YD I I 0-\ 
 
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 Programs for Teachers' 
 Conferences 
 
 Beginners' and Primary 
 
 HAZEL A. LEWIS 
 
Programs for Teachers' 
 Conferences 
 
 BEGINNERS' AND PRIMARY 
 
 3y 
 HAZEL A. LEWIS 
 
 THE PILGRIM PRESS 
 
 BOSTON CHICAGO 
 
U'Bns 
 
 Copyright, 1922 
 By SIDNEY A, WESTON 
 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 
 THE JORDAN & MORE PRESS 
 BOSTON 
 
 • NOV 20 1922 
 
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 PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 BEGINNERS' AND PRIMARY 
 
 Perhaps good conferences have been held from a 
 sense of duty, but certainly they are never very 
 thrilling! That " we-ought-to-have-regular-meet- 
 ings " feeling does not usually result in conferences 
 that stimulate and inspire those who attend, for 
 so much depends upon the attitude of each person 
 who is a part of the conference group. Earnest 
 teachers may meet together week after week and 
 faithfully consider their work, but unless there is 
 real inspiration as well as discussion of new meth- 
 ods, the conferences will continue to be a matter 
 of organization only. 
 
 Here are some of the ingredients of a helpful 
 conference: a group of teachers (there may be three 
 or thirty, the number matters not), a sense of need, 
 confidence in each other and pleasant anticipation 
 of the hours that may be spent together. 
 
 Quite naturally, the first thing to be thought of 
 is a leader. There must be some one who will take 
 the initiative in calling the first meeting or suggesting 
 the matter to the proper person. How many groups 
 of teachers there are who would be meeting together 
 with enthusiasm and regularity if some one would 
 just start! " Ah! " you say, " that is exactly our 
 situation. There is no one to help us start such a 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 conference." But that is quite easily answered. 
 You who are now, this very minute, reading this 
 paragraph are probably the very person to take the 
 first step that will result in . the establishment of 
 regular and helpful conferences of the Beginners' and 
 Primary teachers in your school. There! Do you 
 remember how you used to feel when you were a 
 child, playing a game, and found yourself chosen 
 to be "it"? 
 
 Just how you proceed will depend upon local 
 conditions. If it has been the custom to hold such 
 conferences in the past, you will perhaps need only 
 to let the leader know of these programs. Or perhaps 
 it is a question of starting the work off with new 
 interest in the fall. If you are the Primary superin- 
 tendent you can yourself arrange for this first meeting. 
 
 Do not attempt to make, this a large conference, 
 and yet make sure that every one who should be 
 included is in it. The more varied the personalities 
 and problems, the more interesting the meetings Avill 
 be. Probably there will be some new teachers who 
 need suggestions and direction for their work; then 
 there are those who have been teaching for some time 
 and need to have their spirits renewed; there are the 
 assistants, and perhaps some who are only considering 
 entering one of these departments; there are sub- 
 stitute teachers; and perhaps you can also invite 
 some who are not actually identified with the depart- 
 ments, but who can be of great help to the teachers, 
 such as an artist, a musician, a story-teller, some one 
 to represent the mothers' club or a similar organiza- 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 tion. Such an " outsider " will help to give you new 
 angles of approach, though of course it will be remem- 
 bered that the chief aim of such a conference is to 
 consider the work of the Beginners' and Primary 
 Departments in your school. 
 
 FIRST PROGRAM October 
 
 Theme: Plans for Fortnightly Conferences 
 
 This should be a pleasant social gathering and 
 would be most happily arranged if a supper table 
 were placed in the very room used by either the 
 Beginners' or Primary Department on Sunday. 
 There are two mental effects which will be accom- 
 plished ■ — by gathering about a table at the evening 
 meal there is a friendly spirit experienced by the 
 members of the group, and by meeting in the depart- 
 ment room for these conferences something of the 
 atmosphere and experiences associated with it are 
 brought vividly to mind. 
 
 We are very apt to say that such social gatherings 
 cannot be arranged among our elementary workers, 
 because they cannot be away at the supper hour; 
 but a great wish to have at least one meeting like this 
 will usually find a way. One obstacle seems to be 
 that often the teachers and their helpers are from very 
 different social and economic circles, but that only 
 adds zest to the occasion. I shall not soon forget 
 my arrival one rainy evening in a small town in 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Indiana, and the surprise that greeted me when I 
 arrived at the church building where I was to meet a 
 group of elementary teachers. Going directly from 
 the train, at about six thirty, I found myself 'in a 
 cheerful Primary room, where a long table with 
 snowy linen was attractively set, and eight women 
 were gathered about it. They were the Beginners' 
 and Primary teachers of that church. Among their 
 number was a stenographer who had come directly 
 from her office, two girls who had come from the 
 stores where they were clerks, a " stay-at-home " 
 girl who was very prominent socially in the com- 
 munity, a young mother who had found it possible 
 to slip away this one time, and another mother of 
 mature years. 
 
