OCTOBER FIRST YEAR FIRST WEEK Monday

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Caroline Stearns Griffin

What is the name of this month? What was last month called? What month follows October? What season is this? What season follows autumn? What are the four seasons? How do you know that it is autumn? How is the weather different from what it was in July? What are the birds doing this month? What is happening to the leaves on the trees? What flowers are in blossom this month?

Tuesday

A little verse to learn:

Work, and make the world sweet,

That’s the best for you.

Wednesday

Read this little poem to the children:

LITTLE MISS CHESTNUT

Little Miss Chestnut lived in a tree,

She and her sisters; one, two, three.

Their house was covered with prickles green,

To keep the squirrels away, I ween.

Soon Jack Frost knocked, just for fun;

Out jumped the chestnuts, every one.

Elsie and Fred, on their walk next day,

Found the nuts and took them away.

On winter evenings, cold and long,

They’ll roast the nuts. Here ends my song.

—Selected

Have ready, but out of sight, a chestnut burr, if possible containing some of the nuts. If you cannot get the burr, at least have some of the nuts enough so that each child may have one to eat, after the lesson is over.

Show the children how the prickly burr protects the nuts from squirrels, and from boys and girls, until the nuts are ripe. Then Jack Frost comes along and opens the burr, and the nuts fall out.

Explain how the nut itself is the seed of the chestnut tree, and how, if allowed to lie under the snow all winter, a new little chestnut tree will start up in the spring.

Thursday

Teach this little rhyme to the children:

When we have a pleasant day,

We like to stroll along the way;

And as we walk upon the street,

The folks we know we always greet.

Use the rhyme as a means of teaching the children the proper method of salutation on the street. Let the girls wear their hats, and the boys have their caps at their seats with them. Allow a boy and a girl, with hats on, to go to the front of the room, and from opposite sides of the room walk towards each other. As they start, the children—all except the two at the front—repeat the rhyme. When the two children at the front meet, the girl nods her head politely, and the boy lifts his hat. After the simple ceremony the two children return to their seats, and their places are taken by other boys and girls, in turn, until all can perform the act easily and gracefully.

Friday

Ask each child to bring a penny to school. See how many things are to be found on the penny—as a head, date, etc.

SECOND WEEK

Monday

Tell the children that October was the month when America was discovered. We live in the United States, and the United States is in America. Tell the story of Columbus and the discovery of the new continent. If well told, the story is quite as fascinating as a fairy tale.

Tuesday

Have the children tell back to you the story of Columbus and the discovery of America.

Wednesday

A poem dramatized.

This poem, acted out as indicated, can be used effectively as a rest exercise. As all the children will be moving, the windows can be thrown open, and the room aired while the game is being played.

The poem is to be recited by the teacher. Allow plenty of time between lines, for each part to be acted.

Children representing Sunshine, Miss Weather and Professor Wind are first chosen. They take their places in the front of the room. Then the other children are separated, by rows of desks, into Ashes, Oaks, Maples, and Chestnuts.

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came—

The Ashes, Oaks, Maples, and Chestnuts come skipping, tiptoe, up the aisles, helter-skelter, to represent flying leaves.

The Ashes, Oaks, and Maples,

And those of every name.

The skipping is continued, until all the leaves stand in a group at one side of the room.

Miss Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand.

As these two lines are being recited Miss Sunshine pretends to spread a carpet over the entire open space at the front of the room. She may take plenty of time. The poem is not to be recited continuously.

Miss Weather led the dancing,

As this line is recited, Miss Weather skips alone across the front of the room, from one side to the other.

Professor Wind, the band.

Professor Wind marches pompously across the room, tooting a real or an imaginary horn.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,

The Chestnuts skip lightly, by couples, from one side of the room to the side where Miss Weather stands. They bow to Miss Weather by twos, turn, and skip back again.

The Oaks in crimson dressed;

The lovely Misses Maple

In scarlet looked their best.

