Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Two Proverbs

Two Proverbs

My Mamma always says to us -
To me and Tom and Kate -
"Oh, hurry, hurry, hurry now!
To school you will he late!

You've heard it often. I am sure
The proverb you should know
About the tortoise, and the hare
Who lost, 'cause he was slow."

But Grandma always says to us.
"Now why this anxious haste?
Try to be calm and cool, my dears.
Remember, 'haste makes waste.' "

I am not wise enough to know
Which way I should prefer
For living by, but I am sure
Grandma's is pleasanter!

I'll Be Your Valentine

I'll Be Your Valentine

I took some paper, pen and ink,
And tried so hard to make
A pretty one and write on it
"For your own dear, sweet sake."
But soon I found that drawing things
Is clearly not my line,
But if you think I'll do for one
I'll be your valentine.

Perhaps I should have bought you one
But cents I had but few,
And really nothing they would get
Was good enough for yon.
I asked Mamma. "Why send such things
She said : "They are love's sign."
So, if I can mean that to you,
I'll be your valentine.

Of course you may get heaps of 'em:
I fear, tho', 'cause you're old,
That folks will think you know their love
Without a-being told.
So to make sure you will get one
That's extra nice and fine,
Why Grandma, if I'll fill the bill,
I'll be your valentine.

Contrast

Contrast

'Tis queer to think of our Grandmas,
That once they were but little girls,
And wore their hair in long pigtails,
Or else in funny, bobbing curls.

'Tis queer to think they ran and played,
And laughed and romped in childish glee.
I wonder if they ever tired,
And rested on their Mother's knee.

But sad to think they had to work,
And learn to sweep, and bake, and mend.
'Tis painful how they had to sit
And stitch those long seams without end.

There's much to envy 'bout those days,
And much looks most unpleasant, too.
I think I'd rather live to-day,
Because there is much less to do!

G-R-A-N-D-M-A

G-R-A-N-D-M-A

I'm four years old and can't know much.
I'm proud, though, that I write and spell
A great big word, and Mamma says
I really do it very well.

Course Mamma showed me how to print
This word - it's letters slow I'll say.
Can you pronounce it when I've done?
It's G-r-a-n-d-m-a.

When Grandma Loses Her Spec's

When Grandma Loses Her Spec's

Sometimes when Grandma's sewing,
She'll stop and say, "Dear me !
I had them just a while ago,
Where can my glasses be?"
I say, "I'll find them, Grandma,"
Then I look everywhere;
But wouldn't for the world she'd guess
I know just where they are.

I hunt around until I am
So tired I'm almost dead:
Then laugh and say, "Why Grandma dear.
They're right there on your head!"
What d'ye 'spose she tells me then?
It drives me almost wild, -
"I do declare! just every day 
I grow more like a child!"

A Tea Party

A Tea Party

Sometimes I get so awful cross,
When it's a rainy day,
And not a thing I want to do,
And nothing I can play.

But soon there cames a gentle rap,
Right by me on the wall;
And Grandma says, "How do you do?
I thought I'd come to call.

How are you, Mrs. Wilson, now?
Are all the children well?
This is a welcome rain we have.
And breaks a long dry spell."

And then I offer her a chair.
With just my nicest smile;
And say, "I'm glad to see you, ma'am,
I hope you'll stay awhile."

And Grandma laughs, "Ah-ha ! I guessed
That I would welcome be;
If this is not too broad a hint,
I thought I'd stay for tea."

And then we have the mostest fun,
And not a thing to eat;
But Grandma plays the game so well,
You'd think we had a treat.

She says: "These rolls are very fine,
Why, yes, I'll take some jell.
Fried chicken! and so nice and brown,
'Twill suit me more than well.

And cake! I never knew before
How light a cake could be!"
And "Thank you, yes ma'am, if you please
Another cup of tea."

And then she says: "Why bless my heart,
If there is not the sun!
I've had a lovely time, my dear,
And now I home must run."