 The table should be attractively arranged and 
 at each plate, instead of the usual place-card, put an 
 envelope, sealed and bearing upon the front a number 
 and the words, " Not to be opened until after supper." 
 On the front may be the name of the teacher and a 
 picture representing a child about the age of those 
 in her class. These may be cut from magazines and 
 a touch of water-color adds to the appearance. 
 When the supper hour is over, the leader may ask 
 each one in turn to open her envelope and read what 
 she finds there. The second person will not open 
 hers until the first has been read and discussed. 
 The number of these will of course depend upon the 
 number in your conference; those which follow are 
 merely suggestions. The paragraphs given below 
 will be written upon cards or note-paper. Those in 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 parentheses are not to be written, but are for the 
 leader's guidance. Perhaps the leader will introduce 
 this part of the program by saying, " This conference 
 tonight has a theme — a very practical one : ' Some 
 reasons why the Beginners' and Primary teachers 
 
 in the church should meet together for 
 
 Fortnightly Conferences.' Each envelope contains a 
 reason. We will read each one in order and discuss it." 
 
 The First Reason 
 
 Because our Johns and Marys as they grow up 
 year by year are touched by the different teachers 
 and helpers. Unless we understand each other we 
 cannot understand the children. 
 
 (In discussing this informally the question may 
 arise as to whether or not one person should con- 
 tinue to teach a certain group of children during their 
 stay in these departments. This may offer an 
 opportunity for emphasizing the fact that in the 
 Beginners' Department only one year of the graded 
 lessons is taught at a time, and thus the little child, 
 who makes acquaintance slowly, has one teacher 
 throughout the time he is in that department. In 
 the Primary Department, where attendance at school 
 has begun to make a difference in the children, the 
 teacher may well specialize in one year or grade, and 
 thus become thoroughly familiar with that period of 
 development and that year's lessons. Conferences 
 like this one will overcome any lack of unity between 
 the different grades.) 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 The Second Reason 
 
 Because in sharing our experiences we understand 
 them better, as they are interpreted in the Hght of the 
 experiences of others. Dr. Richard Cabot says, 
 " Your best friend strikes thoughts and ideas out of 
 you that you never knew were in you, and that truly 
 were not fully formed in you until your friend woke 
 them to life." 
 
 (If the one who reads this wishes to give any 
 personal experience in connection with this, it will 
 add interest and helpfulness.) 
 
 The Third Reason 
 
 While the work of each one of us is different and 
 distinct from the others, yet they are part of a plan 
 that must have life and unity, if each part is well done 
 and the result is complete. 
 
 " You may take from out the sweetest song 
 Just one note, the sweetest one; 
 You may sound it full and strong, 
 But its music is all gone." 
 
 (Perhaps you will wish to talk over together the 
 question of just how far a teacher should go in her 
 own peculiar methods without consideration for the 
 whole educational plan of the school.) 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 The Fourth Reason 
 
 All of us touch life in a different way. We discover 
 new truth and find new sources of helpfulness which 
 we may bring to enrich the lives of others. 
 
 (Use this as an opportunity for emphasizing the 
 fact that there is no one who has not some contribu- 
 tion to make to the common good.) 
 
 The Fifth Reason 
 
 If we do not understand each other perfectly we 
 may sometimes seem not to be working in harmony. 
 The children become conscious of this in a subtle 
 way and their relation with the heavenly Father is 
 marred if there is not unity among the persons about 
 them. 
 
 (Discuss the ideas that children have of their 
 teachers, the department superintendent, and the 
 whole question of adult authority in these depart- 
 ments.) 
 
 The Sixth Reason 
 
 This is a beautiful one and is tucked away in a few 
 paragraphs from the " Music Lover " found in Henry 
 van Dyke's " The Unknown Quantity." In describ- 
 ing a great symphony orchestra he says, " It was a 
 company of human beings, trained and disciplined 
 to common action, understanding one another through 
 the sharing of a certain technical knowledge, and 
 bound together by unity of will which was expressed 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 in their central obedience to the leader. . . .There 
 was no labor, no dramatic display in that leadership; 
 nothing to distract the attention, or to break the spell 
 of the music. All the toil of art, the consideration of 
 effect, the sharp and vehement assertion of authority 
 lay beyond in the rehearsals." 
 
 (Follow the reading of this quotation by a simple 
 prayer for guidance in finding that harmony of spirit 
 and method that will make the teaching of religion as 
 beautiful and as perfect in form as the greatest music 
 of the world.) 
 
 The leader might suggest that every meeting of the 
 Fortnightly Conference shall have for each teacher 
 " something for the head, the hand and the heart," 
 which will mean that there will be a new idea, a bit of 
 material and inspiration that will quicken the pulse 
 of her mental and spiritual life. As a demonstration 
 of the last, give to each one in the conference a card 
 upon which has been written this quotation: " Noth- 
 ing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." — 
 Emerson. 
 