The Oaks, then the Maples, followed by the Ashes, skip across the room by twos, bowing to Miss Weather, and returning to their places, after the fashion of the Chestnuts.

And balanced all their partners,

And gaily fluttered by;

The sight was like a rainbow

Now fallen from the sky.

While the teacher is reciting the four lines given above, all the children are still, but at its close, all skip about partners, holding their clasped hands high above the head, skipping tiptoe, as before, and very light and gay.

Then in the rustic hollows,

At “hide-and-seek” they played,

The party closed at sundown,

And everybody stayed.

All remain quiet while the four lines given above are recited, then partners separate, and everybody apparently hides somewhere.

Professor Wind played louder;

They flew along the ground;

And then the party ended

In jolly hands around.

As Professor Wind blows his hardest, all gather from their hiding places, take hold of hands and circle round, and the game ends.

—Selected and adapted

Thursday

Play the October game.

Friday

Play the October game.

THIRD WEEK

Monday

Read this poem to the children, for them to guess who is meant:

WHO’S THE ROGUE?

A roguish old fellow is prowling about

In field and in garden; you can’t keep him out.

No matter how tall

You build up your wall,

He’ll find a way over, in spite of it all.

On the glass of the window his pictures you’ll see,

A grand exhibition (admission is free);

He works hard at night

While the stars glitter bright;

But when the sun rises he keeps out of sight.

He’ll sketch you a snow-covered mountain or tree;

A torrent all frozen, a ship out at sea.

He draws very fast,

But his work does not last:

It fades when the chill of the night-time is past.

Before the sun rises, while hardly ’tis light,

He feels of the fruit and takes a sly bite;

He has a fine taste,

Though a great deal he’ll waste,

Then off he will go in very great haste.

Now, who do you think this old fellow may be,

The bright, sparkling work of whose fingers we see?

All winter he’ll stay,

What more shall I say?

Only this, that his first name begins with a J.

—Selected

Tuesday

On this, or some rainy morning of the week, talk about the weather. Why did you all come to school this morning with rubbers and umbrellas? Why is an umbrella shaped as it is? Why does the rain sometimes fall straight down, and sometimes slanting? How does the rain tell us which way the wind blows? Why do rubbers keep our feet dry, when shoes do not? What else is made of rubber?

Wednesday

Teach the children this memory gem:

All that’s great and good is done

Just by patient trying.

Thursday

What does Jack Frost do to the windows? What does he do to the nuts? What does he do to the apples? What does he do to the grass? What are some other things that Jack Frost does?

Friday

Play the October game, described under the preceding week.

FOURTH WEEK

Monday

An October Pumpkin Story. (To be told to the children.)

One afternoon in late October, father went down to the field to get a pumpkin.

The children went along too. They wanted to see that father picked out a large pumpkin. They wanted to help bring it back to the house.

Although it was October, there were still some pumpkins to be found in the field.

Father led the way. The children came trooping after.

The pumpkins grew down in the cornfield. Their long, coarse stems lay sprawling on the ground. Their big, rough leaves looked like green umbrellas.

The boys saw a very large pumpkin. They were just going to pick it, but father said, “Not that one.”

Father looked around until he found a deep, yellow pumpkin. He told the children that deep, yellow pumpkins make the best pies.

The children soon found another pumpkin, somewhat smoother than the others. They picked that to use for a Jack-o’-lantern.

Then they went back to the house, carrying the huge yellow fruit with them.

The girls went into the house, to see mother make pumpkin pies.

Mother cut open the yellow pumpkin. Oh, how thick the meat was! Oh, how the fat, white seeds came tumbling out! Mother said the flesh was good because it had a nice fine grain.

Mother cut the flesh into small pieces, after she had peeled off the thick rind.

Then she put the pieces into a large iron pot to boil.

When the girls had seen the pieces disappear into the pot they went to see what the boys were doing.

Out by the barn they found the boys with a jack-knife, working away at the other pumpkin. The boys were making a Jack-o’-lantern.