Grandma's Stories

Grandma's Stories

At evening by the fire-light
We gather 'round her knee.
There's John and Sam and Jennie.
And 'course there's always me.
She tells the finest stories
A body ever heard.
We sit so interested
And never say a word!

There's one about Queen Esther
Of course that Jennie likes.
While John's and Sammle's fancy
The "Lions' Den" just strikes.
But I - I pick young David
Pastin' G'liath with a sling.
How could he kill a giunt
With such a little thing?

Mother tells us dainty tales
'Bout fairies and all such.
Daddy tells us hunting ones;
We like them very much.
But Grandma's kind of stories.
Why,, they help us to be good.
So always we prefer them,
And don't you think we should?

What Kind of Grandma Do You Like?

What Kind of Grandma Do You Like?

What kind of Grandma do you like?
Mine has soft, silv'ry hair.
And eyes that twinkle kindly.
And a brow that's soft and fair.
She smiles a sort of crinkly smile
At me when I am good.
It always makes me try my best,
And don't you think it would?

What kind of Grandma do you like?
Mine gives me sweets and toys.
And never, never scowls at me
Or says. "Now hush that noise !"
What kind of Grandma you may have.
Or what your choice might be,
I do not know, but I am sure
Mine is the one for me !

A Fellow Feeling

A Fellow Feeling

Once when I was a little tot
I was naughty as I could be.
(I'm 'shamed to tell how bad I was,)
And my Mamma punished me.

She set me down upon a chair
With a frown so cross at me
And said, "Now, missy, you stay there,
And you don't get any tea."

Soon Grandma came and sat down near,
And she looked so very sad
I wondered what on earth it meant,
Had my Grandma, too, been bad?

And then I said, "Why, Grandma, dear,
Now whatever did you do?
I think things are at pretty pass
If my Mamma's punished you."

My Grandma's Getting Old, They Say

My Grandma's Getting Old, They Say

My Grandma's getting old, they say.
Her hair is white, her step is slow.
She never goes a-pleasuring,
She'd rather sit and knit, or sew.
Her shoulders stoop and 'thout her specs
She'd find it hard, indeed, to see.
My Grandma's getting old, they say.
But, oh ! She is not old to me.

My Grandma's getting old they say,
But, oh ! She is not old to me.
A finer pal than Grandma is
I don't believe you'd ever see.
She mends my toys, and when I like
She'll play "make calls," or "drinking tea.'
My Grandma's getting old they say.
But NEVER will be old to me,

Out at Grandma's

Out at Grandma's

They is roses out at Grandma's,
Growin' low an' growin' high.
I can pick jist all I want to,
Ner don't have to on the sly.

They's a well, too, out at Grandma's,
With a bucket to let down.
Water's cold enough to freeze you.
'Taint like what you get in town.

An' they's green grass out at Grandma's,
Plenty, growin' all around,
S' thick that when you waller in it,
You don't know you're on the ground.

They is fruit trees out at Grandma's,
Fruit, too,, on 'em, hangin' thick.
Grandma says: "Jist help your-self, dear,
I don't care how much you pick."

They's a garden out at Grandma's.
In it's all good things to eat.
Posies, too, in beds a-growin',
Edged with cockle shells so neat.

They is bees, too, out at Grandma's,
Bees a-buzzin'. Hear 'em hum !
Biscuits hot with honey on 'em !
Ain't they good ? Oh, yum, yum, yum !

When I'm big I'm goin' to have me
A nice home like Grandma's is.
An' my kids will get to live there.
Won't they have the fun? Gee whiz!

When Grandma Comfys Me

When Grandma Comfys Me

Sometimes I hurt myself so bad
When I am at my play,
That I just simply have to cry.
If 'taint the bravest way.

Then I run quick to Mamma,
But she only says, "Oh, fie!
You're almost six years old, my dear,
And far too big to cry."

