eee LGR | THE P ” BOSTON rh a4 ; he piv Re spp ay r y Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding trom Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/atschoolwithgrea0Obrow VIRGINIA CHILDREN WEARING PARTY CAPS AND PLAYING WITH TOYS MADE BY VERMONT CHILDREN AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER A SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY COURSE COMPLETE IN THREE PARTS ee THEOLOGICAL SE! 4 Sif 47 Ss a ty? F Uul 2 1997 : REIGNER READING ROOM FOR CHILDREN APPROXIMATELY EIGHT YEARS OF AGE BY JEANETTE ELOISE PERKINS IN EDITORIAL COLLABORATION WITH FRANCES WELD DANIELSON EVERYDAY CHRISTIAN LIVING SERIES THE PILGRIM PRESS BOSTON CHICAGO Coprricut 1924 By SIDNEY A. WESTON Printed in the United States of America THE JORDAN & MORE PRESS BOSTON CONTENTS FoREWORD . d 5 ; : : : ; : : : ; ; ; The Story of How This Course Grew; The Two Experiment Stations; Time Division of Sunday Sessions. First Sunpay (October) 2 Gee eA DAL Ay peer REPOST 2 oy si hod aay Cs Rare ead Taw Sea MARL 7 oP Se Detailed seasonal worship services; Story, ‘“‘ In Happy Valley,”’ on going to school to the great Teacher; Birthday service; Weekday plans. ALTERNATE First SUNDAY First WEEKDAY f : . ‘ : : ; . : . : Hike: Games; Autumn story and song suggestions; Planning a worship service. Re- ports on: “‘ Hike; Alternate for “Hike.” SECOND SunpAyY (October) . : ‘ f : ‘ : : i : Original seasonal worship service planned on weekday session; Retelling last Sunday’s story; New story, “ How Schools Came to Happy Valley; Conversation and prayer ’ in appreciation of school teachers. SEconD WEEKDAY . ‘ ; : : : j : i Games, Discussion, Story and Plans for Teachers: Ways of meeting typical situations during games; Discussion of Sunday’s worship service; Story, “‘ The Fairy Godmother’s Gifts,” on dependence upon teachers; Plans for entertaining school teachers. Re- ports on: Plans for original play and song for teachers; ‘“ Telling Tales.” Tutrp Sunpay (October) ; ‘ : S088 ; : : ; ’ : Worship, conversation and review stories on knowledge of God’s world; Dramatiza- tion of mothers bringing children to the great Teacher; Story suggestion, ‘‘ Reading and Writing and Getting Ready.” Report on Deviations from program. Turrp WEEKDAY E : : ; 2 ; Composing Song and Party Plans: Poem, “A Song about Teachers.” Reports on: “Composing Songs;’ ‘Planning the Party;’ ‘“‘ Getting Cooperation.” Original songs: “When We Were Little Children;’’ ‘‘ Our Teachers are like Fairies.” FourtH Sunpay (October). 4 ; , : ¢ : é : J : Praise for God’s house and day; Appreciation of day-school teachers through old stories, a game, conversation and original songs; Dramatization based on poem, ‘‘ The First Children’s Day; Story, “ The Story of George Kling,” on ‘‘ Going to school to Jesus,” including John’s story of Jesus and the woman. Report on ‘‘ Composing a Song.” FourtH WEEKDAY ; ; : d ; F : ; 3 : : . Planning the Teachers’ Party. Reports on: ‘‘ Completing Party Plans;’ ‘‘ Problems of Disorder; “ Interest Leading to Continued Work;’” “ Planning a Play.” Firra Sunpay (October — November) ; ; : t ; : : ; : Seasonal worship; Original prayer; Old story and conversation on ‘‘ Going to school to Jesus;’’ New Story, “ The First Four Pupils in Jesus’ School.’”’ Report on “ Pay- ing Back.” FrrtaH WEEKDAY . : : ; ; \ 3 : : ; ; : : Party for Children’s Day-school Teachers. Reports on: ‘‘ The Party; ‘‘ The Play;’” “Hosts and Hostesses in Evolution; ‘“‘ Florrie Takes the Blame;”’ ‘Invitation to Plan a Service.” SrxtH Sunpay (November) . ; é : , : : } : : é . Thanksgiving praise, conversation and prayer; Dramatization based on last Sunday’s story; New Story: “ The Discovery of Happy Valley; Note on Thanksgiving worship service. Report on “ Adjustments on a Stormy Sunday.” iti PAGE 11 18 20 24 30 32 35 37 iv CONTENTS SixtH WEEKDAY . : : ; . ; ; ; : : : : lame Hike. Reports on: “ Challenging Remarks and Incidents;’’ “ Problems of the Hike.” SEVENTH SunDAY (November) Thanksgiving worship; Plans for Thanksgiving service; Visit to church auditorium with minister. Reports on: ‘“ A Visit to Church Auditorium; ” “ Shouldering the Blame.” SEVENTH WEEKDAY Preparation for Thanksgiving; The Service; Uy hanksgiving story suggestions; "Mak- ing Thanksgiving place-cards. Reports on: ‘“ Preparation for Thanksgiving Service;” “The Great Teacher; ‘‘ Puzzling Problems;” ‘“‘ A Story;” ‘‘ Taking Work Home;” ** Home Appreciation and Cooperation.” EieuHTH Sunpay (November) . Children’s Thanksgiving Service. EicgHTH WEEKDAY . : : . ; ; ; : : : Preparation for Christmas: Conversation with Pictures; Story, “ Freely Ye Received, Freely Give; Discussion of Thanksgiving service; Plans for Christmas program; Christmas work. Reports on: “ Christmas Program Making;” ‘“ Christmas Work;’ “Use of Self-Control;” “ Belief in Santa Claus.” NintH Sunpay (November—December) . ‘ y : , ; Appreciation lesson on “O Little Town of Bethlehem;” Story suggestion, ‘“ The Great Walled Country;” Impersonation of shepherds and strangers. Reports on: “The Christmas Impersonation;’ “ Failure to Make Christianity Function.” A Moruers’ MEETING . NinTH WEEKDAY . ; ‘ 4 é : ‘ : ; ; ; : A Christmas Surprises: Happy Valley Story, ‘‘ Mrs. Fairchild’s Christmas Present; ”’ Comments, Plans and Work. Reports on: “ Saving Time for Mothers;” ‘ Incident of Self-Control; Sahea WOODK A TENTH SunDAY (December) Christmas worship; Discussion of “ banked time’ > Dramatization of Christmas story; Appreciation of poem, “ If I Had Been a Shepherd Boy ;’ Story suggestion, “ The Jar of Rosemary.” Report of School B. TenTH WEEKDAY . : ; : , : : : . : : : Plans, Story and Work. Reports on: ‘‘ Time Saved for Mothers;’” ‘‘ The Christmas Program;” “Problem of Assistants; “Santa Claus Again.” ELEVENTH SunpAY (December) : : y ; d : Christmas worship; Making silhouette Christmas posters; Story Suggestion, “ Why the Chimes Rang.” Reports on: ‘Interruption during Quiet Music ”’ (concerning Christian flag); “ Alternate for First Class Period; ‘‘ An Invitation;’ ‘‘ Addition to Second Class Period.” ELEVENTH WEEKDAY . : , , : Christmas Plans and Work. Reports on: “Time Saved for Mothers;” ‘“* Christmas Program Plans;”’ “ Bright Spots.” TWELFTH SuNDAY (December) Children’s Christmas Program. TWELFTH WEEKDAY ‘ : : : : : , ; Sharing the Christmas Program. " Reports on: “ Christmas Program at Soldiers’ 29 Home;”’ “ Revealing Incidents.” THIRTEENTH SUNDAY (December) ; Worship, conversation and discussion arising from Christmas | service and institution visited; Story of St. Nicholas, “ The Three Bags of Gold;” Happy Valley story, ‘ The Spirit of St. Nicholas.” Reports on: Belief i in Santa Claus; ‘ ‘ Criticisms of Christmas Service;’ ‘‘ Saving Time for Mothers.” THIRTEENTH WEEKDAY . . : ; 4 Plans for the New Year; Story, ‘ ‘Happy Valley’ s New Year;” New Year Plans. Reports on: ‘‘ Charts to Encourage Helpfulness at Home;” “ Time Saved for Mothers.” PAGE 40 Al 43 45 46 50 52 54 59 61 62 63 64 66 68 74 CONTENTS FourTEENTH SuNpDAY (January) : : P y : : : F ; : New Year’s talk on prayer; Behavior on weekday hikes; New Year’s story, “ The Twelve Treasure-Boxes; Story, “‘ How the Disciples Learned to be Great.” Reports on: “ The Beginning of a Project in Friendship; ” “ Marking Charts;” “ A Lost Oppor- tunity.” FOURTEENTH WEEKDAY . : ; : : ; ‘ : : : : : Winter Hike. Reports on: ‘‘ Exhibition of Temper;’ “ Leader’s Meditations.” FIFTEENTH SuNDAY (January). : ‘ ; : , : ; : : ‘ Seasonal praise; Story, “The Greatest Animal; Dramatization; Picture gallery. Report on “ Impromptu Dramatization.”’ FIFTEENTH WEEKDAY Party Preparations. SIXTEENTH SuNDAY (January) . : : : : : ; ; : ; E ; Making people happy; Incident, child radiating happiness; Story, ‘‘ The Magic Mask.” eports on: “ Isn’t It Really a Picture of Jesus?” ‘‘ Recognition of Self-Control,’ “Problem of Discipline;’ ‘‘ Comments during the Week;” ‘“ Idea of Prayer which In- fluenced Future Programs.” SIXTEENTH WEEKDAY . : : ; ; : j Continued Preparation for Party; Stories: ‘‘ The Quails,” ‘‘ The Party.” SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY (January) . ; : : : : : : Seasonal worship; Discussion of party; Appreciation of ‘‘ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus;” Story, “Jesus at a Party.” Report on ‘“ An Effort to Overcome Disorder.” SEVENTEENTH WEEKDAY ; Party for Schoolmates. EIGHTEENTH SunDAY (January—February) . A : ; . ‘ : ; 5 Poem, “ When Jesus was a Little Lad;” Conversation about Jesus, childhood’s pattern; Checking up on party; Stories: ‘‘ The Children’s Playground,” “ Jesus in His Father’s House.” EIGHTEENTH WEEKDAY . : k F : ; : F ; : ‘ : Story and Work: A Happy Valley Story, ‘‘ How the New Year Law Worked; Work. Reports on: “Second Step of Project in Friendship;”’ ‘‘ The Magic of a Song.” NINETEENTH SuNDAY (February) . , : ; ' : : : , d : Worship service based on ‘“‘ The Gentle Child of Nazareth;” Picture study review; Story, “ The Monk’s Bible; Correlated handwork. NINETEENTH WEEKDAY . Making Books. TWENTIETH SuNDAY (February) : ‘ E ' : é ; } j ; . Worship service on gentleness part of greatness; Note-book work; Picture study and blackboard illustration of Jesus’ spirit in our homes. Report on ‘* Worship Service on Self-Control.” TWENTIETH WEEKDAY . ; 3 4 , , : . : ; : . 3 Story and Work: A Happy Valley Story, ‘‘ The Wise Man’s Pack ” (on prayer); Work on books. Reports on: “ Self-control;’ ‘‘ The School of the Great Teacher.” Twenty-First Sunpay (February) . : P 2 ; ‘ : 5 , : : Worship service on Jesus, childhood’s pattern; Composing a prayer; Stories: ‘“ The Secret Power of Jesus,” ‘‘ How Jesus Used His Secret Power.”’ Report on “ Children’s Illustrations of Self-Control.” PAGE 85 87 90 91 95 98 101 102 107 110 113 114 115 118 Riles CONTENTS Twenty-First WEEKDAY : : : ‘ me ae : ; : Story and Work for a Missionary Project; ““ Story from the Wise Man’s Pack.” Re- port on “ Florrie’s Loss of Self-Control.” TWENTY-SECOND SunbDAyY (February—March) . : Use of original prayer; Dramatization revealing secret of Jesus’ power; Picture study and talk on prayer; Reports on: ‘“ Quarantining;’ “ Making up for a Neglected Opportunity.” TWENTY-SECOND WEEKDAY . : , ; Story: A Happy Valley Story, “From the Wise Man’s Pack.” Reports on: “ Blunders of Leader;” ‘‘ Work.” TWENTY-T HIRD SunDAY (March) ; ; Picture study and talk on ‘“ Thy will be done;” Note-book work; “Story suggesting “Thy kingdom come;” Story, “ The Kingdom of Love.” TWENTY-THIRD WEEKDAY Spring Hike. Report on “ Preparing for a Hike and its Problems.” TweEenty-Fourta Sunpay (March) Seasonal worship; Kingdom of God made clear through pictures; " Spartan legend of ideal kingdom; Story, “ A Man who Wanted to See Jesus. Report on “ Plans for Making Amends.” TWENTY-FouRTH WEEKDAY Three Alternatives: Hike, Program of Work or Study, or Planning a Spring Worship Service; Happy Valley Story, § ‘The Stocking Doll.’”” Report on “ Stuart and Florrie Make Amends.” TwEnty-Firta Sunpay (March) ; : “ é ; : Praise service; Conversation; Poem, “We Would See Jesus,” with old story; Mis- sionary pictures and song; Story suggestion, ** A Blind Man Who Wished to See Jesus.” ree on: “ Checking up on the Hike;’’ ‘“‘ Plan for Worship Services;” ‘‘ Revealing emarks.”’ TWENTy-FirtH WEEKDAY : Work, Instruction, Stories. Reports Ons Profiting by Former Blunders: > Another Step in the Friendship Project; ” “ Florrie goes into Quarantine;” “ Child’s Note Sug- gesting Next Program.” TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY (March—April) ; Children’s original spring worship service; Picture gallery. Reports on: “ Sharing the Interest in Virginia with Primary and Junior Departments;” ‘ Florrie Again.” TWENTY-SIXTH WEEKDAY i ; } : Work on Missionary Enterprise. Report on “ Forming a Council.” TWENTY-SEVENTH SuNDAY (April) Story, ‘‘ When Jesus was Angry;”’ Visit to church auditorium; Possibilities of church project. Reports on: “ Florrie’s Bluff;”’ Appreciation of God’s House.” TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEKDAY : Hike. Reports on: ‘“ The F riendship Project; * John Plays Big Brother; * & Con- sulting Florrie’s Mother.” TwEntTy-E1cutH Sunpay (April: Palm Sunday) Suggested story and. dramatization of the Trucchi Ene - The Story of Jesus’ Est Days on Earth.” Reports on: “ Happy Reference to Children’s Decorations;”’ ‘‘ Re- sponsibility Recognized; ” “The Christian Flag;” ‘‘ Seeing the Connection; “‘ Palm Sunday Program.” TWENTy-E1cHTH WEEKDAY ‘ Preparation for Easter. Reports on: etter: Sent S Class during Week; eee Hintnat N ature in Evidence; ” pe * Criticising the Hike; “ Enthusiasm in Work; ” “The Rebus Letter.” Easter Stories: ‘‘ A Lesson in Faith;” “ The Caterpillar’ s Journey;” “What the Grub Found Out.” 129 132 134 135 139 143 145 146 148 151 154 155 158 CONTENTS Twenty-Nintu Sunpay (April: Easter) . : ; ; ‘ : : : Poem, “ There Was a King in Nazareth; ”” “ The Easter Story.” Reports on: ‘ Depart- mental Easter Program; ” “ Easter Program with Entire School ” (composite story of Jesus); “ Before and After Program; ” ‘ Another Side of Florrie.” Twenty-Ninta WEEKDAY : ; , : . ‘ : ‘ : ; Work and Story Possibilities. Stories: ‘‘ The Little Girl Who Played All the Time; ” “ In the Path of the Tornado.”” Report on “ Spring Hike.” Tairtieta Sunpay (April) 3 : : : : ; ; : : ; Original spring service; Story, “ Peter’s Lie; ” Suggestion for composing song. Report on “ Broom Brigade.” THIRTIETH WEEKDAY 3 ' : A : 3 ; ¢ ; : : Work and Story; “ George Kling’s Gift (including ‘‘ The Widow’s Mite ”’). Report on “ White Wings.” Tutrty-First Sunpay (April-May). : ; ; ; : t : ; é Criticism of last Sunday’s service; Use of “ picture gallery; ”’ Worship service sugges- tions; Picture study; Story, “‘ Peter and John and a Lame Man.” Reports on: ‘‘ Popu- larity of Our Class; ” “‘ Worship Service Growing Out of Weekday Activity.” Tuirty-First WEEKDAY. : : ; : : é * : i ; : : Hiking and Planning. Reports on: ‘“‘ Good Sportsmanship; ” ‘ Alternative for Hike.” Tutrty-Seconp Sunpay (May) : ; : : i : , : : : Great Teacher dramatization; Mothers’ Day program; Possible gift for church. Re- ports on: “ A Mothers’ Day Inspiration; ” “ Council Meeting.” Tuirty-SECOND WEEKDAY : : a F ‘ : : : ; : : Various Plans; Story, “ Half-Finished Land.” Reports on: “Stuart Will not Spoil this Hike;”’ “Tina is Not Weary in Well-doing;”” “Songs about Teachers are Not Forgotten; ’’ ‘‘ Council versus Action.” Tarety-Tutrp Sunpay (May) . ; : ; 3 : : ; ? ¢ : Preparation for Children’s Day and Exhibit. © Reports on: “Spring Worship Service Prepared by Anne;” ‘“ Children Plan their Exhibit; ”’ “ Children’s Day Service Grows Naturally.” Tuirty-Tutrp WEEKDAY. : ; : ; : ; : : ; : : : Planning the Exhibit. Reports on: ‘“‘ Exhibit Plans; ” Dramatization Saves the Day.” Tutrty-FourtH SunpAy (May). é 3 : ; : : ; ; Talk, on “ Be Not Weary in Well-doing; ” Story, “ The Man at the Pool.” Tuirty-FourtH WEEKDAY (May) ‘ : : : : ; ; : i : The Exhibit; Story, “ The Boy Who Learned Most.” Reports on: ‘“‘ The Tragedy of Karl’s ‘Bible’; ” ‘‘ Whole-hearted Preparations; ”’ ‘‘ The Exhibit; ‘‘ Overheard at the Exhibit; ’’ ‘“‘ Real Hosts and Hostesses;”’ ‘‘ Tributes to Our Class.” Tairnty-Firra Sunpay (June) . : : . ; ; : : ; Reviewing the Exhibit; Poem, ‘“‘ Children Who Walk in Jesus’ Way.” Tatraty-Firta WEEKDAY : d : : : : ; : : 5 Final Preparations for Children’s Day. Report on “ The Friendship Project.” Turrty-SixtH Sunpay (June: Children’s Day) : ; ; ; ; : Reports on: “ Our Class in the Service; ” “ Our Class through the Summer.”’ 174 177 181 184 185 187 189 a: — rs — _-* hah Sr ss y « hal FOREWORD The Story of How This Course Grew To be a true pedagogue — this is the ideal for every Christian teacher of religious education, and the word takes on a new and beautiful significance when we remember its original meaning. The two Greek words of which it is composed stood in ancient times for that person in the Greek household whose duty it was each day to take the children of the house to the house of their tutor. The pedagogue himself rarely taught. His high office was to lead the child to the master teacher, there to be taught by him. There have been many courses of lessons which, in the hands of conscientious teachers and lovers of children, were designed for that very end. But through them the children and their leader met the great Teacher only once a week, on a day set apart from ordinary living, and under artificial conditions. The ancient pedagogue led his charge each day to the master. A brief hour once in seven days is not enough time for the teacher of a Way of Living. This fact is now universally recognized, so supplementary weekday courses have grown, giving opportu- nity for extending religious education into the week. Since these courses are complete in themselves, not dependent upon the Sunday lessons nor closely related to them, it means that children may be studying two distinct courses in religious education, one taught on a weekday, one on Sunday, each with a different leader, a different aim and perhaps rivaling each other in interest. In view of this situation a special committee was given the task of preparing a Sunday and weck- day program which should be a unit in itself. Such a course must provide for Sunday “ lessons ”’ to be continued in the weekday sessions, weekday stories and activities leading up to the next Sunday’s program, and experiences on both days which would furnish material for real worship. The committee undertook the work only for one grade. The third was chosen, and the group around the table settled down to consider the problems of children eight years old, for the course was to be built upon their problems. It was as if there were no existing lessons of any kind, Sunday or weekday. There was no “ body of material” which the committee felt bound to include; no specific portions of the Bible had been staked out for study or memorization. The thoughts of the group were concerned only with John and Mary and their contemporaries. What could their church do with this opportunity of leading them at least two days in the week to their Master Teacher? Obviously, to lead a child anywhere, we must look about first and find out where he is. He is not normally in the Arabian desert, nor on the top of Mt. Nebo, nor plunged in the depths of despair, nor sitting in a brown study pondering life choices. It may be desirable eventually to lead him toward or away from some of these milestones, but we have to start from the place where he is. Where is he at eight, and in the fall of the year? We find all his interests (which represent him) centered in home, school and play. But do these hold any problems for him, which the church can help him solve? Every new day presents new problems to a child. Before he is old enough to enter school he knows one world, his home. His parent’s word is law; he is accustomed to certain standards; he has a few social contacts. At six or thereabouts he is thrust into a new world, his school. He finds a new authority here; a set of standards which may or may not be consistent with those he knows at home; new relationships; many contacts. It is a puzzling and oftentimes baffling task he has, to adjust himself to this new world, and it may take years to reconcile one with the other. The church should not confuse him further by creating another world for him. Rather its task shall be to interpret for him those he already knows religiously, helping him to find the reason for things as they are and to make choices according to the highest standards of all, looking to Jesus for the final authority. ix x FOREWORD The committee was in close touch with children, some as parents, some as teachers. There came a rapid fire of questions, as the group turned time backward in its flight, and became eight years old: “Why do I have to learn tables? go to school? do hard things? Why do I have to mind? Why does the teacher like Joe better than me?” “Why can’t I hold the flag? lead the march? Why is the teacher so cross sometimes? Why do I have to keep still? Why can’t we tell each other the answers? How can I know what I mustn't do? Why don’t the children like me? What makes Angelo talk so funny? Tom hit me; why shouldn’t I hit back? Should I ever hit back? Why can’t I go to the movies? ”’ A child’s problems are endless. He is trying to learn how to live, which gave the committee the clue for its program building. The first month would be devoted to interpreting school rela- tionships religiously. Here was a start on the child’s own ground. One member of the committee was to try out the programs as outlined, in her own church in a New England village. Another church in a northern city offered to furnish a second experiment station. From the interests of the children in these two groups, and the actual needs brought to light by their responses, the course would develop. It was understood that although the programs were outlined more or less in detail, they would not be slavishly followed. No committee in the world can provide material a month ahead which will be guaranteed to fill the demands of a special group at a given date, even though the leader of one may be a member of that committee. Little and big emergencies arise which must be dealt with at once, and carefully laid plans for the session are often shot to pieces. No one can tell just when a quarrel, a demonstration of selfishness, an epidemic, or a national disaster may occur, yet any one of these may change the trend of a single program, if not an entire series. In fact, as it proved, that is exactly what happened. As month by month the committee met, before it did any work on the next month’s program, it heard what the last month’s had brought forth. The detailed reports from both experiment stations showed how the original outline had been used, changed, or discarded, what responses had caused substitutions, and what these substitu- tions were. Thus the committee knew when “ tattling ’’ was rampant; when Marion told a lie; the painful results when Stuart lost his temper; how hard it was to make John join in the games; when good times as well as whole programs were spoiled by the general lack of self-control; when a father’s store was saved from a fire, as a direct answer, so Florrie thought, to her prayer. The committee knew, and bent all its efforts to helping actual children with actual problems, for it recognized these groups as normal children and the problems as well-nigh universal. What was done to help them might be of value to other children. And so the course grew steadily from the inside. A nature-study hike would lead naturally to the desire to share one’s discoveries with others, and a worship service planned by the class for the whole department would follow. The planning of, working for, and subsequent discussion of one enterprise would lead to the undertaking of a more elaborate one in the hope of better results. Thus one project after another was carried through by the children with whole-hearted enthusiasm, because each was initiated by them or became theirs through a natural appeal. ‘“‘We made that song ourselves; it’s all ours!” “Wasn't that a nice party, though? Some different from the Christmas one, — we didn’t run that!” “Tt would have been better,’ (a program) “ if we'd paid more attention. Can’t we have some-: thing else like that sometime? ” (Before a party) ‘‘ Gee, I hope I don’t get acting funny! ” Such comments show not only the children’s pride in achievement, but their real desire for im- provement. To be interpreters of life for the child the church-school teacher must naturally know his whole environment. Through visits to the homes and day-school classes both the mothers and teachers became heartily interested in the Sunday and weekday program, stating many of their own prob- lems, and suggesting ways in which the class program might help them. That mothers are and FOREWORD xi always will be sympathetic with enterprises which honestly seek to teach their children how to live was repeatedly manifested by their ready cooperation in any plan which involved them. Those who promised in the first place that attendance upon the class should be as regular as school attendance faithfully kept their word. In several cases this decision meant that dancing school must be given up in favor of the class. Their over-appreciation of the enterprise was shown in such comments as, “A is a different boy since the classes began. He is so thoughtful and considerate. Even his father has noticed the difference. Let me know if I can help in any way.” They were as good as their word. A telephone call rallied them with anything from offers of cakes to needles and thimbles, and at any expression of gratitude from the leader the response came, “Who should do it if not the mothers? We certainly appreciate what is being done for our children.” After special effort put forth in any direction these mothers were sure to tell the leader just how the result was showing at home. For they and the day-schoo! teachers knew that the test of success of any course in religious education is not in how many passages of Scripture, hymns, or other beau- tiful poems have been learned, though these are bound to come in as a part of a program growing out of children’s religious needs. Rather it lies in answers to such questions as these: Are the children a little more kindly, a little more thoughtful and unselfish, a little more truthful and obedient, a little fairer in games, a little less quarrelsome and more self-controlled, a little more loving and helpful, a little readier to do hard tasks, a little more cheerful in the face of disappointment, — at home, in school and on the playground? Thus mothers and day-school teachers can best measure the success or failure of any course which aims to lead the children to the feet of the great Teacher. The record of the growth and trying out of this course is now placed at the disposal of leaders who are interested in a unified program of Sunday and weekday religious education, and who wish to use it as a basis for a similar enterprise. The programs as originally outlined by the committee are given, together with the detailed re- ports from the two experiment stations. These records show how differently the course was used by different leaders, demonstrating both the elasticity of the programs and the possibility of shaping them to every new group. They contain much more material than can be used, but not too much to select from. The records show how certain stories were used in one group, and certain sugges- tions taken over bodily, while the other group selected others of the stories and discarded entirely the suggestions given. The faithful setting down of incidents as they occurred, however unrelated to the program as planned, together with the method of dealing with them at the time or later, is not done because any one leader considers herself an authority on ways of handling difficulties. On the contrary, the leader often appears in an extremely poor light. They are recorded because they happened and Jed to changes or modifications of plans, as is shown. The verbatim responses of children are sometimes encouraging, sometimes the opposite, but they are actually true, and often indicate how the leader is failing or succeeding. The Two Experiment Stations School A was located in a New England village. The entire third grade of the church school, thirteen in number, were members of both weekday and Sunday classes. On Sunday the worship was in common with the rest of the department, conducted by the superintendent, who was also teacher of the third grade and leader of the weekday class. The Sunday session was held directly after ¢hurch, from twelve to one. The weekday session was on Saturday morning from nine-thirty to eleven. Attendance was not obligatory. The co- operation of the parents and the children’s own interest kept attendance absolutely regular with eight, and only a little less so with the others. The expenses were met from the church budget. This class started on the first Sunday in October and continued without interruption through Children’s Day, the second Sunday of the following June. School B was located in a northern city. Of the twenty-two children in the third grade of this church school nine made up the weekday class. The superintendent of the entire department was leader of the weekday class. The third grade on Sunday was so large that it held its worship xii FOREWORD services separate from the rest of the department. These were conducted by the assistant super- intendent, who used the Sunday worship material suggested in this course. International Graded Lessons were used in the Sunday classes, so the material here given for Sunday class work was not used, except in part. The keynote which the programs struck on Sunday, the weekday leader used as a prelude for her weekday session. Reports from this school, therefore, are from two different sources, the teacher of the week- day class, and the leader of the worship period on Sundays. The Sunday session was held from nine-thirty to ten-thirty, the weekday on Thursday afternoon from three forty-five to five. Regularity of attendance was secured by registration cards signed by parents, who promised to place this on a par with day school. Expenses were met by the church budget. This station was a part of a graded school for week- day religious education, and opening was delayed. ‘The first occasion, therefore, that any material from this course was used was on the first weekday session, November first. For assistance in the planning of the course, for their criticism of the material as developed and for experimentation upon it, the writer is indebted to the following people: Dr. Benjamin S. Winchester Dr. Hugh S. Hartshorne Miss Frances Weld Danielson Mrs. Millacent P. Yarrow Mrs. Lansing A. Lewis Miss Florence Morrison Time Division of Sunday Sessions The course begins with the first Sunday in October. As there are no previous programs with which to connect, a seasonal theme is suggested for the first Sunday’s worship. The individual leader and her class will, as a rule, wish to plan their own worship services. What- ever material is given each week is intended to be merely suggestive. As an illustration of a seasonal worship service, however, as well as to show different ways of dividing a departmental session, the first Sunday’s worship program is given in detail with two different time divisions. A third is in- dicated. The pre-session period, used for practising songs, making scrap-books, other handwork, or story-telling, is taken for granted. Plan I. Four Periods First Departmental Period . : : A ; : : 10 minutes (Opening Service of Worship) First Class Period ; : . : : : : 15 minutes (Classes Separated by Grades) Second Departmental Period Z : : f : 15 minutes (Worship and Fellowship) Second Class Period . d , 15 minutes (Classes Separated by Grades) : : : é . : 5 minutes Brief Dismissal . 60 minutes (For advantages in this arrangement read Methods for Primary Teachers, by Hazel A. Lewis, pages 60-62, 104-106. This is the plan followed in outlining the programs in this course, although, as will be seen by the two sample sessions, the same material may be used with a different time ar- rangement.) FOREWORD Plan II. Two Periods Departmental Worship Period Class Period 2 Closing Service . Plan If. Three Periods First Class Period ; Departmental Worship Period Second Class Period . Brief Dismissal . (Classes Separated by Grades) . 20-25 minutes 30-35 minutes 5-10 minutes 60 minutes 15 minutes 25 minutes 15 minutes 5 minutes 60 minutes xiii FIRST SUNDAY October (Worship material in this and following pro- grams is arranged according to Plan I, the plan followed by both experiment schools; children’s responses are noted where they actually occurred; other reports of Schools A and B at close of programs.) FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Ten minutes) Quiet Music Ending with Song. ‘“ This Is God’s House,” (Songs for Little People). Reading. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. — Ps. hey tees Conversation. I’m always particularly glad to come into his house after Promotion Day; there are so many new children here. We shall miss the class that has left us, so we are glad you have come to take their places. Then I’m always especially glad to come here when I’ve seen something wonderful which the heavenly Father has done that I want to talk about. ‘‘ This is God’s house,” and we come to it on his day on purpose to talk about him, and to him, and hear stories from his Book. I like to bring things to his house that remind us of him. FLorrie (suddenly pointing to the autumn decorations): The leaves! Last week William said he wanted to bring his engine, because God made the iron for it, — do you remember? And we found a verse in God’s Book about the deep places of the earth where God hides the iron. I have seen this week some- thing else which the heavenly Father did, and “ I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord,” because I wanted to talk about it. I have seen something wonderful. (For the following may be substituted the de- scription of a beautiful sunset after a stormy day, or the emerging from its chrysalis of a butterfly.) A week ago I drove through a lovely valley of green trees and shrubs and meadows. Yesterday I drove through the same valley, but it was dif- ferent. Something wonderful had taken place! It wasn’t all green trees and shrubs. God had done something to them. A whole tree was bright red. Another was yellow. One was green except the tips of the leaves. They were red. I couldn’t have done it. No man or woman could. Only God could have done anything so wonderful. A song keeps running in my head, a song we have sung, but I have changed the words of part of it because the autumn trees were so wonderful that I felt like singing about them instead of about flowers. Would you like to sing my wonder-song? I have written it on the board for you. And then let’s bow our heads and say our thanks. “We thank thee, oh, our Father, For all thy loving care; We thank thee that thou madest The earth so bright and fair. We thank thee for the seasons That show thy work divine, For changes round us telling New wonders that are thine.” Song. Prayer. Dear heavenly Father, thy gifts to us make us want to sing to thee and to speak to thee. Help us always to see in everything around us the work of thy love, and always feel like thanking thee, and pleasing thee. Amen. Offering. Jesus told us of another way we could show God that we love him and feel like thanking him. He said that helping others would show it. So we bring our gifts to his house. The money we bring to send away to help other chil- dren. Let us tell our heavenly Father that we want our gifts to help others. Prayer. ‘* Father, bless the gifts we bring thee, Give them something sweet to do; May they help some one to love thee; Father, may we love thee too.” (If the conditions are favorable, it would be ideal to have this service out-of-doors where the trees in their glory may be seen. The children would at the close march back at once to their classes, chairs having been placed for them in the meantime by assistants. If the service is indoors, the children pass to their classes at the close of the brief worship period. To make this change 2 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER expeditiously and in orderly fashion where chairs have to be moved, use four chords and march music. First chord: children sit in position, lap emptied; second: rise; third: face chairs; fourth: lift chairs by the seat and march to classes.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD (Fifteen minutes) Norte: This is generally used to recall the last Sunday’s story or weekday experience by discus- sion or some expressional activity, in preparation for the new material. Today, being the first Sunday, the new material — generally presented last — will be given first. Have on hand the fol- lowing pictures from the International Graded Lessons: “The Boy Jesus in the Temple,” “Jesus and the Children,” ‘‘ Feeding the Five Thousand,” Primary Picture Set No. 2, and “ Jesus Teaching His Disciples to Pray,” Pri- mary Picture Set No. 3. (The first story tries to make learning how to live a universal occupation for all of God’s crea- tures, and Jead the children to the feet of Jesus as the Master Teacher. At this time the leader guides the children’s talk to schools.) How many schools do you go to, John, Dora? Do any but children go to school? Do animals? Grown-up people? CHILDREN’S Responses: “ Babies, or how could they learn anything? ” “Home is the best school to learn things.” ‘| know the birds go to school, because I heard a lot of them saying good-bye to another bird as they flew away from her.” Story. In Happy VALLEY There was once a town which was so new that it had in it, so far, only houses and a church. Some day you will hear how the town was dis- covered, and how the families moved in, but today I want to tell you what some children in it found out. As there had been no time yet to build a school, the children in the families occupied themselves in all sorts of ways, helping with the new houses, taking care of the animals and playing with each other. One day several of them who had been playing together a long time grew tired of their game, and sat down to rest. “‘Isn’t it funny to have no school? ” said Alice, for of course they had gone to school regularly before they came to Happy Valley, the name of their new home. “IT shouldn’t mind school,” said Billy, “if we didn’t have to work so hard learning things.” School A. Joun: Oho! That’s all the good of school. “Tt’s no fair making us children go to school all the time. Nobody else has to. I'd rather be a dog or a cat or a baby or something.” “Or else be all grown-up,” added Freddy. ‘“‘ When you're old you don’t have to go to school.” Nobody knows what would have been said next, for sombody shouted, ‘“‘ There’s Miss True! ” and the children jumped up as if an electric but- ton had been touched which sent them flying down the street. Miss True seemed to be the friend of every child in town. She dropped the hand of one now to wave to the boys and girls running toward her. Martha and Alice were still laughing at Billy and Freddy. ‘What do you think, Miss True)” they giggled. ‘‘ We were talking about school, and Freddy and Billy said they wished they could be dogs or cats or babies or grown-up people so they wouldn’t have to learn things.” ‘Oh, you are funny children!” laughed Miss True. ‘Don’t you know that everybody — there! I don’t believe Ill tell you!” ‘Oh, please go on!”’ the children clamored, in- terested because it sounded like asecret. ‘‘ Every body whai?”’ But Miss True wouldn’t tell them. “I’m taking some catnip to Mrs. Gray,” said Miss True. “ Want to come too?” Mrs. Gray was Miss True’s cat. Of course the children wanted to visit her. But Mrs. Gray was not at home. The children looked everywhere. It was Billy who spied her at last coming through the field back of Miss True’s house. She was carrying a_half-dead mouse in her mouth and leading her four kittens. “‘ Well, Mrs. Gray,” said Miss True, “ did they learn their lesson well today? I think,” she ex- plained, turning to the children, “she’s been taking her children into the field to show them where to find mice. It’s one of their ways of living, you know, catching mice. Perhaps she AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 3 hasn’t finished her lesson. Let’s watch.’ So they watched while Mrs. Gray led her kittens into the shed and laid the mouse upon the floor. It seemed dazed at first, but the moment it stirred Mrs. Gray was ready to pounce upon it. “Why, she’s teaching them how to catch mice! ” exclaimed Billy, for sure enough, one of the kit- tens, looking like a small imitation of her mother, suddenly crouched and sprang just as her mother had. “I didn’t know the baby kittens had to learn things like that,”’ said Alice, and Miss True said, “They have to learn to live, you see.” They turned away from the shed. “I’m going down to the church to sort out some pictures,” she went on. “If you’d like to help me, I’d love to have you.” They started down the street, scufiling through the leaves as they went, it made such a pleasant sound. Ahead of them boys were raking more leaves to put on a big bonfire. “Oh, dear!’ cried Alice, in a frightened voice, “look at that baby, — he’s going right into the bonfire and he’ll get burned!’ She ran forward, and the others followed. A tiny child was indeed toddling toward the fire, but every now and again he stopped and looked back. They needn’t have feared that no one was trying to save him, for as they drew near they heard a voice repeating firmly, “ No, no, baby, no, no!” It was the baby’s mother, whom they had not seen at first, and it was her voice which made the baby stop and look around every few steps. “Why doesn’t she go and snatch him away? ”’ exclaimed Patty, fairly jumping up and down in her excitement. That was what she wanted to do herself. “She’s trying to teach him to mind without hurting himself first,’’ Miss True told her. “* Oh, dear, I hope he does! ’’ wailed Alice. don’t want him to be hurt!” They watched. The baby took another step forward. * No, no,” said the mother again, as he looked around. He seemed to be saying to himself, ‘‘ Mother is very strange not to want me to find out about that nice bright thing. But she probably has her reasons, and I might as well make her happy and do what she wants.” He gave a little crowing sound and ran back into his mother’s outstretched a | arms, and anybody, even the baby, who was hugged and kissed and told what a good boy he was, could have seen that it did make her happy. “Lucky thing for him he minded,” observed Billy as they walked on. “We all have to learn,”’ said Miss True, as if she were talking to herself. ‘“He’s starting school before he realizes it.” “School!”? echoed Martha and Freddy to- gether. * When I say ‘ school,’ you see,” explained Miss True hastily, “I mean whatever teaches you to live.” Alice thought about the kittens and began to laugh. ‘‘ Were the kittens going to school, then, Miss True? Oh, ho!” But to their surprise Miss True answered, “I suppose they were.” At the church Miss True put a pile of pictures on the table, saying, “ One or two are going on the walls. Do you want to help me choose which? ” They gathered around her eagerly. As they looked over the pictures they talked about them. One was like this. (Show “ The Boy Jesus in the Temple.’’) School A. Showing pictures inter- rupted the story. Another time the leader would wait until close of story. “What is Jesus doing?” they asked Miss True. “He is learning from the wise men in the temple; that was the way boys went to school in those days.” “School!’”’ said the children to each other. There it was again. They couldn’t seem to get away from the idea. Even Jesus went to school. ** What is he doing there? ” asked Franklin, and held up a picture like this. (Show “ Jesus Feed- ing the Five Thousand.”) You know the story of it, and so did Franklin, but Miss True told it to them again. The children looked at the picture silently. They felt that they loved this man who was so kind, and who couldn’t bear to have the people go away from him hungry. Miss True went on looking through the pile. “* He was always teaching people how to live,” she said. ‘“‘ Oh, here he is with his special pupils. He called them disciples, for a disciple means one who learns.” She showed them this. (Show “Jesus Teaching His Disciples to Pray.”’) 4 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER One of the children said, ‘‘ They look as if they were going to school to him, don’t they? Only the school’s out-of-doors.” “They’re kind of old to be going to school,” said Billy. “ But I guess nobody was too old to go to school to Jesus.” “Or too young,” them this. (Show ‘“ Christ Blessing Little Chil- dren,” still keeping the other pictures in sight.) The children looked from one to another of the pictures. In one Jesus was helping people. How kind he was! In another he was teaching. The disciples must have loved their teacher, they were listening so hard. In the third he was showing that he was the friend of little children. Nothing was said for a long time as Miss True held the pictures for them. Then Alice said, “ I’d like to go to school to him.” “* Anybody would,’ declared Freddy. They chose these three pictures to be hung on the wall and left a little while after that. But it wasn’t until after they had gone to their homes that Billy suddenly realized that he’d changed his mind about some things. If little babies and even animals were learning all the time how to live, he certainly didn’t care to have them getting ahead of him and finding out more than he did. School wasn’t so bad after all. Even grown-up people didn’t stop learning. Why, everybody —and then, do you know, he finished Miss True’s sentence all of a sudden. Everybody — he knew what she was going to say. He couldn’t wait to tell the others. What do you think it was? SEVERAL CHILDREN: to school? (After the story the children will look at and handle the pictures shown, making their own comments.) School A. Joun: Oh, I wish J could have gone to school to him! (Same response in School B.) Everybody goes (Note children’s attitude and comments to build upon later. In showing ‘“ Christ Blessing the Children ”’ lead their thoughts to the song, “1 Think, when I Read that Sweet Story.”’ Ask if they would like to sing it for the rest, in the next worship period, or if they would like to have the department sing it.) Chords and March to Assembly. added Miss True, showing SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Fifteen minutes) Song. (Leader explains that the third-grade class has a song they would like to have the de- partment sing. She asks one child to stand in front, holding the picture for the song, “TI Think, when I Read that Sweet Story of Old.”) Birthday Service. Nore: Some departments recognize birthdays each week, other larger de- partments once a month. They are purposely not indicated in these outlines, the writer taking for granted that each leader will prefer her own method and time for conducting the service. If it is a part of the worship program, however, care should be taken to keep it worshipful. We are trying to “interpret the child’s surroundings re- ligiously.” A birthday offers another chance to remind him that his heavenly Father cares how he grows, is pleased by his successes and disap- pointed if he fails. We find no place, therefore, for birthday cakes or other artificial accessories. The following is an illustration of a birthday service which can be made impressive. Leaver: A few minutes ago we were talking about wonderful things God does. Did you ever think of growing up as wonderful? Once I heard a story about a child who went into a garden one day and kneeled down by a pool of water. The garden was very young, with only tiny trees starting to grow in it. The child looked into the water. He gazed for a long time, and while he gazed something strange happened. He changed from a child to a tall boy, then to a young man, and finally, when he looked up again, he was an old man with a gray beard, and the garden was grown up all around him. ‘There were great trees so tall that he could not see their tops. He stood in wonder. But that is just what does happen, isn’t it? While we are not even thinking about it, God is changing us from babies to children, and from children to men and women. It is wonderful whether it takes an hour to do it, or sixty years. John and Ada have birthdays this week. (Have them come forward.) I like to think of our heavenly Father who gave us life in the first place watching us and helping us as we grow from babies to children, and from children to men and women. John and Ada are AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 5 a year older, and taller and stronger and wiser than they were a year ago. He is watching to see just how they are growing, just as he watched his Son Jesus, and is proud and glad when his other children grow more like Jesus. (Use the new version of ‘‘ We Thank Thee, oh, Our Father,” substituting “ our birthdays” for . “the seasons.” “We thank thee for our birthdays That show thy work divine, For changes round us telling New wonders that are thine.” Follow this by the birthday offering.) Songs and Conversation. (Depending upon time and children’s observations.) Prayer. (Gathering up the main thoughts brought out in the two worship periods.) Chords and March to Classes. SECOND CLASS PERIOD (Fifteen minutes) (Talk with the class about meeting on a week- day. Find out: 1. What the children would like to do during the year, making a note of their suggestions before them, — stories, hikes, games, work, dra- matizations, etc.) CHILDREN’S SUGGESTIONS: Parties, stories, plays, “ let’s sing lots,”’ ‘‘ sew dolls’ clothes,” ‘saw wood,” “‘ write verses,” “go on hikes,” “ go snowshoeing in the winter,” “go. skiing,” “play games,” “have races,” ‘play baseball,’ ‘ build snow forts,’ march, dance, eat. 2. What they shall call themselves — club, class, band, group. JoHn: Oh, yes, we’ve got to have a name, like “the Masons.” 3. What they shall do on the first weekday meeting. Suggest, if they do not, a hike for autumn decorations for Sunday school, or a nutting party. Ask if they have been talking in school about such outdoor things as nests and cocoons, which they might collect on the hike. Plan what to do with any nuts, and suggest using autumn flowers and leaves for both Sunday and day school, — Sunday school first if the hike is on Saturday, otherwise day school first. School A. As no nuts were near enough, we decided to hike for autumn leaves to decorate church. BRIEF DISMISSAL ALTERNATE FIRST SUNDAY October (Worship material arranged according to Plan II) DEPARTMENTAL WORSHIP PERIOD (Twenty to twenty-five minutes) Quiet Music Ending with Song. (For details under this and following headings see First Sunday.) Reading. Conversation. Song. Prayer. Offering. March. Prayer. Song. A familiar one, chosen by the children. Birthday Service. Songs and Conversation. Prayer. Chords and March to Classes. CLASS PERIOD (Thirty to thirty-five minutes) BRIEF DISMISSAL FIRST WEEKDAY A Hike 1. Games Which Can Be Played Follow My Leader; Duck on the Rock. Roadside Cribbage. A certain number of counts are accredited to the child who first catches sight of specified objects. For instance, a squirrel may count five, a rabbit ten, a bird’s- nest five, a cocoon ten. The objects and number of points for each one may be decided upon together. Nut or Leaf Pass. Like Peanut Pass. Two parallel lines face each other. At the end of each is a supply of nuts or autumn leaves. No. 1 takes one, passes it to No. 2 and takes another as quickly as possible, the same number of nuts to be passed on each side. End one of each line puts them in pile. First line whose pile is finished beats. Two Deep. Like Three Deep, except that children form in single instead of double circle. Japanese Tag. One who is It must chase others, holding his hand on the place where the last chaser tagged him. It is possible that the children will introduce the subject of school, which will lead to talk of animal schools. If they do not, the game Follow My Leader will introduce it, or a reference to last Sunday’s story about all of God’s creatures “going to school.” (See Handbook of Nature Study, by Anna Botsford Comstock, on the edu- cation of young animals and games played by lambs.) 2. An Autumn Story to Tell “Goldenrod and Aster,” from The Children’s Hour, by Bailey and Lewis. One of the children may offer to retell this in school, or if the group represents several rooms in school, one from each group. Leader will provide for this by sending notes to teachers saying John or Mary has a story to tell. If nuts are gathered, decide what to do with them; get as many interesting bits of nature as possible to carry to school, as well as flowers and autumn leaves for decorations. 3. Familiar Autumn Songs Such songs will lead naturally to the suggestion that this little group plan the worship service for the following Sunday, with the idea of sharing with the whole department the pleasure of this day. There may be a chance for out-of-door worship. 4. Return to the Church Decorate it, if it is Saturday; if the middle of the week, the children may make autumn bou- quets for their schoolrooms. 5. Planning a Worship Service The leader explains how she prepares a service of worship, sharing with the class the reasons for and meaning of each part. She brings illustra- tions from a typical church service or one used recently in the department. Then the children take song-books, choose hymns and _ practise them, selecting verses which would be appropriate, and help to arrange the order of the material used. Alternative for Hike Leader brings leaves and flowers to church school, where the children meet instead of having an outdoor session. The children decorate the room, if it is Saturday; perhaps hear an autumn story like “ Goldenrod and Aster,” which one offers to retell in school; (in this event the leader sends a note to the teacher saying that Henry or Mary has an autumn story to tell); sing autumn songs and practise others; plan a worship period for the following Sunday. If the session is in the middle of the week, the children can make up bouquets for teachers. Report of School A on Hike Played, Follow My Leader while in town (the only way to keep the twelve together and in order); then Roadside Cribbage. Talked about play of animals teaching them how to live. Leader told ‘Goldenrod and Aster.” Anne offered to retell it in school. Children not in the mood for outdoor worship except for two or three brief moments under a tree after a boy had found a bird’s-nest hidden among the autumn leaves. We sang, “ We Thank Thee, oh, Our Father.”’ Children wel- comed the idea of planning their own worship service, — except John. Group returned almost buried beneath their load of autumn leaves. They decorated not only the Primary room, but the church auditorium. Children seemed to see parts of auditorium for AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 7 the first time; asked what the baptismal font was for. Leader told of Jesus’ baptism. John, sit- ting in front seat, noticed carving on communion table: “This do in remembrance of me.” An- other chance for a story of Jesus, and to interpret church symbolism. (See report of School A on Second Class Period of Seventh Sunday, to show how this interest was followed up.) They planned a service to be used on the fol- lowing day, but the boys were not interested after the first few minutes. Songs were chosen from those familiar, and a new one, “ Autumn Day,” was selected and practised. Leader was asked to put it on the board. A song learned in school was spoken of. FRANKIE: That would be good,- because the second grade knows it, too. Anne: I know an autumn poem, “ The Golden- rod is Yellow.” Joun: Aw, we all know that; we learned it in school. FRANKIE: Let’s all say it then. Stuart: You tell a story, Miss Bradley. Manion: Tell “ Goldenrod and Aster,” so they can all hear it. Exinor: Anne could tell it. It would be prac- tising for when she tells it in school. LeavER: We mustn’t forget who it is that gives all these autumn gifts. The service is to praise and worship Him, you know. What could we put in our prayer? OnE Cuitp: You could pray, and we could all sing, ‘ Father, we thank thee,” at the end. Leaver: What shall I pray about? Let’s think of what we’ve sung and talked about. We’ve said we were in God’s house, and thanked him in songs for his loving care and for his autumn gifts. What else can we do? ANOTHER CuiLp: We can bring our money. LEADER: How shall we bring it? In the church the minister sometimes says a verse about giving. Sometimes we sing a song while we bring our offering. ANNE: I know a verse, ‘‘ Freely ye received, freely give.”’ (Leader found those words are set to music, and the children decided to use the song. All practised singing it.) LEADER: We were thinking of what we could put in our prayer. Saying ‘ Thank you” is not all we put in our prayers. AnnE: We could ask God to help us to be good. Fiorrie: We could ask him to help us make others happy, like those little girls in the story. (See result of this planning in the next program. For a description of other worship services planned by the children see discussion and re- ports of a Thanksgiving worship service, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Sundays; a Christmas pro- gram, Twelfth Sunday; a spring worship service planned by boys, Twenty-fourth Sunday; an Easter program, Twenty-ninth Sunday; and a Children’s Day program, Thirty-sixth Sunday.) Report of School B on Indoor Session Our first session was held on a weekday, November first, indoors. A child’s opening re- mark on coming into the familiar Primary room, “Isn’t it nice to come here some other day be- sides Sunday? ”’ led the leader at once to suggest the song, “‘ This is God’s house, and he is here today.” The question, ‘ What other schools do you go to?” led to the discovery by one that home was a school where children learned all the time. After asking if any but children go to school, and getting answers, the leader told the first Happy Valley story given in the first Sunday program; showed suggested pictures during tell- ing of story, and after the story the children talked about them. ‘‘ Jesus Teaching the Dis- ciples to Pray ”’ reminded the class of the outdoor session of the church school held in the park during Children’s Week with the entire school and many visitors present. The talk about Jesus as a teacher brought just the response that was desired for “ going to school to Jesus.’’ We sang “T Think, when I Read that Sweet Story,” and started our note-books. Following the thought given in the worship material for First Sunday, the children drew pictures to remind them of how God’s work is shown in nature. They also made lists of all who “go to school.” We sang, “Father, we thank thee,” for all his wonderful work, and played a few games. There was interesting conversation about teachers and schools generally, revealing the fact that the private school pupils had more ‘“‘ freedom of speech’ than those from public school. Dis- cussion: Which course should they follow in weekday school? Decision: A happy medium. Children asked to help put away supplies. Never known before! A mother came for a child who had not wanted to come to the class — “ her play time had been spoiled ’’—but found the child teasing to stay. SECOND SUNDAY October FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD (All the worship material may come in one period. See Alternate First Sunday.) Opening Service of Worship (To be prepared and conducted in part or en- tirely by the children.) What School A Did Chords and March to Classes. Autumn leaves from the hike decorated the room. After the quiet music, “ This is God’s House,” leader explained that the third grade wished the whole department to share the pleas- ure of their walk, and had arranged an autumn service in which they hoped all would join. Call to Worship. “This is God’s House,” (by third grade). Praise Song. “We Thank Thee, oh, Our Father,” (new version). Conversation. About autumn_ trophies brought into the department. George, with horse-chestnuts, Lena, with branch of scarlet autumn leaves, John, with bird’s-nest, rose while the third grade sang song which they had prac- tised. Song. “ Autumn Day.” Offering Song. “Freely ye received, freely give.” Offering Prayer. Ending with the song re- sponse, ‘‘ Father, we thank thee.” FIRST CLASS PERIOD Response to Old Stories. (Refer to last Sunday’s story and have it retold. Additional matter discovered by children on subject of ani- mals “ going to school” should be discussed. Get suggestions as to next weekday session.) School A. The story was retold by all the children. The part which the leader bungled by poor handling of pictures, the children now had impressed upon them in the review. Same responses as last Sun- day, wishing they could have had Jesus as their teacher. When leader suggested that it was still possible one boy said, “ Well, let’s then. I’d like that.” Others eager. Leader said she had a great many pictures of Jesus teaching, and each pic- ture had a story. Exinon: We could look at them on Saturdays! SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (This period will also be planned for by the children.) What School A Did ‘‘The Goldenrod is Yellow,” (recited Poem. in chorus). Autumn Song. grade child.) Another Song. ‘“ Autumn Day.” Story. “Goldenrod and Aster,” Anne). Prayer. Thanking God for autumn gifts and asking that we might have thoughts like those of Golden Hair and Blue Eyes in the story, i.e.,. the wish to make everybody happy. (Led by Barbara, a second- (told by SECOND CLASS PERIOD The New Story. How Scnoots Came To Happy VALLEY Happy Valley was a very busy place. Per- haps it was because it was such a new town. There is always so much to do to a place where no people have ever lived. There was the wood to be hauled from the mountains to be sawed into boards to build new houses; there were gardens to be planted and cows and chickens and pigs to be raised, so there would be plenty of food. So far the only building that had been put up was the church. One morning, soon after Freddie and Billy and Alice and the rest took their walk with Miss True, little Jimmy Marks took from the bookcase a big book filled with pictures and printing. The pictures he could read, but not the printing. That was nothing to Jimmy but a mass of puzzling black marks. He wished he knew what they meant. They told more about the pictures than he could see in the pictures themselves. He ran to the kitchen where his mother was packing lunch in a box for his father. Every morning Jimmy’s father started off early to haul wood down from the mountains. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 9 “ Mother,” said Jimmy, “ when are you going to teach me to read? ” “O Jimmy,” answered his mother, “I wish I knew! Every day I think I shall have time to begin, but these are such busy days.” She snapped the lunch box shut and hurried with it in to his father, who was just finishing his break- fast. Jimmy ate his own breakfast, and as soon as he had finished said, ‘‘ Mother, can’t you start to teach me now? ” His mother was clearing the table and getting out the dish-pan. “ Jimmy,” she said, “I believe I will try to start today — just as soon as I get my work done.” Jimmy was so happy that he tried to turn a somersault. Then he ran outdoors and raced around the house three times. When he came in, hoping that his mother’s work would be done, he found her giving the baby a bath and heating her bottle of milk. So he sat down with his book to wait. As soon as the baby was fed his mother began to wash some clothes, and he looked his _ book through and through. It was filled with those queer, meaningless, black marks. Even the pictures were queer before you knew what they meant. He took the book in to his mother. ** What are those pictures, mother? ” he asked. “They’re maps, dear,” she answered. ‘‘ The different colors show the parts of the world where the wheat for our bread and cereal comes from, and the chocolate and rice. Won’t it be nice when you can read all about it for yourself? ” She went on rubbing the clothes she was washing. “Yes,” said Jimmy, his eyes sparkling. “When will your work be done, mother? ”’ “Sooner, if you help me,” she answered, so he helped her pin the clothes on the line. Then they made the beds and after she swept the dining- room and sitting-room, Jimmy dusted. Then they took a basket and went into the garden. Jimmy picked asters and calendula blossoms while his mother got some vegetables for dinner. He helped her husk the corn, wash the lettuce and scrub the potatoes. Then his mother sifted some flour and broke some eggs into a bowl and began to make a cake. She put the potatoes and the cake into the oven, put the corn in a kettle of boiling water on the stove, and then began to dust the rooms she had swept and to put them in order. By that time it was time for dinner, and after dinner the dishes had to be washed, and the clothes, which were dry now, brought in from the line and sprinkled. School A. Children’s attention wan- dered. Probably bored by story. Cer- tainly absorbed in the antics of a fly. LEADER (after fly had departed): I don’t wonder you weren’t so interested in the things Jimmy’s mother was doing. Jimmy wasn’t either. He thought she’d never get through, but they had to be done.” (Attention returned.) “Get your cap, Jimmy,” his mother said, ‘and we'll go take the baby for an airing.” Jimmy walked along beside her, asking her ques- tions about this and that — as he had been doing all day. Some she answered, and to others she replied, “ I don’t know, Jimmy; some time when I’m not so busy I'll find out about it for you.” Jimmy hoped when they got back from the walk that there would be time to start to learn to read, but do you know, by the time his mother had ironed the clothes she had washed in the morning, and darned Jimmy’s stockings, and fed the baby again and put her to bed, it was supper time and his father’s step was heard on the porch. “There’s daddy, and the day’s all over,” laughed Jimmy. “ You were going to teach me to read when your work was done, and it never was done, was it?” They kissed each other good-night and his mother went down-stairs. He was just dropping off to sleep when he heard her say to his father, “‘ I must get some one to help me with Jimmy. He should learn to read, but I haven’t time to teach him. I don’t even know the answers to some of his questions, and haven’t time to find them. What shall we do? ” “My dear,” said Jimmy’s father, ‘“‘ all the other mothers have been wondering the same thing, so the fathers tell me. All of you mothers are far too busy to teach the children all they need to know. The men today were talking of asking Miss True to help us out. She has plenty of time for teaching and story-telling and finding the answers to questions, for she does nothing else.” “The very one!” exclaimed Jimmy’s mother in great relief. ‘‘ Let’s ask her tomorrow if she will take Jimmy.” That is how the first school started in Happy ‘ 10 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Valley. And I shouldn’t be at all surprised if it was the way schools happened to be everywhere — should you? (After this story make on the blackboard a list of things the children are finding out through their teacher which weren’t discovered at home. Show how ‘black marks” suddenly begin to have meaning, figures and signs have names and sounds and can be used; maps are not simply pink and blue spaces, but have stories to them. Let there be free discussions with experiences of children. Make their teacher appear almost in the light of a fairy godmother, not using the name, but attributing to her the power to work wonderful changes.) School A. Leader wrote some German script on a pad, and showed some Chinese writing, all of which was like mere “ black marks ”’ to the class. - (Close with a prayer thanking God for all those who help us learn to live; for our mothers and fathers who show us first of all; for our school teachers who are their helpers, teaching us what our parents cannot because they have so much else to do; for Jesus, who taught us not how to read and write, but how to be happy and make others happy. Use this at the end of the class period, or as a closing prayer for the whole de- partment, unless the children have provided for a dismissal service.) SECOND WEEKDAY Games, Discussion, Story and Plans for Teachers Games Games, impromptu dramatizations and other forms of play will be used each week, not only for their recreational benefit, and the working off of surplus energy, but because play is one of the means by which we learn to live with others. Valuable lessons in fairness, cooperation, chiv- alry, honesty, may be taught through play, and emergencies will arise which will make the bring- ing home of these lessons necessary at different times in every group. Therefore, instead of the writer’s furnishing games for each session, it will be left to the individual leader to provide the play for her own group. Descriptions of games popular with eight-year-old children will be found in The Church at Play and The Mayflower Program Book, Perkins and Danielson. Problems and difficulties are bound to come up, and the leader will meet each situation as she sees fit. She may interject a story, illustration or discussion which will help the children to stop and consider causes and effects on the spot, Or she may prefer to weave such material into her next program as she prepares it. Here follows a typical situation and ways of meeting it: 1. Situation: Boys wanted to play Pom Pom Pull Away, girls, Jacob and Rachael. FLorRIE: Boys always want to play running games. I’m tired of running. Joun: Nobody wants to play sissy games. LeapER: What can we do? If the girls won’t play Pom Pom Pull Away, there won’t be enough to play at all, and if the boys won’t play Jacob and Rachael, there won’t be enough to play that. Anne: Let’s play something else we all like. Leaper: All right, what? Betty: Drop the handkerchief. Joun: Aw, that’s sissier’n the other! play Two Deep. FiorriE: I don’t want to run all the time. Leaver: We are just where we were before. Martian: Girls ought to have their choice. They always say “ Ladies first.” Leaver: Did you mean for the girls to play their choice first and the boys afterward? Martan: No, I meant the boys ought to do what we want. Let’s 11 Leaver: Oh, you meant “ Ladies first and gentlemen not at all.” Is that a rule? Martian: No, but — Leaver: Do you think it’s fair? (Silence.) FRANKIE: Let’s play ’em both. We can take turns. If you'll play our game, we'll play yours afterwards. Won't we, boys? Boys: Sure. Leaver: Is that fair, girls, to take turns? Grats: Yes. FRANKIE: Come on, then, [ll be It for Pom Pom Pull Away. LEADER: Wait a minute, boys. Gentlemen do have a rule, you know. Who has first choice according to the gentlemen’s rule? Joun: Ladies first. All right, boys, who’s Jacob? 2. Situation — practically the same: LEADER: Oh, come on, boys! I’m going to play. Hurry up and get into the game. The girls will play yours afterwards. Don’t you know any game’s fun if you play it hard enough? (Boys joined in half-heartedly, but entered into the spirit of it finally.) Stuart: It’s funny, but sometimes my teacher wants me to do something, like a pasting job or something, and I don’t want to do it at all. And then I do it and get so interested she has a hard time getting me to stop! 3. Situation — practically the same: Some discussion but not enough. Next ses- sion leader told “‘ The Gold Bugs,” a story of two gold bugs, neither one of which would play what the other wanted to, from Firelight Stories, by Carolyn S. Bailey. 4. Situation — practically the same: Leaver: That first day we talked about going to school to Jesus. (Show again “ Jesus with his Disciples ” and “ Jesus Blessing the Children.’’) Some of us wished we could go ourselves, Do you think you’d like him for a teacher, John? Why? (Write answers on the board.) How do you know he was like that? Those very disciples — the first ones who went to school to him— told us so. It’s all in this Book. (Show Bible.) Why did they take the trouble to write every- thing down, Mary? (So every one could know 12 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER what he taught them.) Does that mean that anybody that wants to can be a disciple or learner of his? Then we can go to school to him if we want to, can’t we? The whole point is, do we want to? It’s not often that children can pick out their own school teachers, is it? If you could, what kind would you choose? (Write answers on board.) The very best one there is, wouldn’t you? Can you think of any teacher being better than Jesus? If he were here this very moment, and we said, ‘“‘ Jesus, what should we do when half of us want to do one thing and half of us another? ” what do you think he would say? (Wait for answers. If there are none, open Bible to Luke 6:31,—‘‘ As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.’’) Discussion of Sunday’s Service of Worship Training in worship will be an important part of the year’s program. During these months an endeavor will be made, by explanation, illustra- tions and opportunities to build services of their own, to help the children to an appreciation of true worship. Plans which children themselves have a share in making are naturally entered into more whole-heartedly than those superimposed upon them, and the working for a goal understood and adopted by themselves becomes “ purposeful activity.” The discussion, following such a service, of the weak and strong points in it, will suggest improvements which will lead to a better under- standing of real worship. The leader asks if last Sunday’s service satisfied every one. How could it have been improved? Did it go smoothly? Could we have known the songs better? School A. more.” “Yes, we ought to practise Did everybody join in? Have these children ever been to a church service? School A. ‘ Yes, but this wasn’t like church.” How was ours different? How could we make ours a more dignified gift, more worthy to be offered to our heavenly Father? (Write criti- cism on blackboard to refer to another week.) Would the class like to try another, making it as near right as possible? Joun: Naw, I don’t like that stuff. How long do you think it would take? What should be done in preparation? Isn’t it fortu- nate that we can meet on a weekday and practise for such things? What kind of a service should the next one be? (Possibly they will suggest working toward a Thanksgiving service, possibly one sooner. Let them be thinking about the subject during the week.) School A. Children suggested a Thanksgiving service. Elinor wanted to sing ‘Pumpkins Are Heaped in Piles.” Another wanted the new version of “ We thank thee, oh, our Father.” Tina (afterward to a friend): Our class is going to give a show Thanksgiving. Story (Introduce the story by asking if the children like fairy stories with fairy godmothers in them. If some don’t, ask if they like stories with dragons in them. Say that you have one about both a fairy godmother and dragons.) Tye Farry GoDMOTHER’s GIFTS Prince Hal and the Princess Gwendolin were two royal children who lived long ago in a dis- tant land. They were both quite small, but the princess looked up to her brother as if he were the bravest, handsomest hero in the world. The young prince was really only a little older than his golden-haired sister, but his mother had taught him to be gentle and courteous and pro- tecting, so that Gwendolin from babyhood had always run to him, if she was frightened or hurt. Hal adored his little sister; she seemed so help- less, and he felt strong and brave beside her. Since their father, the king, was away at war with the dragons, Hal considered himself Gwendolin’s sole protector. One day as they were playing in the palace garden a rider came galloping up on a black horse to tell them that the king had been killed, the dragons had won in the battle, and that all the land would now be under the dragons’ spell. The poor queen-mother fainted, and never opened her eyes again. Prince Hall held his little sister close to him, trying to protect her from whatever harm might come, for the sky was already growing dark, and the air was filled with the victorious enemies. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 13 The king of the dragons came straight to the two children. “Hal” he breathed, “ here are the prince and princess. From now on they shall serve me. When they are grown — ha!” He never told what terrible thing he was plan- ning for them when they were grown, for Prince Hal, with both arms around his little sister, bravely faced the monster. “You shall not have my sister for your ser- vant, whatever you want of me,” he declared. The dragon’s eyes grew fiery. ‘* S-s-s-so,” he hissed slowly, for fear was be- ginning to creep into his heart. He could not bear to see even the slightest signs of love, for love always upset his plans. He himself under- stood nothing but hate, but he did know that strong love is more powerful than hate, and he did not propose to have these two chits of chil- dren get the better of him. “You shall both serve me,” he roared, ‘‘ but you shall not serve me together.” He was determined to separate them, thinking that would cure their love. With an angry ges- ture he tore them apart, and breathed a fiery breath over the land. At once a high crag with a castle on its height rose into the air, and Gwen- dolin was snatched away and swiftly carried up the steep wall of rock. Prince Hal, seeing to his horror that she was straightway imprisoned in the enchanted castle, started to climb the crag after her. him, before he could protest, and carried him far away to the north. Another steep, rocky for- mation suddenly rose from the midst of a desert, and into the castle at its summit the young prince was thrust with even less ceremony than was used with Gwendolin. “Now,” bellowed the dragon, satisfied that he had separated the loving children, ‘ you shall serve me as I command. Half of the time you shall wait upon my desires, the other half that precious sister of yours. So! Fetch a brush and a pail of oil and scrub my scales.” Prince Hal’s hands trembled, not with fright, but with anger, as he went about his work. The thought of the dainty princess serving this mon- ster in such a way made him so indignant that he longed to hurt the dragon, and make him cry out in sorrow over his eyil acts. It was useless, how- ever, for a boy to try to hurt the huge beast. A fierce tenderness for his little helpless sister But the dragon king returned, seized’ sprang up in his breast, which was the last thing the dragon desired. He had hoped to crush out the children’s love by separating them. Instead it grew by leaps and bounds, and if the dragon had only known, he would have raged in despair. Year after year went by. Never for one mo- ment did Hal forget Gwendolin, and though he knew not how she fared, or if she still remembered and loved him, he loved her the harder as time went on. He longed for wisdom and strength to help him break the spell of the wicked dragon. He longed for news of his sister Gwendolin. Now round about him all this time were any number of clues which, if he could have under- stood them, would have led to the fulfillment of all his desires. The walls of the castle, for instance, were decorated with designs in black. To the boy they were only black marks, having no meaning at all. : Every spring the swallows nested in the castle eaves. They chattered incessantly when they first came, and especially in the fall before leaving for the south. They would then become more and more friendly, even flying in at the windows and perching on Hal’s shoulders, chattering in his ear. But though he loved the little creatures, it neyer occurred to him that their chattering was more than meaningless bird sounds. High up on the rocks above the tallest towers of the castle was an eagle’s nest. For years Hal had watched the mother eagle teaching her chil- dren to fly. He had felt sorry for the young as they fell from the great height, fluttering and help- less, trying their wings but not daring to depend upon them. He knew the mother bird had pushed them out of the nest, for they would never teach themselves. He had watched them fall, and then seen the big eagle swoop down and bear them up again on her back. But to him the cries of the birds were for each other, and had nothing to do with him. | Far, far below him on-the desert little moving specks appeared now and then. Further than wondering about them he did not think that he could ever see them nearer. They were camels, and if he had known how to use the books in the castle, he could have read how these great beasts were used as “ ships of the desert.” The patter of the rain on the window was but the patter of the rain, and the howling of the wind only a dreary wail to Prince Hal. 14 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER But when he was twelve years old something happened. All the night before the prince had worked, waiting upon the dragon. It had been harder even than usual to please him, for he had come back from a battle in which he had been defeated. The dragon was now in a deep sleep, snoring loudly, and Hal wearily threw himself on a bench to rest his tired muscles. Suddenly, with no warning whatever, the room grew light. Hal sat up blinking his eyes. Who was that standing in the middle of the room, covered with a long black cloak? So surprised was he at first, at the thought of any one’s finding the castle, that instead of asking who it was, he stammered, “‘ Why, how — how did you get here? ”’ The visitor chuckled. ‘Ts that all you have to ask?”’ she cackled in a high voice. Hal suddenly remembered the manners which his mother taught him long ago. He stood up and pointed to a chair. 7 ‘“Won’t you sit down?” said he, and then, “Td like very much to know who you are.” ‘Well, I wondered whether you’d be curious enough to ask,” said the stranger. ‘It isn’t as if you’d ever seen me before to know me. I'd know you anywhere, though. You look exactly the same, only you’re bigger.” “Why, where did you ever see me?” “At your christening,” came the answer promptly. “I’m your fairy godmother. ‘I prom- ised I’d come around once in a dozen years and see that you had what you needed.” “Oh! ”cried Hal, seeing hope ahead. you get me out of this place? ”’ “No,” said his fairy godmother, “I certainly can’t. But I can help you to get yourself out. It’s surprising to me how little you’ve learned all this time. Why don’t you use your eyes and ears? ”’ “T thought I did,” said Hal, surprised. “Then why don’t you take the advice printed all around you and shouting to you in the air?” She pointed first to the black designs on the wall, and then to the window. “* Advice?’ repeated Hal, puzzled. The de- signs were merely black marks to him still. “What you need, my young prince,” said his fairy godmother, “is the seeing eye, and the understanding ear.’’ She touched his eyes and ears with her wand, said, “I'll come back in “ Can another dozen years and see how you’ve used my gifts,” and disappeared. Hal stood as she had left him, gazing into the space where she had been, trying to comprehend her words. He touched his eyes and ears, and puckered his forehead. It was very strange. Had he dreamed it all? He raised his eyes to the wall. What he saw there made him start. There before him, as plain as day, were words, words which he could read, and which meant something! Where had they come from? Why hadn’t he seen them before? Suddenly he realized that these words were made up of the meaningless black marks which he had been seeing for years; until his eyes were touched they had merely been a strange design. Now he could read them, and understand what they meant. This is what he read: Love will find a way To scale the loftiest wall, To cross the world and back again, For love will conquer all. For him that loves, no fears, No doubts can e’er appal; No trial is too hard or long, For love will conquer all. Who loves will stand his ground While all around him fall; His right arm holds the strength of ten, For love will conquer all. Prince Hal held up his head and new light came into his eyes. Those words were meant for him! They meant his great love for his little sister. He read them over and over until he knew them by heart. How should he find his sister? How could he even know that she was still alive? “‘ Twitter, twilter,’ chattered the swallows at the window. But to Hal’s amazement the sounds which he had heard over and over again were not merely chatter. They were words! And all these years he had been deaf to them! He opened the window wider. ‘‘Your sister, your sister,” the birds were calling. “Yes, yes, said Hal breathlessly, “my sis- ter —”’ “She waits your coming in her castle in the AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 15 south,” said one. ‘‘ Our winter home is under her roof.’ All day long she sings, ‘When my princely brother comes.’ ” Hal could hardly believe his ears. “Why haven’t you told me before? ” he asked impatiently. “We bring you messages every year,” they told him, “ but you would not listen before.” “I did not understand,” he acknowledged sadly. ‘‘ My ears had not been touched. But tell me, how can I find my sister? ” A general rustle and sound of many voices followed. The wind, which before seemed only - to moan and wail, was now speaking to him. The rain-drops which began to fall were not say- ing pilter, patter, but, “ We'll help you, we'll help you.” The eagle swooped down with the cry, “T'll bear you down on my back.” It seemed to Prince Hal that the clamor would surely reach the dragon’s ears, but his snores were the loudest sounds of all, as he slept noisily on. Down swooped the eagle. Hal hesitated. Should he ever dare trust himself to her back? Her children did. But dared he jump, risking a fall on the rocks below? Once more he turned to the marks on the wall. For him that loves, no fears, No doubts can e’er appal; No trial is too hard or long, For love will conquer all. He waited until the eagle swooped below him the third time, then, without hesitating a moment, jumped from the window and landed on her back. Down, down they-went, until they reached the desert far below. As Hal stepped to the ground, the eagle took fright and rose again at once; but as the boy turned he saw some camels coming across the sands. “Will you take me south across the desert? ” asked the prince when the largest one came near. The camel took him on her back and as Hal clung to her furry mane she swung across the desert as swift as the wind. She let him off at the shore of a lake. “T told you I would help,” said the water. “And I, too,” said the wind. ‘‘ Get into the boat and I will blow you across.” For there was a boat with a white sail and for miles and miles Hal sailed. From the farther shore he thought he could see, a great way off, what looked like a tall castle-like rock rising into the air. ““Gwendolin!”’ he cried, and ran toward it. Exhausted at last, and weak from hunger, he fell, and did not move until he heard the twitter of birds above him. “ Tell me,” he called to them, ‘‘ how far away is Gwendolin’s castle which I see in the distance? ” “That is only a mirage,” said the birds. “ Gwendolin’s castle where she awaits her princely brother lies far to the south yet. Can you walk farther? ” “ Across the world and back again! ” he called. With the words he felt strength returning, and he rose. On and on he walked, urging himself forward with the words: “No trial is too hard or long, For love will conquer all.”’ The more he thought of Gwendolin the more determined he was to rescue her. At last he could really see the castle. The sides for the first hundred feet were rough and rocky. After that they were as smooth as glass, without a single crevice for a foothold. He stood at the bottom looking up. He was weak, and not very old, but he remembered, “ Love will find a way To scale the loftiest wall.’ ‘“Gwendolin! Gwendolin!”’ he called. “ It’s Hal!” Far above ee a child’s face appeared at a window. “Hal!” cried the little princess. climb as far as my rope will reach! ” Hal began to climb. Up and up he went until at last he reached the smooth part. There at his head dangled a rope. Gwendolin had been mak- ing it for years, spinning flax into strands; weav- ing strands into cloth which the dragon had thought was for clothes for herself; braiding strips of cloth into a rope which grew so long year by year that Gwendolin lived in terror lest he should find the hiding place of the great ball. Hal seized the end, and slowly pulled himself up by it. In at the window at last Gwendolin helped him and clung to him as if she would never let him go. A hot breath and a roar of rage warned them of the dragon’s approach. “The dragon!” gasped Gwendolin. don’t let him take you away!” “Who loves!” began Hal, with his arms close “Oh, try to ‘6 Oh, 16 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER around his sister, and speaking in louder and ’ Jouder tones. “‘ Who loves will stand his ground.” The dragon was near enough to hear, so Hal changed one word to frighten him, — ‘‘ While DRAGONS round him fall!” The dragon king gave a despairing shriek, and a red flame of hate came from his mouth. ‘¢ His right arm holds the strength of ten,”’ went on Hal, while the dragon breathed fire again. ‘FOR LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL.” Hal waved his right fist out of the window in the dragon’s very face. The dragon gave one last snort, and then went up in a great flame. He had burned himself up in the blaze of hatred which flared as Hal reminded him of the power of love. At that moment the castle and crag sank to the ground, and the children found themselves once more in their old palace garden. The spell was broken. The prince and princess, although still very young, were proclaimed rulers, and because of their experience they ruled wisely and well. Hal had printed in beautiful letters on the walls of the palace the words which had meant so much to him, and when it became known throughout the land that the motto of the realm was ‘‘ Love WILL CONQUER ALL,” not a dragon dared remain in the vicinity or was ever seen again. Gwendolin grew to be tall and beautiful, and married the prince of a neighboring kingdom. Hal was then made king over his father’s people and found a lovely princess to be his queen. On his twenty-fourth birthday his first child was christened, and his fairy godmother appeared as he hoped she would. “Well,” she observed, evidently much pleased with the way he had used her gifts, “can I do anything for you or your child? ”’ ‘“ Dear godmother,” he replied, pointing to the motto on the wall, ‘‘ touch my child’s eyes and ears with your wand. The gifts of the seeing eye and the understanding ear are the greatest boon I can ask!” School A. Children wished the story repeated at once, but there was not time. School B. Children knew how alliga- tors looked, but weren’t sure about dragons. Both boys and girls liked story, but it was too long. Plans for Teachers (After the story play a lively game, have a march or calisthenics. Then let the children discuss the story freely, hoping they will be re- minded of the little boy in Sunday’s story who couldn’t read the “ black marks” any more than Prince Hal could.) What a pity that little boy had no fairy god- mother — or did he? School A. ‘He did, — Miss True!” (Hold up some Chinese or Hebrew writing to show just how meaningless such marks can be before we have learned how to understand them. It is for the children to discover the similarity between fairy godmothers and teachers. They could make up a conundrum, — why is a teacher like a fairy godmother?) ““Wouldn’t the teachers be surprised if they knew we were thinking of them as fairy godmothers!” (Appreciative giggles.) (Discuss ways by which the class could surprise them with it. Follow the children’s suggestions. They might have a party for them and tell them.) School A. A suggestion which was at once seized upon was to give a party. Would you like to act a play or pantomine about a fairy godmother who worked magic and turned out to be the teacher? Would that be all the program? Perhaps you could make up a song to sing to the teachers at the entertainment — a song to tell how glad you are for the ways teachers “ open our eyes” and make plain to us what was hidden before. (Helping children to make their own songs — words and tunes —is the sort of thing the music supervisors in many schools are doing. Plan to enlist the services of one if possible, and invite her to the next weekday meeting. All of these plans will, of course, be kept a strict secret from the teachers.) School A. Children elected one mem- ber to ask the music supervisor to help us next Saturday. (Spend the rest of the session making up the play suggested above, or drawing from the chil- dren ideas to help the leader write up a little dramatization before next week. Before leaving have a simple prayer thanking AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 17 God for the people who open our eyes so that we can read and understand.) Report of School A Telling Tales No time to make up a play today, but Elinor suggested that each teacher (there were four represented) be drawn into the play as a fairy godmother, but as a surprise to herself. The composition of the play was left trustfully to the leader. During the discussion Lawrence’s feet, under the table, interfered with Tina’s. Tina com- plained. Lawrence counter-complained, ‘‘ She stepped on my feet.” This came just after Stuart had started to “ tell on” Tommy Firth, who, it seemed, had thrown stones at a Chinaman. Tommy not present. Leaver: Just a minute. We said we’d like to go to school to Jesus. Do you know what he said to the people who wanted to “tell on” others? (Children perfectly attentive and equally im- pressed through story of men accusing a woman of wrong and the answer, ‘‘ Whoever is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” This was followed up later by the story in the Fourth Sunday program, and by numerous refer- ences to it throughout the year, until, ‘‘ Whoever isn’t to blame himself —”’’ became a byword. The leader needed only to start it. ‘‘ Throw the first stone” always followed, usually from the guilty child himself. The picture and verse formed two of the first pages in their “ illumi- nated Bibles.” (See Nineteenth Weekday.) Report of School B Children took readily to the idea of a play and song for the teachers. Their first attempt at a song: “We have teachers young and old, We always do as we are told.” This last, however, was flatly contradicted by nearly all. Children printed ‘‘ Love Conquers All ”’ in their note-books and illustrated the story. THIRD SUNDAY October (In the pre-session period practise one or two of the songs chosen for last Sunday’s worship period, helping the children to feel that we must learn our songs well before we use them in “ sing- ing to God.’’) FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship Quiet Music. Prayer-song. (No. 1 or 2 in Songs for Little People.) INTRODUCTION TO Praise Sone. ‘‘I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” (Leader continues, if the rest of the department is using International Graded Lessons), — The children of the second grade have learned a good way to enter God’s house. A singer long ago told us. (Second-year children may join in last Sunday’s memory verse.) ‘“‘ Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” Praise Song. Sunday.) Offering Service. (Prayer, song, or both.) Chords. (March to classes.) (Chosen for worship period last FIRST CLASS PERIOD Recalling the Old. (Review stories of God as a Creator. Children tell them. Recall and re- peat Genesis 1:1. The class talks about God as a Creator. Children name God’s creations which they see about them, which the leader notes on the board. They name fruits, vegetables, min- erals. Perhaps one child has traveled to a differ- ent part of the country. Let him tell of different fruits and vegetables to be found there. What fruits does an Italian child know? How do we happen to have food which grows in other parts of the world? Refer especially to fruits, native to other countries, which travelers have found de- sirable and brought here. This all leads up to the idea that God wants us to know about his world in order that we may use it.) School A. Children’s talk about Satur- day’s session took so much time that the 18 suggestions as given were not used. The continuous miracle of creation, however, held them for a few moments as one child told how pictures in a newspaper had shown how the recent earthquake had changed Japan’s coastline (‘‘ part of it’s gone away and now there’s land where there wasn’t any before. And new islands, too! ’’) All the children marvelled at the new thought that the formation of the earth is con- stantly changing. SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship Conversation. (The leader speaks of the pleasure of meeting together in God’s house, and telling each other about things that are happening to us, thinking about God, our Father, without whom we should not even be here. For “ in the beginning,” — first-year class joins in memory verse, — ‘God created the heavens and the earth.” The third grade shares with the depart- ment what they have been talking about, naming some of the many things God has created. (The leader reminds the children of the many parts of God’s world which we have never seen, but which we know about.) How do we know about them? (Books.) How do we know how to read books? (Teachers.) Why can’t our mothers and fathers teach us all we need to know? (Too busy. May not know facts themselves and have not time to look them up.) For years parents have been bringing their boys and girls to teachers who could tell their children what they could not teach them them- selves. Once word went around the countryside that there was a famous teacher traveling from place to place. He taught surprising things in a sur- prising way. People would ask him questions about how to live, and the great Teacher would answer by telling a story. And the people who listened to his stories understood what he meant and knew what to do. Mothers brought their children to him. (Show picture of Jesus with the children.) We know that he loved them and blessed them, but he told them stories, too. The stories taught them how to be good and brave | . AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 19 and helpful. Did you ever know a mother who didn’t want her children to learn how to be good and brave and helpful? Just think how those mothers who heard that Jesus was coming must have wanted their children to have a chance to see him! Suppose a mother had a child who was unkind to his neighbors, and wanted him to learn how to treat them. Can you think of a story Jesus might tell? (The Good Samaritan.) (The leader enlists the children’s cooperation by partly dramatizing the scenes. She pretends she is one mother after another bringing her child to Jesus to help her solve her problems. If a picture of Jesus is near, it may make the scene more real. For instance:) “Great Teacher, my child is cowardly. Will you teach him how to be brave?” (The leader then asks the children for his possible answers. What stories could he have told to the cowardly child to make him want to be brave? They may respond with ‘‘ David and Goliath,” or “ Daniel in the Lion’s Den.” Jesus knew these stories. He probably told them many times. He had learned them as a boy. Pictures will remind the children of these stories.) Moruer: Great Teacher, how can I help my children to stop quarreling? (Abraham and Lot.) Mortuer: Esther is timid, great Teacher. I cannot leave her alone in the dark. How can she know she is safe? (Jacob’s Night under the Stars.) Mortuer: My son has been hurt by another lad. He thinks it is brave and right to pay him back. Is there any better way that you can tell him, great Teacher? (David Sparing Saul.) School A. This illustration was used second, and the story, demanded by the children, took up the rest of the period. They listened breathlessly, for it was a new story. The whole department so thoroughly enjoyed this method of dramatizing that the children asked if they couldn’t do it every Sunday. Moruer: My little son is not kind to the animals. Great Teacher, show him how to treat them. (The Good Shepherd. David Saving His Sheep.) (Other answers may take the form of verses which Jesus learned as a boy in his synagogue school or later: ‘‘ Speak ye every man the truth with his neighbor”; ‘‘ Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’’) ** T Think When I Read,” (first stanza). Prayer. (Two stanzas of ‘“ Jesus, Friend of Little Children,” sung by leader.) (If the song is not used the leader says:) Jesus taught people that everything good came from his Father and ours, and showed them how to thank him. (Ask for suggestions for a prayer of thanks for his gifts. They will range all the way from sun, rain and flowers, to parents, schools and teachers. Make the prayer include all they have mentioned.) Song. JoHN (as we were passing to classes after the Great Teacher dramatization): Wish he was right here and could tell us those stories! SECOND CLASS PERIOD (Follow the thought of both the worship period and the first class period; i.e., that God wants us to know about his world and to use it; to know his wishes for his children and to follow them. If this is so, then we must know about this world, and learn what he wants. Tell “Reading and Writing and Getting Ready,” from The Rest of the Family, by Jeanette E. Perkins, also in The Pilgrim Elementary Teacher, February, 1923. Introduce this by a brief synopsis of the early chapters.) School A. “ Tell us another story!” (Léader felt that the main thought was crowded out. Second class period should have been used for further discussion rather than for the story.) THIRD WEEKDAY Composing Song and Party Plans The first part of this program is devoted to making a song about ‘‘ Our Teachers ” which can be used both in worship services and in the entertainment which the class is planning for their teachers. The children contribute their own suggestions for such a song of appreciation. The song should show how teachers open our eyes, and how thankful we are for them. Though the rhyming may not be first class, if it represents the children’s thought and efforts, it is worth while. A teacher of music will know how to help the children make a tune to fit the words. If making an original song seems impossible, the following poem may be used: A Song About Teachers God’s world is for his children. He made it very fair, With soft blue skies and deep blue seas, With blossoms, wind and bending trees, And clouds and crystal air, ’ And music, love and beauty. But children are too small, At first, to see its meaning well, To understand it all. They are as dear, blind children Who cannot walk aright, But wait till friendly helpers come To make the darkness bright. God sends those friendly helpers, Our teachers wise and dear. Day after day at school, they make The hard things easy for our sake, The dark things very clear. They show us marks called letters, Which we can change to words That mean all kinds of loveliness, Like people, flowers and birds. We put those marks together And make a prayer today, An earnest prayer for teachers dear — “ God bless them all!” we say. — Nancy Byrd Turner. Spend the rest of the time composing or re- hearsing the pantomime or play. Report of Schools A and B on Composing Songs School A. Children made two tunes and learned to sing them. Making up the verses for “When We Were Little Children” was a slow process. Music supervisor showed children how to choose a word for the end of the line for which there would be plenty of rhymes, and then to fit the rest of the words to the rhyming words. Once the words were accomplished and put on the blackboard, the tune came more easily. At her suggestion that all think of a tune for the first line, the children thought and hummed until she heard a promising one, and asked the child to sing it. Different children contributed the final tune for different lines, but it came out a com- plete little song. The children beamed when it was done. “It’s our song,’ “‘ We made it our- selves,” ‘‘ I love it,’’ were the comments. To the verse, ‘‘Our Teachers Are like Fairies,” which was on another board, Anne made up a tune entirely by herself, I'ne by line, taking not five minutes for the process. (See pages 22, 23.) The children begged the music supervisor to come to church school tomorrow and help them teach the song to the rest of the department. The composing of these songs was not exactly “‘whole-hearted activity.” Most of the boys were frankly bored. The girls loved it. School B. The children composed this song to be sung to the tune of ‘‘ Words of God,” an English song printed in The Pilgrim Elemen- tary Teacher, September, 1923. O teachers dear, you help us so To use our eyes in all we do, To see the beauty all around. You are our helpers dear. We tell you now how glad we are That we may come and work with you; We'll do the best that we know how, For we are so thankful. Report of School A Planning the Party We decided to invite mothers, third-grade teachers, second-grade teachers, the music super- visor. We also decided on a play based on the very sketchy synopsis the leader had brought, the AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 21 speeches not to be memorized, but each child to make up his own. Before the play the story, “ The Fairy God- mother’s Gifts,’ would show how the idea of the play started. John impulsively volunteered to tell the story, but later resigned in favor of the leader, who “‘ knew it already, and wouldn’t have to learn it.” After the play would come the song, “ Our Teachers Are Like Fairies,” and somebody could explain that Anne made up the tune. Then they would sing their very own song, “ When We Were Little Children,’ have refreshments and give the teachers some presents they had made. The most important question of the day was about costumes. Some one suggested that this should be a Hallowe’en party. Everybody could bring Jack-o’-lanterns for decorations, and wear costumes. If there was going to be a play, they ought to wear costumes anyway. Leaver: Where will you get the costumes? CHILDREN: We have them from other plays. Leaver: What kind are they? Mine’s a Pilgrim child. Mine’s an elf costume. Mine’s a Little Miss Muffet. I have a flower costume. I have a Little Boy Blue suit. LeApvER: They’re all different, aren’t they? What would the audience think if you all came on the stage with different costumes? They wouldn’t know what kind of people you were. Cuitp: They’d think we lived in another country where they wear clothes different from ours. LEADER: But what country would have so many different kinds of costumes? CuiLp (after much pondering): Well, isn’t there some place that nobody knows anything about CHILDREN: so nobody knows what they do wear? Then we could pretend we were from there. Leader laughingly replied that they might come from Mars, which, after learning what Mars was, they decided to do. This gave them a per- fectly legitimate reason for dressing as fantasti- cally as they liked. In the play there must be wands. Two boys knew how to make them with gold stars on top. We decided to make them next week. Getting Cooperation John and Florrie preferred to leave us and play in the larger church-school room. Leader made the game more exciting so the other children would forget them, but the runaways rang a bell. All were on the point of following the truants. LEADER: Just a minute, children. John and Florrie are trying to have some fun alone. The only way it will be fun for them will be for us to show we miss them, stop our game, hunt them up and tease them to come back. Do we want them to have fun that way, or by coming into the game? CHILDREN: Playing with us. attention to them. We made the game more exciting. Truants, getting no attention, wandered in, and tried to join. LAWRENCE: You don’t know how to play be- cause you weren’t here when we learned how! Truants got chairs and joined circle a little sheepishly. Leader took the opportunity to ex- plain that the church belonged to many people who paid for its being kept in repair, heated and lighted. One room was heated especially for us on Saturdays. The trustees had granted us per- mission to use that one room. There was no more going into the chapel. Don’t pay any 22 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER WHEN WE WERE LITTLE CHILDREN (Words and tune composed by School A, harmonized by Music Supervisor.) —— q 1. When we were lit - tle chil . dren We had 2. When we grew up our teach - ers Had eyes _ but could minds were not grown won-der - ful gifts to RIVE? 5 ib tectes het s For knowledge and un ~-_ der - up e - nough To know what we should need. . Peg Can teach us how to Vest. aot 5 eee 7 Ml AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 23 OUR TEACHERS ARE LIKE FAIRIES (Air composed by Anne, School A, harmonized by Music Supervisor) 1. Our teach - ers are like fair - ies, They 2: Learn - ing is like mag - ic. The touch oureye or ear; Andgive a sud-den mean - ing To all we see and hear. teach-er waves her wand, And pres - ent-ly oureyes andmindsCansee and un- der - stand. FOURTH SUNDAY October FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship Quiet Music. ‘“ This Is God's House.” Leader’s Talk. Long ago, in the city of Jerusalem, men had built a beautiful house for God. It was larger than the one we come to every Sunday. It covered a great deal of ground. Around it were open spaces called courts, and these courts were inclosed by walls. ‘There were gates in the walls on every side. The people loved to visit God’s house and sing to him and thank him for all his gifts. “ When you come into God’s house,” they said, “enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” Wherever men have built houses to God, the people enter to sing praises and to thank him for every good and every perfect gift which our Father sends us. Praise Songs and Prayer. (The children choose praise song or songs practised the day before. They sing a prayer song or the leader offers prayer, thanking God for this day.) “This is the day which the Lord hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” School A. A prayer was used, made up of children’s suggestions, ending with the song refrain, “‘ Father, we thank thee.” Offering. Since my heavenly Father gives me everything, Lovingly and gladly now my gifts I bring. — Songs for Little People. (Leader speaks of the way in which the offering is the gift of God.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Response to Old Stories. (From pictures on the screen children select and talk about those which suggest different ways of “ going to school,” such as the fledgling learning to fly, the kitten toying with a spool, a little child taking its first steps, the disciples with the Master Teacher.) Alternative. (Reviewing the thought of going to school as a universal experience, the children play Anagrams. Leader asks, “ Who goes to school?” Each child selects, from the pile in the center, letters which spell his answer. They may whisper their selection to the leader, who 24 makes a list, that there need be no duplicates. Each child passes his letters to child on his left, who must guess from the letters what his neigh- bor had in mind.) School A. Children were enthusiastic about the game,— were proud of their ability to spell. (Comment during the game about playing with these “ black marks,’ and how stupid we should have felt if we had never learned to read them.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship Conversation. Last Sunday we spoke of how in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; of his many gifts in different parts of the earth. How did we know about them? (Through books.) How did we know how to read the books? (From schools and teachers.) School B. The children suggested that they themselves were teachers for their smaller brothers and sisters, and resolved to be good teachers. This led to the “ hero worship” idea, — they being heroes to the little ones, — and brought out the respon- sibility involved. In the third-year class we have been thinking how queer letters and figures look before we can read them. It was just a little while ago that some of you first-year children didn’t know what they meant, wasn’t it? Writing was just like so many black marks on the page, or white marks on the blackboard. How are you learning what they mean? (Through teachers.) It is just as if our teachers opened our eyes all over again and made us see, isn’t it? So the third-grade children felt very thankful that our heavenly Father made teachers to tell us all about his world and show us how to use it. And yesterday they made a little song about them. They want to sing it to you now. See if you think it is true and would like to sing it too. School A. Children sang ““ When We Were Little Children ” over and over, be- cause they loved it and the others wanted to learn it. The music supervisor was present to play. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 25 (If more time is required for a fuller interpreta- tion and appreciation of the song which the child- ren have made the day before, or, if no original song was made, of the poem given in the last weekday program, use the entire period. If the “ appreciation lesson ’’ on the song takes only a short time, however, continue the thought of last Sunday’s second departmental period — of mothers bringing their children to Jesus, the great Teacher, for advice and help. Read the following poem, and possibly use the simple dramatization suggested last week.) The First Children’s Day! "Twas long ago and far away That to a little town The Master came, one summer day, And weary, sat him down. As sunlight faded in the west, He sat him down a while to rest. (Refrain) Oh, long ago and far away, But year by year We hold it dear, That first most lovely Children’s Day! The mothers whispered each to each: “His words are wise and true; Oh, what if he would bless and teach Our little children, too! ” And so, before the day grew dim, They brought the children unto him. He looked into their wondering eyes, They looked into his own; He gathered up the little ones Who could not stand alone; And smiled upon that wistful band, The older children hand in hand. He spoke, and they were unafraid, .He told them tenderly Old stories of another time, Old tales of years gone by; Of girls and boys of other days, Their gentle hearts, their kindly ways. He told of little Samuel’s quick Obedience to God’s call, Of Isaac’s calm and trusting faith, Young Joseph’s love for all; 1From Song and Play for Children, Danielson and Conant. Of Daniel’s strong, courageous part, And little Miriam’s faithful heart. He spoke of budding springtime trees; Of flowers in the grass; Of April lambs and building birds, And winds that blow and pass. The mothers, watching in their place, Saw light upon each little face. The children very closely pressed And listened, rapt and still. The youngest baby of them all Lay well content, until As dusky evening shadows crept, Its lashes lowered, and it slept. He blessed them then, and sent them home, And they were truly blest, For as the weeks went by, each child Was gentler to the rest, More watchful of another’s need, More true in word and kind in deed! (Refrain) O long ago and far away, But year by year We hold it dear, That first most lovely Children’s Day! — Nancy Byrd Turner. Song. “Jesus, Friend of Little Children.” (Songs for Little People), sung by leader. SECOND CLASS PERIOD (Have ready to use these pictures: “ Jesus Teaching the Disciples to Pray,” International Graded Lessons, Primary Picture Set No. 3; “Christ Blessing Little Children,” ‘ Jesus Christ,’’ Beginners’ Picture Set No. 1.) Tue Story or GEorGE KiLInG George Kling was the only child in Happy Valley who was not glad to learn that Miss True was going to start a school. He did not like school. Before he had come to Happy Valley he had lived in the dirtiest part of a great city. He had no father, and his mother was very poor. George had to work to help buy milk and bread for his little sister. He worked nights and some days, so that when he went to school he was so 26 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER sleepy that he seemed stupid. He had been put back grade by grade until he was with the small- est children. Boys and girls his own age made fun of him and called him stupid, and the teachers thought him lazy and stubborn. No one except his mother had ever been kind to him. When they moved to Happy Valley he hoped things would be different. But his clothes were so old and soiled and shabby that other children did not ask him to play with them. Once his mother brought home a coat somebody had given her to make over into clothes for the children. But George, although he was sensitive about his rags, was even more sensitive about his little sister, Lucy. She was a beautiful child, and George couldn’t bear to see her so shabbily dressed, and he had said, ‘‘ Make a dress for Lucy first, mother. She’s all rags, and besides, she'll feel the cold more.” So his mother had started a dress for Lucy. George didn’t care much. He did wish the other children would ask him to join in their games, but that very day two little girls had passed him with their noses in the air. ‘See that ragged boy,” one had said. “I should think he’d be ashamed.” Nobody ever seemed to like him. He had heard that Happy Valley was to have a school, but he made up his mind not to go if he could help it. The children wouldn’t play with him and he had never had a teacher yet who had understood him. He wondered why they all thought him stupid and bad. He didn’t mean to be. He was thinking these things when a young woman came into his yard. ‘“* How do you do? ”’ she said. George Kling? ”’ “Yes,” he answered, eyeing her suspiciously. What did she want of him? “T’m glad to know you, George,” she said. “My, how straight you are! You remind me of another George who was a soldier. Did you ever hear of George Washington? ”’ George was straight, but nobody had ever noticed it before. He made his backbone even stiffer now, and felt very proud to be told he was like a soldier, though he had never heard of George Washington. ‘*T’m Miss True,” the stranger went on. your mother in, George? ”’ George ran up the steps and opened the door. Little Lucy stood in the middle of the floor. “Ts your name “ce Is Lucy’s hair was like spun gold and she was very pretty. “Oh, you darling child!” cried Miss True, holding out her arms, and Lucy ran into them, seeming to know that Miss True was her friend. Mrs. Kling came in from the next room. ‘“‘What nice children you have, Mrs. Kling!” said the caller, holding out her hand. ‘I’m Miss True, and I’ve come to ask if George can’t come to my school.” She put her hand over his shoulder and George straightened up again. He resolved always to act like a soldier for Miss True. Now for the first time in his life he wanted to go to school. He looked down at his ragged clothes doubtfully. His mother saw the look. ‘“‘ He wouldn’t let me make him a new suit until Lucy had a new dress,” she hastened to explain. Miss True’s eyes shone. “How fine and generous of you, George!’ she said, and George felt as if she had given him a present. Nobody had ever called him fine and generous before. He decided that he would always be fine and generous for Miss True. Then she said something which pleased him more than ever. He was very proud of little Lucy. He thought she was probably the loveliest little girl in the world. Exrnor: “Just like Hal and his little sister.” No one ever said nice enough things about her to suit him. Now Miss True was saying, ‘‘I don’t wonder you want her to have new clothes first; there aren’t many boys who have such a beautiful little sister.” Wouldn’t you have felt proud? He immedi- ately became Miss True’s faithful friend, and he decided then and there not only to go to her school, but to behave in such a way that she should always think him fine and generous and like a soldier. The next morning, with face and hands as clean as soap and water could make them, with a back as straight as ever George Washington’s was, and with clothes patched as neatly as his mother’s hands could do it, George walked down the street toward Miss True’s school. You will remember that there was no school- house yet built in Happy Valley, so the school was in the church. George paid no attention to the children gathering on the lawn. He was looking for Miss True. He wanted her to see AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 27 how straight he was and he felt like being fine and generous all day long. Miss True was nowhere to be seen. She was inside getting her room ready. George marched confidently up the steps, but suddenly stopped. “ Oh, look!” cried one sharp-voiced little girl, “there’s that ragged boy that lives down on Spring Street.” And another answered, “‘ What’s he doing here? He can’t come to our school.” All the light went out of George’s eyes. There it was again — the children were making fun of him. His shoulders slumped, and he didn’t look quite as much like a soldier as he had a moment before. Then one of the boys shouted, “ Say, he looks something like Raggedy Andy!” and at once the others took it up. “ Raggedy Andy, Raggedy Andy!” they jeered in sing-song voices, pointing their fingers at him. “ Don’t you call me Raggedy Andy,” George hurled back at them. ‘‘ My mother mended me all up and I’m not any raggeder’n you are.” “ Raggedy Andy, Raggedy Andy!” continued the jeering sing-song. George suddenly flung himself upon the boy who jeered loudest, knocked him down, pounded and pummeled him. Then he jumped at the boy nearest, doing the same to him. It was a dread- ful fight. Some of the others, not wanting to be out of it, picked up gravel and threw it in George’s face. Quick as a flash George began pelting them with handfuls of it. It was flying in all direc- tions, and then a pebble larger than the rest went flying through the air, and smash went a window in the church. School A. The leader had to stop here, as the composing of a refrain in second department period had encroached upon time. It proved a happy place to stop, with interest at the highest point. John was not present, but his friend Lawrence said importantly, “ I'll tell John the story so far, so he’ll be ready for the rest.” George had broken a church window! Can you imagine how he felt? He, who only a few moments before had felt so soldier-like and fine and generous! What would Miss True think of him now? She mustn’t know how he had lost his temper and fought and thrown stones. Would the others tell on him? He shouldn’t let them. But the children were frightened. A church window had been broken. Miss True mustn’t think they did it. They were quite ready to place all the blame on the strange ragged boy. Miss True came to the door. “That boy,” began a chorus of children, but got no further, for “that boy ” was raising his voice in a mighty howl, so loud that he drowned out the others. He did not intend to let those children tell on him. Miss True put her hands over her ears. “That boy broke —” the others tried again, but wild shrieks and unearthly yells drowned them out once more. George wasn’t acting much like a soldier. There was nothing fine and generous in what he was doing now, and he knew it. But how could he bear to have Miss True, the only person in the world who had ever thought him fine, know how bad he had been? Miss True had taken her hands away from her ears and put her fingers to her lips. “Come in to school,” she said. ‘‘ Good morn- ing, George, I’m glad you came.” George looked gratefully up at her. He sud- denly didn’t care if she did know, only he wanted to tell her himself. She showed him his seat while the others went quietly to theirs. He looked anxiously at her. Was she going to let them tell on him? I told you the school was in the church. On the walls were three pictures. You remember how Freddie and Alice and Billy and the others had chosen them to be on the walls the whole year. Miss True was pointing to them now. ‘“‘ Some of you chose those pictures,’ she said. ‘ We were talking about how everybody in the world has to go to school, or in some way learn to live. You looked at the pictures of Jesus healing people, helping people, feeding people. You saw him teaching his special pupils.” (Show.) ‘ You saw him a friend of little children.” (Show.) “You said you would like to have him for a teacher. You said you wished you could go to school to Jesus. You can go to school to Jesus. Any one can. What he taught is all in this book.” (Show Bible.) ‘‘ His special pupils wrote it down for us. So we know what he would say if we wanted him to teach us about anything. “There was once a woman who had done wrong. Some men found out about it and said among themselves, ‘‘ Let’s take her to Jesus the Teacher, and tell him how bad she is.” So they 28 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER took her roughly by the arms and started out to find Jesus.” . George was listening with all his might. He had never heard of Jesus, but he liked the pictures on the wall and he felt, oh, so sorry for the poor woman! He thought he knew just how she felt. “Oh,” he said to himself, ‘‘I hope Jesus won’t let them tell on her!” What was Miss True saying? ‘““* Teacher,’ they said when they reached him, ‘look at this wicked woman. She has done wrong. Shall we stone her)’ ” How George disliked those men! Why did they have to tell on her? What would Jesus say? “« And Jesus said,’ went on Miss True, “ ‘ Who- ever has never done any wrong himself may throw the first stone.’ And one by one the men who were so anxious to blame the woman slunk away, ashamed. Not one of them could say he had never done wrong. And when they were gone Jesus looked at the woman and said, ‘I do not blame you either, but from now on do no more wrong.’’’ Then Miss True said, “ You said you wanted to go to school to him. Very well.” She hung on the wall a new picture. It was like this. (Show Head of Jesus.) And then she asked a question, just as we’ve been doing. ‘“‘ Great Teacher,” she said, ‘‘ one of us, in a fit of temper, threw a stone and broke the church window. We think we ought to punish him. Shall we tell you who it is and how bad he is? ” Miss True looked at the picture and so did the children as if they were expecting an answer. “T think,” said Miss True, “ that he is inviting you to tell him what you all started to tell me when I went to the door. Whoever did not do any wrong himself may tell first.” Miss True waited. But not a single boy or girl answered. One boy started to, then he re- membered how he had called George names to make him angry. One girl almost -pointed her finger at George, and then she remembered how she had thrown the first handful of gravel at him. George stood up. The children looked a little frightened. Perhaps he was going to tell on them. ‘** Please, Miss True,” he said, ‘‘ I want to tell.” The children grew more frightened. He surely was going to tell. Well, perhaps it served them right. After all, they had started things by making him angry in the first place. But they were treated to a surprise. **T broke the church window, Miss True,” said George. “I’m sorry. I got angry, and threw stones. I’m sorry. I was bad. I’m sorry. I guess — I guess” — his voice broke — “I guess I’m not very much like a soldier, after all.” He sat down. He was sure Miss True would never praise him again, but he had done what the picture and story of Jesus somehow made him want to do. The children listened amazed. He hadn't blamed them! He hadn’t even mentioned them! Miss True looked at George just as she had looked at him the day before when she had heard about Lucy’s dress. And she said the very same words. ‘‘That’s fine and generous of you, George! ” Nobody heard them but George himself, for Billy had suddenly jumped up. ‘Tt wasn’t half as much his fault as it was ours, Miss True,” he said. ‘‘ We made him mad, and we threw things first, didn’t we?’ He looked around at the other children. ‘“ Yes, yes,” came the answers from everywhere, and one boy said, ‘‘ I think we were mean. We shouldn’t have liked it if somebody had made fun of us.” ‘“We were,” said another: ‘‘ but George isn’t mean. He’s been a good deal nicer than we were, even if —’’ she stopped. She was going to say ‘even if he is ragged,’ but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I don’t need to tell you the rest. You can imagine how they treated George at recess. They even made him captain of their games. A few days after that George came to school in a beautiful new suit. He had new shoes and stockings, too, and a fine cap and overcoat. Tommy: His mother made it. FLORRIE: She couldn’t make shoes and stockings. Joun: No, sir, Miss True sent it to him. Everysopy: Yes, Miss True. JoHn: Who do you think it was, Miss Bradley? Leaver: I don’t know. It might have been Miss True, or it might have been the children who clubbed together and got it without telling him. JoxHN: Say, it might be, at that! Anoruer: I bet it was the children. ANoTHER: It would have been just like them to, after being so mean. He said they had come the day before in a big box. He didn’t know, and I don’t know who had sent them. But though the children were as == AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 29 glad as he was about his new present, it made no difference now in their liking for him. When they played with him now it was not of his clothes they thought, but of a boy who had had a chance to pay them back by telling how horrid they had been, but who, instead, had only blamed himself. (After the story wait for comments. Should the children have liked George? Do they like “ tattle-tales”’? Do they think Jesus did? Do they still think they should have liked Jesus as their teacher? Tell what the Happy Valley chil- dren did. If there is not time for this, tell ‘‘ the secret’ in the review period next week.) After that affair Miss True’s school had a secret. Would you like to hear about it?. The more they knew Jesus as a teacher, the better they liked the idea of going to school to him. He was so fair and so kind, and always understood. They kept the pictures up on the wall to remind them. But it wasn’t always so easy. We know what’s right to do often, and don’t do it. That’s what happened in Happy Valley. But this was the secret. When some one did a particularly hard thing that was brave and kind or generous, and what Jesus would like, Miss True would say quietly to that child if she knew about it, “‘ You’ve been to school, haven’t you?’ By the way she said it the child would understand that she meant a particular school —not the one where they learned reading and writing and arithmetic. And he would feel as though that was the highest praise that could be given him. Very soon they were all trying to win it. They were thrilled when she would nod and smile and say, “ Going to school, Betty? ” or, ‘‘ I see you’ve been to school, John,” or, “ Let’s all go to school and see about that.” They even grew to say it among themselves. But they never finished the sentence. That was their secret. Nobody but Miss True and the children knew that when some one said, ‘“‘ Going to school,” with them it meant, “‘ Going to school to Jesus.” Notre ON REFERENCE TO FAMILIAR STORIES: The leader should be able to use stories over and over again as reminders when their message seems to have been forgotten. She will rarely retell them exactly as at first, as that would bring upon her the response from some insulted boy, ‘‘ Aw, I know that story!’”’ She will refer to them, comment upon them, retell them from a fresh angle and dramatize them. If the children are “ going to school to Jesus’ we must make Jesus familiar to them. His story, his every-day life, his teachings, must become a part of them. An ideal would be for the children to be so familiar with stories about him through repetition and constant handling of the pictures that when one finds himself face to face with a problem he can be sent to the pictures to find the answer himself. As the adult goes to the Bible, so the children return to the story, and one will be as truly ** going to school” as the other. Report of School A Composing a Song LzeapER: What words shall we use? Some- thing like “ Father, we thank thee,” “ We thank thee for thy gifts,” or ‘‘ Hear us thank thee? ” Mase (second grade): ‘‘ Father, we thank thee.” CHILDREN: That’s not new. LEADER: That wouldn’t be our very own, would it? Every one think of all that God gives us, and make up a little verse to thank him. (Pause. All quietly thinking. Eileen, second grade, looks at leader.) Leaver: Eileen, can you think of something? (Eileen rises, and with no trace of self-con- sciousness says softly, “I love you, heavenly Father.” Absolute hush. The period was not at all as planned, but the worship could be felt. Eileen sat down.) ONE OF THE TEACHERS: That’s lovely, Eileen. Leaver: Did every one like that? (Every one did, but preferred “we” to “I,” and suggested “ thee’ instead of “* you.’’) Music Supervisor: Who can think of a little tune for it? (Children hummed quietly or thought.) Music Supervisor: How would you sing those words, Eileen? (Eileen rose again, and as unconsciously as before, sang, changing her words a trifle, the fol- lowing air, which the music supervisor harmonized. We love thee, heav-en-ly Fa - ther. ee FOURTH WEEKDAY Planning the Teachers’ Party Have a committee of mothers come to this session to help the children plan the teachers’ party. The children decide on date, time and form of invitations. They write invitations, the best to be sent, or let one write and all sign. Remind the children they couldn’t write without school, and couldn’t read what had been written without learning how. A child may make deco- rative border around invitation. Discuss what to have for refreshments. Figure on blackboard how much ice-cream is needed, if one quart will serve eight people. Remind the children that they couldn’t tell without a knowl- edge of arithmetic. Decide who shall order or see about the de- livery of refreshments the day of the party; who shall be in the kitchen to dish the ice-cream; who shall serve. Rehearse pantomime or play, and the song for teachers. Plan program in detail, and make favors. Appropriate games are Anagrams (illustrating reading) and Buzz (illustrating arithmetic). Nore: This session, having no story or set program, may be a little confused. The unac- customed informality in this and similar sessions may give rise to the problem of discipline. Be ready to discuss reason for order, the consequent necessity for rules or standards. Children and leader together may make up a story about “A Town that Had No Rules.” Discuss the ad- visability of children making some rules or standards for themselves. Report of School A Completing Party Plans As our weekday session is Saturday morning, the mothers could not come, but promised to furnish cake and cookies. The church would pay for the ice-cream. With mothers and the music supervisor (who taught them to interpret another kind of “ black marks’) there would be thirty- one to provide for. The children were all so eager to do the figuring they had to take turns. John was appointed to order the ice-cream. Joun (later, at home): I’m going to take my cart and get it, mother. They probably wouldn’t get it there on time. Anne and Florrie were chosen to come to the church the morning of the party, to get out the dishes, silver and napkins; the rest of the girls were to serve. All the boys but John were to get the room ready and set the stage. We waived the decorations. The writing of six invitations was enough of a task. Three third grades are represented in our class, and the chil- dren insisted on asking their last year’s teachers as well, — ‘‘ because we really learned to read in the second grade.” Questions which helped to compose the play: Shall we have costumes? How shall we fix the stage? Who will come on first? What shall these say? How will they make the audience understand that they come from Mars? Who will come on next? What shall they say and do to show that they cannot read the books or understand their surroundings? How shall they show that they “ give up?”’ Who will first express the wish for a fairy god- mother to interpret? Who will see one first? What shall they do then? Where shall the wands be? How shall they be given to the teachers? Shall the children go down to the audience, or ask the teachers to come to the stage? What directions will they give the teachers Who will give the signal? Who will reveal the mystery of the magic writ- ing on the blackboard? (Their song, to be writ- ten in chalk wet in milk and allowed to dry, concealed by other writing till that shall be erased.) Shall they read the poem when it is revealed, or sing it, letting the teachers read it? How will people know Anne composed the music? How shall the other song be introduced for which the class made the words and music? How will the visitors know that the play is over? (For the story of this play, see Fifth Weekday.) Problem of Disorder Much confusion. Leader discussed with the — children the reason for.order, but did not use a story. All wanted to talk at once and were almost too prolific in ideas for the play. (In the report of School A on the Twenty-sixth Weekday is described the organization of a ‘council’? and the conducting of a council meeting. Leader regrets that such a council was not formed at the beginning of the year.) 30 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 31 We started to play games. John wouldn’t. He was needed to make an even number. Chil- dren spent so much time teasing him that all play was crowded out. John became unpopular. Lawrence: Now look what you did, — spoiled things so nobody can play! (Echoes from all. Nothing needed from leader.) Class rehearsed the play, though as nothing was written down, there were no set speeches. The children were to compose the lines as they went along. Rehearsal dragged. There was so much disorder, and the making of the wands proved so hard, that there was no time to make favors for teachers. . JoHn: Oh, dear, can’t we make the teachers’ presents in Sunday school tomorrow? It was decided that they could come early, go quietly to their corner behind the screen, and make the blotters. Interest Leading to Continued Work John stayed an hour after the others had left, to cut blotters the right size. Lawrence took home the largest wand to gild in his “ grand- father’s paint-shop.”’ Others took unfinished ones home. One child arrived earlier than the rest on Sun- day morning, and there being no one to direct her, ruined most of the blotters. John generously offered to come the following Saturday morning and repair damages. Report of School B Planning a Play The class planned to make up a simple play about teachers, and present, not at a party, but on Sunday, before the assistant superintendent of department, in charge of the third-grade classes, and also a public-school teacher of third grade. This would be a way of helping their classmates, not in the weekday session, to an appreciation of the work of their school teachers. Children gave the following suggestions for a play: Characters: Teacher and children. (Child asks what the black, puzzling marks in the books are.) Teacuer: They are words; I will teach you to read. Cup: I always thought H was a chair until my teacher told me what it was. (Teacher shows globe. Children ask what the green and blue and red mean.) Cuitp: Why, you're just like a fairy godmother. You make such wonderful changes! Cuitp: How does the sun come in my window in the morning? It wasn’t in sight when I went to bed. Tracuer: Did you ask your mother? Cuitp: Mother was too busy to find out for me. FIFTH SUNDAY October — November FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship Quiet Music. Prayer Song. for Little People). Song. ‘ Autumn Day.” Conversation. (Leader and children talk about some of the “ richest gifts”” to which the song refers. Children tell of secrets revealed by the falling of the leaves, such as bird’s-nests and cocoons. ) ““ Father in Heaven” (Songs Praise Song. (Practised before.) Offering Song. “‘ Offering Hymn,” or “ We Give Thee but Thine Own,” (Songs for Little People). FIRST CLASS PERIOD Recalling the Old. (Retell last Sunday’s story.) School A. The retelling of last Sun- day’s story occupied the entire period. (If the secret was not mentioned at the close last week, tell of it now, making “ going to school ” significant and desirable, hoping the children will respond by wishing they had some such secret. Perhaps they have already expressed themselves as wanting “to go to school to Jesus.” If so let them now choose a picture which will be used as a reminder of their wish through the year. Ask if they would like a kind of school song.) If we are thinking of Jesus as our teacher, we ought to know the rule for all his pupils, the Golden Rule. (Read Luke 6:31. Say there is a tune to it, and ask if they’d like to know it. Sing first section of “The Golden Rule,” in Songs for Little People, —‘‘ As ye would others should to you, so,” Jesus said, “to others do.” End here, on G rather than on D, and it will make a complete little song to use over and over through the year, as another reminder of our special school.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship Birthday Service. (Greetings and song.) Conversation. (About the wonder of growth, and more talk about changes in nature.) Praise Songs. (Practised before.) 32 Prayer. (Leader draws from the children ideas for a prayer in which the original refrain may be used, if the children have made one.) What School A Did Since the words, ‘‘ We love thee, heavenly Father,”’ had been chosen and the tune composed by the children, the following suggestions for a prayer were offered: “J thank him for our fathers and mothers.” ‘‘T thank him for my teacher.” ‘“‘ The trees.” ‘The flowers.” ‘‘ The grass.” ‘“‘ The color of the leaves.” ‘‘ Our food.’ ‘“‘ Our birthdays.” “My mother’s come home from the hospital.” ‘“‘T’m well from the measles.” The prayer was something like this: Dear Father, thou hast done so much for us we would like to tell thee how we love thee and thank thee. For giving us mothers and fathers to love us and take care of us, we love thee, heavenly Father. (Refrain sung): WE LOVE THEE, HEAVENLY FATHER. For our teachers, who have spent so many years learning things to teach us, we love thee, heavenly Father. (Refrain sung): WE LOVE THEE, HEAVENLY FATHER. For giving us this beautiful world, with its flowers, its trees, the grass; for the color of the leaves in autumn, we love thee, heavenly Father. (Refrain sung): WE LOVE THEE, HEAVENLY FATHER. For our birthdays, and for all the loving thoughts and good times which they bring; for good health, because we know that thou art the giver of every good and every perfect gift, we love thee, heavenly Father. (Refrain sung): WE LOVE THEE, HEAVENLY FATHER. SECOND CLASS PERIOD The New Story Tue First Four Pupits 1n Jesus’ ScHOOL. (This is vividly told in the chapter, ‘ Four Boys Who Became His Disciples,’ in Rufus Jones’ The Boy Jesus and His Companions. Reading it over cannot fail to impress upon the AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 33 mind pictures and touches of local color which will enrich the Bible account, and make the char- acters live for the children. The following shows how acquaintance with the book is bound to color one’s own story. Its length is better suited to this fifteen-minute period. See Luke 5: 1-11.) There were once four boys who lived on the shore of a lake. Simon and Andrew were broth- ers, and so were James and John. Their fathers were partners and carried on a fishing business in the town of Capernaum. If you have ever lived near the water you can imagine what fun those four boys had playing in the sand and in the water, learning to swim, making toy sailboats and watching the wind carry them away. The greatest fun of all was going out on the lake in the big boats. They loved to watch their fathers let down the fish nets and haul them in again full of fish. Sometimes the nets were so heavy the boys had to help pull them out. They learned to be quite skillful in knowing just where to let down the nets, and gradually they become very good fishermen. After a fishing trip they learned from their fathers how to take care of the nets washing them clean of mud and seaweed, and mending any holes in them. It was a long time, however, before they were allowed to go out on the lake by themselves. The boats were heavy and the muscles in their arms were not strong enough to handle the oars in a storm. Sometimes these storms were very dangerous. There were mountains all around the lake, and through the cuts in those mountains the wind would come sweeping suddenly, whip- ping the water into great waves and tossing the big boats about as if they were only paper ones. It took all the strength of the men at the oars to get a boat safely to shore again. It was ex- citing, even though frightening, and the boys felt as if they had gone through an adventure when the storm disappeared as unexpectedly as it had come. They were proud when they were old enough to help steer the boats and handle the oars, and prouder still the first time they were allowed to go out alone, and catch fish for their own lunches. I like to think of them pulling in a net-full, dividing the fish between them, taking some to their families and keeping the rest to cook for themselves over a fire on the shore, and to eat with the little loaves of bread their mothers had baked for them. I like to think of what they talked about, — these boys growing up together. Sometimes it was about the big catch they’d taken and how badly the nets had broken; sometimes — after one of those sudden, terrifying storms on the lake — of how they thought they’d surely be tipped overboard, and what a pity it was that they had had to throw out all the fish they’d caught to lighten the boat. They had been glad enough to get the boat safely to shore though, for it would have been pretty hard swimming in such a gale. Then I think they talked of their future — what they would do when they grew up, just as you boys do. Fishing was their fathers’ business and it would probably be theirs, for they were learning to be very skillful at it. They hardly ever went out without returning with a big catch. There were four of them; they would be partners together. With so many they could have a big business, not only among the people in Caper- naum, their own city, but all over Palestine. Everybody knew about Tarichezee down at the other end of the lake, where quantities of fish were dried and pickled to be sent all over the world. Perhaps the boys could sometime make Caper- naum as famous a pickling place as Tarichee. Whatever they dreamed of becoming, I think it always had something to do with the lake — their lake, which they knew and loved so well. They swam in it, they rowed upon it, they could prove themselves master of it in a storm, they got their living from it. It was a part of them, and they of it. At any rate they grew taller and stronger and - more clever year by year. One evening James and John and their father, Simon and Andrew and some hired helpers went out on to the lake in two boats, prepared to fish all night. Into the water they threw their nets, and waited. When it was time to draw them up they found nothing in them. They tried again, and again. In the other boat it was the same. No matter how often they let down the nets, the results were just as disappointing. Morning came, and still no fish. Finally, tired and hungry, they gave up, rowed back to shore and landed. Their nets had caught nothing all night but floating, muddy weeds, and the men spread them out and started to clean them. They were so busy that they did not notice at 34 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER first that there were many more people than usual on the beach. The crowd kept growing larger and larger, trying to get as near as possible to one person who was talking. At last they pressed in so close that this one stepped into one of the empty boats he saw. It was Simon’s, and when Simon looked up this person asked him if he wouldn’t row him out a little way. Simon was attracted to him and he and Andrew at once rowed him out. And sitting in the boat a little way from the shore, this man began to teach the crowds and crowds of people who had come to listen. It was like nothing they had ever heard before. Simon and Andrew listened as though they could never hear enough. This man seemed to know all things; he was explaining puzzles which had bothered them all their lives. It was no wonder that the people called him the great Teacher. Suddenly the Teacher turned to them. ‘ Row out where it is deep,” he said, ‘‘ and let down your nets for a draught of fishes.” “Master,” said Simon, ‘“ we toiled all night and took nothing. Still’ — for he saw by now that this Teacher knew more than they, — “ still at thy word I will let down the nets.” The nets were dropped over the edge of the boat. Scarcely had it been done when Simon and Andrew, looking down into the clear water, saw hundreds of fish swimming into the nets, and they had to shout to their partners to come and help pull them in, there were so many. Simon suddenly felt as if he were in the presence of a very great man. This Teacher, whom men called Jesus, was wiser and more helpful than any one Simon had ever seen, and Simon himself felt very small and mean. He wanted Jesus to go away — he felt as if he, himself, was not good enough to stay with such a man. But Jesus, who knew things even before he was told, instead of going away and leaving him, asked Simon to go with him. And he asked Andrew and James and John. Perhaps the four partners thought of the im- portant things they had meant to do later; per- haps they hated to think of leaving their beloved lake. But if the wisest and most wonderful teacher in the whole world should ask you to come with him and be his special pupils, would you care about those other things? If Simon and Andrew and James and John even gave them a thought no one knows it, for the story says (read Luke 5 : 11) ‘‘ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left all, and followed him.” And those were the first four pupils who de- cided to go to school to Jesus. (Show pictures, “‘ Christ and the Fishermen,” Beginners’ Picture Set No. 2, International Graded Lessons, and “‘ Jesus and the Fishermen,” Primary Picture Set No. 2.) School A. Did not use this story to- day. Finished the one started last Sunday. Report of School A Paying Back Class remained after dismissal to write invita- tions. Something happened. When leader no- ticed, John and Stuart were at each other’s throats. Children — alas! right after the George Kling story making “ tattling ’’ so undesirable — all eager to tell who was to blame. John left in tears. Stuart stayed voluntarily after the others left. It appeared that John had thrown his hat —a brand new one with stiff vizor — at Stuart, who had crushed it before throwing it back. John, furious, jumped on Stuart. Chose his opponent unfortunately, for Stuart never missed an opportunity to hit back. Stuart (afterward): I’m going to hit back if anybody hits me first. Leader sympathized with the feeling but tried to make it desirable that our class learn a better way. Recalled story of Saul and David. Stuart meekly admitted he liked David’s doing what he did. FIFTH WEEKDAY Party for Children’s Day-School Teachers Report of School A The Party Committees came in the morning to set stage, rehearse play, get out dishes, order ice-cream, sort out costumes, finish blotters. Six children absent from illness. (Marian, when she heard the doctor’s verdict the day before, burst into tears. ‘‘ But mother,’ she wept, “the whole play will be spoiled without me! ”’) Our guests: Five teachers, four mothers, the minister, his wife, the church-school superinten- dent and two chance visitors. The master of ceremonies becoming suddenly. very self-conscious in his costume from Mars, refused to come before the assembly and start off the program. All were equally self-conscious. So leader introduced the program by speaking of the play which the children had made up, and said she would retell the story which had sug- gested it, “ The Fairy Godmother’s Gifts.” The Play ‘Serrine: A schoolroom, maps, books and other paraphernalia around. A blackboard in center covered with unintelligible marks. Sheet of music, piano, globe. Two children entered and gazed in surprise and wonder at surroundings. First Cuitp: What a funny place! up books.) What are these? SeconD Curtp: What does that mean? What are all these funny black marks? (More children entered.) OnE Cup: Do you see any sense to this place? Awnotuer: No, I can’t make it out at all. ANOTHER: It isn’t a bit like Mars, where we come from. ANOTHER: What can those marks mean? ANOTHER: I give it up. AnoTHER: So do I. I’m going back to Mars, where I came from! (All sat down on the floor in a brown study, after examining everything on the stage and understanding nothing.) OnE Cuitp: Oh, dear, I wish I had a fairy godmother to touch my eyes and ears! ANOTHER (suddenly): I see one! (pointing to her teacher and jumping up). (Picked 35 ANOTHER (same business): So do I! (All went to a shelf and got wands; took them to teachers in audience.) Eacu Cuitp: Please touch my eyes and ears! (Teachers good-naturedly entered into the spirit of it and obeyed. One was given an eraser covered with gold paper and a star-tipped wand tacked to its back, and told to erase the writing on the black- board. As children’s eyes and ears were touched they pretended to be dazed at first, then began to look around.) CHILDREN’S SURPRISED REMARKS: “Why, these black marks are letters, —I can read them! It’s a story about Indians! ” ** And these are figures! ”’ ‘This is a globe, showing all parts of this planet, the earth. I can find on it exactly where we are.” OnE CHILD (going to the piano with the sheet of music and starting to play): I can even read these marks, — they’re music! (Then they all stared at the blackboard on which, as the teacher erased, the magic writing changed to intelligible words — to the amazement of the teacher erasing). (The verses were first printed on the board with chalk which had been dipped in milk. As soon as it was dry, meaningless hieroglyphics were added to each letter with dry chalk, spaces filled in, every word doctored so that it was un- readable. When the board was erased all the superfluous marks disappeared, leaving only the original printing. This feature of the entertain- ment appeared to be real magic.) Au. (as the verse emerged): Why, we can read that, too! (Stood around board and sang the words:) Our teachers are like fairies; They touch our eye or ear, And give a sudden meaning To all we see and hear. Learning is like magic; The teacher waves her wand, And suddenly our eyes and minds Can see and understand. 36 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER JoHn: Anne made the tune to that song. Now we're going to sing another. We made the words and music to this. (All sang, “‘ When We Were Little Children.’’) JouHN (concluding the ceremonies): This ends our program. (Children then rushed madly to the kitchen; John and two others to the drug store for the ice- cream.) Hosts and Hostesses in Evolution After the program all were eager to serve the guests, but there their consciousness of the duties of hosts and hostesses ended. Becoming suddenly self-conscious (or exclusive!) they took their ice- cream behind the screens to enjoy, far from the madding crowd. John even preferred to eat his in the kitchen to coming in contact with the invited guests. Leaver: But you see this is your party. You invited them here. If you went to a party would the friend who invited you stay in the kitchen for his refreshments, or go into another room from youd How funny our guests will think we are! Come on, bring your chairs out and be sociable. FiorriE: No, I’m going to stay here. Stuart: I’m going to go out there. LEADER: That’s fine, Stuart, thank you. LAWRENCE: So’m I. Fiorrie: I'll come too. (See report of Seventeenth Weekday to show vast improvement in acting as hosts and host- esses.) After the party a perfectly unnatural desire to wash the dishes prevailed — probably an excuse to stay longer — practically a fight for the honor of dish washer. Leader had to divide work into sections. Friorriz’s Moruer: If only she showed the same enthusiasm to help at home! Florrie Takes the Blame Leader discovered Harvey Newton and Florrie in Beginners’ room alone. Harvey showed her a badly bruised finger. Leaper: Why, Harvey, that must have hurt awfully! How did you do it? Fiorrie (who likes to tell on other children, at once): I did it. I jammed it in the door And he didn’t cry. He started to, but he didn’t. Leader could not refrain from exclaiming, ‘ Florrie, that was fine of you to tell me at once,” before attending to Harvey. It was the first time she ever knew Florrie to blame herself. She told Harvey he reminded her of another brave boy she would tell him about sometime. (See Hike, Sixth Weekday.) Invitation to Plan a Service The church-school superintendent asked them if they would like to plan a Thanksgiving service for the whole church school. Assent unanimous and hearty. SIXTH SUNDAY November FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Make this a Thanksgiving praise service, using all the verses and songs of praise and thanks- giving which the children know, such as “ Back of the Loaf,” and the refrain of “‘ We Plough the Fields.’’) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Recalling the Old. .(Dramatization based on last Sunday’s story. If dramatization is new to leader, a visit to the public schools will help her. See report of School A in Fourth Weekday pro- gram, for the kind of questions used to start the children’s initiative. For other types of drama- tization see report of School A on Ninth Sunday, second class period, and on Fifteenth Sunday.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship Conversation and Prayer. (Lead the child- ren’s thoughts to all the workers behind such necessities and comforts as a furnace fire, or this morning’s breakfast, making a list of these per- sons on the board. Let the children make a prayer, using the department’s refrain, thanking God for all who make these comforts possible.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD The New Story. Tue Discovery or Happy VALLEY I told you that I should tell you some day how Happy Valley was discovered and why it had in it at first only a church and some houses. The story begins with a runaway balloon. It was one of six which started off together for a race, but this one soared higher than the rest, and then striking a current of air which the others did not feel, began to veer off on its own course. It acted exactly as though it were running away. You can imagine how the man inside enjoyed sailing through the air and wondering where he would turn up. He had a long time to wonder, for the breeze seemed to be playing a game with him. It took him up above the clouds, and sent 37 him this way and that, until he had completely lost his bearings. For hours and hours this kept up, until finally, just as he was beginning to wonder if he was anywhere at all, the clouds parted, and he looked over the edge of the basket. There below him lay a broad, sunny, happy-looking valley, with a laughing blue river winding through it. As he looked the wind stopped blowing, and the balloon, as if realizing that this was a fortunate place to land, began slowly to grow smaller and sink to the ground. The man could hardly wait for it to touch the earth. He jumped out and began at once to explore. There were fish in the river, berries on bushes, all sorts of fruit and growing things in the wide, fertile valley and mountains all about. Trees covered some. Others showed miles of solid marble, and still others were streaked with veins of rich ore. The man could not believe his eyes. Why had it never been discovered before? Untold wealth lay hid in the mountains, and in the valley with its rich soil and broad river. He must hurry and tell every one of his discovery. But his balloon was no more of any use, and when he tried to find a way out he realized why no one had discovered the place. There were no roads in or out, and the high mountains completely hid the valley. At last he came to a narrow pass between two foot hills where the river left the valley, and following its course he also made his way out. Once out he hurried to tell others about his discovery. He traveled for miles before he met any one. Then he came upon a woodman with an axe and cart. “T have found a happy valley,” he called to him. “It is surrounded by mountains of forests. Take your axes and carts, and tell your family and friends of the treasure waiting for them!” And he ran on. Next he saw men with pickaxes and shovels. “T have just left treasure beyond even your dreaming,” he said. “‘ Take your shovels and picks and bars and see for yourselves.” He passed farmers trying to get a living out of poor rocky land. “There are acres upon acres of rich and fertile land in the happy valley I have found,” he cried. “Take your horses, your ploughs and all the seed 38 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER you can carry. There is meadow-land and pasture-land for all your cattle and water in plenty.” To those in a crowded, smoky city he promised, “In my happy valley is pure air and sunshine and space to breathe.” To fishermen he said, ‘‘ There are more fish in the river in Happy Valley than you have ever seen”’; and to carpenters and builders he ad- vised, “‘ Pack up your saws and your hammers and nails. We shall need homes in the happy valley.” You cannot wonder that one after another of the people he met said, ‘‘ Let us find the way to this place and go and live there and find its treasure.” So it came about that in a short time whole families brought all they owned to Happy Valley to make it their home. Some went to the forests, and there they found tall trees waiting to be cut down and built into homes. Others began to dig for treasure. Gold and silver and pure white marble were waiting to be mined and quarried. The farmers ploughed the fields and found the soil even finer than they had hoped for. Fisher- men gave one look at the river and made plans for a big fishing business. The pure air and the sunshine were all that had been promised, and sick people began to feel better as soon as they reached the valley. It was a paradise for them, and for children as well. Now when all the people had found what treasure there was for them in this new place, whether it was in the mountains, the forest, the land or the river, they were filled with a great thankfulness. Here was promise for food, shel- ter, prosperity and happiness. One and all felt like singing. “Let us sing to God,” some one said, “ for it was God’s winds which led us to know of this place. The mountains are his, the waters and the dry land.” ** And all for us to use,” cried another. us give thanks to God.” “Yes,” came from all directions, for a great crowd had gathered. It seemed that every one felt the same. Some did not know as much about God as others, but most of them had brought Bibles with them, and many remembered parts they had learned. Now some one began to lead all the ** Let others. He was using words which people thousands of years before had used when they felt thankful for all God had given them. “* Oh, come, let us sing unto the Lord,” he was saying, and others began to join in, for they knew these verses; they had learned them when they were children. “‘ Let us come before his presence with thanks- giving,” they went on. “Let us make a joyful noise unto him with Psalms.” They too were making a joyful noise unto him, and with a Psalm, or song. Gradually more and more people joined in. It was thrilling to hear. ‘Tn his hand are the deep places of the earth; ”’ —the voices of the miners and quarrymen and the woodmen were heard above the others now — “The heights of the mountains are his also.” “The sea is his, and he made it; And his hands formed the dry land.” The farmers, the gardeners and the fishermen were loudest now. ‘‘Oh, come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” And they all knelt there together in what was to be the very center of the town. As they stood up again, somebody started a song. It began, ‘‘ Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”” And when it was over some- body else shouted, ‘‘ Let us build a house for God, even before our own homes are finished. Then we shall always have a place to worship him together.” All the people said, ‘“ Let us!” and that is the reason why Happy Valley had a church before it had a school house, or a town hall or a library. (The use of this Psalm is suggested for the Thanksgiving worship service.) Note on the Thanksgiving Worship Service As a second step in the training of the third- grade children in worship (see discussions on pages 6 and 12), provision is made for them to plan a Thanksgiving service of worship of their own. This will take place on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, either in their own department, in the main section of the church school, or in the church auditorium, the last preferred. It will be in no sense an exhibition of what the class has learned. It should be a worshipful service, planned thoughtfully by the children themselves, AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 39 presented as a gift to their heavenly Father in a spirit of reverence and thankfulness, and shared with their friends. They will have memorized one or two Psalms to be used, chosen the respon- sive reading, learned the hymns, and furnished not only the prayer which the pastor, superinten- dent or leader will offer on the occasion, but also the original response to be sung as a refrain throughout the prayer. The word “rehearse” will never be used in connection with the preparation of it. Parts of it will occur repeatedly in departmental programs preceding Thanksgiving, as familiar worship material; parts of it will be really studied; but it will never be gone through as a whole until the Sunday before Thanksgiving. After the service, either on that day or in the next weekday session, the children should have a chance to talk over the program. Report of School A Adjustments on a Stormy Sunday Only two Primary children present outside third-grade class. We had one worship period, with children composing prayer and choosing songs. ‘Then the leader told to all the story of Christ choosing the first four disciples, given in Fifth Sunday program, but not used by us. Children of third grade took home copies of the ninety-fifth Psalm to learn. The minister was willing to have the Thanksgiving program take the place of the usual Sunday morning church service. SIXTH WEEKDAY Hike The object is to discover November secrets, to gather bird’s-nests, cocoons and other nature material for decoration of the department. Re- calling the story of the discovery of Happy Valley may lead to a short praise service out-of-doors. Use hymns and verses as far as possible which will be part of the Thanksgiving service. Report of School A on Hike Challenging Remarks and Incidents Leader took to the church a cocoon of the prometheus moth, also a mounted prometheus and polyphemus moth for children to examine before we went on our hike for cocoons. Found three bird’s-nests, one hornet’s nest, four golf balls (apparently the principal prizes), gentians, everlastings and ferns, but no cocoons. Harvey, whose finger had been hurt last week, was with us. Joun (whose mother had happened in at the critical moment and taken Harvey home with her): My, but he was brave! He never cried all the time mother was doing it up, and it must have hurt like sixty! Leader told the story she had promised, ‘‘ One of the Crowd,” from Tell Me a Hero Story, by Mary Stewart. In the woods when the boys were wishing they had brought their guns, there were so many wood- chuck holes, leader told Professor St. John’s story about the boy who set his dog to burrowing into a woodchuck’s hole for the fun of seeing a fight between the woodchuck and dog. The closing words, “‘ And that boy never again set his dog on a woodchuck for fun,’ brought the response from two boys, “I shouldn’t think he would.” (On the way out and on the way back): “O Miss Bradley, I’m so glad you have this class!” Sruart (in the woods): We'll have to help Miss Bradley, fellas, down this steep part. Here, take that limb out of the way! Joun (going through Soldiers’ Home grounds): I’d like to make something for the old soldiers sometime. Why couldn’t our class make some- thing for them? 40 LEADER: That would be fine, if we could think of anything we could make which they’d care for. (See how John’s suggestion was followed up in the Christmas program planning, report of School A on Twelfth Weekday.) LEapER (discovering two of the boys with clenched fists, and tense anger in their expressions, about to spring at each other): Want some cookies, boys? (Immediate relaxing of muscles; prompt action with the cooky bag.) On the road the boys suddenly, with one ac- cord, burst into a delightfully wicked song, watch- ing the while to see what the leader would do. ‘* Hell, hell, the gang’s all here!’ they shouted, all the more gleefully since motors were passing. ‘“‘ What the hell do we care? What the hell do we care? ” Not knowing what to say, but seeing their waiting expressions, and not caring for the opin- ion passing motorists were gaining of us, leader couldn’t ignore it. “In the first place, boys,” she said practically, “you're not singing that right. It isn’t ‘ Hell, hell, the gang’s all here,’ but, ‘ Hail, hail!’ and in the second place, the people whom I choose for friends don’t use that kind of language. They think it is tough, and I don’t see why I should choose to go hiking with people who use it, do you?” (Sheepish giggles; then something else took their attention. No more “trying out” that day.) Fiorrie’s Morner (at home): Who behaved best on the hike? Fiorrie: Harvey Newton was best of the boys; I was best of the girls. (The two girls present were rather subdued by the eight boys.) Problems of the Hike Running across people’s lawns Picking greens for teachers from trees with- out regard to ownership Eating watercress from any brook they came across “Shut up, Lawrence!” “ You darn fool! dc (See report of School A in next weekday pro- gram.) SEVENTH SUNDAY November FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Use in this period thanksgiving verses and songs which the children know, particularly those which are to be part of the Thanksgiving worship service being planned by the class. Speak briefly of the first Thanksgiving day, reading Psalm 100 as one which was probably used. The children may join in the verses they know. If a special offer- ing is to be taken next Sunday, refer to it as a “ thank-offering.”’) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Making Use of the Familiar. (Definitely de- cide on all the material for the Thanksgiving service. Make a tentative “order of service” to be submitted to the minister and church-school superintendent. Plan to invite them to the next weekday session, and explain about it.) What School A Did Used the picture of the “‘ Great Teacher” in planning our service, looking at it often. Psalm 100 and the Lord’s Prayer were definitely de- cided upon. Psalm 95 had not yet been learned. Joun: I wish we hadn’t said we’d do it! FRANKIE: So do I. Leaver: Oh, dear! Do you all feel that way? FLorrigE (amused): You look so surprised! Leaver: I am. Why, Miss Fairfield (superin- tendent) is depending on us, and Mr. Greene (minister) announced it in church this morning. And now you're talking as if you’d like to back out! FiorriE (soothingly): We can do it all right. Sruart: [ll try my best. OTHERS: Sure, we all will! SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (If possible have the minister present for this period. He will better understand about the prayer. (One third-grade child tells the rest of the de- partment the plans for the program for the next Sunday; asks for their help. A child or the minister reads the chosen verses of Psalm 136, asking the entire department to join in the re- sponse: For his loving kindness endureth forever.) Songs. (Praise songs to be used in the service.) Prayer. (Leader asks the department for sug- gestions for a prayer of thanksgiving which the minister will make next Sunday, and in which they can use their refrain.) School A. Entire department sug- gested the following: Wheat, earth, health, clothes, grass, trees, food, wood (for houses and fires), birds, mothers, fathers, grand- mothers, brothers, sisters, teachers, king (by the son of a Canadian). Suggestion promptly changed by Americans to Presi- dent.) (Speak again of next Sunday’s offering, whether it is to be of money or gifts of food. Let the children choose the “ giving” song for their service, to be sung at the time the offering shall be taken). SECOND CLASS PERIOD A New Experience. (Take the class into the church auditorium where the Thanksgiving service will be. Ask the minister to go with you to an- swer questions and help you explain the meaning of whatever symbols there may be in the archi- tecture, the furnishings, the decorations, the win- dows. Use stories where possible.) (Let all this bedone in a spirit of reverence which the children will feel and give to others through their worship service. (While in the church, let them repeat together the verses of Psalm 95, which they have just learned, sing a praise song, read Psalm 100, or pray again the prayer just formed, using the re- frain. Or let the minister read Psalm 136 while they give the responses.) Report of School A A Visit to Church Auditorium This was a great success. Leader told about people who regarded their church as so sacred as to remove shoes before entering. (Poor idea; they all wanted to try it at once.) She said that the minister would ‘take us into the church and explain parts of it to us. FRANKIE: What did he do to those babies that day when he put his hand in the water? Al 42 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Leaver: He'll tell you. When minister joined us, all formed in line and followed him into church. Leader told him the question about baptism. He stopped at font and explained the ceremony and the significance of it, as following an ancient custom of parents bring- ing their children to the church to present them to the Lord, citing presentation of Jesus. He called attention to the pulpit, gift of and designed by an architect in New York, and told how par- ticular he always is when it is moved, that it may not be treated carelessly. He said the boys might be trustees or deacons some day, and have these things in their care. They might even be the movers sometime. They would know how to do it carefully. He showed them the communion table, and told them the story of the breaking of bread at the Last Supper and Christ’s request. They read the carved words in the oak: “ This do in re- membrance of me.” Children noticed the simi- larity in the design of this table and the pulpit furniture — all the careful work of the New York artist. The carpet was spoken of, that it alone cost $1,000, that spiked shoes and running about were hard on it. The decorations on the wall were examined and appreciated as the work for weeks of several men. The finish of the pews was remarked upon. One showed where a child’s feet had scratched the pew in front. A boy noticed a hole in a window, the result of boys throwing stones at a hornet’s nest in the eaves. General resentment. When the children were admiring the interior as a whole, and particularly deploring scratched woodwork, the minister remarked to leader, “T’ve always dreaded the suggestion of movies being shown in this church. If it were for our own church people who cared, I shouldn’t mind, but for everybody — ” CHILDREN (interrupting): Oh, no! Trina (visions of Harte’s Theater in her mind): Oh, it would be an awful mess! After having examined parts and the whole, children seated themselves in the front seat and as the minister, in front of them, read Psalm 136, they responded as they would next Sunday with, ‘“‘ His loving kindness endureth forever.” Resutt: The children gained a new under- standing of the church auditorium, its use, its beauty, its cost, and an appreciation of its parts. Hereafter, if they run around in it, they will at least feel uncomfortable. Shouldering the Blame ONE OF THE Boys (speaking of yesterday’s hike after the session): Gee, we got the dickens when we got home, it was so late. Leaver: That was my fault, and I’m sorry. You tell your mothers — Boy (interrupting): No, it was not your fault. It was ours, because we wouldn’t hurry when you told us to. ee SEVENTH WEEKDAY Preparation for Thanksgiving The Service Study and repeat portions to be memorized for the Thanksgiving service. Perfect the service. If any members were not present last Sunday and the church is open, go into the auditorium again. Let those who were present before act as guides to those who were not, explaining interest- ing and beautiful objects. All repeat one of the Psalms or sing a song to be used the following Sunday. Make plans to deliver after church the harvest offering which may be brought. Thanksgiving Story “Much and More,” from The Golden Goblet, by J. T. Stocking, in abridged form in The May- flower Program Book, Perkins and Danielson; or “The King’s Thanksgiving,” in Tell Me Another Story, by Carolyn S. Bailey, and The Second Year Mayflower Program Book, Perkins and Danielson; The Ten Lepers, Luke 17: 11-19, retold in Teacher's Text Book, Course III, Part 1, Inter- national Graded Lessons. Making Thanksgiving Place-Cards Use the time that remains for making Thanks- giving favors or place-cards, or for finishing those which may have been started last week. These will be carried home by the children and used at their Thanksgiving dinner parties. Report of School A Preparation for Thanksgiving Service Showed the children programs which would be handed to congregation tomorrow. Explained parts, but it bored them. Minister took them into church again to try reading the lesson (Psalm 95) with their help. They went on the platform and recited Psalm. No other “ re- hearsing,” as pianist was not present. ‘The Great Teacher” Boy (discovering the Christian flag on return to room): What is it, the Red Cross flag? Leaver: No, it is the Christian flag. You'll find it in every church, and any one who is a Christian has a right to carry it. Joun: We’re Christians, aren’t we? ONE (fo another a little later): You darn fool! LrapER: Come and sit down. I want to talk to you. Frankie, get the Christian flag and hold it a minute. During our hike last week I heard you boys call each other over and over — and I’ve heard it twice today —, ‘“‘ You darn fool.” John, a few minutes ago you asked what flag that was, and I told you it was the Christian flag. You said, ‘‘We’re Christians, aren’t we?” We’re only Christians so long as we try to act and talk and think in the way Jesus Christ would. (Showed picture of Jesus.) Can you imagine Jesus calling anybody a darn fool? Boys (in sincere horror): No! Leaver: Even if he belonged to another race, or if he was supposed to be stupid or in any way not equal to him? Boys (looking at picture, and still in horrified tones): No! Leaver: [’ll tell you a story about how he treated somebody whom everybody else looked down upon. People wouldn’t even go near him, or let him come near them. Besides having a dreadful disease which was forty times worse than the measles, because you never got over it, and so all your life had to keep away from people, this man was a Samaritan. I can’t tell you how the Jews hated the Samaritans and looked down on them. You know Jesus was a Jew. It would be natural for him to look down upon a Samari- tan. (Told story of the ten lepers.) ONE oF THE Boys (looking at picture): And he was the only one that had the sense to say “Thank you! ” Leaver: It’s a good Thanksgiving story, isn’t it? We talked more about the Christian flag — spoke of its being the only one in the world which was allowed by our government to hang above the United States flag. Frankie got tired of holding it upright and let it drop a little. : Tommy AND JoHN (together): Let me hold it. He doesn’t know how to treat it! ” Puzzling Problem We played a game. John would not join, but nearly broke his neck craning it to see the cause of the frequent shrieks. Should leader keep at him to join? 44. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER A Story Told ‘Much and More.” They loved Mr. Stocking’s name — thought it so appropriate for Christmas! Enthusiastic about the story itself. Frequent interruptions at first. Apparently im- possible for Lawrence to concentrate for more than thirty seconds. Finally when leader stopped so frequently that others were disgusted, Lawrence himself said with great firmness, ‘‘ There, I’m going to put this knife in my pocket, and I’m not going to touch it again until the story’s finished. Go on, Miss Bradley.”” Went on to end. Taking Work Home The day before leader had coached three Inter- mediate girls in making place-cards. They came Saturday for the work period, and helped the children. Children were wild over “ button ones.” (Pattern in The Mayflower Program Book.) Impossible to complete more than one that period, so each was taught how to transfer a pattern, was given a pattern, as many buttons as there were members of his family, and all necessary materials for making other cards at home from his sample. They each took home other patterns and cardboard for extra gifts. This proved twenty times as valuable as the class work where the leader has previously done the difficult part, leaving the rest for the children to do in the school. Home Appreciation and Cooperation ‘‘ Elinor and Martin worked on place-cards all day long. When the family ran out they started in on the neighbors. They’re lovely patterns, and the children are having such a good time making them all themselves.” “ John couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving. He came right home and made a card, marked it ‘ Daddy ’ and put it at his father’s place at dinner that day.” The leader took Anne (quarantined, but not ill) some materials and patterns that afternoon, and showed her how to make the cards. This was appreciated by the entire family, as the older sister (aged eleven) seized upon the idea for the church fair. All three children made the cards for their family Thanksgiving dinner. The mother told leader that Anne had learned the parts of the service for the next Sunday, though she would not be present. She also said that Anne and Barbara (younger sister) were to sing as grace at their family dinner one of the songs learned, — “For this good year of ours.” EIGHTH SUNDAY November No program is given for this Sunday on account of the special service already prepared by the class. If this takes place in the church, and the children remain in the auditorium for the entire hour, the church-school session for Primary chil- dren may be omitted. If the department remains only for the first part of the service, however, and is then dis- missed for its own session, omit the usual worship service and tell a Thanksgiving story. In the event of the children’s remaining in the church the entire hour, give to the minister a story suggestion which he can use for his sermon. Plenty will be found in Professor Hartshorne’s Manual for Training in Worship, and Stories for Worship and How to Use Them, and in Jay S. Stowell’s Story-Worship Programs for the Church School Year. If there is no possibility of having the children’s Thanksgiving service in the church, or with their older friends in the church school, it may be used as a special service in their own department, in which mothers and other friends may be asked to join. The superintendent or class teacher will then tell the story. Whenever or wherever this program takes place, the children should have an opportunity soon after to discuss it, as pointed out in the directions for the Thanksgiving worship service given in the Sixth Sunday program. CHILDREN’S THANKSGIVING SERVICE Report of School A . Opening Sentence. From Psalm 100. (Chosen by children because they knew verses from it.) Hymn. “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God AI- mighty.” ~ Invocation and Lord’s Prayer. Responsive Reading. From Psalm 136, con- gregation responding, “‘ For his loving kindness endureth forever.” (This response, used in the Primary Depart- ment, was so loud and enthusiastic each time that the children’s voices drowned out the rest.) Gloria. Lesson. with the minister. the platform on each side of the minister. recited clearly as the minister read.) Children’s Thanksgiving Hymn. Prayer, with Children’s Response. “ We love thee, heavenly Father.” (During the minis- ter’s prayer, which was built around the children’s own suggestions, this little response, with its original music, came in eight times.) Hymn. “ We Plough the Fields and Scatter.” Announcements and Offertory. Sermon to the Children. “Saying Grace.” Hymn. “For the Beauty of the Earth.” Benediction. Comment: A beautiful little service with no exploitation of the children, but natural, child- like worship. The class did not enter into the preparation of it “ whole-heartedly,” but those who were present thoroughly enjoyed the giving of it. From Psalm 95. Children reading (The third grade stood on They Report of School B Our Thanksgiving service was held in our own department. Memorized Scripture verses ap- propriate for Thanksgiving, and seasonal songs which the children had chosen and practised, were sung. The class lesson for the day being about the building of Solomon’s temple, it fitted in beautifully, and the verse, “ Enter into his _ gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with 45 praise; give thanks unto him, and bless his name,” was used in the worship period. For the second departmental period the leader chose “The Discovery of Happy Valley” as a Thanksgiving story. In the part that tells of the miners’ voices being heard above the others saying, ‘‘ In his hands are the deep places of the earth,” and the fishermen’s saying, “‘ The sea is his,” the leader read the verse first and had the children tell which voices could be heard most plainly. EIGHTH WEEKDAY Preparation for Christmas Pictures (Have hung near by, pictures of the following scenes. The first six are to be found in Primary Picture Set No. 2, of the International Graded Lessons; the other four in Picture Set No. 3. “ Jesus and the Fishermen’; ‘“‘ The Wonderful Healer ’’; “‘ Jesus and the Children”; “ Stilling the Storm” ; “ Jesus and the Daughter of Jai- rus”; ‘‘ The People Thronged Him”; “In the Streets of Capernaum’”’; ‘“ The Man with Four Friends”; ‘‘ Jesus and the Leper”; ‘Jesus Teaching to Pray.”’) You like to look at pictures of Jesus, so today I have brought almost as many as Miss True had that first day the children helped her sort them out. Jesus is in every one of these. When we look at them we can pretend that we are Simon and Andrew and James and John watching him. You see that’s the way Jesus’ disciples went to school to him, by watching him and listening tohim. He taught them as much by doing things before them as by talking. Remember how he treated the men who wanted to “ tell on” and stone the woman who had done wrong? From watching him that day, what did they learn? Look at the pictures and see what kind of things Jesus was doing before his disciples always. (Let the children handle and talk about the pictures. Tell the stories of those they ask for.) Joun: Wasn’t he wonderful? Say, I wish I’d known him! Story “FREELY YE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE”’ Mustn’t it have been wonderful to have been among the first four chosen to be his pupils? They had a chance to watch him from the first. You know he chose other disciples after those four on the lake. There were twelve altogether; and they went everywhere with him. Think what it must have meant to have him for a friend. If he was as helpful to strangers as these pictures tell us, how much he must have done for his disciples, who were his friends! APPRECIATIVE COMMENT: Oh my, yes! One of the very first things he did was for Simon and his wife. Simon’s wife’s mother was very sick. They hurried to tell Jesus about it and Jesus went straight to his friend’s home and 46 cured her. Can’t you imagine how happy they all were as they thanked him? When you’ve heard something you never knew, or had a particularly good time, or seen something wonderful, what is the first thing you want to do? Tell somebody, isn’t it? Well, don’t you think those disciples of Jesus must have felt that way at the end of every single day? They were getting so much from their teacher about how to live and help people, that they must have wanted to give their knowledge to some one else. They must have longed to try to do some of the things they saw Jesus doing. Finally, after they had been watching Jesus for many months, their chance came. Every day for weeks and months the crowds thronged about the great Teacher. They came from everywhere, and each one wanted help of some kind. The stream of sick, unhappy, worried men and women and children seemed endless. Jesus looked at them and was filled with a great pity for them, as he spoke. ‘You are just like sheep without a shepherd! ”’ he said. “‘ If only I could reach every one in the world! There are so many who need help and so few to give it.” But there were his disciples— his special pupils, whom for months he had been training to do the very things he did. Were they ready by now? He called them to him. ‘“ My disciples, you have been with me a long while now. Go out among the cities and villages, and do for others what you have seen me do. Never be afraid that a task will be too hard. It is my Father who helps me. He will help you. Tell people what I have told you about our Father. Tell them to be sorry if they have done wrong, and show them what is right. You know, for I have shown you. Tell them that it is only by doing right that they can be happy; you know that, for you have learned it yourselves. ‘* Wherever help is needed, give it, remembering me. It may be only a cup of cold water to a thirsty child; it may be cheerful, comforting words to the sad; it may be healing for the sick. Wherever you go, help; you will know how, for I have taught you. Every kind of help you have received from me, give to others. Freely ye received, freely give.” AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 47 Do you suppose there was one disciple among them who wasn’t eager to start out at once? They had watched hundreds of faces light up because Jesus helped them. They wanted to make sad faces light up. Simon remembered how happy Jesus had made him and his wife when her mother had been made well. He wanted to make people glad like that. Probably all the twelve were in a hurry to be off, but I think Simon was the most impatient of all. Jesus had changed his name to Peter. Peter meant “rock,” and Peter was anxious to show that he could be depended upon like a rock. He had received so much from Jesus; now he wanted to give it to others. Joun: I bet they did it, too. And so the disciples started off two by two to cheer the lonely, to heal the sick, to tell sad people about Jesus who had sent his pupils to them, and their heavenly Father who loved them. And everywhere they went the message of Jesus sang itself in their hearts and urged them on: ‘“ Freely ye received, freely give.” Nore To Leavers: (It may be well to end here, and tell the rest of the story at another time.) The reason I told you that story today is be- cause of something that happened in Happy Valley after the children in Miss True’s school knew it. This was some time after the people had had their service out-of-doors and thanked God for all his goodness to them. The church had been built now, and Miss True’s school was well started. The children liked the message Jesus had given his disciples, especially after they had found a little tune to it in a song-book. They liked to sing it. It sounded like this: “ Freely ye re- ceived, freely give.” (Songs for Little People.) Robert could print, and wanted to put it on the blackboard. Miss True said of course he could, and gave him some colored chalk to make the letters prettier. When it was done the child- ren were so delighted with it that they decided to take it out on the lawn where everybody pass- ing could see it. You never could believe the effect it had. It really started the first Christmas celebration in Happy Valley. It happened about harvest time. All the farmers were bringing in great loads from the fields, and as they passed the church and read the sign, you could see them stroke their beards thoughtfully as if a new idea had struck them. The miners and quarrymen read the sign, and thought of the treasure they were digging every day out of the mountain. The dairymen thought of the grass their cattle ate, and of the rain which came down so freely from heaven to water their herds. George Kling’s mother thought of George’s new clothes. All the people in Happy Valley who read Robert’s printed sign admitted that they had indeed been receiving freely ever since they had come to Happy Valley. But they took the whole verse in earnest: Freely ye received, freely give. And they suddenly felt that Thanksgiving and praise services weren’t enough; that there was giving to be done as well as receiving and saying, “Thank you.” And every single one looked about for some one to give to. Shouldn’t you feel queer to live in a town where there was nobody who really needed your gifts? But that was the difficulty before the Happy Valley people. Everybody had enough. There was much more than they needed. They all knew plenty of people outside of Happy Valley who needed gifts, but up to now everybody had worked so hard to build up Happy Valley that the people outside, who were not so fortunate as they were, had been completely forgotten. Now they remembered, when they wanted to give and had no one to receive the gifts. ‘“ Why don’t we send some of our harvest out? ” some one asked. “ Back to our neighbors who couldn’t come to Happy Valley,” another chimed in. ‘“ It would take a long time to get it to them,” a third said doubtfully. The crowd began to break up into little groups, all talking together. It was plain that every- body was in favor of sharing the gifts they had received in Happy Valley with their old neigh- bors outside. The question was how to reach them, for so far there were no trains in and out of the valley. Everybody had arrived by wagons or automobiles and the household goods had come by truck. Then a man’s voice could be heard above the rest. It was Freddie Thorpe’s father speaking. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he shouted, so that all could hear, “last night my wife and I were talking about Christmas.” The others nodded; Christmas was only a few weeks away. Evi- dently other people had been talking about it, 48 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER too. “And we were wondering,’ Mr. Thorpe went on, “ how we were going to get presents for our children and for each other. Even if we make them ourselves we need materials which have to be bought in stores.” There was a nodding of heads and a murmur of ‘“‘'That’s so,” in the crowd. You see there were no stores yet in Happy Valley. It had often been very inconvenient. The people had fre- quently found themselves wanting certain things very badly, things which didn’t grow in the ground, or on trees, or in the river. “TI was going to suggest that we start a store,” continued Mr. Thorpe. ‘‘ A number of us would take trucks from the valley, go back to our old homes and buy whatever is needed to stock a store, especially at Christmas time.” “Hooray!” shouted the crowd, “ but what’s the matter with sending the trucks out full in- stead of empty?” “That’s what I was thinking,” Mr. Thorpe answered. ‘‘ Who will go?”’ “Twill!” “So will I!” from all directions. ‘‘ What shall we share with our old neighbors? ”’ ** Fruit,” said one. ‘“‘ Vegetables,’ said another. “ Grain,” “ Coal,” “‘ Wood,” cried others. “‘ Christmas trees! ”’ shouted a little boy at the edge of the crowd. And everybody loudly ap- proved of that. Many remembered how hard it had been back in the cities to get Christmas trees; and here the mountains were covered with them. The next day there was a parade half a mile long, a parade of loaded trucks being driven through the town and out of the valley. Miss True’s children came out of their school to wave and shout as the procession passed. But the most thrilling part of it all—to the children — came when one of the drivers leaned out, and pointed to Robert’s sign. “That was what started us, you know,” he called, and the drivers who came after grinned with delight to see how excited the children were. ‘* Send me!” came School A. Did not use the story at all. Discussing last Sunday’s service and planning ahead for Christmas, also making some rules for ourselves, took all the time. Discussion of Thanksgiving Service (If there has been no chance yet to discuss the Thanksgiving service, let the discussion take place now.) School A. The main criticism was “not enough came.” (The first blizzard of the year kept half the number away.) On the whole it was “ pretty good.” The report on the Christmas program of this school, page 73, shows how the children improved in their ability to criticize their own projects. Plans for Christmas Program What could this class plan for the pleasure of the rest of the department, or the whole church school, or a near-by institution? Another serv- ice? What should be in it? Carols? What carols? (Try some.) The Christmas stories? Which ones? Tableaux illustrating either the songs or stories or both? (Read over the story of the shepherds, Luke 2 : 8-20; the Wise-men, Matt. 2:1-12, for possibilities. Show pictures illustrating events connected with the birth of Jesus. (Plan to ask the whole department to help in the preparation of the music of the program de- cided upon. Practise “O Little Town of Beth- lehem,” if the children know it, and one or two other carols.) Christmas Work (Start the Christmas work today. The depart- ment as a whole will probably contribute to some outside interest, such as the Armenians or a mis- sion school. ‘Therefore, since home relationship will be emphasized for the next few weeks, it is suggested that the gifts made in this class be made first for members of the family, then for those helpers who come in contact with their homes, such as the postman and the milkman. Where families are large, children with fewer members to provide for may help out. (These gifts need not be elaborate. The baker and postman will be pleased at the very thought of being remembered. Pretty cards can be made by exposing a Christmas tree stencil design, for instance, on blue-print paper. But whatever is attempted, from Christmas tree ornaments for the family tree,—see The Mayflower Program Books for patterns —to wooden toys, several assistants will be necessary for each of the weeks before the holiday season. Each child’s work AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 49 needs almost constant, though not necessarily expert, supervision. Camp Fire girls, High School students and members of organized classes in the Intermediate Department, make good assistants for any ordinary ‘activities. (Before attempting to help the children, how- ever, each assistant should first have made, from start to finish, whatever articles will be under- taken. For toy-making some one more expert who can teach the use of the hand-saw will be needed, but the assistants will learn this readily and be able to help the children after one lesson and a little practise.) Report of School A Christmas Program Making Leader read the Christmas stories from Luke and Matthew, and the class recalled songs for each, learned last year. Sang over “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “ Holy Night,” while leader showed all the Christmas pictures. We talked about a Christmas program for the department, and discussed ways of making the Christmas story real to the others. Anne’s re- mark, ‘‘ We could look at the pictures and try to do what they’re doing in them,” suggested tableaux, and the children tried the scene of the shepherds with Mary and Joseph. Joun: I wish I’d live then and could have gone. Leaver: I know a poem like that, — it begins, “Tf I had been a shepherd boy Out on the hills that Christmas night.’ (Leader read first stanza of poem given in Tenth Sunday program.) Christmas Work We had a new carpenter’s bench, low, and large enough for six or seven to work about at once, sheets of Upson board and patterns. Borrowed from the Vacation Church School supplies both coping saws and the head of the school to show us how to use them! “ Fighting bears” toy for younger brothers and tie-racks for fathers proved most popular. Criticism: Leader showed too many patterns at once. Children chose the hardest and were consequently easily discouraged. Should have started with something which could have been completed in one session. Use of Self-Control During the work period leader found Lawrence and John in heated argument, four fists being freely used. LEADER: Boys, I don’t know who started this, and I don’t want to know. But — Joun: I started it. Lawrence: And I’m going to quit right now. Belief in Santa Claus Stuart (on the way home): Well, I’ve written a letter to Santa Claus already. The boys up my way say there isn’t any Santa Claus, but I tell em there is, and so I wrote a letter, and told him everything I want. Leaver: How did you know how to address it? Sruart: Well, my father said if I sent it in care of the post-office it would reach him all right, so I did. (See Stuart’s remark at end of Tenth Weekday program.) Report of School B Decided to plan a Christmas program to be given for the other third-grade classes in the department. NINTH SUNDAY November — December FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Find out what Christmas songs the children are learning in day school which could be used in the department. Or there may be a special carol the department would like which might be learned in school at the suggestion of the leader to the music supervisor, who will by now have a personal interest in the class. School A. This cooperation meant better singing in our worship services, as well as an opportunity for appreciation in Sunday sessions of carols taught in day school. . (Use this period for an ‘ appreciation lesson ”’ on one of the carols to be learned, preferably “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” This does not tell the Christmas story, but gives the setting. (Picture first a world full of unhappy people making mistakes, needing some one to save them from getting worse and to show them the way to make a happy world.) Unless you were rich and strong and powerful at this time, there seemed to be no place for you. If you were weak or sick or helpless you might as well have died; there were no such things as hospitals or the kind of doctors and nurses we know; no such things as homes where, if you were left alone in the world, you could be taken care of and treated kindly. All the people seemed to be trying to get ahead of the rest, and whatever stood in their way they would destroy, fighting and killing as it pleased them. When some were unkind and cruel, others became even more unkind and cruel, “ to get even.” And so it went on, until it was a world full of unkind, quarrelsome people. There was no such thing as peace. The wiser among them knew that this couldn’t go on. Some one must come soon who would show them another way to live. They felt as if the world was quite dark, and that they were groping around trying to find the way, but there was no light. They hoped—oh, how they hoped! — that God would send some one to save them all from making so many mistakes. He 50 would be like a light to lighten the darkness. The cruel, selfish ones were afraid of such a Saviour. But one night God answered the hopes of the wise ones. In the little town of Bethlehem was born a baby. The baby was the Christ Jesus, God’s very own Son who was to show the world the way to live. (Show a picture of Bethlehem. One will be found in Primary Picture Set No. 2, Interna- tional Graded Lessons.) Here is a picture of Bethlehem. See how close together the buildings are crowded. That means that the streets must be narrow and dark. Once a great preacher visited Bethlehem. His name was Phillips Brooks. He saw how narrow and dark the streets were. At night there were no lamps to light them. He thought of that night years and years and years before when God sent his Son into the world —into this very town — and he wrote a song about it. This is the song: (Sing, or have your assistants or a singer from another department sing softly and distinctly two verses of ‘‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,” while you hold the picture before the children.) School A. Teachers and one child who knew the first stanza sang this. FIRST CLASS PERIOD Keeping to the Familiar (Continuing the thought of the worship period, have several copies of Worship and Song or some other hymnal containing song just sung, on the class table. (Pass the picture of Bethlehem around so the children may examine it more closely; ask if they would like to read the rest of the hymn, “ O Little Town of Bethlehem.” (Continue the appreciation of the poem by speaking of a world of people today who either have not heard, or have forgotten and need to hear again, that Jesus was born. For when Jesus was born love came with him, and every- body knows that people are happier and kinder where love is than where quarreling and hatred are.) AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 51 School A. Leader spoke of how the telling of the story of Jesus’ coming always seems to make people happier, whether told in song, story, or pictures. We talked a moment about the possibility of taking our Christmas service to shut-ins or an institution. (Read the third stanza together; then the fourth. Ask what the song refers to by “ We hear the Christmas angels.” This brings us to the angels’ song that first Christmas night. Point to the pictures used in the last weekday session. Read again together the shepherd story from the Bibles.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Christmas means to many children simply the getting of presents. Tell in this period “ The Great Walled Country,” from Why the Chimes Rang, by Raymond MacDonald Alden, or The Second Year Mayflower Program Book, by Perkins and Danielson.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD Expression and Investigation. (Retelling the Christmas story from the point of view of the shepherds, have a dramatization or impersonation. One or more pretend to be shepherds who jour- neyed to the manger. The rest are strange shep- herds or friends from another place, who are listening to the story of that Christmas night for the first time. The tale may be told by one, or, as would be more natural, by several, interrupt- ing each other in their eagerness to tell what they heard and saw and felt. (If the children find they do not know the story well enough yet, send them to their Bibles again. (If the leader can sing, or if it is possible to commandeer the services of the one who sang “ O Little Town of Bethlehem,” let the shepherd story be told now in song, as a surprise. If the group has a separate class room, let the singer, dressed as a shepherd, appear and sing the story. If this would interfere with other classes, lead the third grade into the hall or some other part of the church where the “shepherd” can sing to them. The alternative would be for the song to be sung quietly in the class. The singer will be doing exactly what the children have been doing — impersonating the shepherds —if the Shep- herd’s Carol is used: “ Hearken, ye Children, while Shepherds of Bethlehem Sing,” from Worship and Song.) Report of School A The Christmas Impersonation Half the class were Bethlehem shepherds, the other half strangers. Strangers and Bethlehem shepherds greeted each other. Their conversa- tion was as follows: STRANGERS: Is there any news? SHEPHERDS: Yes, a baby was born. STRANGERS: Babies are born all the time. SHEPHERDS: But this was a king! STRANGERS: How did you know? SHEPHERDS: The angels told us. STRANGERS: What did you do? SHEPHERDS: We went to see him. STRANGERS: What did you do with your sheep? SHEPHERDS: We took the littlest lamb and left the rest with one shepherd. . STRANGERS: How did you know where to find the baby? SHEPHERDS: There was a star. Here we stopped to look up the account in Luke. Was there any star in that story? No. We then looked up the story of the Wise-men, and found it. Leader said she knew a song that sounded like what we had been doing; started to sing softly, “‘ Hearken, ye children,” but as the children all had books and caught the tune very quickly, it ended in all singing it — except John, who still doesn’t “‘ like that stuff.” Anne (at the close): I love that! Failure to Make Christianity Function In changing from class to departmental period, James had accidentally pulled away a chair in which Tommy was about to sit. Assistant (after Sunday school): You’ve got to write another story. LEADER: Why? AssIsTANT: For Tommy. Leaver: Didn’t he like “‘ The Great Walled Country? ” Assistant: I wasn’t watching him then, but I was just now. He had James on his back on the ground, and while two other boys were pin- ning him down, Tommy gave James the pummel- ing of his life. That ought not to happen, you know — not on the church grounds — not right after Sunday school. LEADER (meekly): No, it really oughtn’t. A MOTHERS’ MEETING A mother’s meeting should be planned for some afternoon in the early part of December. If there is any plan on foot for a Christmas play or pantomime, or for tableaux, the making of costumes will be necessary, and the mothers will probably be glad to come together both to sew and to talk. By now the leader will know her group fairly well. The mothers will have confidénce in her and faith in her undertaking. A sympathetic interchange of problems and methods of dealing with them will be mutually helpful and en- lightening. This is an excellent chance to introduce to mothers, who may not know of any, books or articles which deal with these problems. The leader could have a loan collection from the library of books on child psychology, stories for children, etc. Her own library will add materially to this. About this time with these eight-year-old chil- dren the question of whether or not there is a Santa Claus is causing anxiety. A story which could be told to pass on is, ‘‘ The Child Who Saw Santa Claus,” from Tell Me Another Story, by Carolyn 8. Bailey. This is a busy month for mothers. A Primary superintendent who is also a mother told what a terrible month it promised to be for her. She was madly rushing from one unfinished gift to another, putting off her little girl when she begged for a story, getting more tired and irritated and hectic each day, when, as she expressed it, her child brought her to her senses. After watching her mother plunge from one absorption to another — articles for the church fair, unfinished Christ- mas presents, committees, — “‘ Seems to me,” she plaintively observed, ‘‘ you have time for every- thing but me.”’ Her mother looked at her, then swept everything — all the Christmas gifts, all the articles for the bazaar in their various stages of incompleteness, into a bureau drawer. From that moment she devoted herself to the task of bringing Christmas to her child. She spent hours with her, reading and telling her all the Christ- mas stories she could find, shopping with her for materials, helping her fashion her own little gifts. Friends might be surprised, grieved, at her neglect, the bazaar committee might be disap- pointed or wrathy, but her child had the most wonderful Christmas of her short life. Isn’t this mother’s experience worth passing on? Mothers may be at a loss as to where to find Christmas stories to tell and read to their chil- dren. Be ready to lend your own books, or direct them to stories elsewhere. This is a rare opportunity to give the mothers an idea of what is planned in the course for December; to give them a hint as to what actions and reactions to expect in their children, and to solicit their help in encouraging the children in worthy, if sometimes troublesome, attempts to save their time. On the Ninth Weekday a story will be told of some Happy Valley children who gave their mother a Christmas present of time saved by their thoughtfulness and helpfulness. This may lead to the group’s wishing to do the same thing. The idea will be made attractive by the presence of a. pile of pasteboard disks marked like money, and boxes with slits in the covers. The children will like to take them home, keeping them a secret from theiir mother, and whenever one has a chance to do something which will save time for her—two minutes, fifteen, half-an-hour —he may put in the box the corresponding amount of “money.” At each meeting the “ time saved’ can be counted, and at Christmas, the bank, with a little explana- tory rhyme attached, may be given to the mother as a gift. Most of this is supposed to be a secret between the leader and the children, and the leader must not give the secret away. But the scheme will be much more successful if she can drop a hint to the mothers at this time to the effect that after the next session the children may seem a little more anxious to relieve them than usual, and that if they will encourage their children’s desire to save them time, they will be helping in the scheme. Of course they should not be told about the Christmas gift at the end, and the children need not know that the mothers have been prepared at all. But it will certainly help— the mothers to understand when the children become suddenly almost too officious in their de- sire to help; and it will encourage the children if their mothers would occasionally say, ‘‘ Susie, it would save me lots of time if you would wash the dishes for me,” or, ‘‘ John, run down to the grocer’s for me before school, will you? I’ve a J Ee AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 53 great deal to do this morning, and that will save me a good half-hour.” Or even, “ You know, you could save me ten or fifteen minutes every night, Sammy, if you’d to go bed the minute I reminded you.” Designating the amount of time saved will remind them of their bank and their desire to fill it. This will be a sort of game all through December, and it may start a habit. Report of School A Mothers were glad to come together to make costumes and talk. Leader showed them a set of beautiful large photographs of Palestine scenes, Bethlehem hills, and shepherds watching their flocks by night, from four of which the children were to make their tableaux. They were most appreciative, and much interested in the description of the im- personations of six angels, four shepherds, three Wise-men, Joseph and Mary. They wanted to know just what Bible passages, poetry and carols were to be learned and promised to help the children with them. They welcomed the current numbers of The Pilgrim Elementary Teacher as well as others con- taining stories and patterns for Christmas. There was no great craving for books on child psychology apparent and the leader didn’t men- tion them. All the children in the class, it de- veloped, still believed in Santa Claus. Leader read the article on Santa Claus in The Book of Knowledge, and asked if they minded her dealing with the subject that way. They were all per- fectly willing, and gladly took the hint about their children’s excessive helpfulness. Leaver: I can’t thank you enough for helping me with this. I never got so much work done so easily. A Moruer: Who should do it if not the mothers? AwnoTHeR Mortuer: I just couldn’t get Law- rence to go to Sunday school. Now I can’t keep him away — Sunday or Saturday. More than that, he doesn’t see why his whole grade in school shouldn’t go, too. He invited three boys last Saturday to go to the class and I had to telephone the mother not to let them go, or you’d be swamped. (This desire of Lawrence’s to share his good times in the class led to the party given in Feb- ruary for the entire third grade, toward which the class worked for weeks.) LEADER (as the mothers left carrying packages of unfinished costumes): I shall know where to turn’ the next time I want some work done! A Moruer: We’re glad to help any time. We certainly appreciate what you're doing for our children. (Reports through the year show how the leader kept in personal touch with the mothers as far as possible, though holding no more mothers’ meetings. She found the “sympathetic inter- change of problems” much easier and more natural this way.) NINTH WEEKDAY Christmas Surprises Story Mrs. Farrcuitp’s CHristMAS PRESENT The Fairchild children were perfectly sure that they had the nicest mother in Happy Valley. She was pretty and young, and made cookies cut in the shape of rabbits and puppies, and she was just as much fun to play with as another boy or girl; that is, when she did play. For some reason or other she didn’t do it as much as she used to. They were talking it over one day and Robert (he was called Bob at home) and Dorothy remembered when she used to spend any amount of time playing with them and tell- ing them stories. That was before the other children, David and baby Frances, had come. “‘ She used to make up stories for us,” Dorothy reminded Bob. ‘‘ Remember? ” “T know it,’ answered Bob. ‘“‘ Now she always reads them to us out of a book. They’re not half so good.” ‘‘Why doesn’t she make them up any more?” asked David. He felt as if he had been rather cheated, coming along after Bob and Dorothy. “T don’t know,” said the others. ‘ Let’s ask her.” So the three children hunted up their mother. They found her puckering up her pretty white forehead over a note-book. ““Why don’t you make up stories for us any more, mother? ” they clamored. ‘Fairy stories like the ones you used to write for me,” said Dorothy. “True stories that really happened,” said Bob. “A story about Santa Claus,” piped up David. You could tell by his suggestion that Christmas wasn’t very far off. “Mrs. Fairchild hugged all three of them. “Don’t I wish I could!” she said, her eyes sparkling at the thought. ‘‘ You see, I used to have more time to do it when there were just two of you and you were little. I'd write them when you were taking your naps. Then your supper and bedtime were so early I could write again in the evening. Now I have such a nice big family they keep me busy doing other things. When the baby’s asleep there’s always sewing and mending to be done, and after supper — well, you know how much evening there is left when you are all finally in bed!” 54 The children looked thoughtful. They liked to take a long time getting to bed, putting off starting as long as possible and then undressing as slowly as possible. School A. This struck home. CHILDREN (murmuring): That’s like me. I do that, too. “Why,” Mrs. Fairchild said, taking up the little note-book she had been studying, “I was just wondering how I should even be able to get ready for Christmas. I have no end of nice ideas for you children and daddy. I keep put- ting them down in this book. But when am I ever going to find time to work on them? ”’ This was serious. It was bad enough to have her so busy that she couldn’t make up stories for them any more, but to have no time to get ready for Christmas! Why, how could they have Christmas at their house if their mother was too busy to bring it? “Oh, dear!’ cried Dorothy in alarm. ‘““There’s got to be time for Christmas,” said Bob, wide-eyed at the awful possibility. ‘‘ What is it that takes so much time, mother? ” Dorothy asked, hoping that something could be left out. ‘Oh, little things,’ Mrs. Fairchild answered, * like ” she stopped to listen. A knock sounded on the kitchen door. ‘‘ Like answering knocks and door-bells,” she finished, laughing, and ran downstairs. The children leaned out of the window to see who it was. It happened to be a delivery boy. “One of us could have done that for her,” re- marked Dorothy. “It wouldn’t have saved her so very much time,” said Bob. “No, but if we did it often enough it would,” was the answer. ‘And we've just got to do something.” Everybody agreed that something had to be done. What was the good of having the nicest mother in town, one who had a whole book full of ideas, if she didn’t have time to carry any of them out? They sat down to talk it over. ‘We don’t ever go to bed when she tells us,” said Bob guiltily. ‘‘ She has to wait around for us forever sometimes.” “And the other day,” said Dorothy, “she AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 55 said I was big enough now to set the table and to keep the saltcellars and sugar bowl filled. And I only did it once.” “Every time I get out my Mechano things,” put in David, “ mother has to put them back. I always think I’m going to, and then by the time I'm ready to she’s already done it.” ‘Two mornings when it’s snowed she’s asked me to sweep off the steps,’ said Bob, “but I didn’t get dressed in time to do it before school. And when I came back at noon they were all swept off.” “ All those things in her book,” said Dorothy, “ were for daddy and us. We don’t think of her at all. I don’t even know what to give her for Christmas.” “Me either,” admitted Bob. “ Me either,” echoed David. “T guess she’d rather have a Christmas present of some time than anything else,” ventured Dorothy. ‘“T know, let’s give it to her!’ exclaimed Bob, jumping up. “Time!” repeated Dorothy. ‘You can’t very well do time up in a package and tie it on a Christmas tree! ”’ “Yes, we can. We can write down when we've saved her time by doing extra things for her, and give her the papers.” ‘“ But Dorothy suddenly had a better idea than that. You never saw three more excited child- ren. They all ran downstairs humming the tune to the little verse Bob had printed on the school blackboard, ‘‘ Freely ye received, freely give.” That night when Mrs. Fairchild said, “ Come, children, it’s time to go to bed,” the children jumped as if they had been shot. Not one of them said, “O mother! I’m just in the middle of this story.” Not one of them, “ Oh, please, can’t I stay up longer tonight?” Not one of them even hesitated. Up the stairs they raced so fast that Mr. Fairchild said, “ What’s up?” and Mrs. Fairchild rubbed her eyes to see if she was dreaming. From the rushings and _scuf- flings and whisperings and suppressed giggles up- stairs you could tell that something was up. It didn’t seem more than two minutes before they were all downstairs in their pajamas to kiss their father and mother, and then upstairs again and quiet. “Well, I never!’ exclaimed Mr. Fairchild. “Neither did I— ever!” confessed his wife. “It’s too good to be true. Only a quarter to eight and a whole evening before me! I could start dressing that doll for Dorothy, or making the baseball suit for Bob, or the sweater for: David. Why, I have so much time I don’t know what to do!” Next morning Dorothy woke up humming to herself, “ Freely ye received, freely give.” Bob and David caught it and it ran in their heads all day. It was Saturday, Mrs. Fairchild’s busiest day, but things seemed to get done by magic today, somehow. The children were on time for every single meal. Dorothy filled the saltcellars and sugar bowl without being told, set the table three times and insisted on helping her mother with the dishes. Robert swept the piazza and the walk, and came back from errands so quickly that his mother couldn’t believe he had gone. David picked up the play-room and amused the baby. And by the time two o’clock came, and Dorothy said, ‘‘ Mother, may we take Frances out in her carriage? ” Mrs. Fairchild found to her surprise that her Saturday work was done. ‘I do believe nobody has as helpful children as I have,” she said to herself. “ Why, here I am with a whole half day to get ready for Christ- mas. I ought to do something special for them. I wonder—” and now Mrs. Fairchild had a bright idea. “Oh, that would be a surprise! ” she told herself excitedly. But would there be time with all she had to do? She could try. She went upstairs to her desk, and she was so deep in what she was doing that she never even heard when the children came in. They hung their coats and hats on their hooks. Usually they left them for their mother to hang. School A. Struck home again! They brought in Frances’ carriage, and took her with them up to the play-room. Here David played with her while Bob and Dorothy found pencils and paper and sat down. “ Oh, isn’t this fun? ” Dorothy chuckled, as she put down the amount of time she had saved her mother that day: Setting the table for breakfast, five minutes Clearing the table, ten minutes Wiping the dishes and putting away, twenty minutes “Twenty and ten makes thirty, thirty and five makes thirty-five— why, just think, Bob, I 56 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER gave her thirty-five minutes just with breakfast things!” ‘“That’s nothing,’ answered Bob, “I gave her more’n that sweeping that walk and doing those errands. And say, don’t forget to put what we saved last night going right to bed when she told us.” “'That’s so,” Dorothy nodded delightedly. “How much do you think it was? ”’ “‘T bet it was a good half-hour,” guessed Bob. “‘ Sometimes it’s nine o’clock before we really get tucked in. It was only a quarter to eight last night.” “‘Let’s put down a whole hour, and let’s do it every night. A whole hour every single night will count up like everything.” ‘‘Shows how much she’s been giving us,” observed Bob. “It’s about time we gave some of it back to her.” “Tt’s just like our song again, isn’t it?” said Dorothy, starting David’s list, for he could not write. ‘‘ Freely ye received, freely give,” she sang. ‘‘Oh, I like to freely give some time to my mother,” she added. Mrs. Fairchild awoke on the day before Christ- mas wondering if she could ever in the world do all the things which had to be done that day. There were all the packages to be tied up and '- marked, finishing touches to be put on several presents, and the Christmas tree to be trimmed. It always took a long time to trim the Christmas tree, but she felt as if this year it must be more beautiful than ever for the children. They had been so sweet and helpful lately, she wanted to show them how she appreciated it. Why, she thought, it was as if, whenever she had a par- ticularly busy day ahead of her, a host of little brownies had suddenly stepped in and taken the work right out of her hands. Yes, the tree must be prettier than ever this year. She usually trimmed it after the children had gone to bed. But there was a special reason why she wanted those hours free tonight. One more evening and she knew she could finish her crowning Christmas surprise, the gift she was counting on more than any other to delight her little brownie helpers. She must have the whole evening to herself. If Mrs. Fairchild was anxious about that tree, her children were even more anxious. They had plans of their own. Would they be allowed to carry them out? They never had done such a thing, they knew, but it just had to be this Christ- mas. And so, after working the whole morning shut up in their play-room, while their mother was tying up presents and doing other last things, they decided that the time had come to ask her. “Mother,” they began, “please, please, say yes when we ask you what we’re going to.” They sounded so earnest, and they looked so eager! Mrs. Fairchild wondered what it could be to make them so serious. ‘Please, mother,” they teased, “just this once! ”’ What could it be? They had been so good and helpful for so long, Mrs. Fairchild hated to refuse them anything. But suppose what they wanted meant work for her when already she was so rushed? There was the tree to trim and — “ Please, mother,” they begged again, Dorothy jumping up and down with red spots on her cheeks, she was so eager. “You dear children,’ said Mrs. Fairchild, “you may do anything that is reason- able.” ‘‘O mother, thank you!” they cried. ‘“ We want to trim the Christmas tree this year.” Now how do you suppose Mrs. Fairchild felt? Cuitp: Bet she was glad! Here they were clamoring to do the very thing she was trying to find time for! The Christmas tree, as a rule, was kept as a surprise, to burst upon the children in all its sparkling glory on Christmas morning. But if they liked it better this way, why shouldn’t they have what they wanted? And that is why, when the door was opened next morning, it was Mrs. Fairchild who was the one to be surprised instead of the children. They had taken their father into their secret and he had promised to tie their mother’s gifts on the tree for her, as well as his own, so that she should not even have a glimpse of the decorations until Christmas morning. . I wish you could have seen that tree! Besides all the strings of tinsel and the usual decorations, gold stars glistened among the branches, little silver disks hung from the twigs on trembling threads, while everywhere, all over the tree, twinkled small white diamonds and squares. Mrs. Fairchild hadn’t the least idea what they were, but as she stood in the doorway she thought a AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 57 she had never seen so pretty a tree in her life. At the top was a Christmas angel, and just under- neath it was what looked like a fat red Santa Claus. Only his thickness did not come from cloth stuffing. No, indeed, it was much more mysterious than that. The children spotted it at once. Their father had put it there very late the night before. They were so curious about it they almost forgot to look at their mother’s face. But she was so long admiring the beautiful tree, that the children and their father, laughing, had to draw her toward it. “Td advise you to look at some of those deco- rations, my dear,” Mr. Fairchild told his wife. “You'll find it worth your while.” The first thing Mrs. Fairchild looked at was one of the gold stars. There was some writing on it. “With love to mother from Bob,” it said, “1 Hour (cleaning the cellar.)” “ Why, what? ’” — began Mrs. Fairchild. Her eye fell on two quivering disks hanging on slender threads before her. One read, ‘‘ 4 Hour to Mother from David. (Playing with Frances.)”’ The other said, ‘Mother from Dorothy. Y Hour. (Making beds and dusting.)” The children’s eyes were fairly dancing to see their mother’s face. | “The stars are hours,” they explained glee- fully — they couldn’t wait for her to puzzle it out for herself —” and the silver circles are half- hours, and the white snowflakes are all minutes.” Sure enough, the twinkling little white papers had figures on them, 5, 10, 15, 20. “ They’re from all of us, you see,” Dorothy told her. “It’s time we saved you by picking up, and being on time for meals, and going to bed and everything.” “ T should think it was everything,” gasped Mrs. Fairchild. ‘‘ Why, my darlings, how can I ever thank you?” But they were not a bit worried about that. Just to see their mother finger each one of their Christmas tree decorations and to watch her face as she read what was on them was enough. The floor underneath the tree was covered with presents for them. They wanted to open them all at once. But they were curious about that funny, red Santa Claus. “ What is it, daddy? ” they asked, and as their father took it off the tree and put it into their hands, they discovered that it was a book —a book with cover and leaves cut in the shape of a Santa Claus, and the jolly old saint himself painted on the cover. They had never seen any- thing like it, but as they examined it they gave shrieks of delight, and ran to hug their mother. For this is what it said on the first page: A True Story for Bob A Fairy Tale for Dorothy A Story About Santa Claus for David All Made Into One Book By Their Loving Mother In the Time Saved for Her By Her Children’s Helpfulness Do you wonder that the Fairchild family thought it was the nicest Christmas they’d ever had? Comments, Plans and Work (Talk informally about the story. Show pic- ture of Jesus.) The Happy Valley children were “going to school to Jesus.’ Would their help- fulness have pleased him? Wouldn’t it be rather fun to give your mother a Christmas present of time? How could this group save time for mothers? (If the children would like to have such a Christmas secret, let them plan it now. One way to record the time saved would be as the Fairchild children did it, keeping account of all minutes they saved their mothers by doing for them things which are not being done regularly now, and putting the records on the home Christ- mas tree as ornaments. Another way is to keep a bank, — a box with a slit in the cover. ‘‘ Time is money,’—why not bank it? Each child should in this case be given a collection of card- board disks marked, “ 1 minute,” “5 minutes,” “10,” “15,” etc., “ 14 hour,” “1 hour.” These disks should be large enough to keep a record upon, such as ‘‘ wiped dishes,” “‘ dusted,” “ er- rand,” “promptness.” The banks should be taken home, kept a secret from the mothers, brought to the class on weekday sessions for counting, and finally given to the mothers as Christmas gifts, with a rhyme explaining what it all means. (Spend the rest of the hour doing Christmas work. Patterns for gifts will be found in The Mayflower Program Books. Spatter-work calen- dar blotters are made as follows: lay a small Christmas tree design of stiff cardboard on a 58 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER blotter. Plan this in a photograph tray or stout shallow box (about an inch high). Over the edges bend down tightly a piece of wire screening. Put a moistened tooth-brush (not too wet) over a cake of India ink and then pass the brush up and down the screen over the design. The ink will spatter through the screen on the card below, covering both the design and that part of the card with black spatterings. When the screen is taken off the tray and the blotter is dry enough to have the pattern re- moved, there will be a perfect design silhouetted against a black stippled background. The de- sign may then again be used as a pattern, pro- vided the ink which fell upon it has not curled it at the edges. Report of School A Saving Time for Mothers i Children delighted with this idea. A stationer had supplied us with Christmas card boxes of almost uniform: size, and each child was given an envelope of differently shaped bits of cardboard representing the number of minutes saved. Incident of Self-Control Anne arrived with her arm in a cast. She had broken her collar-bone the night before, and was now the center of the stage. Boys: Did you yell? ANNE: I couldn’t, because Betty was taking her music lesson. JoHn: Well, what do you know about that! Report of School B Work Made Christmas cards and rehearsed our play- let. Story and Saving Time Plan Used this story and idea just after Christmas, instead of before, after a discussion of about what our mothers had done for us at Christmas. Today we read several Christmas stories. (See report of School B in Twelfth Weekday program.) TENTH SUNDAY December FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship Quiet Music. (Use for quiet music during these weeks the Christmas songs played softly. “ Holy Night ” is one which immediately brings about a worshipful atmosphere. It is taught in most day schools, and the children recognize it at once and follow the thought in their minds. Show the picture of Bethlehem while the first two stanzas of “O Little Town of Bethlehem ” are sung. If this is on the blackboard, or copies of it were given the children to learn last week, they can sing it themselves. If not, the assistant may sing it.) Scripture Reading. 2 : 8-16.) Pictures and Song. (Show pictures of Beth- Jehem shepherds. If the children know “ While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night” or the first stanza of “ Noel,” let them sing one or both now, while the pictures are in sight. Other- wise let the assistants sing “ While Shepherds Watched.’’) Offering and Prayer. (Thanking God for his great gift, praying that our gifts may make Jesus’ birthday a happy one for others.) (Read or recite Luke FIRST CLASS PERIOD Discussion and Use of the Familiar. (If the class has begun to “bank” time saved for their mothers, a short exchange of their experi- ences will encourage those slower in starting. Continue dramatization of the Christmas story, this time retelling it from the point of view of either the innkeeper or a guest at the inn [draw- ing out ideas beforehand], or of the Wise-men. If the latter story is not known well enough, send the children to Matt. 2 : 1-12.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and F ellowship Poem. “If I Had Been a Shepherd Boy” If I had been a shepherd boy Out on the hills that Christmas night And heard the angels’ song of joy And seen the heavens flaming white, I think I never could forget; I know I’d be remembering yet! I could not be a shepherd boy, For that was long and long ago; But still the angels’ chant of joy Comes echoing across the snow, And I can listen if I will And hear their holy anthem still. If I had been a sleeping guest Lodged at the inn that Christmas night, When the new Lord was laid to rest In the cold stall in humble plight, I know I would have waked instead And given him my warm, soft bed. But I was not a lodger there, It was so long ago indeed, Yet all around me everywhere Are little children still in need, And when I love and cherish them I serve the Babe of Bethlehem. If I had been a Wise-man’s son And seen the star that Christmas night, And watched the travelers starting on Their journey toward the wondrous light, I would have begged to go with them To worship Christ at Bethlehem. I could not follow with the star — That was two thousand years gone by — But still its shining is not far; Its holy beams are very nigh, And whoso looks with praying eyes Still sees its glory in the skies. — Nancy Byrd Turner. (Help the children to appreciate this, reviewing last Sunday’s picture of an unhappy world wait- ing to be told the way to live, the great happiness which the shepherds must have felt when they heard the good news first of all, and bringing the thought up to the present time, when there still are people who have not heard or have forgotten the good news, and need it today. Show how we, realizing our own mistakes, can be made happy like the shepherds, by remembering that Jesus was born just to show us how to keep from mak- ing mistakes — to “save” us. Remembering in this way is like listening by oneself, and hearing 60 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER anew the good news which the angels told the shepherds. (Read the first stanza of the poem with feeling. Follow it with a prayer.) Song. “Away in a Manger.” (If this is familiar, and the Beginners meet at the same time as the Primary Department, say that today the story of the birth of the little Lord Jesus is to be told to the Beginners. Suggest helping tell the story to the little ones by singing it outside their door, or behind screens right after their teacher has told them the story. (If this bit of departmental cooperation is feasible, the Beginners’ teacher will have suggested just how it may best be carried out. The time for telling the story is near the end of the hour. The Primary second class period will be shortened, or perhaps omitted altogether, for as soon as the Beginners’ story is finished, and the teacher says, “If you listen, I think you'll hear the same story sung,” the choir, invisible or visible, as the case may be, should be ready. (It may be that the plan is more fitting for the third-grade children alone. If not practical at all because of a difference in the time of class ses- sions, or disturbance to other classes, the de- partment continues its regular schedule.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD The New Story. (The story in the week-day class was about children who found out what their mother wanted and needed most of all and gave it to her. Here is another story of a mother = who wanted just one thing in the world for Christmas. ‘Tell ‘The Jar of Rosemary,” from The Story-Teller, by Maud Lindsay, or The Second Year Mayflower Program Book, by Perkins and Danielson.) Report of School B We talked about the phrases of “‘ O Little Town of Bethlehem ”’ which needed explaining such as, “dreamless sleep,” “ the hopes and fears of all the years,’ ‘“‘while mortals sleep,” “‘ morning stars proclaim the holy birth.” When talking about ‘“ dreamless sleep ” one volunteered the in- formation that an upset stomach caused dream- ing, which sidetracked us a little. The children learned the song at home, two stanzas. Many of them knew it from hearing it on the victrola. The weekday children gave their little sketch for us during the second worship period. This was followed by telling “ A Jar of Rosemary.” Report of School A The Golden Rule Tommy tried to ‘“‘ start something ”’ before the opening service. Leader told what she had heard and why it made her sorry (see “ Failure to Make Christianity Function,” page 51); then said, “Would you have liked to be pinned in the mud like that? Then it’s forgetting our rule, isn’t it? May be you weren’t in our Saturday class when we took for our class song the Golden Rule?” He was in the class; knew the song; looked guilty and calmed down. All there sang the song, ““As ye would others should to you, so, Jesus said, to others do.” TENTH WEEKDAY Plans, Story and Work ’ Count the “money” or minutes which the children have saved for their mothers. Discuss new ways to be tried in addition this week. » Try to make the children want to make the angels’ message of “ peace on earth” and “ good will” come true in their own homes. It can be made a veritable ‘‘ magic month ” — no quarrels — everybody helping. ® Tell “A Jar of Rosemary,” if it was not told on Sunday. », Add in the work period the making of Christ- mas tree decorations for the home tree. Report of School A Time Saved for Mothers Children did not bring their banks, but re- ported. Most of them had already begun “ banking ”’ their mothers’ time. The Christmas Program They arrived with packages of completed cos- tumes sent by their mothers. Everybody wanted first, to see them; second, to try them on, and third, to compare themselves with the pictures. They quite naturally took the poses of the charac- ters in the pictures, and played shepherds, Wise- men, Mary and Joseph, each choosing from the pictures the character he or she wanted to por- tray. It was natural, too, to sing the songs which went with the pictures, and to recite or read the Bible passages. There was no thought of rehearsing in all this. The story-playing was 61 at the children’s own suggestion. As such it was infinitely more valuable than the rehearsal which the leader, still bound to the traditional method of “ getting up” a program, felt necessary to the finished production, and bungled badly on the Eleventh Weekday. Problem of Assistants The problem today was with the girl assis- tants who made most of the spatter-work blotters which were made, and started home, having appropriated calendars, blotters and other ma- terials provided for the class. When it was ex- plained that they were welcome to any patterns and ideas, but that they had been asked to help the children, they paid for materials they had used. Santa Claus Again Stuart (calling out in the work period): Say, Miss Bradley, you know I told you I wrote a letter to Santa Claus. (Attention from all.) Well, I got an answer yesterday. LEADER (blankly): You did? Stuart: Yes, he said he got my letter. (See stories and Stuart’s response in Thir- teenth Sunday program.) Report of School B After games and Christmas stories the children made gifts for their families and colored a poster for the Primary Department. ELEVENTH SUNDAY December FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Use songs and Scripture passages which are to occur in the pantomime or other program being planned for next Sunday.) What School A Did Quiet Music. “Silent Night.” “O Little Town of Beth- Song and Picture. lehem.”’ Reading and Recitation. Luke 2 : 8-14. Song. “ While Shepherds Watched.” Poem. “If I Had Been a Shepherd Boy.” Offering Song. “Freely ye received, freely give.” Prayer. Interruption During Quiet Music. James, a second-grade boy, had discovered the Christian flag and begun to play with it. Leaver: Bring the flag here, James. Stand and hold it. Why did God send Jesus into the world? CuiLpREN: To show us how to do right. Leaver: Yes, for it had been an unhappy world. People kept making mistakes. So those who were expecting a Saviour were glad. And as Jesus grew up people watched and tried to be like him who was called the Christ. They were called Christians after Christ’s name, and this is the Christian flag. All who follow Christ may carry it. There is a flag salute which we shall learn some day. Christmas is a good time to get out the Christian flag, isn’t it? James, please put the flag back, and we’ll think about the night Christ was born. (Pianist resumed playing.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Expression of Impressions Received. (Chil- dren make two silhouette posters of the Christ- mas stories for the Beginners’ or their own de- partment. Or, if preferred, and the space is large enough, practise action or posing or recita- tions for the Christmas program.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Continue the worship with songs and passages learned, and further appreciation of the poem, “If I Had Been a Shepherd Boy.’’) What School A Did Reading. Wise-men story. Song. Two stanzas of “Silent Night.” Story. “The Magic Christmas Tree,” (The Pilgrim Elementary Teacher, December, 1922). Conversation. Department planned to bring gifts next Sunday for a mission school about which the children knew. SECOND CLASS PERIOD Another Christmas Story. (Tell ““ Why the Chimes Rang,” by Raymond MacDonald Alden, abbreviated.) Report of School A Alternate for First Class Period Discussed progress in saving time for mothers. Stuart had saved two hours the day before. He wanted more “hours” and “ half-hours.” His mother had said, if he’d go to the post-office for her, it would save her an hour and a half. Two more children, absent before, wanted ‘‘ money.” This led to talk about making December a magic month for our families. Remembering the mes- sage, ‘‘ peace on earth,” there would be no quar- reling. Leader told story based on poem, “I Love You, Mother.” One head went down! Looked up shepherd and Wise-men stories; talked about our service. An Invitation The church-school superintendent came in and invited the department to meet with the rest of the school on the next Sunday, also to ask if the third grade would share with everybody the special program which they were preparing. Help from the whole school with the singing was promised. Third grade graciously accepted the invitation. “Sure, we'll give it for them.” Addition to Second Class Period “What Can I Give Him?” from Songs for Little People. Anne: “ Give my heart’ means “ give love.” ELEVENTH WEEKDAY Christmas Plans and Work Count up “‘ money ” (time) saved; discuss still more ways of saving it. Go over all the parts of the program to be given the following Sunday, with costumes and proper- ties. Study pictures of Christmas scenes, and try to drape the costumes and use properties as nearly like those pictured as possible. The children will make the final assignment of parts, and choose those who know them best for the recitation of memory passages. It may be that the class will like to let others share their program some day during Christmas week. Even if this service was originally planned solely for the department or the church school, there are always shut-ins, or children or aged people in institutions,who would delight not only in a visit from the children themselves, but in their songs and pictured stories. Finish the Christmas work, the children copying or composing a rhyme to be presented to their mothers with the ‘‘ bank,” and taking this, with all other Christmas articles, home. Report of School A Time Saved for Mothers Stuart had saved eleven hours. John’s mother had called up leader during the week to say she was exhausted finding enough work for John to do. He had done every thing he could think of to help her; finally insisted on cleaning all the silver! Christmas Program Plans Everybody agreed that the girls had to be the angel choir. The choice of Mary fell automati- cally to Mary, as she was a newcomer and did not know the songs. The boys chose their own parts, all except John, who wished to be nothing at all. He decided on “Joseph” but found Joseph’s turban too hot. As for actual rehearsing, there was very little. Even the best and most helpful girls in the class were irritating, which clearly shows what the leader must have been. Besides the fact that it was vacation and they were all in holiday mood, the temperature in the chapel was around ninety. Nobody had any interest in anything but romp- ing. We played out-of-doors for a while, but this had no calming effect. Everything slow as to 63 program but loud and fast as to children. While leader fussed over stage setting (a matter of clear platform and screens, which should have been decided upon if not arranged before the children came), the children’s bedlam could have been heard in the next town. They broke two of the four new shepherd’s crooks at once. Frankie, who broke the first, offered and was allowed to take both home and have his father mend them. The boy who, on our hike through the Soldiers’ Home grounds, had suggested making something for the old soldiers had already made the counter- suggestion, “‘ I think they’d like this much better. They never get out to see things.” Nothing definite decided about it today, however; too much confusion. Bright Spots STUART AND FRANKIE (shouting to be heard above the din and confusion): Miss Bradley, we’ve decided we’re mean to you. You do everything for us, give us parties and everything and take us on hikes and everything, and then we won't do what you want. We're going to be good! Frankie: I’m going to be good from now on. Stuart: I’m going to do my best. LraveEr (entirely out of patience): Frank Nor- ton, how many times have I got to tell you to come out from behind those screens?’ FRANKIE: But you fold us to get behind here! Leaver: I told you to go there! FRANKIE: Oh, ’scuse me for not understanding! Leaver (humbly): Excuse me for not making myself clear. (A short time ago Frankie said when he failed to understand a direction, ‘ Well, gosh, why don’t you tell me what you're talking about! ”) Joun (at home): I was naughty again today, mother. I wouldn’t do anything Miss Bradley told me to. Stuart’s Morner (during the week): Why, Stuart is a different boy. He’s so polite. He was so bold the neighbors all complained. In three weeks [I noticed the difference. I said to his father, “‘ Aren’t you glad I’m sending him down to the Sunday school? Do you see how different he is)” And his father said yes, he’d noticed the change. TWELFTH SUNDAY December THE CHRISTMAS PROGRAM Whatever form this program takes, it should be a service rather than an entertainment; a retell- ing, by means of songs, pictures and recitation, of the beautiful stories connected with the birth of Jesus. The program, or service, is the children’s expression of their love for the stories, and as such is a gift to those who would hear them again. It will not last over half an hour, and whether it is given for their own department alone, or to the entire school, the last half of the session should be reserved for it. By this arrangement the classes may meet first for their regular instruc- tion, and the third-grade children will have plenty of time to get into their costumes. Report of School A During the first half-hour leader and helpers had the boys in the kitchen, getting them into their costumes, while an assistant took care of the seven members of the “angel choir” and ** Mary.” Boys in the kitchen very much excited and hard to manage. Frankie, shepherd, would not let the crooks alone. Leader afraid they would be broken. He climbed all over the sink and table in his costume; finally tried the gas-stove. Leader pulled him down. He was to have ap- peared with his crook in front of the curtains and lead the school in the shepherd story. LeapEr: This settles it, Frankie. No one with a spot on the front of his costume like that, and with those hands, could possibly go before the whole school; you can see that. Frangie. It’ll rub right off. made it worse.) Leaver: No, it won’t rub right off. And this is a brand new costume which Stuart’s mother made for you. You can’t even get your hands clean in cold water. Frankie: Yes, I can. I gotta lead them in that story. (Rushed to faucet, turned it on full force, spattered whole front of his costume. Scrubbed hands. Came back.) Now can I, Miss Bradley? Leaver: With that costume? See what you’ve done to it now! (Frankie is appalled.) FRANKIE: Please, Miss Bradley. Leaper: Frankie, I said you couldn’t do it. I can’t give special honors to boys who don’t earn (Tried it and 64 them. Take your crooks now. Prk you take the one which you broke. FRANKIE: Aw — Joun: Poor Frankie, he doesn’t get anything! Leader remembers that Frankie did his best to mend the one he broke, so lets him have a new one. Leader showed Christmas pictures once more, and in their interest to get last details of the poses they were to copy, boys calmed down so that when leader put pictures away and turned natu- rally to one of Jesus, which had been put on the door, they followed her and were quiet as mice as she said, ‘‘ Great Teacher, we are going into the other room now to tell the rest of the school the story of your birth through songs and pictures. Oh, will you help us to make the pictures so real and so beautiful that those who see them will feel as if they had been to worship at the manger with the shepherds! ”’ FRANKIE (softly): Can I lead the line, Miss Bradley? Leaver: I’m going to ask a boy who has minded every time I’ve spoken to him. Joun: That’s not me. Tommy: Me either. Frankie: I haven’t minded. Stuart took his place at the head and they marched quietly in, and went through the pro- gram in a surprisingly reverential manner. In fact, the little service was so charged with the spirit of worship, the attitudes of those in the tableaux were so childlike and natural (they took their own positions, with no suggestions from the leader), and the whole program was given so simply that it was in truth a service of worship in which the whole school and visitors joined. The mothers had tears in their eyes as they helped the children out of their costumes, and even the children were quiet as they left. Fol- lowing is the program: Song. ‘“ O Little Town of Bethlehem ” (by the entire school). Scripture Reading and Prayer. (From Service No. XI in Worship and Song.) Led by church-school superinten- dent. (The Scripture reading was sup- posed to have been led by Frankie.) oe ee ee ee ee ee ee Ur ¥ * AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 65 gel. Song. Two stanzas of “ While Shep- herds Watched Their Flocks,”’ (by choir). Song. Third stanza of same song (by choir while curtains were closed). Piano Music. “Silent Night” (one stanza). Tableau. Mary, Joseph, the shep- le The Shepherds and the An- herds. Song. Two stanzas of “ Silent Night ” (by choir). Song. Third stanza of “ Silent Night ” (by choir while curtains were closed). Tableau. Wise-men on the way to Bethlehem. Song. Stanza by choir of “Silent Night ”’ beginning, — “ Silent night, holiest night, Guiding star, lend thy light,”’ Piano Music. One stanza of Noel (while curtains were closed). offering gifts. Song. Last stanza of ‘“ Noel,” begin- ning, “ Then entered in there Wise-men three,” (by choir). Song. “O Come, all Ye Faithful” (by the entire school). Tableau. Mary, Joseph, Wise-men Report of School B The entire Primary Department had its service together. Each grade sang its songs; two stan- zas of “If I Had Been a Shepherd Boy ” were recited by third-grade children; the Christmas story, as given in The Story Hour, by Wiggin and Smith, was told. (Either because of the excite- ment of the season, or some other reason, not much interest was shown in the story. Leader would tell it differently another time.) After the story the children made Christmas greeting cards for their friends. TWELFTH WEEKDAY Sharing the Christmas Program (This session will be held on the regular day of the week for the class, or on whatever day is most convenient for presenting the Christmas program to a chosen group.) Report of School A Christmas Program at Soldiers’ Home Owing to misunderstanding only three boys and five girls came. Gave program in big smoking- room, with no piano. In the hall the boys broke two more crooks, but this time they came run- ning to leader, each anxious to share the blame and each offering to carry the broken ones. The three boys had first to be shepherds, then Wise- men. Some delay in recostuming, but other- wise program went smoothly. This time, how- ever, it was a “‘ program” and not a “ service of worship.” “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,’ the house cat drew near. Leader hoped it would furnish the illusion of a flock, but the cat was playful, and too much of a temptation to the two “all seated on the ground.” First tab- leau rather spoiled. (See children’s criticisms, _ Teport on Thirteenth Sunday.) Soldiers gave children a “ rising vote of thanks ” for coming down. One Gira: Aren’t the old soldiers beautiful; they have snow-white hair! Revealing Incidents While children were gathering, we started to play Fox and Geese, but John spoiled two circles. He not only will not join in games, but spoils them for others. FLorRIE (running from Lawrence): Miss Brad- ley, make Lawrence be good. Leaver: Make Lawrence be good? Why, I can’t make him good. Only Lawrence himself can. I can’t make any one of you good. CxuILpREN: That’s right, we have to do it our- selves! Joun (on the way home): Stuart always minds, doesn’t he? My mother told me to mind you, Miss Bradley. I like to mind. LEeApER (skeptical): You mean you like the feeling you have after you have minded, and you hate the feeling you have when you don’t mind? Joun: Yes. But I don’t do it just the same. Isr’t tt funny? Leaver: Wouldn’t you think we’d always do what we know would make us feel better? Joun: Yes, but we don’t. Leaver: I know. I do the wrong thing myself lots of times. Joun: Oh, no, you don’t, Miss Bradley. You're good! (! !) Stuart Black’s name fascinates his playmates. At school they call him Stuart Whitie, Stuart Brownie, etc. Stuart has a temper, usually under control. On the way back he drew the sled with the box of costumes on it. This didn’t prevent him from throwing snowballs at the leader most of the way. Anne, broken collar- bone and all, put herself in front of the leader, shouting, “‘I’ll be your goddy-bard!”’ Leader didn’t notice when snowballing ceased (all but three children had gone), nor that Stuart was being teased. Suddenly Stuart flung the sled rope to the ground. ‘‘ You can draw your own sled,” he announced, in a perfect fury, “ and I'll never come near this class again!’ Ran down street leaving leader, Mary and John gasping. Leader, thinking back, suddenly realized that Mary, the mildest, meekest, newest little girl in the class, had been repeating, “Stuart Black, Stuart White, Stuart Brown,” as if in a spell. She was thinking only of the colorful name, of course. Stuart’ was thinking it was the last straw. Leader was thinking nothing at all. She came to, however, and called after the disappear- ing figure, “‘ Why, Stuart, we didn’t mean to do anything. We're sorry if we hurt you. You’ve drawn the sled and done all the work — we wouldn’t have you feel like that for anything.” (No response. Figure kept on retreating.) Mary (in wonder): What made him do that? Leaver: I[ think it was because he gets tired of having his name repeated and talked about. You didn’t know it because you don’t go to school, but the boys and girls all tease him about it. Joun: I don’t blame him for getting mad. We plague him all the time. Mary (miserable): Oh, dear, I didn’t mean to! Leaver: Of course you didn’t. I didn’t even notice your doing anything, and I’m just as sur- 66 SS ee SS eee AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 67 prised as you are. But you know how “mad” it makes you sometimes, when people keep at a thing and you wish they wouldn’t. Joun: I know it. It makes you mad. I noticed he’d been getting mad for a long while. He hasn’t thrown any snowballs since way down on Gage Street! Mary: Oh, dear, suppose he shouldn’t come back to the class! Joun: My, but we’d miss him! He’s so help- ful. And he always minds. He’s about the best one in it. Leaver: I think he will come back. But he may not want to at first. He’s said he wouldn’t, and that will make it harder for him. Joun: I know it. It makes you feel foolish to do something you’ve said you wouldn’t. Leaver: He has a worse temper than the rest of you boys. If he does come back, it will mean that he has controlled it. And that will be a big thing for him to do. Joun: He’s always doing big things. LEADER: Let’s not mention his saying he wouldn’t come back, if he does, — that will make it easier for him. Mary: I won't. Joun: Neither will I. (A few blocks farther on. Mary had left.) Joun: Oh, look, there’s Stuart behind us now, getting ready to throw a snowball at us! He’s all over being mad. Let’s pretend everything’s just the same.”’ (Calling) “‘ Hello, Stuart! Going to throw a snowball at us? Look out, — here’s one!” Report of School B We talked about our Christmas at home — what we had done for others, and what had been done for us. Then leader told the story of the Fairchild children saving time (Ninth Weekday program). We talked about it, then decided we would do it for our parents as a surprise, as several mothers’ birthdays were coming soon. We made some discs and diamonds, colored them and wrote on them. In their books children wrote, “ Time is money — why not bank it?” and made a list of ways they could help. Sang our Christmas carols instead of playing games. THIRTEENTH SUNDAY December FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Have Christmas music and informal conversa- tion about Christmas gifts, both those received and given. Continue by thanking God for all the love and kindness which the little Lord Jesus brought into the world, using the children’s original song-response, and praying that we who enjoy the good things which his coming brought may want to share with others, until every one shall come to know and love him.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Familiar Ground. (Talk over the service and impressions received from the institutions visited. Compare mothers’ reception of the children’s Christmas gifts of time. (To lead up to the story in the next period, re- mind the children of Mrs. Fairchild’s story written in the time saved by her children. Recall that the cover of the book said: “A True Story for Bob.” “A Fairy Tale for Dorothy.” “A Story about Santa Claus for David.” Ex- plain that the story which will be told in the worship period presently is the first part — “ A True Story for Bob.’’) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship A Christmas Song. Preface to Story. When we were talking about our Christmas gifts we reminded each other of the happiness of Christmas time. We thanked our heavenly Father for all the love and kindness which that one gift of the little Lord Jesus brought into the world. It made you want to make your families and friends happy on his birthday. It made them want to make you happy. For hundreds and hundreds of years it has made people want to make others happy, not only on the birthday itself, but all through the year. The story I shall tell you now is about a boy named Nicholas. We shall see what it made him do. (This and the following stories of St. Nicholas are based on an article, “‘ From St. Nicholas to Santa Claus,” by Charles Johnston, published in The Outlook, December 20, 1913. The events narrated in it are taken from two Greek manu- scripts, dating back to the tenth century, belong- ing to the Zion Monastery in Myra, and to an- other, a part of which is perhaps a century older.) Story. Tue Turee Bacs or GoLp Nicholas was a little Greek boy. He lived far away from here, but much nearer the land where Jesus was born than we do. Not so many people knew about Jesus then as now. This was less than three hundred years after Jesus came, and the stories of his teaching and healing and love had not spread so far. But though few in that long-ago time knew of him, Nicholas knew. He had heard the stories over and over again from his father and mother, who were Christians, and from his uncle, who was a bishop of the church. Nicholas was the pride and joy of his father and mother and uncle. It was no wonder. He was as handsome and lovable a boy as ever lived. He was afraid of nothing, and loved everybody. But there were some things which made him angry in an instant. One was to see a big boy bully a smaller one. Another was to see some- body cruel to an animal. Another was to see children unkindly treated. Then his anger blazed forth into a perfect fury, and he would rush to protect the weaker one. He couldn’t bear to see poor people suffer. He would give away money which his father, who was very rich, gave him, to feed hungry children. You can see why, even as a little boy, he would like the stories about Jesus. He liked the things that Jesus did. He liked them so well, indeed, that he wanted to take Jesus as his pattern and be like him. “* T love him! ”’ he said to his father and mother. ““T want to give myself to him. I want always to serve him!” And so, instead of giving him to some trade or business, the happy parents gave him to the church, to grow up to be a kind of minister, like his uncle, the bishop. Nicholas lived in a town by the sea. He liked to watch the ships coming and going, and to imagine the time when he should be on one, sailing toward the land where Jesus lived. How he wanted to visit Jerusalem, and see for himself elt et er aie * ee ee ee a AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 69 the very streets where Jesus had walked about teaching and healing! His uncle, the bishop, had planned for a long time to take such a trip. Finally the time came for the bishop to go. Nicholas was old enough now to take charge of his uncle’s work. He was glad, for it would give him the chance to do the kind of thing his great hero, Jesus, used to do, — go about among the people helping them in all sorts of ways. While the bishop was still away Nicholas’ father and mother died. Nicholas was left with a great fortune. What should he do: with it? He never thought of spending it for fine houses and clothes for himself. Jesus wouldn’t have done that. Jesus would have used it to help others. And Nicholas had taken Jesus for his pattern, you know. He remembered the great Teacher’s words, “Freely ye received, freely give,’ and he re- membered, too, I think, how Jesus had said that good deeds should be done in secret; how often, after he himself had done kind things for people, he warned them to tell no one. Just at this time Nicholas heard a very sad story. There was living in Patara, Nicholas’ city, a very learned man with three beautiful daughters. They had been rich, but had now Jost all their money. They were so poor that they were starving. and the father had almost decided that, rather than have his daughters starve, he would sell them into slavery. It was a terrible thing to have happen, but at least they would have homes and food. Nicholas had scarcely heard the story before he had decided what to do. He always acted quickly — it was one thing that made him so lovable. He didn’t wait to do a kind act. He filled a bag with gold, and that night, as soon as it was dark, he secretly left his house. No one knew what he was intending to do, and he meant that no one should know. It was like a game he was playing with himself, trying to keep his errand a secret from every one else. As he approached the learned man’s home, he must have wondered how he could ever give his purse without being discovered, but as he crept stealth- ily near, the moon coming from behind a cloud showed him an open window in the house. This was his chance. of gold and stole away again before any one could see him. He didn’t forget about the three daughters and Quickly he threw in the purse _ their father. He kept track of them until he knew that again they needed help. The money was gone. They were as poor as before, and a second time, to save the daughters from slavery, he left his house under cover of the dark, with a second bag of gold. Finding an open window as he had before, he threw in the second purse and was able again to escape without being seen. But the third time he was not so fortunate. The old man was determined to know who it was that had made him and his daughters so happy and saved them from suffering. So as the third bag of gold suddenly dropped on the bedroom floor, quick as a flash the learned man rushed outside. It was dark, but he could barely see a figure hurrying away. He made up his mind to catch him. He ran as he had never run before, and at last he caught him. He fell on his knees at Nicholas’ feet and thanked him again and again for saving his daughters from slavery. But Nicholas was disappointed. He had not wanted to be found out, and he made the man promise that he would never tell who it was who had helped him. Whether he did or not I cannot say, but certain it is that as one family after another in the city of Patara was mysteriously helped, word began to go around that it was Nicholas, the nephew of the bishop, who had secretly left the gifts. And so it came about that when money was thrown from the darkness in at the window of a poor family, those inside would cry happily, “ It is from Nicholas!”’ And when in the morning toys were discovered at the doorstep of one sick child, or food or clothes at the door of another (for he was known to be especially fond of chil- dren), the people would look wise and say, “ The good Nicholas was been here.”’ For they had discovered his secret. School B. This story took so well that the leader used it with three different sets of children. SECOND CLASS PERIOD From the Old to the New. And this is the rest of Mrs. Fairchild’s story. THe Spirit oF St. NicHOLAS There was once in a land far away from here a very nice spirit. Now if you ask me what a spirit is I shall have to say that I don’t know exactly, for I’ve never seen one. 70 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Joun: I know; God is a spirit. Nobody ever sees spirits any more than any one really and truly sees a fairy. But they live, whether you see them or not. Did you ever hear anybody say, ‘‘ He has a fine spirit,” or “ She shows a beautiful spirit,” or “The spirit of Abraham Lincoln lives on?” Of course it lives on, because you see spirits never die. It’s the part of you that doesn’t die. It lives in your body when you're alive, but though you may grow old and die, your spirit keeps as young as ever and goes right on living. As I was saying, there once came into the world an especially nice one. He belonged to a very nice man, so of course he was a nice spirit. The thing he liked best to do was to surprise children. He liked to leave goodies and toys at their door, and make them squeal with delight when they opened their eyes and found them in the mor- ning. Anne: The spirit of St. Nicholas! He never let any one see him or thank him. He didn’t care about being thanked especially. All he wanted to be sure of was making the chil- dren happy. Now spirits travel. They travel faster than you canimagine. They can go around the world in a minute and a half. This spirit traveled. First he traveled around the country where the man to whom he first belonged used to live. Then one day there came to that country a visitor from the north. He became acquainted with the spirit and liked him so much that he decided to take him home. He lived in a cold land where there is much ice and snow, and the spirit stayed there for some time. Everybody loved him — and who wouldn’t? Wouldn’t you love any one who came in the night and gave you surprises without even wanting to be thanked? (Appreciative nods.) Well, after a while the spirit traveled on. And everywhere he went the people gave him some- thing. In the far north, in the land of ice and snow and reindeer, they gave him a home near the north pole, and a sleigh, and a team of rein- deer all harnessed with silver bells. Stuart: “ Eight tiny reindeer.”’ In another country they gave him a pack of toys which must have been something like magic, because it was never empty no matter now much he took out of it. In another place they filled his sleigh with fir-trees. Somebody —no one knows who it was — gave him a red suit trimmed with fur, and high fur-lined boots. He didn’t really need them, for spirits don’t feel the heat nor the cold; but the people who gave it to him did, and forgot about his not really needing it. Somebody else, wanting to be sure that there would be a way for him to enter children’s houses even though they were locked, gave him chimneys to come down, and whenever I think of that I’m very glad indeed that he is a spirit, for of course nobody but a spirit could manage to come down a chimney with a large pack of toys without getting the least bit soiled. Others, realizing that he should have a place to leave his gifts, provided wooden shoes which they left on the hearth. Cuitp: That was in Holland. Still other children, who did not wear wooden shoes, gave him empty stockings to fill. In a warmer country where sleighs were not used, somebody presented him with a donkey to carry his pack. Why, people in one land gave him a whole band of little brownie workmen to help him make his toys! And somebody — no one knows who — thinking he must be lonely, I suppose, gave him a wife! And everywhere he went the people had pet names for him. AnnE: Kris Kringle’s one. Le _ Bon- homme Noel was probably in France. You have already guessed ours, but some people called him Grandfather Christmas; some Le Bonhomme Noel. Joun (the light of discovery in his eyes): That’s what Noel means! Some called him Sankt Claus; and other, like ourselves, something very like that — Santa Claus. Now there were once some children who lived next door to each other whose names were Jack and Virginia. They made up their minds that they would see this spirit. They would stay up all night long if necessary, and if Santa Claus was, as we have said, a spirit which couldn’t be seen, at least they would keep their eyes glued on the stockings they had hung in readiness for him, and see the toys being put into those stock- ings. Toys weren’t spirits. They could not only be seen perfectly well, but felt and played with. oe ee ee AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 71 The day before Christmas they tied a bell to each end of a long string which reached from Jack’s home to Virginia’s. “If I catch him first,” said Jack, “ I'll pull the string, and the minute you hear the bell you’ll know he’s caught. And you do the same thing.” So they didn’t go to bed that Christmas eve. They told their families what they intended to do, and after supper their fathers built bigger fires than usual in the grates. The children objected. “Tf there’s a fire in the chimney, Santa Claus. _ won't come down! ”’ they said. “It doesn’t make a bit of difference to Santa Claus whether there’s a fire or not,” their fathers explained, “and you'll need the warmth your- selves, if you stay up all night.” They were both glad of the fire for the warmth, but did you ever notice how sleepy watching a fire makes you, especially if it’s way after your bed-time? CuHorus: Yes! The two children in the two houses, watching alone, grew drowsier and drowsier, and before they knew it it was morning and they woke up in their own beds. Santa Claus had come and gone without their knowledge, for there were the stockings full of presents to prove it. Perhaps it was even he who had carried them up to their own beds. What a pity not to have been awake to say, “ There, Santa, I’ve caught you!”’ Now there would be a whole year to wait before they could try again. But a year is not long. On the next Christmas eve, Jack and Virginia fixed the strings with the bells on each end between their homes as before. “Now don’t you go to sleep this time,” each one said to the other. ‘‘ We'll catch him for sure.’ They promised faithfully that they would stay awake if they had to prop their eyes open with sticks; but will you believe it, before the fires in each fireplace had died down to coals, each head had tumbled over on a sofa pillow, and if they saw Santa Claus that night it was only in dreams. They were quite ashamed to face each other the next morning, but as neither one had been able to keep awake, neither could blame the other. When the third Christmas came around, how- ever, Virginia was as sure as Jack that she would catch old Santa Claus. ‘I hope he’ll come to my house first,’’ she wished. “‘Let’s hide somewhere this time,’’ suggested Jack. ‘‘ Maybe he hangs around waiting for us to go to sleep. Let’s not stay by the fire where he can see us.” So they each pretended to go to bed at the usual time, but instead, after the lights were out, slipped downstairs again, and hid in dark corners. In the middle of the night — or at least so late he was sure it must be midnight — Jack thought he heard a stir in the room. Yes sir, there was Santa, pack, beard, high boots and all. (Children evidently surprised.) Jack had heard no sound of reindeer hoofs on the roof, nor of silver sleighbells. He had not seen any one come down the chimney, nor through the door for that matter. The flickering fire was the only light in the room, and it was hard enough to make out anything at all. But St. Nick was fairly caught. Jack watched to see what would happen. First Santa Claus lowered the pack from his shoulders. Then he groped around the mantle- piece until he found a stocking. Jack’s eyes fairly popped out of his head as he tried to see what Santa was putting into it, for it grew bump- ier and bulgier until it was full. At that very minute a bell rang. ‘ Bless my soul!”’ exclaimed Santa. Jack had jumped too. What did it mean? That was Virginia’s bell; she must have pulled the string. But the bell meant, “ve caught Santa Claus!’ How could Virginia be saying that when Santa was there, in plain sight, at Jack’s? (Tense interest.) ‘You’re in my house. I’ve caught you! ”’ said Jack, jumping out of his corner. “Bless my soul!’ Santa exlaimed again, al- most letting the stocking fall. ‘No use your trying to get away!”’ cried Jack delightedly, seizing Santa Claus by the sleeve. ‘**T’ve caught you, Santa!” ‘“So you have!” Santa admitted, sitting down suddenly as if he didn’t know what to do next. Jack leaned up against him. ‘‘ Now I can ask you some questions about yourself,’ he was saying, when Virginia’s bell rang again. ‘How can she ring that bell) ’’ Jack asked. 72 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER ~ “T’m the one who’s found you out. And you couldn’t very well be in two places at once, could you, Santa Claus? ” Over in Virginia’s house, in a dimly lighted room, a very excited little girl had just climbed up in Santa Claus’ lap. “ T had to ring Jack’s bell,” she explained, “ to show him that I found you out first, Santa Claus. We've been trying to catch you for three years, and this time I stayed awake long enough. I don’t believe Jack could keep his eyes open all this time.” “ Tinkle, tinkle,”’ said Jack’s bell. Virginia jumped. (Children as puzzled as Virginia and Jack.) “Our bell,” she said. ‘‘ Why, how can he be ringing it? It means ‘ I’ve caught Santa Claus.’ You couldn’t be in two places at once, could you, Santa? ”’ “Oh, easily,” was the answer. ‘I’m all over the world tonight.” “* At once?’ asked Virginia. ** At once,” answered Santa. “* Else how could I get my work done? ” ‘““T always wondered about that,” confessed Virginia. ‘‘ But, Santa Claus, people can’t be in two places at once.” “People can’t, but spirits can,” was the answer. “ Hasn’t any one ever told you I was a spirit? ”’ “ But I don’t see how even a spirit can be in so many places at once,” puzzled Virginia. “It’s a secret,” said Santa, ‘‘ but I'll tell you. The fact is, when its necessary for a spirit to be in many places at once, as it is for me on Christ- mas eve, the whole of that spirit isn’t all in one place at one time. It splits itself up into bits enough to go around, and then’’— here he lowered his voice more than ever — “it very often takes human form! ”’ “ Oh,” said Virginia, “‘ then that’s how I can see you!’’ My daddy says we can’t see spirits any more than we can fairies. But if you take human form A And in the other house Jack was saying, ‘‘ But, Santa, if you’re a spirit, how is it I can see and feel you? ”’ Santa’s voice had sunk to a whisper. ‘A spirit often takes human form, Jack.” “Whose human form?” asked Jack. ** Anybody’s — it depends on who wants it.” “* Anybody’s? ”’ persisted Jack. ‘““ Anybody’s,” answered Santa. “ Well, I wish you’d take the form of my father and mother and grandmother, then,” said Jack, “ because then you’d be around all the time and I could always tell you what I want.” Santa Claus laughed and crossed the room toward the electric light button. And just at that minute Virginia was saying in the next house, ‘‘ Could you please take the form — of my father or mother, Santa? Then I’d always have you when I wanted you!” Santa Claus reached for the electric button, laughing. As Virginia’s light went on, Jack’s house grew suddenly light too. Jack was blinking his eyes; Santa Claus pulled off his whiskers — and there stood Jack’s own father. As Virginia blinked her eyes in the light, there before her stood her father. “Daddy!” cried Virginia, running to him, “ the spirit is in you! ” “Father!” shouted Jack in the next house, “the spirit is in you!” The very next morning some children at the edge of the town heard a knock on their door. They ran to open it. No one was in sight, but on the doorstep was a big basket of toys. And Jack and Virginia, hiding behind a tree near-by, heard squeals of delight, and then, ‘“‘ O mother, come quick! Santa Claus has been here after all!” For Jack and Virginia had found that the spirit of Santa Claus — of that kind St. Nicholas who left his gifts in the dark so many years ago — is still truly alive. They found that he enters into the hearts not only of mothers and fathers and grandmothers and uncles and aunts and cousins, but even of children, if they want him. And isn’t it exactly like that good St. Nicholas to choose the birthday of his Lord and Master, Jesus, in which to Jet his spirit roam about and make others happy? FRANKIE: There isn’t any Santa Claus. I found that out already ANNE: Santa Claus is a spirit. FRANKIE: I don’t believe in Santa Claus. Leaver: But we have to believe in him. It’s St. Nicholas’ spirit, which is still alive, whether you believe it or not. All you — =! = —— ee (CF i oul, ee eae ee, i AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 73 have to do is to look about at Christmas time. You find it everywhere. Frankie: Santa Claus is our fathers and mothers, I tell you! Leaver: That’s just what we were say- ing. It’s the spirit of that good St. Nicho- las, still living in the hearts of our fathers and mothers. Exinor: And even children can have it. Stuart (looking straight into space): I see it all. JI see every bit of it now. Report of School A Criticism of Christmas Service Leaver: What has this class done together lately? There are so many things we'll put them on the blackboard, and talk about them. Preparing and giving Christmas program (1.) For school (2.) For Soldiers’ Home Singing at the Hospital Christmas party (These last two were department enterprises. Time was lacking for checking up on them. The Primary Christmas party was a dismal failure, because of the third grade’s lack of co- operation. They sensed the whole trouble in their unconscious summing up of the party in February. See Frankie’s comment next day — “Wasn’t that a nice party? Some different from the Christmas one. We didn’t run that! ’’) Leaper: We'll start with the service last Sunday. How did you think it went? Untuingine Cuorvs: All right. Leaver: Was there any way we could have improved it? Joun: I giggled. (Leader had not known this. Found out after- ward that he had once smiled a little self-con- sciously.) ANNE (of the choir): The songs weren’t as good as they ought to be. Tommy: It was nice having the curtain and stage. Stuart: That’s why I didn’t think it was as good down at the Soldiers’ Home. That old smoky room with the tin picture of Uncle Sam right in back of us! ve Joun: Yes, and we had to get dressed right in front of them. It wasn’t like Sunday. Leaver: We couldn’t help the place we had to give it in, but was there anything we could have done to make it better? JoHN (disgustedly): We could have let that cat alone. Lawrence. I needn’t have played with it. Lreaper: Anything else? Somesopy: We broke the crooks. Leaver: Anything else? CuiLpREN: Not enough went. The boys had to be shepherds first and then Wise-men, and there couldn’t be any Joseph. Leaver: All these criticisms are good. Some of them I shouldn’t have thought of myself. But while we were preparing the program could we have done anything better? CHILDREN: We could have paid attention. We could have minded. Leaver: As you think of that Saturday when we were trying to go over it, do you think you helped very much? Joun: I didn’t. I was a naughty boy. Stuart: I didn’t, and I’m sorry. FRANKIE: Miss Bradley, can’t we have some- thing like that again? Leaver: If there’s time,Frankie, and if you'll really help. CHILDREN: We will. We'll be good. FLoreie: Can we go down to the Soldiers’ Home again? LEApER: Perhaps. Saving Time for Mothers Stuart saved fifteen hours for his mother. Frankie had scrubbed the floor for his mother and she said he did it better than she could her- self! Lawrence had almost run out of money. Nearly all had tried, and were pleased with their success. THIRTEENTH WEEKDAY Plans for the New Year Nore: If the children have taken hold of the idea of saving time for their mothers, partly, per- haps, because of a device which appealed to them, it would be deplorable if the helpful habit should now expire from lack of food to sustain it. This is what religious education is for, to help the children to live, not this week or this month, but all the time, according to the Christian ideals which we hold up to them. But holding up a “ Be kind to animals”’ sign this week, a “ Love your neighbor ” the next, and “‘ Be hospitable to strangers’’ another is not enough. The week they are exemplifying hospitality they must also refrain from tying tin cans to cats’ tails, and they should not love their neighbors so intensely for a certain period that animals and guests are both neglected. The reason that our work is never finished is that once we have held up a “ Be help- ful’’ sign, for instance, we can never take it down, no matter how many more we add to it. Therefore we shall still “ harp” on the idea of helpfulness at home, saving mothers’ time, and suggest another device for the children. Story Happy Vatitey’s New YEAR Happy Valley was simply plastered with pos- ters. They were not beautiful, but they were important, because a new law had been made. There was no excuse for not knowing about it, for the big signs announcing it were in every sort of public place. You could see them a block away, and read the great black letters which ran across the top. The letters said, — IT SHALL BE AGAINST THE LAW TO WISH ANYBODY IN HAPPY VALLEY A HAPPY NEW YEAR On telegraph-poles, on fences, on every corner, in the store, at the church, you could see little knots of people studying these posters and talk- ing about them. There was more printing, but it was the first lines that were so big and black. “What a funny law!” I can hear you say. “Imagine not being allowed to wish anybody a happy New Year.” Everywhere you could hear people as they met or parted on the street say, ‘‘Good morning, Happy New—” or, “ Well, good-bye, Mr. 74 Jones — wish you a hap —”’ and then suddenly clap their hands over their mouths as if they re- membered something. Sometimes they would laugh guiltily, and after a minute with a de- termined look finish what they started. Some- times one would look straight into another’s eyes and say, ‘I do wish you a happy New Year,” which would make the other look uncommonly glad, and say, “‘ Oh, thank you!” Children coming downstairs for breakfast would start shouting ‘“ Happy New —”’ and then check themselves. Others, like the Fairchild children who had worked so hard to save time for their mothers, had gone home the day before, after reading the new law, and put their heads together for a long time. Finally Bob said, ‘‘ I’m going to do it.” Dorothy did not respond for a moment. “T’d like to, but I’m afraid I'll forget,’ she said at last. * But you can try,’ Bob told her. says * Try.’” “ Tt’s an awfully long time,” little David said dismally. ‘“‘ All December was bad enough, but a whole year!” However, on New Year’s morning all three came down to breakfast with shining faces, and the moment they entered the dining-room where their father and mother sat, they shouted in a chorus, “I wish you a happy New Year!” Mrs. Fairchild almost dropped the coffee-pot in her surprise, and Mr. Fairchild jumped up and came around the table to shake hand with Bob and kiss Dorothy and little David. “You are children to be proud of!” he ex- claimed, delighted, “‘and your mother and I wish you the same! ”’ I know you are going to ask, ‘‘ But wasn’t that breaking the law?’ So I shall have to begin at the beginning and tell you all about it. It had been a wonderful Christmas in Happy Valley. A town council had been appointed, made up of men who would think up plans to make everything as attractive and Christmas- like as could be. They had ordered fir-trees brought down from the mountains and put up in rows all along the sides of the street, and a giant- sized Christmas tree was placed on the church lawn. On it were lights and stars and tinsel. “ The sign Then you will remember how Freddie Thorpe’s — eee eee ee a Sn ee AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 75 father had suggested starting a store. The truck had come back from the cities outside the valley loaded with everything anybody could possibly think of wanting to buy for Christmas. So a big store had been started called the Happy Valley Community Store, and the whole top floor was given over to toys. There was a Santa Claus there, too, which showed the children that the spirit of good St. Nicholas had even discovered Happy Valley. On Christmas eve people gathered around the big tree on the church lawn, singing carols, and on Christmas morning early, others sang in the streets. Everybody was anxious to have that first Christmas in Happy Valley a happy one. Everywhere you could hear, ‘‘ Merry Christmas! ” and the wishes all came true, because one and all, old and young, were determined to do everything in their power to make it a merry Christmas. It was the second day after Christmas, when people living near the edge of the town saw com- ing down the road which had been cut between the mountains, a big covered wagon. It came on and on, and into the town itself. It stopped in front of the Happy Valley store, and from the driver’s seat stepped a man with a flowing beard and keen, kindly eyes. He looked like the Wise- men of old, and impressed all who were near in the same way. He put some steps against the back end of the wagon and helped his wife and two children to the ground. They were unusually nice looking children. The boys and girls near by wanted to ask them to their Christmas party at the church at once. Some of the town coun- cil, happening to be in the store, came out to greet the strangers. “Is there room for another family in your Happy Valley?’ asked the wise-looking man. The councillors were delighted. Then this family had come to stay! They could see from the speaker’s high forehead and keen eyes that he had knowledge and wisdom. ‘ We will make him a member of the council,” they said among themselves. ‘ He will know how to advise us in our plans for the town.” A great many people were passing, and all stopped to shake hands with the strangers. “How did you happen to come?” asked one. “ We liked the sound of your name,” answered the wise man, ‘‘ and decided it was just the place in which to bring up our children. No valley or town can be happy, of course, unless every one in it is trying to make it so, and we wanted our children to learn from yours how they do it.”’ “Will you come to our Christmas party?” asked a child. ‘It’s just beginning.” “ And afterwards,’’ said the councillors, “* you must let us entertain you in our homes. We shall be glad to show you around.” The visitors thanked them for their kindness, and joined the group going to the church. Now shouldn’t you think, if visitors couldn’t be there for Christmas itself, a day or two after- wards would be a good time to visit Happy Valley? So should I. But something seemed to be the matter. Per- haps it was because people had overeaten of Christmas dinners and Christmas candy, and in- digestion made them cross. Perhaps it was because everybody had been working so very hard to make Christmas merry, that, now that it was over, they were a little tired of being good and were letting themselves grow careless. Per- haps they thought there wasn’t anything to work for any more. Perhaps they had been getting so many presents that they had grown tired of bothering to say “‘ Thank you.’”’ Sometimes they even criticized the gifts which they had. Why, at the Christmas party, when a present was handed to one child he said, ‘‘ Aw, I don’t want this. Give me something else.” School A. Struck home. One child had said this at our Christmas party. The only thing another child said was, “Is this all we’re going to get!” In one house where the wise man and his family called, the floor was covered with new toys, but a child kept whining continually. ‘‘ Mother,” he would tease, ‘‘ what can I do now? I’m tired of playing with these. Mother, read to me!” The stranger children’s eyes were wide with surprise. They had each received only one new toy for Christmas, and it seemed as if they would never tire of playing with those. In another house there were two boys. The younger one accidentally broke the older one’s cart. The older one at once seized a new toy of his younger brother’s and purposely broke it into bits. “ There,’ he said, “‘ that serves you right.” And the visitors quickly left that house amid howls of anger and grief. 