They had cut a round hole in the top of the pumpkin, so as to leave the stem for a handle. In this way they could lift out the round piece like a cover. They dug out all the seeds with their hands, to make it hollow.

Then they cut a small hole, shaped like a triangle, in the side of the pumpkin. They bored two round holes, one each side of the triangle. Below it they cut a funny hole shaped like a new moon.

It looked like a huge grinning face. When the boys had finished it, they put the pumpkin away in the barn.

Then they all remembered about the pumpkin that was cooking in the kitchen, so they ran back to the house as fast as they could.

By this time the pumpkin in the pot was done, and mother took it from the stove. She poured off the water, and then put the cooked pumpkin into a colander.

While mother was rubbing the soft pumpkin through the colander, the boys ran off to hunt for eggs. When they came back, mother took eight of the eggs, and about three pints of the soft pumpkin. She stirred it very fast, while the children stood around and watched, with open eyes and mouths. Then she put in milk, and spice, and brown sugar.

Oh, didn’t it look good! The children smacked their lips as each separate thing went in. Mother gave it all such a beating with her big spoon that the children said it would be good ever after.

Next came the pie tins lined with soft crust, and last of all the pies went into the oven.

That night as father and mother sat in front of the fire-place talking, a strange noise was heard. What could it be? Was it a groan? Was somebody hurt? There it was again, again, and again! It came from the front porch.

Father went to the window and drew aside the curtain. Then they saw something that made the smaller children shiver, but the older girls only laughed. The boys were not in the house.

There at the window, staring in and grinning horribly—was—well, what do you suppose? Yes it was the Jack-o’-lantern.

—Selected

Tuesday

Talk about Jack-o’-lanterns. If possible, make one in school, or show the children one.

Wednesday

Talk about Hallowe’en, and how the Jack-o’-lantern is used for decoration at that time.

Thursday

Talk about Hallowe’en tricks.

Friday

Play some of the Hallowe’en tricks in school.

SECOND YEAR

FIRST WEEK

Monday

To be copied and memorized by the pupils:

THE WORLD’S MUSIC

The world’s a very happy place,

Where every child should dance and sing,

And always have a smiling face,

And never sulk for anything.

The world is such a happy place,

That children, whether big or small,

Should always have a shining face,

And never, never sulk at all.

—Selected

Tuesday

Have the children write answers, as complete sentences, to the following questions about “The World’s Music”:

What kind of place is the world?

What should every child have?

What should a child do?

What should a child never do?

Wednesday

Bring sufficient hickory nuts to the class so that each child can have one. If possible, have the nuts in the hulls. Ask the following questions, for the children to answer:

How many hulls on each nut?

What are the hulls for? (To protect the nut.)

What takes off the hulls when they are quite ripe? (The frost.)

Which is the blossom end of the nut, and which is the stem end?

Crack a hickory nut. What is there inside the shell?

Explain how the nut grows, to start a new tree.

Thursday

Copy these sentences, filling the blank spaces with is, or are:

A gray squirrel —— in the tree.

The squirrel —— fond of nuts.

The tree —— once the squirrel’s home.

Hickory nuts —— the squirrel’s food.

Friday

For dictation:

I am round.

I am red.

I am just a bit sour.

Would you like to eat me?

SECOND WEEK

Monday

Poem to be memorized.

Commit the first stanza of the poem to memory:

THE WONDERFUL WORLD

Great, wide, wonderful, beautiful world,

With the wonderful water around you curled,

And the wonderful grass upon your breast—

World, you are beautifully dressed!

The wonderful air is over me,

And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree;

It walks on the water and whirls the mills,

And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.

You friendly Earth, how far do you go,

With wheat fields that nod, and rivers that flow,

With cities and gardens, and oceans and isles,

And people upon you for thousands of miles?

Ah, you are so great and I am so small,

I hardly can think of you, World, at all;

And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,

My mother kissed me, and said, quite gay:

“If the wonderful World is great to you,

And great to father and mother, too,

You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot,

You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!”

—William Brighty Rands

Tuesday

Commit to memory the second stanza of the poem.