And then I go to Grandma.
She takes me on her knee,
And gives me bear-hugs in her arms
As tight as tight can be,

And says, "There, Grandma's baby.
Is this the place? do tell!
I think a little lip-salve, dear,
Will quickly make it well."

And then she says, "Now Mr. Bruise,
Here's kisses, one, two, three,"
And I get well just awful quick
When Grandma comfys me.

"Girls Will Be Girls"

"Girls Will Be Girls'

My Mamma and my Daddy say,
When we make lots of noise,
"Such harum-scarum girls you are!
You're rude as any boys."

But my Grandma, who's lots older,
(You'd think she'd be the one
To fuss and frown at our rough ways)
Says, "let them have their fun."

Then she rings-a-rosy with us
Until my head just whirls,
And when we stop, she pants, "Heigh-ho!
You see girls will be girls."

Heigh-So, 'Tis Her Way!

Heigh-So, 'Tis Her Way!

Grand-mother, why do you wear a frilly lace cap?
And why every day must you have your short nap?
And why, when to the church each fair Sunday
you go,
Must the strings of your bonnet be folded just so?
"Heigh-ho,"
Hear her say,
" 'Tis my way!"

Grand-mother, you are so nice to rude girls and
boys.
Now, why don't you scold when we make such
great noise?
Why give us seed cakes and such good things to
eat,
'Till coming to your house is our very best treat?
"Heigh-ho,"
Hear her say,
" 'Tis my way!"

Dancing Dolls

Dancing Dolls

Sometimes our Grandma'll call us:
"Come John and little Sue,
Let's see what my sharp scissors
Can find to-day to do."

Then she takes a bit of paper
And folds it up just so,
Then slashes with her scissors
And 'fore our eyes there'll grow

A row of dogs or horses,
Or pretty parrot Polls,
But oh, we like the best of all
The little dancing dolls.

They bow and prance and caper,
All dancing in a row;
They are such queer, quaint creatures,
But oh, we love them so.


Christmas Secrets

Christmas Secrets

I tell mine all to Grandma,
And she tells hers to me,
And we have just the mostest fun
That ever you did see.

Each time I get a new one,
I whisper in her ear,
And Grandma whispers back again,
And laughs and says, "Dear ! Dear!'

But I've one now I have to keep.
I can't tell her, you see.
I wonder - do you 'spose she might
Be keeping one from me?

A "Blue" Story

A "Blue" Story

It stands here on the mantle,
My Grandma's queer old plate.
I'd tell to you the story
I've heard her oft relate,
Only it's written on it
As plain as plain can be.
No need for any telling
If one has eyes to see.

A princess has a lover,
(As most king's daughters do.)
You see him here a waiting,
Beneath this tree of blue.
Blue grass is all around him;
A blue sky bends above;
And o'er the blue tree's branches
There hovers a blue dove.

Far in the blue, dim distance,
A castle blue you see,
And shrubs and flowers a growing
Upon a deep blue lea.
Blue cows feed in the meadow.
Blue lambs disport there, too.
It certainly's unusual,
This landscape all in blue.

She goes to meet her lover,
The princess, all in blue.
What seems so very funny,
Even her hair's blue, too.
A boat-man near awaits them.
His craft a neat blue boat,
And if they can but reach it,
They'll safely be afloat.

The king in blue advances
Across a blue draw-bridge.
Their sole way of escaping
Is up a steep, blue ridge.
And so the pair just stand there,
All stiff from fright. And blue!
Small wonder they're discouraged,
What can the poor things do?

Monday, February 26, 2018

When Grandma Knits

When Grandma Knits

My Grandma loves to sit and knit.
Click, clack, her needles go ;
While "squeak, squeak" says her rocking chair,
A-rocking to and fro.