 Ask each teacher to put this somewhere where she 
 will see it frequently and let it be the thought with 
 which she will go to her daily work and which will 
 bring her to the next meeting of the conference. 
 
 The conference may be brought to a close by a 
 discussion of future plans, arranging the dates and 
 effecting a simple organization. Perhaps the perma- 
 nent leader will be the Beginners' or Primary superin- 
 tendent, but this is not absolutely necessary. It may 
 be some other person who is well fitted for this place. 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 These conferences are not times when the business of 
 the department is to be transacted, but only the 
 methods and spirit of the work are to be considered. 
 It is better to have the business session conducted 
 in connection with the regular Workers' Conference 
 of the entire school, but if it is necessary to combine 
 business with the work of this Fortnightly Conference, 
 it of course will be best to have the regular superin- 
 tendent of one of the departments act as presiding 
 officer. 
 
 It may not be possible to have a social hour or 
 supper at each of the conferences, and the local con- 
 ditions will determine the time when they will be 
 held. 
 
 SECOND PROGRAM October 
 
 Theme: New Pupils, their Friends and Teachers 
 
 (The notes given under each heading are only 
 suggestions. The various topics and other plans 
 for the meeting should be treated very informally 
 and naturally.) 
 
 I. Teacher's Hymn 
 
 " Open Mine Eyes that I May See," or, " Break 
 Thou the Bread of Life," or it may be well to adopt a 
 hymn to be used at the beginning of each conference, 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 and the following would be very appropriate. It is 
 sung to the tune " Autumn." 
 
 Up to me sweet childhood looketh, 
 
 Heart and mind and soul awake; 
 Teach me ot thy ways, O Father, 
 
 Teach me for sweet childhood's sake. 
 In their young hearts sott and tender, 
 
 Guide my hands good seed to sow. 
 That its blossoming may praise thee, 
 
 Praise thee wheresoe'er they go. 
 
 Give to me a cheerful spirit, 
 
 That my little flock may see 
 It is good and pleasant service 
 
 To be ever taught of thee. 
 Father, order all my footsteps; 
 
 So direct my daily way 
 That in following me, the children 
 
 May not ever go astray. 
 
 Let thy holy counsel lead me, 
 
 Let thy light before me shine, 
 That they may not stumble over 
 
 Any word or deed of mine. 
 Draw us hand in hand to Jesus, 
 
 For his word's sake unforgot, 
 " Let the littie ones come to me, 
 
 And do thou lorbid them not." 
 
 II Prayer 
 
 Let this be a very real and childlike petition to the 
 heavenly Father, asking that we may know how to 
 meet each child with whom we come in contact in our 
 daily lives and in our work ; that the words we speak 
 and every act may be in accord with his will for the 
 children. 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 III Picture 
 
 Perhaps there is some one from whom you can 
 borrow Sir Joshua Reynolds' picture, " The Age 
 of Innocence." If you do not have a large copy of 
 this picture secure the small size, for one or two 
 cents, from one of various picture publishing'houses. 
 Mount these and have one for each teacher. It will 
 be good for her to have this on her desk or in her 
 room that she inay see it often. After the hymn and 
 prayer call attention to this picture and give a few 
 moments to an appreciation of it. It is a little child 
 whose heart is filled with wonder as she looks upon the 
 great outdoor world. Her appearance speaks of the 
 loving care of her mother. Probably she is shielded 
 and protected from any influence that might harm 
 her, and yet even now she is beginning to wonder 
 about this great world in which she is living. What 
 do you think she is thinking about? If a grown 
 person came to her now, what should be the manner 
 of approach? Do we give children sufficient oppor- 
 tunity for thinking alone and without the continual 
 interpretation of adult ideas? All of the friends of 
 children are their teachers, but sometimes the best 
 teaching method is a wise withholding of one's self. 
 
 IV Introduction to the Theme 
 
 October is that month in the church-school year 
 that has in it the most strangeness among children 
 and teachers. There are the little children who have 
 been coming occasionally and have been in the Cradle 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Roll class. Now they are beginning their regular 
 attendance in the Beginners' Department. There are 
 the timid little children who have not attended before, 
 but who begin now to come with brothers and sisters 
 or friends slightly older than themselves. Promo- 
 tion time has made a change in classes and teachers, 
 so that there must be a large amount of getting 
 acquainted, which should be arranged with tact. 
 
 (Make this an analysis of the situation in your 
 own school and the preparation for the discussion 
 of certain questions which are to follow.) 
 
 V Discussion of Topics 
 
 (These topics must be given out in advance.) 
 
 1. How should new children be met and the first 
 relations established? 
 
 (Bring out the difference between the approach to a 
 timid child and one that is more easily approached, 
 as well as the " forward " child. Call attention to the 
 fact that we often ask a child his name without first 
 telling him ours, with the result that children have 
 attended the church school for weeks without know- 
 ing the name of their teacher. Emphasize the fact 
 that after the informal greeting before the session, 
 it is best to introduce the new child to several others 
 and then leave them to get acquainted in their own 
 way. Continue this discussion informally.) 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 2. How should new pupils be enrolled? 
 