Wednesday

Commit to memory the third stanza of the poem.

Thursday

Commit to memory the fourth stanza of the poem.

Friday

Finish learning the poem, and recite it all.

THIRD WEEK

Monday

The Post-Office.—What is a post-office? Who has charge of the post-office? Where is the post-office nearest your home? What do you see when you go to the post-office? How do you get your mail? Why do people write letters? How do letters go from one place to another? What is the stamp on a letter for? How much does it cost to send a letter? Who pays for sending a letter?

Tuesday

For dictation:

It is cold in the fall.

The wind blows hard.

The trees are bare.

The birds are gone.

I like fall, for I can play out-of-doors.

Wednesday

Write a letter to a friend, telling what Jack Frost does in the fall. Send the letter to your friend, directing the envelope properly, and putting the stamp in the right place.

Thursday

Bring to the class cards, each having on it the name of some animal, as cow, horse, elephant, dog, etc. Give a card to each pupil, and have him describe the animal named on his card, allowing the other children to guess what animal he is describing. For example: “I am not very large. I have a bushy tail. I live among the trees. I like to eat nuts. What am I?”

Friday

For dictation:

One day as Mr. Squirrel went up his tree to bed,

A very large hickory nut fell on his head.

“Although I am fond of nuts,” Mr. Squirrel then did say,

“I would very much rather they did not come that way.”

FOURTH WEEK

Monday

Tell this story to the children:

JACK FROST AND THE NUTS

Little Miss Chestnut and her two sisters lived up in a tree in a prickly green house. The house was as soft as velvet inside, but sharp spikes on the outside kept away the squirrels, who would have torn down the house if they could.

But soon Jack Frost came along. Jack does not mind fences, so he knocked at the door of the Chestnut house.

“Little Miss Chestnut,” he called, “are you ready to come out?”

But little Miss Chestnut replied, “I am not quite ready yet, Mr. Jack.”

So Jack went off to the house where Miss Hickory Nut lived. Miss Hickory Nut lived all alone in a round green cottage.

“Miss Hickory Nut,” he called “are you ready to come out?”

But Miss Hickory Nut replied, “I am not quite ready yet, Mr. Jack.”

So Jack went off to the low bush where Miss Hazel Nut lived in a soft green tent. Miss Hazel Nut was already peeping out.

“Miss Hazel Nut,” he called, “are you ready to come out?”

And little Miss Hazel Nut replied, “I am quite ready, Mr. Jack.”

So she dropped down and waited below the bush, while Jack went back after the other nuts.

Jack knocked once more at the chestnut house. Little Miss Chestnut opened the door so quickly that she and her sisters fell to the ground.

Then Jack knocked once more at the hickory house.

Miss Hickory Nut opened the door so quickly that her house fell apart.

And all the other nut houses opened, and all the nuts came out to see what was the matter.

The next day the children went for a walk. As they walked in the woods they spied the nuts.

“See,” they said, “the frost has opened the chestnut burrs, and all the other nuts must be out of the shucks.”

Tuesday

Have the children tell back to you the story of Jack Frost and the nuts.

Wednesday

Write five sentences about nuts.

Thursday

Write answers to the following questions:

What does Jack Frost do?

Where does he paint pictures? (On the window-pane.)

What colors does he paint the maple leaves?

What colors does he paint the hickory leaves?

Friday

Talk with the children about the way seeds are scattered. Bring to school various kinds of seeds, if these are available. How are dandelion seeds scattered? How are milkweed seeds scattered? How are burdock seeds scattered?

THIRD YEAR

FIRST WEEK

Monday

Read to the children the following poem:

MRS. RED SQUIRREL

Mrs. Red Squirrel sat on the top of a tree;

“I believe in the habit of saving,” said she;

“If it were not for that, in the cold winter weather

I should starve, and my young ones, I know, altogether;

But I am teaching my children to run and lay up

Every acorn as soon as it drops from its cup,

And to get out the corn from the shocks in the field—

There’s a nice hollow tree where I keep it concealed.

