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.