Have the child determine which of two trees in the distance is the closest or use any other objects in the landscape. Walk towards the trees to prove the matter. Point out things of interest to encourage the child's observation of nature.
Second Exercise
Give the child a foot rule and let him become acquainted with its length. Then with his fingers on the table have him indicate the distance which he believes to equal that of the length of the rule. Lay it between the child's fingers. Practice until he knows accurately how long a foot is. At the same time and for variety he can practice with a half foot and an inch. Have him compare objects with a foot rule and determine whether they are longer or shorter. Then let him measure the objects. Allow the child to check the measurements himself, this will increase his definite conception of the length of a foot.
The Game of Measuring
Let the child with his eye, and without a rule, measure the length of the table, of the book case, the side of the room, or the height of a door. Have him do this by eye measurement and not by guess work. Teach him to start at one end and select a point which he judges to be one foot from the end and then to advance the eye to a point one foot from that and so on, counting as he goes, "one, two, three and a half"—whatever he believes is right. Then have him take the foot rule and check his measurements accurately.
In the same manner the child should be taught to know and to be able to measure with the yard stick. With it, of course, measure larger objects, as the length of the house, the width of the porch, the distance from the house to the sidewalk, the width of the street, the height of the shed, etc. Teach the child to recognize the distance of a block, a half mile or a mile, and the size of an acre.
Unless you have had some practice in work of this kind, you will find yourself busy keeping ahead of the child. You can get excellent practice and development which will be of value to you, by entering into these exercises. Make it a point to become thoroughly interested in the work yourself, as it will insure continuation and increased good for the child. Remember the interest increasing value of competition.
While training the child's eye to measure, excellent practice will be found in determining comparative length of lines. The illustrations below will show some of the ways in which the lines can be made confusing. The child should be given enough drill in this exercise so that he learns to judge the things as they are, and not as they seem.
Have him look at Figure 1 and decide which is the longer line, a side of the square B or the diameter of the circle A. Then have him measure carefully.
In like manner compare the height of the two rectangles in Figure 2. Which line is longest in Figure 3—AB, CB, or BD? Which vertical lines are tallest in Figure 4—those between AB or BC?