 (Discuss the method that can be used in your 
 own school. The same plan cannot be used in all 
 the different departments. Sometimes if a very 
 little child is sent to the offtce or desk of the enrolling 
 secretary of the whole school, he becomes frightened 
 because he does not understand and his first contact 
 with the school is not a happy one. Yet we must 
 cooperate with the general officers of the school in 
 securing an accurate enrollment. The one who has 
 this topic may well have a conference with the secre- 
 tary of the school and be prepared to advocate some 
 workable plan at this time. Perhaps the enrollment 
 may be made at the secretary's desk in the Beginners' 
 and Primary Departments, and a duplicate card sent 
 to the general officer of the school each time a new 
 pupil is enrolled.) 
 
 3. Should younger children be allowed to remain 
 with the older ones in their class? 
 
 (Develop the fact that a younger pupil will never 
 become acquainted with his proper group as long as 
 he goes into the older class. It is better to excuse the 
 older children to go with one younger for a few Sun- 
 days, oi until he becomes accustomed to his proper 
 place. Sometimes we are lacking in tact in the way 
 we approach these young children. One Beginners' 
 Department has some very fascinating scrap-books, 
 and when the teacher wishes to win a small child for 
 her class, she tells of a picture, perhaps of " a little, 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 wee baby in its crib." The timid child forgets himself 
 and goes happily off to see this pleasing sight. Soon 
 he is looking at other pictures and by the time he has 
 finished the book he is attracted by something in the 
 department and soon finds himself a part of it. These 
 scrap-books can be made by the older Primary pupils, 
 working before the session or on a week day. The 
 person who discusses this topic should have some 
 substantial scrap-books made of heavy paper and a 
 collection of pictures cut out ready to turn over to 
 the second or third year Primary teachers, to serve as 
 a suggestion for them.) 
 
 4. How may the former teacher of a child co- 
 operate with his new teacher? 
 
 (Discuss the kind of information that can be passed 
 on to the one who is to become the new teacher of a 
 group of. children. If the occasion is at all favorable, 
 make this a time for asking and answering questions 
 about the individual characteristics of certain pupils. 
 This must be done in the most kindly spirit and all 
 prejudice must be avoided. A teacher who has 
 found the best way to approach a pupil should share 
 that know^ledge. This part of the discussion may be 
 very helpful and practical.) 
 
 Other topics may suggest themselves to your 
 particular group of teachers and time be spent in 
 conversation concerning the problems of our depart- 
 ment which are related to the theme for this meeting. 
 The leader should direct this and there should be 
 only one person speaking at a time. 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 VI Poem 
 
 "Six Years Old " i 
 
 Should I kiss him, or shake hands? 
 Tell me what his case demands. 
 Should my hungry arms inclose 
 His wee form; and should the rose 
 That he uses for a mouth 
 Meet my own? The jasmined South 
 Holds no balm so sweet as this 
 Nectar in my laddie's kiss! 
 
 Yet he's six brave summers old — 
 Calls himself a man, I'm told! 
 At my tiresome journey's end, 
 As my homeward way I wend. 
 Should I greet the babe of yore 
 As I greeted him before? 
 Or within his presence stand. 
 Gravely tendering my hand? 
 
 Neither baby, now, nor boy; 
 Spurning every childish toy, 
 Swaggering with mannish stride. 
 Hands in pockets, feet set wide. 
 Scorning as effeminate 
 Huggings at the garden gate! 
 On the border line he stands — 
 Shall I kiss him, or shake hands? 
 
 — Strickland W. Cillilan. 
 
 " If all the wonders of this world should break 
 suddenly . . . upon a full-fledged man, his mind 
 would faint under it . . . yet something like it 
 happens every day in a child's life." 
 
 ' Used by permission. Forbes Publishing Co., 443 So. Dearborn St., 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 THIRD PROGRAM November 
 
 Theme: The Childreji's Week-day Life 
 
 I. Presentation of Theme 
 
 We are anxious that everything shall be provided 
 for the teaching of the children while they are within 
 the walls of the church, but sometimes we forget how 
 much of this success depends upon what we know of 
 the circumstances of the children's lives outside the 
 church. The plans which we make so carefully 
 from our point of view may create entirely different 
 impressions when viewed from an angle of the daily 
 experiences of the children themselves. Herbert 
 Spencer said, " The vital knowledge which now 
 underlies our whole existence is a knowledge which 
 has got itself taught in nooks and corners; while the 
 ordained agencies for teaching have been mumbling 
 little else than dead foimulas." 
 