“We have laid up some wheat, and some barley and rye,

And some very nice pumpkin seeds I have put by;

Best of all, we have gathered in all that we could

Of beechnuts and butternuts grown in the wood;

For cold days and hard times winter surely will bring,

And a habit of saving’s an excellent thing.

“But my children—you know how young squirrels like play,

‘We have plenty, great plenty, already,’ they say;

‘We are tired of bringing in food for our store;

Let us all have a frolic, and gather no more!’

But I tell them it’s pleasant when winter is rough,

If we feel both to use and to give we’ve enough;

And they’ll find, ere the butternuts bloom in the spring,

That a habit of saving’s an excellent thing.”

—Selected

Tuesday

Have the pupils tell back to you, the story of “Mrs. Red Squirrel.”

Wednesday

Write five sentences about Mrs. Red Squirrel, and the habit of saving.

Thursday

For dictation:

I am small and nearly round. I have a hard, brown shell. Inside, my meat is brown, too. You like to eat me with a little salt. You get my meat by breaking my shell. What am I?

Friday

Write a story similar to the one given in the lesson for yesterday, for the other pupils to guess. You can write about an apple or some other fruit; about a dog or some other animal; or about a flower.

SECOND WEEK

Monday

Have the children copy the following:

HIAWATHA’S CHILDHOOD

At the door on summer evenings

Sat the little Hiawatha;

Heard the whispering of the pine trees,

Heard the lapping of the water,

Sounds of music, words of wonder;

“Minne-wawa!” said the pine trees,

“Mudway-aushka!” said the water.

Saw the firefly, Wah-wah-taysee,

Flitting through the dusk of evening,

With the twinkle of its candle

Lighting up the brakes and bushes,

And he sang the song of children,

Sang the song Nokomis taught him:

“Wah-wah-taysee, little firefly,

Little, flitting, white-fire insect,

Little, dancing, white-fire creature,

Light me with your little candle,

Ere upon my bed I lay me,

Ere in sleep I close my eyelids!”

Tuesday

Have the children copy the following:

Forth into the forest straightway

All alone walked Hiawatha

Proudly, with his bow and arrows;

And the birds sang round him, o’er him,

“Do not shoot us, Hiawatha!”

Sang the robin, the Opechee,

Sang the bluebird, the Owaissa,

“Do not shoot us, Hiawatha!”

Up the oak tree, close beside him,

Sprang the squirrel, Adjidaumo,

In and out among the branches,

Coughed and chattered from the oak tree,

Laughed, and said between his laughing,

“Do not shoot me, Hiawatha!”

Wednesday

Tell the children the story of Hiawatha. If possible, read the whole part of the poem relating to Hiawatha’s childhood. Have the children read the portion of the poem quoted here.

Thursday

What sounds did Hiawatha like to hear on summer evenings? What did he think the pine tree said? The water? What did he call the firefly? What is the firefly’s candle? Who taught Hiawatha the song about the firefly?

What did Hiawatha learn from the birds? Who taught him their names? How did he discover their secrets? What secrets are mentioned? What did he call the birds?

Friday

What did Hiawatha call the firefly? Why did he call the firefly, “Little, dancing, white-fire creature”?

What is the difference between “brakes” and “bushes”?

What did Hiawatha call the robin? The bluebird? The squirrel?

What words show the sound of the pine tree? The sound of the water? The motion of the firefly? The sound made by the squirrel?

Tell how Hiawatha spent his evenings.

Describe the little hunter as he went into the forest.

THIRD WEEK

Monday

Write five sentences about the things that Hiawatha heard at the door on summer evenings?

Tuesday

Write five sentences about what happened when Hiawatha went into the forest.

Wednesday

Write what Hiawatha learned of the birds.

Thursday

Write about what Hiawatha learned of the animals.

Friday

Let the children play Hiawatha.