My Grandma knits such lovely things,
Mufflers for Tom and Will,
And bouncy-balls for baby dear
To help to keep her still;

And little stockings for my doll,
And horsey-lines for Ned, 
And wristlets, too, for Jack and Joe
Of yarn so bright and red,

And mittens for the very poor,
And hoods all nicely lined;
It seems to me a lot of work,
But Grandma doesn't mind,

But only sits and smiles and smiles,
And knits the live-long day,
And seems to have a better time
That I do when I play.

I like to watch my Grandma knit.
Click, clack her needles go,
While "squeak, squeak" says her rocking chair,
A-rocking to and fro.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Herb Tea

Herb Tea

One time I was just awful sick,
And weak as I could be.
'Twas when I was at Grandma's house.
She dosed me with herb tea.
She didn't call the Doctor man;
She said there was no need,
That I was just a mite run down,
And kinder off my feed.

Now usually I fume and fret
When Mamma calls him in.
The Doctor gives such awful dope.
And it tastes worse'n sin.
If all the stuff I ever took
Could mixed together be,
It wouldn't taste one-half as bad
As Grandma's bitter tea.

Surprisin', though, how quick it worked
To make me feel so well.
If you won't give it all away,
The reason I will tell.
Because I found one nasty dose
Was quite enough for me
To suit my taste, so I got well
To dodge another. See?

I'm Grandma's Little Girl

I'M GRANDMA'S LITTLE GIRL

I'm Grandma's little girl, she says.
That makes me proud as proud can be.
She calls me that when I'm dressed up
And Ma says, "Run, let Grandma see."

Sometimes she calls me her big girl.
That makes me, oh, much prouder still.
'Tis when she's let me do some work,
(Like fetching drinks when she is ill.)

Grandma's Errands

GRANDMA'S ERRANDS

My Grandma Gray is very old,
And when she sews I'm apt to hear,
"I find I can't my needle thread,
Come be my eyes, my dear."
Or if she tries to go up stairs,
She'll likely say, " 'Tis very plain
That I will have to have some aid,
My dear, just come and be my cane."

Or if she needs an errand done,
She'll say, "It is too far, I fear.
I could not make it there at all,
Go be my feet, my dear."
I like sometimes to comb her hair;
She likes it, too, 'tis very clear,
For mornings, 'fore she dons her cap,
She'll call, "Come be my hands, my dear.'

My Mamma says such kindly deeds
Are far the best way I could show
To Grandma, so she'd understand
Her Grandchild loves her so.
And Grandma is so nice to me,
I could not bear to give her pain,
So that is why I gladly run
To be her eyes, her hands, her cane.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Sequencing Printables

       In cognitive psychology, sequence learning is inherent to human ability because it is an integrated part of conscious and nonconscious learning as well as activities. Sequences of information or sequences of actions are used in various everyday tasks: "from sequencing sounds in speech, to sequencing movements in typing or playing instruments, to sequencing actions in driving an automobile." Sequence learning can be used to study skill acquisition and in studies of various groups ranging from neuropsychological patients to infants. According to Ritter and Nerb, “The order in which material is presented can strongly influence what is learned, how fast performance increases, and sometimes even whether the material is learned at all.” Sequence learning, more known and understood as a form of explicit learning, is now also being studied as a form of implicit learning as well as other forms of learning. Sequence learning can also be referred to as sequential behavior, behavior sequencing, and serial order in behavior.
       In the first half of the 20th century, Margaret Floy Washburn, John B. Watson, and other behaviorists believed behavioral sequencing to be governed by the reflex chain, which states that stimulation caused by an initial movement triggers an additional movement, which triggers another additional movement, and so on. In 1951, Karl Lashley, a neurophysiologist at Harvard University, published “The Problem of Serial Order in Behavior,” addressing the current beliefs about sequence learning and introducing his hypothesis. He criticized the previous view on the basis of six lines of evidence:
"The first line is that movements can occur even when sensory feedback is interrupted. The second is that some movement sequences occur too quickly for elements of the sequences to be triggered by feedback from the preceding elements. Next is that the errors in behavior suggest internal plans for what will be done later. Also, the time to initiate a movement sequence can increase with the length or complexity of the sequence. The next line is the properties of movements occurring early in a sequence can anticipate later features. Then lastly the neural activity can indicate preparation of upcoming behavior events, including upcoming behavior events in the relatively long-term future."
       Lashley argued that sequence learning, or behavioral sequencing or serial order in behavior, is not attributable to sensory feedback. Rather, he proposed that there are plans for behavior since the nervous system prepares for some behaviors but not others. He said that there was a hierarchical organization of plans. He came up with several lines of evidence. The first of these is that the context changes functional interpretations of the same behaviors, such as the way “wright, right, right, rite, and write” are interpreted based on the context of the sentence. “Right” can be interpreted as a direction or as something good depending on the context. A second line of evidence says that errors are involved in human behavior as hierarchical organization. In addition, “hierarchical organization of plans comes from the timing of behavioral sequences.” The larger the phrase, the longer the response time, which factors into “decoding” or “unpacking” hierarchical plans. Additional evidence is how easy or hard it is to learn a sequence. The mind can create a “memory for what is about to happen” as well as a “memory for what has happened.” The final evidence for the hierarchical organization of plans is characterized by "chunking". This skill combines multiple units into larger units.