 This seems a bit hard on schools and teachers, 
 but let us try to see ourselves and our work in a 
 new light. What do we know about these " nooks 
 and corners " that have such a large share in the 
 education of the children? Can we, in spite of our 
 busy lives, find time to become acquainted with this 
 week-day world of children under nine years, of age? 
 Sometimes we feel that the immediate tasks before 
 us are all that we can perform. Yet these may be 
 made easier and infinitely happier if we lift them out 
 of the usual routine and see them in relation to the 
 life of childhood. 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Our discussion of this every-day life will have two 
 phases. First, we will obey the admonition of 
 Froebel when he said, " Turn thine eyes observantly 
 upon thy own youth, and warm and vivify the eternal 
 youth of thy mind." 
 
 We will each relate the most vivid recollections 
 of our own childhood, and try to remember, if we can, 
 how we felt when we were children. 
 
 11. Reminiscences 
 
 These recollections are always nearer the surface 
 of our thoughts than we realize. Let this be an 
 informal conversation, with a mixture of fun and 
 seriousness, including the memories of the early 
 home life, mother, father, playmates, first days at 
 school, visits, attendance at church, and the many 
 things that go to make up childhood's days. 
 
 III. Discussion 
 
 The leader should direct a discussion of these 
 reminiscences, perhaps by asking questions, such as, 
 " Why did we remember these things and forget so 
 many others? " " Which do we remember most 
 vividly — persons or places, things that were said or 
 things that were done? " " How may we live again 
 our childhood experiences and thus gain sympathy 
 with all children? " After this discussion emphasize 
 the significance through the quotations which follow. 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 These may be given out in advance or, quite as well, 
 given at this time in the program to the teachers who 
 are to read them. 
 
 IV. Quotations 
 
 1. In Maeterlinck's The Bluebird and the scene, 
 " The Land of Memory," Granny Tyl says when 
 the memories of the children's earlier years come 
 flocking about them, " Here they are! As soon as 
 you think of them, as soon as you speak of them, 
 they are there! " 
 
 2'. This is the way one young mother made many 
 trips to the land of memory: " These," she said, 
 touching an odd assortment of articles on the table 
 before her, " are relics of my own childhood days — 
 a snapshot of myself; a bit of a party dress; a cher- 
 ished doll; a story-book. I have collected every 
 memento I can find and each one calls up scene after 
 scene. I have written to several friends and relatives, 
 asking each to relate some little anecdote concerning 
 the first five years of my life. Always I found that 
 in the light of awakened memory I was able to under- 
 stand my little daughter better and to deal with her 
 more wisely and patiently." — Martina Gardner 
 Owen, The Golden Now. 
 
 3. This is what James Whitcomb Riley said was 
 the secret of his understanding of children: " There 
 is always beside me the little boy I used to be, and I 
 can think his thoughts, and live his hopes and his 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 tragedies now, just as much as I could when I looked 
 like him. We have great times together — this little 
 boy and I — and we are never more intimate than 
 when some other little child is near us. I have sat 
 here by my fire, or by somebody else's fire, and have 
 seen a little, strange child come into the room when 
 it seemed as if he must know how much alike we were 
 and that I must go and talk with him. But I never 
 did go to him right away, or call him to me. Why? 
 Because the little boy I used to be was at my elbow, 
 and I remembered very well how he used to like to 
 have people treat him. Was it the people who made 
 an affectionate rush at him and caught him up and 
 covered him with kisses who won his heart? No, it 
 was the people whose hearts he thought he had won." 
 — Harper's Monthly, December, 1917. 
 
 4. The Threshold 
 
 Life lies before me, but shut is the door 
 On all my childish days. No more, no more 
 Shall I again in all my years be free 
 And careless — happy as I used to be. 
 So be it, Lord! I know that all is right, 
 I would not alter it, or shirk the fight. 
 Shut then the door! but leave a little crack 
 That when I meet a child I may slip back. 
 — Barbara Seymour, Harper's Monthly, March, 1916. 
 
 V. Prayer 
 
 In a few quiet moments and simple words express 
 the gratitude you feel for the happiness of your own 
 childhood and for the contact you now have with 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 other children. Let us " become as Httle children " 
 in our relation to 'the heavenly Father. 
 
 VI. Plans for the Next Meeting 
 
 The other phase of this theme will be practical 
 observation of community life. Ask each teacher 
 to come prepared to tell at the next meeting what 
 she thinks it is necessary to know concerning the 
 children's every-day life. 
 
 VII. Additional Reading 
 
 The following fascinating stories, founded upon 
 actual experiences, will be very interesting reading 
 in connection with the discussion which has just 
 preceded : 
 
 Jeremy, Hugh Walpole. 
 Una Mary, Una Hunt. 
 