76 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Down the street were two children quarreling. “You have no right to take my new snow- shoes,” one said. ‘““ Mother said we could take turns,’’ answered the other. ‘‘ You can take my skiis.” ‘“T dop’t want your skiis. You take off my snowshoes. You can’t have them.” **T can too.” Slap came the hand of one against the cheek of the other. Joun (unbelieving): That happened in Happy Valley? “You'll slap me, will you? Well, you just take that!’ (Slap, slap!) “That’s just the way those little boys on Orkney Street at home act,” said the stranger children. ‘‘ You know, the ones who haven't any father or mother.”’ The wise man looked questioningly at his wife, who nodded gravely. The next morning when the sun rose on Happy Valley and the town councillors woke up and began planning new ways to entertain their visi- tors, word came to them that the visitors were nowhere to be found. All trace of them had vanished in the night. No one had seen them leave, but the covered wagon had disappeared. What could it mean? Everybody had been so glad to have them come. It was a splendid family and would have been a great addition. And they had meant to stay; they had said so. At last a note slipped under the door of the store explained. The note thanked the Happy Valley people for their courtesy to the strangers, but said they found they had made a mistake. They had judged the town by its name, but they had found the very things in it which they had com- plained of outside — selfishness, quarrelsomeness, “slapping back.” It could be no happier than the place from which they had come, for the people in it were doing no more to make it so. The strangers were going away therefore, much disappointed, and left a good-bye for all. Well, how would you feel if you had been living in Happy Valley? The town council called a meeting at once. At first the citizens were angry at the wise man’s letter. “ He didn’t stay long enough to know what he was talking about,” they said. “ Certainly no town could have had a happier Christmas.” “But they didn’t come until after Christmas,” some one said. “The truth is,” said some one else, “‘ we had a happy Christmas because every one tried his level best to make it so.” “There has been a sort of slump ever since,” admitted one of the councillors. ‘I’ve noticed it myself.” “T shouldn’t wonder if we all grew a bit dis- agreeable,” said another. “I know I did. I ate too much for my Christmas dinner, and when I’m sick my wife says I’m always cross.” “We've been quarreling over our new toys like everything ever since we got them,” piped up some children. Almost every one in the room admitted that he had beeen ungrateful or selfish or unkind or cross. Well, what shall we do about it? ” asked the council. “We had a merry Christmas because everybody tried to make it so. But a happy New Year is different. It means not a day, but a whole year.” “We wish people a happy New Year almost without thinking,” spoke up Mr. Fairchild. “Perhaps we could think of a way to make it mean something.” There was a general murmur of approval, and the ideas came thick and fast. And before the meeting closed a new law had been passed, mak- ing ‘“ A Happy New Year” mean something. That is why, the day before New Year’s, pos- ters appeared in every public place. That is why, when people met each other and started to say, ‘‘ A happy New — ” or “ I wish you a hap —” they stopped themselves short, remembering that the greeting meant special work on their part. For this is what the whole poster said: IT SHALL BE AGAINST THE LAW TO WISH ANYBODY IN HAPPY VALLEY A HAPPY NEW YEAR without first deciding how you, yourself, can make the wish come true for the person, and then trying TO BRING IT ABOUT And that is why it meant so much when the Fairchild children said to their mother and father and when friends said to each other, ‘I wish you a happy New Year.” : : AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 77 New Year Plans (After the story refer to the way the children saved time for their mothers in December.) Just for fun, think what it would mean to do that for a whole year. Think, for instance, how much time could be saved, if each day of the year you were prompt at meals, or minded the moment you were spoken to, or went to bed on time. (Put 365 on the board and imagine saving ten minutes each day. Let the children multiply, and divide the result into hours. Ask if they really thought their mothers liked being helped in this way; if they could think of any better way to help. Speak of leap year — when a whole day is given us.) Would it be possible, through the year, to give your mothers another whole day? How many minutes? How many minutes should we have to save each day to give mothers a whole extra day? Not quite four. How many for a two day gift? Would you like to go on helping and so really bring a happy New Year to your homes, and would you like some new device which will help you “check up” on yourselves? There is a place in the Bible where Paul, a follower of Jesus, reminds us that we often believe ourselves to be better than we are, and he says it is a good thing to prove to ourselves just how hard we are working, anyway. (Gal. 6:3, 4.) Have you ever seen health charts on which a child places a mark in a designated place each day if he has slept with his window open, brushed his teeth, etc.? Could we make or have made similar charts to prove to ourselves how much time we are saving during this year, for instance? On what things could we check ourselves? (Use the board and though putting down all the chil- dren’s suggestions, discuss the most important so the list will have only four or five. These should be in their common experience, like, — Promptness; going to bed on time; Minding at once; Being on time for meals; Helping at home.) Would these things bring for your families a happy New Year? How could we bring a happy New Year to our school grades? Norte: The repeatedly expressed wish of one child in School A that other members of his grade should share the class’ good times suggested the next project—a party for the two third grades represented in the class, with the teachers. The duties of host and hostess being a little vague in their minds, as proved by the party for the teachers, the leader welcomed this chance to show improvement. As this kind of a project would appeal to all children, no matter where situated, later programs will provide for it. At this time the leader could introduce the possi- bility of such a party. If the chart idea is taken up, either help the children to make their own individual ones from a pattern you will supply, or have them make temporary ones for a week, while permanent ones are being prepared. Take care that this checking up does not have the effect on the children of patting themselves on the back for having done a worthy deed, but rather of keeping continually before them their wish to be helpful at home. Plan a bird hike for the next weekday session, to take place on Saturday. As a “ starter” for giving their playmates a happy New Year, and acting as hosts, each child might invite one child or teacher. Report of School A Charts to Encourage Helpfulness at Home Leaver: One of Jesus’ friends wrote a letter once to some people he knew. He was trying to help them to be Christians. He told them it was a good thing to think over all they had done and test themselves, to see whether they were as good as they thought they were. (Read Galatians 6:4, b, from the Moffatt translation: ‘ Let every one bring his own work to the test.’’) Sometimes we think we’re better than we are. If we had a way of keeping a kind of report card for ourselves, on these calendars, we could test ourselves, couldn’t we? Of course we might put down whether we had brushed our teeth every day or not. But the Happy Valley New Year law made me think what fun it would be for us to surprise our families by trying to give them a happy New Year all the year. What kind of things would give them a happy New Year? (Several suggestions. Children marked off the figures into squares and decided to check them- selves up on four things, by drawing lines through the four corners of the square. “ Helping at Home” was chosen for one corner, “ Better Children ” for another, “‘ Not quarreling ”’ for a third.) AnnE: When Barbara wants to play dolls and I want to play something else, why, I can play dolls with her! 78 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Stuart: I know something for the other — Not getting into mischief. Leaver: Just what does that mean? SruartT (amazed at her ignorance): Why don’t you know, Miss Bradley? (Appreciative chuckle.) It’s like when you hang up a pail of water and when your father walks under it you pull a string and it spills on him! (Roars of laughter.) Leaver: But none of us would be doing that very often, would we? Fiorrie: Oh, it’s lots of things! Like when your mother goes down-town and you go into the pantry and steal things. Joun (disgusted): Say, what kind of people do you think we are? We don’t steal!” (‘ Getting into mischief ’’ was added for the fourth corner. Each child made a “ key”’ on the back of the calendar. ‘“ Better Children ’’ seemed vague, so it was interpreted to mean minding quickly. (For one child’s reaction to this see the first incident in the report on the Sixteenth Sunday.) Report of School B Children gave reports on the time saved for their mothers. One had been afraid to do too much for fear her father would think she was expecting pay. A very conscientious child was discouraged because she couldn’t think of any way of saving time for her mother, until, as her mother re- ported, she said plaintively one day, ‘ Oh, dear, I don’t help you at all, do I, mother?’ and her mother explained how by her thoughtfulness and quick obedience she was helping her all the time. Leader told two stories, “‘ I Love You, Mother ” and ‘‘ Happy Valley’s Happy New Year.” We made a scrap-book for one of our class ill with scarlet fever, and wrote the Happy New Year law in our books. During the work on the books, Louise came and took hold of the leader’s hand. Louise: Mrs. Long, did I send you a Christ- mas card? Leaver: No, dear; why? Loutse: I forgot to. I’m glad it’s not too late to wish you a Happy New Year. Before I came today and heard the story I thought it was too late, but now I know it isn’t! The calendar idea was suggested to this class later, but did not appeal. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER A SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY COURSE (IN THREE PARTS) Pela le Li JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH FOR CHILDREN APPROXIMATELY EIGHT YEARS OF AGE BY 3 JEANETTE ELOISE PERKINS IN EDITORIAL COLLABORATION WITH FRANCES WELD DANIELSON EVERYDAY CHRISTIAN LIVING SERIES THE PILGRIM PRESS BOSTON CHICAGO Coryricut 1924 : By SIDNEY A. WESTON a Printed in the United States of America CONTENTS FourTEENTH SuNDAY (J anuary) : f ; : ; New Year’s talk on prayer; Behavior on weekday hikes; New Year’s story, ‘‘ The Twelve Treasure-Boxes; Story, ‘“‘ How the Disciples Learned to be Great.” Reports on: “ The Beginning of a Project in F riendship;” “ Marking Charts;” “A Lost Oppor- tunity.” - FouRTEENTH WEEKDAY . : ; : , ; ; ; Winter Hike. Reports on: “ Exhibition of Temper;” ‘‘ Leader’s Meditations.” Firreenta Sunpay (January). , : : ; : : : Seasonal praise; Story, “The Greatest Animal;” Dramatization; Picture gallery. Report on “ Impromptu Dramatization.” - Firreenta WEEKDAY Party Preparations. SrxTEENTH Sunpay (January) . . ; ; : Making people happy; Incident, child radiating happiness; Story, ‘‘ The Magic Mask.” Reports on: “‘Isn’t It Really a Picture of Jesus;”’ ‘‘ Recognition of Self-Control;’ “Problem of Discipline; ‘‘ Comments during the Week;’’ “ Idea of Prayer which In- fluenced Future Programs.’’ SIXTEENTH WEEKDAY. ; : Continued Preparation for Party; Stories: ‘“ The Quails,” “‘ The Party.” SEVENTEENTH SuNDAy (January) ; : ; ; Seasonal worship; Discussion of party; Appreciation of “ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus;” Story, “Jesus at a Party.” Report on “An Effort to Overcome Disorder.” SEVENTEENTH WEEKDAY , Party for Schoolmates. EicuTeents Sunpay (January-February) . : ' : Poem, “‘ When Jesus was a Little Lad; Conversation about J esus, childhood’s pattern; Poeans up on party; Stories: “The Children’s Playground,” “ Jesus in His Father’s ouse.”’ EIGHTEENTH WEEKDAY . ; : ; ; ; Story and Work: A Happy Valley Story, ‘* How the New Year Law Worked; Work. Reports on: “ Second Step of Project in Friendship;” ‘‘ The Magic of a Song.” NINETEENTH Sunpay (February). : ; ee Worship service based on ‘The Gentle Child of Nazareth;’ Picture study review; Story, “The Monk’s Bible; Correlated handwork. NINETEENTH WEEKDAY . Making Books. TWENTIETH SunDay (February) , . ; : ; Worship service on gentleness part of greatness; Note-book work; Picture study and blackboard illustration of Jesus’ spirit in our homes. Report on ‘“‘ Worship Service on Self-Control.”’ TWENTIETH WEEKDAY . . : : : , ; : Story and Work: A Happy Valley Story, ‘“‘ The Wise Man’s Pack ” (on prayer); Work on books. Reports on: “ Self-control;” ‘The School of the Great Teacher.” Twenty-First Sunpay (February) . ‘ ; ; : : ; ; Worship service on Jesus, childhood’s pattern; Composing a prayer; Stories: ‘‘ The Secret Power of Jesus,” ‘‘ How Jesus Used His Secret Power.” Report on ‘ Children’s Illustrations of Self-Control.” a il PAGE 79 85 87 90 91 95 98 101 102 107 110 113 114 115 118 iv CONTENTS Twenty-First WEEKDAY ; ; J , 3 . ; ; : : ‘ ‘ Story and Work for a Missionary Project; “ Story from the Wise Man’s Pack.” Re- port on “ Florrie’s Loss of Self-Control.” Twenty-Seconp Sunpay (February-March) . f : . , : : ; Use of original prayer; Dramatization revealing secret of Jesus’ power; Picture study and talk on prayer; Reports on: ‘‘ Quarantining;’ “ Making up for a Neglected Opportunity.” TWENTY-SECOND WEEKDAY . : ; : : : Story: A Happy Valley Story, ‘‘ From the Wise Man’s Pack.” Reports on: “ Blunders of Leader;” ‘‘ Work.” Twenty-luimep Sunpay (March) . ; . : : : Picture study and talk on ‘“‘ Thy will be done; Note-book work; Story suggesting “Thy kingdom come;” Story, “The Kingdom of Love.” TweENTy-THIRD WEEKDAY. Ma) ah? Spring Hike. Report on ‘‘ Preparing for a Hike and its Problems.” Twenty-FourtH Sunpay (March) . . : Seasonal worship; Kingdom of God made clear through pictures; Spartan legend of ideal kingdom; Story, ‘‘ A Man who Wanted to See Jesus.’ Report on “ Plans for Making Amends.” TweEnty-FourTH WEEKDAY . \ : ; ; : Three Alternatives: Hike, Program of Work or Study, or Planning a Spring Worship Service; Happy Valley Story, “ The Stocking Doll.” Report on “ Stuart and Florrie Make Amends.” Twenty-Firra Sunpay (March) . : : , , ‘ ; ; ; Praise service; Conversation; Poem, ‘* We Would See Jesus,” with old story; Mis- sionary pictures and song; Story suggestion, “ A Blind Man Who Wished to See Jesus.” eee on: ‘Checking up on the Hike;” “ Plan for Worship Services;” “‘ Revealing emarks.”’ . Twenty-Firta WEEKDAY . ; ; : : : , : Work, Instruction, Stories. Reports on: “ Profiting by Former Blunders;” “ Another Step in the Friendship Project;”’ ‘‘ Florrie goes into Quarantine;” ‘‘ Child’s Note Sug- gesting Next Program.” TWwENTy-Sixtu SunpAY (March-April) : : , : : , : Children’s original spring worship service; Picture gallery. Reports on: “ Sharing the Interest in Virginia with Primary and Junior Departments;” “ Florrie Again.” TWENTY-SIxTH WEEKDAY ; ; : : Work on Missionary Enterprise. Report on “ Forming a Council.” PAGE 123 125 129 132 134 135 139 143 145 146 148 —= oe Ee Oe —S oS ee ee ee ——— Ve ee ———s le TIME DIVISIONS OF SUNDAY SESSIONS Plan I. Four Periods First Departmental Period : : ’ : 10 minutes (Opening Service of Worship) First Class Period . : : : j 15 minutes (Classes Separated by Grades) Second Departmental Period . : : 15 minutes (Worship and Fellowship) Second Class Period 15 minutes (Classes Separated by erates Brief Dismissal 5 minutes 60 minutes Plan II. Two Periods Departmental Worship Service : ‘ A . 20-25 minutes Class Period . \ : 30-35 minutes (Classes Separated by Grades) : ; : ; : 5-10 minutes Closing Service 60 minutes | Plan II. Three Periods First Class Period . : : ; : ; ; 15 minutes Departmental Worship Period : ‘ ‘ : ’ 25 minutes Second Class Period : 15 minutes Brief Dismissal 3 : : , ; 5 minutes 60 minutes Plan I is the plan followed by both experiment schools, and in outlining the program in this course. The same material may be used with a different time arrangement. REPORTS FROM EXPERIMENT SCHOOLS Children’s responses are noted where they actually occurred; other reports from Schools A and B, the two experiment stations, appear at the close of programs. FOURTEENTH SUNDAY January FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship Conversation. When we say, “I wish you a merry Christmas,” or, “ I wish you a happy New Year,” it is like saying a little prayer. But God doesn’t answer prayers just because we ask him for things. He knows what is best for us before we ask him, but there are some things he cannot do without our help. Making our friends happy is one of them. We may pray, “ Please, God, make my mother happy,” but if we do something to make her unhappy, you see God can’t answer that prayer. It is when we say, ‘“ Please, God, make my mother happy,” and then try to please her that we have answers to our prayers at once. We cannot say, “ Please, God, feed all the hungry Armenian children,” and then forget all about them and expect God will answer that prayer just because we have asked him. He depends on people to plant seeds, and plough, and grind the wheat into flour, and others to buy it and send it on ships to those who need it. When the Japanese earthquake came people all over America prayed, ‘‘ Please, God, help the poor Japanese.” God could answer their prayer quickly, because the very ones who prayed gave money and food and clothes, and asked others to do the same thing, and soon great ship-loads of supplies were sailing toward Japan. God wanted the Japanese to be helped, but his children had to want it, too. He can do anything, if his children want what he wants hard enough to help him. And he can make this a really happy New Year for us all, if we all help him. Jesus gave us a rule for making the world happy. (Use “The Golden Rule,” from Songs for Little People.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Correlating Sunday and Weekday Ex- periences. (If the charts are used, get reports. If possible, plan for a bird hike for the next week- day session, and with the picture of Jesus “ go to school ” to him now to prepare for it.) School A. Jounn: Oh, I like that picture! LEADER: Sometimes we forget that we’re going to school to the greatest Teacher. Our last hike we did some things — Tina: I know; we used bad words. (Bring up the problems of the last hike and try to have them settled in advance for this one, something as follows:) Great Teacher, the last time we went out to- gether we ran across people’s lawns and climbed over a fence where we were asked to keep out. How can you help us to know how to act on our hikes? We shouldn’t like to have a class of ten or twelve strange boys and girls running over our lawns, or climbing a fence into a plot from which we'd asked people to keep out. Why, putting ourselves in the place of the other person is like Jesus’ rule for us, isn’t it, children? Let’s sing it — “‘ As ye would others should to you, so,’ Jesus said, ‘ to others do.’ ” We'll try to remember your rule, too, great Teacher, when we want to pick branches from other people’s trees. School A. LEADER: Great Teacher, when we went down that steep bank, the boys went ahead and cleared the path and helped those who found it hard. And Tina brought four apples and divided them among the others, never keeping a bit for herself. Was that following the rule? (Children referred to looked much pleased.) Leaver: Great Teacher, sometimes we forget that we are going to school to you, and use words you would not like. We did on our last walk. Will you help us to try to use language that you would not be ashamed of? Stuart (fo Frankie): Norton, you know you and I promised Miss Bradley we’d be good that time. FRANKIE: I know it. good! Stuart: We’ve got to remember better. I’m going to be SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship A New Year Story. THe TWELVE TREASURE-BOXES One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, struck the Hall Clock. It was New Year’s Eve. Robert stirred in his sleep, but he 80 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER did not wake. One, struck the Hall Clock, for half-past eleven. Still the boy did not wake. And then — was it a shadow, or was there really an old, feeble man with a long, white beard lean- ing over the bed? MRobert’s eyes opened gently. “‘T am the Old Year,” breathed the figure. “I have grown to love you, and therefore I open your eyes to see the gifts the New Year will bring ’ you. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, struck the Hall Clock. Was it a moonbeam, or was there really a tiny form that slid in at the window and placed twelve shining treasure-boxes on the bed? Robert’s eyes were certainly open. *T will leave them with you unlocked for one hour,” chirped a child’s voice. ‘“‘ After that all but the first will be closed until its time comes. Learn how you shall use them.”’ With that the New Year disappeared. Robert sat up, rubbed his eyes and looked again. There, to be sure, were the twelve trea- sure-boxes, silvery and shining. He put out a trembling hand and opened the first treasure-box. Instantly his ears were greeted with the jingle of sleigh-bells and the shouts of coasting children, — “‘ Clear-the-lul-la!”’ To Robert’s amazement out from the treasure-box slid a particularly fine red sled he had seen in a store window, and had coveted. ‘‘ Come to me, Redbird!”’ he seemed to hear his chum Peter saying — Peter, who had also longed for the sled. “You're mine!”’ Robert insisted, pulling the sled toward him. At once the merry tune of the sleigh-bells changed into a clash, and the chil- dren’s laughter into sobbing. “Five minutes gone!” said a Voice, and the January box clicked shut. Robert lost no time in opening the second treasure-box. The lid sprung up like a jack-in-a- box, and a heap of valentines poured out. There was a glimpse of red, white and blue, and the sound of a band and soldiers’ feet. “Good!” cried Robert. ‘“‘ I shall probably be chosen school captain on Washington’s birthday, and Lincoln’s, too, and when we give our school valentines I expect to have the most.”’ No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the cupids on the valentines turned to imps, and with a “ Halt!” the so!diers stopped marching and the band was still. “Ten minutes gone!” said the Voice, and the February box snapped shut. Robert opened the third treasure-box rather soberly. A kite soared up to the ceiling. A March wind had come out with the kite, and it was all Robert could do to hold it by its string. ‘“‘T shall not let you go,” said he, “for some other boy might get you. You are mine, mine, MINE!” At the last ‘mine’ the wind seemed to die down and the kite crumpled up and fell back into the little chest. It was quite two minutes before the Voice said, “A quarter of an hour gone!” and the March box snapped shut. In spite of his disappointment, Robert lost no time in opening the fourth treasure-box. He started back at the whir of wings. How had such a small box possibly held all the birds that flew out— birds red, blue, brown, black and yellow? The air was filled with their songs. “IT must have one of these birds for my own. Where’s a gun?” said Robert, feeling in the box. It was empty, but at the word “ gun” every song ceased, and the birds dropped back silently into it, one by one. “Twenty minutes gone!” said the Voice, and the April treasure-box snapped shut. JoHN (interrupting): He didn’t know how to use the gifts! Now you would think that by this time Robert would have known the trouble was with him and not with the treasure-boxes. But, no! when the fifth one opened with a rustling of tissue-paper, and out fell May baskets of all sizes, filled with candies and flowers, he stretched out his hand for the biggest, and of course they all shrank away. No sooner had the Voice said, ‘‘ Twenty-five minutes gone!’’ and the May box had snapped shut, than he opened the sixth and the air was sweet with roses. “ T'll gather a finer bunch than any other boy in school,” he said, “so that my teacher will think all the rest are lazy.” But as he touched them they withered, and their thorns scratched his hands. “* Half-an-hour gone! ”’ said the Voice, and the June treasure-box snapped shut. At last Robert really did begin to suspect it was something about him that spoiled the trea- sures. Carefully he opened the seventh box. ee a Ves Pee eee in * SY ee ee AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 81 Whizz, bang! fire-crackers, rockets, Roman can- dles made the room brilliant. A flag waved. A band played. Robert did not reach for a single fire-cracker, or set off one of the tempting Roman candles that lay near. His eyes were on the flag. As the band struck up “ The Star-Spangled Ban- ner,”’ he rose and gave the pledge of allegiance. At the last word, behold! the flag changed from bunting to rows of red rubies and white pearls, and the stars, each to a glistening diamond. Then the Voice announced, “ Thirty-five minutes gone! ”’ and the July treasure-box snapped shut. Eagerly Robert opened the eighth little chest. Salt breezes blew. Surf rolled close to his feet. He plunged in, and was just about to call out, “ T'll beat you all to the raft!” when he heard the cry of a little boy, “ Please help me swim, oh, please!’ He turned straight about toward land, and each wave seemed a friend that pushed him along. He was smiling at the little boy’s laughter when the Voice said, ‘‘ Forty minutes gone!” and the August treasure-box snapped shut. The same good feeling was left when the Sep- tember chest snapped shut at the words, ‘‘ Three- quarters of an hour gone! ”’ for from it had fallen school books, which Robert had eagerly opened and which filled his mind with pleasant pictures. October’s treasure-box of nuts overflowed as he threw a handful to some squirrels which scurried back just as the cry of “‘ Fifty minutes gone!” closed the lid. Eagerly Robert opened the eleventh treasure- box. As he expected, a Thanksgiving dinner appeared and he began at once to eat a piece of turkey. But was it turkey? It had no taste at all. The cranberry sauce was bitter, and the pudding with- out sweetness. What was the reason? Surely a boy was not expected to give away his Thanks- giving dinner! Then he remembered hearing the first notes of a song of thanks, which stopped as he greedily took his first mouthful. “ Fifty-five minutes gone!” said the Voice, and the November treasure-box snapped shut. Robert hurried to open the last little casket, that not a second need be lost. It was so packed with toys ’twas a wonder the lid had stayed on. All sorts of Christmas gifts that a boy likes came out first, but Robert took no notice of them. He seemed looking for other things. His hand went out at last for a baby’s rattle, and again for a man’s gloves, and once more for a woman’s knitting-bag. When he spied a reading- glass he fairly snatched it, with a cry of, “ Just the thing for grandmother!” Then, glancing down, will you believe me when I tell you that he found all those gifts so perfectly suited to a boy lying in his lap! And it seemed to him that the angels of Bethlehem were singing and that the Voice came from the sky itself, as it said softly, “One hour gone!” and the December treasure- box snapped shut. One, struck the Hall Clock. Robert rubbed his eyes. Where were the twelve shining boxes? Where the New Year? “Tt was a dream, I guess,” he murmured sleepily, “but I hope Peter gets the red sled!’ — Frances Weld Danielson. SECOND CLASS PERIOD Introducing New Material. (Refer to the February treasure-box in the preceding story.) Why is February a patriotic month? Whose birthdays are in it? What makes people want to celebrate Washington’s and Lincoln’s birth- days? What made Washington and Lincoln important? (The following story has value for eight-year- old children, who often expect special privileges because of some fancied superiority, i.e., “‘ My father is rich;” ‘‘ My mother is on the school board;” ‘“‘My mother is the teacher’s best friend;” therefore: ‘“‘ Everybody ought to be especially nice to me;” “If I can’t have first choice, I won’t play;’’ “I should sit beside the teacher.’’) Story. How tae Discretes LEARNED TO BE GREAT (Bible references: Matt. 23:11; Mark 9 :33- 35; Luke 22 : 7-14, 24-27; John 13 : 3-15.) The twelve disciples had been with Jesus for many months. A great deal had happened since the first four left their lake and their fishing to be with the Teacher. They watched their Teacher help people all day long. They learned from him how to do it themselves. They listened while he taught the crowds, and they learned his stories to tell to others who had not heard. They had even gone out themselves and worked among people, doing some of the wonder works that Jesus did. Then they had come back to learn more from their Teacher. 82 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER But there were some things that the disciples couldn’t seem to learn, and this troubled Jesus. For instance, they all wanted to be Jesus’ favor- ites. They knew he loved them all, but each one wanted to be loved more than the rest. They thought that this would make them more im- portant. The people, even the disciples, called Jesus King, but they had a queer idea about his king- dom. In spite of all Jesus could say, they still thought it meant a throne and a gold crown and powerful soldiers. He couldn’t seem to make them understand that the kingdom he was working for was a world full of people loving each other, and being kind to each other, and helping each other. And that sort of a kingdom could be anywhere, couldn’t it? — without thrones and without crowns and without soldiers. Still they quarreled for first place. When Jesus sat down, wherever he was, they struggled to sit nearest him. You can imagine the kind of thing they did to try to make Jesus like them better and so set them ahead of the others. Stuart: I’d have done it, too. I don’t blame them. James and John thought they ought to be given special honor because their mother had made a trip to Jesus just to ask that her sons might have the two most important places. Judas and Philip considered themselves very important, for one was treasurer for the band and the other pro- vided their meals. Another was rich and per- haps he thought that made him greater than the rest. What could Jesus do to show them what it was that made people truly great? What could he do to show them the only way to win his love and praise and the approval of their heavenly Father? ts It was the time of a great holiday. Into Jeru- salem, for the Feast of the Passover, thronged men and women and children from all over Pales- tine. Families and friends made up groups to celebrate the feast together, and went from house to house trying to rent empty rooms for their particular supper parties. Jesus and his disciples had come, too, but stopped in a little village outside the city. They must have a room in the city in which to eat their Passover supper like the rest, and Jesus sent Peter and John into Jerusalem to engage one and make it ready. “You will see a man carrying a pitcher of water,” he said; “ follow him into the house and say to the master of the house, ‘ The Teacher has sent us to ask where is the guest-chamber where he may eat the Passover with his disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room furnished. Make it ready.” Peter and John did as they were directed. They found the house and the room. They pre- pared the table and saw that everything was ready, even to the pitcher of water at the door, the basin and the towel. For it was the custom in that country for people to wear, instead of shoes and stockings, low sandals which could easily be slipped on and off. School A. An oriental sandal made this vivid. These they always left outside as they entered a house, for the roads along which they traveled were rough and dusty, and they did not want the mats to be soiled. Their feet would be stained, too, and hot and tired at the end of a journey. As soon as a guest entered a house a servant hastened to him, poured cool, refreshing water into a basin, and bathed the hot, dusty feet of the traveler, drying them on a towel. That is why a basin and towel were always to be found ready. Joun: Just what we do when we go bare- footed in the summer. In the evening Jesus and his disciples walked from the little village where they were stopping, into Jerusalem. Peter and John led them to the place where they had prepared the feast. It had an outside staircase which led to their upper room, so the company did not need to disturb the mas- ter of the house at all. Shouldn’t you think that the disciples would have been so proud to be among the great Teach- er’s special friends that that would have been enough honor for them? And shouldn’t you think that after being with Jesus for months and months and seeing how he never thought of him- self, but always of other people, they would have learned to do the same thing? School A. John’s interruption, “‘ He was always busy thinking of other people,” made it unnecessary for the leader to com- plete the sentence. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 83 But they had not learned, for even as they walked into Jerusalem and up the outside stairs of the house, different ones were wishing that they might be pointed out, not as Jesus’ special pupils, but as his favorites, the most important ones in the band. Two of them were cousins of his — that should set them away ahead of the others, they thought. And so it was with them all. Each one had a different reason for feeling important, but that was the sort of thing which filled their minds. At the top of the stairs. they stopped and slipped off their sandals. There was the water, the basin and the towels, but there was no servant to bathe their feet. They had walked two miles along a stony road; their feet were tired and dusty. Jesus went in and sat down. No one had bathed his feet. When there was no servant to do this it fell upon the youngest or the one of least account in a group. But when each dis- ciple was thinking of how much account he was, naturally not one of them felt like doing the work of aservant. No one offered to bathe Jesus’ feet, although they loved him. They never even thought of bathing each other’s. Each felt him- self above it. It would look as though he thought he was not important — and that was what all their dispute had been about, which of them was the greatest. What could their Teacher do? He had told them many times what kind of people were counted great with God. He had told them many stories which showed them. But they for- got so quickly, or else were slow to understand. He suddenly stood up. He would not reprove them; he would not tell them another story. He would act a story. He threw off his outside robes. Now he looked like a servant. The disciples stopped quarreling to watch him. What was their Teacher doing? Jesus fastened the towel around his waist. What was he going to do? It couldn’t be — He lifted the pitcher and poured water in the basin. Not one disciple spoke. Suddenly they forgot whether they were great and important or not. No one said anything more about having first place. Jesus, their Teacher, their Lord and Master, was washing their feet! Jesus was doing the work of a servant! How do you think they felt, they, who were too proud to do this even for Jesus? Do you wonder that they were ashamed and that Peter even drew away and said, “You shall never wash my feet!” But Jesus went right on, until he had bathed and dried every foot with the towel. Then he put his cloak on and sat down again. The disciples had stopped quarreling. At last they had learned the lesson their Teacher had been trying to teach them. He had given them an example. They knew now how to tell a person who is really great. And now when Jesus said, ‘‘ Whoever would be great among you shall be your minister; whoever would be first among you shall be your servant,” they understood. The one who counts for most will help most. Nobody ever counted for as much as Jesus did, and nobody ever helped so much. (After the story show a picture of the Last Supper — the disciples as they looked when all the quarreling was over. Connect with the communion service. (Ask the children if they have noticed any one in school, on the playground or at home, who might have been “‘ going to school ”’ to Jesus — who is serving and ministering to others. Let them name over the “greatest” people they know.) Report of School A The Beginning of a Project in Friendship Before the session John and Stuart gleefully told the rest of the class of the toy automobile they'd seen at the leader’s house. When the leader said that it came as an invitation to motor to Virginia in June, immediate interest in her trip was aroused. (See Eighteenth Weekday for the next step in the project.) Marking Charts All were eager to tell how many corners were marked off. ‘Two who weren’t present yesterday wanted calendars. ONE OF THE CHILDREN: I’m going to make a chart for you, Miss Bradley, so I won’t quarrel here, and so I’ll mind you. Exinor (who had been bringing her younger sister lo the class): Martha wouldn’t put anything on her calendar last night. My mother says this class doesn’t do her as much good as it does me. Anne: Oh, dear, I quarreled this morning and I felt terribly! Leaver: What a pity! Then that corner can’t be marked. ANNE (ruefully): I know it, —the very first day, too. 84 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Leaper: Everybody forgets, Anne. Even Jesus’ disciples forgot, but they kept on trying. A Lost Opportunity Communion lengthened the church service, so early comers found no adult in the Primary room. Miss Fairfield left the service to quiet them. If the leader had gone herself, she would have found three of her own class on a rampage; could have brought them into the service, to show them what it was, and how the communion table which they had noticed on their tour of inspection of the church was used. Both the story for today and the picture would have meant more. Stuart and Tommy ran to her to own up. Sruart: Miss Bradley, it was us that made the noise. : Leaver: Oh, I’m sorry! If you could have heard it in the church! We were having com- munion, and it is always very quiet then. Stuart: What’s communion? Leaver: Every two months the members of the church remember the last supper Jesus had on earth, and pass bread and grape juice around, as they did then. Would you like to go into the church for it the first Sunday in March, when we celebrate it next? Stuart: Yes. (Ashamed.) And we kept Miss Fairfield from it! ; (See how this was followed up the Twenty- second Sunday.) FOURTEENTH WEEKDAY Winter Hike To (1) hunt for birds’-nests or cocoons; (2) observe winter birds, and seed food supply; (3) discover tracks of animals in snow. (See Sharp Eyes, Gibson; Nature Magazine, winter numbers, American Nature Association, Washington, D. C.; Handbook of Nature Study, Comstock.) What kind of a hike this may be should be determined before starting, that the leader may have specimens or photographs of the objects to be sought to show, and that the class may know what to look for. It may be possible and natural to recall nature verses from the Bible, such as Matt. 6 : 26, “‘ Be- hold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them.” Jesus, the great Teacher, loved the out-of-doors and was always drawing illustrations and stories from the ways of birds and animals and growing things. Suggest finding nature verses to bring the follow- ing Sunday to read as part of the worship service. In this way the class can share its hike with the rest of the department. Before the children separate, give them type- written references to such verses, for their mothers to help them find before Sunday, when each one will bring his own Bible with the reference marked. The children maly also suggest songs for the service. Suggested nature texts are: Birds, Ps. 50:11 a; 104:12; Matt. 6 : 26. Ice, Job 38 : 30; Ps. 147 : 17. Rain, Deut. 28 :12; Job, 5:10; Ps. 147: 7, 8; Isa. 44:14 b; Joel 2 : 23. Snow, Job 37 :6; Ps. 147:16; Isa. 55:10. Spring, Ps. 147: 18; Song of Sol. 2: 11, 12. Sun, Moon and Stars, Gen. 1:16; Ps. 74:16; Ps. 136 :7, 8,9; Eccl. 11:7. Winter, Ps. 74:17 b. Report of School A Exhibition of Temper Twelve children started out on a hike for cocoons. A long search resulted in only one, con- taining a dried-up pupa. Stuart captured it, and at great pains secured a bird’s-nest. Florrie called him a mean thing because he carried the nest carelessly. In a temper he flung it down and started off across the fields, telling us how he 85 hated us all, while the children stared after him in wonder. Before long he began to creep back, whittling a stick as he went, and calling furtively to the other boys. John and Tommy Firth, fascinated, joined him. The rest paid no atten- tion until Florrie began to act strangely. CHILDREN: They’re after you, Florrie! FiorrieE: I know it, I’m not afraid of them. JOHN (rejoining us): You’d better get behind Miss Bradley, Florrie; they’re coming! Stuart (bearing down on us armed with a large branch): You hold her, Firth, while I beat her! Leaver (seizing Florrie): T'll hold her for you, Stuart; come on. (As Stuart came on) But I’m not holding her for you to beat her. You may beat me instead. She put herself between the two, and seized Stuart by the coat. He was in a passion of anger, and to be thwarted just as his prey was within reach was too much. He swore repeatedly. Leader held on. He tore and fought and yanked, but the hold was firm. He began to strike the leader. ANNE (flinging herself between them): You sha’n’t hurt Miss Bradley! Stuart: Oh, sha’n’t I? Well, (dealing a terrible blow on Anne’s chest) take that! Leaver: Did he hurt you, Anne? ANNE (sturdily): No. Stuart, absolutely beside himself, gave his switch to Tommy to guard while he attended to the business at hand. His blows fell like a bat- tering-ram upon leader’s arm. Stuart: Get out of my way! beating; get out of my way! LEADER: Stuart, you can’t hurt me, no matter what you do to me. You are only hurting your- self. Stuart (between blows): I don’t care if I am! Leaver: But I do, Stuart, and your mother does and God does. I don’t know what Florrie said to you, but three times now in your anger you have forgotten yourself so that you have said the very worst thing you could have said! (Ad- dressing whole group) Children, we can never go on another hike if things like this are going to happen. Just think of its being in our class. We have said we wanted to go to school to Jesus. Only last Sunday we took his picture, and called It’s Florrie needs 86 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER him our Teacher, and asked him to go with us on this hike and help us not to do or say anything that he would not like. And the most dreadful thing of all has happened on this hike. Children are hating each other and willing to hurt each other. We have even forgotten we have the greatest Teacher for our friend and helper. Let’s go home now. Tommy, put down the stick. Stuart, you had better go that way; it’s nearer. Stuart (sullenly): Come on, Firth; we’ll think of something else to do. Tommy (who had been standing stock-still, help- lessly): I can’t. Tommy stood his ground and resisted Stuart’s persuading all the way home. Stuart did not go the short way; he preferred to follow us at a distance and nurse his temper. Cuitp: He’s picking up stones to throw, Miss Bradley. LEADER (coolly): Let him throw them. He is too angry to aim straight. Walk ahead of me. If he hits anybody, I'll be the one. Stuart (at intervals): Look, Firth, there’s a big one! Throw that at ’em! Tommy: Naw! LEADER (as Stuart came too near to be comfort- able): Stuart, I asked you to go home the other way. Since you didn’t, please keep away from us. We don’t want you near us. Sruart: Well, you needn’t worry. I'll never come to Sunday school again nor near that old church for six years — maybe seven. Leaver: I hope you won’t. Nobody wants you around. We'll be glad to see Stuart Black back, though. SruarT: Stuart Black! What’re you talking about? I’m Stuart Black! Leaver: Oh, no, you’re not! Stuart Black has gone away. He left the minute you came and took his place, away back on the hill. We'll be glad when he comes back. Rutu: I wish he would come back. I like Stuart Black. Cuxp (shouting): O Miss Bradley, come quick! Tina’s found a cocoon. (Wild excitment. Stu- art, coming near to look, appeared as gentle as a dove.) LEADER (whispering to girls nearest her): You watch; I think Stuart is coming back. CHILDREN (delightedly): Stuart’s coming back! Sruart (frying to appear nonchalant, taking the dried pupa from his pocket): Wonder if this old thing’s really dead! Guess I’ll throw it away, now we've got a good one. CHILDREN: Goody, Stuart’s come back! Leaver: Hello, Stuart! Stuart (later): Miss Bradley, can’t I carry the cocoon now? (No reply.) Miss Bradley, can’t I carry the cocoon? Miss Bradley! Miss Bradley! Oh, my goodness, you might as well talk to a stone! Leaver: What, Stuart? Stuart: Can’t I carry the cocoon? Every- body else has had it, and I haven’t even had a chance to look at it! Leaver: No, you remember you were busy when it was found. Stuart (after a moment): Can’t I carry it now? Leaver: Do you really think you have be- haved so well on this hike that you should have favors? (torn between two opinions, then remember- ing how quickly he ‘‘came back’’) Yes, Stuart, you may carry it for coming back to us. But please don’t ever go away again. Stuart walked all the way home with leader. LEADER: Stuart, where did you ever hear those words you used? Didn’t you know that no one who is a Christian and loves God uses his name like that? Didn’t you know it is called swearing, and if the children’s mothers knew that that happened in our class, children might not be allowed to come? Stuart (humbly): I didn’t know, Miss Bradley. I got it from some French kids down the road. Leader’s Meditations 1. Should Florrie have gone scot-free? 2. Should I have said, ‘ You other boys, are you going to stand by and see Anne, a girl, hurt? ”’ No, if the boys had entered, it would have degenerated into a personal fight. 3. I might have prevented Stuart’s blows by grasping the upper part of his arms from behind. As it was, every blow he struck fanned his anger. 4. I failed to bring home to the group the seriousness of loss of self-control. Wouldn’t it have been crystallized in their minds if they had discussed whether or not Stuart should be allowed the privilege of carrying the cocoon? (To see how this incident was followed up, refer to reports of Fifteenth Sunday, Fifteenth Week- day, Twenty-Third Weekday, Twenty-Fourth Weekday.) FIFTEENTH SUNDAY January FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (The third grade shares with the department the experiences of the weekday sessions; birds’- nests, cocoons and other spoils of the hike. (A praise song is followed by Psalm One Hun- dred and Thirty-Six, which has been used before responsively. (Let those who have brought nature verses read them, the department responding after each, “His loving kindness endureth forever.’ Or a song response may be used.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD From the Old to the New. (Children retell “How the Disciples Learned to Be Great.” Leader follows this with a fable.) THE GREATEST ANIMAL “I am going to be great,” said the giraffe, and he grew and grew, till he was the tallest of the animals, but not the greatest. “I am going to be great,’’ said the lion, and he roared and raged and devoured man and beast, and became the strongest of the animals, but not the greatest. “T am going to be great,”’ said the frog, and he swelled up until he burst. ““T am going to be great,’’ said the mouse, and he went to live in a king’s palace, but he was not great. He was the smallest and most hated creature there. “IT am going to be a friend to man,” said the horse, and he carried man about and plowed his field and did his work. And behold, he was great! For he who serves others is the greatest. — Frances Weld Danielson, in Little Animal Stories. Alternative, a Dramatization. (Some of the children will represent the disciples who saw Jesus’ act of service. Others will represent Roman soldiers who do not know Jesus or his “way.” The soldiers will boast of their greatness and power. The disciples will hear them and tell them the story which showed them what true greatness is. See Report of School A.) 87 SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Repeat the poem, “The First Children’s Day,” used in Fourth Sunday, second depart- mental period, and use again the great Teacher dramatization suggested in Third Sunday, second departmental period. Base this upon the chil- dren’s needs.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD Making a Picture Gallery. (Talk about great people the class have known, or about children who have shown signs of greatness, according to Jesus’ definition. This will lead to more stories of Jesus serving. (From a pile of pictures let the children select and hang up those which show Jesus serving, or, like ‘‘ The Good Samaritan,” are Jesus’ illustra- tions of people doing “ great’ deeds. At odd moments, both on Sunday and weekday, they will enjoy studying these pictures. There will be constant reference to them in the programs, and many times if pictures are in sight, the leader will find unexpected uses for them. (Burlap running along one side of the room makes a good background for such an exhibition. A strip of Upson board stained and attached to the wall is excellent. (As the children are choosing their pictures today, sing, or have an assistant sing, the song, ** Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,”’ found in Worship and Song and other hymnals. Following is the entire hymn, all of which, except the last stanza, to be kept for Easter, may be sung today.) TELL ME THE STORIES oF JESUS! Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear; Things I would ask him to tell me If he were here; Scenes by the wayside, Tales of the sea, Stories of Jesus, Tell them to me. 1 Used by permission of the Sunday-school Union. 4s AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER First let?me hear how the children Stood round his knee; And I shall fancy his blessing Resting on me; leader as spokesman; Disciples represented by third grade. Speeches impromptu.) Roman Sotprer: Get out of my way, sirs! Do you not see we are soldiers, mighty soldiers of a Words full of kindness, powerful emperor? Deeds full of grace, Discrete: Well, we’ve got a King ourselves. All in the love-light Roman Sorprer: Ah, but what is your King Of Jesus’ face. Into the city I'd follow compared with the mighty emperor? DiscipLE (FRANKIE): I tell you, our King is the greatest King there is! The children’s band, Roman Soupter: Is that so? We have never j Waving a branch of the palm-tree heard of him; he can’t be so very great, can he? } High in my hand; (Colleagues sniff.) 5 One of his heralds, Discrete (Tommy, rolling up his sleeves): Come bs Yes, I would sing on over and we'll show you who’s greatest! bs Loudest hosannas! LEADER: You see we didn’t understand. Re- 4 Jesus is King! member how Jesus showed his disciples who was ¥ greatest? You’re pretending to be disciples. 4 OPTRA Ran a cnoni@okavondés Always his disciples were anxious to tell others q Hoe a hs ie ? about the new meaning Jesus had given to words. P eens aiesiicatiin uy ferent We're pretending to be Roman soldiers, who ; On Galilee! And how the Master, Ready and kind, Chided the billows And hushed the wind. Tell how the sparrow that twitters On yonder tree, And the sweet meadow-side lily May speak to me. Give me their message, For I would hear How Jesus taught us Our Father’s care. Show me that scene in the garden, Of bitter pain; And of the cross where my Saviour For me was slain — Sad ones or bright ones, So that they be Stories of Jesus, Tell them to me. — W. H. Parker. : Report of School A don’t know any better, but really think that the people who are the greatest have the largest armies and maybe can kill the most. Would Jesus’ disciples have fought to show who was greatest? CHILDREN (rolling down their sleeves): No. LEADER: Think how they would have told what they knew. Roman Souprer: We are the strongest, the mightiest, the cruelest people on earth. Are we not great? j DiscrPLE (ANNE): That isn’t greatness. Roman Souprer: Indeed! Be very careful what you say. We are soldiers of a powerful emperor. We might have you killed. DiscrpLes: We wouldn’t care. They killed Jesus. He was greatest. Roman Sowprer: Greatest? What do you mean? How was he great? I never even heard of him, did you? OTHER Roman Sotprers: No. DiscrpLE (FRANKIE): I tell you he’s the great- est King of all! Roman Sotpier: But tell me about him. Had he a great army? Discretes: No, he hadn’t any army. Roman Soxtprer: No army? Then I suppose Ra SELES periwhghare Hogi ban foes ASS ty Impromptu Dramatization (Used with the department instead of the class DiscreLe: He was kind. because of absence of teachers. Parts of Roman Roman Soper (puzzled): But kindness doesn’t Soldiers taken by first and second grades with make a great king. he must have been very strong and powerful. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 89 DiscrpLe (FLorrigz): He wasn’t exactly a king. He didn’t wear a crown. Roman Soxprer: No crown? But how could people tell that he was a king if he wore no crown and had no army? Discrete (FRANKIE): He had little spikes coming out of his head. (Leader knew he was thinking of a halo, but could not stop to explain. See report in Sixteenth Sunday.) Discrete (Joun): He helped people. Roman Sotprer: But what makes you think helping people makes a great man? We never help others. It is for others to help us. And if they don’t they are sorry for it. We are power- ful. Why, only yesterday an old woman got in my way and I threw her down in the road. And because I am a soldier of the emperor she dared not say a word. That is how great we are. (Smaller children looked horrified at first but got back into their parts. Assumed haughtiness again.) DiscipLe: Thatisn’t great. It’s helping people makes you great. Roman Soxpier: But wherever did you get that idea? Discretes: Jesus told us so. He’s our King. He heals people when they’re sick. He helps them all sorts of ways. Roman Sorprer: But this idea of greatness — how did he make you understand such a queer idea? Discrete: He got down on his knees and washed our feet. AnoTHer: And we hadn’t washed his. just washed our own. AnotHeER: No, we didn’t even wash our own; we were too proud to do it. Roman Soxpier: But that was the work of a servant! How would that show he was great? Discrete: That’s just it, — the one that’s the greatest helps most. Roman Sorprer: Well, this is certainly all very interesting. Would you tell us more about this great King of yours sometime? Discretes: Yes! LEADER: We'll not be Roman soldiers and disciples any more. I want to tell you something. It sounded dreadful, didn’t it, when the soldier said he’d knocked down an old woman, and boasted of it? But that’s just what does happen in countries where people think greatness depends on armies and strength. Once I visited in a country like that, and the We reason I spoke about the old woman was because I saw that very thing happen. The streets were crowded with people lined up to see the emperor pass. It was almost impossible to get through the crowd. Soldiers were everywhere, keeping back the line which pressed over the edge of the sidewalk. One poor old woman with a big load on her back was trying to struggle through the throng of people. She had no time to stop to watch a procession; she was bent on going some- where with her load. Finally finding it so diffi- cult to worm her way through the crowd, she managed to reach the edge, and was walking along in the gutter when a great, husky guard came along. He was angry that she should be walking where he was going back and forth keeping back the line of people. She was in his way. With one strong arm he reached out and knocked the old woman out of his way, and went on angrily, without caring at all that she had fallen. Nota person dared move to help her to her feet again. Every one was terrified by the soldier of a power- ful emperor. He might do the same to them. The guard would not have cared if he had killed her. It would have shown how strong he was. You have been hearing stories about Jesus, and his kindness and his helpfulness and his love. You haven’t heard much about his getting angry, have you? Did people ever hurt him? CHILDREN: Yes, they hit him and they killed him. Lreaper: Was he angry at that? (Silence.) He could be angry though. He was angry when he saw strong men treating others unfairly, and cheating them. He was awfully angry. He even used a whip. Do you think if he had seen what I saw, he would have been angry? CHILDREN: Yes! Leaver: Sodo I. I think he would have been terribly angry. I think his eyes would have blazed and nothing on earth would have kept him from trying to help that woman. He wouldn’t have been afraid of any soldiers. And his anger would have counted for something. It is fine to be able to feel anger — for another person. That was the difference between Jesus and the soldier. The soldier was angry for himself. Jesus’ anger was for wrongs done to others. (During the moments that followed, through the stir of giving out the papers, Stuart sat per- fectly still gazing straight ahead of him into space.) FIFTEENTH WEEKDAY Party Preparations (See Thirteenth Weekday, note foot of page 77.) A party for the schoolmates of the class may seem like a big undertaking, especially if the chil- dren come from more than one school. Even limited to third grades, the number may seem appalling. The class should be made to see at once that it cannot possibly take place without every one’s doing all he can to help make it a success. Such a project offers a splendid chance to work toward ideals of hospitality, cooperation and loyalty to our group standards. Preparation for such a party will require thought. It must be carefully planned to be en- joyed by all. It will call for leadership. The group itself will be the natural leaders and upon them the respon- sibility for the success of whatever games are chosen will rest. There can be no hanging back on the part of any one, when a game is started. Recalling a recent party, let the children criticize their own manners and actions, if there was con- fusion or disorder, and plan how they, as hosts, can make this one orderly. Discuss what they can do to make their guests feel at home. Sug- gest paper caps as souvenirs. Preparation for a party where souvenirs are given will require patience and perseverance, for no matter how simple, such a quantity of souvenirs as will be necessary will require work. Start making caps today. When the children grow restless play some of the games which will be played at the party, and which it will be necessary for them to know in order to lead the others. Introduce such circle games as Rig-a-jig-jig (Ice-Breakers, Edna Geis- ter), which needs a piano accompaniment; prac- tise figures like the snake dance in the grand march, (Ice-Breakers) and such floor games as Maze Tag (Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium, Bancroft). Reports on Party Preparations School A Friorriz: I don’t want to have a party for our grade. JI don’t want to be a good sport. Joun: I don’t, either. It’s too much work. I like Our Class. Leaver: Well, of course, if everybody doesn’t help, we can’t possibly have it. It’s too big a thing for just a few. OTHER CHILDREN: We want it! We'll help! Fiorrte: I’ll help, too. I do want to be a good sport. Joun: I don’t. LEADER: But since all the others do, we can have it without you, John, and you can go home while we’re getting ready! Leaver: Did you like the Christmas party? . ANNE: Some of it. Tina: I liked all of it. Joun: I didn’t. I acted like the dickens, run- ning around and not playing the games. Sruart: So did I. I’m going to help in this one. Practised Rig-a-jig-jig and Maze Tag. John didn’t join in until it was suggested that he go home, as this was part of getting ready for the party. He stayed and got in the game. Leader read aloud the first chapter of Johnny Blossom, (Poulsson), as it brought in the ques- tions of fighting and reparation, as well as the conflicting meanings of greatness — muscle versus kindness. Stuart: I thought we were going to make caps. I’m tired of listening to a story! School B Planned party for entire third grade of the church school. While making caps leader told “The Party” and “ The Quails,” (both printed at the end of Sixteenth Weekday). oe SIXTEENTH SUNDAY January FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD. Opening Service of Worship (Let the period be given over to praise to God for the people with whom we work and play, for whom we can plan good times. Let the prayer be that we may find more and more friends for whom we can make a happy new year.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Making Vivid Past Stories. (Speak of the charts and ask how they are progressing.) School A. The majority were keeping them. Stuart had marked every day but one “no quarreling.” Joun: Miss Bradley, I tried to pick a quarrel with Lawrence and he wouldn’t do it. Leaver: Lawrence, how perfectly fine! That way you kept two people from it. LAWRENCE (proudly): I haven’t quar- reled a single day since we began. (Ask the children if anything they are doing is making the new year happier for their families. Fancy what a happy new year it must have been for those people back in Jesus’ time and country who had a chance to meet him. (Let the class pretend to be a group of such people, meeting and comparing notes. Each represents some person helped by Jesus. Each begins, “It is a happy new year for me be- 99 Cause. ———— School B. Children preferred to speak of their own experiences rather than to go back to the time of Jesus, or to pretend they were other people. SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (After singing suggest that there is a very special thing children may do which will make the people with whom they live happy.) A child went into a store one day. She did not know there was anything unusual about her face, that there was anything to notice. An old man stopped her and tipping her head up to look into her eyes, he said, “‘ My child, you don’t know how 91 much prettier you could be, and how much hap- pier you would make every one you met, if you didn’t scowl so.” The child was surprised. The man was a stranger, and at first she did not like what he had said. She did not even know she had been scowling. But now as she left the store she knew that at least she wasn’t smiling. Suddenly, just for fun, she smiled. And as she smiled something happened. A little puckery feeling left her fore- head. Her forehead felt a little lonesome without the pucker. Was it possible that the reason it felt lonesome now was that usually she wasn’t smiling, but was actually scowling most of the time? She decided to keep on smiling, and to her sur- prise she felt quite happy inside. Another old man came down the street. The child smiled up at him. He gave her back such a cheery, happy smile that it made the child almost laugh. This was very amusing; she decided to keep on. So she did. All the way up the street she smiled at people and they smiled back. What I am going to tell you now you will never believe, I know. But this is a true story. As the child went through her own gate two friends of her mother’s came down the steps and passed her on the walk. She smiled up at them because by now she almost had the habit of smiling. But it was what she heard them say to each other that was so surprising and seemed too good to be true. ‘“ What a sweet face that child has!” one said to the other. “It makes you cheerful just to look at her. She must be a real bit of sunshine in the house.”’ “IT know it,” the other said, ‘“‘ and I used to think she was growing up with a cross expression!” Frankie: My mother calls the little girl downstairs a ray of sunshine, because she’s always happy. SECOND CLASS PERIOD New Material. “ He that ruleth his spirit (is better) than he that taketh a city.” What do you suppose that means? Here is a story about a prince who found out. 92 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Story. Tue Macic Mask! There was once a great and powerful prince. He had hundreds of soldiers in his army, and with their help he had conquered vast strips of country, over which he ruled. He was wise as well as brave, but, though all men feared his iron will and respected his strong purpose, no one loved him. As he grew older, he became lonely and unhappy, and this made him sterner and colder and more severe than ever. The lines about his mouth were hard and grim, there was a deep frown on his forehead, and his lips rarely smiled. Now it happened that in one of the cities over which he had come to rule was a beautiful] princess whom he wished to have for his wife. He had watched her for many months as she went about among the people, and he knew that she was as good and kind as she was beautiful. But because he always wore his armor and his heavy helmet when he rode through his dominions, she had never seen his face. The day came when he made up his mind that he would ask the lovely princess to come and live in his palace. He put on his royal robes and his golden coronet; but when he looked at his re- flection in the glass he could see nothing but what would cause fear and dislike. His face looked hard and cruel and stern. He tried to smile, but it seemed an unnatural effort and he quickly gave it up. Then a happy notion came to him. Sending for the court magician, he said to him, “* Make for me a mask of the thinnest wax so that it will follow every line of my features, but paint it with your magic paints so that it will look kind and pleasant instead of fierce and stern. Fasten it upon my face so that I shall never have to take it off. Make it as handsome and attractive as your skill can suggest, and I will pay for it any ‘price you choose to ask.” “This I can do,” said the court magician, “ on one condition only. You must keep your own face in the same lines that I shall paint, or the mask will be ruined. One angry frown, one cruel smile will crack the mask and ruin it forever; nor can I replace it. Will you agree to this? ”’ The prince had a strong will, and never in his life had he wanted anything so much as he now wanted the princess for his wife. ‘‘ Yes,” he 1 From The First Book of Religion, by Mrs. Charles A. Lane. Used by permission of The Beacon Press. said, ““I agree. Tell me how I may keep the mask from cracking.” “You must train yourself to think kindly thoughts,” said the magician, ‘“‘ and, to do this, you must do kindly deeds. You must try to make your kingdom happy rather than great. Whenever you are angry, keep absolutely still until the feeling has gone away. ‘Try to think of ways to make your subjects happier and better. Build schools instead of forts, and hospitals in- stead of battleships. Be gracious and courteous to all men.” So the wonderful mask was made, and when the prince put it on, no one would have guessed that it was not his true face. The lovely princess, in- deed, could find no fault with it, and she came willingly to be his bride in his splendid palace. The months went on, and, though at first the magic mask was often in danger of being de- stroyed, the prince had been as good as his word, and no one had ever discovered that it was false. His subjects, it is true, wondered at his new gentle- ness and thoughtfulness, but they said, * It is the princess who has made him like herself.” The prince, however, was not quite happy. When the princess smiled her approval of his for- bearance and goodness, he used to wish that he had never deceived her with the magic mask. At last he could bear it no longer, and, summoning the magician, he bade him remove the false face. “Tf I do, your Royal Highness,” protested the magician, ““I can never make another. You must wear your own face as long as you live.” ‘“‘ Better so,’ cried the prince, “than to de- ceive one whose love and trust I value so greatly. Better even that she should always despise me than that I should go on doing what is unworthy for her sake.” Joun: I bet his face looked just like the mask! Then the magician took off the mask, and the prince in fear and anguish of heart sought his reflection in the glass. As he looked, his eyes brightened and his lips curved into a radiant smile, for the ugly lines were gone, the frown had disappeared, and his face was molded in the exact likeness of the mask he had worn so long. And, when he came into the presence of his wife, she saw only the familiar features of the prince she loved. ye ee eee ee ee ee AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 93 Joun: I knew that’s the way it would be! (Look at picture of Jesus and ask why we love his face.) Report of School A **Isn’t It Really a Picture of Jesus? ” Leaver: What is it that makes us like this picture? Au: It’s Jesus. It shows how he looked. Leaver: It’s the way the artist thought he looked. Joun (sfartled): Isn’t it really a picture of Jesus? Leaver: No one knows exactly how Jesus looked, John. But many artists who loved him have painted him as they thought he looked. Joun (almost in tears): Oh, then I don’t like it any more! Leaver: But, John, it isn’t because he had a certain kind of hair and eyes that we love him, is it? Why do you other children like the pic- ture? (General vague feeling of perplexity and dissatisfaction.) Why do you like him? Because he looked a certain way? CurpREN: No, because he was kind. Because he was good. Because he helped people. ANNE: Because he made us and gives us our food and makes everything grow. LreapER: God does that, yes. Son, had God’s spirit in him. Joun (bitterly): Couldn’t they have taken any pictures of him so we’d know just what he looked like? Leaver: But, John, Jesus lived hundreds of years ago, before there were such things as kodaks. JoHN (impatiently): Well, weren’t there any drawers? Couldn’t some one draw his picture? LEeapeEr: Perhaps they did, but if there were such pictures they were lost, it was so long ago. But all through these years people have felt the need of pictures of him, just like you, John; so they have tried to think how he might have looked, and painted pictures of him. And Frankie, don’t you remember that last Sunday you said Jesus had gold spikes coming out of his head? He hadn’t really, but look at all these pictures. Stuart: This one has an orange. Leaver: You see the painters wanted to make him different from others and didn’t know how. So they always put a light around his head. Sometimes it was a glow, sometimes gold marks. And Jesus, his ANNE: But he was different. Exinor: He must have looked different. Leaver: If you tried to paint his picture, how would you show that he was different? One: I think the light was in his face. AwnotHerR: He’d have kind eyes. AwnoTHER: He’d be helping some one. (Lead- er’s query: Would it be better to use for our “Teacher” picture one showing him helping?) Recognition of Self-Control Leaver (fo Tommy): I’ve been waiting to tell you, Tommy, how proud I was of you on the hike, when you wouldn’t join Stuart. That was “going to school,’’ you know. Problem of Discipline Disorder in changing classes has been growing. Also the noise during class periods. Leader called boys’ attention to this. Boys: Why do you pick on just us? You don’t say anything to the girls. Leaver: The girls were not making the noise. FRANKIE: Come on, boys, remember that day we promised Miss Bradley we’d be good? Cut it out now! By the second class period resolutions were forgotten. After the session the other teachers complained bitterly, and plead for old-fashioned discipline, citing the case of a child who had been punished by a public humiliation. Leader ob- jected to that type of discipline, but admitted the need of better order for the sake of the group. Stuart suddenly emerged from behind a screen. LEADER: Stuart, come over here a minute. I didn’t know you were still here. But since you’ve heard what we’ve been saying, maybe you can give us some help. (Stuart’s head went down.) Don’t look so ashamed, Stuart; it isn’t you alone. We're all to blame, I most of all, because I haven’t made you see how selfish we’ve all been not to think about other people’s rights. I didn’t call you to blame you. We really want your help. (Head came up!) What can we do? Stuart: We can be quiet. LEADER: Yes, it’s all very well for you and me to decide that we can be quiet, but that doesn’t help the rest of the group to see. How can we make them want to be quieter, too? Assistant: Couldn’t you boys get together and talk it over and make some rules? Stuart: Yes, we could. LeapER: And all together we'll talk it over 94 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Saturday, so that there need never be another Sunday like this. And can’t we meet, we teachers, during the week and discuss new ways? Opinions offered by various people: (1) “I think you ought to give them a lesson;” (2) ““T never should send a child home. I was sent home from Sunday school once, and I never forgot it. Ive always felt the teacher was un- fair. There were lots of others just as bad as I was!’’ (3) “ The children themselves ought to get together and decide what to do.” (4) ‘“‘ Sun- day school is only an hour long, and children should leave their spirits outside.” (5) ‘‘ When I was young I always approached Sunday school with awe.” (6) “ Next Sunday take the whole hour if necessary to teach them the proper way of behaving.” (7) ‘‘ Answer only those who hold up their hands.” (8) “They ought to have a separate room. Their voices are loud and they all seem to talk at once.” (9) “ Why don’t you tell more stories? They’re quiet enough during a story.” (10) “It ought to be possible to com- bine free expression and consideration of others.”’ (See Sixteenth Weekday and Seventeenth Sun- day, Report of School A.) Comments During the Week Anne’s Moruer: Anne’s been a perfect angel lately. She helps me in all sorts of ways. I can’t find enough things for her to do. Her father comes home tired and she rushes to get his smoking-jacket for him. Of course, she’s thoughtful anyway. It’s partly that, but this is a new enthusiasm. Leaver: I wonder if it is something we started in the class. When did it begin? AnneE’s Mortuer: A little after Christmas. I’ve forgotten just when. There’s something she and Ruth began doing just then, which they’re keeping a secret from me. They go off by them- selves every night and whisper together before they go to bed. Leaver: What does Anne say when she comes home from the class — or from hikes? AnneE’s Moruer: Generally that the boys were naughty! She was terribly upset when Stuart Black hit you that day! Anne (in bed that night, to leader): Come here, I want to whisper something. When can J show mother our calendars? I told her I had a secret. LEapER: Why, any time, dear. The “ money”’ had to be kept secret for a Christmas present, but you can show her this any time. Anne: Well, I’ve kept it up so far, and Ruth’s too. She won’t do hers unless I do mine, so I have to anyway. Awnne’s Moruer (a few days later): You had a terrible time Sunday, didn’t you? FLorrie’s Moruer (on the alert): Was Florrie naughty? LEADER: She was the only one of the class who was absent! Fiorrie’s Motuer: Oh, yes, she didn’t go. I’m rather glad. But how she does love that class! I’ve never been able to get her to go anywhere regularly, and when Saturday comes I could no more keep her away! And little things keep coming up all the while which I know are the result of your class. She’s doing something now; she’s keeping a secret, but she tells me a little. Last night she said, “‘ Mother, I guess you'll have to help me about this. Have I been a good girl today? Have I minded promptly? I haven’t quarreled with you, have I? ” A Child’s Idea of Prayer which Influenced Future Programs Fiorriz’s Moruer: I can see how your teach- ing is showing. The night of the fire (Florrie’s father’s store was threatened) she was in bed with me, and I said, “Oh, dear, I wish I could do something!’’ Florrie said, “We can pray. I don’t have to do it out loud, mother. God knows our thoughts.” After a little while she said, “There, mother, I said it over three times.” The next morning when we went past the store she said, ““ My prayer was answered, wasn’t it? ” So she didn’t lose her faith. LEApER: I don’t believe she got that from the class. I should never dare teach just that kind of faith in prayer. Supposing the next block had gone? She'd have lost it. Fiorrie’s Moruer: But it didn’t! lucky? LEADER: I’ve been trying to show them that God depends on people to answer our prayers. Fiorrie’s Moruer: Florrie’s already begin- ning to worry about next year. She says, ‘““ Mother, do you think we can go on with Our Class next year?” (For teachings on prayer see Twentieth Week- day, Twenty-First Sunday; Twenty-First Week- day, Twenty-Second Sunday; also Tina’s re- sponse, Twenty-Fourth Weekday.) Wasn’t it SIXTEENTH WEEKDAY Continued Preparation for Party Appropriate stories to tell today: For co- operation, ‘The Quails;” for comradeship, “The Party’ (both printed at close of this chapter). Invitations: Decide on date, guests and form of invitations —to children and their teachers. Suggest asking the guests to contribute something toward the entertainment, such as charades. Souvenirs: Finish caps or other souvenirs. Program: Put entire program on the board, for instance: Greetings of guests; showing where to put wraps Presentation of caps Formation of circle for game Game, Rig-a-jig-jig Formation of double line facing leader, for grand march Grand march, alternating couples going to right and left, coming down in columns of fours, then eights, when they will be in right formation for next game Game, Maze Tag Snake dance, columns of eights gradually be- coming the single line of the snake dance, forms one large circle for game Game, Jacob and Rachel Count off one, two, one, two, for game Game, Race (relay race formation) Boys get chairs and arrange them facing piano and platform Charades, pictures, group singing Class passes pop-corn balls Children, row by row, get wraps and say good- bye to hosts at the door Program Essentials: (1) A good pianist who will play for any musical games, for the group singing, and send the children out to march music. The music committee should get such a pianist, give her the program and explain what is wanted, telling her the date and time of the party. (2) A “blinder ” is needed for the game Jacob and Rachel. The “property man” should see that this and any other game properties are on hand. (3) The committee on arrangements should come early and see that there is a place prepared for wraps to be left, and should engineer the placing of chairs in orderly rows after the game called “Race.” (4) The refreshment committee will 95 either solicit or order and attend to the delivery of the refreshments. Have the program typewritten on cards for each child. This not only familiarizes them with the order of events, but gives them a sense of re- sponsibility in carrying out the program as planned. They will feel immensely important to be able to take their programs from their pockets at the party, while the guests are ignorant of *‘ what comes next.”’ Report of School A LAWRENCE: I’m not going to play unless you do what I want! LEADER (laughing): Can’t you just hear the President of the United States saying, ‘“‘ I’m not going to run this country unless you do what I want? ”’ CHILDREN (chuckling): Wouldn’t we make nice rulers? Class made out program of games, practised these and a grand march dance. They wasted so much time, however, that they had to take caps home to finish. The disorder was so great that leader sat down and solemnly told them what criticisms had been made of their behavior. She took the blame her- self. Children bitterly resented this, insisting, “ Tt’s not your fault. You tell us not to holler, and we holler! ”’ STruarT: Yes, and when I heard ’em talkin’ to you like that last Sunday I wanted to come out and say, ‘‘ You big dumb-bells, it’s not her fault, it’s ours!” Leader talked about importance of self-control. On the board was the verse, ‘‘ He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city.” Marion caught sight of it and read it aloud. Leader unwisely continued. Joun: I wish you’d talk about something in- teresting! Leader took a calendar and showed how the addition of a big red C in the center of the figures would hereafter stand for self-control, at home, in class, at school. Stuart: I’m going to the doctor’s and get something for my throat, so I won’t talk so loud! Joun (during talk about order on Sunday): Let’s surprise em tomorrow! 96 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Report of School B We planned to have party Valentine’s Day. Make valentines as souvenirs. Practised games and talked about the importance of all playing. Howarp: If there isn’t enough ice-cream to go around, we will go without. Tue Quarts } A LEGEND OF THE TATAUA Ages ago a flock of more than a thousand quails lived together in a forest in India. They would have been happy, but that they were in great dread of their enemy, the quail catcher. He used to imitate the call of the quail, and when they gathered together in answer to it, he threw a great net over them, stuffed them into his basket, and carried them away to be sold. Now one of the quails was very wise, and he said, ‘‘ Brothers, I’ve thought of a good plan. In future as soon as the fowler throws his net over us, let each one put his head through a mesh in the net and then all lift it up together and fly away with it. When we have flown far enough, we can let the net drop on a thorn-bush and escape from under it.”’ All agreed to the plan, and next day when the fowler threw his net, the birds all lifted it together in the very way that the wise quail had told them, threw it on a thorn-bush and escaped. While the fowler tried to free his net from the thorns, it grew dark, and he had to go home. This happened many days, till at’ last the fowler’s wife grew angry and asked her husband, “ Why is it that you never catch any more quail? ”’ Then the fowler said, “‘ The trouble is that all the birds work together and help one another. If they would only quarrel, I could catch them fast enough.” A few days later one of the quails accidentally trod on the head of one of his brothers as they alighted on the feeding ground. “Who trod on my head? ” angrily inquired the quail who was hurt. “Don’t be angry, I didn’t mean to tread on you,” said the first quail. But the brother quail went on quarreling, and pretty soon he declared, “T lifted all the weight of the net; you didn’t help at all.” That made the first quail angry, and before 1 From Ethics for Children, by Ella Lyman Cabot. Used by per- mission of and by special arrangement with, Houghton Mifflin Com- pany, the authorized publishers. long all were drawn into the dispute. Then the fowler saw his chance. He imitated the cry of the quail and cast his net over those who came together. They were still boasting and quarrel- ing, and they did not help each other lift the net. So the hunter lifted the net himself and crammed - them into his basket. But the wise quail gath- ered his friends together and flew far away, for he knew that quarrels are the root of misfortune. THe Party “There comes Helen,” said Mrs. March. As she was sitting with her back to the window, it certainly was not her eyes that told her. No; it was cries that.grew louder and louder as a girl with tears rolling down her cheeks came up the piazza steps. “What is the matter?’ asked the mother, as she lifted Helen on ker lap. ‘* They never asked — me — to the — par — ty. Oh, dear me! ”’ she said, shaking with sobs. “Whose party? ” “Daisy’s and Fred’s. It’s Saturday. They asked all the others in my room except two Italian boys and me.” ** Maybe it was a mistake.” “No, it wasn’t. I heard them say to that bashful new girl, ‘ You'll have a good time. Helen won’t be there!’ Oh, dear me! ” Brrrr, rang the telephone bell. Mrs. March came back from answering it with a puzzled expression. “Helen,” she said, ‘‘ Daisy’s and Fred’s mother telephoned an invitation to their party.” “Oh!” said Helen, and her sobs stopped. Then she asked, ‘‘ Did she say they wanted me? ” ““No-o. She just said they left you out, and of course you were on the list.” Helen Icoked so much like crying again that her mother proposed they make some lemonade, but she kept wondering what there was about her child that made her unwelcome at a party. The next day Mrs. March visited school, and at recess she stood at a window and watched the children play. The first game was Tag, and Helen could not be caught. She did not seem to be running very fast, either. Mrs. March watched closely. How did it happen that every child who got between Helen and the one who was It was caught? One almost tumbled, another stopped short, and the new and bashful girl fell flat. Mrs. March had seen Helen put out her AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 97 foot and trip her. Then there was a shout as Helen was _ touched. “You're It! Good enough! You're It!” No, I’m not,” said Helen. fair.” “You were touched. You're It.” *“T shall not be It! ”’ cried Helen. Just then the school bell rang, and the children came in, but Mrs. March had seen enough to show her why Helen was not wanted at parties. After supper she asked her to play croquet. As Helen was trying to get her ball through a wicket her mother jostled her, so it went around the edge. “Why, that was your fault, mother,” said Helen. Mrs. March only laughed and took her turn. She missed her wicket, too, but she played again. * 'That’s not fair, mother,” said Helen. “It’s as fair as you played at recess,” said Mrs. March. ‘“ When I saw you trip up that shy little girl and refuse to be It, I knew why Daisy and Fred didn’t want you at their party. I’m asked to help at the party, and I shall expect my little “That wasn’t girl to play fair and be as polite in the games as she is in school.” Saturday and the party came. was Blindman’s Buff. “T’ll be It,” said Helen, the very first thing, and she was so funny groping about, and so slow guessing the child she caught, that all the children laughed at her, and she laughed the loudest. When the bashful girl had been It a long while, Helen let herself be caught, and Daisy squeezed her hand and said, “I’m so glad you came, Helen! ”’ And when the same bashful girl asked to play The Farmer in the Dell, Helen started to say, ‘“T hate it,” but she stopped after I, and said instead, “‘ I will.” A happy mother and a happy girl went home together afterwards. It was still an hour before bedtime. Mrs. March laughed and said, “ If you will play croquet with me, dear, I promise to play fair and as politely as you did at the party.” ‘“‘T had just a lovely time,” said Helen, and ran to get the mallets. — Frances Weld Danielson. The first game ’ SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY January FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Use praise songs, such as “ All Things Bright and Beautiful,’ and conversation about winter wonders —the beauty of frost crystals on the window, the formation of snow crystals. Refer to Bible nature verses of Fifteenth Sunday, showing pictures to illustrate and letting the children respond with, “His loving kindness endureth forever.’’) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Correlation with Weekday Session. (Write on the blackboard children’s ideas about what makes a good party and discuss them.) School A. “Ice-cream and cake.” “Candy.” ‘All the children joining in the games.” ‘‘ Everybody being good.” Once a little girl said, ‘‘ Today I was fussing, and then I thought, ‘ Nobody likes a little girl who is fussy all the time,’ so I saved myself from being.”’ Did she show self-control? Think how at a party you can show that you are big enough to control yourselves. Will you all want to play all the games? But can youd Will it be hard not to show off, and act as though you owned the whole church? Can you “save” yourself from doing these things? Can people control their actions as well as their expressions? SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Use pictures to help the children appreciate the first four stanzas of ‘‘ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.”” Have the words on the board or type- written so that all can sing it at the close. If the third grade has already learned the song, they may help the rest of the department to learn it, leading them in singing.) School B. The children told the story of each stanza, instead of using pictures. SECOND CLASS PERIOD New Material. We have been talking about what makes a good party. Some said, “A good time,”’ some said, “* Ice-cream.” 98 Sometimes we go to Jesus to find the answers to questions. School A. John turned and stroked the picture that he said he wasn’t going to like any more. What do you think he would say about a party? I think I know, for there is a story in the Bible about Jesus at a party. Story. JESUS AT A PARTY (Bible reference, John 2 : 1-10.) It was just at the beginning of his going about and teaching. He had already chosen some of his disciples. Mary was invited to a wedding feast in a little town near Nazareth. It was called Cana. Jesus was there, with his friends. They too had been asked to the party. In that country it was the custom to serve at all parties rich wine made from the juice of grapes, but at this feast the wine gave out unexpectedly. There was not enough to go around! You can imagine how the people who were giving the party felt. It would seem to the guests that they had not been careful to provide enough. Wouldn’t you feel badly if you invited a great many people to your house for a party and then found you hadn’t enough refreshments to go around? How uncomfortable you would be, — and your guests would feel just as uncomfortable! You would all wish that you hadn’t had a party at all. Now Jesus knew that no one feels uncomfort- able at a successful party. Everybody is com- fortable and happy. When his mother came to him and told him that the wine had given out, Jesus did what he was always doing, which was to put himself in the place of other people; this time, of those who were giving the party. He knew just how distressed and unhappy he would feel if he were one of them, and how he would wish there was some one to help him out. “As ye would others should to you,” you know he said, *‘ to others do.” He knew very well what he would want in their place. And he did what he could to get it for them. I don’t know how he did it, but the story says he changed enough water into wine to go around among the company. It was one of those wonder works, or miracles, that only he AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 99 could do. After that every one, guests, hosts, as well as his mother and he, were happy and comfortable again, and there was nothing more to spoil any one’s good time. He never missed a chance to help, did he, whether he was at a party, or traveling along a road? Conversation. That is why I think I know what he would say if we asked him now how we could make our party a success. I don’t believe he’d say it depended on the number of people who came, or what kind of refreshments might be served. Refreshments don’t make a_ party. It’s what we can do for our guests that makes the party. Just now we all feel as if we’d do everything we can to make our party a success. We want to show all our friends that we have something pretty fine in our class, that we know the very best ways to have good times. But there may be moments when some of us forget. Is there any- thing we could have in the party room to remind us that our class is going to school to the greatest Teacher of all? Let’s hang his picture on the wall, and when some one forgets, and happens to look toward me, I will be standing by the picture to remind you. Would that help? No one outside the class will know what that means, but we'll know. (Perhaps the children will suggest something else. Possibly the Golden Rule song could be played. Take their suggestions. Close the ses- sion with a prayer for help to make the party a success.) School A. See report on Seventeenth Weekday for device adopted. Report of School A An Effort to Overcome Disorder The problem of disorder necessitated a change of program. A long departmental period for discussion was succeeded by one short class period. The leader stayed out of church to be ready for early comers. She quietly told each child to take off wraps, look at the pictures in the corner, choose two and tack them to the screen. They were all as quiet as could be, possibly because of hushed tones in which leader was speaking, but more probably because of Stuart’s grilling them privately, and yesterday’s class. Stuart had left last week’s session to find John on the street. He sailed into him as if John was the only offender, and left him more or less dazed. Through the week he saw most of the others, telling them that the leader wasn’t going to teach any more. To their exclamations, “She isn’t! Why?” he replied, “‘ Because we acted so.” LrapER (when he told her): You’ll never know how near you came to the truth, Stuart. The first of the week I felt as though I really had better stop teaching. Stuart: Well, I told ’em that, anyway. That’s what made ’em behave today! JOHN (before session): You don’t hear anything out of me today! Tina: Miss Bradley, I been thinking about what you said. I had it on my mind all day. Rutu (flinging arms around leader’s neck): I’m sorry I acted so yesterday. AnnE: My mother told me some things. She told me to be good. I’m going to use my self- control. FLornriE: My mother told me, too. going to be noisy today. Stuart (at close of session): I feel much more happier today, Miss Bradley. It’s better when we're good. I’m not The Departmental Period Quieting Music. (Children took seats as quietly as mice.) Call to Worship. “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of Jehovah.” ** This is God’s house, and he is here today.” Conversation. We say that so often we for- get what it means. The verse said, “I was glad.”” God wants us to be glad in his house. Some of us come to it on Saturday and have a very good time, and since there is no one but: ourselves to disturb, play noisy games. It is God’s house on Saturday as well as Sun- day. But Sunday is God’s day. Not one class but many come to worship him on Sunday. We worship him with songs, and prayers, with talk about him and sometimes by just being quiet. There are some churches where there is no sermon at all. People go and just sit quietly thinking about God. And then, if some one feels like saying something about how good he is to us, he says it and sits down and thinks again. God’s house is the place to think about God especially, isn’t it? In the big room, when the people first come in 100 the pianist plays this song (leader sang it), “ The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him.” It reminds them all where they are, and that it is easier to worship in silence than in noise and confusion. Sometimes this department is very noisy. Last Sunday it was. Other people were dis- turbed. It isn’t fair for a few to come to a place which belongs to a great many, and do only what they feel like doing themselves. I’m going to put down on the blackboard what we do here, from the time we come until we AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER go. And you tell me how we can do these things better. (Children gave a detailed list of possible improvements, and agreed to follow them out.) And if we forget, what will remind us? (Chil- dren’s suggestions: soft music; when the talk grows loud, some one whispering; leader separat- ing noisy children; sending offenders home after a warning — to help, not punish them.) Tommy: Say that verse, — that one about ruling your spirit. Prayer-Song. March to Classes. SEVENTEENTH WEEKDAY Party for Schoolmates Report of School A Final Preparation In the morning leader met the girls’ com- mittees. They brought twice the necessary number of completed caps. They received their programs, and wanted to rehearse each part. Leader told ‘‘ The Quails.”’ LEADER: Supposing we should forget that we are hosts. Girt: Oh, but we won’t! Leaver: But we might! by our picture remind us? Girts: No! be looking. Leaper: Today will give us a great chance to earn a big red C for our calendars. I know (makes deaf and dumb letter C high in air). Would this help us to remember? Girts: Yes! Yes! Early in the afternoon leader met boys’ com- mittees, distributed programs, emphasized their responsibility, and spoke of earning the C for their calendars. All were perfectly sure the party would be a success. LeapER: But supposing one forgets? Is there anything I can do to remind you? Would my standing If you’re in a fight you wouldn’t FRANKIE: But we won’t forget, Miss Bradley. It will be a nice party. Leaver: The girls voted to have me make the deaf and dumb C for “ control.’”’ Do you like it? Boys: That’s great. Do it for us, too. (The popcorn arrived.) LEADER (discovering John and Lawrence gorg- ing themselves): Boys, why did you come out here when you knew only the girls had anything to do with the refreshments? LAWRENCE: Because we wanted to. Leaver: Is that what you’re going to do all the afternoon, anything you feel like just because you want to? LawRENCE (through a full mouth): No, Miss Bradley. Joun (disgust in his sticky tone): No! Leaper: Is it any fairer for you two boys to be here eating than for the whole forty or fifty in there? They’re already coming. Boys: No. Leaver: Please stay here until every bit in your mouth is gone. Joun: I’msorry. I wish I hadn’t done it. Leaver: Thank you, John. Lawrence: I’m sorry too, Miss Bradley. How it Turned Out Joun (entering chapel, impressed at the sight of the guests): Gee, I hope I don’t get acting funny! Stuart’s idea of a courteous greeting: “ Get in there and take off your things. Get in there, I say!’’ John’s: ‘‘ You big boob, come and get your cap!” Shy Tina greeted every child she knew as if she were glad to see her. Florrie rushed to greet late comers and give them their caps. Every one listened for directions, joined heartily in each event, and got everybody else to. There was no rowdyism. John for the first time played every game. Once Frankie drummed on the piano, but the leader made the sign agreed upon. He stopped. The contrast between this and the Christmas party was marked. Mothers and teachers were enthusiastic. The party was in every way a success. were real little hosts and hostesses. All EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY January — FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship Song. “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.” Poem. ‘“ When Jesus was a Little Lad ”’ When Jesus was a little lad In Nazareth of Galilee, He listened to the wind’s low song In every swaying tree. At evening when the tired flocks Came slowly down the crooked street, He pitied every lamb that passed On timid, tired feet. Not any weary, wounded dove, Or small dog homeless in the rain, Or frightened hare, or fluttering wren, Could need his help in vain. His comrades loved him; he was kind To younger children when they played; And everybody trusted him, So true and unafraid. (Refrain) I daily pray that I shall be Like him of whom the Scriptures tell, That gentle boy who loved so well, The little lad of Galilee! — Nancy Byrd Turner, in Song and Play for Children. Conversation. A mother said, ‘I love to have my Mary play with Herbert Moffatt next door. He is so courteous and kind that when Mary comes home she is courteous and kind to her brother and sister. Herbert seems to bring out all the best that is in her.”’ Wouldn’t it be a happy thing if the mothers of our playmates could say that about us? For there is nothing in the world so fine as to be able to bring out the best in other people. What do you think the mothers in Nazareth said after their children had been playing with Jesus? He can be our teacher, even as a child, can’t he? If we made him our companion, he would bring out only the best in us, wouldn’t he? How could we make him our companion? February Wouldn’t it be a happy thing too, if your mothers should say to their friends, “I love to have John or Mary or Egbert or Marian go to Sunday school or to Sunday-school parties. All the children there seem to have a good influence over my child. He is always gentle and polite and unselfish after he has been with them.” That’s what your mothers ought to say. We know Jesus. And Jesus helps us to be good if we remember him. There are hundreds of children who don’t know him. They have never had a chance to hear about him. There is some excuse for them when they are unkind or selfish. But we know him. There is a little song which is like a prayer which asks Jesus to help us to be like him. Miss will sing it as we bow our heads, and then we will bring our offerings that other children may learn to know and love Jesus, too. (Leader or assistant sings “ Lord, who Lovest Little Children,” in Songs for Little People.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Correlation with Weekday Session. (Check up on the party. Use the picture as if the class were asking, ‘‘ Were you pleased, great Teacher? ”’ Mention acts which must have pleased the great Teacher, i. e., ““ I saw somebody holding in when he had a chance to hit back.” Let the children report if they “caught” others in unselfish or kindly acts.) FRANKIE (beaming): Say, wasn’t that a great party? Some different from the Christmas one, — we didn’t run that! SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Recall the second stanza of “Lord, who Lovest Little Children,’ — “Thou who lived a holy child life, Help us to be pure like thee.” (Say that Jesus said something about people who were pure in heart. Read Matt. 5:8, ex- plainng that “blessed” means “ happy.” Happy are the pure in heart, for they shall see 102 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER God. Say that you have a story about those very words — the pure in heart.) Story. Tue CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND Once upon a time, far, far away, there lived a king who loved children. So he set to work to make for the children of his kingdom the most wonderful playground in the whole world. In _ it there were swings, and teeter-boards, and sand piles for the little ones, and a brook where toy boats could be sailed, and a summer-house covered with vines. Everything in the play- ground was for children. The flowers in the garden could be picked. The trees could be climbed. The grass could be stepped upon. The only thing that seemed unchildlike was a high hedge all about the playground, with a gate that locked and a gatekeeper. The children thought they should like the hedge, for it would make the play- ground cozy, and no grown people could look in and interrupt the play. They were not so sure that they would like the gate, for on it was written in letters of gold: For THE Pure IN HEART They did not know exactly what that meant. The opening day came, and long before nine o’clock a line of children was waiting before the gate. Some had balls, some had little rakes and hoes. Some who had heard of the brook had brought their toy boats. Nearly every girl carried her doll. There was one tiny boy with his Teddy bear. There was one tiny girl eating a piece of bread, for she had slept late, and did not dare to wait to eat her breakfast. They had plenty of time to wonder at the meaning of the golden letters, which an older boy read aloud to each child that came up. Nobody, as I said, knew exactly what they meant, though one boy ran back home to have a clean suit put on, and a girl went to the fountain to wash her hands. At nine a bell rang. The gate slowly swung open, and the children crowded forward. There stood the gatekeeper in a uniform of white. “Are you pure in heart?’ asked the gate- keeper. ** We do not know,” answered the children. “Come in and play,” said the gatekeeper, “and when the king comes, he will know.” So into the playground flocked the children — 103 into the wonderful playground, where everything was for children. They scattered right and left, to play what they liked best, and the gatekeeper closed the gate and let them play. No child knew exactly when the king came into the playground. The bell on the gate did not ring, and they did not see the gatekeeper leave his place. The little girl who had run back to the fountain to wash her hands was the first to see him. She had filled her hands with white flowers, and she was thinking how sorry she would have been if they had soiled the whiteness of the blossoms, when she looked up, and there he was — the king, with a robe of shining white, and a gold crown on his head. “Are the flowers to give away >” he asked, smiling down at her. “No; she said, “ they are for me. I never had flowers to pick before, and I picked them to put on my own little table.” How she wished she could have told him that she had picked them to give away! Maybe he would put her out of the garden! But he did not even stop smiling, and he said, “ Little Pure Heart, I hope you will enjoy them, and never pretend to be better than you are.” Then she knew she could stay in the play- ground and she said, ““ You make me want to give part to my mother.” The next children to see the king were a group of boys who were sailing their boats in the brook. All these boys had cheap little boats, except one, who had a splendid big sailboat, painted white, with a sail that could be pulled down and a rudder with ropes. “My father bought it for me,” he was saying importantly. “He paid as much as fifty dollars for it. He got it in a big city, and it’s the best boat any boy ever had. I’ve got a train of cars at home that cost a hundred dollars, and a ball made of sclid gold, —”’ Just at that moment his eyes fell upon the king, and he stopped short and turned red, for he knew the king could look right into his heart and see that what he said was not true. The king said never a word, but pointed toward the gate. The boy took his boat and started off, crying. Still the king never spoke. The boy turned about, half-way to the gate, and said, “ It wasn’t true what I said. My boat only cost two dollars, and I haven’t any train of cars at all, and my ball is of leather.” 104 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Then the king smiled and called, ‘‘ Pure Heart, come back and sail your boat, and never again use words that hide what is really true.” A baby saw the king next — a baby girl, with a baby doll in her arms. She was swaying back and forth, and singing in a funny little baby way: “* Go s’eep, *Tars peep, Modder wa’ch keep.” “Sing away, little-girl mother,” said the king. ‘“‘ The mothers are the real Pure Hearts.”’ Out in the field some big boys were running a race, when the king stepped up and said he would tell who won. A boy came in ahead, but the king said, “‘ You lost!” ‘IT lost?’ said the boy angrily. get in first?” ‘“ Yes,”’ said the king. “Then why do you say I lost?” The king said nothing, but looked straight into his eyes. “Let us try again,” said the boy, tossing his head. So the boys went back to the starting-place, and ran the race again, and this time the same boy got in ahead, and as before the king said, “You lost!” and looked straight into the boy’s eyes, and pointed to the gate. Then the boy hung his head, and turned red, and started off, but he turned back and mut- tered, ‘“How could you know that I tripped a boy? How could you know I started ahead of the line? ”’ ‘‘] see everything,” said the king. try again?” This time the boy came in just a bit ahead, and the king said, “You won. Remember that cheating blackens a pure heart.”’ Then the king sat beside a tree on which was the longest swing. “Tt’s Elsa’s turn,” said the girl who was swinging. “ No,” said little Elsa, * it’s Ruth’s.”’ “Oh, no!” said Ruth, “it’s yours, truly, Elsa.” “No,” said Elsa, “ because I took a swing all by myself, when you both ran down to the brook.” “T will swing you and Ruth together, Pure Heart,”’ said the king. Then he walked over to where some children “ Didn’t I * Will you were talking eagerly, their heads close together. As he came near, they flushed and were silent. “Why do you stop when I come near?”’ the king asked. ‘‘ Pure hearts are never ashamed of their words.” Then he touched the lips of each with a white pearl, and they began to laugh and chatter merrily about things that nice children talk about. And so it came to pass that all the children in the kingdom played in the playground. Some- times one or another would have to leave it for a day, but they could not bear to stay away, and the king could always help them to be Pure of Heart once more, and so get back into the play- ground that was the most wonderful playground in the world. — Frances Weld Danielson. Song. “ Blessed are the pure in heart,” Songs for Little People. SECOND CLASS PERIOD New Material Story. Jesus in His Fatuer’s House (Bible Reference, Luke 2 : 41-50) You’ve been on long trips — much longer, perhaps, than the one I shall tell you about; but you have gone on a train or in an automobile. You have never walked for seventy or eighty miles, camping on the way, have you? Wouldn’t it be fun, especially if your uncles and aunts and cousins and nearly all the boys your age, and in fact almost every one in town, was going too? Think of the picnics on the way, and the excite- ment of being out nights as well as days. And then think of finally reaching, at the end of three or four days, the great city which you have always heard about and longed to see! A big city is full of wonderful sights to a boy who has lived in a little village all his life. But there was something special about this one which made visiting it even more of an event than for us to visit New York or San Francisco. The temple was there. Every one of the boys who took this journey had heard of the temple. It was God’s house in Jerusalem, and was very grand and beautiful. Men had been working on it for years to make it so. One part of it was called the Holy of Holies and — think of it! — it was so sacred that only once a year could any- body enter it, and then it must be some one AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER especially appointed. Around the temple and belonging to it were great open spaces called courts, and surrounding the courts was a wall with gates. Every boy going to this city of Jerusalem, the great city of the Jews, knew the verse we know: “ Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” Of course they knew it, for in their own town, although there was no temple, there was a smaller kind of church called a synagogue, where they went to school. And their teaching was from the books in the first part of the Bible. They were taught the stories of Abraham and Moses, and Samuel and David; they learned to read and write the many laws which were supposed to make them good Jews; and they learned by heart Psalm after Psalm. You know that the verse about entering into God’s house with thanksgiving and praise is from the Psalms. They could recite many, many times as much of the Bible as you know. Even as tiny children they learned, “‘ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” There was one boy who was taking the walking trip to the city who not only knew that verse, but who did love God with all his heart and soul and mind. He had a mother who had taught him about God long before he went to school in the synagogue. She had taken him out in the fields and shown him the flowers and birds which God had made; she had told him that all his food and everything he had came from God, and made the boy love him with a great love. He learned to help about the house, for she taught him that helping others was a way of showing love to God. The boy’s father was a carpenter, and must have been very fond of his son, for when the boy grew up he said beautiful things about the love of a father. You have guessed that the boy was Jesus, haven’t you? The mother was Mary, and Joseph was the carpenter. Together they taught their child how to grow strong and good, how to help in the house and shop, how to do all his work well and how to live happily and peacefully with his younger brothers and sisters. They told him, too, about the great city, Jerusalem, and the temple there. Every year great companies of Jews from all over the world went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. Every year Mary and Joseph went, so they knew all about it. There were schools in Jerusalem, too, in con- 105 nection with the temple, but they were for older pupils than the synagogue schools. Around the wall of the temple court were little alcoves, and in these alcoves the greatest and most learned teachers would gather to discuss the meaning of all they had read about God. These schools were like universities, and the teachers were called doctors. They were doctors of the law, not of medicine. I like to think of Jesus and his brother James going to their synagogue school in the little town of Nazareth, and then afterwards on the way home, or off on a hillside near, talking things over and puzzling about them — perhaps, even won- dering if their teachers had been right. What wouldn’t boys like that give to get a chance at the famous learned doctors in Jerusalem, in the courts of the temple! There was probably noth- ing that such teachers would not know, no ques- tion they could not answer. How those boys, Jesus and James, must have longed for the time to come when they should be old enough and strong enough to take that long journey with their parents and relatives and friends! It would be fun to camp along the way, but nothing compared to seeing Jerusalem and the temple, and listening to the doctors. How they must have shouted when their parents told them they could go! Jesus was twelve years old. The trip took him past places he had heard about in his mother’s stories and at school. It was like coming on old friends to see them. Often the older people would start a song which was a Psalm, and Jesus could join in, for he had learned the Psalms in school. When they finally reached Jerusalem, after three or four days, what do you think he did? The celebration lasted a whole week. Do you think he spent that time looking at strange things in the city shops, or playing in the streets? I don’t. Where do you think he was most of the time? In the magnificent temple, God’s house in Jerusalem which he had heard so much about? Do you think he found the alcoves where the learned men were? Do you think he asked any questions? Think how full the temple courts must have been. There were nearly a million people in the city that week, and all of them wanted to visit the temple. I told you how the people traveled to and from Jerusalem in great companies. There were 106 probably hundreds in the one in which Mary and Joseph and their friends were. When the day came for them to leave, they started down the road. Probably families were a little mixed up; boys who were comrades walking together, others, eager to tell their relatives all they had seen in Jerusalem, walking as they talked with their uncles and aunts or cousins. Joun: Sure, that’s the way it would be. But so long as they were all in one great com- pany going in the same direction, it didn’t matter. When night came they would all be straightened out again. At least, that is what Mary and Joseph thought, when they saw that Jesus wasn’t with them. But when night came Jesus had not joined them. Perhaps in such a crowd he couldn’t find his father and mother. So they searched for him. From one group to another they went, growing more and more anxious. Nobody remembered having seen him since they started. Other families had found their missing members, but Mary and Joseph looked in vain for Jesus. Where could he be? There was nothing for the frightened parents to do but to turn back. It had taken a whole day to travel so far. It would take another to get back to Jerusalem. All the way as they met group after group of people who had left the city, they searched among them for their child. He might be with some strange company. But night came again and they had not found him. Into the city at last they came, and went up and down the cross streets. But not in the streets, nor the shops, nor the house in which they had stayed during the Passover, did they find Jesus. They turned their steps toward the temple where he had spent so much time. In the alcoves were groups of men discussing deep subjects. In one, people seemed so inter- ested that they crowded close to hear the questions AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER and answers. The learned, gray-haired doctors, with their big books of law in their hands, were leaning forward, and when Mary and Joseph heard a child’s voice among the others, they knew it was Jesus’. Joyfully they hastened toward him. They had found their son in God’s house! Why had they not come here before? “Oh, my son!”’ Mary exclaimed. ‘‘ Why did you not come with us? We have searched for you everywhere, and were in great sorrow.” Jesus listened to his mother. He seemed surprised. These men were telling him what they thought about God, his heavenly Father. Wouldn’t his mother want him to talk with them? How could he know what his Father wanted of him, unless he took every opportunity to hear . about him? For to know what God wished, and then to do his best to bring it about, was what Jesus wanted all his life. ‘‘ Why did you seek me everywhere, mother? ”’ he asked. “‘ Did you not know that I would be in my Father’s house, about my Father’s busi- ness? ”’ But he was glad she had come for him. He and his mother knew things about his Father that even these wise teachers had not found out. When he grew up he could tell others about God, like the doctors; only he was sure he could add much which they had left out. The only thing to do now was to go home with his parents and go on living as he knew God wanted his Son to live. That would keep his heart pure, and he knew that the pure in heart can see God and know him better than all the wise men in the world who depend only on books and learning. Suggested Prayer. Our Father, Jesus taught us that thou art our Father as well as his, and that thou hast work for us, too, to do. Help us to keep our hearts so pure that we may know what thou wouldst have us do, and may want to doit. For Jesus’ sake. Amen. EIGHTEENTH WEEKDAY Story and Work A Happy Valley Story How tae New Year Law WorkeEp Would you like to hear how that Happy Valley New Year law worked out, and the surprise that came from it? In the first place, the children who had wished their families a Happy New Year had made all sorts of interesting discoveries. As they kept trying, week after week, to live up to their New Year’s wishes, they found they hardly had to try. As soon as they’d formed the habit of being courte- ous, unselfish and prompt about minding, it was easier to be so than not. You know the first time you do a thing you haven’t been used to doing, like riding a bicycle, it seems quite hard. You have to keep your mind on it every minute or you'll make a mistake. But after a while it becomes so easy that it’s like walking or anything else that you do without thinking about it. So the Happy Valley children found they were minding as quickly as they were spoken to; they were asking for what they wanted in a courteous way. Instead of saying, “ Gimme this,” ‘“ Say, I want some of that,” they found it was just as easy to say, “ I would like some of this, please, ” or “ Please, may I have that?’’? When others did something for them they now had such a habit of saying, “Oh, thank you,” or “Thank you very much,” that they felt grateful for the least little thing. It seemed as if they were saying, or at least feeling “thank you” all the time. You can see that Happy Valley was really getting to be a pretty nice place to live in, and not wholly on account of the mountains and fields and river, either. One day Miss True looked out of the school- room window and saw a group of boys and girls on the church lawn with heads close together. It was nearly six weeks after New Year’s Day. “IT wonder what they’re up to now,” she said to herself, but all she could hear was: “ That’s so. Why didn’t we think of it be- fore?” “Sure, Pll do it. It’s easy after you once get started.” “Won't she be surprised? ” “ T can think of some things right now —” She went to the blackboard to do some work, but was suddenly interrupted. A dozen children were crowding through the doorway. ‘‘ We wish you a Happy New Year, Miss True!” they cried together. Imagine — six weeks after New Year’s Day! But Miss True knew the law. She also knew that it was never too late to wish anybody a Happy New Year if you really mean it. So though she looked a little surprised, her face broke into a very glad smile and she said, “ Thank you, children! ”’ Perhaps you think it didn’t mean much to wish their teacher a Happy New Year. But you should have seen them at recess time! Somehow or other Freddie never liked to play what the others did, and it worried Miss True, for it often meant that the game would be spoiled for lack of just one more. Today, when they were getting ready to play Three-deep, there were just two children left over after the double circle was formed. Exactly two were needed, one to chase and one to be chased. As usual Freddy started to say, “I don’t want to play,” but when he saw them all waiting, he suddenly said instead, ‘“I—I’ll be It.”” As he ran past Miss True he heard her say, “ Thank you, Freddie,” and he was as proud as could be, and had a very good time, once he got into the game. ‘Gimme my hat, you —” shouted Dan whose hat was suddenly snatched away from his head. And he left the game to run after the boy who had seized it. “Tl fix you,” he threatened. ‘‘ You'll be sorry allright.” He had caught the boy. Butall at once he saw Miss True watching them anx- iously. “ Aw,” he said, “ what do I care if you take my cap? It isn’t cold. I just chased you for fun!” And he came back and joined the game; which was just what the other boy did too, thrusting Dan’s cap back on the head where it belonged. “Thank you, boys,” said Miss True in their ears as they passed. They smiled a little, but pretended they hadn’t heard. The children hardly noticed an old man who was leaning against the wall of the church, who, however, was watching them. He looked tired, and had put down the big pack he had been carrying. 107 108 Dorothy Fairchild noticed him first. “* See the peddler,” she said. “* He looks tired, and the ground is so wet there’s no place to sit. May we ask him inside to rest, Miss True? ”’ “That would be very nice,” said Miss True, and Dorothy ran to the old man. “ Wonder if he’s blind,” said one of the boys, for the man wore dark glasses. They watched him as he thanked Dorothy for the invitation and started to lift his pack. “My, but that must be heavy! ”’ said Freddie, and he and another boy ran to carry it for him. He looked very old and tired, and as if he couldn’t see very well. He had a cloth wound around his head like a turban, and he used a cane. They drew a chair into a sunshiny corner near the plants. It was the corner where their favorite pictures hung. Now the children were all feeling particularly well satisfied. Their Happy New Year for Miss True was starting off beautifully. She even seemed pleased over what they were doing for the old man. It was fun wishing people a Happy New Year. They saw that the old man was looking at their picture of Jesus. Evidently, then, he could see a little. Their eyes followed his, and then John pointed to the picture and said, “‘ Miss True, I think he likes to have us wish each other a Happy New Year, don’t you? ” All the children looked at Miss True expect- antly. The old man spoke. ‘Who is this,”’ he inquired, “ who would like such a thing? ” “It’s Jesus. He’s our Teacher,’ answered Dorothy. ‘‘ We’re going to school to him, but sometimes we forget.” ‘“*T see,” answered the old man, but looked a little puzzled, still. “Don’t you think he’d like it?”’’ questioned the children again. “Why, of course he would,” said Miss True. ‘* After all, it is Jesus we are trying to please in all of these New Year wishes.”’ She turned to the old man. “Wishing a person a Happy New Year means something special to us, sir,” she explained to the peddlar. “It is like saying, ‘ We will try to make you happy this year.’ It is against the law in Happy Valley to make anybody that wish without trying to bring it about.” AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER ** So!” said the old man, interested, raising his shaggy white eyebrows. As soon as school was over Freddie and Dan went up to the peddler. “ Are you going far, sir)”’ they asked courte- ously. ‘‘ We’d like to carry your pack.” ‘“* Now that’s very kind of you, very kind,” he said. ‘‘ You'll find it’s heavy. It’s full of stories.” ‘ Stories! ’’ said both the boys at once. That sounded interesting. ‘‘ But how can stories be so heavy? Are they books?’’ They were carrying the pack between them. It was heavy. ‘* Books, and the illustrations for them,” the old man said. “Are you selling them?” they asked as they went down the steps. “No, I’m collecting them,” was the answer. “Oh, see what the boys are doing!” said Freddie to Dan. For the minute school was out what looked like a small army scattered itself over the wide church lawn and began picking up papers and sticks. ‘* Miss True’s been talking about how this lawn looks ever since that storm we had a long time ago,” Dan exclaimed. ‘‘ We boys thought we’d pick it up some time.’’ They remembered it today on account of those New Year wishes. They were going up the street where once, a few days after Christmas, some visitors in the town had walked. Do you remember the wise- looking man and his family, and how they had heard two children quarreling over their new skiis and snowshoes? Oddly enough, these same chil- dren were playing in front of their house now. They were playing with a beautiful new roller coaster cart. “ Tt’s my turn, ” said the girl. “But it’s my cart,” answered the boy. ought to have twice as many turns as you.” “But mother said —’”’ began the girl, and was stopped short. The peddler and Dan and Freddie stopped to see what would happen. The boy was walking up to the girl. Was he going to slap her? He was frowning fiercely, and his sister looked a wee bit afraid. He put his scowl- ing face close up to his sister’s — and broke into alaugh! ‘“* Ha, ha, ha!” heshouted. “‘ Thought I was going to do something to you, didn’t you? Well, you don’t catch me quarreling. Here, take your turn, and when you come back, let’s ride together. One can steer and the other push. oT —, AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 109 Here, I'll give you a start.’”’ And he gave the little girl in the cart a push that sent her flying down the walk. “Well! ” said the peddler. “T thought he was going to hit her, didn’t you? ”’ remarked Freddie. “That’s another story for my pack,” the ped- dler observed, and then, as they had reached the store he said, ‘‘ Thank you, boys, for helping me. This is as far as I go now. I wish you success with all your New Year wishes.”’ The boys went on. “Funny old man,” observed Freddie. I could see inside his pack.” “Nice old man,” added Dan. ‘‘ Wish he’d stay. Think of having him around with a pack full of stories! ”’ ~ Wouldn’t they have been surprised if they had seen what happened next? They knew about it that evening, for Freddie Thorpe’s father came right home and told Freddie about it, and Freddie lost no time in hurrying with the news to Dan’s house. Wish It seems that as soon as the old man had entered the store, Freddie’s father, seeing what a great load he had, came forward at once to help him with it. But before he reached him the old man had thrown aside his cane, torn off his black glasses and the cloth around his head, and stood straight and tall and fine-looking before Mr. Thorpe. It was the “ wise man.” Mr. Thorpe rushed forward and clasped his hand. “Sir,” he said, “we never expected to see you again, but we are glad to have you back. You taught us a valuable lesson. We could learn much from you if you would stay —”’ The visitor interrupted him. ‘Say no more of that,” he insisted. ‘‘ I have seen enough today to know that others can learn much from Happy Valley. I see that I made another mistake in leaving it. It is the kind of place my wife and I wish our children to live in. Will you make my apologies to your town council, and ask if there is room for us to make our home here? I start at once for my family, whom I left just outside the valley. If you see any of those nice children, tell them that my pack of stories will be at their service. Good-bye until tomorrow.” It seemed almost too good to be true, Freddie thought when he heard the news from his father. Dan thought so too, when he heard the news from Freddie, and you may be sure Miss True and all her school thought it when the boys came tearing in to tell them next morning. “Happy Valley is better!’ they kept repeat- ing delightedly, “‘and he thought so all on account of us!” Work Make valentines for people who would least expect them. Report of School A Second Step of Project in Friendship During games boys recalled leader’s toy auto- mobile. She repeated that it was sent as an invitation to a trip to Virginia in June. She told about her friend’s work among children there. Cuitp: Let’s send a box of presents from our class. Leaver: Of course they don’t even know yet that there is any such class as ours. It would be nice to get acquainted before that. FLorriE: Let’s make them some valentines! AnnE: We could send them our left-over party caps, too. The Magic of a Song Leader left the room to get scissors and paste. The children were choosing hearts, arrows, and lace paper for valentines for the Virginia children. She heard in quarrelsome tones, ‘‘ That’s mine! ” “It is not, I had it first!’”’ ‘‘ You did not!” ‘“* Here, you gimme that!”’ “Then you give me this one, —it is mine, anyway.” “It is not!” “It is too!” Suddenly it was quiet. Then came the sound of singing. As she returned the children were all busily working and peacefully singing, “* Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.” LEADER: This is the loveliest surprise I’ve had at all. One minute you’re quarreling. The next you're singing. ANNE: Stuart started it. That was a good song to sing when we're all quarreling at once, wasn’t it? It’s so soft and quiet. Leaver: That’s what I call fine self-control. ANNE (later): I’ve got an idea! Wouldn’t it be good whenever we're quarreling to start sing- ing! Stuart thought cf it today, but I thought of it for all the time. NINETEENTH SUNDAY February FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Make the third stanza of “‘ Lord, Who Lovest Little Children ”’ the keynote of the period: “In our school time and our playing, Make us gentle, Lord, like thee.” (Use the picture of Jesus with the children, showing how the children flocked to him and knew him for a friend; that if he had not been gentle they would not have come. Little children are afraid of roughness and harshness. Ask, if he was such a gentle man, what kind of a boy he must have been. (Sing, or have assistant sing, two stanzas of “Gentle Child of Nazareth,” a hymn sung by Christian mothers of Palestine, from Song and Play for Children, by Danielson and Conant. Explain this fact before the children hear the song.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Use of Familiar Material. (Review last week’s story with picture study. This is a good opportunity to compare conceptions of different artists. Nearly every child is familiar with Hofmann’s “ Christ in the Temple. ’’ If possible, show a copy now. Show also William Hole’s “The Boy Jesus in the Temple,’ Primary Picture Set No. 2, International Graded Lessons. Then give each child Holman Hunt’s “ Finding Christ in the Temple,” Wilde’s Bible Pictures. Let the children try to find what was in each artist’s mind when he started his picture. Speak of the time each must have spent, of the loving thought and the prayers for help, to make his picture tell the story as beautifully as possible. (In the next worship period the children will hear how a man spent his whole life trying to make the story of Jesus beautiful, using his skill and art in a little different way.) SECOND WORSHIP PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Introduce the story by the song, “ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.”’) Story. Tue Monx’s BIBLE Years and years ago it was the custom of men who wished to please God to leave their homes and their friends and shut themselves away from the world. They thought by doing this they could think more about God, and come to know him better. They were called monks, and the place where they lived together was called a monastery. To a monastery one day came a man who wanted to be a monk and live there, working for God and thinking about him all his life. But how should he work for God? When you shut yourself away from people there is so little chance to help them, and we know that working for and helping others is the way to please our Father in heaven. School B. Isaset: Do you think God wanted him to go to the monastery? This man had a wonderful gift. God had given it to him, and now he thought of a way to use it for others, and so give it back to God. He could make beautiful letters. He could color them, too, with gold and paints, so that a single letter would be like a picture in itself. When we see letters like that now we call them illuminated. That means lighted up. He lighted up his letters with shining gold and with exquisite colors. (Show, if possible, a bit of illumination.) It is very hard to do. If often takes days and days to make just a few letters. But this man did not mind. God had given him a gift which few people had, and he thought of a beautiful way to use it. He could not tell stories. He could not write new ones. He could not even paint pictures which would tell stories like the artists who painted “ Jesus with the Children ” and “Christ in the Temple.’”’ But he could print these stories in beautiful letters, and “ light up ” the whole word of God, which is our Bible. Think what a task it would be! It might need a whole lifetime to tell all the stories in the Bible, to write down every one of God’s rules for living, and to tell everything that Jesus taught. It was before the days of printing. There were no Bibles like ours. Ordinary people did not have Bibles. 110 a ~~ a; AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER There were only a few to be used in churches, and those were all written by hand. So the monk was happy as he set to work. He would give one more Bible to the world, and he would make it very beautiful, with gold and color and lovely borders. He made his pens from the quills of big birds, for there were no steel pens then. He tore off the feathers, and whittled and scraped and shaped and sharpened until they were ready for use. He used sheepskin for paper and worked on a slanting board, ruling all his pages to keep his letters straight. Here is a picture an artist has painted of a monk doing just what he did. (Show post-card reproduction of “The Manuscript,” from The Evolution of Printing Series. Sold by Foster and Reynolds, Washington, D. C., 25 cents per dozen.) Day after day he kept at it, week after week, and the weeks ran into months and the months into years. His back grew bent and lame, his eyes smarted and ached. And so he grew from a young man to an old one, and at length both the book and his life here on earth were finished. He had given his whole life to the book, but he left a beautiful gift to the world. When printing made the making of Bibles easy, and there were many to be had, beautiful old hand-painted ones were gradually put aside, and finally got into collections where they could be safely kept. Of course they were very valu- able. Only museums or very rich people like kings or emperors could afford them. The one which our monk made was owned for a long time by the royal family of Austria. Just before the last war broke out and emperors feared that there might be a war, and that large sums of money would be needed, they sold as much of their property as they could. So the royal family of Austria got rid of many of their valu- ables. The beautiful Bible was among them, and was sold to a book dealer from another country. He lived among his books in a little, dark, musty old shop in Louvain in Belgium, and how he loved those books of his! There were shelves and shelves of them, as far as the ceiling and farther, for a twisting spiral staircase led up to more overhead. The illuminated Bible was one of his most precious volumes. He loved to turn over page 111 after page and examine the letters so carefully made. Then one day the order came for everybody to get out of the city as quickly as possible. The enemy’s army was marching through Belgium, destroying everything as it went. It was near- ing Louvain. At once families packed everything they could carry and hurried out of the city. Some had motors, some had ox-carts, some only small dog- carts. Whatever they had they filled with their treasures, and loaded themselves down with bags of clothes and household goods besides. The poor little book dealer got hold of a big cart and a pair of oxen and filled the cart with the books he loved most from his shop. He could take only a few. It was hard to choose, for he loved them all. But the illuminated Bible was one of the first to be put in. For miles he drove the oxen, poking them every now and then to make them go faster, for he was hurrying with the rest to reach the border of the country, so that he could cross and be safe. Alas, his hurrying did no good, for a shell from the enemy’s guns shot and killed the oxen, and set fire to his precious load. What could the poor dealerdo? Nothing but seize from the cart what treasures he could, and leave the rest to burn. By the time he crossed the border he hardly knew what he was doing, he had suffered so much. “Who will buy my little book?’ he went about crying piteously, holding out the wonderful Bible, and at last some one bought it. Perhaps the book dealer would have died but for the money it brought. I like to think that that was the first life the monk’s work saved. Now up in Poland, another country, the war was destroying lives and property and land, as in Belgium. Women and children were starv- ing. Food, money, doctors and nurses were needed for the sick and suffering. A great Polish musician named Paderewski, who had _ spent many years in this country, went to their relief. He was head of a committee to get help for the suffering ones, and — what do you think? There fell into his hands the beautiful Bible which some one had bought from the book dealer of Louvain. As soon as he saw it he knew it was very, very valuable. There was a lifetime of work on it. He could sell it now for a great deal of money to save many lives in Poland. And that is just what he did. He brought it 112 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER to America and found a man who wanted it. The man gave him ten thousand dollars for it — think of it!— enough perhaps to save many, many children from starving. Don’t you hope the old monk somehow knows that his whole lifetime of work has saved the lives of many others? And don’t you think God must have been pleased that the gift which he gave to the monk has helped so many of his children? School B. I[sasex: I think God knew all the time that the monk was going to help lots of people. Song-Prayer. ““ Lord, who lovest little children, Hear us when we pray to thee. ‘Thou didst live thy life for others, Make us helpful, Lord, like thee.” SECOND CLASS PERIOD Correlated Hand-Work. (Show samples of sheepskin, illuminated pages, and pass around the class the picture of a monk at work. Let the children try printing nicely one verse from the Bible to see what a great task it must have been to print and decorate thousands. (Suggest, since the picture, “ Finding of Jesus in the Temple,” is to be given them to keep, that it would be very nice to have some kind of book to keep this in, as well as others which they may have later. They could put the pictures on one page and on the opposite page print carefully —even decorating the letters and making a border for the verse — “‘ Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house>’’ Print this on the board, and let them practise copying, as well as decorating the letters. As many samples of borders or illuminated letters as you can collect will be helpful. (This may be the beginning of a scrap-book in which can be kept verses learned, songs and poems memorized, and pictures collected. It should be a loose-leaf affair, so that sheets may be worked on separately, and should have stiff covers. These covers may be decorated as desired. ‘Tell the children to be looking through magazines during the week for pretty initial letters. Decorative borders, head-pieces and tail-pieces will also beautify the books. (Say that you will have the paper all cut and punched for the next weekday meeting when the books can be really started. These children will not spend lifetimes over their books, but thinking of the monk’s work may make them want to preserve the verses and pictures in as beautiful shape as possible.) ee NINETEENTH WEEKDAY Making Books The purpose in suggesting decorated note- books is twofold — first, to preserve the special poems, verses, songs and pictures that are used, and second, to give the children the joy of creating something beautiful. The leader should have, before work is begun, a sample book at least partly completed to show. This should be of loose leaves about the size of typewriter paper, put together with rings, and with a decorated cover. The large sheets are advised because large printing or writing is easier for children, also, because pictures of the Perry size will be included. The sample pages should be done in the simplest possible way, with simple decoration, and tacked on the board after the children have finished admiring the book as a whole. Too much decora- tion, besides not being beautiful, will have the tendency to discourage the children from making books themselves. Surprisingly artistic and inexpensive covers can be easily made by the children from brown paper, crumpled, smoothed out, colored with chalky crayon, pasted on heavy mounting board and shellaced. Decorations may be added. Completed books of one of the experiment schools contained the following verses, songs and pictures. Long passages were typewritten, and the children added initial letters and borders: Psalm 95 Luke 2 : 8-20 Picture of the shepherds Matt. 2 : 1-5, 7-12 Picture of the Wise-men Poem, “ If I Had Been a Shepherd Boy ”’ Song, ‘‘ Gentle Child of Nazareth ”’ Picture of Jesus in Joseph’s carpenter shop Song, “‘ Lord, Who Lovest Little Children ”’ Picture of the boy Jesus in the temple Verse, ‘ Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? ” Picture of woman brought before Jesus Verse, “ Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone ”’ Song, “ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,” first stanza Picture of Jesus healing Second stanza of same song Picture of Jesus and the children Third stanza of song Picture of Triumphal Entry Fourth stanza of song Picture of Jesus stilling the tempest Fifth stanza of song Picture of Jesus and the lilies Sixth stanza of song . Picture of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane Verse, “ Thy will be done ”’ Picture of Peter and John on Easter morning Verse, “‘ He is risen ”’ Picture of disciples discovering Jesus praying Verse, ‘‘ Our Father who art in heaven ” Picture of George Washington Verse, “‘ God is my helper ” Verse, “* He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city ” Verse, the Golden Rule Picture of Zaccheeus Original story of Jesus and Zaccheeus Picture of the widow’s mite Picture of the Good Samaritan Poem, ‘‘ When Jesus Was a Little Lad ”’ Song, ‘‘ God’s Children Live in Many Lands ” Picture, ““ The Hope of the World ” (Copping) Poem, “ Children Who Walk in Jesus’ Way ” Be careful not to let the children work long at a time on their books, or the work will grow weari- some. If they are interested enough today to spend the whole period on it, vary the work. Have plenty of magazines and scissors ready, and show the children how to look for borders and decorative head- and tail-pieces. Get,them inter- ested in looking through their magazines at home for such decorations. After a few minutes of bending over their books, give them an opportun- ity to stretch. It is advisable to furnish large manila envelopes in which the children can carry their pages back and forth. School A. Leader retold “ The Monk’s Bible’ at the children’s request, before starting the books. Children were en- thusiastic over this work. Stuart (exhibiting both eagerness and self-control): Gee, but I ran like h —— the dickens! 113 TWENTIETH SUNDAY February FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Continuing the thought in the song, “ Gentle Child of Nazareth,” speak of our greatest men. This session probably falls between Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays. To be gentle doesn’t mean to be weak. The strongest and greatest men have been gentle, too. Ask the department if they would call a man great, or even admire his strength, if he kicked a dog, if he were rough with little children, if he talked crossly to his mother, if he treated his friend harshly. Gentleness is a part of greatness. (Sing as a prayer, or have an assistant sing. “Gentle Child of Nazareth,” or let the depart- ment sing as a prayer the first and third stanzas of “ Lord, Who Lovest Little Children.’’) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Deepening an Impression. (Work on books, writing in a stanza of one of the songs just sung, decorating the initial letter for the typewritten copies, or pasting in a picture illustrating the song.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Give to each child to study quietly a picture of the boy Jesus in his home. See Perry, Brown and Wilde catalogues.) Shut your eyes and think of your own house, with everybody in it working. What are you doing, Mary? John? How do you think Jesus brought his heavenly Father’s spirit into his home? How can you bring it into yours? (Sing repeatedly :) “Thou didst live thy live for others, Make us helpful, Lord, like thee.” SECOND CLASS PERIOD Continuing the Thought. Would you have liked to live in the little home in Nazareth? Why? It was not rich nor beautiful but it was a happy home because the spirit of God was there. If the spirit of God, which showed itself in Jesus, comes into any home today, whether rich or poor, would it make a difference in the happiness of that home? Can you tell, for instance, when the spirit of Jesus is in your home? Doesn’t it make a child important to be able to bring it into his home and keep it there? (Draw on the board a house with four rooms — a sitting-room, a dining-room, a kitchen and a bedroom, leaving space for a lawn outside. Make each room large enough so that various activities, good and bad, may be noted in their respective places. The class will suggest some of them. For example, — Kitchen: Washing dishes, tracking in mud, getting ready for company, hindering mother, singing at work, filling wood- box, feeding pets, quarreling over tasks. When the spaces are filled in, let the children erase those things which would not be there, if the spirit of Jesus was in that home.) Report of School B (Leader felt that children needed more help in self-control, so substituted the following seasonal worship service in first departmental period.) Worship Service on Self-Control Conversation. Comparing our resolutions for and actual behavior at Valentine party; pointing out instances of self-control. Further examples of self-control. (1) Girl who changed her scowl to a smile; (2) Child who fussed with pocket-book, beads, and clothes, and finally put her hands behind her saying, “I won’t;”’ (3) Incident from Lincoln’s life. Song. “ America.” Prayer. For help in using self-control during the class period. Song. “ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.” Incidents of self-control. From Manual for Training in Worship, Hartshorne, pages 54, 55, 56. Bible Reading. Prayer. For help in using self-control at all times during the week. A Card during the Week “Dear Teacher, I am going to be a very good girl and I am going to use self-control. My brother has the grip cold. My doll cannot open her eyes this morning.”’ 114 TWENTIETH WEEKDAY Story and Work Nore: This is the first of the programs on prayer, arising from the problem reported in Sixteenth Sunday, “A Child’s Idea of Prayer which Influenced Future Programs.” A Happy Valley Story THe Wise Man’s Pack You will want to know that the whole of Happy Valley, as soon as it heard that the wise- looking stranger had returned and wished to stay, was delighted. ‘“‘ There,” everybody said to everybody else, ‘that shows what the Happy New Year law has done for us! ”’ In Miss True’s school there was the most rejoicing. for it was the children whom the stranger had watched, and with whose actions he had been so pleased. “ Will his children come to our school? ” they all asked. “T hope so, don’t you? ” Freddie scratched his head. “It’s quite a job we’ve got ahead of us,”’ he remarked. Every one agreed, for they all knew that the “job” meant trying all the time. It’s very hard not to forget, you know yourself. Some- times you have the best intentions in the world, and — bang, they’re all gone to smash before you know it. But all any one can do is try, and that is what these children were doing. When the covered wagon came down the valley, nearly every one felt like going out to meet it, and the visitors seemed just as glad to be back as the Happy Valley folk were to have them. The children joined Miss True’s school at once, and made it much more interesting, for they had traveled miles and miles with their parents, and could tell about all sorts of strange and wonderful sights. But the most interesting thing about their living in Happy Valley was the pack. It was full of stories and their illustrations. The wise- looking man let the children peep inside, for he spent much time at Miss True’s school. There were Indians’ bows and arrows and suits, which he took out when he told Indian stories. There were funny corn-cob dolls and kodak pictures of children in front of cabins, which he said he had collected from the mountains. There were lovely artificial flowers and cans of fruit which children 115 in the city had given him, and even cotton, which he said some black friends had picked and packed for him. Right on top was a book in which he wrote down stories as he collected them. What story. was the last one of all, do you think? It was about their own Happy Valley, and told of the little boy who looked as though he were going to quarrel with his sister, and had, instead, burst out laughing. The children were proud to see a story of Happy Valley in the pack. “ There'll be lots more pretty soon,” said the wise man’s children. ‘‘ Father keeps finding things that make stories.” One Sunday toward the last of February the children were having their church-school class. Of course it was in the same place as their day school, for there was no schoolhouse yet. Miss True had given each child a picture of George Washington to keep. “T like him,” said Junior Foster. ‘‘ He was the father of our country. He was a great man.” “T’m going to be like him some day,” said George Kling. ‘“ But he was an awfully great man, George,” Mary Lewis told him. “Well,” insisted George, ‘I’m going to be awfully great, too. I’m going to use self-control and do it all myself. He had soldiers to help him. I won’t even have soldiers.” “ He had to have something even more power- ful than soldiers,” said a man’s voice suddenly. “ Most great men do.” It was the wise man, as the Happy Valley children still called him, although he had a regular name, like any one. He had come now to walk home from the church with his two children, and heard what George said. “ There’s a story in my pack about that very thing,” he went on, and as part of the children said, “‘ Oh, goody, a story!’ the rest rushed over to the pack in the corner. It was left at Miss True’s school most of the time, for, as the wise man said, the stories and illustrations in it were more interesting to her children than to any one else. “Yes, here it is,” he announced, finding a picture of George Washington in his book. The children sat down around him to listen. 116 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER “ This is a story,” he began, “‘ which is told about George Washington and a soldier in his army. Have you ever pretended you were a soldier set to guard your camp at night, and paced up and down, up and down, up and down, past your imaginary tent, with your gun over your shoulder? “There was a real soldier in Washington’s army who had this todo. Generally nothing very exciting happens through the long hours of the night watch, but this soldier discovered a secret while he was on duty. “ Besides being a lonesome thing, it is some- times very unpleasant to keep marching up and down all night, especially if the weather is bad. Tt was more than unpleasant on this night, for it was bitterly cold. The ground was covered with snow and the wind blew. The soldier could not keep warm. His clothes were like the rest of his comrades’ — and even General Washington’s —ragged and worn. They had all been fighting along time. Many were without shoes, and those who did not tie bits of skins, or carpet, or rags over their feet, had to walk over the hard, frozen ground barefooted. They were hungry, too. Their provisions had given out and no one had enough to eat. ‘“ You would think that the general and all the army would have given up. If they had there would have been no United States of America, for that is what they were fighting for. “Some of the soldiers had decided that they could not stand it and had gone home. Others said that they would not fight any longer. It looked as though, if General Washington were going to win, he would have to have more help than his soldiers could give. “The guard, who was marching back and forth, up and down, back and forth, up and down, was thinking about all these things. The soldiers of the other army had plenty to eat and to keep them warm. They had shoes. Per- haps it would be better to let them win. Then all America would belong to the country that was fighting them. It would certainly be easier and much more comfortable. The soldier swung first one arm back and forth over his chest and then the other, to make the blood run through his veins. He stamped his feet to keep them from freezing, and drew his blanket closer, for his uniform was so shabby that he had cut a hole in his blanket, and wore it as a coat. “Washington was a great leader, the guard thought, and suffered as much as the rest. His shoes were gone, too, and no doubt he was hungry. Why did he go on? Why didn’t he give in? What kept the courage in him even after he knew how some of his soldiers wanted to leave him? “Up and down, back and forth, up and down, back and forth — did he hear a voice? He looked closely. There behind a tree was some one on the frozen ground. Could it be a spy from the enemy army? No, a spy would not be in this position. It was dark, but as the soldier came nearer, he could make out a figure kneeling. It was a man praying; praying for strength to go on, for courage, for help. And as the soldier kept on looking he saw that it was his leader. His commander-in-chief, the great Washington, was on his knees, praying to his heavenly Father to give strength to his army and himself. The guard kept on with his marching up and down, back and forth. But his thoughts were changed. He had found the secret of his general’s courage. George Washington had for a friend and helper some One more powerful than soldiers, some One stronger and greater then himself. God was his helper.” So George Kling and other Happy Valley children understood that great men as well as children need to go to God for help. Work The children may paste in their note-books pictures of Washington, and print and decorate (illuminate) a verse near it like “God is my helper.” Report of School A Self-Control LEADER: What do you think of our class last Sunday —for a class that made some good resolutions only three weeks ago? FRANKIE: We were noisy. Fiorrie: We were naughty. LAWRENCE: I kept playing with that ventilator rope and didn’t pay attention. Leaver: Well, what was Sunday? Stuart: It was hot in here. Leaver: It was. And heat always makes us noisier. We've just got to realize it. Does that mean we have to be noisy whenever we find it hot? the matter last Page. ———— Se AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 117 CuitpreN: No, of course not. Mrs. Long, I am going to try to be good. I Fiorrie: We ought to do this to ourselves all think we have been silly. I will try.” the time (using the deaf and dumb sign for C). The School of the Great Teacher George Washington’s picture was added to the Report of School B books. Self-Control Cup: Let’s put under it, “One of Jesus’ MargorigE (dancing in): I’m going to be very pupils.” helpful today, Mrs. Long. A picture of the class was already in each book. Rutu: I’m going to be self-control today! Cuitp: Let’s put “Some more of Jesus’ A note from the one Almost Incorrigible, slipped pupils ” under our picture. into the leader’s hand at close of session: ‘‘ Dear TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY February FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship Call to Worship. (Psalm 122:1, followed by, —) “This is God’s house and he is here today; He hears each song of praise and listens when we pray. ” Praise and Prayer. (Familiar praise song, followed by a prayer ending with, —) “ Help us to be truthful, gentle, kind and loving, To be like Jesus and follow him alway.” “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.” Conversation. In our prayer we asked God to help us to be like Jesus. The last two Sundays we have been thinking about the kind of boy Jesus must have been, why his playmates must have liked him, and why mothers must have wanted their boys and girls to play with him. We said that Jesus could be our Teacher even as a child. If we try to be like him in our homes, what must we do the minute our father or mother asks us to do something? How shall we treat our playmates? The song that the mothers in Jesus’ land have sung to their children for hundreds of years asks those same things, doesn’t it? (If the children are familiar enough with it, let them sing the first stanza now. Otherwise leader or an assistant will sing it.) “Gentle Child of Nazareth, Let thy life, so meek and tender, Make us glad obedience render To our father and our mother, And be kind to one another, Gentle Child of Nazareth.”’ Song. Do you remember when he went to visit the temple in Jerusalem, how eager he was to learn all the wise men there could tell him? The next stanza asks that we may be anxious to learn, too; to grow wiser each day. It even calls him our teacher, just as we did. He can be our Teacher even as a child. “Wondrous Child of Nazareth, Let thy early love of learning Set our youthful spirits yearning Daily to be growing wiser, Thou our teacher and adviser, Wondrous Child of Nazareth.”’ I am going to ask God to use the gifts we have brought to help more children learn about Jesus, that other children as well as ourselves may learn to be obedient and kind like our great Teacher. Offering Service and Prayer FIRST CLASS PERIOD Old and New Material. We were just re- minding ourselves of the time when Jesus’ parents found him in the temple after their search. What was he doing there? Why did he keep asking the wise doctors so many questions? Was he entirely satisfied with their answers? They had read great books and were considered very wise. But you remember that Jesus felt, after all his ques- tioning, that they had left out something. It seemed to him that he knew God better than they did. For one thing, he knew all the time that God was his Father. He said to his mother, “Didn’t you know I would be in my Father’s house?” Other people, even the doctors, did not call God Father. They thought of God asa ruler and a law-giver, but not as a Father. It was that way all through Jesus’ life. He knew things about God that others had never dreamed. He knew just what God wanted of him. And if he was not sure, he had a way of finding out. It was his secret. But it was what is called an open secret, for those who loved him best learned it and told us. Story. THe SecrET Power or JESUS (Bible reference: Mark 1 : 21-38. In this and other instances where extended sections of the New Testament narrative are incorporated in the story, the writer has drawn somewhat freely upon the American translation by Edgar A. Goodspeed.) Four boys, who once thought they might live quietly all their lives on the shores of Lake Galilee, had left their homes. Instead of knowing each morning that when night came they would lie in their own beds again, they now had no beds. 118 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER 119 They might sleep one night on the bare ground, another in a stable. Instead of knowing that at mealtime there would be plenty to eat, they were not even sure of there being a meal. They now ate what they could, where they could. Instead of sticking to their business with the hope of growing rich and important, they had given up their business. What was it all about? What had happened that their whole life should be so changed? Why, a man, a plain man as they thought, like themselves, had asked them one day to leave everything and follow him about. He wanted them for friends. He wanted to teach them what he knew. No, he was not exactly like them- selves. There was something different about him. When he spoke to them, they realized that he had a secret power. He made them want to do whatever he asked. And so these four boys, who were men now, had left their homes, their families and their business, not alone because he asked them to, but because somehow they wanted to. They wanted it more than they had ever wanted anything. They did not know at first how they should live; they did not know just how hard it would be; they did not know that their great Teacher had special work for them to do. All they knew was that from the moment they went with him, they began to see and hear strange, unbelievable things — things at which they could only wonder. Instead of being alone with their Teacher they found they were in the midst of a crowd of people most of the time. They were not surprised that every one seemed attracted to their Master; they had felt the same attraction themselves. But they wondered what it was that gave Jesus the power to send the people away happy. He seemed to know exactly what each separate person needed. Some just looked in his eyes, and he smiled back with a smile that seemed to speak. Little children ran to him, and he took them in his arms. Older children flocked around him; he told them stories that made them glad they had come. Unhappy people came to him. He told them how his Father in heaven had made the beautiful world for them. He said his Father was their Father, too. He told them that their heavenly Father wanted the world to be a happy place to live in. He showed them how they could help to make it so. And those who had learned went away singing in their hearts. Sick people were brought to him; he made them well. Some- times there would be those in the crowd who thought there were evil spirits making them do things they couldn’t help. Jesus told the evil spirits to come out, and the people were well again and able to control themselves. Even bad people listened to him. He made them want to be good. All these things Simon and Andrew and James and John saw and wondered at. Was there ever such a man? How did he know what every one needed? Where did he get his strange power? They went into Capernaum, the city on the lake where the four men had spent their boyhood. It was the Sabbath. In the church, or synagogue, the people gathered to hear the law read. Today Jesus read it to them. He told them things about their Father which they had never heard. But they knew they were true. They knew it. They never felt that way when the other ministers preached to them. Simon and Andrew and James and John, too, listened in wonder. They knew that what Jesus said was truer than any- thing they had ever heard. But they wondered how he had found out so much about God. Jesus cured sick people that day. It made some men very angry, for it was against the law to do such things on the Sabbath. Simon and Andrew and James and John had always known this law, but now they knew suddenly that it was not a law that God would have made. If God was their Father, and wanted the world to be happy, of course he wanted sick people tended on the Sabbath as well as any other day. Of course he wanted every one to help others every day in the week, just as Jesus was doing. But how did Jesus know? How did he so perfectly under- stand what God wanted? : That night Jesus and his friends had beds to sleep on, for Capernaum was the home of the four. The next morning, very early, a long while before day, Jesus rose and went to a lonely place near the city. Nobody saw him go. If he had been seen, nobody would have guessed what he went for. After a while the sun came up. People wak- ened from their sleep. They remembered the man who had talked to them the day before. They wanted to hear more. ‘Those who had been made well wanted to bring other sick friends to the great Healer. Those who had not been doing right wanted to see this man again, who 120 seemed to look straight into their hearts and find their trouble. Those who had been angry because Jesus had broken the Sabbath day laws wanted to find him and arrest him. It seemed as if the whole city of Capernaum was hunting for this strange, wonderful, unknown man. But Jesus was no- where to be found. He was not at the home of any of his friends. Not one could tell why their Teacher had disappeared. “* Let us try to find him,” the four friends said, and started out. Where could he be? The day before had been a long, hard day for their Teacher. He had taught and preached and healed constantly. He had been many times accused of doing wrong by those who would not understand. Perhaps he had gone away now to rest for a few days. Nevertheless the disciples searched on. Suddenly they saw ahead of them a kneeling figure. They hurried toward it. Yes, it was Jesus! So this was where he was! This was why he had disappeared! He had to be alone with his Father. God would understand his difficulties and help him. He had to make sure that he was doing his Father’s will; had to make sure of what his Father wanted of him today. The four friends stood still. This, then, was the way their Teacher found out what God wanted. This was what gave him his secret power. It was no wonder that he knew his heavenly Father so well, if he kept so close to him all the time! Jesus had not come away to rest. He had come away to get strength for a new day’s work. “ Master,” said his friends who had sought him, “ everybody is looking for you.” “Come,” he answered, “let us go to the neighboring towns that I may preach in them, too. That is why I came out here.”’ Picture. (After the story a picture of Jesus in prayer may be given each child to add to his book. [Wilde’s Bible Pictures, 535.] Under- neath the picture may be printed, ‘‘ The Secret of Jesus’ Power.”’) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Suggest composing a department prayer to be used each Sunday.) If great men like George Washington needed AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER God’s help, surely children do. If the greatest Teacher of all felt the constant need of talking with and listening to his heavenly Father, surely God wants all his children to come to him. He wants us to tell him when we are glad. It is because of his gifts that we are happy; without them we would have nothing. “‘ Sometimes I say an extra prayer Besides the one for which I kneel. I stand and look up at the stars, And tell our Father how I feel. I do not ask for anything, I just feel happy through and through; I let my heart give thanks and sing, Till all the world seems good and true.” Jesus gave thanks to God many times a day. If we make a prayer to use each Sunday, for what shall we thank God? (Write on blackboard the children’s suggestions and make a prayer includ- ing them.) School A. Suggestions were: food, clothes, rain and sunshine, snow, mothers and fathers, lights, trees, houses, Jesus, Sunday school, summer, winter, moon, God’s love, grass, holidays, teachers, school, songs, church, birds. SECOND CLASS PERIOD New Material. Story. How Jesus Usep His Secret Power (Bible References: Matt. 17:1, 2, 14-20; Mark 9 : 14-29; 9 : 38a; Luke 9 : 37-43a.) Along a road leading to a mountain came a father with his only child. The child was not strong, and his father half carried, half led him. They were not alone, for many were going in the same direction. Some were neighbors of the father and child, others were strangers. “What a strange look that boy has!” re- marked the people. ‘‘ What queer motions he makes! ”’ “He is dumb,” answered those who knew. “He can neither hear not speak. And he has a strange trouble. At times he is out of his head, and his father is nearly distracted about him. He is afraid the child will kill himself in one of his queer attacks, for he doesn’t know what he is doing. He will jump into a fire and burn himself before any one can reach him, or into the lake and AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER nearly drown before he is discovered.” “ The poor father! ” said another of the crowd. “ Has he taken him to any healers? ” “ Oh, yes,” was the answer, “ but no one can do anything for him. They are hoping to see the new healer, Jesus of Nazareth, about whom every one is talking.” “TI am going, too,” said the first. “I want to hear what this Jesus has to say, and perhaps see him do one of his wonder works. But see! The dumb child is flinging his arms about! ” The people crowded closer around the father and his boy. The boy would have hurled himself to the ground but strong men held him. Suddenly the crowd separated. A man was making his way toward the group. “ If the boy has an evil spirit,” he was saying, “ T can cast it out.” The crowd drew closer to watch. Nothing the man could do made any difference with the boy. The people turned away disappointed. “The great Teacher of Nazareth could cure him,” said one, and then, seeing a group of men on the edge of the crowd, “‘ Why, there are some of the great Teacher’s disciples now! Call them here. Perhaps they can heal like their Master.” The father of the sick boy looked up with hope in his eyes. If these men were, indeed, Jesus’ disciples, they had probably learned from him how to cure the sick. “Can you cast out evil spirits?” he asked anxiously. Andrew and Philip and the others proudly answered that they could, that their Master had taught them how, and they would be glad to heal the poor boy. The crowd pressed in again to see the wonder work. The disciples made the motions that they had seen Jesus make, and called on God to help them. Eagerly the people waited and watched, but the child grew no better. The disciples tried harder. They wanted to show what wonderful works they could do. To cure this child who had been given up by doctors would prove them to be marvelous indeed. What a chance to become famous! You know great- ness was always an important question with them. They were continually quarreling about it among themselves. It was before Jesus had washed their feet to show them that he who serves others is greatest. Perhaps they even disputed now as to which one should have the honor of doing this wonder work. Perhaps when one 121 failed another was unpleasant about it and took his turn. At any rate, try as they would, not one of them could cure the dumb boy or comfort the poor distressed father. The crowd turned away, disappointed a second time. The disciples kept on trying, wondering why they could not do what they wished, and ashamed. They had thought they knew how. All of a sudden some one in the crowd pointed toward the mountain. “ Look,” he cried, ‘“ there he comes — Jesus of Nazareth! ” All the people looked. Sure enough, the great Teacher with three of his disciples was coming down the mountain toward them. There was a beautiful light in Jesus’ eyes; but Peter, as Simon was now Called, and James and John could have told of a light even brighter which they had seen the day before. Jesus had gone up on the moun- tain to pray, and had taken with him three of his most loved disciples. And as he prayed, he was so close to God, his Father, that his face shone like the sun, and his very clothes seemed white and dazzling. The disciples were frightened with the glory of it, and did not understand it. But they never forgot it. They did not tell about it until long after, but now, as people at the foot of the mountain gazed up at them, it was easy to tell which was Jesus, for part of the light was still in his face. They ran toward him, and the father of the sick boy cried, “ Master, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit, and when it comes upon him he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth. See, he is pining away. I asked your disciples to drive it out but they could not.” As the boy was brought before Jesus, he sud- denly fell down to the ground, rolling about and foaming at the mouth. “How long has he been like this?” Jesus asked the father. “From his childhood,’ was the answer. “Many a time it has thrown him into the fire or into the water, and we feared he would die. If there is anything you can do, take pity on us and help us.” Think of saying to Jesus, “ If there is anything you can do! ’’ — Jesus, who was so close to God that God could work through him in any way he wished. Jesus kept close to God so that his Father could work through him. That was why he had gone up on the mountain to pray. 122 The crowd, sure that this time they should not be disappointed, closed in about them, and more and more gathered in the road. “You deaf and dumb spirit,” said Jesus, “get out of him, I charge you, and never enter him again!” And whatever it was that was torturing the boy did come out of him. The boy lay quite still at first. People thought that he was dead. But Jesus took hold of his hand, helped him up, and the boy, perfectly well now, went home with his happy father. Part of the crowd went with him. Others lingered for a while to see more of Jesus, but when they were all gone, and Jesus was alone with his disciples, they asked him, “‘ Why could not we drive it out?” I think they must have known even before Jesus told them. They were not yet close enough to their heavenly Father to understand his ways. He could not work through them while they were thinking so much about themselves. Jesus thought only about what his Father wanted, and his disciples knew it. So they understood when Jesus answered, ‘‘ This kind of thing can only be driven out by prayer.” AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Report of School A EILEEN (on the way home): I liked that story. I know why Jesus could do all these things. LEADER: Why? EILEEN: Because he prayed so much. He was close to the heavenly Father. (Florrie, for whom this and the next Sunday’s stories were designed, was not present. See ref- erence on page 124 to Florrie’s private story-hour.) Report of School B Children’s Illustrations of Self-Control “My brother took my sled, so I couldn’t go sliding, but instead of quarreling I went off and played with something else.” ‘““My father scolded me this morning but I kept myself from crying.”’ “TI called my mother on the telephone from school and asked her if I might go home to lunch with one of my friends. When she said ‘no,’ I didn’t tease, but hung up right away.” “The baby was crying upstairs and my mother told me to run up and take care of him. I didn’t want to but I made myself go up without saying anything, and the minute I went into the room, he stopped, right off! I think he wanted me.” ““T don’t say I use my self-control. I just don’t use it!” TWENTY-FIRST WEEKDAY Story and Work for a Missionary Project Story from the Wise Man’s Pack (With the aim in view of broadening the group’s outlook and interesting it in other children, a story of one of the mission fields, home or foreign, is suggested here, and the opportunity for making gifts to send to children elsewhere. Because the leader in Vermont expected to visit in June a little community in the Virginia mountains, and her class was interested in her trip, the southern mountaineer children offered a natural objective for the class’s interest and gifts. The following program, therefore, is one which was used in this group.) It was a Friday afternoon and the last period of school. The children in Miss True’s school looked expectantly toward the door, for the wise man had promised to tell the school a story from his pack. The pack was to be opened and the children were to choose from it whatever looked as if an interesting tale belonged to it. They were very much excited, and had already brought the pack from the corner where it usually stayed, and unfastened the straps. The door opened, and in came their visitor. “Well, what shall it be?” he asked as he sat on the floor with the pack in front of him and the children as close as they could get. He tipped the pack over and from the top fell out a pile of interesting things. The children seized them. “ Has every single thing a story?” they asked. ‘“ Every one,”’ was the answer. Oh, what riches! Stories upon stories! “What a funny doll !” cried Mary Fleetwood, holding it up. ‘‘ Why,” she went on, “ it’s made of a corn-cob!”’ For she had lifted the skirt to examine the clothes. “That’s just what it is,” said the wise man. “T once made it for my children and it was so interesting they keep it in my pack. Shall I tell you about Danny and Iona? ” he asked. (Then follows “‘ Jemina Corn-cob,” from Little Neighbor Stories, by Colson, also in The May- flower Program Book, program seventeen. After the story the class will probably wish to start making gifts for the children they have heard about. An Indian, Negro or Chinese story may quite as easily be found in the pack.) Report of School A Florrie’s Loss of Self-Control It was one of Florrie’s bad days. She began by throwing water in Lawrence’s eye. Lawrence started to retaliate. Leaper: Lawrence! Let’s see how. you're going to take it. LAWRENCE (blinking): Gee, Florrie, that was some aim! Florrie teased and bothered every one; de- manded (and got) special attention to the exclu- sion of others; took the best seat at the table; wanted most of the crayons and patterns; com- plained about noise, making just as much herself; twice threatened to go home; once got her coat on, but since nobody urged her to stay, thought better of it and took it off; “told on ”’ every one who bothered her; paid back in good measure every slight offense toward her; ended with knocking Frankie’s head against a table. Leader at another table, hearing the commo- tion, jumped toward Frankie, who, enraged by pain, had started for Florrie. She succeeded in steering him to the kitchen, where she bathed his head as he wept copiously. Leaver: That was a bad bump, wasn’t it? I didn’t see how it happened, but I’m sorry you got hurt. You know this class is like a little bit of life. All your life you’re going to get hard knocks—everybody does. Sometimes the knocks are on our heads, sometimes on our feelings.. The way you take them shows what kind of a man you are. If you only want to hit back and get even, you're going to be a little, unimportant man, but if you just take the hurt and remember that you’re bigger than anything that can come to you, and pay no attention to it, you’ll be a big, important man that people will look up to and respect. You wanted to hurt Florrie at first, but you don’t now, do you? You're using your self-control finely. (He had stopped crying.) FRANKIE (gulping down the last sob): Thank you, Miss Bradley, that’s enough. Stuart (popping in): Hey, Frankie, what happened? Leaver (before Frankie could speak): Why, you see, Stuart, the table that Frankie was sitting near rose right up and hit him — “‘ whacked him 123 124 one” on the brow, like that! Wasn’t it rude of the table? (as both boys chuckled, whispering to Frankie) You tell any one that, who asks you! Leaver: Florrie, get on your things and go home. Fiorrie (slamming the door): ll never come near this class again! CHILDREN (unanimously and heartily): I hope she doesn’t! Boy: She’s worse’n any boy here! AnoTHER: I just hate Florrie. everything. Leaver: What do you suppose we're having this class for? ANNE: To learn. Leaver: To help each other. Florrie needs a lot of help. What can we do for her when she comes back? (Didn’t know herself!) Joun: She said she wasn’t coming, and I hope she doesn’t. LeapER: J hope she doesn’t, too, the way she was this morning. Does she have to act this way? Cuitp: No, she can use her self-control. Leaver: Are we using ours if we just let our- selves hate her and want her to stay away? And how can we help her if she stays away? (Children not interested.) LEADER: Did you see how Frankie took it? Boy (admiringly): He started to hit her back, but he didn’t! (Children join in admiration. Note the lasting satisfaction over Frankie’s self- control as reported in Thirty-Fifth Sunday.) Leader felt particularly chagrined because Frankie was hurt during the class, for the night before his mother had said, ‘‘ Frankie is a different boy since he’s begun going to the class. He’s so tender and thoughtful, and wants to help. When I was in the hospital I felt so happy and safe about him Saturdays, knowing he was at his class.” So she telephoned at noon to inquire about Frankie’s headache. It was some time before she could make Mrs. Norton understand. Frankie had come home and never mentioned it! After dinner the leader called up Florrie’s mother and asked if Florrie could meet her at the church to talk over some things. FiLorrize’s Motruer: What is it? thing happened? Leaver: Yes, but I don’t know how it hap- pened nor whether Florrie was entirely to blame, but I sent her home and I want to straighten it out with her. I think maybe she feels a little She spoils Has some- AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER sorry by now, and would like a chance to make up for it. Fiorrtie’s Moruer: Isn’t it funny, she didn’t tell me a word about it! She usually tells me whether she’s been naughty or good. Yes, she may come. I'll call her. Leaver: Hello, Florrie, this is Miss Bradley. We didn’t have a very nice class this morning, did we? Fiorrie: No. Leaver: I thought perhaps you were sorry for your part in it, and would like to make up for it a little by helping me this afternoon at the church. We're going to make toys next week. You could trace the patterns off on the wood, so they’d be ready to work on. Fiore: Yes, I’ll come, Miss Bradley. She came, but appeared triumphant rather than sorry. Told gleefully just how she hit Frankie’s head against the table. Leader told her how Frankie took it. Florrie was much impressed. Leaver: He hasn’t even told his mother. Fiorrie: I’d have told mine. I’m glad he didn’t. While Florrie was tracing off patterns leader read to her the last Sunday’s stories which she had missed. (See page 122.) Fiore: I’m having a lovely time. I’mso glad you invited me down here. Now I'll saw these. LEADER: Oh, no, that’s for the class to do next Saturday. I asked you to do this work because I thought you’d be sorry for what you did this morning and would want to do something for the class. But I’m afraid you aren’t as sorry as I thought you’d be. (Hoping to get her on popu- ~ larity.) What children do you like best to play with, Florrie? Frorrie: Oh, Anne and Betty and Rita. Leaper: Why do you like Anne? Fuorrie: Well, I don’t like her so well. always saying, “O Florrie, don’t fight!” I’ve got to fight! Leaver: Why do you have to? Fiorrie: Because my father tells me to. Leaver: He fells you to! Fiorrie (enjoying leader's horror): Yes, he says I’ve got to hit back! He says if any one hits you, punch them in the nose. Further futile bits of conversation. Leader gave up, and went home to meditate. (See Twenty-Second Sunday, ‘* On Quarantining.’’) She’s And TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY February-March FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Use the department prayer composed last Sunday. Ask if the children have ever noticed how hymns pray the same things as our prayers. Sing ‘‘ Gentle Child of Nazareth,” or ‘‘ Lord, Who Lovest Little Children,” or read the words of a new praise song on the board, such as, ‘‘ My God, I thank thee, who hast made the earth so bright.” If there are reasons for giving thanks mentioned in the song which are not mentioned in the children’s prayer, suggest enriching this.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Making Use of the Familiar. (Let the re- view of last Sunday’s stories of the secret of Jesus’ power take the form of a dramatization. The leader will take the part of a visitor in a city like Capernaum, who has heard that there is a wonderful man in town. She asks questions to bring out the children’s answers. They, of course, will be citizens who are familiar with Jesus’ ways, or disciples.) What School A Did LreapER: Do you know the wonder worker of whom every one is talking) CumtpREN: Yes. We’re his disciples. LEADER: Where does he live? Cup: He doesn’t live anywhere. Leaver: Does he really travel up and down the country not knowing where he will sleep from one night to another? CuiLp: Yes, we go with him. LEADER: What does he do? CHILDREN: He teaches. cures sick people. Leaver: Does he get high pay for it? CHILDREN: No! LEADER: Then why does he do it? Cuitp: He wants to help people. LEADER: Does he really do such wonderful things? Cuitp: Oh, yes! Nobody else can do them. Leaver: Can’t you disciples? Cuitp: We can do some things, but not all. LEADER: I hear he says God is our Father. Cuitp: He is. He preaches. He LeapER: But how does he know? Cuiip: He’s so close to God, he knows. Leaver: I hear he breaks the Sabbath day laws and heals people. Cuitp: It’s all right to do that. people to be well. LEADER: But how does Jesus know all these things? Cup: God tells him. He prays all the time. Stuart: Not all the time, you dumb-bell — he worked, too. ANNE: We said we wouldn’t call each other names. Stuart: Well, I wasn’t there when you said it. How could he heal people if he went off and prayed all the time? FLorriE: He doesn’t have to go off and pray. He can just pray to himself. God knows people’s thoughts. Leaver: You mean you think he might pray while he’s working? CHILDREN: Yes. LreaperR: Why can’t you disciples do what he does? Cuitp: We're not as close to God as he is. We don’t pray enough to keep close to him. Leaver: Well, I pray a great deal, and so do my friends. We’re asking God for things all the time. Cup: Oh, but that isn’t the way Jesus prays! He prays so he can help other people. Leaver: Not to have God make him rich or famous? CuILp: Oh, no! He doesn’t think about him- self. He helps others all the time. Leaver: Then I suppose God wants people to help others— you say Jesus does what God wants. I wonder, if I prayed the right way and kept close to God, would J be able to understand what God wants, and have power to do it? CuILpREN: Well—a little. But not like Jesus. Nobody was ever like Jesus! God wants SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship We have been talking about prayer. We have made up a prayer of our own. We know that 125 126 Jesus prayed a great deal, and that was what kept him close to God. (Sing “ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,” as a reminder of the One we pray to be like. Then let the children suggest any prayer songs they know.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD Introducing New Thoughts. (Show the picture, ‘‘ Jesus Teaching His Disciples to Pray,”’ Primary Picture Set No. 3, International Graded Lessons. Notice the eagerness of the disciples, who have probably talked about this subject among themselves.) You've often wished you had been back there among Jesus’ disciples, able to ask the Great Teacher anything you liked. Stuart: I wish it right now. Exinor: I do, too. Jesus had taught them that his power came from his Father in heaven; they had often seen him go away to pray. What did he say when he prayed? Can’t you imagine asking each other questions like that? Wouldn’t you like to know just how he prayed, so you could have his power? They wanted to be like Jesus, too. If prayer was what brought him close to God, they wanted to pray. But what should they say? Let’s think of the different kinds of prayers they could make. (Use blackboard.) What kind of things do you ask the heavenly Father for, Gerald? Mary? Does God want his chil- dren to come to him when they’re glad or sad? School A. Frankie: No, we’re not good enough. Leaver: But Jesus said he was our Father. That means the Father of bad or good children alike. Doesn’t a father love his children even if they’re naughty? Fiorrie: He knows it without our tell- ing him. Leaver: But your father knows what’s troubling you, and so does your mother. Don’t they like to have you come to them about everything whether they know it already or not? You see that keeps you close to them, telling them about every- thing. When I was a little girl my father was away for years and years. But he wanted me to keep close to him so he wrote AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER me letters and I wrote back and told him about everything; whether I was sad or glad, whenever I wanted something very badly, whenever I had good marks at school. He wanted me to come to him with everything. It kept us close together. But fathers, besides wanting the love of their children, want to help them. God wants that more than anything else. Do children ever ask their fathers for what would not help them? What would a wise father do about a request like that? Who knows better what would be good for children, the children or their parents? Do you think God knows better than we do what is best for his world? Let’s pretend again that we are back in Jesus’ time. Perhaps the disciples are starting on a long walking trip with their Master. “T hope it will be pleasant,” Peter says. “ Let us ask God not to have it rain.”” What do you think about that kind of a prayer? ANNE: That’s selfish. The flowers and trees need the rain. Another disciple, Philip, maybe, said, ‘‘ But, Peter, supposing some one else wanted it to rain! God couldn’t answer both of those prayers.” “Then how shall we pray?’ asks Peter. And if their Teacher hears, he would say, I think, ‘“ What weather we have is not important, Philip and Peter. The important thing is the way we do our work, whatever the weather is.” It was the day before a picnic. Bobby said to Betty, “ Oh, I hope it will be pleasant!” Betty said, ‘* Let’s ask God to keep the rain away.” I’m going to show you why God can’t answer Betty’s prayer as she expects. (Show or draw roughly an outline map of the United States.) He has made a world that is governed by laws, and there are laws about what sends rain and wind and all changes of weather. If you go to Washington, the capital of our country, you will see what they call weather charts. They are very large maps and in frames with glass over them. Each day the “ weather man,” the man who studies the signs of the weather, paints on the glass little dots and arrows and lines which tell what the weather all over the country, north, south, east and west, will be that day. (Indicate following on map.) The map may AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER show that there is a storm out west, but that it is cold and clear in Vermont. Down here (indicate southern section) you can see that it is not rain- ing, but that the air is heavy. ANNE: That means it’s going to rain. LEADER: It does. It’s one of God’s laws that when the clouds are heavy like that the rain will soon fall. When the air is like that, moisture is gathering into clouds which will soon become so heavy that the clouds will let the moisture fall in big rain- drops. There are laws which make the rain-drops fall when the air is in a certain condition. The “weather man” knows those laws; he can tell when the clouds will let down the rain. On the chart there will be many little arrows which show that a big storm out west is headed straight for the east. Certain conditions in the air started the storm, and certain conditions help it to travel. The marks on the chart show what all these conditions are, and the “‘ weather man ”’ can tell ahead what will happen to the weather in different places, for he knows the laws. The next day the chart will look different. Conditions have changed. Storms have moved on; so the “ weather man” has to make a new picture. That big storm out west is in Chicago now, and the arrows show it traveling nearer and nearer New York and Vermont. You look at that part down here, where yesterday you saw the clouds gathering, and you see that today the rain is falling. Sometimes storm clouds are gathering for days before it really rains. Sometimes a storm travels just so far and no farther because of certain conditions in the air that it meets. Some- times it travels so fast that the “‘ weather man,” counting on how many miles it is traveling in an hour, can tell you just when a storm starting here (indicating far west) will reach here (east). The storms, the wind, the rain, all are acting according to God’s law for them. God’s laws do not change. That is why the “ weather man ”’ can read the signs in the atmosphere and tell you what they mean. He knows that the weather changes according to God’s laws, which are always the same. So do you see why it is that God cannot answer a prayer like Betty’s? Perhaps Betty lives here (east) and a storm which started way out here (indicate) has almost reached Betty’s. Could God stop it when Betty prayed, if, accord- 127 ing to his laws, the storm is bound to come? Perhaps he could, but would you like to live in a world where God would change his laws for every picnic, or every prayer some one feels like making? FiorriE: Different people might be praying for different kinds of weather at the same time! You couldn’t depend on anything, could you? His winds blow because of conditions that are far back of today. His winds, rain, sun and stars obey his laws, which never change. We said a moment ago that God knew, better than we do, what is best for his children. Which do you think is better for his children — a world where he answers every single prayer his children make, whether wise or foolish; or a world where his children can depend on laws which were made for their good, and which never change? We can’t change God’s laws, but (print on board) We Can CHance Our Prayers, and (print) Our Prayers Witt Cuance Us. Instead of praying for a pleasant day we can pray that whether it rains or shines — what? (We may be cheerful, good, helpful.) Instead of asking for money and presents which we may want, we may pray that we shall use whatever he gives us as he would want us to. Instead of asking that God will do what we want him to, if we pray as Jesus prayed, we'll ask that we may do what he wants us to do. LEADER: Do you see the difference? CHILDREN: Yes. LeapErR: Do you really mean that? Boys: Sure, that’s easy. The disciples came to Jesus. They wanted to know how to pray, and this is what Jesus told them: ‘When you pray, say, ‘Our Father, your will be done, not ours.’ ” School A. Leader showed an “ illumi- nated’’ page of her “Bible” (as the children called their note-books), Hof- mann’s Jesus in the Garden,” and the oppo- site page, ‘‘ Thy will be done.” Suggested getting pictures for all. FiorriE: I have forty-one cents to pay for materials for this class. School B. Boys so interested in the weather map, they went directly down to the drug store to study one there. 128 Report of School A Quarantining Leader asked the class to remain after the session. Leaver: Florrie, if you were the Board of Health, what would you do if a case of measles broke out in town? Fiorrie: Shut him up in the house and not let him come out. Stuart: Put a sign on his door. LeapER: What kind of a sign? ANNE: Quarantine. Leaver: What for? ANNE: So it wouldn’t hurt anybody else. LreapvER: Do you know what’s done to a man or woman who does a wicked thing — breaking a law? Cuitp: They shut ’em up in prison. LEADER: Yes, to protect other people. Others aren't safe while he is around. How would you like to have a quarantine rule for our class? Yesterday a very sad thing happened. (Florrie, sitting near a cupboard, had opened cupboard door. Her head now disappeared behind it.) Some one hurt some one else. So long as Florrie — or any of you — can do things like that, it is not safe for the rest of us. What do you think about putting Florrie in quarantine for a little while, and asking her not to come back until she’s cured? SEVERAL (lo leader’s amazement): No! LEADER: Why not, Anne? Anne: Because I might be the one that did it, and I wouldn’t like to be quarantined. LEADER: But would it be fair to the rest to allow you to mix with us when at any time you might hurt one of us? ANNE (reluctantly): No. Stuart (twisting on the piano stool): I think it’s a good idea. Leaver: I mean this for all of us, Stuart. There was a day when it was unsafe for people to be with you. Stuart (subdued): I know it. Leaver: If you hadn’t come back as you did, AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER you might have been quarantined. I’m going to ask Florrie to quarantine herself next Saturday. Everybody else bring your saws. We’ll start the toys for the southern children. Florrie has traced them all off for you. I thought she did it because she was sorry. But she wasn’t, after all, I’m afraid. Florrie, how do you know when you're well from the measles? Fiorrie: The red marks go away. LeapER: Yes, there are signs. There will be signs to show when you are well from the horrid thing you had yesterday. Does anybody know what the signs are? CuitprEN: If she says she’s sorry? If she acts different? Leaver: Not just if she says she’s sorry, but if she acts sorry. We can tell. We'll be glad when you're well again, Florrie, and are out of quarantine. F Lorrie (as other children are leaving): I am. Leaper: Are what? FLorRIE: Sorry. Leaper: Truly, Florrie, or are you just saying it because you want to do the sawing Saturday? FLorRIE: I was yesterday. LreapErR: I’m sorry I didn’t know it. You see you didn’t show me that you were. Can you think of something special that you can do for Frankie next Saturday to show him you’re really sorry? (to children) Florrie says she’s sorry about yesterday. She says she was sorry before, but I couldn’t tell. Shall we give her another chance and put off the quarantine? CHILDREN: Yes! FLorrIE (coming up to leader, with light in her eyes): Miss Bradley, I’m going to think all the week of something to do for Frankie to show him! Making up for a Neglected Opportunity It was communion Sunday. (See report at end of Fourteenth Sunday.) Leader took Stuart and Tommy to the service. They were much impressed, and shocked at noises downstairs made by early comers. Minister used the words, “This do in remembrance of me,” so afterward the boys went up to examine the communion table with the words carved on it. TWENTY-SECOND WEEKDAY Story A Happy Valley Story From THE WisE Man’s Pack (To bring home another clause of the Lord’s Prayer, “ Thy kingdom come.’’) “What’s this, Mr. Wise Man?” asked Dan, pulling a beautiful little carved chest from the pack. “Oh, that’s my box of the four kingdoms! ”’ answered the wise man. “The four kingdoms,” repeated the children gathered round him. “Has it a story to it? May we open it? Where did you get it?” For it had a mysterious fragrance about it that some- how made it seem to belong to the far away. “It came from a far-off country,” he said, answering the last question first. “ It was given me by a friend who told me the story of the Happiest Kingdom.” “Oh, goody!” said the children, “‘ then it has a story. Please tell it to us. Why, the box has layers in it!”’ For when Dan took off the cover the wise man lifted off one layer after another. Cuitp: Like a Mah-Jongg box. In the first one was a large, shiny, gold coin. ‘““Qo-o-o!”’ said the children. ‘‘ Why don’t you spend it?” The second held a small sword with a glistening steel blade. “ Br-r-r-r!”” shivered the children, ‘ that’s sharp and horrid.” The third held a little reed pipe. The wise man took it out and the first time he played on it made every single child jump up and begin to dance. The fourth and bottom layer was the strangest of all, for there lay a roll of bandages. “Tell us about it! ’’ the children cried, and this is the story the wise man told: ? The Happiest Kingdom There was once a child who set out to seek, not a fortune, but a home. “What kind of a home do you wish, my child? ”’ asked one old, old man on the way. “T want a home in a happy kingdom where I shall find friends,”’ said the child. “ That way lies the Happiest Kingdom,” said the old, old man, pointing toward the sunset. “Oh, I shall like that!” cried the child, for the sky was like gold. He hurried on, climbing a hill on the way. When he had come to the top he looked down upon a dazzling sight. Below, as far as he could see, were noble buildings, all white and gold. He ran down the hill, repeating, “ I shall like to live here! I shall like to live here! ”’ He found gold pieces lying on the street and beautifully dressed children flinging coins about as if they did not understand their value. The child gleefully stooped to pick up a hand- ful, but the others saw him and snatched the coins from him. “It’s all ours,” they cried angrily. Let it alone.” Lyman: Just the way we grabbed until we saw how horrid it was. The child looked at the others and forgot about the gold. ‘You don’t look happy,” he said. “ Happy!’ they repeated, amazed. “Isn't this the Happiest Kingdom? ” “This is the Richest Kingdom,” was the answer. The child wondered why, if it was the Richest Kingdom, there was not enough gold for him, too, but as soon as he saw his mistake he hurried down the road leading out of the kingdom. Very soon he began to meet guards stationed in the road. Each guard was armed with a gun and a sword. “Why do you stand here? ”’ he asked. “To protect the people in our kingdom,” answered the soldiers. “Oh,” said the child to himself as he hurried toward the gate, “ this must be a happy kingdom indeed, where the weak are protected! ”’ But suddenly he heard cries and clashing of arms, and as the road curved he came upon two armies at war with each other. A bullet whipped by the child’s head, another grazed his arm, and a third struck him in the leg. As he fell soldiers rushed by. “Help me!” he called to them. hurt!” They gave him only a glance and hastened on. “We have no time,” they called back; “ we must fight.” ** See, I am 129 130 “Ts this the Happiest Kingdom?” asked the child of the next soldiers. ‘“‘ Far from it,” was the answer, “ but it is the Mightiest Kingdom on earth.” School B. ‘ Mightiest’ had to be explained. “* Oh!” said the child, disappointed, and crawled among some bushes until he should feel stronger. When he started on again he did not know which way to go, but reaching a cross-roads, he thought he heard sounds of music and gay voices coming from one direction. “The Happiest Kingdom at last!” he said to himself. He was sure of it when he came nearer. Gaily dressed children were dancing in and out of arches made by the arms of others, and they laughed and sang as the piper piped for them to dance. ‘* Oh, see! ’’ cried one, “‘ there is a child coming toward us. One more will make the dance all the merrier! ’’ And they ran down to greet the child and make him join their dance. But when they saw that he was limping, and that an arm hung by his side, they took no interest in him. ““He is wounded,” they said. ‘‘ Come, let us go back. He could not dance. He has only interrupted our pleasure. He has no place in the Gayest Kingdom,” and they turned and left him. The child, tired and lame, went slowly back to the cross-roads and started down another path. ** Oh, you are hurt!’ cried some one, suddenly running to his side. “‘ Let me bathe and bind your arm!” As the child turned he looked into the face of a black-skinned girl. She was already tearing her kerchief into strips and wetting one in a nearby brook to bathe his arm. Fiorrte: Like that — that — ELINoR AND ANNE: The Good Samaritan! Joun: Yes, I was just going to say that. As she bound up his wounds he thought he had never seen such a lovely face. He wondered if all those whose skin was black were as kind and beautiful. “He is lame,” said a tall, brown-faced youth. “ Let us carry him to the House of Hope, where he may be cared for.’’ And he tenderly lifted the child in his arms. Lyman: Was that their hospital? AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER “You both have the same light in your eyes,” said the child, as he smiled gratefully, first at the black girl and then at the brown-faced youth. Justina: That was just kindness he saw. ExizaABetH: My goodness, Justina! you make me so cross in school sometimes when you're silly, but I guess today we'll have to say, “‘ Hurrah for Justina! ” “ They belong to the same kingdom,” explained a third child, whose skin was like a shining, yellow leaf. ‘‘ Are you hungry? Here is something to eat. I wish there were more, but it is all I had.” Now the child was indeed hungry, and he eagerly held out his hand for the bow] of steaming rice offered him. “The light is in your face, too,” said the child, in wonder. ‘“ And yours,’ — for a boy with hair as black as a raven’s wing and skin as richly red as polished copper was covering him with the fur of a wild animal. So they came to the House of Hope. “When your wounds are healed,’ said his friends, ‘‘ we shall be waiting for you to play with us and work with us.” “What kingdom is this?” asked the child. “You look so different, but you are all so kind.” “ The Kingdom of Love,” was the answer. “T should like to know your king,” said the child. “He must be great and good. Is he rich? ” ‘* He was born in a stable,” said the children. Appreciative whisper: Oh — They left him in the care of fair-faced women who made his wounds more comfortable. ‘““ May I stay here? ” asked the child before he slept. ‘‘It is a happier place than where they fight, or dance all day, or pick up money only to fling about. I thought when I came that this must be the Happiest Kingdom, but they tell me it is the Kingdom of Love.”’ ‘There is no difference,” quietly answered the woman by his side. ‘“* How big is the kingdom ?” asked the child. “Tt reaches out to a new place every day. It is everywhere there is love.” “* How does it spread so fast? ”’ asked the child again. Berry (not waiting for the story to go on): Why, because we love each other. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER “Those who love their King, born in a stable, carry it with them.” ** T shall be one to spread it, too,” declared the child, as he closed Bis ayes in happy sleep. The wise man had stopped. The story was finished. Dorothy Fairchild softly patted the bandages in the bottom layer. “You'd know right away, wouldn’t you,” she said, ““ whose kingdom it was where people were helping each other? ” Report of School B The children loved this story. They put a picture of the box in their books, drew the four symbols and printed what they stood for. Jus- tina added to hers, ‘‘ God loves all good children. They belong to the Kingdom of Happiness. God loves you well.” Another child illustrated the entire story. They would not go home, so after singing, “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,” leader showed pictures, and they in turn told the stories of what was done by the King of the Happiest Kingdom. Report of School A Blunders of Leader Early comers went eagerly to work on “‘ Bibles.” Leaver: Don’t get settled at anything that’s going to take too long, for it’s nearly time to begin the class. (QueRY: Who was she to say that “ the class ” had not already begun?) Joun: I’m going to work on my book. That’s what I came for. Leaper: We do work here, John, and there’ll be plenty of time afterward, but you know first we have other things. Joun: I’m going to work on my book. That’s what I came for. LEapDER: John, of course you can stay here and work on your book, you can do anything you want to, but all the rest are coming now to hear the story, and it’s more fun if we do things to- gether. Haven’t you enough of this (making sign for “‘control’’) to help the rest of us? Joun: Oh, well, I'll come and hear the story! (Having promised a story, the leader promptly switched off to practise of new song, “ Gentle 131 Child of Nazareth.” Bored at once, John threatened to go back to his book.) Leaver: Who'll tell our visitor why we're singing this song? ANNE: Because we want to be like Jesus. Leaver: Yes, but I meant how we happen to have the song. ANOTHER: It came from the land where Jesus lived. Joun: Oh, I’m going back! Leaver: John, you weren’t here last Sunday when we had this story, were you? Who’ll tell John the story? (Florrie volunteered to tell ‘‘ The Secret Power of Jesus.” Stuart followed with the story, “ How Jesus Used His Secret Power,” making it very graphic with, “ He took a fit right in front of Jesus.’’) Leaver: And after they’d all gone away, what did the disciples ask Jesus? Cup: ‘‘ Why couldn’t we do it?” Leaver: And what did he answer? FRANKIE: He said they weren’t close enough to God. (Leader referred to the prayer on the black- board.) JouN (bored again): Oh — prayers! I’m going back to my book. Leaver: All right, John, you go to your book, and we'll go on talking. (To others) Let’s whis- per so John will wonder what we're saying. (Leader talked about prayer to be made to- morrow. John went behind screen ostensibly to work, but poked head around to try to catch what he was missing. Thus he was twice effect- ually prevented from concentrating on work that fascinated him.) FRANKIE: I wasn’t here last Sunday, but I'll be thinking of something to say and tell you tomorrow. Leaver: Now I'll tell you the story I promised. (John promptly joined the group. See how leader profited by her blunders, Twenty-Fifth Weekday, Report of School A.) Work After the story children working on toys went to the kitchen. Two stayed to work on Bibles. As they worked, leader told again “‘ The Monk’s Bible ” at their request. TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY March FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship The Lord’s Prayer. (Speak of this as the prayer Jesus taught.) Picture Study. (Show pictures of Samuel, David and Daniel, praying. Repeat, with the children’s help, prayer verses they might have said, such as, — “‘ The day is thine, the night also is thine;”’ ‘‘ What time I am afraid, I will put my trust in thee;”’ “ Help me, O Lord my God;”’ ‘‘ Thou, Lord, hast made me glad.’’) These people never used the prayer we have just said. Nobody had taught them to say, “Our Father.” They called God King, and Lord, and Jehovah. It was long before Jesus lived. Years after, Jesus’ disciples wanted to learn Jesus’ way of praying. They went to him and said, “‘ Lord, teach us to pray.”’ (Show “ Jesus Teaching the Disciples to Pray,’’ Primary Picture Set No. 3, International Graded Lessons.) So Jesus taught them. He did not begin, “ O Jehovah,” or “ Great God,” or “ Lord of Hosts; ”’ he began, “Our Father in heaven, may your name be loved!’’ Then he asked for what he wanted. What he wanted and what he was working for was that everybody in the world should be happy and good, so the whole world should be a happy kingdom — God’s kingdom. He prayed, “Let your kingdom come.” In God’s kingdom everybody would try to please the Father and do what he wanted. He prayed, “* And let your will be done.”’ Years and years have passed, and people ever since have prayed, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.” I have a picture of two people who are speaking to their Father in heaven. (Show “ The Angelus.’’) The ringing of the church bell made them think of him. Per- haps they are saying Jesus’ prayer. Let us say together, ‘‘ Our Father, who art in heaven, hal- lowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.” FIRST CLASS PERIOD Deepening the Impression. (Let the chil- dren add a page to their note-books, printing and illuminating the phrases, ‘‘ Thy kingdom come,”’ and “ Thy will be done.” These pages will be placed opposite the picture of Jesus praying.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Tell a missionary story on the order of “‘ How the Artist Forgot Four Colors,” showing that in God’s kingdom are children of many colors and races. This particular story is found in Mission- ary Stories for Little Folks, by Applegarth, printed also in The Second Year Mayflower Program Book, by Perkins and Danielson.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD New Material. (With the picture gallery before the class, let the children recall incident after incident where Jesus showed unusual power. Tell in the following conversational manner the story of the people’s desire to crown him, and his vain attempt to make them understand the Kingdom of Love. Bible references: John 6 : 1- 683 27-71 15512,5 Can’t you imagine the people becoming more and more enthusiastic and thinking, ‘“‘ What a king he would make! How fine to have a ruler who would not only be fair and kind and sympa- thetic, with love for the common people, but who could do wonders for them! Why, he could probably cause a great kingdom to rise up, with vast armies at his command, and all the people now following him would be protected forever from the cruel Roman rule and live in peace and prosperity always. Oh, it would be a great thing to crown this wonderful man!’ With shouts and waving of arms they pressed in upon him, demanding that he be their king. They knew he could be if he would. Wasn’t it strange how slow people were to understand what kind of a kingdom Jesus wanted? When he told them he couldn’t be the sort of king they wanted, and made them finally under- stand the kind of kingdom he was working for, a great change came over the crowd. Most of them wanted easy lives. They didn’t want to have to work themselves for such a kingdom. They lost their interest in Jesus. They knew he 132 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER was good, but they didn’t want to be reminded of it. His unselfishness made them ashamed. And so, by ones, and twos, and fives, and tens, and dozens, people began to drop away from him. The crowds grew smaller and smaller, until only the twelve whom Jesus had specially chosen remained with him. Let us compare the two kingdoms — the kind that the people wanted and the kind Jesus was working for. Which was bound to last longer? Which would do the most good? Would a king on a throne back in Palestine, two thousand years ago, no matter how strong his armies were, no matter how powerful he might be, or how much good he did, keep on influencing people hundreds and thousands of years after he died? Jesus never asked in all his prayers to his Father, “Father, let my kingdom come.” He prayed, “ Let thy kingdom come,” and taught his disciples to pray for it and work for it. If those disciples hadn’t stuck to him and worked for his kingdom, can you think what would have been the difference to us? ANNE: We wouldn’t be trying to be like Jesus. Extnor: Maybe we wouldn’t ever have heard of him. 133 The reason people deserted Jesus was because they saw that in the kind of kingdom he wanted they would really have to work to help it along themselves. They would have to give up their bad habits and be helpful to each other. Would you like to live in the kind of kingdom Jesus was working for? School A. Cup: Yes. Leaver: Do you really want it to come about? Cuiip: Yes. LeEapER: Enough to work for it? CHILDREN: Yes. No. What would it mean for us? School A. CHitprEN: We'd have to help our mothers. Not fight. Notlie. Be kind toanimals. Notsteal. Mind our mothers promptly. Not swear. Use our self- control. Do you still want that enough to work for it? Then will you say with me, to God, what Jesus used to pray to his Father? Only if you don’t mean it, don’t pray it, for it isn’t honest to tell God you want a thing and then not care enough to try to do your part. ‘‘ Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.” TWENTY-THIRD WEEKDAY Spring Hike Plan a hike to look for signs of spring, counting each child ten for every discovery, on the order of “ Roadside Cribbage.” If an outdoor hike is not practical, alternate with an “indoor hike.’’ For this the leader hides in every possible place pictures of birds, flowers, lichens, cocoons, and other objects which might be found on a March walk, and credits the finder with certain counts, as if out-of-doors. Light refreshments may also be concealed. Spring- time songs may be practised, nature verses chosen for the following Sunday’s worship service, and outdoor games played. Report of School A Preparing for a Hike and Its Problems Planned for our hike which is to occur next week. Showed picture of Jesus praying. Leaver: Why do you suppose Jesus prayed outdoors in a desert place? Why not indoors? Cuitp: He didn’t feel as close to God indoors. Leaver: Why do you think so? ANNE: God made the rocks. Leaver: Perhaps that was the way he felt. God did make the out-of-doors and it does seem nearer him somehow. His work is everywhere and we'll be noticing it from now on. Already there are signs of spring. It would be fun to count the signs on our next hike. CuiLpren: Yes. Let’s! Stuart: I thought you said we couldn’t have any more hikes. Leaver: I said we never could have another, if things happened that happened on the last one. Lawrence: What happened? JOHN AND FLorrie (eagerly): Stuart — LEabeER (referring to a class reminder): ‘‘ Who- ever wasn’t to blame himself — ” Fiorrte: “ Throw the first stone.” (acting on the hint) Tina found a cocoon. Leaver: Do you think we’ve learned to use our self-control enough yet to go on another hike? CHILDREN: Yes. (John had gotten up and was fooling with the Christian flag.) Leaver: Will you remember whose banner we are under and try to do things he wouldn’t be ashamed of? Lawrence: It would be a good thing if we could take it with us. FLorrie: I’m going to make me a paper one to wear. (See how these suggestions were acted upon in Twenty-Fourth Sunday and Weekday.) LEADER (after the session): Stuart, I’ve been thinking and thinking about you ever since our last hike, when you spoiled everything, and I’ve been wondering if you wouldn’t like to do some- thing special for the next one to make up partly for it. Stuart: Yes, I would, Miss Bradley. Leaver: You said you could take us where there are some pussy-willows. I thought you wouldn’t mind telling your mother how you spoiled the last hike by losing your self-control. Stuart: I did tell her. Leaver: You did? I’m glad. Then I’m sure she’d help you to do something special to show the class you’re sorry. Do you think she’d make some cookies for the hike? You could go to the pussy-willow place first and hide them and let the others discover them. Stuart (delighted): I know she’d do it, Miss Bradley. I'll hide them good! Leaver: You could bury them. It would be a hidden treasure. Stuart: I'll get up early and put them in a box and bury them, way down. They’ll have to dig some! Leaver: You’d better have a stone or some- thing near by to mark the place. Good-bye — don’t tell. (For Stuart’s display of temper see Fourteenth Weekday.) 134 TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY March FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Use the service prepared by the weekday group. Before the prayer remind the children that the only reason for asking for anything is that we want it; that if we truly want it we shall be willing to work for it; that it isn’t being honest with God to say we want to be better and not intend to try to be better. If this prayer is re- peated clause by clause, it would be better for one who does not mean it all to repeat only the parts that he does mean. To the prayer as originally suggested may be added, “ We ask these things, Father, because we want thy will to be done, and to help to make thy kingdom come, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.’’) FIRST CLASS PERIOD A Backward and Forward Look. (Recall “The Happiest Kingdom.” Review what each of the four stood for, making it so clear that every child in the group understands that the first three were the kind over which Jesus said he could not be king, but that the fourth, the Kingdom of Love, was what he had come to build on earth. LEADER (listing the kingdoms on_ the board): And what was the fourth? CuitpREN: Kingdom of Love. Kingdom of Happiness. Kingdom of God. King- dom of Jesus. (Add to the gallery pictures of future stories, to arouse the children’s interest and curiosity. (Say that from now on for several Sundays, the stories will show how Jesus kept working for this kingdom, in spite of the wicked men who hindered him. The children will see how these men finally killed Jesus, but that, of course, they couldn’t kill his spirit; so that Jesus really kept right on living, and helping along, through his friends, the kingdom that he started on earth.) JOHN (on mention of Jesus’ death): Then I’m not coming that day! Tommy: Did the spirits of the disciples keep on living too? LEADER: Yes. AnnE: I know. First he worked through them, and they told people, and when they died, those people told others — down to us. SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship A Spartan Legend. THe City WALL Lysander, the king’s messenger, hurried through the streets and out toward the city gates. His errand was to take him to a distant country, and he must hasten. When the guard in the watch tower of the wall recognized him, he quickly gave orders to let him pass through, and the soldiers had barely time to call a farewell as he rushed by them. As Lysander heard the gates shut behind him, and thought of the thick, high wall which en- closed his city, he thought of that other city toward which he was traveling. Neither he nor his king, nor any one in the kingdom had ever visited it, but strange rumors had reached them which had made them curious. It was said that there was no city anywhere so strong, so beauti- ful, so happy and so safe. The people in it feared nothing. Lysander remembered the king’s last words to him: “ And Lysander, look care- fully about you when you reach the city. Note the height and thickness of the wall. A city so rich and beautiful must have the strongest fortifi- cations, or it would be in constant danger of being destroyed. Yet the people have no fear. Find out if you can the secret of their happiness and safety.” Lysander was eager to do his king’s bidding. He was curious himself. How could a city be so well protected that every one in it felt safe and happy? His own city was in constant danger from neighboring armies. That was the reason for the wall. And yet inside the wall people could not trust each other. Every one was afraid: of each other, of outside armies. No one was happy, because no one felt safe, so the king kept building the wall higher, and placed guards everywhere to spy on his own people. More and more Lysander wanted to see tbe strange city, but began to wonder if he would he 135 136 allowed to enter. Would the guards on the wall give a warning that a stranger was coming, and fearing a spy, would soldiers come out and attack him? He wondered particularly about the wall. It was probably very high, and of something stronger, no doubt, than brick. For days Lysander traveled until at last he saw in the distance lofty buildings gleaming in the sun. But where was the high, thick wall he had expected to see? Where were the watch towers and guards to give warning that a stranger was approaching? Instead of these there were shady roads leading into the city and inviting the stranger to enter. One of these took the surprised Lysander straight to the castle, where he delivered his message without delay. Before he left he said to the ruler, ‘‘ The fame of your rich and beautiful city has spread far. But do you not think it unsafe, without a city wall? ” “IT should, indeed,”’ answered the ruler, ‘‘ if there were none. But we have the safest kind! Come with me and I will show you our city wall.” He led Lysander out of the castle and into the streets of the city. They passed buildings and monuments which were pure white, for no one had soiled or hurt them in any way. The streets were clean and safe, and it was easy to see why. Children and grown people alike seemed to be following certain rules. Nobody got in another’s way, the older children looked out for the younger, every one helped every one else. They took care that nothing was dropped to make the streets untidy. In the parks children were taking pains, as they played on the grass, not to trample on the flower-beds. They were all playing fair, and when one little boy was hurt, his playmates ran quickly to comfort him and help him to his feet. The king pointed to one group after another. “You see,” he said, ‘‘ how all these people go faithfully about their business without quarrel- ing; helping each other, obeying the laws, keep- ing the streets safe and clean, playing fair, telling the truth. Why should they be afraid? There is nothing to fear when every one can be trusted. A city is nothing but people. What makes a city safe is the right sort of people. They are my city wall,” he finished, ‘‘ and every one is a brick.” So Lysander hurried home to tell his king the secret. And in time that city too became happy and safe. The people were no longer afraid, for they could trust one another. Laws were now AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER obeyed without soldiers, and though the old wall fell into decay, the city was safer than ever, for the people themselves were the wall, and every one was a brick. Prayer by Leader. Our Father who art in heaven, help us be bricks in the wall of the king- dom. Amen. SECOND CLASS PERIOD New Material. (Something more than service is needed in God’s kingdom. Honesty and fair dealing are required. Tell the story of Zac- cheus, a man who belonged to the “ Richest Kingdom ”’ before he met Jesus and learned about the “ Kingdom of Love.” Bible reference, Luke 19 : J-8.) Story. A Man Wuo WantTED TO SEE JESUS Come with me along the city street. I want to introduce you to some one who lives here in Jericho. It is still early and he is probably on his way to business. But did you ever see such crowds of people? Always at this time of the year the city is crowded. Thousands of people are passing through on their way up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Passover. We shall never be able to find one man in all this crowd. For one reason he is very short, and it would be easy to look right over his head. Some people say he is so short partly because the bags that he carries are so heavy with money that they pull him down. Oh, yes, he has a great deal of money! He’s as rich as can be. But nobody likes him. Nobody “nice ’’ has anything to do with him. The reason is that he’s a tax-collector. No Jew in all Palestine likes tax-collectors. In the first place, they work for the Romans. Instead of the taxes that they collect being used for building good roads and schools and parks here in Pales- tine, the money is sent away off to Rome to make cruel, selfish Roman noblemen even richer than they are. But besides working for those selfish Romans, these tax-collectors generally collect more than they need to, and keep the extra for themselves. They don’t tell the Roman emperor the truth about how much money they have collected. They don’t tell the people who have to pay the truth about how much they must collect. They collect twice and three times as much as they need sometimes, and keep all the AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER extra for themselves. That’s a pretty poor busi- ness for a man to be in, isn’t it? No wonder nice people won’t have anything to do with men in such a business. Now this Zaccheus that we’re going to see is one of the richest men in town. But does he ever help anybody with his money? No, indeed, he does not! Instead he robs poor people of money that they need, to make him all the richer. Henever givesaway anything. He just collects — steals what doesn’t belong to him, and lies about what he is doing. We are nearly at the customs house now. That’s where his place of business is. But what acrowd! Many of the people look as if they had been traveling several days. Those people just passing: us are from Galilee. I heard them say something about Capernaum. They must have been at least two days on the way. Here we are at the edge of the city. There — there’s Zaccheus! See that little huddled-up man sitting in the door of the customs house? Even in his chair he looks short. There are his full money bags, and see how keenly he looks at each person who brings anything into the city, sizing them all up, and demanding money whether it’s fair or not. You can tell by their faces how they dislike him. Some even try to argue with him, but it’s no use. He works for the emperor, and if he chose to report you, it would be the worse for you. But look! he’s paying no attention to his busi- ness; he seems to be listening to that group of people over there. They’re telling about Jesus of Nazareth. That man is telling how Jesus cured his son. Another is saying that he has heard Jesus talk, that he is a wonderful Teacher, and would make a wonderful king. Now they’re talking about his disciples, and Zaccheeus is lean- ing away over to hear. They are saying that one of the disciples is Matthew, who was a tax- gatherer. Zaccheus looks puzzled. He has heard about this Jesus of Nazareth before, but he never has seen him. And he did not know that Jesus, or any one of importance, would be a friend of a tax-gatherer. He is very curious. The talk about Jesus goes on. Some say that he is on his way to Jerusalem now to be crowned king. People tried to make him king before but he refused, and many of his followers left him. But he still seems to have a great many. More people are entering the city all the time, but Zaccheeus has forgotten to think whether he 137 may demand taxes from them. He is listening to what they are saying, for they, too, are talking about Jesus of Nazareth. They are looking back, waiting for the company to catch up. Some one says, ‘‘ Here they come — Jesus and his disciples!”’ Zaccheeus leaves his bench now and tries to see. The crowd is too great. Always some one gets in front of him and he is so short he can see nothing. But Zaccheus wants to see Jesus, this man whom people are talking about for a king, and who is a friend to tax-collectors. He makes up his mind to do it. Watch him stretch and stand on tiptoe as the group with Jesus in it approaches. Still he can’t see Jesus. There are too many people around him. But Zaccheus doesn’t give up. Look! he’s running on ahead. He has a scheme — let’s follow him. Oh, he’s climbing a tree! See him scrambling out upon that limb. No one shall be in his way now. But listen to the jeers of the people. They’ve seen what he did. They know how short he is and they are making fun of him. They wouldn’t jeer so if they liked him, but they hate him on account’ of his business. See Zacchzeus in the tree, looking with all his eyes, and his heart too, I think, at the man at the head of the procession approaching. He seems not to hear the crowd hooting at him and calling him names. He has heard their taunts before. He knows well enough what they think of him. He is busy now looking at Jesus. But Jesus hears the calling and sees the point- ing of fingers. He is always looking about, any- way, to see if he can help some one. As soon as he looks in Zaccheeus’ face he knows that here is another to help. He knows exactly what Zac- cheus needs. He sees that Zaccheeus is already ashamed of the business he is in, and wants to change. ‘* Zaccheeus!’’ Jesus says, to the little man’s amazement, “‘come down quickly, for I must stay at your house today!” The crowd is surprised, too. Some are com- plaining. No respectable person ever stayed with a tax-collector! But Zaccheus is already down, and already looks different. He is joyously welcoming Jesus. He looks as if he could hardly wait to tell him that he is ashamed of what he has done. Jesus doesn’t need to explain to Zaccheeus that to be his friend and help in his kingdom he must change his ways and deal honestly and fairly with all people. 138 Zaccheus has already read it in Jesus’ face. Listen to him. *“* See, Master,” he is saying, “I will give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated any one out of anything, I will pay him four times as much!’’ Think of that for Zaccheus, who for years has thought only of getting rich, no matter how he did it! Let’s go away and leave Zaccheus now, and think how wonderful Jesus is that he can make us want to choose his kingdom enough to change our ways and make up for the wrong things we have done! ANNE: I see now why you said he be- longed to the Richest Kingdom first. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Report of School A Plans for Making Amends Stuart (after class): My mother said she’d make those cookies, Miss Bradley. How many do we want? Leader had asked Florrie to stay; reminded her of the suggestion that it would be nice to carry the Christian flag on our hike, and that she had said she was going to make one; asked if she’d thought yet of any way to make up for the day she lost her self-control. She had not. Leader suggested she could make little Christian flags for the whole class. Florrie delighted. She would come to leader’s house tomorrow after school. It would be a surprise so she wouldn’t tell anybody. TWENTY-FOURTH WEEKDAY Three Alternatives I. Hike If an “ indoor hike ”’ was enjoyed last week, the children will be beautifully prepared for an out- door one today. They will be keener to observe the signs of spring after hunting for the pictures and objects of the “ indoor hike.” As a further step in making friends with the children in another part of the world, an inter- change of pressed flowers is suggested. This will not only give the class zest in gathering spring flowers as they appear, and practise in naming and preserving them, but will furnish a really interest- ing gift. If this plan is adopted the class should get in touch with one of the distant group — child, teacher or missionary, — explaining the plan and hoping that these new friends will make for this class a similar collection of wild flowers of their section. (See Twenty-Fifth Weekday, ‘ Another Step in the Friendship Project.”’) Other ways to use pressed flowers for gifts: (1) An attractive book of blue-print flower designs may be made by binding together sheets of blue-print paper on each of which a pressed flower has been placed before exposure. Ferns and leaves are also exquisitely silhouetted in this fashion. (2) Pressed flowers, ferns or leaves make beautiful designs for spatter work, greeting cards, blotters, or book cover decorations. For direc- tions see Ninth Weekday. II. A Program of Work or Study If there has been no missionary project on foot, and if the missionary story of last Sunday, together with something from the leader’s or the group’s experience, suggests nothing, the study of the set of pictures called “‘ Children from Many Lands ” might start an interest. This is a folio of ten large, beautifully colored pictures of children of different nationalities, with a rhyme under each picture showing a desirable national trait. They are published by the National Child Welfare Association, at 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City, $1.00 a set. If the children are already interested in a particular group through the stories and con- versation about other children in the “ kingdom,” they will want to do something really worth while for them. In helping the group at their work, there will be opportunity for lessons in such qualities as good workmanship, honesty, courtesy and perseverance. , As each group will have its own particular interest, from now on the weekday programs can be taken as merely suggestive. There will be stories designed to meet the present spiritual needs of the class, some general missionary stories, and others on the value of good workmanship, etc. “The Stocking Doll,’ on this page, may be told today. Link it up with the story of Zac- cheus, to keep before the children the idea of honesty as a requirement in Christ’s kingdom, and as a further incentive to put real work into their chosen enterprises. Directions for making stocking dolls and cats will be found in The Second Year Mayflower Program Book. Il. Seasonal songs may be chosen, practised and listed. Spring verses like the following, printed on cards which the children may handle and easily read, may be looked over with a view to selecting those most appropriate: Gen. 1 : 20; Ps. 50: lla; 84:3; 104:12; 147:7, 8, 18; Isa. 44:14; 61:11; Song of Sol. 2 : 11-13; Joel 2 : 23; Matt. 6: 265; Luke 8°:'5. From this material the children may make one or more services, choosing which new verses and songs they will learn, and from titles which the leader may give them, which story or stories they would like her to tell in the program. A series of spring services planned by small committees of children meeting at different times is suggested in preference to one program planned at one time by all. The parts of the service will more easily be grasped, and programs of real worship will be made up more readily where there are fewer children to make choices and the dis- tractions of a large group are lacking. Planning a Spring Worship Service A Happy Valley Story THE Srockine DoLu ** Oh, look,’’ the children in Miss True’s school cried, as Billy came in the door, “ see what Billy has brought! ” Everybody crowded around Billy to examine what he was carrying. 139 140 ** Made it all myself!’ boasted Billy proudly. “Did you really?” the others asked, unbeliev- ing. “My, but you’re smart! Say, won’t they like it, though! ” ‘Why, Billy,” Miss True was saying, “ this is perfectly fine! See children, it’s made out of a stocking, and all the nicer because you made it yourself.” Billy was very proud, first because of the black cat which he had made by cutting up a stocking and stuffing it, and next because of Miss True’s words of praise. You see the children were meeting on Saturdays to make toys for the wise man to carry to some of the children about whom he had been telling stories, and who seemed like friends to the Happy Valley children. But nobody yet had ever made anything as clever as this black cat out of a stocking. They all wanted to know how at once. ““ My mother can make dolls too, out of stock- ings,” Billy bragged, “but I can’t. The wise man said his friends would rather have something we made ourselves.”’ ‘““ They would,’”’ Miss True answered him, “‘and Billy, I can hardly wait to show him this.” The children looked enviously at Billy. Alice envied him more than all the rest. She was always hoping that Miss True might say to her some day, “ You’re going to school, aren’t you? ”’ as she did to some of the others when they’d been trying particularly hard. The trouble was Alice didn’t try quite as hard as the rest. But now she said to herself, “‘ I’m going to make something all myself, and it will be so nice that Miss True will say, ‘Why, that’s wonderful, Alice! How did you ever know how to do it? I can hardly wait to show it to the wise man.’ ’”’ The thought made Alice quite happy. In fact, she was so full of it that nothing which the children were doing that day seemed worth much. She passed from one table to another, thinking, “'That’s baby work. Anybody can do that. Wait till they see what I’m going to make!” But she worked on nothing herself, and soon called out, “ I guess I'll go home now, Miss True. Good-bye.” “Oh, I am sorry!” answered Miss True. “Do you have to go? You haven’t done any work at all, have you?” “No, but I’ve got to go,” Alice responded. Wouldn’t Miss True be surprised when she saw the wonderful thing she would bring on Monday! AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER She skipped all the way home and went straight to her own little play-room. What should she make? It must be something very hard, some- thing the others had not thought of doing, some- thing quite as wonderful as Billy’s cat. But when she went to bed Saturday night she still had no idea what it was that she should make before Monday morning. As she drifted off to sleep, however, she was thinking of Miss True’s pleased looks. The next morning she was so busy pretending it was Monday that she forgot to pay attention to anything that happened in Sunday school. Sunday afternoon came and still Alice had not decided what wonderful gift to make. It was plain that she must make up her mind quickly, and get to work. Billy had made a cat out of a stocking. He had said you could make dolls, too, from stockings. Alice knew it could be done, for her aunt had bought her one at the Woman’s Exchange. It was made from a pair of socks, they had said. She went to the big chest in which she kept her dolls, and pulled it forth. “Tommy,” she called it, for it looked like a little boy dressed in cap and sweater. Both his socks and sweater had a blue stripe running around and the cap could come off. It must be hard to make a doll like that. Billy had said that even he couldn’t make dolls. Then a doll was the thing for Alice. She would make one like Tommy. Already in her mind she saw her- self giving it to Miss True. She found a pair of socks in her drawer nearly like those Tommy was made of, and sat down with some scissors. What did you do first? Make the cap? That was easy. You cut off the toe of a sock and let the edges just naturally roll up. But that was as far as Alice could go. She had no idea what to do next. She held Tommy this way and that. How had they made the legs? Or the arms? What had they used for stuffing? As she grew more and more puzzled she became more and more worried. There wasn’t much time before Monday, and she didn’t even know how to begin. A lump came in her throat. She did want to please Miss True. She looked at Tommy again. She knew now that she would never be able to make a doll like that by herself. Suddenly a tiny thought came into her head. Why not use Tommy? But of course she hadn’t made Tommy, so she put the thought out of her head. To take Tommy to school and let Miss AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER True think she had made him would not be hon- est. And yet — wouldn’t Miss True be surprised and pleased if she did think Alice had done that all herself! The thought kept coming back and growing bigger as it came. Monday morning Alice went to schoolearly. A few children were already there but Alice did not notice them. She had Tommy in her hand. Going straight to Miss True she said, “I brought something for the wise man’s friends.” Miss True looked up quickly and smiled. “Why, this is lovely, Alice,” she exclaimed, taking Tommy. “It will make some child very happy. It was nice of you to give one of your own toys.” ““T made it,”’ she said. “You made it? ” echoed Miss True doubtfully. “Yes,”’ answered Alice, “out of a pair of socks.” “You mean that your mother made it, don’t you? ” asked Miss True. “No, my mother never touched it,” said Alice truthfully enough. “Then somebody helped you?” persisted Miss True. “ Nobody helped me. I made it myself.” Miss True looked at Tommy. He was beauti- fully, carefully made. His face had been painted on by one who knew all about painting dolls’ faces. Alice had never, since she had been in Miss 'True’s school, done careful work. It was one of the things that worried Miss True. She looked at Alice again and started to speak, but instead let her eyes rest on something beyond Alice. It was the picture of the great Teacher hanging on the wall, but Alice did not see. “ Alice,” said Miss True at last, ‘ would you show the rest of us how to make these dolls? I’m sure all the children would like to know how. You may show me first if you like, this after- noon after school.” School B. Witp Exctamations: Oh — What’s she going to do now? “Yes, Miss True,” promised Alice, but wonder- ing what she should do when the time came. Miss True walked over to the corner where their pictures hung. She looked at the picture of Jesus a long, long time. Alice couldn’t help noticing her and following her eyes to their favor- ite picture. It made her very uncomfortable. She, like the others, had said she wanted to go to 141 schoo] to the great Teacher, and she knew that he loved the truth. After the others had left that afternoon Miss True opened a bundle. “I got everything to- gether this noon,” she explained, as she spread out needles, thread, thimble and scissors, socks, cotton for stuffing, and last of all held up ee ** Now what do we do first? ”’ mi “You make his cap first,” said Alice hesitat- ingly. What could she say when Miss True asked her about the rest? ““ How did you happen to think of making the doll, Alice? ” was the next question. Alice thought of Billy’s cat, and how happy it had made Miss True. But Miss True hadn’t looked happy one bit about the doll. She had never once said, “I’m proud of you, Alice! ” Alice was beginning to wonder if she had taken the right way to please her teacher. Just saying you had done a thing wasn’t enough —if it wasn’t true — And now Alice knew that she had taken the wrong way. She had told her teacher a lie, and when Miss True found it out she would never, never like her any more. Oh, dear! The thought brought great tears to her eyes. “How did you make the legs, Alice?’ came Miss True’s voice. The tears rolled down Alice’s cheeks. didn’t make them,” she sobbed. ‘I w-wish I hadn’t said I did! I w-wanted you to I-love me.” Miss True’s arms were around her in a moment. “I’m glad you told me, Alice,” she said. ‘‘ I was sure that you hadn’t made the doll, and that you would tell me. But I do love you, my dear, for you have in your heart a very lovely thing.” Alice was so surprised that Miss True could find anything lovely about her that she stopped crying to listen. “Tt is a beautiful wish,” said Miss True, “a wish that not all children have. It is the wish to please one’s teacher.” She looked at the pic- ture of Jesus near them. ‘“‘ There couldn’t be any more beautiful wish in the world than to please this Teacher,” she went on. ‘He said that in his Father’s world people should love and trust each other. But how can people trust each other, if they don’t speak the truth? You see, Alice, you took the wrong way to please me. It only makes me unhappy not to be able to believe what you say.” ee oe 142 Alice was crying again. “Oh, you can, Miss True, you can!”’ she said. ‘‘ Please trust me! ” Anybody would feel like trusting again a little girl as sorry as Alice was. Miss True said, “ Of course I'll believe you, Alice, for you’re sorry for what you did. Are you sorry enough to make the lie come true? ”’ What did Miss True mean? How could she make the lie come true? She had said she had made Tommy. “T couldn’t make it come true,” she said sor- rowfully. ‘I tried to make a dolly myself but I didn’t know how.” “* But I do,” said Miss True. And she helped Alice to make one. Alice had never worked so hard and so long at a time on anything. The wise man came in just as she was finishing. “* See,” said Miss True, “* Alice has just finished something for you to take to one of your friends.” The wise man opened his eyes wide. ‘‘ Well!”’ he exclaimed, ‘‘ that must have taken a long time and a great deal of work.” “Tt did,” said Miss True, putting her hand on Alice’s head. ‘‘ Didn’t she do it beautifully? I’m so proud of Alice; she’s one of the children who is going to school!” Report of School A on Hike Stuart and Florrie Make Amends Tina (before starting): Miss Bradley, I put it in my prayer last night that I’d be good on the hike. Friorrie (distributing little paper Christian flags): Here, Frankie, I made the biggest one of all for you, because I whacked your head. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Frankie: Oh, thank you, Florrie!’ Sruart (as we met him near his home, aside to leader): Say, Miss Bradley, my mother made fifty-seven cookies. I couldn’t bury ‘em though, there were too many dogs around. (To children) I’m the boss of this hike. You’ve got to do as I say! (Children denuded the pussy-willow tree to which Stuart led them. He then allowed them to play on “his” pile of railroad ties while he went home for the cookies.) CHILDREN (on his return): Three cheers for Stuart! Stuart: There’s fifty-seven of ’em! Tina: I like to give three cheers for Stuart’s mother! Leaper: Let’s! Perhaps she'll hear us. Cuitp: Look! She’s coming now! Frorrie (as Anne handed Stuart's mother a pussy-willow spray): We were just talking about you and wishing we could thank you. Sruart’s Moruer (to leader): I wanted to make doughnuts, but Stuart insisted on cookies. He has been looking forward all the week to today. Stuart (on the way home, to French children who threw stones): Quit that! (to class) Let ’em alone. They won’t dare touch you with me here. (Later) That’s those children’s father. I could tell him about their throwing stones, but I’m no tattle-tale. (still later) Was I good, Miss Bradley? Tina: This is the best hike we’ve had. TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY March FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Follow a praise song, chosen by the children, with the suggestion of the host of children round the world singing praises at this time for the love and beauty in the world, for trees and flowers, sunshine and rain, home, food, families and friends. (Sing another praise song which might be universal, such as, “ Glory, glory, glory be to God on high,” from ‘ How the Artist Forgot Four Colors,” or the refrain of ‘‘ Day is Dying in the West.” Let the children think of the thousands who are praising God for sending Jesus to show us how to live. (Sing “ Gentle Child of Nazareth,” and pray, ending with a petition about the gifts which we have brought that other children may learn about the “ gentle child of Nazareth,” “ the little lad of Galilee.’’) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Deepening Impressions. (Tell how one man wishing like Zaccheeus, and like the class, that he might see Jesus, wrote a song about it for all of us to sing. Sing softly, or read the first, third and fourth stanzas.) ‘We would see Jesus; lo! his star is shining Above the stable where the angels sing; There in a manger on the hay reclining Haste, let us lay our gifts before the King. ‘* We would see Jesus, on the mountain teaching With all the listening people gathered round; While birds and flowers and sky above are preaching The blessedness which simple trust has found. ““ We would see Jesus in his work of healing At eventide, before the sun was set; Divine and human in his deep revealing Of God and man in loving service met. “We would see Jesus in the early morning; Still as of old he calleth, ‘Follow me.’ Let us arise, all meaner service scorning. Lord, we are thine, we give ourselves to thee! ” (Ask what Zaccheus had to give up in order to “follow Jesus,” or be a member of his king- dom? What makes a “brick” in the wall of that kingdom?) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Following out the idea suggested in the first departmental period, continue the thought, with the help of missionary pictures of children round the world singing praises to their heavenly Father. If desired, the children may form different groups, representing chosen races, and in a circle sing, “ Glory, glory, glory be to God on high.” Or the entire period may be devoted to an appreciation of the song, “ God’s Children Live in Many Lands,” from Song and Play for Children, by Danielson and Conant. While the song is being sung the children will think of that part of God’s family for whom they are working.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD New Material. (Say you are to read a story about a man who had never had much chance to work for God’s kingdom. He, like Zaccheus, wanted to see Jesus, but even if Jesus passed by, he could not have seen him, for he was blind. Read about the healing of Bartimeus [Mark 10 : 46-52] or the account of the blind man of Bethsaida [Mark 8 : 22-26], retold in When the King Came by Dean Hodges, beginning page 213. Try to make the children feel the joy of this man when his eyes were opened.) What did he see first? What do they think he was gladdest to see? What do they think made him the happiest when he found he was no longer blind? Report of School A Checking up on the Hike FRANKIE (before Stuart arrived): Didn’t we have a good time though — m — those cookies! LEADER: Stuart was sorry he spoiled the last hike for us, and he certainly made it up to us yesterday, didn’t he? Cuorus: I'll say he did! LEADER: Some of us prayed the night before 143 144 that it would be a good hike, and that we’d be good. Was our prayer answered? CHILDREN: Yes! Leaver (looking at Jesus’ picture): Do you think we really acted yesterday as though we were carrying his banner? CHILDREN: Yes. Leaver: Do you think our Teacher would have been pleased? CHILDREN: Yes. Leaver: I was so proud of you. I wanted to say to every one of you, ‘‘ You are going to school.” Plan for Worship Services LreapER: Yesterday some of the girls sang a song about pussy-willows, and I’ve asked them to sing it to the department. It made me wonder if this class couldn’t make up the worship services for a month — choose stories and songs and verses, as we did before? Joun: I’ll choose the stories. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Anne: We might even make up some songs. Boys agreed to meet during the week. (See Twenty-Sixth Sunday.) Revealing Remarks Leaver: Let’s think of things we could do differently which would make our mothers happy, and write them on these slips. (As John remained apathetic) Can’t you think of anything your mother wishes you wouldn’t do or would do, John? Joun: SureI can. I could fill three pages, but I’m not going to let anybody know how bad I am. LEADER (to inattentive children): I thought you liked me to read stories instead of telling them. CHILDREN: I don’t. Neither doI. Tell them after this. Joun: How long’s this class going to last? Leaver: Until the middle of June. Why? Joun: Oh, I wish it would last forever! TWENTY-FIFTH WEEKDAY Work, Instruction, Stories (Furthering the missionary enterprise undertaken by the class) Report of School A Profiting by Former Blunder John and Lawrence were allowed to work on their books during the story. The beautiful page that John exhibited at the end showed that it was possible to work and listen too. (See Twenty- Second Weekday, “‘ Blunders of Leader.’’) Another Step in the Friendship Project Pictures and a letter containing stories and description had come from Virginia. Children crowded to see and hear. LEADER: We have a pretty good idea of how it looks down there, haven’t we? How could we make them see our town as clearly? OnE: We could send pictures. ANOTHER: Could we make a map? While half the class started for the toy-making, the other half engaged itself in trying to chart out the town on the sand-table. The attempt was a failure, the children being unable to visu- alize the village as a whole. Each child made his own house so large that the town could con- tain nothing else. (See in the next Sunday program how this inspired the cooperation of the Junior Club, interesting them in the project.) Curtp: We ought to show on the map where we went for pussy-willows. Anne: We might send them some pussy-willows. LAwrRENcE: And when the flowers are out we could send them Mayflowers. Thus the idea suggested to leaders in Twenty- Fourth Weekday of the children sharing the flora of their section with friends in another came quite naturally from the children themselves. Florrie Goes into Quarantine Commotion in the hall. Slap! Slap! Sobbing of visiting child. Storms of abuse from John, rescuing child from Florrie. Joun: Miss Bradley, I heard that slap way in the kitchen. It was an awful one, Fiore: I did not slap her. touched her like that. Joun: But I sat right there facing her and I could hear it too. Leaver: Never mind, John. Florrie, ‘“‘ touch- ing ’’ a person doesn’t hurt her enough to make her cry like this. I just merely FiorriE: Well, she’s a big cry baby. I didn’t slap her at all. Did I, Ada? Apa: Y-y-y-y-you d-d-d-did! Fiorriz: I did not. I just touched her like that. Joun: Aw — Miss Bradley! LEADER: Go back to your work, John. Flor- rie, I don’t know what you did, for I didn’t see it, but something you have done was enough to hurt our guest. We’ve talked about this before. A person who is dangerous to a group can’t stay in the group. She’s as dangerous as if she had a disease which would hurt the others. I’m sorry, but you'll have to go into quarantine for a week. Fiorrie: I never slapped her, I just barely touched her like that. LeapEeR: Whatever you did, it was enough to make her cry real tears. Get on your coat and go quickly and remember about the quarantine. Fiorrie: If I go home now, I'll never come back to this class again! (flounced into next room to continue work). LEADER (following her): Florrie, I asked you to go now. Frorrie: Well, I'll make you unhappy all right. You’ll never see me here again! Leaper: I’m unhappy already. Florrie left. Leader went into kitchen and told the children what had happened; made them stop working to listen. Leaver: It doesn’t seem as if we were learning a thing in this class when we can’t control our- selves any better than this. Joun: Well, I’ve learned all right. do those things here any more! (See how Florrie’s act was followed up in succeeding programs.) I don’t Report of School B Child’s Note Suggesting Next Program Dear Mrs. Long, I am sending you these lan- terns because I thought this Thursday we could make them in weekday school. And I thought you could tell the story of Alladin and his wonder- ful lamp and if you don’t know it, I will bring the book of it. Please call me up and tell me so. With love from Betty. 145 TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY March — April (For Easter observances see April programs) FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD What School A Did Opening Service of Worship (Twenty-five minutes) Quieting Music. Bible Verse. “For truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.” By Tommy. Refrain. “Glory, glory, glory be to God on high.” Bible Verse. “ He casteth forth his ice like morsels.”’ ** He sendeth out his word, and melteth them; He causeth his wind to blow, and the waters to flow,” By Stuart. Refrain. “Glory, glory, glory be to God on high.” Bible Verse. “For, lo, the winter is past; The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come,” By Frankie. Refrain. “Glory, glory, glory be to God on high.” Song. “ For, lo, the Winter is Past.” Poem. “ An Open Secret.” Song. “The Alder by the River.” Prayer. Composed by children, led by leader, with song refrain. Song Refrain. “We love thee, heavenly Father.” (Original.) Song. ‘ Around the throne.” Conversation about Missionary Pictures. Offering Service. Song. ‘“ God’s Children Live in Many Lands.” Story. ‘‘ The Boy Who Discovered Spring.” (From Why the Chimes Rang, Alden.) Song. “ For, lo, the Winter is Past.” Chords and March to Classes. (For re- mainder of hour.) CLASS PERIOD Application of Jesus’ Teachings. Did you ever go away from home without your mother? How do you know what to do if your mother isn’t there? CHILDREN: She told us before we went. You remember what she said. How do you know how to do your lessons at home when your teacher isn’t there? CHILDREN: We remember how she told us to do it. We've been saying we were going to school to the great Teacher. Do you suppose we've learned enough about him to know what he wants us to do? Could he really be our Teacher at home, or in church, or when we're playing? I’ve thought of a new game. I'll ask you questions right around the circle, and they will be about how we should feel and act toward others. When your turn comes you're to go to the screen and find the picture that tells you the answer as Jesus taught it. Some will be pictures of what he did, some of stories he told. Do you think it’s all right to tell on other people who’ve done wrong? (Picture of Pharisees wishing to stone woman.) There are so many people who call themselves great — how am I to tell the really great from those who are not? (Jesus washing disciples’ feet.) Is there any particular place where children can learn more about God? (Christ among the doctors.) How can I know what God wants me to do? How was Jesus always sure? (Jesus praying.) Is there anything finer, when some one has done something mean to you, than to pay him back? (David sparing Saul’s life.) School A. Leader stopped to retell this story at unanimous request. Are great people gentle with children? (Jesus with children.) Are great people kind to animals? (Good Shepherd.) Who is a real neighbor, the one who is nice only to his friends and people he knows? (Good Samaritan. ) . How do we know God wants people to be well and happy and have enough toeat? (Feeding the five thousand.) 146 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Does God like to be thanked? (Healing the leper.) How can you stop a quarrel? Lot.) (Abraham and School A. Visitor reported afterward to leader that Tina, the only child who failed, had said to her, ‘I couldn’t say that picture, because Frankie told me.” Report of School A Sharing the Interest in Virginia with Pri- mary and Junior Departments Pictures of Virginia children were mounted on three large charts, with descriptions printed under each picture. These were hung in the Primary room today and were the center of attraction throughout the spring for all early comers. ANNE (offering her sister’s services): Elsie says she'll make a map for us. She had to make one last year in fifth grade. SEVERAL JuNIoR Girxs (after hearing in the Junior Club of Elsie’s offer, and studying the charts): May we make some scrap-books, Miss Bradley, for you to take to the Virginia children? Florrie Again Joun (before the session): Oh, look, Miss Bradley! There’s Florrie, and she’s in quaran- tine! LrapER: We couldn’t ask her to stay away 147 from Sunday school, could we? She’s quaran- tined only from the things the class does together. Fiorrié (after class): Are we going on a hike this Saturday, Miss Bradley? LeApER: You're not going anywhere; know you’re in quarantine. Fiorrie (a moment later): What are we going to do this Saturday, Miss Bradley, if we don’t go on a hike? LEADER: We'll work on our toys and John is going to bring his jumping sticks again. But you are not coming this week, Florrie. You know you are in quarantine. Frorrie: Well, I’m not coming to this class any more, anyway. LeapER: We hope that the Florrie who was here yesterday won’t come back. We want the real Florrie, though. And we can tell when you are ready to come out of quarantine. (Suddenly remembering the question planned for Florrie.) Oh, come back, children, here’s another question I forgot. How can God be sure that people are sorry when they’ve done wrong? Fioreie (looking at Zaccheus’ picture): I think I know. LEADER: How? Frorrie: If they promise not to be like that any more. Leaver: Anything else? Fioreie (after a pause): If they try to pay back the people they’ve been mean to. you TWENTY-SIXTH WEEKDAY Work on the Missionary Enterprise If it has not already been provided, the class should have some sort of system by which the members take turns in cleaning up after they have worked. Different committees may be elected to hold office for two or three weeks at a time, whose duty it shall be to put the work away, clear tables and sweep up scraps. Their names should be put on the blackboard or in some prominent place, and kept in evidence during each term of office. In this way the work of all will be fairly divided, and not always fall on one or two willing volunteers. If another story on the undesirability of choos- ing “The Richest Kingdom” is wanted, after recalling Zaccheus, tell “‘ The Golden Touch,” by Hawthorne. This is adapted for telling to children in Stories Children Need, by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey. Let it be one of the stories from the wise man’s pack suggested by a golden rose. If in connection with the missionary enterprise, the children seem disinclined to finish work once started, or to leave before the work room is picked up, today or in some future program take from the wise man’s pack “The Jack-o’-Lantern,” from Rollo’s Vacation, by Abbott. (Also found in Ethics for Children, by Cabot, page 68.) Report of School A Forming a Council (It is a great pity the council was not formed at the beginning. Children are perfectly capable of taking charge and conducting things in an orderly way. Problem of disorder would not have been so great.) Leaver: I can’t hear anybody, because you’re all talking. Last month I visited a children’s council. There was a chairman, and when a child wanted to speak, he stood ‘up, and the chairman recognized him by speaking his name. How would you like that? (The idea took. Frankie was appointed temporary chairman.) FRANKIE (following instructions): Nominations for chairman are in order. Who wants to nomi- nate anybody for chairman? (Lawrence, Anne, Stuart, Mabel, Marian rose. Chairman recognized each in turn.) LAWRENCE: I nominate John for chairman. FRANKIE: Anne? Anne: I nominate Stuart. FRANKIE: Stuart? Stuart: I nominate John. FRANKIE: Mabel? MaseEt: I nominate Tina. FRANKIE: Marian? Martian: I nominate Tina, too. LEADER: One person needs only one nomina- tion. Now we will vote. Mr. Chairman, take up the nominations one by one and ask those who vote to raise their hands or stand up. Frankie: All who want John to be chairman raise your hands. (Almost unanimous.) Frankie: All who want Stuart raise your hands. (Equally unanimous. Leader explained that each person can vote for only one. Much resent- ment felt at this! The vote was recalled and taken over.) Frankie: All who want Stuart raise your hands. (Five responded.) FRANKIE: All who want John raise your hands. Hey, John, raise your hand. You want to vote for yourself, don’t you? (Leader explained that this is not done as a rule. John being duly elected took the chair. He hauled it out of the circle and presided in a very dignified fashion, feeling it incumbent upon him to comment upon every report.) CHAIRMAN: Well, what shall we talk about first? Leaver: Mr. Chairman, before we go any further, wouldn’t it be well to vote how long a chairman should hold office? There are only about ten weeks left, and it might be better to divide them so that others could hold office. CuHArRMAN: All right. How many want me to be chairman for four weeks? LEADER: Perhaps it would be better to ask the council how long any office should be held? CuarrmMaN: All right. How long do you think any office should be held? (Four children rose, were recognized in turn, and suggested one, two, three and four weeks respectively. A vote was taken, three weeks being the decision.) Leaver: In the council meetings I saw, the different members gave the kind of reports which you all bring tome. The difference is that we all 148 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER talk at once and no one hears the others, while they are recognized in turn by the chairman and each has a chance to talk and listen to the others. You started to tell me—all at once — about the signs of spring you’d seen. This would be a good chance to report so that we all might hear. CHARMAN: Has anybody anything to report? (several children rose) Anne? ANNE: I saw some more pussy-willows. CHaAtRMAN: Good for you. Lawrence? LAWRENCE: I saw a robin. CHAIRMAN: That’s good too. Tina? Trina: I saw two birds building their nest. CuarrmMan: Um-hm. Frankie? FRANKIE: I saw five bluebirds. CHAIRMAN: That’s going some. else? Anybody Leaver: Mr. Chairman, if there are no more reports, suppose we discuss last Sunday’s service. We started that too, but all talked at once. CHarRMAN: Anybody got anything to say about last Sunday’s service? (several rose) Tina? Tina: We were too noisy. CHarRMAN: Anne? ANNE: We changed classes noisily. CHAIRMAN: Stuart? Sruart: We talked and laughed and hollered instead of paying attention. 149 CHAIRMAN: You are all right. (Seemed at a loss what to do nezt.) Leaver: Could you get suggestions as to making it better tomorrow? CHarrMAN: How can we make it better to- morrow? (One or two had tired of the strain of this way of conducting a session. Stuart first lay on the nezt chair, then rolled to the ground. Several children had risen.) Anne? ANNE: We can use our self-control better. LEADER (to chairman): Any suggestions about reminding each other if we forget? CHAtRMAN: We can use our self-control. if we forget what shall we do? Tommy? Tommy: Do this. (Making C, the deaf and dumb sign.) CHAIRMAN: That’s one way. Anne? Anne: Hold up Jesus’ picture. Cuttp: Or the flag. ANNE: Oh, yes, the Christian Flag. LeapeR: Who shall hold it up? Will you appoint some one to come early and take charge of it? Boys’ Cuorus: You know me, John! Cuarrman (looking from one to the other. Dis- gusted glance at Stuart on the floor): I might appoint Stuart if he was standing up on his feet! (Waited. Stuart gradually came upright.) Well, I'll appoint Stuart. But Poke, ‘ Pee ] ? i ‘ ae 7 VES ery 7 io =A Te -/ 3 ro t al at (,¥ ety + 1 ‘ A ; a > ne | a ‘ Fie ‘< a g be US >i An ab - . Fh { AeA ; ; , y bs ri , he ‘ LP, “ 1 “ aL ie " i a ra J : hes 4" Olam sae 7 ‘ . . 4 a aT 5 s) buy i Ns P. j : \ F : oe ; . , ; re ‘ Te : y » ‘ J] 7 ’ i X °- 4 ¢ f ey , ‘ 4 ’ RS eee Soe wy aad Say 7 ‘ r : % pe Apa 49. - 4 a 2 A PS") ve + z . 4 aii? A : a et es x i - ‘. q 7” ve ’ hive ey 8 $1 : ans . t * ‘ L = r Aare. 1” . : ; ify a Pen Fol ’ a ; . m i t , ‘ ee ly A} > usa 18 ee 7 « Aes : My « ‘ $ fae 4 a Greene oR isa abaia J i aah a is r= 5 pened sei a oe" pare 5 rel wu oft PAs AT SQHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER A SUNDAY AND WEEKDAY COURSE (IN THREE PARTS) PART III APRIL, MAY, JUNE FOR CHILDREN APPROXIMATELY EIGHT YEARS OF AGE BY JEANETTE ELOISE PERKINS IN EDITORIAL COLLABORATION WITH FRANCES WELD DANIELSON EVERYDAY CHRISTIAN LIVING SERIES THE PILGRIM PRESS BOSTON CHICAGO CopynicHt 1924 By SIDNEY A. WESTON Printed in the United States of America THE JORDAN & MORE PRESS BOSTON CONTENTS TWENTY-SEVENTH Sunpay (April) : j ; : Story, ‘‘ When Jesus was Angry;’’ Visit to church auditorium; Possibilities of ehurch project. Reports on: “ Florrie’s Bluff;’’ Appreciation of God’s House.” TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEKDAY . : : : : ‘ ; Hike. Reports on: “The Friendship Project;”’ “ John Plays Big Brother;” “ Con- sulting Florrie’s Mother.” Twenty-Eicuta Sunpay (April: Palm Sunday) , Suggested story and dramatization of the Triumphal Entry; “ The Story of Jesus’ Last Days on Earth.”” Reportson: ‘“ Happy Reference to Children’s Decorations; ‘ Re- sponsibility Recognized; ’’ “‘ The Christian Flag;’’ ‘‘ Seeing the Connection; ” ‘“ Palm Sunday Program.” Twenty-ErcHtH WEEKDAY ; : ; ; ; Preparation for Easter.. Reports on: ‘‘ Letter Sent to Class during Week;” ‘ Human Nature in Evidence; ”’ “ Criticising the Hike;”’ ‘‘ Enthusiasm in Work;” ‘“‘ The Rebus Letter.” Easter Stories: “A Lesson in Faith;” ‘“ The Caterpillar’s Journey;” “ What the Grub Found Out.” Twenty-Ninty Sunpay (April: Easter) . : ; Poem, “ There Was a King in Nazareth;”’ “‘ The Easter Story.” Reports on: “ Depart- mental Easter Program;” “ Easter Program with Entire School ” (composite story of Jesus); “‘ Before and After Program; ”’ “‘ Another Side of Florrie.”’ . Twenty-Ninty WEEKDAY ; ; ; : ; ; ; Work and Story Possibilities. Stories: ‘“ The Little Girl Who Played All the Time; ” “ In the Path of the Tornado.”’ Report on ‘“‘ Spring Hike.” TuHirTIETH SuNDAY (April) : , : ‘ : : Original spring service; Story, ‘“‘ Peter’s Lie; ’ Suggestion for composing song. Report on “ Broom Brigade.” TuHIRTIETH WEEKDAY 2 : , Work and Story; ‘‘ George Kling’s Gift ’ (including ‘‘ The Widow’s Mite ”). Report on “ White Wings.”’ Tuirty-First Sunpay (April-May). : P é ; ; Criticism of last Sunday’s service; Use of “‘ picture gallery; ” Worship service sugges- tions; Picture study; Story, “ Peter and John and a Lame Man.” Reports on: “ Popu- larity of Our Class; “ Worship Service Growing Out of Weekday Activity.” Tuirty-First WEEKDAY. : fk ; : ; : : ; Hiking and Planning. Reports on: “ Good Sportsmanship; ” ‘ Alternative for Hike.” THIRTY-SECOND SuNDAY (May) : , : : : : : : ; Great Teacher dramatization; Mothers’ Day program; Possible gift for church. Re- ports on: “ A Mothers’ Day Inspiration; ” ‘“‘ Council Meeting.” TuHirty-SECOND WEEKDAY : 2 : : : : : F Various Plans; Story, “ Half-Fimished Land.” Reports on: ‘ Stuart Will not Spoil this Hike;”’ “Tina is Not Weary in Well-doing;” “ Songs about Teachers are Not Forgotten;”’ ‘‘ Council versus Action.” ili PAGE 151 154 155 158 165 169 174 177 18h 184. 185 187 iv CONTENTS Tuirtry-lamp Sunpay (May) . : , ; ; : : ; ; : Preparation for Children’s Day and Exhibit. Reports on: ‘Spring Worship Service Prepared by Anne;”’ “ Children Plan their Exhibit; ” ‘‘ Children’s Day Service Grows Naturally.” . Trirty-T HIRD WEEKDAY. ; : é 4 : : : ; : : d Planning the Exhibit. Reports on: “ Exhibit Plans;” Dramatization Saves the Day.” Turrty-FourtH SunpAY (May) . : : : : : : Talk, on “ Be Not Weary in Well-doing; ’’ Story, ““ The Man at the Pool.” Turery-FourtH WEEKDAY (May) . 4 : : ‘ 4 ; : ; The Exhibit; Story, ‘The Boy Who Learned Most.” Reports on: “ The Tragedy of Karl’s ‘Bible’; ” ‘‘ Whole-hearted Preparations; ”” “ The Exhibit;”’ “ Overheard at the Exhibit; ‘“ Real Hosts and Hostesses;’’ ‘‘ Tributes to Our Class.” Tuirty-Firra SunpDAy (June) . : d : : { : F : Reviewing the Exhibit; Poem, ‘ Children Who Walk in Jesus’ Way.” Tuinty-FirtH WEEKDAY : s : : ‘ : : ; : ; Final Preparations for Children’s Day. Report on “ The Friendship Project.” Turrty-SixtH Sunpay (June: Children’s Day) : : P ; : Reports on: “ Our Class in the Service; ‘* Our Class through the Summer.” 203 204 TIME DIVISIONS OF SUNDAY SESSIONS Plan I. Four Periods First Departmental Period . (Opening Service of Worship) First Class Period (Classes Separated by Grades) Second Departmental Period (Worship and Fellowship) Second Class Period (Classes Separated by Grades) Brief Dismissal , : : ; Plan Il. Two Periods Departmental Worship Service Class Period ; : ; i ‘ : (Classes Separated by Grades) Closing Service . , Plan III. Three Periods First Class Period : Departmental Worship Period Second Class Period Brief Dismissal . 10 minutes 15 minutes 15 minutes 15 minutes fc bd + 5 minutes 60 minutes . 20-25 minutes . 30-35 minutes 5-10 minutes 60 minutes 15 minutes 25 minutes 15 minutes 5 minutes 60 minutes Plan I is the plan followed by both experiment schools, and in outlining the programs in this course. The same material may be used with a different time arrangement. REPORTS FROM EXPERIMENT SCHOOLS Children’s responses are noted where they actually occurred; other reports from Schools A and B, the two experiment stations, appear at the close of programs. i% » oa ae Pn Pere = ic taaks ‘i i TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY April FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (To be prepared by the children) School A. Used the same service as last Sunday, prepared by boys. FIRST CLASS PERIOD Paving the Way for New Interest. (Show the picture of the cleansing of the temple. Tell or read the story, recalling Jesus’ love for his Father’s house even as a boy. After a suitable introduction, may be read the account in Dean Hodge’s When the King Came, pages 304 [second paragraph], 305, 306, or the following story told:) School A. Children had been looking forward to this story ever since it was first referred to after a display of temper in the class. ANNE (pointing to the picture): That’s the only time Jesus got really mad. AnotHer: He whipped those people. Joon: He did not! He never hurt people, did he, Miss Bradley? Leaver: Listen to the story and see if you don’t love him even better for it. Introduction. Did you ever collect old coins and stamps? If you did, you know how from time to time countries change the pictures on them. New designs are made, and the old ones are not used any more. School A. John had a bright new silver dollar, which, with Florrie’s interest in collecting old coins, provided an excellent point of contact. The Jews had at one time made a certain piece of money called the half-shekel. But the Jewish half-shekel had not been made now for a long time. The Romans ruled Jesus’ country, and the coins now used had the face of the Roman em- peror stamped upon them. Story. Wuen Jesus Was ANGRY (Bible references: Matt. 21:12, 13; Mark 11 : 15-17; Luke 19 : 45-48; John 2 : 13-16.) There was a big celebration in Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were in the city, and every one of the hundreds of thousands, rich and poor alike, visited the beautiful temple. Every one of the men, rich and poor alike, had to pay a temple tax. The money was supposed to be used for keeping up the services of the temple, but really the services cost very little. The priests who had them in charge took all that was left over. They were rich, and there were many of them. Poor people’s taxes supported them and made them rich, but they didn’t care. You can see that they were not like the leaders of our churches today. They thought up all sorts of schemes to get even more out of the poor. They said that everybody must pay the temple tax in a certain coin. This meant that their Roman money must be changed for the Jewish half-shekel. There were money-changers to do it. The money-changers paid the priests for letting them carry on this business. Every time the money-changers changed a Roman coin for a Jewish one they charged extra for it, keeping part for themselves, and giving the rest to the priests. There was another way the priests had of cheating the poor people in order to get rich them- selves. They told the people that to please God they must offer sacrifices to him at the temple. This was an old, old custom, and it meant that if you were a good Jew, you would buy a sheep or a lamb, an ox or a calf, or perhaps, if you were poor, only two doves, and would give them to the priests to burn on the altar. The priests them- selves had charge of the buying and selling of these animals and birds, and charged whatever they liked for them. You can easily see, since everybody wanted to offer a sacrifice, and could get their animals only from the priests, that there was plenty of oppor- tunity to make a great deal of money unfairly. The poor people knew it was unfair. They knew they were being cheated, and that others were growing rich from their money, but there was no one to stand up for them. So the priests had it all their own way. They held such high positions in the temple and in court that they felt perfectly safe. Who would dare accuse them of doing wrong? There was just one who did dare. Jesus came to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover. As he went toward the temple he 151 152 could hear the bleating of sheep which were being driven by hundreds into the temple court, — yes, right inside: through the gates and into the courts which long ago people who loved God had said should be entered with thanksgiving and with praise. The temple was built to be God’s house. The great paved court, or yard around it, was a part of it, and was for anybody who wanted to come and pray. Do you remember how Jesus loved the temple as a boy? He called it his Father’s house, and was found there after his parents had lost him for three days. Now as he went up toward his Father’s house, the din and the tumult coming from it were deafen- ing. Above the noise made by hundreds of birds and animals on sale came the voices of men calling from all directions, shouting out their wares. This was what was happening in his Father’s house, — his Father’s house built for praise and prayer! As he went in through the gates the sight that met his eyes was no more like a church than the sounds that met his ears. Stalls for cattle; wooden cages of birds piled one on top of another; tables where money-changers sat noisily making the change from one kind of coin to another; men arguing and protesting at the unfair prices they had to pay; everywhere, everywhere, nothing but noise and confusion. Suddenly Jesus’ disciples saw a different side of their teacher. They had been with him a long time, and often had had occasion to wonder that he never grew angry when men called him names, tried to stop his work, or hurt him. Those in- sults were meant for him, and he thought so little about himself he did not notice them. He seemed to understand that the people who offered them didn’t know any better. He was only sorry for their ignorance. But now as Peter and John and the rest looked at their Master he was almost like a stranger to them. Jesus was looking about him. He saw his Father’s house being turned into a noisy mar- ket-place. He saw the priests, whose business it was to keep holy this house of God, not only allowing the traffic, but encouraging it and grow- ing rich by it. He saw the poor being robbed on every hand. He saw the money-changers charg- ing prices to which they had no right. He saw the tradesmen cheating the visiting farmers and shepherds and carpenters and widows alike out of money needed for food for their children. And his AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER eyes blazed with a mighty fury. These people did know better. He made a lash, a whip of cords, and soon there was more commotion than ever in the temple courts. But the shouts were of a different kind now; they were cries of anger and of terror, and they came from the cattle dealers, the money- changers and the pigeon traders as Jesus drove their animals from their stalls, and the men themselves from their places. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and scattered their money, and they dared not pick it up. He said to the pigeon dealers, ‘‘ Take these things away!” and to them all he said, “It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers!’ Whip in hand, he drove them all through the gates. There was no arguing from the priests or any one else; they simply fled before the anger in his eyes and the power of his whip. They knew as well as any one that they were doing wrong, but nobody before Jesus had cared enough for the people they were cheating, or for God’s house which they were spoiling, to dare to stop them. And so the disciples found that their teacher could be angry — where anger was needed for the sake of others. SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD (Alternative for children’s program) (To prepare the department for an observation and appreciation lesson on their Father’s house, the leader or assistant may sing, ““ The Church,” No. 9, in Songs for Little People, or read it as a poem. (Leader says that the minister will take the department into the church, and suggests that as he leads them around it they notice everything about it which seems to make it a house of prayer, or a place where it is easy to think of their heavy- enly Father. They may notice the height, cleanliness, order, artistry and “ the golden light ” softly falling “ through arching windows high and bright.” (The minister may speak of next Sunday as a special Sunday, and suggest the children’s getting decorations for the church or church school, palms or pussy-willows. (If it is not possible for the minister to do for the department something similar to what he did for the third grade in the fall, the superintendent may take the children into the church.) ? AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER SECOND CLASS PERIOD New Ways of Service. (With the picture of their own church interior in mind, the class will be able to appreciate a little what such desecra- tion of it as Jesus found in the temple would mean.) Can you imagine how you would feel to have your church used for the kind of thing that was going on in the temple courts? Should you even like the church yard to be filled with noisy trades- men offering animals for sale — and cheating the poor people while they were doing it? Could our own church lawn be any prettier? Is there any- thing that we could do to keep it beautiful? (Interest in this may start a project which could be carried on with the work for a far-away field. “ Picking up” the church lawn, keeping other children from tearing down the shrubbery, planting shrubbery, starting and caring for a little flower garden for those in the church who are ill, are all possibilities which may grow into a larger project of good-citizenship. (If there is time the children may paste in their books pictures of the last two stories of Zaccheus and the cleansing of the temple. They could place the characters in their proper “ kingdoms ”’ while doing this.) Report of School A Florrie’s Bluff Fiore (in quarantine for Saturday’s misbe- havior): Miss Bradley, Betty and I aren’t coming to the class on Saturday any more, — we’re going to the story hour at the library. OTHER CHILDREN (not to be outdone): But we have hikes, and that’s lots better. FLorRIE (inventing rapidly): Well, we have hikes, too; the Library Story Hour’s going to have hikes! Appreciation of God’s House Assistant (also chairman of church decoration committee): Can this department help trim the church for Palm Sunday and Easter? Pussy- willows would be pretty. ENTIRE Tutrp GRADE: Can’t we go on a hike and get some, Miss Bradley? Fiorrie (dreamily): Wouldn’t it be nice if we 153 could learn something to say in the church on Easter! Minister (taking the children into the church): Did you notice what kind of a day it is? Cuitp: It looks as if it was going to rain. I brought my umbrella. Minister: But it looks as if the sun were shining in here, doesn’t it? These windows are bright on the dullest days. Critp: They have to be, because the glass is like the sun — it’s yellow. Minister: What else do you like about our church? FRANKIE: I like those gold organ pipes. EILEEN (piously): I like to give money to the church. Tommy (looking up): It’s temple. high —like the GRATIFIED LEADER (visualizing the temple at Jerusalem): So it is. Tommy (continuing): You know, the temple that the Masons have! As the minister said that next Sunday was Palm Sunday and told the story of its origin, the children pretended to wave palms and sang praise songs. Minister: I hope you will all come to church next Sunday. FLorriE (in stage whisper): Miss Bradley! Ask him if we can’t learn something for Easter to say on the platform. Minister (when Florrie’s remark was referred to him): Miss Fairfield would like an Easter service for the church school. Miss FarrFreLp (Sunday-school superintendent): I’ve been thinking about the Thanksgiving service that the third-grade class gave us, and wondering if they couldn’t prepare an Easter service for the church school. LEADER (to children): Would you like that? Couldn’t we tell the rest of the school the story of Jesus and each of you choose the part you want to tell? CHILDREN: Yes, we could! The rest of the hour was devoted to choosing. story pictures from the gallery. TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEKDAY A Hike Go on a hike to get decorations for Palm Sun- day, either for the Primary room or for the church. It is possible that whoever is in charge of the church decorations may be interested enough to let the class take a trip to the florist’s to collect the order, and to bring it to the church. An alternative is to continue work on the pro- ject. Report of School A Went for pussy-willows, brought home many which formed part of the church decorations for Palm Sunday. The Friendship Project Two rolls of films were used taking groups to send to Virginia Hollow. At Anne’s suggestion, “We ought to have the church too; they sent us one of their church, you know,” one was taken showing the church and thirteen children on the steps. Others showed the church lawn, the hill where lunch was eaten, and a procession with pussy-willows. John Plays Big Brother LEADER (at the first pussy-willow tree): No one must try to get these who hasn’t high rubber boots. It’s too near the water. Douglas, a second-grade child who came with Frankie, immediately fell in. He was much scared, and very uncomfortable. He had gone in over his boots, and they were full. Leaver: I’m sorry, Douglas, but you'll have to go home and change your clothes. We'll be right in that next field over there. If you hurry you can come back and find us. Dovuetas (weeping): I — don’t — know — the way! Joun: Miss Bradley, Pll go back with him. I'll take him to the road, and if I can’t show him the way from there, I'll take him all the way home. Consulting Florrie’s Mother The sweetest, altogether most helpful child on this hike was Florrie, just out of quarantine. During the week leader had gone to her mother for help. Mrs. Thompson understood from Florrie that she was “in quarantine,” but didn’t know why. Leader explained about her making Ada cry, and about former offenses. Mrs. Tuompson: I don’t think that Florrie senses the seriousness of hurting others. Leaver: Of course she doesn’t. But don’t you think she should have it impressed upon her? Mrs. Tuompson: Yes, I do. The last two weeks she has seemed to lose interest in the class. I’ve been surprised that it kept up as long as it did. She never keeps her interest in anything long. But all winter she has looked forward to Saturday until lately. She told me she didn’t like “‘ this quarantine business,” and she wasn’t going back. If I make her go, and she doesn’t want to, she'll be cross and apt to do the same sort of thing. It seems as if she ought to stay away, if she upsets the others so. It takes all your time to deal with her. Leaver: But it won’t help Florrie any to stay away. What she needs is to come and learn to control herself. Mrs. THompson: I’m not thinking of Florrie. I’m thinking of the rest. It doesn’t seem fair to them. Leaprer: But she can be so sweet, and then she’s a good influence for them. She’s more in- terested than any other child now in the class, making up an Easter service for the whole school. Mrs. THompson: She was really terribly hurt when she was quarantined. LEADER: We were too. I wish you'd tell her we're all looking forward to having her back, and perhaps you can help her think of some way to show Ada that she’s sorry, so she can come out of quarantine. Florrie appeared with a gift for Ada. All the morning she was sweet, thoughtful, quick to mind, and keen to see ways of helping. All the children noticed it. ANNE: She certainly is out of quarantine, isn’t she, Miss Bradley? Tina: Florrie is the nicest one here today. She let the others tease her until she was almost imposed upon. FLorrie (on the way home): Have I been good, Miss Bradley? LEADER (hugging her): You couldn’t have been better, Florrie. I love you when you’re like this. So do we all. : 154 TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY April [Palm Sunday] DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (If the children have been making up a series of spring programs, the leader should guide them in their selection of material, that today’s and next Sunday’s programs will be appropriate for Palm Sunday and Easter. (If the children have not provided an original service, the program may be divided into two periods, one for worship and the other for class instruction. There will be in the first period an opportunity for the whole department to study the picture, ‘The Triumphal Entry into Jeru- salem;’’ to sing the first three stanzas of “ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus;’’ and to hear the story of Palm Sunday beautifully told by Miss Thomas in Primary Teachers’ Text Book, Bible Stories for the Sunday School and Home, Course II, Part II. See Matt. 21 :1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-38; John 12:12-19. There is also a chance for dramatic action in connection with the story. The children pretend they belonged to that band of children heralding the King, dividing into two groups, one outside the city accompanying the procession, and the other inside going to the gates to meet them. Entering the room by different doors, or coming toward the center from opposite ends of the room, they sing their hosannas together.) School A. Frankie (before opening service was over): When are we going to our class? LEADER: We have only one class period today because it’s a special Sunday. Joun: I should think if it was a special Sunday we'd have three classes instead of one. CLASS PERIOD Tue Story or Jesus’ Last Days on Eartu You have just heard the story of the first Palm Sunday. You heard how the people greeted Jesus, and sang to him; how the children went before him into the city like heralds before a king. But the rulers and the priests and the lawyers did not welcome him. If this man gained in influence, what would become of them? All their power would be gone, for Jesus accused them openly of dishonesty and wrong teaching. He threw the traders out of the temple, which made the priests furious. He healed and taught in the temple, and so kept winning more followers who wanted to make him king. And this also made the priests furious. They appointed clever lawyers to ask him trick questions, thinking to catch him in some answer which would be an excuse for arresting him. But Jesus was more clever than his questioners, and would not be caught. This made them again all the more furious, and more afraid. They said, ‘“‘ We must kill him! ” Poor, stupid men! They thought that by killing him they could get rid of him forever and ever! Jesus knew all the time what they were thinking, and how mistaken they were, —as if they could make people forget his teachings by killing him! He knew that he could be made a king if he wished. There were plenty of people right there in the city of Jerusalem that week who were eager to crown him. But he had more important busi- ness to do for his Father than to rule over a little earthly kingdom. He had to show that even though people should kill him, his friends wouldn’t lose him. His spirit would still live. School A. Jonn: don’t like. He tried to tell his disciples this, but they couldn’t understand. In order to make them really believe it, he would have to die, and let them find out that he was still alive. The plot to kill him grew, but instead of run- ning away from Jerusalem he stayed right there and kept on teaching and healing and showing people how to live. Then came the night when every Jew sat with his family or friends at a feast called the Passover. Jesus sent his friends to engage an upper room in which to celebrate the feast with his disciples. Some think it was that very time when his disciples quarreled among themselves as to who was greatest, and stopped only when Jesus himself washed their feet and made them ashamed. That supper is called the Lord’s Supper, or the Last Supper, because it was the last supper This is the part I 155 156 Jesus had before his death. It is what we cele- brate in our churches when the bread and grape- juice are passed around, in remembrance of him. The time was drawing near when Jesus would have to leave his friends. He knew how they loved him; he knew they wanted him to live among them for years and years. He knew how: sad they would be when he died. So he tried to comfort them. He told them he was going, and he said, ‘‘ You cannot follow me now, but you shall follow me sometime. I go to be with my Father in heaven.” But “I will come back to you,” he said over and over again. “I will not leave you friendless. You will still see me, because I shall live on, and you will live on too.” That was a wonderful promise but the disciples were too sad at their Teacher’s going to under- stand it. They hoped he need not die; that perhaps he had made a mistake about it. But all the time one of them knew he had not made a mistake. One of those twelve was in the plot to kill Jesus, and went out while the rest were still sitting around the table. I think Jesus knew what he had gone for. But he went on trying to explain to his friends that there really is no death. You would think that this wouldn’t be so hard to understand, when God is showing us in all sorts of ways. When we see an ugly brown lily bulb we don’t say it is dead. We know that it will live again and bring forth a lovely blossom. When a little grub in the pond leaves his home and friends in the water we don’t say he is dying. We know he is only crawling out to a new life in the air where he will be a beautiful dragon-fly. School A. LAwrRENcE: Go on with the story, Miss Bradley. We don’t want to hear all that. JoHn: Keep still, Lawrence, that’s a part of the story. When we see a caterpillar crawl away into a cocoon for the winter we don’t say he is dead, though we never see him a caterpillar again. We know that he will live again in the spring in a much more beautiful form. The trees and the brown earth may look dead in winter but they are not dead. They are alive, storing up new life for the springtime. So Jesus tried to tell his friends that though he should die, he would still live on. But they AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER could not believe yet that he was going to leave them. They did not understand about the new life. The only one who could understand was God, and Jesus wished to be alone with his Father. They left the supper table and took a walk outside the city to a garden, and there leaving his disciples to watch, he went on a few steps to pray. Was it really God’s wish that his beloved Son should be put to death like any common criminal? He prayed that it need not be. He prayed for a long time, but because he wanted his Father to use him in any way he wished, he ended, as we know he always prayed, “But not my will, but yours be done.” In the meantime Judas, that one of the dis- ciples who was in the plot to kill Jesus, was bringing the soldiers nearer and nearer the garden. Jesus did not hide. Jesus did not try to escape. He was not afraid of anything men could do to him. He went out to meet them. He was arrested, hurried to trial, and killed. Loving friends took his body and laid it in a tomb, and then went away sorrowing. They thought that because Jesus was dead, they had lost their dearest friend. They forgot or did not understand his promisies that he would come back. How could he, after he was dead? Then one after another found out. He did come back. He came to the very friends who were grieving for him. Soldiers might kill his body, but the real Jesus, the part of him that made him different from any one else, his spirit, they could not kill. The real Jesus still lived, and would live always. Do you wonder that the disciples’ sorrowing turned to joy? They had not lost their leader! More than that, his living on showed them that they too would live on, even after their bodies had died. It was almost too wonderful to believe, but once they knew it was true they couldn’t wait to tell others. They went through everything to spread the news, — prison, ship- wreck, every sort of danger. And that is the reason we know it, and because we know it, we celebrate a day in spring, when everything is coming to new life, and call it Easter. It is one of the happiest days of the year, for it reminds us again that people’s bodies only really die. God takes our friends to him- self, and they live forever! AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Report of School A Happy Reference to Children’s Decorations At least five children had accepted the minister’s | invitation to attend church and were amply rewarded. They came to class with beaming faces. The minister had seen them and spoken of their pussy-willows. He had said that service for the church and for others was like strewing palm branches before Jesus. He had spoken of the gathering of the pussy-willows for the church as a beautiful symbol of the children’s procession. Responsibility Recognized Before the story, leader asked everybody to rise, stand on tip-toe and stretch as high as possible. John stood on his chair to stretch higher. Karl, a new boy today, followed his example. LEADER: See, John, what you have done. Karl thinks he must do everything you do. JoHN (instantly taking in situation and getting down): Oh, ’scuse me, Karl! The Christian Flag Leaver (after the story): I thought that after hearing all these stories of Jesus you would feel as if you loved him — Joun: I don’t feel it. I do love him. Leaver: Now that you know what it means to carry the Christian flag, I thought you might like to have some to wear all the time, some that wouldn’t wear out like the little paper ones Florrie made. Joun: I have mine at home yet. Leaver: Little buttons or pins with the picture of the Christian flag on them, and the words “‘ We follow this flag ’’ — CHILDREN: O Miss Bradley! have them? Leaver: I thought you’d like them on Easter Sunday. CHILDREN: O Miss Bradley! boy! Seeing the Connection In the afternoon leader told to Anne, Ruth and Elsie “The Caterpillar’s Journey.” (See page 161.) LEADER: But the caterpillar couldn’t under- stand the promises. He was discouraged and — ANNE: Just like the disciples! Palm Sunday Program - Quiet Music. When can we Oh, good! Oh, 157 Song. “God is Love” (Songs for Little People). Conversation. The Waking of the Flowers. (Play by first grade; one child acting as sun, one as rain, others flowers. Suggestion about showing the rest of the school, next Sunday, how the flowers waken.) Song. ‘ God is Love.” Conversation. The Return of the Birds. (Conversation about this, and Bible verses. Suggestion that the second grade tell about this next Sunday.) Song. “ For lo, the winter is past ’’ (Melodies). Conversation. The Promise of New Life. (Leader reminds third-grade children that they wished to tell others the story of Jesus in the Easter service; after next song suggests that as she holds up picture, children who wish to tell the story of it briefly, rise and do so.) Song. “ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus ”’ (first stanza). Pictures and Brief Stories. (By third grade. Annunciation. Nativity.) Song. “ Away in a Manger.” Pictures and Stories. Shepherds with flocks Wise-men with gifts Post-cards of Nazareth Christ among the doctors Song. “Gentle Child of Nazareth.” Pictures and Stories. In the streets of Capernaum The first four disciples Teaching the disciples to pray The Lord’s Prayer. Pictures and Stories. The Good Samaritan Jesus with the children Song. ‘Tell Me the Stories of Jesus ’’ (second stanza). Pictures and Stories. Feeding the five thousand Zaccheeus Washing the disciples’ feet Cleansing the temple Poem. “ Hosanna’”’ (in Appendix of Primary Teachers’ Text Book, Course 2, Part II, Inter- national Graded Lessons, read by leader). Song. “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” (third stanza). Offering. TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEKDAY Preparation for Easter Children’s Cooperation Before this session write or telephone to each member of the class to bring an illustration of something which looks entirely different before and after it wakes up or comes to life again, i.e., seeds, flowers; acorn, oak tree; grub, dragon- fly; caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly; bulb, flower- ing plant; eggs, chickens. Perhaps each child can bring pictures of both stages. Before or after matching them up tell “The Boy who Discovered Spring,” from Why the Chimes Rang, Alden; or “ What the Grub Found Out,” “A Lesson in Faith,” or ‘ The Caterpillar’s Journey,” found at the end of this program. Plan how to use the pictures in the Easter service Sunday, or let the class make a rebus letter to send an absent member, using all the illustrations brought in. With the letter could be sent a typewritten copy of the Easter story heard Sunday, or today’s story, or both. Worship Service If the class is preparing a worship service or special program for Easter, it can be gone over now. ‘This may include, as it did with School A, choosing stories from the picture gallery and framing sentences which will form a complete short story of Jesus. Report of School A Letter Sent to Class During Week Dear : This letter is to ask you, — To bring to the class on Saturday pictures of something which looks entirely different before and after it wakes up or comes to life again, like seeds and flowers; acorn and oak-tree; grub and dragon-fly; caterpillar and butterfly; bulb and flowering plant; a winter scene, and the same scene in summer. If we get some good ones perhaps we could write a rebus letter (you know the kind, with pictures in some places instead of words), about Easter and living again, to send to Mary, who has not been well since she went away. To bring your note-book or “ Bible” which you are making, if you have taken it home. There are some new sheets to be put in. To be ready to give your part of the story of 158 Jesus which the class voted to give in the service . Sunday. I am sending to each one the parts of the story that he or she chose, and if they are told in the right order, they will make a real story of Jesus, from his birth to his dying and living again. Most of the class promised Miss Fairfield that she could depend on us for this Easter service. But it is not Miss Fairfield for whom we shall really do it. By showing what we have learned about our great Teacher, perhaps some others will love him better and want to try to be like him. So we shall really be doing something for him. On Sunday we shall have our new badges, to show that we are trying to be like him. On Saturday we can do all these things, if everybody helps: 1. Play some outdoor games. 2. Try the story of Jesus over by ourselves, to see if it sounds as we should like to have it. (So be ready with your part. You need not tell it just as it is written; use your own words). 3. Have a Council Meeting to, — (1) Elect a chairman for the next three weeks. (2) Appoint a Cleaning-up Committee to serve two weeks. (3) Hear spring reports. (4) Tell how we could have made last week’s hike better. 4. Make Mary an illustrated letter. 5. Work on our books. 6. Look at the new pictures of Virginia Hollow, and our own pictures taken last Saturday to send them there. That is a lot to do on Saturday, isn’t it? With love, “* Miss Bradley.” Human Nature in Evidence Stuart in a grouch. He had received a letter during the week about his grumbling. When leader said, ‘‘ Come on, Stuart, you come next,” he imurmured something about ‘“ insultin’ letters,’’ and remained where he was. Played indoor games in which Stuart was unfortunately allowed the role of an ill-tempered tradesman. This made legitimate the exercise AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER of the very grouchiness which the leader wished to dispel. Preparation of the Easter service was far from “‘ whole-hearted.” Stuart said it was too noisy. Karl didn’t want to be on the end. Frankie didn’t want to be between two girls. Harriet didn’t want to join at all. Betty and Tommy weren't there. Children showed no evidence during this session of ever having attended the class before or of ever having heard of self-control, kindliness, or even civility! Florrie went home from the council meeting peeved because the “ cheerman ”’ wouldn’t recognize her. “ Douglas fell in.” “ But John was nice to offer to go home with him.” “We were too noisy.” “ We couldn’t have minded better.” “I could have minded better when you told us not to drink the water.” “We ate too many cookies.” Enthusiasm in Work Put in the “ Bibles” typewritten verses of “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus’ after each child had decorated first word of verse. On leaving the church untidiness of the lawn was noticed. We swept, raked and carted away papers and twigs, to make it presentable for Easter. MINISTER (passing): This is the first evidence of practical Christianity I’ve seen! PresipENT oF LaptgEs’ Arp: I vote for this class. They’re the real workers! The Rebus Letter (Composed by leader from familiar stories and pictures brought by children, supplemented by illustrations from Nature Magazine.) Dear Mary, We thought you would like to get a ( letter ) from our ( picture of Our Class _) so we are wriling an Easter story with the ( pictures ) we have brought. Once there was a little elf boy who came to live on the earth. He came in the summer time, whenevery( garden )wasfullof( flowers). He made friends with every ( bird ) and every ( rabbit ) and every ( caterpillar ). He liked everything. He talked to the old ( toad ) that hopped around, and he loved 159 each ( butterfly ) that flew among the ( flowers). He decided to spend the (_ winter earth. Then one day the wind blew the ( leaves) off the ( trees ) and he cried, ‘‘ Oh, dear, the trees are dying!” But his friend, the hermit, with whom he lived, said, “Oh, no, only the leaves have left. You will see that everything still lives.” Then the elf boy saw the ( birds ) and he said, ‘‘ They are leaving, too!” “They will come back,” said the hermit. But one day the elf boy saw a ( cocoon ) where his friend the caterpillar had been. “ He is dead!” wept the elf boy. ‘See, he is stiff and has no life! ”’ “He will live again,” ** Be patient.” ) on the the hermit told him. But the elf boy could not understand. He had never heard, you see, of spring, or that nothing really dies. The whole earth looked dead to him. It was like this,( winterscene ), everywhere. Even his smiling pool was covered with ice. Then something happened. The( sun _ ) shone one day especially warmly. A little girl came by with some (_pussy-willows ). “It’s spring! ’’ she called out. The elf boy wondered what it meant. He ran down to the smiling ( pool ). The ice was gone! There was life in the pool! He heard spring voices, but all he could see was ( frog’s eggs ). The hermit told him that even that was alive. And the elf boy watched until one day he found some ( tadpoles) instead of ( eggs ). And then one day each little tadpole had lost its tail and become a ( frog ). ‘“‘ Why,” said the elf boy, ‘ nothing stays the same, does it? But I don’t care, if everything keeps on living.” Then one day, under some brown leaves, where he thought there was no life, he found some ( trailing arbutus ). Oh, how he shouted for joy! ‘I thought the flowers were dead,” he said. From the cocoon came a_ beautiful ( moth ). “Why,” said the elf boy, “I thought you were a caterpillar! ” “So did I,”’ said the moth, “* but this is nicer.” ‘““T thought you were dead,” said the elf boy. “T am living again,” replied the moth. And 160 that is the answer the little elf boy found every- where. Down under the water of the smiling pool was a little grub. He looked like a ( worm ). One day he crawled out of the water, up a lily stem, into the air. He thought he was dying, for he was leaving his world — the pond — behind forever. But the little elf boy was watch- ing. He saw the grub’s coat split right down the back and there, instead of a worm was a beautiful ( dragon-fly ). ‘“Why,” said the dragon-fly, “I thought there was nothing beyond our world of water. I thought I was dying.”’ ‘“Didn’t you know,” the elf boy explained, for he was growing very wise, “ didn’t you know that nothing really dies? I thought the ( birds ) had gone away forever, but see, they are back and are building their ( nests ). I thought the ( flowers ) were dead, but the ( sun ) came and the ( rain ) came, and now they are all living again!” Suddenly the elf boy heard some ( bells) ringing. He ran to the hermit. ** We will walk to the village,” said the hermit, “ for it is Easter.” “What is Easter?” asked the elf boy. ** You will see,”’ was the answer. In the village everybody looked so happy wearing ( flowers ) and -bright new clothes, that the elf boy asked why. “They are glad it is spring, and everything lives again,’ said the hermit. They followed the people to a ( church ). They stood on the ( steps) and listened. “Oh,” exclaimed the elf boy, “now I know what Easter means!’’ Forfromthe( church ) was coming the most beautiful song he had ever heard. These were the words: “ T am he that liveth and was dead; and” (BEHOLD I AM ALIVE FOR EVERMORE) ( Picture of Jesus ). Easter Stories A Lesson In FaltTu A dying butterfly left her eggs to a caterpillar to care for. The caterpillar, left alone on a cab- bage leaf beside the eggs, asked a lark to tell her how she ever could nurse butterfly babies. The lark flew up in the blue sky to find out. “News, news, glorious news, friend cater- AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER pillar!’ he sang, “ but the worst of it is you won’t believe me! ”’ “T believe everything I am told,” said the caterpillar. ‘Well, then, first of all, I will tell you what these little creatures are to eat. What do you think it is to be? Guess! ”’ ‘Dew, and the honey out of flowers, I am afraid,” sighed the caterpillar. ‘* No such thing, old lady! Something simpler than that,—something that you can get at quite easily.” “T can get at nothing quite easily but cabbage leaves,’ murmured the caterpillar. ‘“* Excellent, my good friend,” cried the lark. ‘You have found it out. You are to feed them with cabbage leaves.” ‘“* Never!’ said the caterpillar. ‘It was their dying mother’s last request that I should do no such thing.” ‘Their dying mother knew nothing about the matter,” said the lark. ‘“‘ But why do you ask me, and then disbelieve what I say? You have no faith.” ‘““Oh, I believe everything I am told!” said the caterpillar. ‘No, but you do not,” replied the lark. “ You won’t believe me even about the food and yet that is but a beginning of what I have to tell you. Why, caterpillar, what do you suppose those little eggs will turn out to be?” ‘‘ Butterflies, to be sure,” said the caterpillar. “Caterpillars! ’’ sang the lark, and flew away. ‘“‘T thought the lark was wise and kind,” said the mild green caterpillar, “ but I find that he is foolish and saucy.” “T’ll tell you something else,” cried the lark, coming back. ‘‘You will one day be a butterfly yourself.” ‘Wretched bird!” exclaimed the caterpillar. “Now you are cruel as well as foolish. Go away!” ‘““T told you you would not believe me,” said the lark. ‘“‘T believe everything that I am told,” said the caterpillar, “‘ that is, everything reasonable, but you tell me that butterflies’ eggs are cater- pillars, and that caterpillars leave off crawling and get wings and become butterflies! Lark, you know it is impossible.” “I know no such thing,” said the lark. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER “Whether I hover over the cornfields of earth, or go up into the sky, I see so many wonderful things I see no reason why there should not be more. O caterpillar, it is because you never get beyond your cabbage leaf that you call anything impossible! You need to learn to have faith.” “How am I to learn to have faith?” asked the caterpillar. At that moment she felt something at her side. She looked around. Eight little green caterpillars were moving about, and had already made a hole in the cabbage leaf. They had broken from the butterfly’s eggs! Shame filled our green friend’s heart, but joy soon followed, for as the first wonder was possible, the second might be so, too. “Teach me your lesson, lark!’ she would say, and the lark would sing to her of the wonders of the earth below and of the heaven above. And the caterpillar talked all the rest of her life to her relations of the time when she would be a butterfly. None of them believed her. But she had learned the lark’s lesson of faith, and when she was going into her chrysalis grave, she said, “I shall be a butterfly some day!” And she was. — Adapted from ‘ Parables from Nature,” by Margaret Gatty. Tue CATERPILLAR’S JOURNEY Once upon a time a lazy brown caterpillar started out on a journey. You would not have thought it a very long journey — just across the road and under the fence to the roots of the big maple tree, where he thought he would spin himself a hammock and hide away from the cold winds and snow which he knew would soon come. But the caterpillar thought it a long way and full of dangers. Some careless boy or girl might step on him, or an automobile or wagon might run over him. He trembled when he thought of it, but one bright day he started out. He could see a tall white daisy on the other side of the road, and he thought he would stop and talk to her when he reached her. It took him a long time to cross the road, and when he came to the place where he had seen the daisy, there was no daisy there, only a tall brown stalk. “Where is she?’ he asked a robin who was watching him with bright eyes from a bough above. 161 The robin answered in a little song that said, ** She is dead, she is dead.” “Oh!” said the caterpillar, ‘I want to talk to her.” The robin went on singing in a soft little voice, and soon the caterpillar knew he was saying, ‘She shall live again, she shall live again.” But the caterpillar did not understand and he felt very sad as he went on. Soon he began to look about him and think what he would say to the friendly green grass which had nodded to him on the other side of the road. When he looked he saw there was no friendly green grass; everything was dry and hard. “Where is the friendly green grass? ”’ he said to himself. ‘“* Where can it have gone? ” And then came a little whisper in his ear which he knew was the wind, “ It is dead, it is dead.” The poor little caterpillar felt very lonesome and he put his head close to the ground as he cried out, “Oh! the friendly green grass, I shall miss it so.” Then he heard the wind whisper again very softly this time, “It shall live again, it shall live again.” But the little brown caterpillar did not under- stand and he felt very sad as he went on. By and by he came to the roots of the big maple tree and as he looked up he saw the branches were all brown and bare and the lovely green leaves were all gone. ““Oh, dear!”’ he said to himself, “the big maple tree is dead, too.” ; . But he heard again the soft voice of the wind as it said, “It shall live again, it shall live again.” But the caterpillar did not understand, and he felt very sad as he began to spin his silken ham- mock. “They are dead,” he kept saying to himself, and every time he said it, he heard the soft wind answer, ‘‘ They shall live again, they shall live again.” But the caterpillar did not understand and he was sad. Soon the hammock was all done and the caterpillar was ready for his long nap. He did not hear the two children who came and looked at the hammock and said to each other, ‘ The caterpillar is dead, too,’”’ but the wind heard them and answered softly, though they did not under- 162 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER stand, “‘ He shall live again, he shall live again. Wait and see.” The cold wind and snow came and stayed all winter, the birds were all away in the southland, and the wind no longer whispered in a soft voice, but whistled shrilly through the trees and shook the branches roughly. By and by the sun grew warm and bright and the snow melted away and spring came to all the earth. The little seeds began to grow in the warm earth and soon everything was a lovely green again. Something began to happen in the silken hammock where the caterpillar went to sleep. Slowly it came open and something moved inside. The soft wind saw it and said, “‘ The cater- pillar is alive again.” And then out of the silken hammock came a queer wet thing, not at all like the brown caterpillar. The sun shone warmly upon it, and soon it was resting there on the trunk of the big maple tree, a great beauti- ful butterfly, with wings of black and gold. The butterfly did not understand, and he said to the robin who looked down at him from the branch above, ‘‘ I thought I was a caterpillar.” But the robin answered as before in a little song, “‘ Now you are living again.”’ Then Mr. Caterpillar Butterfly thought of his friends, the lovely white daisy, the friendly green grass and the big maple tree, and he remembered the soft voice that said, “‘ They shall live again.”’ He looked around him and there they were, every one of them, more beautiful than ever in the warm sunlight. He did not understand, nobody understands; but we know the soft voices were true when they said, ‘“‘ They shall live again, they shall live again.”’ — Charlotte Brown. Used by permission of the Christian Board of Publication. Wuat THE GrusB Founp Out “Where does the Frog go .when he leaves this world? Tell me, somebody!”’ asked a little Dragon-fly grub as he flitted about the bottom of the pond. But his friends paid little attention to him as they caught the insects close about them. ‘Who cares where the Frog goes ?”’ answered one of them. ‘Who knows that the Frog goes anywhere? ” asked another. ‘“ But I followed him just now,” said the Grub, ‘‘ and he swam out to the edge of the water among the rushes and suddenly he was gone. I could find him nowhere. Did he leave this world, do you think, and what can there be beyond? ” “ You idle, talkative fellow!’ said one of his friends. “See the morsel you have missed,” and with that he snapped up an insect which was flitting right in front of the little Grub. This checked the Grub for a while, but he soon began asking the question again. The minnows took it up and asked every one that they met. ‘‘ Where does the Frog go when he leaves this world? Is there anything be- yond? ”’ But no one answered the questions. Suddenly, splish-splash, and there in their midst was the Frog himself. ‘There is your chance,” whispered a minnow. ‘“ Ask the Frog if you want to know.” Now the advice was very good indeed, but the Frog was a dignified fellow and every one stood quite in awe of him. But after two or three turns around the stem of a water lily, the Grub screwed up his courage and approached the Frog in as humble a manner as he could. “ Respected Frog, may I ask you a question? ” said the Grub. ‘Ask away,” replied the Frog, not in a very encouraging tone. “What is there beyond this world?” eagerly asked the Grub. “What world do you mean)” said the Frog, rolling his goggle eyes around and around. ‘This world, our world,’ answered the Grub. ‘* You mean this pond?” sneered the Frog. ““T mean, the place we live in, whatever you call it.” cried the Grub pertly. “TI call it the world.” ‘““Oh, you do,” said the Frog, and he shook his sides with merriment. “Well, this is a pond, not the world. What do you call what’s beyond this pond? ” “That’s just what I want you to tell me,” answered the Grub eagerly. “You do, do you)” said the Frog. ‘ Well, you are an inquisitive fellow. But I will tell you. It is dry land.” There was a pause of a few seconds, and then the Grub said, ‘‘ Can one swim around there? ” “T should think not,” chuckled the Frog. “Dry land is not water.” “But I want you to tell me what it is,” per- sisted the Grub. ? AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER You are troublesome,” said the Frog. “‘ Dry land is very much like the bottom of this pond, only it is dry, I tell you; there is no water there.” ‘“ But what is there?” continued the Grub. “ Well,” said the Frog slowly, “‘ there’s some- thing there, and they call it air, but I don’t know how to explain it. It’s the nearest to nothing that I can think of.” “Tm afraid I don’t understand,” slowly replied the Grub. “Just as I expected,” answered the Frog. “ Now take my advice and ask no more silly questions.” “But I cannot be happy unless I know,” said the Grub. “If there is a world beyond this one, what is it? ”’ “ You are very foolish,” said the Frog, “ but I admire your spirit, and I will make an offer. Fasten yourself on my back, and I will take you to the other world.” “ Oh, thank you, thank you!” cried the Grub. “ We might as well start at once,” said the Frog, and with that the Grub fastened himself securely on the Frog’s back. The Frog swam away slowly upward and outward to the edge of the pond. ‘ Now hold fast,’”’ cried the Frog, and that moment the Grub’s head came above the water. It seemed to him that something struck him in the face and sent him reeling, splashing and gasping for breath to the bottom of the pond. “Oh, horrible!’ cried the Grub. ‘“‘ There is nothing but death beyond this world. The Frog has deceived me.” Late that day when the Grub was looking for food, he suddenly came upon the Frog seated on a stone at the bottom of the pond. “What, you here?” cried the startled Grub. “Then you never left this world at all. You deceived me.” ‘ Deceived you? ” answered the Frog. ‘“‘ Why didn’t you hold on when I told you to? How do you think I felt when I looked about and found that you were not with me? Do you think that you were very polite? ”’ Then the Grub told him his experience; how something had struck him in the face, and he was sure that there was nothing but horrible death beyond. The Frog was silent for a few moments, then slowly shaking his head, he said, “You cannot understand now, but some time you will understand.” It was a few days after this that one of the 163 little Grubs fell sick. His friends gathered about him hoping they could do something for him, but he was languid and weak. The insects flitted past him and he did not so much as try to catch them. Slowly he swam away upward and outward to the edge of the pond. His friends followed him closely. Presently he caught hold of the stem of a rush and climbed upward, then suddenly, instantly, he disappeared from sight. Where had he gone? What now had happened to him? Would he ever come back? The Grubs did not know that their eyes, suited for sight in the water, were blind to all that was beyond. They waited a long time but they never saw the little Grub again. A few days later another Grub fell ill. They gathered about him and said, ‘“‘ Promise us, if you go away from us that you will come back and tell us what you find.” “T promise,” was the weak answer, and he too swam away to the edge of the pond. His friends followed him closely. Catching hold of the stem of a rush he climbed up and suddenly disappeared from their sight. But they waited, for he was coming back. He had promised them that he would. But they waited in vain, for he never came back. *“ He is faithless,” cried one. “He has forgotten us,” said another, while others replied sneeringly, ‘‘ There is no world but this one.” But our little Grub remembered that the Frog had said, “‘ Some day you will understand.” And so it came about, when this little Grub himself became sick and uneasy one day, he went to his friends and said, “‘ Something within me tells me that I cannot stay longer in the water. I must leave you. Something within me tells me to go upward.” Then they said to him, ‘‘ Will you promise to come back to us again? Will you forget us if you find another world? ” “If it is possible,” said the little Grub, “I will come back to you and tell you what I have found. Till then farewell.” And surrounded by his friends he swam upward and outward to the edge of the pond and catching hold of the stem of a water-lily he slowly climbed until suddenly he emerged beyond the water. The dazzling light blinded him, but he held tightly to the stem. Then a strange thing happened. His eyes changed and he could see 164 the world of sunlight around him. Then a more wonderful thing happened; the skin broke down his back, and slowly, after many struggles, he slipped out of it entirely. And then, wonder of wonders, he found he had wings which stretched out to the sunlight and glistened as with fire. He poised himself in the air and floated away. He had left his old Grub clothes behind. He was now a beautiful Dragon-fly. He did not forget the promise he had made or the dear ones he had left behind, but whenever he tried to go to them, he found that it was as AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER impossible for him to enter the water as it had been for him to come into the air when he lived in the water. One day when he was skimming low over the surface of the water in the hope _ that he might see some of his loved ones, he met . again his old-time friend the Frog who said to him, ‘‘ My friend, you cannot go to them, but they can come to you, and then they will under- stand.” Adapted from ‘“‘ Parables from Nature,” by Margaret Gatty, by Susan Mendenhall. Used by permission of ‘‘ Everyland.” Sue , TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY April [Easter Sunday] DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD (It is suggested that this program, like last Sunday’s, be divided into two periods only, the first half for department worship or special service, the last for a single class period. (An appropriate song, — especially appro- priate if Easter plants are presented to the children —is “‘ God is Love” from Songs for Little People. The following poem may be read:) Tuere Was a Kina In NAZARETH There was a king in Nazareth, (Men did not know he was a king) By humble ways he went about, With love for everything. He had no crown, but he was kind, He had no throne, but he was strong, Good deeds he did, and loving words He said, the whole day long. He was a king and went again Unto his kingdom, but he still Is staying in cur hearts, and we Can serve him if we will. By gentle thoughts and loving words And deeds of kindness day by day Our feet can follow where he went Along the lowly way. — Nancy Byrd Turner. CLASS PERIOD Picture. (Show the picture, “ Peter and John hastening to the Sepulcher on the Morning of the Resurrection,” Wilde’s Bible Picture, 538. If possible have one for each child. Tell the story of the picture, and afterwards let the children paste it in their books and print on the opposite page the verse, “He is risen,” or, ‘“* Behold, [ am alive for evermore.’’) Story. Tue Easter STORY (This story follows Goodspeed’s translation, John 20 : 1-29.) This is a picture of the way one artist thought 165 Jesus’ two most loved disciples must have looked on Easter morning. School A. John: What makes them look so scared? What do you suppose they are thinking as they hurry along? I think I know why he made them look like that. You see Jesus had been laid in a tomb, or sepulcher, out in the rocks in a lovely garden. Women who loved him had seen the tomb and knew his body had been put there. They saw a great stone rolled in front of the opening of the tomb. Sadly they went to their homes, and prepared spices and perfumes to anoint him as a last loving service. The disciples were mourning in Jerusalem. They thought, you remember, that they had lost their teacher forever. They could not be comforted, and could think of nothing else. Very early on Sunday morning — the sun bad hardly risen — the women went to the garden with the spices which they had prepared. They wanted to go into the tomb, and they wondered how they could ever roll away the great stone at the door. But they need not have wondered, for to their amazement as they came near, they saw that the stone was already rolled away. More than that, — the tomb itself was empty! Mary, one of the women, hurried to tell the disciples, and this is a picture of Peter and John as they hastened to the tomb to see for themselves. Who had rolled the stone away? Had some one taken away their Lord? Why was the tomb empty? Could it be that Jesus still lived? Peter especially wished that it might be so. He wanted to tell him that he was sorry for some- thing he had done just before Jesus was crucified. See how anxious he looks! All that day stories kept coming to the dis- ciples which at first they couldn’t believe, and at last which they couldn’t help believmg. ‘The stories were about Jesus’ appearing to different ones, talking with them, comforting them. There was Mary’s story. She had been crymg near the empty tomb. “They have taken my Master away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have laid him!” She turned around and through her tears she saw some one standing 166 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER there. She thought it was the gardener. He spoke to her. “Why are you weeping? ”’ he asked. are you looking for? ” “Oh,” said Mary, “if it was you, sir, that carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will take him away!” Then she heard her name spoken, “ Mary!”’ The voice was not the gardener’s. She turned and saw Jesus. Her tears were gone now. “'Teacher!’’ said Mary joyfully. Oh, how happy she was as she hurried to tell the disciples! ‘““T have seen the Master!’ she cried as she came in upon them, where they were sorrowing together. Later Peter had returned to them with the same words, ““I have seen the Master!” and ~ his face had lost a little of the anxious look. It was wondering instead. They were all sitting together, talking and wondering, when two other friends of Jesus knocked at the door. One was named Cleopas. These two men had been with the disciples earlier in the day, but had left to walk to their home in Emmaus. Now as the disciples opened the door for them and saw who it was, they announced, ‘‘ The Lord is risen indeed; Simon has seen him!” “We have seen him too,” they declared. ‘“* We came back to tell you about it. We were walking toward Emmaus and talking of all that had happened when a stranger joined us. “*What is it you are discussing with each other on your way?’ he asked. ‘““ We were surprised that any one should ask, when he saw our sadness, and we said, ‘ Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know what has happened there lately? ’ ‘** What is it?’ he asked, — and we told him about Jesus of Nazareth, the wonderful prophet, how we were hoping he would save our nation but how the high priests and leading men had crucified him. We told him that all this had happened three days ago, and that this morning some women of our number had gone to his tomb and could not find his body, but came back insisting that they had seen a vision and that he was alive.” The two men were excited and the others were eager to hear. They went on and told how this stranger had walked with them as far as their village, talking with them all the way, explaining “Whom things that had never been understood before; things that had been written years before about the Son of God who must come to the world and suffer and die before he was again to be with his Father. him. When they reached their village, he acted as though he were going on, but they urged him not to. “Stay with us,” they said, “for it is getting toward evening and the day is nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. And when he took his place with them at the table, he took the bread and blessed it and broke it in pieces and handed it to them. It was then that their eyes were opened and they knew him. It was Jesus! He went away from them then, and they had hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the others. Here was another proof that their Teacher still lived. The disciples were slowly coming to believe it. Even as Jesus’ friends were talking together, thinking about their Teacher and longing for him — suddenly he was there! The door was locked. No one had seen him come in. But every one of his friends was sure of it. Those who hated him never saw him after he had died. He came only to his friends. These enemies of his might have passed close to his friends who were feeling him near, and never imagine that he was with them. School A. Joun: I wish J could see him. FRANKIE: Why can’t people see him now? I do not understand it. Neither did his friends. But of this they were sure — their Teacher was alive and was often with them. They told of it over and over again, and then wrote the stories down so that everybody could be just as sure as they were that Jesus still lived. And they began at once to go on with the work that Jesus had left unfinished. He had taught them how. They were eager to teach the whole world about their heavenly Father, as Jesus had taught them. They wanted to show the whole world the difference between a kingdom of love and kingdoms of gold, or might, or pleasure. And they worked so hard that thousands in their lifetime came to know about Jesus and believe his teachings, and changed their way of But all this time they did not recognize | AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER living. And it is because of these first disciples that more and more people began to see that Jesus’ way is the best way, even to our own time. Down through all these hundreds of years God has been depending on his friends to tell the good news. Aren’t you glad that we have been told? And isn’t it wonderful to think that he’s depending on those who are wearing the flag of Christ to spread his kingdom of love! School A. Because of general program, reserved story for next Sunday. Followed it by Christian flag salute. Report of School B Departmental Easter Program Song. “ This is God’s House.” Talk. About Easter-time and all the things God has given back to us. Scripture. Mark 16:1-7. By third grade. Song. “ For, lo, the winter is past.” Pantomime. ‘“ What the Easter lily told the Bluebird.” By weekday third grade. Song. “Praise Him, praise Him.” Story. “The Garden of Joseph of Arimathea.”’ Scripture. “Consider the lilies, how they grow.” By one child. Response. Prayer. Offering. Response. Song. “I Think when I Read that Sweet Story of Old.” Report of School A Easter Program with Entire School (Outlined in Twenty-eighth Sunday. ing is the story of Jesus by third grade.) Joun: Jesus was promised to Mary. Sruart: He was born at Bethlehem and laid in a manger. LAWRENCE: Shepherds heard the song in the sky and went to worship him. Marion: Wise-men brought him presents. ANNE: When he was a boy he lived at Nazareth. Frankie: When he was twelve he went to Jerusalem for a celebration. His parents lost him and found him after three days asking questions of the doctors in the temple. Follow- 167 Exinor: He grew into a man that helped everybody. Tommy: He chose twelve disciples to be his pupils, for he came to teach a new way of living. Betty: He taught them to pray. Sometimes the disciples didn’t know where he was, and when they hunted for him they would find him praying. That is the way he showed them how to keep close to their heavenly Father. FLorrig: When some one asked him what it meant to be a good neighbor, he told them the story of the Good Samaritan. Harry: He loved children, and said he wanted them to come to him. Tina: He made a blind man see. Karu: He healed the sick. Joun: He made a boy’s lunch enough for five thousand people. SruarT: Once there was a man named Zaccheeus who cheated people. He was so short he had to climb a tree to see Jesus. Jesus made him sorry that he was dishonest, and made him want to pay back all and more than he had stolen. Lawrence: The only time we know about Jesus’ being angry was when he saw the poor people cheated in his Father’s house. Marion: When his disciples quarreled about who would be greatest in his kingdom, Jesus washed their feet and made them see that to be great meant to serve others. ANNE: The people that loved him wanted to make him king. When he rode into Jerusalem they went before him scattering palm branches. FRANKIE: The wicked people did not like him. They had him put to death. They thought by killing him that they could get rid of him forever. Exinor: His friends were terribly unhappy when he died. They thought they should never see him again. Tommy: But he came back to them. The real Jesus was not dead; he was alive. Berry: He showed them that no one really dies; we live again. Fiorrie: When his disciples knew this was true they couldn’t wait to tell others. It made the whole world seem different when they found that they had not lost their leader. Tuva: It is because the disciples told the good news everywhere that we know it now. ANNE: Easier is the day we celebrate Christ’s living again. He said, Aut: ‘ Behold, I am alive for evermore,” 168 Before and After Program Leader marshaled third grade into kitchen before going into other room. ‘‘ Remember,” she said, “we are trying to tell the others the story of our great Teacher. Dear heavenly Father, help us to do this in such a way that the people who hear will love Jesus better, just as we tried in the Christmas service to lead them to the manger to worship. For his sake, Amen.” They followed the others quietly and went through the program beautifully. Reaction came when they returned to their own room, and it was decided not to have classes, but distribute the plants at once and dismiss children. Confu- sion followed. Leaver: Boys, the Sunday school is still going on in the other room! (Boys giggled.) AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Sruart: I didn’t start it. Joun: I did, Miss Bradley. Leader spoke of plants which were to be given to them. Exclamations of joy. Leaver: Doesn’t it strike you that the church is doing a great deal for you this year? Sruart: Yes, it’s doing a good deal more for us than we are for it! Leader gave out Christian flag buttons to class’ delight, after serious talk, to which no one paid the slightest attention. Another Side of Florrie Frorrie (who had left yesterday's class in a huff, putting her arm around leader): Miss Bradley, I’m sorry I left the class yesterday the way I did! (This from Florrie whose only idea a few weeks ago had been to ‘‘ make you unhappy.’’) TWENTY-NINTH WEEKDAY Work and Stories Possibilities Plan or practise songs for next Sunday’s wor- ship service. Continue work on the project. tions in Thirtieth Weekday.) Finish the Easter page in the books. Tell appropriate stories. In School A the mothers reported that the children had lost the impetus received around Christmas time to make the “Happy New Year”’’ wish continue throughout the year. They were careless and untidy and not so keen to help. Before this new ways of making old tasks attractive should have been devised. A good story to use at any time is “ The Little Girl who Played All the Time,” or “ In the Path of the Tornado.” These stories can be taken out of the wise man’s pack. They appear at the end of this program. Comments of the children and leader on the picture of Peter and John may easily lead to one of these stories. Thus: “ They’re hurrying to see if the tomb is empty; they want to see for themselves; they don’t know what they’re going to do without Jesus; their work isn’t interesting any more; it was interesting while they were working with him; then they found that they could still work with him, even if he had gone to his Father. There was still a great deal to do before his kingdom could come on earth; they could help it come; they could show others how to make it come; sometimes it was by being brave in some hard trial; sometimes it was just by doing the little everyday things cheerfully, and always being ready to help; sometimes it’s hardest to keep doing your everyday work cheerfully and happily. There’s a story about a girl who found a way to make everyday tasks interesting. (See sugges- Report of School A Spring Hike Took a hike. Fred Towne, the older boy who had promised to take the boys fishing, did not appear. Stuart had brought fishpole. Made us miserable as possible with his grumbling. Sruart: Made me bring this old pole all this way and now you won’t iet me use it. No, nobody can carry it for me, think I’m going to let any one carry my twenty-five dollar fishpole? Darned old fishpole keeps catching in the branches. The next time you write me a letter and say that Fred Towne’s coming with us, I don’t take no stock in that letter. Making a fellow bring his fishpole —— ”’ LeapER (in exasperation): Stuart! Did I make you bring that fishpole? Sruart (later): If I go anywhere with my fishpole and don’t bring home any fish, my father calls me a big boob and laughs at me. And my mother laughs with him. Leader heard him calling somebody names. She gave him a look. Stuart: I guess I don’t feel very good today. Stuart’s remark apparently described a uni- versal condition. The distracted leader struggled like a sheep dog with an unruly flock. Sixteen children scattering in sixteen directions endangered life and limb in sixteen separate ways. They did gather bloodroot and hepaticas to send to Virginia, but the leader drew her first long breath only when a story, “In the Path of the Tornado,” drew them together and they perched in trees and on stones to listen. A frank discussion of their behavior followed. Joun: If I’ve been naughty today, don’t tell my mother or I can never go on another hike. (Uncertainly) Have I been good, Miss Bradley? LeapER: Don’t you know, yourself, John? Joun: No, have I? You've got to tell me because my mother’ll ask me when I get home, and I'll get a licking if I haven't ! Cuitp: I’ve tried to use my self-control today. AnoTHER: I’ve tried to use mine, too. AworHer: Anne and Harriet have been the best. Boys: No, there’s more’n that. John and Douglas were all right (wisely omitling mention of themselves). Leaver: Still, I think we'll omit next week’s hike. CHILDREN: Aw! Stories Tue Lirrte Girt wHo Piayep ALL THE TIME The Visitor and Sue Frances sat on the pleasant, shady piazza, eating cookies. Between bites 169 170 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER they took long, straggly stitches in Lady Claire’s sleeves. They thought they were making Lady Claire a dress. Since the Visitor’s arrival they had played croquet and ball, go-a-visiting and school, travel and guess-what’s-in-my-mind. They were really quite tired out playing. “Who's that striped little girl ’cross there, wheeling a baby carriage without any hat on?” inquired the Visitor. Sue Frances took another bite and answered, “ Oh, that’s the Little Girl That Never Plays. She’s always wheeling or sweeping or doing something; she never plays.” “Never plays! Sue Frances Treworthy!” “Well, honest, she never. I guess you'd pity her if you lived on the opposite side of her! It makes me ache.” The Visitor got up rather suddenly. “I guess I'll take Lady Claire to walk,” she said; “she needs a constitution.” But it was not of Lady Claire’s health she was thinking; she wanted to go a little nearer to the Girl That Never Played and see how she looked. Across the street the baby carriage came to a stop as the Visitor approached. The Little Girl That Never Played was smiling! She looked just like other little girls! “How'd you do?” she nodded. ‘““No, thank you —I mean I’m pretty well, thank you,’ murmured the Visitor, in some confusion. “ You don’t look a bit different!” she added honestly. ‘** Me) — diff’rent? ” in wonder. ““T mean because you don’t ever play. I s’posed you'd look ” — “Don’t ever play — me! the time! ”’ “Oh! ”’ stammered the Visitor, “oh, I hope you'll beg my pardon! I thought Sue Frances said you swept and — and worked.” “Why, I do, but I play all the time ’'m doing it. I always take the baby out like this; what do you suppose I play then? I was playing it when you came ‘cross the street. You can’t ever guess, so I’ll tell you. I was playing Body Guard.” The Visitor’s eyes opened wide. “Yes,” laughed the other. “I’m the Body Why, I play all Guard, you know. The baby’s the Czar and he can’t go out alone for fear of being bombed and things. I have to stay right with him every minute to Body Guard him.” “Then when I feed him I have to taste every- thing first to be sure it won’t poison him — that’s the way they do with a regular Czar, you know. I take little bites, and when it doesn’t poison me dead I give it to the ba — the Czar, I mean. It’s lots of fun to play that!” The Visitor’s eyes were getting very wide open indeed. She had never “ played”’ Body Guard the baby. Suddenly she remembered a kind of work you couldn’t play. ‘“ There’s washing the dishes,” she said trium- phantly. And as sure as you live the other little girl nodded with glee! ‘Oh, yes, that’s splendid play!” she laughed. ‘““T play that three times a day. Shipwreck, I call it.” ‘“ Shipwreck? ” the Visitor gasped. “Yes, the dishes tumble into the boiling sea, waves always are soap-sudsy on the tips, you know. I play a great ship has been wrecked and I’m the Life Saving Stationer, saving the folks. The nice white dishes are the first-cabin passengers, and the cracked and nicked ones are the second-cabins, and the pans and pots the steerages. The saucers are the boys and the cups the girls and the butter-plates the little babies. It’s the greatest play, that is!”’ The Visitor went back to Sue Frances with a thoughtful face. She had quite forgotten Lady Claire, who dangled ignominiously by one leg. ’ Sue Frances was playing tea party; she had tea all ready. ‘‘ Well,” she said, looking up from the little gold-and-white teapot, “ don’t you pity her dreadfully — that poor little girl ’cross there that you’ve been talking to? Think of never play —” “She plays all the time,’ the Visitor said quietly. ‘I know, ’cause she said so. She has the splendidest times sweeping and taking care o the baby and — you guess what else, Sue Frances Treworthy! But you can’t, if you keep right on guessing till the tip end of forever. She makes a perfectly splendid play out of washing the dishes!” — Annie Hamilton Donnell. Used by permission of The Congregationalist. Condensed. ltt iecacaattatil i te AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER In THE Patu oF THE TORNADO It was a beautiful spring morning, but a tor- nado was approaching, and uothing is beautiful after a tornado has touched it. Did you ever hear of that queer, terrific gust of wind that rushes past so fast nobody can tell how many miles an hour it travels? It strikes a town or a prairie, speeding through it or across it, sweeping everything before it, and leaving nothing but destruction in its trail. It all happens in a minute, but it undoes the work of years. In the tornado’s tracks are trees torn up from their roots, houses lifted in the air and shattered to pieces, great buildings split apart. As I said in the beginning, it was a beautiful spring morning, but a tornado was approaching. It jumped out of bed, jumped out of its night- clothes, left them in the middle of the floor, and started to dress. Its other name was Harry. His eye fell on the book-case in the corner. Quick as a flash he was across the room, pulling out one book after another to find the one he wanted. Once it was found he settled himself on the floor to read as he put on his shoes and stockings. School A. Cut~pren: I’ve done that. I do it, too. Something he saw made him think of his electric engine which hadn’t run very well the night before. Jumping up he ran into his mother’s sewing-room and laid out his track. He quickly unscrewed the electric bulb over his mother’s sewing-machine, and attached the cord to his transformer. Before he had found out what was the matter he heard his mother’s voice: “Harry, are you ready for breakfast? ”’ Harry wasn’t. He rushed into the bathroom. Handling his engine and tracks had seemed to get his hands very dirty. He took a piece of clean white soap into his grimy hands and held them under the faucet. Dirty drops spattered over the once spotless wash-stand. School A. Joun: When I do that my mother makes me clean it up. The soap, now stained and streaked and dripping dirty water, was thrust back into its holder, and a clean towel seized _ to wipe away what soil remained on his hands. After the tornado had gone to school, his mother went to his room to make his bed. She 171 looked about. The bed was torn to pieces. Some pajama trousers were in the middle of the floor, just as some one had stepped out of them. The coat was flung among the tumbled bed- clothes. Books were lying around the book- case, and one was still open on the floor in the center of the room. She sighed. “ Harry’s tracks,”’ she thought. She thought it again when she stepped into her sewing-room. ‘“Harry’s been here,” she said, and “ Harry again,” when she saw the bathroom. She shut the door on the sewing-room and bedroom, but cleaned the bathroom. ok * * It was a beautiful spring day, as we said before, but a tornado was approaching. The sun had been out all day. The ground was wet and muddy. This tornado wore rubbers, but he was hungry, so he didn’t stop to take them off. He threw open the door into a happy looking living- room. He flung his books on one chair, his coat on another. Straight through to the kitchen he tracked his muddy steps. Into the cooky-jar went a hand, coming out full. Back through the dining-room and living-room tracked the tornado, now dropping crumbs all the way. In the living-room he opened the paper on the table, letting fall the pages he did not want. When he had looked at Mutt and Jeff he stopped to consider. Should he take out his roller skates or his pogum stick? He would take his pogum stick down the street to his chum’s. The roller skates were left on the floor. He ran out of the door, not bothering to close it. Up the steps came a caller. She rang the bell and looked into the room which somebody had spent some hours in making beautiful and clean. This is what she saw — a muddy rug; a roller skate under the table, a second in the middle of the floor; a pile of books on one chair, a coat on another; newspapers scattered over a table and the floor; cooky crumbs everywhere; tracks of mud and crumbs leading into the next room. And the caller thought, “ Harry’s been here.” Just before supper Harry came in. His rubbers were again covered with mud, but he did not take them off. He stumbled over a roller skate, but he did not pick it up. “ Harry, wash your hands,” his mother called 172 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER from the kitchen, “your father is just coming up the street.” “TH’m, I see Harry’s passed through,” he heard his father remark. “What does he mean?” thought Harry. Up the stairs came the tornado’s father. As he reached the bathroom the tornado heard him say grimly, “He has also been here, I see.” Harry was curious. How did his father know just where he had been? ‘How do you know, dad?” he called to his father. . “You leave your tracks,” answered his father. “You might step in here and look around, if you don’t believe it.” Harry returned to the bathroom. “Did you ever happen to see the soap look like that, or the wash-stand look like that, or a towel look like that, after your mother or I had used them?” he asked, pointing to the dirty tracks. Harry looked. It was pretty bad. “How did you know I’d been downstairs, though?” he asked as he started to scrub away the dirty spots. “ Harry,” said his father, ‘‘ I don’t believe you know you leave tracks. All right. Let’s make a tour of the house. We'll visit each room and hunt for tracks. We'll begin upstairs.” Harry started toward his bedroom. “Why — why,” he stammered. He had ex- pected to see it in perfect order. It usually was when he came home from school. “Ah, yes, your tracks again,’ observed his father. The pajama trousers were still in a heap on the floor, the coat mixed up with the bed- clothes. The books were still scattered about, the bed was as he had tumbled out of it. “Tt generally Jooks better’n this,’ Harry apologized. “You mean you generally see your mother’s tracks when you come home,” suggested his father. “Are any of these your mother’s tracks? ” “No,” admitted Harry as his father went into the next room, which also was usually in order when Harry came from school Today it had not been touched since Harry himself had played with his train. His father tripped over a wire, and when he tried to turn on the light, found the globe gone. “‘ Your tracks or your mother’s?” asked his father. “ Let’s go down- stairs.” You know what they found in the living-room —roller skates, papers, books, coat, mud, crumbs. Harry had never realized before just how much his tracks meant. No wonder people could tell when he had passed through a room. He was not proud of his tracks. He was ashamed. ‘““T thought you didn’t know, son,” said his father. ‘‘ Look here; try another kind of tracks and see how you like them.” Have you ever run a vacuum cleaner over a rug and seen the bright, clean path it leaves? Harry had never done it before. He liked it. It was fun to leave beauty wherever he went instead of ugliness. He became more and more interested, and by the time he went to bed you never would have said of the rooms he had been in, ‘‘ Harry’s been here.” He had hung up his clothes, put away his books and toys, folded up the newspaper. He had returned the light to its socket, scrubbed the soap and washstand clean, and removed the mud and crumbs from the carpets with that magic vacuum cleaner. His tracks now looked like his father’s or mother’s. ‘“'That’s just the trouble,” he said to himself. “ After this my tracks’ll look just like mom’s or dad’s. How’ll they know I’ve been anywhere if I clean up after myself? I want ’em to be able to say, ‘ Harry’s béen here’ just the same, only I want ’em to say it about a clean room instead of a dirty one! ” Do you want to know what he did? He found some wooden button molds in his mother’s work-basket, and some meat skewers in the kitchen. to fit the holes of the button-molds. (And he swept up the whittlings.) Then he carved a little groove in the top of each skewer, wrote on a card HARRY’S TRACKS, and placed the cards in the grooves. The next time his mother went into the bathroom she found the soap as clean as she had left it. The wash-bowl was spotless, Harry’s towel was folded as neatly as the rest. But on the shelf over the wash-bowl stood a little card on a standard. His mother rubbed her eyes as she read, HARRY’S TRACKS. Harry had been there, washed his hands, and except for the message no one would know it! When she went to his room in the morning to make his bed, his night clothes were hung away in his closet, nothing littered the floor. But on the stand by his bed stood a little silent reminder. He whittled down four meat skewers ~ AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER HARRY’S TRACKS she read again, and pinched herself to see if she was dreaming. If it hadn’t been for a sign in the sewing-room proclaiming the same thing, she would never have known that he had been playing there with his electric engine. _ And downstairs, when he remembered to take off his rubbers and to put his things in the proper places, he always remembered, too, to place his little message in plain sight. Callers coming in and seeing it would ask what it meant. “Tt means that Harry has been here,” his mother would explain after she grew used to it, and the callers would go away wondering. They could remember when rooms which Harry had passed through had looked quite different! 173 But Harry had such a good time playing this game which he had invented himself that he kept it up. It was fun, after you had gotten a room into disorder to straighten it out again and then leave in plain sight a messenger which said, HARRY’S TRACKS. But it was even more fun to hear your mother or father say, on entering such a room, “I see that Harry has been here!” In fact, he liked it so much that he grew com- pletely out of his disorderly habits and his tracks looked more like those of a vacuum cleaner than those of a tornado, so that if I were writing this story over again I should have to call it, “In the Path of the Vacuum Cleaner.” THIRTIETH SUNDAY April FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Spring songs, prayer, offering, as planned by the children.) What School A Did (One Departmental Period) Scripture Reading. Psalm 95 (by children who brought Bibles). Song. “ Godis Love,” illustrated by hepaticas from hike. Spring Bible Verses. By boys. Song. “For lo, the winter is past.” Birthday Service. Offering. Prayer. (Composed by children, with original response.) : Song. ‘Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.” Poem. “ There was a King of Nazareth.” Song. “I Cannot do Great Things.” Conversation. (About learning to be more Christ-like.) Song-Prayer. ‘Lord, Who Lovest Little Children.” FIRST CLASS PERIOD (Ask whether any new ideas have been thought of for making everyday tasks more interesting. See Twenty-ninth Weekday. (The story of Peter’s life, his repentance and forgiveness is given in two parts, to be told in the two class periods today. (It is appropriate just now not only for the timeliness of the resurrection message, but because we are trying to renew the impetus and redouble the efforts of the class toward Christian living. Since lying and discouragement in well- doing are both common problems of children, this story of one who loved the great Teacher, but failed him in a crisis, who was completely _ forgiven and trusted again and whose subsequent zeal for the right was a proof of his repentance, is entirely within their experience. (A point of contact may be easily found from the reports of the children on their attempts to be faithful to their home tasks and their dis- couragement; or their resolutions for — and failure in — self-control.) This is a story about one of Jesus’ best friends who did a terrible thing just after he had boasted that he was too strong to make such a mistake. Story. Peter’s Liz Once there were two fishermen who lived on the shores of a lake. They had four boys who were just as unlike as they could be. (Read or follow here the portrayals given by Rufus Jones in The Boy Jesus and His Companions, Chapter VIII. See Luke 22 :31-34; John 13: 37, 38; 18: 15-18; 25-27; 21 : 1-17.) “Their mothers found out very soon that these boys were not made the same way. Each one had his own peculiar disposition, set and fixed. What pleased one did not always please the other. They all loved the lake, but they had different ways of showing their love for it and different ways of acting under all circum- stances. “John was from the very first the sweetest natured of the group. He was a lovely child, beautiful to look at, and always happy. His mother, who was named Salome, knew when he was a tiny baby that there ‘never was such:a child.” He didn’t cry except when something ‘real’ was the matter. He smiled so beautifully that he seemed like a little cherub that had strayed away from heaven. ‘Simon was quite the opposite. He cried over the least bit of trouble. He got angry and broke things. He passed from one scene of difficulty to another. All the accidents seemed to happen to him. Nobody ever called him a cherub. He meant well, but he was unlucky. He had a way of doing the wrong thing and of having even his good intentions turn out to be bad blunders. When he appeared a storm was expected to follow soon. Of course it was much easier to get on with John than it was to get on with Simon, who always wanted to play, but who was sure to make trouble before any game was over, because he always wanted to play the leading part. ““ As time went on and the boys grew big and strong, the lake became almost the whole of their life. Everybody knew them and everybody learned to count upon them. When their boat 174 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER put in to the shore, everybody expected to see a pretty catch of fish. The years as they passed improved Simon. He was still a strange youth, but there were fine traits in him. He was quick and rash, but he would often do brave and generous deeds. He seldom stopped to think. Ideas flashed into his mind and with a rush the thing was done. Sometimes it was right and sometimes it was wrong. If it turned out to be wrong he would be very sorry afterward and decide never to do such a thing again, but alas, another flash would come and he would rush once more into a foolish act. Many times as the boat neared the shore with its load of fish, Simon would suddenly drop his oar and leap into the water and swim like a fish alongside the boat. Simon promised each time he was scolded that he would not do it again. _But as soon as the impulse came over him he was pretty sure to ‘forget’ and leap in once more, especially if there were people on the shore who would see him do it.” You have heard of Simon and John before. You know they were two of the four fishermen Jesus asked to be his disciples. But they hadn't been with him long before Jesus changed Simon’s name. He named him Peter, which means rock. A rock is strong, — something you can depend upon. Peter was proud of his name. He liked to think he was strong and could be depended upon. He used to boast of how strong he was. One night—it was the night of the Last Supper — he boasted of how much he loved Jesus. He said, ‘‘ Master, I am ready to go to prison and to death with you!’’ Jesus looked at Peter. He loved him, but he knew that he wasn’t as strong yet as he thought he was. He knew he would grow stronger all the time, for he was praying for Peter. But now he said, “ Peter, the cock will not crow before you deny three times that you know me!”’ It was only a short time after this that the soldiers came and seized Jesus to take him to the high priest. His friends scattered like frightened sheep, but Peter followed the pro- cession at a distance. He even went into the courtyard of the high priest, and there, shivering with cold and fear he sat down to wait, and to warm himself by the fire. Some of the men who had arrested Jesus were in the yard, and there was a great deal of talk about what had hap- pened. 175 Suddenly the firelight flickered over Peter’s face. A maid saw him and thought she recog- nized him as one of Jesus’ friends. “This man was with him too!’ she exclaimed, but Peter, frightened and hardly knowing what he said, denied it. “I do not know him,”’ he said. Shortly after a man saw him and said, “ You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “1 am not.” About an hour later another man insisted, “This man was certainly with him too, for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “‘I do not know what you mean.” And just as he spoke a cock crowed. And the Master turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the words the Master had said to him, ‘“‘ Before the cock crows today you will disown me three times!” And he went outside and wept bitterly. Jesus was put to death a few hours afterward, and for two days his friends, who thought they had lost him, mourned. Peter could think of nothing else. If only he could see Jesus once more, to tell him he was sorry! He forgot or had not understood, you see, Jesus’ promises to return. Of all the people who came to know that Jesus still lived, I think Peter was happiest. I think his heart bounded with joy and hope the first time he heard the words, “ He is risen.” We know how he hurried to the garden. Just how Jesus came to Peter you will hear in the next period. SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD (If it is possible to secure the services of the music supervisor or any musical person who can help the department compose words and a tune for a little Easter song or refrain, let the children at this time choose the words for such a song, and make their own tune for it. See Fourth Sunday. If this is not possible have the depart- ment compose a special Easter prayer.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD Continuing the Story. Peter had told a lie —a lie about his Teacher, whom he loved more than any one else in the world. He had said he 176 didn’t know his Teacher, when for over two years he had been following him about everywhere; when only that night he had boasted that he would go to prison and die with his Master. And now Jesus had died, and Peter had denied knowing him for fear of what might happen! Oh, why had he done it? How could he have done it? He could not forgive himself. Jesus had called him a rock. He didn’t feel much like a rock. It seemed that even his best friend couldn’t depend on him. I think he must have felt like taking back his old name. He went back to Galilee with his friends, and one day he said to them, “I am going fishing.” He was going back to his old work, you see. He was discouraged and heavy hearted, and he would never forgive himself for the lie he had told, but at least he could work. “We will go with you,” said his friends. They went out and got into the boat, and fished all that night but caught nothing. I wonder if they thought about another night, over two years before, when they had fished until morning and caught nothing until Jesus had shown them where to cast their nets. I think they must have, for their Teacher was in their minds most of the time. Just as the day was beginning to break, a voice came to them. In the dim light they thought they could see a figure on the beach. “ Boys, have you any fish? ” “No,” they answered. “Throw your net on the right of the boat,” the voice said, “‘ and you will find them.” They did so, and they could not haul it in for the quantity of fish in it. Then John said to Peter, “‘ It is the Master!” When Peter heard that he sprang into the sea. He could not wait for the boat to take him in. I think he had never swum so fast. He was going to see his Teacher! He would have a chance to show how sorry he was. He did not tell him at once. The boat came to shore and they were all busy at first dragging in the net full of fish — a hundred and fifty-three of them. There was a charcoal fire burning and they cooked the fish and ate breakfast together. All through the meal Peter kept wishing he could say what was in his heart. He was so sorry. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER He wanted Jesus to know it, and that he loved him. But Jesus knew. When they had finished breakfast he said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, do you love me more than the others do? ” And so Peter had a chance to tell him that he loved him. But he did not brag any more. He felt that he was weak, not strong any longer. He did not claim to love him more than the the others did. All he could say was, ‘‘ Master, you know everything, you can see that I love you.” And Jesus could see. He saw the real Peter who was so sorry for what he had done that he would never, never be untrue again. He not only forgave him but he trusted him with a great trust. “* Care for my people,” he said. How do you ‘suppose Peter felt? Jesus was trusting him again. Jesus thought he was good enough and strong enough and true enough to care for his people. He had forgotten the weak side of him, he saw now only the strong side, the side that was like a rock, and could be depended upon. I like to think that Peter saw in a flash all the sad and sick and forlorn who would be looking for Jesus still and needing him, and how he could show them that Jesus’ spirit still lived. I like to think that Peter in his joy at being trusted again said to himself, “I can earn my name! I can prove that I am to be depended upon, and prove my boast true. I am willing to go to prison or even die for my Master!” For that is just what he did do. Only a few weeks later he was back in Jerusalem, preaching in the temple against the orders of the priests, bearing cruel punishments gladly for Jesus’ sake, even being thrust into prison. He spent his whole life teaching Jesus’ way of living, and if you ask people why they love Peter, they will say, “ Because even though he made mistakes like us, he showed that if we are sorry, we will be forgiven and trusted again.” Report of School A Broom Brigade After class children planned to form a broom brigade and continue cleaning church lawn next Saturday. THIRTIETH WEEKDAY Work and Story Suggestions 1. Work on missionary project. Suggest that in securing varieties of spring flowers to press and send to far-off friends, the aid of the whole department be enlisted. One child may be delegated to explain the plan in the service next Sunday. 2. In this and in future programs continue to follow up the children’s pride in their church and love for it as God’s house. See Twenty- seventh Sunday, where the story of cleansing the temple and a visit to the church auditorium were suggested; also Twenty-seventh Weekday, where a hike for Palm Sunday decorations was outlined. All the year the children have been using the church property, and receiving gifts from the church. Besides keeping the lawn tidy and their own room clean, they may wish to make a material gift in return for what they have re- ceived. 3. If the children are making their own worship services, suggest that one of them tell briefly before the offering the story of the widow’s mite, incorporated in “ George Kling’s Gift.” 4. Practise songs for Sunday service. Story. GEORGE Kuina’s GIFT Teddy Hollis hustled into his wraps. He was in a hurry to get home from Sunday school and count his money. He kept it in a bank, and every day or so his father or mother or grand- mother would put a little more in for him. It was all his, for they had given it to him. When- ever he wanted to buy anything like marbles or crackerjack or parts for his radio, all he had to do was to go to his bank and take out what he needed. There was always enough there for any little thing and the big things he wanted his father bought for him anyway. _ George Kling put on his coat slowly. He was thinking. He had no bank at home, but he wanted some money dreadfully. Of course it might be that he could earn some but when he was lucky enough to make a few pennies they ' were given at once to his mother to buy some- thing to eat or wear. It made him feel very important to be able to help her in this way. She called him the ‘‘man of the house,” and consulted him about the best way to spend what he made, so of course he was always on the lookout for chances to earn money. But a boy eight-years-old-going-on-nine can’t do business on a very large scale. It was hard to get “jobs ” in a town like Happy Valley, and the money he wanted now was not for flour or milk or for shoes or stockings for little Lucy. The children were all talking about the same thing as they left the church. “ [T’m going to bring a whole lot,” said Margaret. “When I tell my mother what it’s for maybe she'll give me as much as a quarter.” “My father gave me fifty cents to bring at Christmas time,” said Freddie Thorpe. “I’m going to ask him if he’ll give me that for next Sunday.” ““T have my own money,” boasted Teddy. The children knew he had. They called him rich because he could always go to his own bank and find spending money to buy what he chose. ‘How much money are you going to give?” asked Billy interestedly. ‘Oh, I don’t know,” answered Teddy; “ prob- ably quite a lot.”” The rest looked enviously at him. You see, a real school was at last being built in Happy Valley. Miss True’s would meet in the church only a little while longer. The chil- dren were already beginning to feel a little home- sick. They had grown to love their church. They felt as if it was theirs. Lately they had been given charge of keeping the lawn picked up. After a storm which scattered twigs and papers about, they worked like little brownies, cleaning them away. When the seed was put in and the ground was soft, they kept off that part of it so that the grass might grow. They even planted a little flower garden in one spot. They loved their room too. They liked having the picture of Jesus about. It reminded them every day how they were trying to be like him. School A. Stuart, at mention of pic- ture, instinctively turned to look at the class picture of the great Teacher. It was hidden by a screen. He quietly walked over to it, removed the screen and returned to his place. 177 178 ‘“T wish we could make the church a present,” said Virginia, “‘ to show we like it, and we’re sorry to leave it.” “Could we, Miss True?”’ they asked. They thought a long time and decided at last to give the church a picture. ‘** A nice one,” said Martha. “A big one,” said Freddie. ‘All framed,” said Laura. “The ones we have are getting crushed at the edges.” “A picture of the church,” said Dorothy. “A picture of Jesus,” said John. ‘““A picture of Jesus in the church,” said three together. So it was decided And that was why George Kling was anxious. He wanted as much as any child in the school to make a present to the church. But what could he do? His mother could give him no money, and whatever he could earn was needed to live on. The next day he went to Freddie Thorpe’s father’s store. “Ts there any work I can do, Mr. Thorpe? ”’ he asked. Mr. Thorpe often had work for him, like cleaning up rubbish, or carting off boxes, but he paid him in groceries from the store which his mother needed. “Yes, there is, my boy,’ answered Mr. Thorpe. “J’m cleaning out the basement this week. If you'll come every afternoon after school, Tl] send your mother ten pounds of sugar.” George could have shouted for joy. He ran all the way home to change his clothes and tell his mother. She kissed him and said it was pretty nice to have a man of the house who could provide their groceries, but it wasn’t until Friday that George found a way to make his gift. He had thought and thought, and Friday morning it came to him. His mother was emptying the sugar bowl on his cereal. “It’s a good thing that you’re earning that sugar,” she told him, “ for we’re all out of it.” George looked at his saucer and had an idea. ‘“ Mother,” he asked, ‘ how long would it take ‘me to go without ten cents’ worth of sugar?” He was so earnest that she figured it up for him. “Then that’s where I’m going to get my money for the picture,” he decided. “Mr. Thorpe,” he said that afternoon, “‘ when you send my mother that sugar, would you AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER just as soon leave out ten cents’ worth and give me the dime instead? ”’ “Why, of course, George,” agreed Mr. Thorpe. “You've certainly earned it.” It was Sunday morning, and two boys were hurrying toward the church. Each had some- thing special in his pocket. Each kept feeling of it to make sure it was safe. One boy was George Kling. He proudly carried a shiny, new ten cent piece in his pocket. The other was Teddy Hollis. He had gone straight home a week ago and opened his bank. There were eleven dollars and sixty-eight cents in it, enough for the roller skates he wanted, and the new battery for his radio, and all the marbles and alleys he’d need this spring and still there would be several dollars over. He counted out some change. “Tm going to give a whole dollar,” he said. “That’s probably more than anybody else will have. Won’t they all wish they were me!” He had the dollar now in his pocket, three quarters, two dimes and a nickel. It jingled pleasantly as he turned the corner by the store. He almost bumped into the slot machine which was fastened near the door. A nickel in the slot machine would give you a package of gum. But Teddy had no nickel to spare this morning. At least — why, there was a nickel in his change! If he bought some gum he would still have ninety-five cents left. That was probably more than any other child would have. He fumbled in his pocket, found the five cent piece, put it in the slot and turned the handle. He took the paper off the outside of the package, thrust two of the sticks of gum in his mouth and hurried on. In Sunday school the children were excitedly getting ready to present their gifts. ; “ T have thirty-five cents,” said one. ““My mother gave me fifty cents,” said another. ‘““Mine gave me forty,” said a third, “ and Jimmy brought seventy-five.” “Here comes Teddy,” whispered Bob Fair- child. ‘* How much did you bring, Teddy? ”’ ‘““A dol—I mean ninety-five cents,” replied Teddy, a little proudly. ‘‘ Here, want some gum? It’s Juicy Fruit.” “‘ Ninety-five cents!” an echo went around the room. That was more than any one else had brought. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER George Kling suddenly felt as if his gift was very small indeed. No one had brought as little as he. He had been so pleased to have it — now he wondered if it was worth giving at all. But it was all he had. He must give it. And maybe Miss True and his heavenly Father would understand, even if the children wouldn’t. They would think: he didn’t want to bring any more. They were going forward now. Bob was putting five ten cent pieces in the basket. So was Adelaide. Jimmy had seventy-five cents. Then came Teddy. First one quarter went in, then another, and a third. “Seventy-five, eighty- five,” counted the children as the dimes followed, “ninety-five. My, most a dollar!” they all said. Miss True smiled but said nothing. She was looking at George. He had started up the aisle, but had decided his gift was too small, after all, and sat down again. Think of it — too small, when it meant all he had, and giving up sugar on anything for days and days! He thought that nobody knew. But Miss True did. She had called on Mrs. Kling the evening before, after George was in bed, and heard all about it. “You had a gift, didn’t you, George?” she asked gently. “Yes, but’ — said George, hesitating, “ but it isn’t very much.” He held out his hand with the ten cent piece in it. Miss True smiled and opened her eyes wide. “Tt is the biggest gift of all,’ she said, and led him up to the basket. “Why did she say that?” the children asked each other. “It was only ten cents. Teddy gave ninety-five cents and she never said a word.” Miss True was standing by the picture of Jesus. “There is a story about our great Teacher,” she began, “ which will show us how to judge the greatness of a gift.” Every one sat still, They always sat still when there was a story about their great Teacher. “Two rich men walked across the temple courts to the part called the treasury. There were great chests in which people brought their gifts to God. The gifts were money, gold and silver, and every one was supposed to give as he was able, to show that he loved God. The rich men opened the bags at their sides and drew out some gold coins. It was a great deal of money, and they held the coins up before dropping them in, so that every one near could see bow much they were giving. Jesus saw. 179 He was there with his disciples. Perhaps his disciples said to themselves, ‘That was a great deal of money.’ ** The richly dressed men passed into the temple and others came by. Some put in silver, some gold coins. They too wished everybody to know how generous they were. To be sure they had a great deal more at home and would never miss what they gave, but they felt) that they were very generous just because the sums were large. Others dropped in money, not because they loved God, but because everybody expected it of them. “Then came a poor widow. She could hardly be expected to bring any gifts to God, for she had barely enough to live on. If she should give anything, it meant that she had to go with- out something to eat. But she went up to the chest, and not because she was expected to do it, and not to show how. generous she was, but because she felt that God was good to her and she wanted to show him she loved him, she put in two tiny pieces of copper, not so much as one penny in our money, but enough to buy a little food. It seemed hardly worth while, did it? And yet Jesus, watching, said to his disciples, ‘I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all the rest.’ ” Miss True paused. The children began to think. That was what she had said about George’s ten cents! Then she went on, and George’s eyes began to shine, for he saw now that God would think his gift worth while, even if the children didn’t understand. “* For they,’ Miss True went on, ‘ ‘ For they,’ Jesus said, ‘ gave from what they had to spare, but she in her want has put in all she had to live on.’ ” School B. Two Cuimpren (bursting forth): That would have made the chimes ring! Report of School A White Wings Used second suggestion. Le-der told story and showed picture of New Yoi White Wings (Stories of Brotherhood, Hunting). Children armed with brooms, mops, baskets and cleaning cloths attacked dirt and rubbish inside and out. The minister supervised the outdoor work. The leader assisted in digging out corners, washing windows and scrubbing floors in the Beginners’ 180 and Primary room. Two hours were spent in vigorous work. FiLorris (surveying the clean lawn): We ought to build a high fence around it, so we could keep it nice. The children coming from school will throw papers all over it. Leaver: That would be a pity, now we've worked so hard to get it clean. Cuitp: No, we ought to have a sign, “ Boys and girls please keep off the church lawn.” Cuitp: That’s too long to write. Just have ‘Keep off the grass.” Cup: There isn’t any grass. Cuitv: We ought to plant some. Cup: We'll need two pieces of wood for signs. Cuinp: I've gol one. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Cup: My dad can print it on. Cuitp: Aw, I can print as good as anybody’s dad. Ill do the printing! Cuitp: We'll keep the other children off. We can say we're trying to keep our church lawn looking nice, so please keep off! Tina (picking up paper on lawn in the after- noon): I always pick up the papers on the church lawn now. Florrie and I, we came by the other day and we picked up a whole lot. Report of School B We, as part of a graded weekday school, ended our term at this time, although the third- grade children would gladly have continued the sessions. The entire school joined in a final picnic. THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY April — May FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Suggestions, in the event of the children’s not planning their own service: (Practise in the pre-session period “ I Cannot Do Great Things for Him.’ Appropriate songs for worship are, “ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,” and Easter refrain composed by department. The story of the widow’s mite may be told by one child before the offering.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Review and Criticisms. (Let the class com- ment on last Sunday’s service. Were the stories well chosen? Would a person who never had heard of Jesus know all that is necessary from those brief stories? If they themselves wanted to tell a story of Jesus, what part would they choose to make others love him and want to be like him? Let this discussion be conducted by the children. See ‘ Forming a Council,” Twenty- sixth Weekday. (The “picture gallery” will be near for ref- erence. As each child thinks of what he con- siders the most important thing to tell about Jesus, he rises, is recognized by the chairman before speaking, and his idea noted on the board by a “ secretary.” (Speak of the missionary in whose work the class is becoming interested. Suggest that the children vote on four stories which they will write her to tell to her group.) School A. Class voted to ask Miss —— to tell the Virginia Hollow children “‘ The Good Samaritan,” “ Jesus in the Temple,” “The Story of Palm Sunday,’ ‘“ Jesus and the Fishermen,” “ Stilling the Storm,” “The Shepherds,” “ Jesus Washing the Disciples’ Feet.”” Miss —— was inter- ested not only to receive these suggestions, but is asked for more. Leader told story of Peter suggested for last Sunday. SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD (Suggestions if children have not made the order of service: (An appreciation lesson on a new song, “I Cannot Do Great Things for Him,” or “ The Children’s Service,’ Songs for Little People. (Prayer, suggested by children, or one incor- porating the ideas in song. (Another song: “‘ God’s Children Live in Many Lands,” Song and Play for Children. (Third-grade child tells others about the new friends they are making in a distant land; invites them to share their pictures and charts, after session, and asks for their assistance in collecting flowers.