       I have included these explanations above in order to further describe the importance of teaching sequence to young learners through the use of sentence and story printables. Many of these are available on the web for free. Teachers and home schooling parents alike may introduce many educational concepts to their students ages 4 through 8 by the manufacture and study of simple materials like these. Encourage your little ones to color their own mini-books and to also print their name on the inside cover of their minibook.
  1. Mother Goose Auto Parade - mini book
  2. Five Little Angels Mini Book
  3. The Wee Squirrelees by Grace Drayton
  4. Ten Silly Number Pages for Coloring or Mini Books

The Means And Ways of Occupation In The Kindergarten

Portrait of Friedrich Froebel.
       Before entering into a description of the various means of occupation in the Kindergarten, it will be proper to state that Friedrich Froebel, the inventor of this system of education, calls all occupations in the Kindergarten "plays" and the materials for occupation "gifts." In these systematically-arranged plays, Froebel starts from the fundamental idea that all education should begin with a development of the desire for activity in mite in the child: and he has been, and is universally acknowledged, eminently successful in this part of his important work. Each step in the course of training is a logical sequence of the preceding one; and the various means of occupation are developed, one from another, in a perfectly natural order, beginning with the simplest and concluding with the most difficult features in all the varieties of occupation. Together they satisfy all the demands of the child's nature in respect both to mental and physical culture, and lay the surest foundation for all subsequent education in school and in life.
       The time of occupation in the Kindergarten is three or four hours on each week day, usually from 1) to 12 or 1 o'clock; and the time allotted to each separate occupation, including the changes from one to another, is from twenty to thirty minutes. Movement plays, so called, in which the children imitate the flying of birds, swimming of fish, the motions of sowing, mowing, threshing, etc., in connection with light gymnastics and vocal exercises, alternate with the plays performed in a sitting posture. All occupations that can be engaged in out of doors, are carried on in the garden whenever the season and weather permit.
       For the reason that the various occupations, as previously stated, are so intimately connected, glowing, as it were, out of each other, they are introduced very gradually, so as to afford each child ample time to become sufficiently prepared for the next step, without interfering, however, with the rapid progress of such as are of a more advanced age, or endowed with stronger or better developed faculties.
       The following is a list of the gifts or material and means of occupation in the Kindergarten, each of which will be specified and described separately hereafter.
       There are altogether twenty gifts, according to Froebel's general definition of the term, although the first six only are usually designated by this name. We choose to follow the classification and nomenclature of the great inventor of the system.