 VIII. Seasonal Plans • 
 
 Since this is the season of Thanksgiving, the 
 remainder of the time should be spent in discussing 
 the stories, songs, activities and decorations that 
 will mark the occasion. Special plans of this sort 
 are always much more effective when the teachers 
 and officers have a common understanding of what 
 is to be done. 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 FOURTH PROGRAM November 
 
 Theme: The Children s Week-day Life 
 
 I. Observation 
 
 It is almost dangerous to discuss in a meeting 
 like this the e very-day lives of the children, lest 
 we become theoretical and find ourselves trying 
 to interpret the children in terms of our theories, 
 instead of being constantly alert and ready to readjust 
 our conclusions and methods to what we find in life. 
 But even the great love and interest of a teacher 
 must have direction, that the observations may be 
 definite and the results understood and used. The 
 questions which follow are only suggestions and the 
 list may be modified or have additions in the light of 
 the discussion. Copies of these questions should be 
 prepared in advance for distribution at this time. 
 Their purpose cannot be .fulfilled in this brief meeting. 
 They are to be used by the teachers as the basis of 
 their observations in the weeks and months to come. 
 
 The Home 
 
 1. What is the attitude of the mother toward the 
 children, as expressed in voice, manner, care? 
 
 2. Of the father and mother toward each other? 
 
 3. Between father and children? 
 
 4. What is the father's occupation? How much 
 is he at home? 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 5. Does the mother do all of the work of the home? 
 What are her outside interests? 
 
 6. Are there other children in the home, or other 
 persons in the home? Sex, age and relation? 
 
 The Community 
 
 7. At what age do the children begin to play 
 outside the home? 
 
 8. Where do they play? 
 
 9. What playmates have they? 
 
 10. What are their relations to each other? 
 
 11. What do they play? 
 
 12. What changes are brought about by kinder- 
 garten and school? 
 
 13. With what grown people do they come in 
 contact outside home and school? 
 
 14. What do they see? (Billboards, and other 
 objects and activities of the neighborhood.) 
 
 15. What places of amusement are frequented by 
 the family? 
 
 Make a list of a child's day, showing what he does, 
 where he goes, and what he sees on a typical day. 
 
 II. Discussion 
 
 Each one in the conferences will be able to add 
 something from her own unconscious observations 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 that will illumine the discussion of these questions, 
 but their chief value will be in the future use that each 
 teacher and officer makes of the list. Care must be 
 taken that these very personal matters of the chil- 
 dren's lives are always discussed in a kindly spirit. 
 It is easy for amusing and unusual situations to lead 
 to a critical attitude. There must be perfect frank- 
 ness, .but this is entirely consistent with kindness. 
 
 III. Lessons 
 
 Recall a number of lessons from the Beginners' 
 and Primary Courses, and see what connection there 
 is between the facts of a child's life and the stories 
 and conversation of the lesson period on Sunday. 
 Look at this from the standpoint of the lesson inter- 
 pretation rather than the application. This latter 
 part of the subject will be taken up at another time. 
 For example, consider Lesson 37, of the First Year 
 Primary, Joseph's Kindness to His Brothers, and see 
 how certain home situations would modify your 
 method of presenting the lesson. 
 
 IV. Special Problems 
 
 There may be teachers who have problems in 
 connection with certain children, which may be 
 discussed at this time, and others in the conferences 
 may have knowledge or contact which will help in 
 solving the situation. 
 
 25 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONI'ERENCES 
 
 V. Prayer 
 
 Simple and direct petitions that you may have 
 wisdom with which to meet the opportunities that 
 come through intimate contact with children. 
 
 VI. Seasonal Plans 
 
 The completion of such Thanksgiving plans and 
 materials as are necessary at this time. Working 
 together is in itself a valuable form of conference. 
 
 FIFTH PROGRAM December 
 
 Theme: The Christmas Spirit 
 
 ( Note. — It has seemed impracticable to plan two 
 conferences for December, since everything that you 
 would wish to discuss would need to come early in 
 the month to permit carrying out your plans. A 
 longer time than usual should be allowed for this 
 meeting or, if it seems advisable, two meetings may 
 be arranged for, thus keeping to the fortnightly plan. 
 It should not be necessary to send a notice to the 
 teachers reminding them of each meeting, but it 
 might add interest to this occasion if a little booklet 
 were sent, having a cover and an attractive Christ- 
 mas seal on the front, and two tiny white pages inside, 
 announcing the meeting and giving the special 
 assignment for the person to whom it goes.) 
 
 26 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 First Topic: What Christmas Meant to Me When I 
 Was a Child 
 
 This should be assigned in advance to one teacher 
 who will lead the discussion. Let the leader and the 
 other teachers who participate in the discussion 
 informally tell what they remember most vividly 
 from the Christmas days and celebrations of their 
 childhood. These may be recounted for the pure 
 joy of the telling, and if this seems to be the case do 
 not force a lesson in profound conclusions. If the 
 circumstances seem favorable, try to discover in 
 these experiences the relation between the material 
 and the spiritual message of Christmas. What 
 is there that you would have wished different and 
 what that you would like to pass on undimmed to the 
 children of today? 
 
 Second Topic: The Christmas Spirit of Today 
 
 The teacher to whom this topic is assigned will of 
 course present it in her own way and from her own 
 point of view. However, such questions as the follow- 
 ing may be suggested to her or she may leave them 
 open for the discussion which follows: 
 
 What has caused the change of emphasis from 
 receiving to giving? 
 