FOURTH WEEK

Spend this entire week on the poem Hiawatha. Let the children dramatize it in their own way, but under your guidance. Let those who have Indian costumes wear them to school. Talk Hiawatha and live Hiawatha, for the entire week. Use the language of the poem yourself, and encourage the children to do so.

FOURTH YEAR

FIRST WEEK

Monday

Poem to be committed to memory:

THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH

Under a spreading chestnut tree,

The village smithy stands;

The smith, a mighty man is he,

With large and sinewy hands;

And the muscles of his brawny arms

Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,

His face is like the tan;

His brow is wet with honest sweat,

He earns whate’er he can,

And looks the whole world in the face,

For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,

You can hear his bellows blow;

You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,

With measured beat and slow,

Like a sexton ringing the village bell,

When the evening sun is low.

The children coming home from school

Look in at the open door;

They love to see the flaming forge,

And hear the bellows roar,

And catch the burning sparks that fly

Like chaff from a threshing floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,

And sits among his boys;

He hears the parson pray and preach,

He hears his daughter’s voice,

Singing in the village choir,

And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother’s voice,

Singing in Paradise!

He needs must think of her once more,

How in the grave she lies;

And with his hard, rough hand he wipes

A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling—rejoicing—sorrowing,

Onward through life he goes;

Each morning sees some task begun,

Each evening sees it close;

Something attempted, something done,

Has earned a night’s repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,

For the lesson thou hast taught!

Thus at the flaming forge of life

Our fortunes must be wrought;

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped

Each burning deed and thought!

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Have the entire poem copied.

Spend the rest of the week in having the poem committed to memory.

SECOND WEEK

Monday

Write answers to the following:

Where does the village smithy stand?

Describe the smith.

Write another word whose meaning is similar to “bravery.”

What is meant by “crisp” hair?

Why should the smith’s face be brown, as though tanned?

Why is sweat called “honest”?

By doing what kinds of work does a smith earn his living?

Why should the smith be able to look the whole world in the face because he owes no one anything?

Has the world a face? What, then, is meant by “looking the whole world in the face”?

Tuesday

Describe the bellows used by the blacksmith.

What is the sledge used by the blacksmith?

Why is the sledge made heavy? Why is it swung slowly?

What is meant by “measured” beat? What is a musical measure?

What is a sexton? Where was the village bell hung, then? Why was it called the “village” bell?

When is the evening sun low?

What is a “forge”?

Why do bellows “roar”?

What is “chaff”? What is a threshing floor? How is grain threshed now-a-days? How was it usually threshed when this poem was written?

Wednesday

What members of the smith’s family are mentioned in the poem? What is a parson?

What is a “choir”?

Write a word whose meaning is similar to that of “rejoice.”

Why is the smith’s hand “hard and rough”?

Write a list of the adjectives used in the poem which are used to describe the smith.

Thursday

Write a word that might have been used in place of “toiling.” Which is the more poetic word?

What is a “task”?

What is meant by a “night’s repose”? Write another word meaning repose.

Why does something done earn repose?

What is the lesson which the smith teaches?

Friday

Write ten sentences, describing the smith.

THIRD WEEK

Monday

Conversation on signs of the coming of winter.

Tuesday

For dictation:

You cannot change yesterday, that is clear,

Or begin tomorrow until it is here.

So the only thing left, for you and for me,

Is to make to-day as sweet as can be.

Wednesday

Have pupils write about Columbus and the discovery of America.

Thursday

Write an invitation to Hallowe’en exercises to be held at the school.

Friday

Write an answer to the invitation written the day before, accepting the invitation.

FOURTH WEEK

Monday

Write ten sentences containing the word red.

Tuesday

Write five sentences, each sentence to end with a word rhyming with hat.

Wednesday

Write a description of some Hallowe’en trick.

Thursday

Play the game of “Who am I?” Each pupil play he is some object in the room. He must describe himself so that the rest can guess his name. Each pupil begins his description: “I am not myself. See if you can guess my name.” Then follows the description. The pupil who first guesses the object from the description, describes himself next.

Friday

Have a spelling match.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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