as
exercising and developing their locomotive powers, a thing exceedingly
desirable for young children. The great error of the old infant
system, or in other words, the dame-school plan, was the keeping the
pupils rivetted to their seats; here they are marching from one place
to another, and get ting food for every sense. Take as another example
the picture of the trades; the monitor says to his little pupils as
they come up. What does a fishmonger sell, the answer is, fishes of
many sorts, such as salmon, cod, herring, and mackerel.
Q. What does a mason do?
A. Cut stones into their proper shapes, polish some sorts, and cut ornaments
on others.
Q. What does a hatter sell?
A. Hats, for men, women, and little children.
Q. What does a cooper do?
A. Mend casks and make them.
Q. What does a butcher mean?
A. One that sells
beef, mutton, pork, &c.
Q. What do they call butchers in Scotland?
A. Fleshers.
Q. What does a blacksmith mean?
A. One that makes different things from iron, and sometimes shoes horses.
Q. What does a fruiterer mean?
A. A person that sells all sorts of fruits, such as apples, pears, plums,
cherries, gooseberries, strawberries, &c.
Q. What does a distiller mean?
A. A man that makes rum, brandy, whiskey, and other liquors.
Q. What does a grocer mean?
A. A man that sells tea, coffee, sugar, spices, and many other things.
Q. What does a carpenter mean?
A. A man that cuts up wood, makes benches; it was a carpenter made our
gallery.
Q. What does a turner mean?
A. A man who makes snuff-boxes, bed-posts; It was a turner who made
the balls on our arithmeticon.
Q. What does a tallow-chandler mean?
A. A man that buys and sells candles of different sorts.
Q. What does milliner mean?
A. A person that makes ladies' caps, tippets, and things for little
children.
Q. What does a dyer mean?
A. A man that dyes cloths of different colours.
Q. What does a druggist mean?
A. One that sells drugs of different kinds, such as nutgalls, alum,
bark, &c.
Q. What does wheelwright mean?
A. A man that makes carts, wheelbarrows, &c.
Q. What does a shoe-maker do?
A. Makes shoes for men and women and little boys and girls.
Q. What does a printer do?
A. Print lessons for little children to read; newspapers and books for
men to read.
Q. What does a coach-maker make?
A. Coaches, gigs, omnibuses, cabs, and things of that sort.
Q. What does a bookseller do?
A. Sells books of different sorts, pictures, paper, sealing-wax, &c.
Q. What does a bricklayer do?
A. Builds walls, the brick part of houses, &c.
Q. What does a linen-draper do?
A. Sells linen to make shirts, printed calico to make frocks, and many
other things of that kind.
Q. What does a cabinet-maker do?
A. Makes tables, chairs, and presses, and other things to furnish houses
with.
Q. What does a brewer do?
A. Makes ale and porter.
Q. What does a painter mean?
A. One who paints insides of houses, doors, window shutters, and
such things.
Q. What does a bookbinder do?
A. Puts covers on books.
These lessons being all supplied by me, more explanation in this place
may be unnecessary, but as a further guide to teachers of infant
schools, I subjoin a synopsis of a week's course of instruction which
has been adopted in many schools.
* * * * *
SYNOPSIS OF A WEEK'S INSTRUCTION.
TIME.-- Mornings . School to assemble at nine o'clock, and to leave
at
twelve.
Afternoons . School to assemble at two o'clock, and to leave at four
in winter, and five in summer.
MONDAY.
Morning. When assembled, to offer the appointed prayer, after which
a hymn is to be sung; then slates and pencils are to be delivered to
the children; after which they are to proceed with their letters and
spelling. At half-past ten o'clock to play, and at eleven o'clock to
assemble in the gallery, and repeat the picture lessons on natural
history after the monitor in the rostrum.
Afternoon. Begin with prayer and hymn as in the morning; picture
lessons on Scripture history to be repeated from the lesson-post, and
to be questioned on them afterwards in the gallery.
TUESDAY.
Morning. Usual prayer and hymn. Letters and spelling from the
lesson-posts. Play. Gallery; repeat the addition and subtraction
tables.
Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. Multiplication table; the monitor asking
the question, and the children answering. Reading lessons. Play.
Gallery; numeration and spelling with brass figures and letters.
WEDNESDAY.
Morning. Prayer and hymn. Letters and spelling. Play. Gallery;
master to teach geometrical figures and musical characters.
Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. Practice pence and shilling tables.
Play. Gallery; master to give lessons on arithmetic. Extempore
teaching on men and things, &c. &c.
THURSDAY.
Morning. Prayer and hymn. Letters and spelling. Division, weights,
measures, and time, from the rostrum. Play. Gallery; same lessons as
Monday morning.
Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. From the lesson-posts epitome of
geometry and natural history. Gallery; brass letters and figures.
Extempore teaching on men and things, taking care that all such
teaching shall be illustrated by substances.
FRIDAY.
Morning_. Prayer and hymn. Letters and spelling. Tables in
arithmetic, at the master's discretion. Play. Gallery; lessons on
geography, maps, globes, &c.
Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. Scripture pictures on the lesson-posts,
and questions on them in the gallery.
SATURDAY.
Morning. Prayer and hymn. Letters and spelling. Tables of arithmetic
from the rostrum. Play. Gallery; lessons on the transposition frame,
and on geometry from the brass instrument. Religious instruction
should have a prominent part in the business of every day, and
especially so every Saturday morning.
N.B. If visitors wish any particular lessons to be gone through, and
the children appear disposed, the master is not bound to adhere to
the above rules, neither at any other time, if the children appear
particularly disinclined.
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