 Are there dangers in this, and what are they? 
 
 What is the reaction upon the children in the case 
 of conspicuous giving, such as the public pre- 
 sentation of gifts for the poor? 
 27 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 How may we safeguard the spirit of Christmas from 
 becoming lost in a wealth of material things? 
 
 It would be very interesting if the leader of this 
 discussion would read "Christmas and the Spirit of 
 Democracy " from Beside the Christmas Fire, by 
 Samuel McChord Crothers. It is a whimsical but 
 very interesting discussion of the modern Christmas 
 spirit. This paragraph in conclusion may give us 
 food for thought: 
 
 " It is a wonderful giving, this giving of one's self, 
 and people do appreciate it. When you have 
 ministered to a person's self-respect, you have 
 given him something. And you are conscious of 
 it, and so is he, though you both find it hard to 
 express it in the old terms. All the old Christmas 
 cheer is in these reciprocities of friendship that 
 have lost every touch of condescension.'' 
 
 Third Topic : Children and the Christ-Child 
 
 In A Child's Religion, Mary A. Wilbur says, " I 
 think that the stories of the Christ-child and the 
 Saviour were taught me before I could remember. 
 I seem to have had a protective and proprietory feel- 
 ing for the baby Jesus, which changed with my growth, 
 until it was Christ, the friend and elder brother, the 
 helper who understood what I needed and wanted, 
 that claimed my love and loyalty." 
 
 28 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Discuss in the light of your own experiences and 
 your observation of the children who are your per- 
 sonal friends, such questions as the following: 
 
 What is the attitude of children toward the baby 
 Jesus? 
 
 Do they think of him as a gift from the heavenly 
 Father or as simply a dear little child whom they 
 would have loved to see and touch? 
 
 Do they connect the baby Jesus with the man of 
 later years? 
 
 Fourth Topic : Christmas in the Church-School 
 Session 
 
 Is there danger that the unusual confusion and 
 bustle at this time of the year will crowd out the 
 things that are really important? Sometimes the 
 annual Christmas service is held on Sunday morning 
 and there is no department or class work done. Or, 
 even when the service is held at another time, this 
 Sunday nearest Christmas is given to " preparations," 
 which may prepare for a public performance, but do 
 very little toward the preparation of the child's heart 
 for the coming of the Christ-child. Discuss the 
 situation in your own school very frankly. It would 
 be fine if you could all agree together that nothing 
 shall interfere with the Christmas message reaching 
 every child who comes to your church on that day. 
 
 29 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 1. The Christmas Lesson 
 
 Would there be an advantage in having the entire 
 department or the two departments together, 
 for the Christmas lesson? Sometimes the chil- 
 dren's minds are so full of unusual occurrences 
 that it is hard to get a focus of attention. If 
 only one thing were going on and every teacher 
 and child were intent upon that one thing, would 
 not the Christmas story have a better chance 
 of appreciation and understanding? 
 
 Discuss this Christmas story, if possible having it 
 told and criticized until its full beauty and mean- 
 ing stand forth. 
 
 If the Christmas lessons are taught in the various 
 classes, there may be an opportunity in the 
 opening service of the Primary Department for 
 another story to be told. The following are 
 suggested : 
 
 The. Jar of Rosemary, The Promise, The Story 
 Teller, Maud Lindsay 
 
 His Birthday, Mary E. Chase 
 
 2. Christmas Pictures 
 
 If the Christmas story is to be told to the entire 
 
 department or combined departments, it will 
 
 probably be best to use some of the pictures 
 
 from the Beginners' Course, since these are 
 
 30 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 larger. It would be well to have at this meeting 
 the four Christmas pictures which appear in 
 the two years: 
 
 " The Nativity," Le Rolle 
 " The Wise Men " 
 
 " The Sistine Madonna " (detail), Raphael 
 " The Adoration of the Wise Men," Edelfelt 
 
 Discuss these pictures until your own appreciation 
 of them is increased and deepened. If some art 
 teacher is available and will help to interpret 
 these pictures to you, it will be very helpful. 
 
 If you can do so, secure in addition to these, or to 
 be used in place of the first picture above, a copy 
 of " The Nativity " by Taylor (Copley Print, 
 Boston). This is a modern painting of unusual 
 beauty and naturalness. Children dearly love 
 the tiny babe in the manger. 
 
 3. Christmas Songs 
 
 Sing together such songs as: 
 
 " Why Do Bells at Christmas Ring? " 
 
 " What Can I Give Him? " 
 
 " The Christmas Manger Hymn." 
 
 {Songs for Little People, by Danielson and Conant.) 
 31 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Fifth Topic : What Can the Children Do? 
 