LIST OF FROEBEL'S 20 GIFTS:
  1. Six rubber balls, covered with a net work of twine or worsted of various colors.
  2. Sphere, cube and cylinder, made of wood.
  3. Large cube, consisting of eight small cubes.
  4. Large cube, consisting of eight oblong parts.
  5. Large cube, consisting of whole, half, and quarter cubes.
  6. Large cube consisting of doubly divided oblongs.
  7. Square and triangular tablets for laying of figures.
  8. Sticks for laying of figures.
  9. Whole and half rings for laying of figures.
  10. Material for drawing.
  11. Material for perforating.
  12. Material for embroidering.
  13. Material for cutting of paper and combining pieces.
  14. Material for braiding.
  15. Slats for interlacing.
  16. The slat with many links.
  17. Material for intertwining.
  18. Material for paper folding.
  19. Material for peas-work.
  20. Material for modeling.

Dolch Word Lists

       The Dolch word list is a list of frequently used English words compiled by Edward William Dolch, a major proponent of the "whole-word" method of beginning reading instruction. The list was prepared in 1936 and was originally published in his book Problems in Reading in 1948.
       Dolch compiled the list based on children's books of his era, which is why nouns such as "kitty" and "Santa Claus" appear on the list instead of more high-frequency words. The list contains 220 "service words" that have to be easily recognized in order to achieve reading fluency in the English language. The compilation excludes nouns, which comprise a separate 95-word list. Between 50% and 75% of all words used in schoolbooks, library books, newspapers, and magazines are a part of the Dolch basic sight word vocabulary.
       These lists of words are still assigned for memorization in American elementary schools. Although most of the 220 Dolch words are phonetic, children are sometimes told that they can't be "sounded out" using common sound-to-letter implicit phonics patterns and have to be learned by sight; hence the alternative term, "sight word". The list is divided according to the grades in which it was intended that children would memorize these words.

Pre-primer: (40 words) a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, you
Primer: (52 words) all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, what, white, who, will, with, yes
1st Grade: (41 words) after, again, an, any, as, ask, by, could, every, fly, from, give, giving, had, has, her, him, his, how, just, know, let, live, may, of, old, once, open, over, put, round, some, stop, take, thank, them, then, think, walk, were, when
2nd Grade: (46 words) always, around, because, been, before, best, both, buy, call, cold, does, don't, fast, first, five, found, gave, goes, green, its, made, many, off, or, pull, read, right, sing, sit, sleep, tell, their, these, those, upon, us, use, very, wash, which, why, wish, work, would, write, your
3rd Grade: (41 words) about, better, bring, carry, clean, cut, done, draw, drink, eight, fall, far, full, got, grow, hold, hot, hurt, if, keep, kind, laugh, light, long, much, myself, never, nine, only, own, pick, seven, shall, show, six, small, start, ten, today, together, try, warm

Dolch Listing of Nouns: (95 words) apple, baby, back, ball, bear, bed, bell, bird, birthday, boat, box, boy, bread, brother, cake, car, cat, chair, chicken, children, Christmas, coat, corn, cow, day, dog, doll, door, duck, egg, eye, farm, farmer, father, feet, fire, fish, floor, flower, game, garden, girl, good-bye, grass, ground, hand, head, hill, home, horse, house, kitty, leg, letter, man, men, milk, money, morning, mother, name, nest, night, paper, party, picture, pig, rabbit, rain, ring, robin, Santa Claus, school, seed, sheep, shoe, sister, snow, song, squirrel, stick, street, sun, table, thing, time, top, toy, tree, watch, water, way, wind, window, wood

The Country Round, The Country Faith

THE COUNTRY ROUND
THE COUNTRY FAITH

Here in the country's heart,
Where the grass is green,
Life is the same sweet life
As it e'er hath been.

Trust in God still lives,
And the bell at morn 
Floats with a thought of God
O'er the rising corn.

God comes down in the rain,
And the crop grows tall-
This is the country faith,
And the best of all!