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD A New Picture of Peter. Show pictures listed below, to be found in Primary Picture Set No. 3, International Graded Lessons. Let the children see if they can find Peter in these pictures, and imagine what he is thinking and saying in each. Picture: ‘‘ Jesus Washing the Feet of his Dis- ciples.” School A. CHILDREN: You can’t wash my feet! We wouldn’t wash his feet. Picture: ‘“ The Last Supper.” School A. Comp: He says he’s going to die, but it isn’t true. Picture: ‘ The Denial.” School A. CuitprREN: I told a lie. He'll think I’m bad. He’ll never like me any more. Picture: ‘“ Jesus and St. Peter.” School A. Cuitp: I'll do anything he ever wants me to after this. 181 182 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Story. PETER AND JOHN AND A LAME MAN (Bible reference: Acts 3 : 1-10.) [’'m thinking of another picture. Try to see it with me and tell me what Peter is saying in this. The picture I see is of a part of the temple in Jerusalem. It is after Peter has been trusted again to help carry on the work Jesus left un- finished. Everywhere he goes he tries to do whatever Jesus would do. That’s the way he knows whether he’s right or not, — by asking himself, “ What would Jesus do?” It is the way he keeps close to the heavenly Father. The heavenly Father is able to do marvelous things through Peter and John and the other disciples. ‘They keep so close to him, they ask so often, “ What would Jesus do? ”’ The picture I see has a beautiful gate in it. It is one of the gates of the temple. It is three o'clock, the hour of prayer in the temple. People are thronging in. There is a lame man sitting by the gate. He has been lame from his birth. The only way he knows of getting money for food is to beg for it. Every day his friends bring him to the Beautiful Gate so that he may beg of the people on their way to the temple. Peter and John are coming toward the Beautiful Gate. They are just about to go through. The lame man puts out his long, slim hand and asks them for money. Tell me what Peter and John do. Do they go right on in? Do they sive the lame man money? They can’t, they haven't any. What is there that they can do? School A. Frankie: They say they'll take him to Jesus. LEADER: Jesus had gone now, and left his work for his friends to carry on. Stuart: Then they'll heal him them- selves. They ask themselves, ““ What would Jesus do? ” What would Jesus do? In the picture I see, Peter is fixing his eyes on the lame man. So is John. Peter says, “ Look at us!” The lame man looks at them. He thinks they are going to give him something. They are, but it isn’t what he expects. Peter says, ‘I have no silver or gold, but I will give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,’ — what do you think he tells him to do? School A. Cuorus: Rise! Get up! He is taking him by the right hand, and raising him up. The man’s feet and ankles are strong enough to hold him. He springs to his feet. He begins to walk and to leap, praising God as he goes into the temple with the disciples. When the people see him walking about, praising God, and recognize him as the man who has been begging for years at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, they don’t know what to make of it. They are astonished. But Peter and John are not astonished. They praise God themselves. Why, do you think? School A. Tommy|_ For helping them Marion] to do it! Did Jesus make a mistake in trusting Peter again? He is proving that he was truly sorry, isn’t he? What was it that the disciples asked themselves when they wondered what to do? ‘“*‘ What would Jesus dod’? Why wouldn’t that be a good thing for everybody to say, who is trying to be like Jesus? Would it help, do you think? For instance, a boy is on his way from schoo! whose mother has asked him to come directly home. Some other boys ask him to go fishing. He’s trying to live in Jesus’ way. What does he ask himself? (“What would Jesus do”) What does the boy do? (What his mother told him.) Every time he does that he is growing more like the great Teacher. A girl is taking an examination in school. She doesn’t know the answer. If she looks she can see what the boy across the aisle has written on his paper. She’s trying to live in Jesus’ way. What does she ask herself? (‘‘ What would Jesus do?’’) What will she do? And every time she keeps herself from cheating she’s making it easier to be true next time. A boy has heard some bad language. School A. Self-conscious looks between Stuart and Frankie. He doesn’t know exactly why it is bad, but his conscience tells him. That’s how God speaks to people. He is angry at some one. He wants to use those words he heard. But he wears a | AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER Christian flag. What does he ask himself? What will he do? Every time he stops and listens to God’s voice inside of him, telling him what is right or wrong, he makes it easier for God to speak to him again. And the more people there are who are listening to God’s voice and trying to be like Jesus, the sooner this prayer will be answered, “ Thy kingdom come.” (Use whatever examples seem applicable and close with a prayer for help to do as Jesus would do.) School A. Leaper: Can you think of times when it would help to say, “ What would Jesus do?” Tommy: When we want to giggle and make a noise in the circle. Leaver: I'll tell you a secret. It’s the only way J know how to know what’s right or wrong, asking, ““ What would Jesus do? ”’ If I know the answer and do as Jesus would do I know I’ve done right. If I know the answer and don’t feel strong enough to do it, is there anything more I can do? Anne: You can ask God to help you. Report of School A Popularity of Our Class Mrs. Norton (after church): Tell me, how does Frankie behave? Does he help you? This class 183 is the best thing that has happened to him this year. It is wonderful for a mother to think of his playtime so occupied. Saturdays always are a problem. FRANKIE (later): Miss Bradley, will this class keep up next year? Leaver: You'll be the same class, of course, but you'll have been promoted to the Junior Department. FRANKIE: Oh, I don’t want to pass! Fiorrie: We can come on Saturday though, just the same, can’t we? Worship Service Growing out of Weekday Activity Items in worship service inspired by White Wings activities of Saturday introduced by proud references to yesterday’s achievement of Our Class: Song, “‘ This is God’s House.” Scripture, ‘“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Conversation about our pleasure in a clean church, and plans for enlisting everybody’s help in keeping the lawn, our “‘ temple court,” beauti- ful. Scripture, “ Enter into his gates with thanks- giving, and into his courts with praise.” Praise Song. THIRTY-FIRST WEEKDAY Hiking and Planning A Hike This hike is to find wild flowers to press and send to the class’ new distant friends: Continue with suggestions for Thirtieth Week- day. Alternate: Planning a Worship Service Let the children try planning a worship service entirely around their after-Easter experiences. By now they should thoroughly understand the parts of the service and the reason for them, and be able, next Sunday, to show the other classes how to make one. Speak of the Easter season as a period of such joy for the disciples that they felt like singing much of the time. We do not know what hymns they sang but they were happy ones. Choose the most joyous possible and practise, looking toward Children’s Day. Report of School A Good Sportsmanship Leaver: It certainly looks like rain. Stuart: Aw, who’s afraid of rain? Miss Bradley, aren’t you going? going Come on, Leaver: No, it’s too wet. I was so disap- pointed this morning, but then I thought right off, this is the very first day we’ve planned a hike when we couldn’t go. Think of it, all winter long! Haven’t we been pretty lucky! Sruart: I don’t care, even if we can’t go. Alternative for Hike Games Story, “ George Kling’s Gift ” Work on toys for Virginia Leader made work alluring by appeal to children’s imagination and humor. Standing behind a screen, holding up paper bags containing» unfinished wooden animals and all necessary materials for completing them, she impersonated sheep, ducks and dogs, ie., “Baa! I need a standard and some wheels! Who'll finish me)” “Bow! wow! I’m only half sawed out,” “Quack, quack, I want some shellac.” A committee of girls was appointed to compose worship services. JoHn (as Karl, the new boy, presented two perfectly finished toys): He talks funny, but you ask anybody in his grade and they'll tell you he’s the best maker there is! Continued Interest in the Church Property JoHNn: I was coming past the church the other day and there was some excelsior on the lawn. So I picked it up. 184 THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY May FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Songs and prayer as planned by the children. In pre-session period practise Children’s Day songs.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Fresh Views of Familiar Material. (Have the names of the disciples on the blackboard, and have a “Great Teacher’? dramatization in a different form from preceding ones. Each child takes the name of a disciple, and is supposed to be now doing Jesus’ work. When people come to them, as they came to Jesus for help of different kinds, they ask themselves what their Teacher would do or say and pass on his teachings. The leader may be in turn different people who need to be taught Jesus’ way. The “ disciples” may look at the “ picture gallery” for reminders of what their Teacher did or said to help people ‘in like need. See report of School A, Twenty- sixth Sunday, but add new situations, e.g. ‘‘ ’m no good; I keep thinking I’ll be better but I make more mistakes.’”” How would Peter answer? “IT am sad, for the one I loved most in the world is dead. I shall never see him again. I have lost my best friend.”” How would any of the disciples answer?) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship Mothers’ Day Program Song. ‘Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.” Song. ‘‘ Gentle Child of Nazareth” (a song which the mothers in Jesus’ land still sing). Mother Stories. Leader mentions stories in which mothers appear and children guess the stories, i.e. ‘“‘I am thinking of a mother who had no crib for her baby.” “I am thinking of a mother who protected her baby by hiding him.” “T am thinking of mothers who heard that a great Teacher had come to town.” Poem. The First Children’s Day (page 25). SECOND CLASS PERIOD Looking Ahead. (If it is desirable to con- tinue the thought of Children’s Day and the children’s part in it, discuss more in detail their share. Show Hofmann’s Christ in the Temple. Let the children think of different parts of a possible church service which this picture would suggest, e.g. Songs, or poems: “ The Church,” “This is God’s House,” “Sabbath Morning Bells,” all in Songs for Little People.) . Story, “Jesus in the Temple” (told by a child). Showing picture. Gift for the church (possibly framed copy of Hofmann’s picture). (if the children have not already started earn- ing money for a gift, let them list ways now. The leader should explain to the parents the idea of their gift, and ask them to help make the earning of money possible. (The children themselves’ could enlist the parent’s cooperation by writing in this session, notes like the following to take home:) Dear Mother, Our class is trying to earn money to make a present to the church. Will you help me think of a way I can earn my share? Report of School A A Mothers’ Day Inspiration Tina: I want to finish my book today because I’m going to give it to my mother for her birthday. Council Meeting Sruart (as Anne took. the chair): She’s not chairman; Lawrence was. (Lawrence cheerfully agreed.) LeaperR: Lawrence once took John’s place. Anne was elected chairman. Sruart (who had been doing electioneering): There’s five of us want Lawrence. Leaver: But Anne was elected. LawrRENcE: No, Miss Bradley! Leader explains what a secretary is for. Need clearly shown today. Had to refer to her own record. At this point Karl and Lawrence started a fight. 185 186 LreapER: While we’re in council let’s decide what to do about these boys. ANNE (chairman): What shall we decide to do about these boys? Joun: Quarantine them from the hike next Saturday. Anne: Any other ideas? Stuart: Quarantine them for seven weeks. Fiorrie: Help them to use their self-control. LAWRENCE (interested, but embarrassed): Go on. I don’t care what you do to me. Leaver: There are three suggestions. Let’s take them up. The first was to ask them to stay away from the hike next Saturday. Would that help them to keep order in Sunday school? Joun: Yes, if you keep them from doing something they want to, they'll be more liable to remember. Leaver: The next was to quarantine them for seven weeks. The class will be over by then. Would it be fair? Remember our Teacher’s rule. Would you think it fair if we were talking about you? (silence) The next idea was to help them use their self-control. Just how could we AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER do that? Lawrence, have you any ideas? We’re here to help each other you know. We'd like your ideas, too. Cuitp: Look at our picture. Cuitp: You don’t look anywhere when you're fighting. Cuitp: How would he ever get out of quaran- tine? Cuitp: You let Florrie come back. Leaver: Florrie was sorry and showed that she was. Joun: Well, Lawrence is sorry now, I can see it in his face. FRANKIE: Yes, he is, Miss Bradley. I can see it too. Tina: He’s almost crying. Joun (after the session): Miss Bradley, I’m sorry I was a naughty boy. Stuart: I’m sorry I was a naughty boy, Miss Bradley. LEADER: Honestly, Stuart? Stuart: Yes, honest! Lawrence: Miss Bradley, I’m sorry. awfully sorry I was a naughty boy. I’m THIRTY-SECOND WEEKDAY Various Plans A Hike for Wild Flowers The more the children are out-of-doors this month the happier and better they willbe. There will on these hikes be opportunity for nature study and stories. Indoor Session If the session is held indoors, practise Children’s Day songs and continue work on the missionary project. Mount flowers already gathered and pressed for the children in another place. Finish uncompleted work. Ifastory is wanted, tell ‘‘ Half-Finished Land.” Report of School A on Hike Stuart Will Not Spoil this Hike LEADER (before starting): Did you wear your pin, Stuart? (Christian flag.) Stuart: No, it’s on my other coat. I can keep myself from grumbling! Tina is Not Weary in Well-Doing. Tina: Miss Bradley, I found a whole lot of papers on the church lawn one day and I picked them up. Every time now when [I go by I do. Songs About Teachers are Not Forgotten Children sang their two original songs about teachers for the two public school teachers who went on our hike. (See pages 22 and 23.) Council versus Action LEADER (attempting in vain a council meeting in woods): Boys, please come and help us hold this meeting. Stuart (poised between life and death): I’m up here getting cherry blossoms to trim the church. But Story. Haur-FinisHep LAND There was once a little boy called Charles, who lived with his father and mother and brothers and sisters in a pretty house. He was a nice boy, good-tempered and kind to his brothers and sisters, and everybody liked him; but he had one bad fault, and I want to tell you how he was cured of it. One day he went to see a cousin of his who had a beautiful kite. Oh, you should have seen how beautifully it flew! Charlie said, “ I would like to have a kite like that. Did you make it yourself? Do show me how to make one!” So his cousin told him that he must get some pieces of wood and some calico, and showed him how to fix them together, and Charlie went home and told his father and mother what he wanted for making a kite. So his father got him some pieces of wood the very next day, and his mother got him some calico, and he began to put the kite together. And he was just wondering how he would ever get enough string for a kite that was going to fly as high as this one, when his brother Dick came in and said, “‘O Charlie, what do you think? I’ve got some cardboard models. There’s a house and a windmill and a church, and you cut them out of cardboard and put them to- gether, and they look fine when they’re done.” ** Oh,” cried Charlie, “‘ do let me have one to make! ” ‘““Hadn’t you better finish your kite?” his mother asked. ‘Oh, I can finish my kite later on when I’ve got the string,” he said. So he bundled the sticks and calico into a corner, and began to cut out the cardboard windmill. And he cut away, and the sails and the windmill looked ever so nice, and he began to think how beautiful it would look when it was all gummed together and stuck up on a board. Only just then teatime came and the things had to be cleared away. And after tea Charlie thought he would like a game, and then it was time to go to bed. The next day there was ice on the pond and the snow was falling fast. “We must make a sledge,” said Charlie, “like the one they've got next door, and go tobogganing today. Father, may we make a toboggan? ” * Aren’t you going to finish your kite? ”’ ** Oh, that can wait!” “Well, wouldn’t you like to finish the wind- mill? ”’ “Oh, I can do that some other day! make a toboggan.” So Charlie went and fetched an old packing- case that stood in the yard, and he and Dick Let’s 187 188 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER worked away all the morning, sawing and nailing, and by dinnertime, Charlie was beginning to think that it was very hard work making a sledge. “Let’s go and slide on the pond this after- noon,” he said. ‘‘ We can finish the toboggan afterward.” : So out they went and Charlie spent all of the afternoon sliding. After tea he was so tired that he felt that he would like to sit still and read a story-book, and he was so sleepy with his after- noon on the ice thdt he was quite glad to go to bed early. He never quite knew how it happened, but just as he was getting into bed, he heard some one say to him, “ Charlie, come this way with me.” And he looked, and saw a man — such a funny- looking man! He only seemed to have half a coat on, and his boots were not done up, and somehow Charlie had to follow him. And he led him right out of the house and up the street. “Where are you going to take me?” Charlie asked. “Tm going to take you to live with me for a little while.” “ What’s the name of thie place? ” “* Half-Finished Land,’ he said. see how you like it.” When they turned the corner of the street, they came to a place like nothing Charlie had ever seen before. There was a path leading up to a house, but the path stopped short before you got there, and you had to climb over mounds of rubbish to get to the front door. Then when they got to the door there wasn’t any bell or knocker on it. ‘They never finished building this house, you see,”’ the man said. ‘“ How are we going to get in? ”’ said Charlie. “Well, perhaps they never put the lock on, either,” said the man. And so it was. They just pushed, the door opened, and in they went. “IT want to They went into the dining-room. There was a carpet over half the floor, and there was paper on a little bit of the walls. There was just the remains of a tiny fire in the grate, but oh, it was so cold! “You see,” the man said, “‘ they never finished bringing in the coals. We had better have sontething to eat, and then you can go upstairs to bed.” So they sat down to supper. Charlie thought at first there was plenty to eat. There was meat and eggs and bread and butter and cake; but when he started, he found he couldn’t swallow anything. The meat had only just begun to be cooked, and the bread and cake weren't properly baked, and eggs hadn’t been half boiled. So he soon said that he would like to go to bed. The man took him upstairs, but what was his surprise to find when they got to the bedroom, they could see the sky, with the stars shining, right through the ceiling. ‘Oh, yes!”’ the man explained. “You see, they didn’t finish the roof. Good-night.” Charlie tried to make himself warm and com- fortable. He curled himself up in the bed. But the bed hadn’t been properly made. Oh, he was so cold and wretched, and he began to want to cry, and he thought to himself, ““ What a dreadful thing it is not to do things thoroughly! If only the people who got this house ready had finished! ”’ At last he could stand it no longer. All was quiet, and he made up his mind that he would run out and get back home again. So he jumped up in bed, and knock-knock-knock, lo and behold, he was back in his own room at home, and his father was knocking at the door and telling him it was time to get up. “Tt’s very cold this morning, Charlie; hurry and come down. What are you going to do today? ” “ First of all I am going to finish my kite, father. Then there’s that windmill to be done. And then Dick and I must get the toboggan ready, in case there’s any more snow.” That was how Charlie learned to finish the things he began. And when he grew up there was a Bible text he was very fond of. It was this: “ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” And he used to say, “* That means that we ought always to finish the things we begin.” — H. C. Carter. ———_— ee ee a THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY 7 May FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Nature songs and verses which will be used in the services on Children’s Day.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Recalling the Old. (Recall the story of Jesus’ disciples being sent out with the reminder, “‘ Freely ye received, freely give,” told in connec- tion with the Happy Valley story, Eighth Week- day. Name over ways in which our church has freely given to the class since it began to go to school to the great Teacher. Speak of the picture that may be presented on Children’s Day and let the children tell of the different ways in which they are earning money.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (To introduce the songs and other worship material to be used on Children’s Day, read “The First Children’s Day,’ page 25, and follow, if desirable, with the song, “I Think When I Read That Sweet Story of Old.’’) SECOND CLASS PERIOD New Plans. (There is very little time left to complete whatever work has been started in the weekday sessions. Outdoor activities probably have claimed most of the interest lately. But to leave unfinished work which has been once begun, or to allow the children to drift toward the close of the year without bringing their class interests and purposes to some sort of satisfactory climax, would be not only losing a great opportunity, but violating an important law of project teaching. (The sessions of the class will not be brought to a proper close unless the children have that gratifying sense of work well completed and interest satisfied, which should accompany any educational enterprise. (A plan may be on foot for a closing party to which parents and friends will be invited to view the ‘‘ picture gallery” representing stories heard during the year of the great Teacher; the ‘illuminated Bibles” containing songs, poems and passages of Scripture learned, and pictures studied; the charts or posters explaining the life of the new friends in another place, and an exhibit of the gifts made for them. (This period may be spent making plans for the exhibit, and if the situation warrants it, telling “‘ Half-Finished Land,” on page 187.) Report of School A Spring Service Prepared by Anne 1. Quiet Music. (To put people in the mood to worship.) 2. Song. ‘“ The Alder by the River.” 3. Verses. (To call people to praise.) 4. Praise Song. “ Praise Him, praise Him.” 5. Call to Prayer. 6. The Lord’s Prayer. 7. Song. ‘Sing, ye Happy Children.” 8. Offering. “We give Thee but Thine 9. Prayer. Thanks. Helping us to be good, rain, sunshine, warm weather, birds’ songs, food, gardens. Ask not to harm birds. Ask not to hit back; to use self-control; to help mother, when sick; to help church and others. 10. Chords. 1l. Songs. **God’s Children Dwell; ” Nazareth;’’ He Cares for Me;” Bright and Beautiful.” Children Plan Their Exhibit Leaver (al beginning of second class period): I know a girl in this class who kept herself from crying when she fell and broke her collar bone. She used her self-control. I saw a boy yesterday on the hike stop himself from going down under the bridge when [ asked him not to. He wanted to go. He used his self-control. I heard the boys teasing another boy, and instead of growing angry this boy just laughed with them as if it were a good joke. He used his self-control. Every time we're together you use it. Today we have many things to decide and we shall have to use it to pay attention. (Rapid announcements followed.) We might have a party when this class closes to show our friends what we’ve been doing this year. I don’t know exactly what we'd show— “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus;” ‘“ Gentle Child of ** All Things 189 190 Cup: There’s the gallery. Sruart: We could tell them the stories of the pictures. Cnitp: We could show them Virginia Hollow pictures. Cuitp: Our own pictures, too. Crimp: And the toys we’ve made. Sruart: And our books. Lreaper: The toys aren’t finished. Cxorus: We'll come after school and finish them. Children’s Day Service Grows Naturally The climax to the children’s interest in the church, started by their occasiona! contributions AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER to the decorations, deepening into gratitude by the gift of Easter plants, and showing in service like care for the church property, was to come in a gift to the Junior Department of a picture of Christ in the Temple. earning money for it. Children’s Day song practise suggested an appropriate occasion for presenting it. FRANKIE: I could tell the story of it. Anotuer: All our class could go up. Leader: Could you think of a song to sing? SEVERAL: “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.” “Gentle Child of Nazareth.” He was a boy there. They were already — ————— THIRTY-THIRD WEEKDAY “Planning the Exhibit Games Use those which require self-control, such as Musical Rug, Ten Steps and Statues. Work and Demonstration Finish up all work started on charts, books or gifts. If the final weekday program is to enable the class to share with parents and friends the type of work and play enjoyed together during the year, plan the program today. Decide on the hour and day, the friends to invite, what refresh- ments, if any, shall be served, how the rcom shall be arranged, and how the privileges of explaining the various interests represented shall be divided. All the children should agree on the most impor- tant points to be brought out about each, but to certain ones would be delegated special parts. For instance, although all may know the stories represented by the picture gallery, two may be chosen to stand near it, to call attention to it, to point out the favorites, or to answer any questions about it. Thus two others may have the fun of showing the books and explaining how they first had the idea of “ illuminating ”’ or putting special designs on the pages. Two others may tell about the far-away friends whose ways they have been studying. Others may show the gifts made, and explain how they were made. One or two may interpret whatever charts there are. The young demonstrators should be given a chance to practise before the leader, or better, during the week, before some of their mates, with the leader present. Report of School A Exhibit Plans Children had met during week to (1) arrange photographs on charts; (2) finish toys; (3) make key to map of town made by Junior. The gloom occasioned by the horrible possi- bility of no refreshments at the party (all avail- able monies being necessary for the picture fund) was lifted by the providential proposal of Miss Fairfield, the superintendent. Her offer to furnish materials for lemonade was graciously accepted. Girls were appointed to make it the morning of the party, much to boys’ disgust. Dramatization Saves the Day Leaper: I'll list on the board the parts of the exhibit to be explained, and the class must decide today what part each one will have charge of. First we'll decide how to greet our guests. Who shall be appointed to meet them at the door? FLorriE: I want to tell about the gallery! Joun: [ll do that, too. LEADER (promptly): All right. Tl put down Florrie and John for the gallery. Now who will mect the guests at the door? Joun: Til tell about the books and how we made ’em. LeapER: But you were on the gallery. will greet the guests? Jonn: Well, I want to be at the gallery and tell about the books too. Votces or Karu, Tina, ANNE, LAWRENCE, Tommy (heard above the din): Vd rather do the Bibles. Let me explain the toys. I made most of them. I want to tell about the White Wings! No fair, I made that chart. Here, gimme the map, [ll tell about that. Who Leaver (above them all): Lawrences! You nearly tore Elsie’s map. Give it to me. CUIneffectually) Children, we must be quiet CUnspired) Tl tell you, we’ll act it all out right now. John, will you be the first one to greet the guests? Lawrence, you go over to the “ Bible” table. Anne, you go to the toys. Marian, you explain the White Wings. Vl be a visitor to the exhibit. Who'll explain Virginia and the map? Eager volunteers. Leader disappeared. Ap- peared at door to find John extending his hand cordially. Joun (unnaturally courteous): How do you do? Would you like to take off your hat? Vistron: Thank you, no, I'll keep hear you have been doing interesting your class. Can you tell me about it? JoHN: Would you like to see our toys? (Con- ducted her to toy table.) Anne will explain them to you. This worked like a charm, the different children vying with each other for the conductor’s réle, and lo, the program had been very happily rehearsed! it on. I things in 19] THIRTY-FOURTH SUNDAY May FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Songs, verses and offering service to be used on Children’s Day.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Recalling the Old. Did you ever start any- thing and not finish it? School A. CHILDREN: Oh, my, yes! I’m always doing that. Stuart: I start to read Johnny Blos- som and after a little while I say, “ Oh, that’s no good. Guess [ll go out and cut the grass,”’ and after a while I say, Oh, that’s no good. Guess I'll go and play with the boys,’’ and soon as I be- gin a game of marbles I say, “ Oh, that’s no good,” and before I know it it’s night and I haven’t finished anything all day! Was it too hard? Did you grow tired of it? Did you want to do some- thing else and then forget about it? Or when you had fairly started did you grow discouraged and find it too hard? Did you ever hear a story of any one who didn’t finish things he had begun? (Recall “ Half-Finished Land.”) How would you like to live with people who were always half-doing what they started? Has this class started anything it hasn’t kept up? Why did you stop? School A. LrapER: We started keep- ing the lawn clean. SEVERAL: Well, I pick up papers on it all the while, still. Fiore: Well, Miss Bradley, daddy got the wood for the sign, but he never has time to put the printing on. (Get reasons for stopping. Handwork may have grown wearisome; interest may have waned in making their books beautiful; trying not to quarrel, to be helpful and obedient, orderly and controlled may have been discouraging tasks.) Who is the real Teacher of our class? School A. ANNE: Miss True? Oh, no, of course not — Jesus. Do you suppose Jesus ever got discouraged and felt like giving up? School A. Cuitpren: No. Yes. Well, he probably got discouraged but he never gave up. When he was a boy in his father’s carpenter shop (show the picture of “ Jesus as a Boy in Nazareth ’’) how long do you think he worked on a thing he once started? What makes you think he always finished? It isn’t really wicked to leave something undone. Then why do you believe he never did? We think of him as having the courage to stick to a thing, don’t we? It’s weak to give up at the first hard place. And our great Teacher was not weak. He was strong. (Show the picture, ‘ Jesus Washing the Feet of the Disciples.””) Do you remember how they kept quarreling over first place, as if to sit in a certain place meant that one was greater than the other? Shouldn’t you think Jesus would have felt discouraged, and like giving up trying to teach them any more? You or I might have said, ‘‘ Oh, it’s too hard. I’m tired of trying to make people understand what my Father wants. I’m going to give up.” School A. ANNE (reproachfully): Jesus wouldn’t say that. He never gave up, did he? He knew too much about his heavenly Father for that. He knew that the more he tried, the more strength God would give him. There was one of Jesus’ disciples who thought he was strong. He boasted that he would be willing to — (hold up the picture, ““ The Denial,” and ask for the story). You know how dis- couraged Peter felt after he had shown he was so weak. Do you think he felt like giving up? Did he give up trying to help Jesus? What kept him from it? Jesus made him believe that he was strong in spite of everything. Jesus was always making people believe they could do what seemed impossible. You see he made them understand that with God’s help they could do anything. 192 AT SCHOOL WITH THE Let’s write on these slips of paper something we've grown discouraged about, and think we can’t go on with alone. Then we will pray for strength to keep on trying to do it. Maybe we've given up trying to learn one of the songs for our worship service; maybe we’ve grown tired of working on our books or on a gift for somebody. Maybe we think it’s too hard to keep the church lawn tidy, and have stopped picking up the papers as we did at first. Maybe we keep on quarreling in spite of thinking we won't. Perhaps we haven’t told the truth. Perhaps we’ve cheated. Perhaps we keep say- ing we'll try not to be naughty and then we forget. Whatever it is, let’s write it down on these papers and hold them in our hands. School A. Stuart: Oh, [ know! Here, give me a pencil! ANOTHER: Can we write more than one thing? Let’s look at the picture of our Teacher. He just made people believe that they could do hard things. He made them believe that God would give them strength if they tried. Jesus is still helping us. He is still teaching us that anything is possible with God. Let’s remember it when we pray. (Make the children understand that you do not want to see what they have written, that they may put the papers in their pockets and take them home when they are through with them. They will write more sincerely if you make this clear.) SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Continue the worship by using material to be used on Children’s Day. In the prayer ask especially for strength to keep on trying when we feel discouraged and like giving up.) SECOND CLASS PERIOD The New Story. THE MAN AT THE PooL _ (Bible reference, John 5 : 1-8) Once there was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Nobody had been able to cure him, and he must have been discouraged. Shouldn’t you be discouraged if you had been lying helpless for thirty-eight years? Shouldn’t GREAT TEACHER 193 you think, ‘‘ There’s no use in my ever trying to do anything?” Perhaps you’d even boast a little of what a very bad sickness yours was and how many people had tried to help you, but there was no use. Every one would feel sorry for you. If a stranger came along and told you to get up, what should you be likely to tell him? You’d probably say he didn’t understand, that it was impossible to get up, that you hadn’t walked for thirty-eight years. Even if a new doctor said he’d cure you, you’d probably explain to him that yours was not like other people’s illnesses, and you couldn’t possibly get well now. It would be different if you’d only been ill a month, or even a year or two, — but thirty-eight years! Almost any one would give up hope. I think this man I’m telling you about must have lost hope in any person’s ever making him well, but he still believed that if one certain thing could happen he might be cured. Near one of the gates of the city of Jerusalem there was a pool of water cut almost entirely in the rock. It was divided, like an open book, and a porch with pillars separated the two parts. There were porches all around the pool, five in all, and stone columns held up the roof. Now these porches were seldom empty. There were usually a great many sick people as near the edge of the pool as they could get, for they were waiting for something to happen in the water. Every little while the pool, which most of the time was so clear that a person could see his reflection in it, began to stir as though a spring were bubbling up from underneath. Some people called it the Pool of the Angel, for it was thought that when the water bubbled so an angel came and touched tit. This was what the sick people on the porches were waiting for, for there was a belief that the first person who stepped into the pool after the waters began to stir would be cured of whatever disease he had. So the blind and lame and paralyzed lay on the floors or sat leaning against the pillars watching and waiting. Their mats were drawn as close to the water as possible that they might be ready at the first sign of dis- turbance. Some could just manage to let them- selves down into the water when it bubbied up. Others had to wait when it bubbled for some one to help them into it. Those who could not move easily themselves of course lost their chance 194 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER over and over again. The man who had been sick for thirty-eight years was one of these. He had friends to bring him to the pool each day, but there they left him, and when the moment came for which he and all the others were waiting, this poor man found himself day after day, and month after month, losing his chances. He must have been terribly discouraged and ready to give up hope of ever being well. One day Jesus came to the pool. Probably there were many people in the porches, but Jesus saw this man lying on his mat and wanted to help him. I think he wanted to help him most because the man needed him most. That was like Jesus, wasn’t it? He saw just how sick the man was, and understood. “Do you want to get well?” he asked. I wonder what the sick man thought. He had been sick for thirty-eight years. Of course he wanted to get well. That was why he came to the pool each day. There was a bare chance that some one might help him in at the right time. Do you suppose that he thought this stranger with the kind face might help him to get into the water, if he understood? School A. FRANKIE: He thought, “ Now Jesus will cure me.” Leaver: But I think that he didn’t know of Jesus. FRANKIE: Well, maybe he thought he’d do something for him. Tt was the only hope he had of ever getting well. He would explain, “I have nobody, sir, to put me into the pool when the water stirs, but while I am getting down some one else steps in ahead of me.” Jesus said to him, “ Get up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Get up— without any help—and walk — alone! Without waiting for the waters to be troubled! Without bathing in them! I think I should be almost frightened to try to walk alone after lying in bed for thirty-eight years. I should be afraid of hurting myself or making myself worse. But there was something in Jesus’ face and Jesus’ voice which drove away all thought of fear. Instead, it made one believe he could do anything at all that Jesus expected of him. Jesus expected the sick man to get up and walk, and suddenly the man knew thal he could do it. He tried, and when he tried God gave him strength. He picked up his mat and walked away! If he had said, ‘‘ Oh, but that is impossible; you do not know how sick I am,” and had never tried, he never would have received the strength to do it. Wasn't Jesus wonderful to make people believe they could do what he expected of them? He is still expecting a great deal of his friends. He still says to us, “‘ Try; only believe you can do it, and God will give you the strength needed.” And that is why Peter and John and the others disciples and all the great Christian men and women through hundreds of years have done hard tasks for Jesus’ sake and never given up. And that is why we’re ashamed, if we’re friends of Jesus, to give up easily. We know that he still expects us to keep on trying. “ Only believe you can do it,” he still says; “ just try, and when you try God will give you strength.” (Close with another prayer, for strength through — the week, and through the summer, to keep on trying to do the good things which the class started out to do.) THIRTY-FOURTH WEEKDAY The Exhibit Final Plans If the exhibit is planned for today, there will be no chance for any other program. If, however, the exhibit should not be until next week, use today to make further preparations cither for this or for Children’s Day. Final decisions will be necessary in connection with this service, and the gift picture must be bought. If possible the children should accompany the leader to the store and select both picture and frame. It should be decided in just what way the gift will be presented; how best it will fit into the service; who shall be spokesman; who shall tell the story if this is desired; what should follow it. If the program for Children’s Day is not complete it should be planned in detail today. Story. ° Tue Boy Wuo Learned Most (Told by the leader as part of the exhibit program.) There was once a company of children who had been to school for nearly a year. It was an odd kind of school. In it one learned to read and write and do sums, but that wasn’t all. Miss True taught these things and many people who didn’t understand would have told you that Miss True was the only teacher in the town, and that such subjects as spelling and geography and number work were the only kind taught. But when Miss True herself said to a child, as she often did, with a smile on her face, “ You are going to school, aren’t you?” neither she nor the children were thinking of reading or arith- metic, nor of Miss True being the real teacher. “Going to school” meant something special to them, and their Teacher was some one very special. His picture was on the wall, and they often looked at it. He was teaching them how to make a happy world. That is even more important than those other things, isn’t it? For what good does it do to know how to spell or figure, if nobody is any happier for it? So when Miss True said to a child, ‘“ You are going to school, aren’t you)” it was no wonder that she smiled, for it meant that that child was learning how to live as the great Teacher, the greatest Teacher that ever lived, taught. You know, of course, that this school was in Happy Valley, and you will remember that there had come to that Valley a very learned man who, with his family, was in the habit of traveling about from place to place, making friends, gathering curios and collecting stories. The children called him the wise man, because he knew so much and told them so many wonderful stories. You will remember, too, that he was about to take another trip, and that for weeks the Happy Valley children had been making gifts for him to take to his friends elsewhere. Then came the exciting announcement that stirred the whole school and set every child to hoping and working. The wise man, who col- lected stories from every place he visited, said that the best story he had of Happy Valley was about this school, and that he wanted one of the children to go with him and help him tell the story! He and his family would be gone all summer, he said, and would visit children on the prairie, in the mountains, by the sea. People everywhere, he explained, wanted to be happy, but didn’t know how. Some of them had never heard of the great Teacher and had no idea how you could go to school to him. He had been watching this school and noticed how hard the children were trying to be kindly and self-controlled and obedient, and what a happy place this was making their town, and he had decided that one of them could tell the story much better than he could. ‘“‘T leave it to you,” he ended, “‘ which child is best fitted to do this, and I shall be glad to pay that child, for it will be hard work.” Imagine the excitement! To have a chance to travel all summer in the wise man’s covered wagon and distribute the presents they had been making, and to tell about their school, and be earning money besides! Every single child want- ed to go, of course. Don thought he might be chosen, because he had worked hardest on the toys. “But that wouldn’t be telling how you could go to school to Jesus,” said Freddie. Freddie himself had started several toys, but soon tired of them and had finished nothing. “IT can tell stories fine,” Freddie went on; “T’d be a good one for that.” 195 196 “T brought the most money for the picture,” Teddy Hollis reminded them. ‘“ That showed I must have liked the school pretty well.” But the others said that that didn’t show whether he could tell about the school best of any one. It ought to be, they thought, the one who knew the most. “T’ve been here every single day,” ventured one child, who had indeed been very regular, but who had paid little attention to what went on. “But you haven’t paid attention,” objected several, ‘‘so you haven’t learned much. Oughtn’t it to be,’’ they asked Miss True, “ oughtn’t it to be the one who has learned most, not the one that’s been here most? ”’ Miss True and everybody agreed that the child who showed that he had learned the most while ‘“ going to school to Jesus” would be best fitted to make others understand what it meant. The wise man should judge just before he left. From that moment it seemed as if there was never a time when somebody was not looking over the pile of pictures in the corner and review- ing the stories of Jesus that went with them. Every child wanted to be sure he knew them as well as possible, for there wasn’t a single boy or girl who wasn’t hoping to be chosen for the trip. Now there are some children, you know, who can tell stories a great deal more easily than others. You could see at once, by listening to those gathered in the corner, and practising the stories on each other, just which ones the good story-tellers were. Freddie Thorpe, for instance, could tell the whole story the minute he saw the picture. So could Dorothy Fairchild. They did it well, too, putting in all the important parts, and without too many pauses. But Freddie went even further. He took his Bible and reviewed every one of the verses they had learned. He could recite the shepherd story, the story of the Wise-men, and some of the Psalms so fast you could hardly follow him. George Kling looked on him with great admira- tion. He felt that he knew what every single picture was about, but he had a dreadful time trying to tell of them to some one else. He seemed to feel the story instead of being able to tell it. And as for learning chapters by heart, that was never easy for him. He had to say them very slowly, and stop between the verses ’ AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER to think about what came next. Freddie teased him a little about it. “Well, I know the stories just as well as you do,’ George insisted. “* Oho, listen to him! ”’ jeered Freddie. ‘ Yes, you do, yes, you do! Let’s hear you tell one. Here, tell this,” and he held up the picture of Jesus and the Man at the Pool of the Angel. “* Tt’s when he made that man believe he could walk if he’d only try,” said George. He knew the story perfectly well. * Well, tell it, tell the story,” insisted Freddie. But George didn’t know how to begin. ** Well, tell this one.”’ Freddie held up a picture of Jesus teaching his disciples to pray. “ He’s telling them that if they pray they’ll keep close to God,” said George, ‘and then they'll be all right.” “ That isn’t a story,” laughed one of the girls. “What’s this?’ and she showed David sparing Saul’s life. “T don’t know how to start it,” said George helplessly, ‘“‘ but it’s that time when the king had been so mean to David, and tried to kill him and then David found him asleep one night and had a chance to get even and kill him and never touched him. He showed his self-con- trol all right.” George’s eyes shone. He had always liked that story. How he did admire David! ‘““Aw, that’s a baby way to tell a story,” replied Freddie. ‘“‘ You ought to say, ‘ Once there was a king’—and tell his name and everything.” “ T’ve forgotten his name,” said George. “Well, that just shows!” said Freddie. ‘ Ill bet you can’t say the ninety-fifth Psalm by heart. You don’t know anything, any more than your little sister Lucy! ”’ George’s eyes began to blaze. “‘T know as much as you do, mister,” he said, doubling his fists. ‘‘ And you’d better be careful what you say ’round here if you don’t want to get in a fight.” “ Fight!” exclaimed Freddie scornfully. “You can’t fight, either, any more’n a baby.” Now this was not true, and Freddie knew it was not. The first day George had come to school he had fought like a tiger, but since he had been “ going to school” he had tried to control himself, and had never been in a fight since. He had never wanted to be in one so AT SCHOOL WITH THE badly as today. Why should Freddie plague him? He wasn’t trying to get the prize away from Freddie. George had given up even hoping for the summer trip when he saw how much better the others were at telling the stories. But what if he couldn’t tell the stories? He knew them, and he had made more toys than Freddie had, and the minister had called him a carpet-sweeper because he was so particular to keep the church lawn clean. He had helped to plant a garden in back ‘of the church, too, and done more digging and weeding than any one else. He remembered how Freddie had shirked his share. And now Freddie was trying to make him appear stupid and cowardly before all the children. He clenched his fists tighter and started toward Freddie. Dorothy seized the pictures for fear they would be hurt, and was even taking down the picture of Jesus on the wall, when George suddenly remembered where he was. “ Please, God, help me not to be mad,” he thought, and turned away. “ Didn’t I tell you!” shouted Freddie trium- phantly. “Help me not to be mad, help me not to be mad,’ prayed George. “ Get out of my way!” he commanded gruffly as the children crowded between him and the door. “Can’t fight, can’t fight!’ came the taunts behind him. “Help me not to be mad, help me not to be mad,” he breathed, and rushed out of the door. He almost ran into the wise man, but instead of saying ‘‘ excuse me,” he was so busy thinking his prayer that he repeated that instead. “‘ Help _me not to be mad, help me not to be mad,” he said, and left the wise man to stare after him in amazement. George turned the corner of the church, and seeing the basement door open, and not knowing or caring where he went, if he could only be let alone, he tumbled down the steps into the big room where the class had been working on their toys. He went over and stood by those he had finished so carefully. It didn’t seem as though he could stand it, if Freddie won the prize to have him take his, George’s, gifts and distribute where he would. He would take them home and give them to Lucy, instead. He looked over toward Freddie’s pile. Not one toy finished. Several were begun, but nothing had been com- GREAT TEACHER 197 pleted. That was like Freddie; he was always starting things he never finished. How George hated things that were left unfinished! It meant either that you were lazy, or that you weren’t clever or hadn’t grit enough to go on with what you started. If Freddie were chosen, he hoped the wise man wouldn’t see this work of his. It might look as though Freddie grew tired of everything that way — wouldn’t even stick to his story telling all summer. In the meantime the wise man had come to ask Miss True if it could be decided that after- noon which child was to take the trip with him. The children were all in a flutter. They hadn’t expected the test to come so soon. Each one wondered if he or she would surely show how well the lesson had been learned, Miss True looked around. “I think we're all here except George,” she said. ‘ When you go home to dinner, Dorothy, will you stop and tell him that it is to be decided this afternoon who shall go on the trip? ” ; “Where did he go?” asked the wise man, who had been wondering ever since George had bumped into him so unceremoniously, “Does anybody know?” asked Miss True, who had been out of the room when George disappeared. Freddie volunteered, “He was mad,” he began, but something in the wise man’s eyes stopped him, “What makes you think he was angry? ’’ the wise man asked. “Well,” hesitated Freddie, ‘he wanted to fight —”’ ‘* Ah, so he had been fighting? ” “Well,” answered Freddie truthfully, ‘he didn’t really fight —”’ “Why not? Did somebody stop him? ” ‘“ No,” cried the others, ‘‘ he stopped himself! ”’ “'That’s right,” agreed Freddie, already ashamed of his part. “Do you mind telling me how it happened? ” the wise man asked, and Freddie, now thoroughly ashamed, told the whole story likea man. “Thank you for telling me,” said the wise man at the end. But he seemed puzzled, “You say the whole quarrel was about who had learned most in this school. It is odd /—” and then he stopped. One by one the children Sorne to wonder if just knowing stories about Jesus, or learning who was 198 verses by heart, was after all the way to prove what they had learned in his school. Suddenly Freddie said, “‘ Say, it was my fault he got mad; and he used his self-control and I didn’t. I’m going to find him!” and he shot out of the door. But George couldn’t be found. He did not even come home to dinner and his mother was dreadfully worried. Everybody began to search. The wise man said he wanted the whole school present before he made his decision. Through the streets Miss True’s children went hunting for the lost boy. Nobody searched harder than Freddie, who began to wonder if George had gone off to the mountains where a bear would eat him, — and it would be all his fault for being so mean to him in the first place! Finally, when four o’clock came and George had still not been found, the children gathered together in their new school building to see what to do next. They had given up the search and trusted that the boy would turn up of him- self. The wise man listened to the children telling their stories and seemed very much pleased, but decided nothing. When they asked if he would like to see how many toys they had made for him to carry, he seemed even more pleased, and together they all went over to the church. As they drew near, all at once Miss True stopped and held up her finger. A sound was coming through the open basement door. The children listened breathlessly to the notes of their own work song: “Oh, work, work, work, And while you’re working sing, To sing a song will help the work along; So let your voices ring. And sing, Oh sing, sing, sing, And while you’re singing work, Take care, be true, in everything you do, To the finish, never shirk, But work, Oh, work, work, work —”’ “ tt’s George!” they whispered to each other. “We've found him in the church! Why didn’t we think of looking here? ” One ran off at once to tell George’s mother. Freddie rushed pell-mell down the steps, the rest. following. George turned around, apparently surprised. AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER ‘ Hullo,” he greeted them cheerfully, but Freddie said nothing at all. He stood still, rooted to the spot with his eyes and mouth opened equally wide. For George was standing in front of a whole row of beautifully finished toys — Freddie’s toys, if you please — which he himself had started, and then quickly given up. In one hand George held the last, on which he was just putting the finishing touches of shellac. “Oh, my boy,” cried George’s mother, coming down the steps and rushing to him, “ how glad I am that you are found! Why didn’t you come home to dinner? I was so worried!” “Ts it dinner-time?’”’ asked George, surprised. ‘I’m sorry, mother. You see, I had some work to do.” “Say!” exclaimed Freddie, who had now found his tongue. “I don’t care if he can’t tell one story. Mr. Wise Man, those are my toys he’s been working on all this time, after [ was so mean to him, too. I know the stories, but I only tell them. You can see George knows them better than I do by the way he helps, and doesn’t pay back, and uses his self- control and does things that Jesus would do!” There seemed to be nothing left for the wise man to decide. The choice seemed to be settled for him. ‘Then you're all agreed,” he asked, ‘‘ that George Kling shows that he is best fitted to tell others how to go to school to the great Teacher? ”’ ‘Yes, yes!’ came a perfect chorus, but what George did was to hug his mother and say, “QO mother, that means that I'll be earning more money for you and Lucy.” Report of School A The Tragedy of Karl’s ‘‘ Bible ” No one had taken such pains with his “* Bible ” as Karl. No one had so carefully matched his crayons to his wall-paper design, or been so neat about putting things together. Every day he added some new improvement. It was the day before the exhibit. Leader showed him her own book, which she had newly shellaced, cover decorations and all. She unwisely suggested Karl’s using the shellac in the same way on his. Karu (hesitating): Does it really make my book better? Leaver: You see mine. Of course don’t do. it unless you want to, but yours is so beautiful, AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER I like to think that it will stay so. Shellac will keep it better, besides making it shiny. Karl succumbed. But the first strokes showed the leader her mistake — too late. The decora- tion he had chosen for his cover was from a wall- paper border, blue, brown and with gold outlines. The shellac turned everything an ugly brown. Fortunately we had begun on the back cover. Karl kindly refrained from anathematizing the leader, but she herself was in despair. All Karl did was to disclaim any further interest in his ** Bible.” Karu: I don’t take dot book! I don’t take dot book! Look at dot! Ah-h-h! (extreme dis- gust, but not a word about the leader!) Leaper: Karl, I’m just as sorry as I can be. It was my fault. I should have known better. What shall we do? Karu: I don’t take dot book. You can have it. I don’t want it no more. Look at dot! Leaver: But it’s only the back cover. If we can find some more paper, couldn’t you make a plain one like the others? Kart: Quick, where is there some more paper yet? (A search revealed none. It was late.) Leaver: Karl, if you can find a piece of paper somewhere, and will bring it to my house at seven o’clock I will give you some cardboard and you can use my own crayons to color it. Karu: I not know if I can find one. paste it? Leaver: I'll make some paste at home. Karu: How we shellac it? Leaver: I'll carry the jar home. Karu: How we get the holes punched? Leaper: You can do it yourself with my drill, or a gimlet. Karz: Allright. I come. He came, made a new cover and shellaced it. Leader arranged for him to come to the church next morning at eleven-thirty to see if his new back cover matched his old front one. He arrived at nine. Leader, busy, sent him away. He came at nine-fifteen, nine-thirty, ten and ten-forty-five. “I can work dis morning,” he protested. “I haff not anything to do!” But the leader had. Also she was putting off the evil hour. She knew that the new cover was not a success. The paper used was different, the coloring of the front cover impossible to match. Any other child would have been satisfied, but not Karl. How we 199 Kanu (after comparing the two covers): Ah — look at dot! Dot iss not like! What you tink, I take dot book? No, I don’t take dot book. Leaver: I’m sorry, Karl. I can see too, that they are not alike. But you know you chose the colors yourself. I had nothing to do with this mistake, did I? Karu: No, I make one mistake, you make anoder. But I won’t take dot book. Look at it, Miss Bradley! (almost in tears) Leaver: Karl, I have some extra heavy, beautiful material which I was saving to make a book for myself. It is too heavy for most chil- dren to work with. It isso beautiful and so much like leather that it deserves to be handled very carefully. If you still want to put hard work on some new covers, I will give you this. I should not give it to you, if you had not proved what a good, careful workman you are — nor if you had lost your temper yesterday. You were disappointed, and you used your self-control, and you work hard. Karu: Where is dot paper, Miss Bradley? I begin it now! What time is it? When can we finish it, Miss Bradley? At the next class, perhaps? Leaver: There are no more Saturday classes after today. Kart: You mean we come here no more on Saturday? Leaper: Our party closes the class. Didn’t you know? Kart: Ah! I not know—ah! Why you close, Miss Bradley? When it begins again? When school begins again, yet? Then how I make my book? By rapid work the covers were cut, glued on the boards, and left to stick until after the party. Whole-hearted Preparations Girls arrived before nine-thirty, including Mary, the little girl who had moved out of town after Christmas, and who could apparently imagine no better birthday present than a visit to Our Class. All brought lemon squeezers, squeezed every drop from two dozen lemons and one dozen oranges and stirred untiringly. General hand- washing beforehand. (Karl, later, “ Did Tina wash before she make dot lemonade? I saw her dis morning, and she had not washed yet. She was dirly.”) Children got out glasses and pitchers, washed strainer, lemon squeezers and knives, and cleaned up muss. Put finishing 200 touches on books, looked over charts and pictures. Florrie, who was to explain the picture gallery, was studying each one for the fortieth time. The boys came at two-fifteen to arrange the exhibit. The Exhibit Illuminated Bibles. On tables. Exhibited by Karl. Charts. ‘White Wings in New York; in Vermont;”’ “ Pictures of Our Class, taken to send friends in Virginia;” ‘‘ Pictures taken on Our Hikes.” On Screens. Exhibited by Betty, Tina, Elinor. Virginia Charts. On Screens. Marian, Mabel and Frankie. Picture Gallery. Across back of room. Ex- hibited by Florrie, Anne and John. Carpenter’s Bench. Used for toy making, now covered with traced patterns and left-over materials for Virginia children. Exhibited by Tommy. Toys for Virginia. Lawrence and Stuart. Map of Town with Key. On piano. Ex- hibited by the Junior artist. Scrap-books for Virginia. hibited by Junior girls. (Party caps. On children’s heads. by wearers!) Overheard at the Exhibit “ Lawrence, will you tell me about these books over here on this table) ” “Td be very glad to, Mrs. B., but I don’t happen -to have charge of this table. I am explaining the toys. I think if you ask Karl or Tina, they will be glad to tell you what you want to know.” ‘We made them out of wrapping paper — ” ‘These are the pictures we had taken to send to Virginia — their pictures are over there — ” “There aren’t very good roads down there. I don’t know if Miss Bradley’s automobile can go allthe way. This girl is sixteen and she never went to school until last year.” “Yes, I'll tell you that story. It’s about a man that had been sick thirty-eight years — This picture is my favorite one. It’s about kind- ness.” (It was the Good Samaritan.) “You know the wood that the church gave us — well, that’s what we made the toys out of. They’re for Virginia.” “Elsie made the map for us. All our houses Exhibited by On Table. Exhibited by On table. Ex- Exhibited AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER are on it. Here’s where I live. We're going to send it to Virginia — ”’ “Those spools are what we had left over from our furniture. We're going to send them to Virginia for their vacation school — those pat- terns, too. We traced them off for them.” Real Hosts and Hostesses The girls had taken charge of the lemonade and were in the kitchen with two helpers. The boys, evidently thinking that any sort of refresh- ments required chairs, rushed into the chapel to get them, and before the leader really knew what was going on the guests were all seated and the girls were passing the lemonade. Leader started the story. It was only fairly begun when two more guests arrived. In the interrup- tion which occurred the visitors were seated, helped to lemonade, and in the meantime two boys on their own initiative collected the empty glasses on a tray. The class clearly demon- strated its sense of responsibility through the rest of the program. The story proceeded. ~ Whenever a guest entered, one girl (a different one each time, perhaps, but never more than one) quietly rose, greeted the new-comer, showed him or her to a seat, and procured a glass of lemonade — unbelievably quiet, avoiding walking in front of people, — and the story-teller hardly noticed that her story was being constantly interrupted. The guests remarked later on this quiet efficiency and assumption of responsibility. | As the guests were leaving two boys emerged from the kitchen, beaming. LAWRENCE: Miss Bradley, we’ve washed all the glasses for you. That’s why we weren’t in here for the story! LEADER (gasping): But how did you get hot water? LAWRENCE: Oh, we didn’t have any, and as long as we didn’t we used cold! Tributes to Our Class FrANKIE’S Morner: I can’t be thankful enough for this class. I’m sorry it’s stopped, and only hope it will go on next year. FLorrie’s Mornuer: If the other children all think as much of their “‘ Bibles ” as Florrie does, they mean a lot. Mary: I’ve had a lovely birthday! I don’t see how you think of so many nice things, Miss Bradley. I wouldn’t think you could think of so many things. I know — Jesus tells you. mon. THIRTY-FIFTH SUNDAY FIRST DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Opening Service of Worship (Use songs and verses which are a part of the Children’s Day service.) FIRST CLASS PERIOD Reviewing an Experience Shared in Com- (Talk about the party or exhibit, if this took place during the week.) School A. LeEapEer: You know, yester- day I wasn’t quite sure whether you were being good hosts and hostesses or not. But Miss Fairfield told me what a good time she’d had and how nicely you’d all explained things to her. She said you greeted her at the door, Stuart (Stuart tried nol to look pleased) and Lawrence told her about the toys. Anne: I told her about the charts. Karu: I told her all about the books. I showed her dot new one. I'LorriEe: I showed her our pictures and told her some stories. Harrier: I showed her the map. LEapER: Then do you think we're better entertainers than we were last fall? Remember our teacher party? CHILDREN: Yes, oh, yes, we're lots better. LEADER: Do you think this class has shown any improvement in self-control this year? Sruart (promptly): No! OruErs: Yes! Leaver: Stuart, I’m afraid some of us haven’t, — but some of us have. Sruart: O Miss Bradley, I had a fine chance to use my self-control the other day ‘Two of the boys got me up ina tree and kept me there and one of ’em held on to my leg and one on to my head, and hurt like sixty. Leaper: And how did you use your self-control? May STuaRT: Well, I never did a thing to "em, nor said anything, either! ANNE: I use mine lots more than I used to. Leaper: How, Anne? ANNE: Oh, when I want to hit back, or some one wants me to do things I don’t want to. Awotuer: Frankie used his self-control, didn’t he, that day Florrie hit him? (See Report of School A, Twenty-first Weekday.) Awnotuer: Yes, he wanted to hit her. Leader took this opportunity to tell about Karl’s example both of self-control and patient perseverance. Children greatly admired the book. FrankIE: Yes, but I wouldn’t have used my self-control, Miss Bradley, if you hadn’t helped me. LEADER: When do you mean, Frankie? Frankie: That time when Florrie hit me. I was just going for her, but you stopped me and took me out in the kitchen, remember? Leaver: That’s just what teachers are for, Frankie. That is what our great Teacher is for. Every time if we let him, he helps us. That is why God sent him. SECOND DEPARTMENTAL PERIOD Worship and Fellowship (Use material from the Children’s Day service which will continue the thought of Jesus in- creasing “‘in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”’’) SECOND CLASS PERIOD A New Poem. (Explain that instead of a new story today you have written on the board a new poem for the last page in the books. The verses show how children “ who walk in Jesus’ way’ may grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Let the class copy them and give as an accompanying picture 201 202 AT SCHOOL WITH THE GREAT TEACHER “The Good Samaritan,” or any illustration of Jesus helping.) Children who walk in Jesus’ way, Follow his teachings day by day, Growing in strength through work and play — Children who walk in Jesus’ way. — Children who choose him as their guide Follow his path, whate’er betide, Letting his word their way decide, Children who choose him as their guide. Children who march where he shall lead Shall be like him in thought and deed, Loving and helpful in each need, Children who march where he shall lead. (The foregoing verses are adapted for our use from the song, “ Children Who Walk in Jesus’ Way,” by Nancy Byrd Turner, in Song and Play for Children. (if for any reason the story, “ The Boy Who Learned Most,” was not told at the party, tell it now.) THIRTY-FIFTH WEEKDAY june Final Preparations for Children’s Day If the following Sunday is Children’s Day, and the special program for friends was given last week, the class will meet today to make the final preparations for the Children’s Day service. A hike to gather flowers for decorations would be a happy way to end the weekday sessions of the class. If the gifts made for other children have not been packed and sent during the week, this should be attended to. Report of School A The Friendship Project Primary and Junior children who gathered at church to go over Children’s Day service found a surprise from Virginia. Pages of pressed and mounted wild flowers from the Blue Ridge were eagerly pored over, as the Vermont children discovered flowers familiar to their mountains but bearing unfamiliar names. The pages were put between Karl’s discarded covers, and proudly displayed. The gift furnished the needed im- petus for the girls who had been pressing flowers all the spring. Anne had made a cover and had the pages ready. The others now brought their wild flowers, mounted and labeled them, ready for the leader to take to Virginia. Leaver: I wish the Virginia children could see you looking at their flowers. Cuitp: Take our picture! They'll see how we look. Leaver: All right, and then [ll take another of you mounting flowers for them. (Leader a week later eagerly produced this photograph in response to a Virginia girl’s greeting: ‘‘ Did you get the flowers? ’’) Cup: We never sent them our White Wings picture. Will you take that with you too? Leaver (doubtfully): Do you think they’d be interested in that? But I will if you want me to. (This picture, by the way, led to a similar cleaning up of the church property in Virginia Hollow.) Curitp: Don’t forget to take our party caps. LeapEr: Children, if they have a party when I’m there [’ll take their pictures wearing the caps! (She did and the photograph of Virginia children in Vermont caps and playing with Ver- mont toys gave Our Class a real thrill. Leader experienced a like thrill on seeing the photographs with ages and addresses of each member of Our Class carefully mounted by the Girls’ Club and hanging in a conspicuous place in the Virginia teacher’s home.) THIRTY-SIXTH SUNDAY June [Children’s Day] (The service will be prepared at least in part by the third grade.) Report of School A Our Class in the Service The following contribution by the children fitted into the service, ‘‘ The Church and the Children,” by Elizabeth Colson. (See ‘ Chil- dren’s Day Service Grows Naturally,” Thirty- third Sunday.) Song. ‘ This is God’s House.” Original Prayer Response. “‘ We love thee, heavenly Father.” Seng. Welcome to babies brought for bap- tism. Presentation of Picture. “ Christ in the Temple.’’) Song. ‘“ Gentle Child of Nazareth.” Song. “ Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.”’ Offering Song. “ God’s Children Live in Many Lands.” Qur Class through the Summer Joun (ihe day the picture came): Is that all the bigger it is! Leaver: That’s the five-dollar size. Alto- gether you earned only six dollars and a quarter. That wasn’t nearly enough for the nine-dollar size. ERR. bie, ANNE (one of the largest contributors): We could earn some more this summer, and change it. STUART (largely): Let’s. This one looks like a peanut. (Hofmann’s Cup: I had a letter from a girl in Virginia! AnotHeR: My mother took my picture in front of our camp to send that girl that wrote me. Some time will you show me which one she is in the party picture? - Berry (on Our Class’ farewell hike the day before September promotion day): Miss Bradley, Stuart’s got a picture in his book you never gave me. LeEapER (chagrined): I’m sorry, Betty! Oh, but I have a surprise for you all that will make up for it. I am going to the very land where Jesus lived and I can mail you some post-cards from there for your books. CHILDREN: Oh, from Nazareth? Jerusalem? FLorrié (practically): You can get me some stamps! Leaver: If I attach extra pages to each of your diplomas tomorrow, will you put them in your books and save them for those pictures? Will we! Well, I guess! Cup (al the dish pan singing Our Class’ work song): ‘* Work, work, work, and while you’re working, sing!” ANNE (at camp): I brought my “ Bible” up. On Sundays I read “Children Who Walk in Jesus’ Way.” CHILDREN: 204 INDEX Abbott, Jacob, Rollo’s Vacation, 148 Adjustment of programs, 39, 62, 88 Alden, Raymond McDonald, Why the Chimes Rang, 51, 62, 146 Anagrams, 24 _ Applegarth, Margaret T., Missionary Stories for Little Folks, 132 Appreciation lessons, ‘‘God’s Children Live in Many Lands,” suggested, 143; “I Cannot Do Great Things for Him,”’ suggested, 181; ‘‘If I Had Been a Shepherd Boy,” 59, 62; “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” 50; ‘Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,’ suggested, 98; ‘‘The Children’s Service,”’ suggested, 181; ‘‘When We Were Little Children,”’ sug- gested by children, 24 Assistants, 48-49; coaching, 44; problem of, 61 Bailey, Carolyn S., Firelight Stories, 11; Stories Children Need, 148; Tell Me Another Story, 43, 52 Bailey and Lewis, The Children’s Hour, 6 Bancroft, Jessie H., Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium, 90 Bible material used, Gen. 1:1, ‘‘In the beginning,’’ 18; Ps. 54: 4a, ‘‘God is my helper,’”’ 113, 116; Ps. 56:3, ‘‘What time I am afraid,’”’ 132; Ps. 74:16, ‘‘The day is thine,” 132; Ps. 92:4, “Thou, Lord, hast made me glad,’ 132; Ps. 95, ‘‘Oh, come, let us sing,’”’ 38, 41, 45, 118, 174; Ps. 100, ‘‘Make a joyful noise,’ 41, 45; Ps. 100: 4, ‘Enter into his gates,’’ 18, 24, 45, 188; Ps. 109: 26, ‘‘Help me,”’ 132: Ps. 118: 24, ‘‘This is the day,” 24; Ps. 122:1, “I was glad,’’ 1, 18, 99, 118, 183; Ps. 136:1-9, ‘‘Oh, give thanks,”’ 41, 45, 87; Ps. 147:17, ‘‘He casteth forth his ice,’ 146; Ps. 147: 18, ‘‘He sendeth forth his word,’ 146; Ps. 147: 18, ‘‘He causeth his wind,’’ 146; Prov. 16: 32b, “He that ruleth his spirit,’ 91, 95, 100, 113; Eccl. 11:7, “For truly the light is sweet,’’ 146; Song of Sol. 2: 11, 12, “For, lo, the winter is past,’’ 146; Habak. 2:20, ‘‘The Lord is in his holy temple,’’ 100; Zech. 8: 16b, ‘‘Speak ye every man the truth,’ 19; Matt. 2: 1-12, Wise-men, 48, 59, 113; Matt. 5:8, ‘‘Blessed are the pure in heart,”’ 102; Matt. 6:9-13, the Lord’s Prayer, 41, 118, 127, 132, 133; Matt. 6: 28b, ‘Consider the lilies,’’ 167; Matt. 10: 8b, ‘‘Freely ye received,” 7, 46, 47; Matt. 22: 39b, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor,’’ 19; Matt. 28: 6b, ‘‘He is risen,’”’? 118, 165; Mark 16:1-7, Easter story, 167; Luke 2: 8-20, shepherds, 48, 59, 62, 113; Luke 2:49b, “Knew ye not that I must be,’’ 106, 112, 113; Luke 2:52, “Jesus increased in wisdom,’’ 201; Luke 6:31, Golden Rule, 12, 32, 60, 113, 186; Luke 22: 19c, ‘‘This do in remembrance of me,’ 7, 42, 128; John 8: 7b, “Whoever is without sin,’’ 17, 28, 113; Gal. 6:3, 4, proving one’s work, 77; Rev. 1: 18b, ‘‘Behold, I am alive for evermore,’’ 160, 165, 167; see also Stories, Bible “Bibles,’’ see Note-books Birthdays, discussion of, 4; Mary’s birthday present, 199, 200; service for, 4-5; song for, 5; story for, 4 Blackboard, aid in preparing programs, 7, 20, 30; aid in teaching, 5, 12, 18, 20, 59, 73, 77, 95, 98, 100, 114, 120, 126 Blotters, 31 Blue-prints, of pressed flowers and ferns, 139 Book of Knowledge (The), 53 Buzz, arithmetic game, 30 Cabot, Ella Lyman, Ethics for Children, 148 Calendar-charts, reasons and suggestions for, 74, 77-78; i. Teports on, 79, 83, 91, 94; suggestion for C for control, 95, 101 Charts, for exhibit, 189, 191, 200 Children’s Day, see Worship services planned by children Christian flag, children’s responses, 43, 142, 144, 149, 157; Florrie’s paper flags, 134, 1388, 142; pins, 157, 168, 187; reference to, 168; salute, 62, 167; use of, 43, 62 Christmas, 48-73; costumes, 52, 53, 61, 63, soiling, 64; hand- work, 48-49, 57-58, 61, 62, 63, 65, 67; home project, see Saving time for mothers; mothers’ meeting, 52-53; poem, ‘If [Had Been a Shepherd Boy,’’ 59, referred to, 49, 62, 65, 113; program, 64-65, shared with old soldiers, 66; program planning, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 73; songs referred to: ‘‘Away in a Manger,” 60, ‘‘Hearken, ye Children,’ 51, ‘‘Holy Night,” 49, 59, 62, 65, ‘‘Noel,’’ 59, 65, ‘‘Oh, Come, All Ye Faith- ful,” 65, “‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,”’ 48, 49, 50, 51, 62, 64, 109, ‘‘What Can I Give Him,” 62, ‘‘While Shepherds Watched,” 59, 62, 65; stories: ‘‘Freely Ye Received, Freely Give,” 46-48, ‘“‘I Love You, Mother,”’ referred to, 62, 78, “Mrs. Fairchild’s Christmas Present,’’ 54-57, “The Great Walled Country,” referred to, 51, ‘““The Jar of Rosemary,” referred to, 60, ‘‘The Magic Christmas Tree,’’ referred to, 62, ‘‘The Spirit of St. Nicholas,’’ 69- 72, ‘“The Three Bags of Gold,’’ 68-69, ‘‘Why the Chimes Rang,”’ referred to, 62 Church, service for, 6, 152, 153, 154, 157, 159, 176, suggestion, 177, 179-180, 184, suggestion, 185, 187, 189, 192, 204; visits to auditorium, 6-7, for appreciation, 41-42, 43, 152 Colson, Elizabeth, Little Neighbor Stories, 123; The Church and the Children, 204. Communion, a lost opportunity, 84, followed up, 128; interest in communion table, 7, 42; picture, 83 Comstock, Anna Botsford, Handbook of Nature Study, 6, 85 Cooperation, Church-school superintendent’ s—36, 62, 153, 191; Day-school teachers’—at party, 35; help of music super- visor, 20, 22, 23, 24, 29, 50; hiking, 187; in sharing stories, 6; reason for, X-XI; Minister’s—in appreciation of children’s effort, 157, 159; in Palm Sunday prepara- tions, 152, 153; in Thanksgiving service, 39, 41-42, 43; in White Wings activity, 179; Mothers’—30, 35-36, 44, 52-53, 63, 134, 142, 169, 185, 204; by appreciation and reports of children’s response to class teachings, 44, 52-53, 63, 94, 124, 154, 169, 183, 200; remarks on, XI Costumes, for Christmas program, 52, 53, 61, 64; for teachers’ party, 21 Council, see Self-government Courtesy, Florrie’s, 142; Frankie’s, shaming leader, 63; in games, 11; recognition of, 79; Stuart’s, in the woods, 40; to guests, 36, 101, 200, 201 Criticisms, adults’, 3, 49, 93, 94, 131; children’s, 116, 143-144, 149, 159; see also Projects and Self-control ‘Danielson, Frances Weld, Little Animal Stories, 87 Danielson and Conant, Song and Play for Children, 102, 110, 148, 181, 202; Songs for Little People, 1, 18, 24, 25, 32, 47, 79, 102, 104, 152, 157, 165, 181, 185 Day-school teachers, appreciation of, gift-making, 31; in class work or worship services, 18, 24; parties, 16, 30-31, 35, 95; prayers, 10; 32; 41; songs, 17, 20, 22, 23, 187; stories: ‘‘How Schools Came to Happy Valley,’’ 8-10, “In Happy Valley,” 2-4, ‘“‘The Fairy Godmother’s Gifts,” 12-16, retold, 35 Disorder, children’s criticisms of, 90, 95, 116; children’s remedy for, 109; connected with Christian flag, 62; disci- pline in department, 93; discussion of, 30-31; effort to overcome, 99-100; preceding Christmas program, 64; suggestions offered, 94; while rehearsing, 63 Dramatization, child’s response, 19; impersonation, 19, 25, 59, 88-89, 91, 125, 185; impromptu, 51, 88-89, 125, 191; pantomime, 157; playlet, 21, 30-31, 35-36; story-playing, 37, 61, 155; suggestions, 87; tableaux, 48, 49, 53, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66; through song, 51 Easter, children’s responses, 157, 165; pre-Easter teaching, 146, 155-157, 158; program, see Worship services planned by children; rebus letter, 159; songs, 146, 157, 165, 167, ‘174, 175; stories: ‘‘A Lesson in Faith,’’ 160-161, ‘‘Peter’s Lie,” 174-175, ‘‘The Boy Who Discovered Spring,” referred to, 146, ‘‘The Caterpillar’s Journey,’’ 161-162, “The Easter Story,’’ 165-167, ‘‘The Garden of Joseph of Arimathea,”’ referred to, 167, ‘‘The Story of Jesus’ Last Days on Earth,’’ 155-156, ‘‘What the Grub Found Out,”’ 162-164; verses, see Bible material used Exhibit, 189-190, 191, 195-200, 201 205 206 Games, a teaching method, 24, 30-31; exercising self-control, 191; getting cooperation in, 21, 31, 43, 66, 90; out-of- door, 6, 134; program for party, 95; situations, 11; see also Bancroft, Geister, Perkins and Danielson, Rich- ardson Geister, Edna, Ice-Breakers, 90 Gibson, William Hamilton, Sharp Eyes, 85 Greatness, discussion of, 81, 89, 114; dramatization, 88-89; stories: ‘‘How the Disciples Learned to be Great,” 81-83, retold, 87, Johnny Blossom, referred to, 90, ‘The Greatest Animal,’’ 87 Halos, child’s idea of, 89; explanation of, 93 Handwork, see Blotters, Blue-prints, Charts, Christmas, Invitations; John’s suggestions for old soldiers, 40; see Lanterns, Map making, Note-books, Paper money, Party caps, Place cards, Posters, Scrap-books, Spatter work, Stocking dolls and cats, Toy making, Valentines, Wands Hartshorne, Hugh 8., Manual for Training in Worship, 45, 114; Stories for Worship and How to Use Them, 45 Hikes, 5, 6, 40, 85-86, 134, 139, 143, 154, 159, 169, 184, 187; planning, 77, 79 Hodges, George, When the King Came, 1438, 151 Home projects, bringing a happy New Year into our homes, 74, 77, 78, 79, 83, 91; saving time for mothers, 52, 54-57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 68, 67, 68, 73, 78 Hosts and hostesses, discussion in connection with New Year plans, 77; exhibit, 200, 201; exhibit planning, 191; party for day-school teachers, 35-36; party for school- mates, 101 Hunting, Harold B., Stories of Brotherhood, 179 Inattention, 9, 44; children’s criticisms, 116; during worship service, 62; getting cooperation, 21; telling versus read- ing stories, 144 International Graded Lessons, 18; picture sets, 2, 25, 34, 46, 50, 110, 126, 132, 181; Primary Teacher’s Text Books, 43, 15d e157 Invitations, 30, 34 Jesus as Teacher, as a child, 102, 118; children’s responses, 4,8, 10, 19, 46, 98, 117, 126, 192; discussion of, 2, 18, 32, 46, 57, 62, 85-86, 99, 146, 201; dramatization, 19, 88-89, 125, 185; on calling names, 43; on cooperation, 11-12; on entertaining, 99, 102; on hiking, 79, 85-86, 134, 144; on prayer, 126, 127, 182; pictures, 19, 28, 32, 41, 57, 64, 79, 93, 98, 99, 102, 144, 146, 149, 177, 193; poems, 25, 102, 110, 112; songs: ‘‘Blessed are the pure in heart,” 104; ‘“‘Gentle Child of Nazareth,” 119, referred to, 110, 113, 114, 125, 143, 204; ‘Jesus, Friend of Little Children,” referred to, 19, 25; ‘‘Lord, Who Lovest Little Children,”’ 102, 110, 112, referred to, 118, 125, 174; ‘Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,’’ 87-88, referred to, 98, 102, 110, 1138, 114, 118, 126, 131, 155, 157,174, 181, 185, 190, 204; ‘“‘The Golden Rule,’’ 32, referred to, 60, 79, 99; stories: ‘‘Freely Ye Received, Freely Give,’’ 46-48, ‘‘How Jesus Used His Secret Power,’’ 120-122, ‘‘How the Disciples Learned to be Great,’’ 81-83, ‘‘In Happy Valley,’ 2-4, ‘Jesus at a Party,’’ 98-99, ‘‘Jesus in His Father’s House,’’ 104-106, “The First Four Pupils in Jesus’ School,’’ 32-34, ‘‘The Secret Power of Jesus,’”’ 118-120, ‘“‘The Story of George Kling,’’ 25-29 Jones, Rufus, The Boy Jesus and His Companions, 32, 174 Kingdom of God, children’s responses, 133; conversation, 132, 133, 135, 143, 182-183; dramatization, 88; stories: ‘‘A Man Who Wanted to See Jesus,’’ 136-138, Bartimzus, referred to, 143, ‘‘The City Wall,’”’ 135-136, ‘‘The Golden Touch,”’ referred to, 148, ‘The Happiest Kingdom,” 129-131, referred to, 135 Lanterns, 145 Leyda, Ida F., Melodies, 157 Lindsay, Maud, The Story-Teller, 60 INDEX Magic writing, 30, 35 Making amends, $9, 134, 138, 142, 147, 154, 168 Manila envelopes, for carrying ‘‘Bibles,” 113 Map making, 145, 147, 191, 200 Missions, 79, 177; pictures, 113, 139, 158, 202; project in - friendship, 83, 109, 123, 145, 147, 154, 181, 190, 200, 203, 204; song, ‘‘God’s Children Live in Many Lands,” referred to, 113, 143, 146, 181, 189; stories: ‘‘Freely Ye Received, Freely Give,’’ 46-48, referred to, 189, “How the Artist Forgot Four Colors,” referred to, 132, 143, ‘Jemima Corn-cob,”’ referred to, 123, ‘“The Magic Christmas Tree,” referred to, 62; worship, 143, 146 Mothers’ Day, child’s response, 185; program, 185 National Child Welfare Association, 139 Nature Magazine, 85 Nature material, use of, 1, 5, 6, 8, 18, 32, 40, 77, 85, 87, 98, 134, 142, 146, 187, 189; Bible verses, 85: birds, Ps. 50: lla; 104: 12; Matt. 6:26; ice, Job 38: 30; rain, Ps. 147: 7, 8; Isa. 44:14b; Joel 2:23; snow, Job 37:6; Ps. 147: 16; Isa. 55:10; spring, Ps. 147:18; Song of Sol. 2:11, 12; sun, moon and stars, Gen. 1:16; Ps. 74: 16; 136: 7, 8, 9; Eccl. 11:7; winter, Ps. 74:17b. Bible verses, 139: birds, Gen. 1:20; Ps. 50: 11a; 84: 3a, b; 104:12; Matt. 6:26; rain, Ps. 147:7, 8, 18b; Isa. 44:14b; Joel 2: 23; spring, Song of Sol. 2: 11-13; Luke 8:5a; 146; songs: “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” referred to, 98, 189, ‘Autumn Day,’ referred to, 7, 8, 32, ‘‘For, lo, the Winter is Past,’’ referred to, 146, 174, ‘‘Sing, Ye Happy Children,” referred to, 189, ‘‘The Alder by the River,” referred to, 146, 189, ‘‘We Plough the Fields and Scatter,” referred to, 37, 45, ‘“‘We Thank Thee, oh, Our Father,”’ 1, referred to, 5, 6, 8; stories: ‘‘A Lesson in Faith,’’ 160-161, “Goldenrod and Aster,’’ referred to, 6, 7, 8, ‘““The Boy Who Discovered Spring,’ referred to, 146, 158, “The Caterpillar’s Journey,’ 161-162, ‘‘The Discovery of Happy Valley,’ 37-39, referred to, 40, 45, ‘‘The Quails,”’ 96, referred to, 90, 95, 101, ‘‘What the Grub Found Out,’’ 162-164 New Year, calendar-charts, 77-78, 79, 83, 91, 94; child’s response, 78; prayers, 79, 91; stories: ‘‘Happy Valley’s New Year,” 74-76, ‘‘“How the New Year Law Worked,” 107-109, ‘‘The Twelve Treasure-Boxes,’’ 79-81 Non-cooperation, attempts to overcome, 11, 21, 31, 43, 63, 66, 73, 90, 95, 158, 159, 169 Note-books (‘‘Bibles’’), 7, 17, 67, 100-112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 120, 127, 131, 1382, 145, 153, 158, 159, 165, 169, 189, 190, 191, 198-199, 200, 203, 204; story suggesting, “The Monk’s Bible,’’ 110-112, referred to, 118, retold, 131 Offering, 1, 5, 7, 24, 32, 41, 48, 59, 62, 118, 177, 189, 204 Outlook, The, 68 Palm Sunday, 153, 154, 155-157 Paper money, 57, 58, 62, 67, 73 Parties, for schoolmates, 53, 77, 90, 95, 96, 98, 99, 101, 102; for teachers, 16-17, 20, 21, 30, 31, 35-36; program, 95; stories in preparation for: ‘‘The Party,’’ 96-97, referred to, 90, 95, ‘‘ The Quails,”’ 96, referred to, 90, 95, 101 Party caps, 90, 95, 109, 200, 203 Paying back, 17, 34, 51, followed up, 60, 85; stories: Johnny Blossom, referred to, 90, ‘‘The Story of George Kling,” 25-29 Perkins, Jeanette E., The Rest of the Family, 19 Perkins and Danielson, The Mayflower Program Books, 11, 43, 44, 48, 51, 57, 60, 123, 132, 139 Pictures, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 34, 41, 43, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 79, 87, 93, 98, 99, 102, 110, 112, 118, 114, 120, 126, 182, 134, 135, 139, 146-147, 149, 151, 153, 155, 157, 158, 165, 169, 177— 179, 181, 185, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195, 200, 202, 203, 204; aid in preparing services, 46, 49, 53, 64; children’s re- sponses to, 46, 79, 126,181; gallery, 87, 132, 135, 146, 153, 158, 181, 185, 200; gift, 177-179, 185, 189, 190, 191, 195, 200, 204; note-books, 113; suggested by children, 8, 149; with songs, 50, 59, 62, 87, 98, 157; with stories, 2-3, 4, 25, 27, 28, 43, 57, 83, 120, 146, 151, 155, 157, 165, 169, 179, INDEX 181, 192, 200; see also International Graded Lessons, Missions, National Child Welfare Association, Wilde’s Bible Pictures Pilgrim Elementary Teacher (The), 20, 53, 62 Place cards, 43, 44 Planning programs, see Planning weekday programs, Worship services planned by children Planning weekday programs, 5, 7, 8; exhibit, see Exhibit; for old soldiers, 40, 63, 66; for schoolmates’ party, 90, 95, 96, 98, 99; for teachers’ party, 20, 30, 31, 35; parties suggested, 5 Poems: “A Song about Teachers,” 20 “‘An Open Secret,’’ referred to, 146 “Back of the Loaf,” referred to, 37 “Children Who Walk in Jesus’ Way,’’ 202, referred to, 204 “Father, Bless the Gifts We Bring Thee,” 1 “Gentle Child of Nazareth,’ 118 ““Hosanna,”’ referred to, 158 “Tf I Had Been a Shepherd Boy,” 59, referred to, 49, 62, 65, 113 “Lord, Who Lovest Little Children,’’ 102, 110, 112 “My God, I thank thee,’’ referred to, 125 “O teachers dear, you help us so,”’ 20 “Since my heavenly Father,” 24 “Sometimes I say an extra prayer,’ 120 “‘Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,’’ 87-88, referred to, 159 “The First Children’s Day,’ 25, referred to, 87, 185, 189 “The Goldenrod is Yellow,’’ referred to, 7, 8 “There Was a King in Nazareth,’’ 165, referred to, 174 “This is God’s House,’’ referred to, 185 “We Thank Thee, oh, Our Father,’’ 1, referred to, 5 “We Would See Jesus,’’ 143 “When Jesus Was a Little Lad,” 102, referred to, 143 Posters, 61, 62 Poulsson, Emilie, Johnny Blossom, 90, 192 Prayer, children’s responses, 126, 127, 142; discussion of, 79, 125-127, 134, 135, 143-144; dramatization bringing out Jesus’ teaching on, 125; Florrie’s idea of, 94, followed up, 115-116, 118-122, 125-127; of adults with children, 1, 5, 7, 10, 16-17, 24, 32, 37, 45, 59, 60, 68, 79, 91, 99, 106, 114, 136, 183; preparation for program, 64, 168; stories: “How Jesus Used His Secret Power,’’ 120-122, ‘‘The Secret Power of Jesus,’’ 118-120, Washington praying, “The Wise Man’s Pack,’ 115-116; suggestions by chil- dren for, 19, 32, 41, 120, 133, 146, 189; the Lord’s Prayer, 45, 132, 133, 189 Pressed flowers, interchange of, 139, 184, 187, 203 Projects, bringing a happy New Year into our homes, see Home projects; care for church, 159, 176, 179-180, 183, 184, 185, 187, 192; Christmas program, see Worship services planned by children; criticism of: Christmas service, 68, 73, Easter service, suggested, 181, exhibit, 201, party for schoolmates, 90, 102, Sunday service, 12, Thanksgiving worship service, 48; exhibit, see Exhibit; friendship, see Missions; party for schoolmates, see Parties; saving time for mothers, see Home projects; teachers’ party, see Parties; Thanksgiving worship service, see Worship services planned by children Pussy willows, gifts of, 142, 145, 154, 157 Quarantine, 128, 145, 147, 153, 154, 186 Quarreling, averted, 40, 91, 109; stories: ‘The Gold Bugs,” suggested, 11, ‘‘The Quails,’”’ 96, referred to, 90, 95, 101 Questionable language, 40, 43, 79, 85, 182 Rebus letter, 158, 159-160 Rehearsing, 7, 18, 20, 30-31, 35, 39, 40, 41-42, 43, 61, 62, 63 158, 191, 201, 203 Responsibility, 24, 30, 35, 36, 41, 90, 95, 101, 102, 157, 199-200 Retelling stories, 7, 8, 16, 18, 19, 21, 32, 35, 87, 113, 131, 146, 181, 185; discussion of, 29; through impersonation, 51, 59, 64, 66, 88-89, 125 Richardson, Norman E., The Church at Play, 11 Santa Claus, children’s belief in, 49, 53, 61, 72-73; children’s responses, 72-73; stories: ‘‘The Child Who Saw Santa 207 Claus,’ referred to, 52, ‘‘The Spirit of St. Nicholas,”’ 69-72, ‘The Three Bags of Gold,’ 68-69 Saving time for mothers, hinting to mothers, 52-53; leading to New Year calendar-charts, 74, 77; plans, 57, 59, 61, 67; reports, 58, 61, 62, 63, 68, 73, 78; story, ‘‘Mrs. Fair- child’s Christmas Present,’’ 54-57, referred to, 67, 68 School, a universal experience, 2-4, 6, 7, 8, 24; Happy Valley school, 8-10, 29; reference to songs, poems or conversa- tion used in, 5, 7, 50; visits to, X School with the great Teacher, 2-4, 7, 11-12, 17, 19, 24, 27,. 29, 32, 43, 57, 64, 79, 83, 85-86, 93, 98-99, 102, 117, 118, 126, 127, 142, 144, 146, 193; children’s responses, 2, 4, 7, 8, 19, 46, 64, 98, 117, 126, 192 Scrap-books, 78, 147, 200 Self-control, Bible verse, ‘‘He that ruleth his spirit,’”’ 95; discussion of, 66, 95, 98, 116-117; instances of, 36, followed up, 40, 44, 49, 58,-67, 101, 102, 109, 113, 122, 123, 201; loss of, 93, 123, 124, 148-149; prayer for, 114; recognition of, 93, 102, 109, 124, 144, 189; resolves to use, 99, 114, 117, 187; stories: incident of child radiating happiness, 91, ‘‘One of the Crowd,” referred to, 40, ‘‘The Magic Mask,”’ 92-93; use of deaf and dumb sign, C, 95, 101, 149; worship service on, 114 Self-zgovernment, the council, 148-149, 181, 185-186, 187 Service, to church, 5, see also Projects; to day-school, 5, 6; to department, 5, 6, 7, 8, 87, 135, 1389, 146, 151, 154, 155, 157, 167, 174, 189; to entire school, 64-65, 167; to one institution, 66; to people, 61, 62, 78, 101, 154, 158, 159; see also Projects, friendship Sharing, apples, 79; experiences, in worship services, 6, 8, 87, 90, 200; good times, party for schoolmates, 90, 95, 101; interest in Virginia with Juniors, 147; posters, 61, 62; programs: Christmas, 51, 66, Easter, 167, Thanksgiving, 45; song, 60; stories, 191, 200 Situations and remarks met, 7, 11-12, 17, 40, 42, 43, 49, 51, 53, 60, 62, 63, 83, 85-86, 94, 95, 100, 101, 109; at play, 11-12; by following up, 51, 60, 95, 100, 101; by future programs, 40, 49, 53, 63, 83, 85-86, 94, 95; by reference to Christian flag, 48; by reference to Jesus the Teacher, 11, 17, 48, 79, 85-86, 99, 102; with a laugh, 95; with a song, 7, 109; with cookies, 40; with force, 85-86; with nonchalance, 40 Song, magic writing of, 30, 35; original, 16, 17, 20, 22, 23, 29, 32, 35, 36, 45, 63, 146, 175, 187, 204; used to avert a quarrel, 109 Songs: “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” referred to, 98, 189 ‘‘America,’’ referred to, 114 “Autumn Day,” referred to, 7, 8, 32 “‘Away in a Manger,” referred to, 60 “Blessed are the pure in heart,” 104 “Children Who Walk in Jesus’ Way,’’ 202, referred to, 204 “Children’s Thanksgiving Hymn,”’ referred to, 44, 45 “Father in Heaven,’ 32 “Wather, we thank thee,”’ referred to, 7, 8 “Wor, lo, the Winter is Past,’’ referred to, 146, 174 “Freely ye received, freely give,’’ 8, 47, 62 “Gentle Child of Nazareth,’ 118, referred to, 110, 113, 114, 125, 143, 185, 189, 190, 204 “God is Love,” referred to, 165, 174 “‘God’s Children Live in Many Lands,” referred to, 113, 1438, 146, 181, 189 ‘“‘He Cares for Me,’’ referred to, 189 ‘“Hearken, Ye Children,” referred to, 51 “Holy, Holy, Holy,” referred to, 45 “Holy Night,’ referred to, 49, 59, 62, 65 “T Cannot Do Great Things,” referred to, 174, 181 “J Think When I Read that Sweet Story,” referred to 4, 7,19, 167, 189 “Jesus, Friend of Little Children,’”’ referred to, 19, 25 “Lord, Who Lovest Little Children,” 102, 110, 112, referred to, 113, 125, 174 ‘My God, I Thank Thee,” referred to, 125 “Noel,’’ referred to, 59, 65 “CO Come, All Ye Faithful,” referred to, 65 “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” referred to, 48, 49, 50, 5f, 62, 64, 109 “Offering Hymn,”’’ 24, referred to, 32 208 “Praise Him, Praise Him,” referred to, 167, 189 “Sabbath Morning Bells,” referred to, 185 “Sing, Ye Happy Children,” referred to, 189 “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,’’ 87-88, referred to, 98, 1025110 TIS S114 IS 126 iot bpp d trae rok 185, 190, 204 ; “The Alder by the River,’’ referred to, 146, 189 “The Children’s Service,’ referred to, 181 “The Church,” referred to, 152, 185 “The Golden Rule,” 32, referred to, 60, 70, 99 “This is God’s House,”’ 118, referred to, 1, 7, 8, 24, 99, 183, 185, 204 “We Give Thee but Thine Own,” referred to, 189 “We Plough the Fields and Scatter,”’ referred to, 37, 45 “We Thank Thee, oh, Our Father,”’ 1, referred to, 5, 6, 8 “What Can I Give Him,” referred to, 62 “When We Were Little Children,’’ 22, referred to, 36 “While Shepherds Watched,” referred to, 59, 62, 65 Spatter-work, 57-58, 61, 139 Stewart, Mary, Tell Mea Hero Story, 40 Stocking, Jay T., The Golden Goblet, 43 Stocking dolls and eats, 139 Stories, Bible: ‘‘A Man Who Wanted to See Jesus’’ (Zacchzeus), 186-138 “Abraham and Lot,” referred to, 19, 147 ‘Daniel in the Lions’ Den,”’ referred to, 19 “David and Goliath,”’ referred to, 19 “David Saving His Sheep,”’ referred to, 19 “David Sparing Saul,” referred to, 19, 34, 146 “How Jesus Used His Secret Power,’’ 120-122 ‘How the Disciples Learned to be Great,’’ 81-83, retold, 87 “‘Jacob’s Night under the Stars,”’ referred to, 19 Jesus and the Pharisees, referred to, 17, incorporated in “The Story of George Kling,’’ 25-29 “Jesus at a Party,’’ 98-99 “Jesus in His Father’s House,” 110, 135 “‘Peter and John and a Lame Man,” 182-183 “‘Peter’s Lie,”’ 174-175 Stories of Jesus, referred to, 157, 167-168 “‘The Easter Story,’’ 165-167 “The First Four Pupils in Jesus’ School,’ “The Good Samaritan,” referred to, 19 “‘The Good Shepherd,” referred to, 19 “The Healing of Bartimzeus,”’ referred to, 143 “The Last Supper,”’ referred to, 42 “The Man at the Pool,’’ 193-194 “The Secret Power of Jesus,’’ 118-120 “The Story of Jesus’ Last Days on Earth,’’ 155-156 “The Ten Lepers,”’ referred to, 43 “The Triumphal Entry,” referred to, 155 “The Widow’s Mite,’”’ incorporated in “‘George Kling’s Gift,’’ 177-179, referred to, 184 “When Jesus was Angry,’’ 151-152 Happy Valley: “Freely Ye Received, Freely Give,’’ 46-48, referred to, 189 “From the Wise Man’s Pack: The Happiest Kingdom,”’ 129-131, referred to, 185 “George Kling’s Gift,’’ 177-179, referred to, 184 “Happy Valley’s New Year,’ 74-76 ‘‘How Schools Came to Happy Valley,’’ 8-10 “How the New Year Law Worked,’’ 107-109 “In Happy Valley,’’ 2-4 “Mrs. Fairchild’s Christmas Present,’”’ 54-57, referred to, 67, 68 “Story from the Wise Man’s Pack,” a missionary story, referred to, 123 “The Boy Who Learned Most,”’ 195-198, referred to, 202 “The Discovery of Happy Valley,’’ incorporating section of Psalm Ninety-five, 37-39, referred to, 40, 45 “The Spirit of St. Nicholas, 69-72 “The Stocking Doll,”’ 139-142 “The Story of George Kling,’”’ 25-29 “The Three Bags of Gold,’’ 68-69 “The Wise Man’s Pack,’’ Washington praying, 115-116 104-106, referred to, 32-34 INDEX Miscellaneous: ““A Lesson in Faith,’’ 160-161 “‘A Spartan Legend: The City Wall,” 135-136 Birthday story, 4 “Goldenrod and Aster,” referred to, 6, 7, 8 “Half-Finished Land,’’ 187-188, referred to, 187, 189, 192 “How the Artist Forgot Four Colors,” referred to, 132, 143 “T Love You, Mother,” referred to, 62, 78 “In the Path of the Tornado,” 171-173 Incident of child who scowled, 91 “Much and More,”’ referred to, 43, 44 “One of the Crowd,” referred to, 40, 89 “Reading and Writing and Getting Ready,” referred to, 19 “The Boy Who Discovered Spring,”’ referred to, 146, 158 “The Caterpillar’s Journey,’’ 161-162 “The Children’s Playground,’’ 103-104 “The Fairy Godmother’s Gifts,’”’ 12-16, retold, 35 “The Garden of Joseph of Arimathea,’’ referred to, 167 “The Gold Bugs,” referred to, 11 “The Golden Touch,”’ referred to, 148 “The Great Walled Country,” referred to, 51 “The Greatest Animal,” 87 “The Jack-o’Lantern,”’ referred to, 148 “The Jar of Rosemary,” referred to, 60, 61 “The King’s Thanksgiving,” referred to, 43 “The Little Girl Who Played all the Time,’’ 169-170 “The Magic Christmas Tree,” referred to, 62 “The Magic Mask,’’ 92-93 “The Monk’s Bible,’’ 110-112, referred to, 113, retold, 131 - “The Party,’’ 96-97, referred to, 90, 95 “The Quails,’’ 96, referred to, 90, 95, 101 “The Twelve Treasure-Boxes,’’ 79-81 Washington praying, in ‘“The Wise Man’s Pack,’’ 115-116 “What the Grub Found Out,’ 162-164 “Why the Chimes Rang,”’ referred to, 62 Story-Telling, children’s responses, 2, 3, 54, 70, 72, 73,.76, 80, 82, 92, 93, 110, 112, 122, 129,130, 135, 138, 165, 166, 179, 182, 194, see also Retelling stories; cooperation in, 26, 7,28; 47,56; 70, 71, 72.°106-31290) 130014 tatoo Looe 171, 182;0n demand: ‘‘David Sparing Saul,” 19, 146, “The Monk’s Bible,’ 113, 131; preparation for party: “Jesus at a Party,’ 98-99, ‘‘The Party,’’ 96-97, “The Quails,’’ 96; to meet a situation: killing animals for fun, 40, physical courage, ‘‘ One of the Crowd,”’ 40, 89, reviling others, ‘‘The Ten Lepers,”’ 43, taking turns or quarreling, “The Gold Bugs,”’ 11, tattling, Jesus and the Pharisees,17 Stowell, J.S., Story Worship Programs for the Church School, 45 Taking the Blame, 36, 42, 49, 64, 66, 73, 84, 95 Tattling, 17, 28, 34, 142 Temper, exhibitions of, 66-67, 85-86, 88-89, 134, 142, 143 Thanksgiving, stories: ‘‘Much and More,”’ referred to, 43, 44, “The Discovery of Happy Valley,’”’ 37-39, referred to, 40, 45, ‘‘The King’s Thanksgiving,’ referred to, 43, “The Ten Lepers,’’ referred to, 43; see also Place cards, Worship services planned by children Time division, different arrangements, XII, hour’s session outlined according to Plan I, 1-5; same material arranged according to Plan IT, 5 Toy making, 124, 131, 145, 184, 191, 200 Valentines, 96, 109 Wands, 21, 30, 31, 35 Weather map, 126-127 Wiggin and Smith, The Story Hour, 65 Wilde’s Bible Pictures, 110, 120, 165 Winchester and Conant, Worship and Song, 50, 51, 64, 87 Worship services planned by children, 6; after hike, 7, 8, 12; Children’s Day, 184, 185, 187, 189, 190, 192, 193, 194, 201, 203, 204; Christmas, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 73; Easter, 153, 157, 158, 159, 167, 168; spring, 139, 144, 146, 169, 174, 184, 189; Thanks- giving, 12, 36, 38-39, 40, 41-42, 43, 45, 48 ae) at : Behe RNa a aT 1 1012 013 ms oa etee iat verieeess aie: Bek rane maa ree tens tieeke: fee 5 ? ee tet ts a Si tietet putt Sat — tie tole tetat re a) Paar ert os si a2 oo: 4S Ses = ba Rpts) 33 tert Fit nites tt ¢ * f + Tee ete Hee: efieeneesta teeta siifreate tats p35 eho sees - aS bas r Si Seon woe else aes 3 eos ce 3 ay ad ace Soaps Lites e “shen bet eet * +: IS? exe rs 2 "4 pee ay ease a be x. ee pn 4 Sere sesace am Hi att Somers NIK 82: nS sais tetera te Hes pRitet 3 i) bY f 5) Le a! se = i site io sth ete a ater sft hh i, r, ie st ses t. i » $ibg i Wy e? 2) - as Ve i i | t ts att att $7535 f -} i Cn iit ; 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