 Primary children may use the pre-session period on 
 Sunday or some hour on a week day for making scrap- 
 books to be presented to the Beginners' Department 
 at Christmas time. A whole library of tiny scrap- 
 books, four by six inches, may be made of heavy 
 paper, having such interesting titles and pictures as, 
 " Pets," " Babies," " Animal Babies," " Day Time 
 and Night," " Play Time." The pictures must be 
 selected and classified in different envelopes by the 
 teachers, who must also give directions in the making 
 of these books. 
 
 A bird's Christmas tree may be placed in the 
 church yard or a convenient place in the community, 
 bearing bunches of suet and seeds of various kinds. 
 Refer to the chapter on " Entertainment in Winter," 
 in Ernest Harold Baynes' Wild Bird Guests. If this 
 book is not obtainable, the following directions may 
 be used: melt a quantity of beef or mutton suet, and 
 stir into it such food as dry ground beef, hemp seed, 
 oats, sunflower seed and bread crumbs. Pour this 
 mixture boiling hot over the twigs and branches of 
 some evergreen. The cold air will quickly set the 
 fat. Of course a growing tree should not be used, but 
 a small, cut tree, perhaps a discarded Christmas tree. 
 
 Simple Christmas greetings may be made for the 
 Cradle Roll superintendent to send to the babies on 
 her list. Small Christmas trees cut out of green 
 paper may be prepared, and even Beginners can put 
 Christmas seals on these. More elaborate greetings 
 
 32 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 may be made by the Primary children for the Home 
 Department members. Patterns are easily copied or 
 made. 
 
 " It wants a loving spirit 
 
 Much more than strength to prove 
 How many things a child may do 
 For others by his love." 
 
 — Kate Douglas Wiggin, Pinafore Palace. 
 
 This quotation could be used in the department 
 program, put upon the blackboard or repeated to the 
 children. 
 
 Sixth Topic : Room Decorations 
 
 There is great danger that confusion and a mussy 
 appearance will result from the usual frantic efforts 
 at decorations. Let simplicity be the key-note of the 
 plans that you make here and the results that are 
 carried out in your room. If there is a frieze of burlap 
 or a screen, as is sometimes the case around the 
 Beginners' class, why not cut out of green cover paper 
 a number of Christmas trees? These should be in 
 size suitable to the proportions of your burlap and 
 should be placed far enough apart to avoid a crowded 
 effect. This, with the pictures you are to use, will 
 be quite enough to create the environment and im- 
 pression that you wish. Of course, nothing could be 
 better than boughs of real evergreen and if you can 
 have these, omit the border of cut-out trees. 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Seventh Topic : Something for the Children 
 
 Do the children of your community have a great 
 many parties? If so, perhaps the only service which 
 your school can give at this season is to bring the 
 Christmas story in all its simplicity and beauty to 
 them. But in the realm of childhood there is nearly 
 always room for just one more party, and it would be 
 well for you to discuss at this time the advisability 
 of having a happy, informal gathering of the children 
 of the Beginners' and Primary Departments (either 
 together or separately) during the holiday season. 
 Be careful that this does not become an entertain- 
 ment given either for the children or by them for the 
 amusement of adults. Let it be a real party in which 
 the children actually participate. It is not necessary 
 to seek for something new. The children themselves 
 are new, and the old combination of simple Christmas 
 trees or decorations, ice-cream and cookies, stories and 
 games will never fail to delight the hearts of children. 
 
 SIXTH PROGRAM January 
 
 Theme : Measuring 
 
 Note: The parts of this program should be assigned 
 to different teachers and officers long enough in ad- 
 vance for them to get into the spirit of the theme. 
 If the originality and enthusiasm of those who are to 
 take part suggest other materials and lines of thought, 
 do not hesitate to allow these expression. 
 
 34 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHP:RS' CONFERENCES 
 
 I. Introduction of Theme 
 
 The first of the year is the time for taking stock, 
 measuring achievement and making new resolutions. 
 Teachers and ofhcers in our departments have been 
 working together in their present relationships for a 
 sufficient period of time to be able to look back and 
 measure certain values. If Promotion Day was in 
 the fall, there have been three months in which the 
 teachers have had their present group of pupils, and 
 each officer has been able to see her work in relation to 
 the work of all the others. There have been two 
 special days which have tested the organization and 
 teaching methods. 
 
 Usually there comes a slight reaction after the 
 holiday season, and it is very timely that we should 
 sit down together and consider the weak places that 
 need strengthening and the plans that should be 
 changed. It is illuminating to see our needs and it is 
 very encouraging to note the progress we have made. 
 Sometimes this is so gradual that we can hardly ob- 
 serve it and we become discouraged. 
 
 II. A Voice from the Past 
 
 Hear this choice bit from the " National Series of 
 Selections for Reading," published in 1852: 
 
 " I told you in the last lesson that I would teach 
 you how to read the hard words that you may find 
 in this or any other book. Now before you can under- 
 stand them you must be able to read them; and in 
 order that you may read them you must take the 
 
 35 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 words to pieces; that is, take a few of the letters at a 
 time, and see whether you can read a part of the 
 word first, and then another part, until you have read 
 the whole of it in parts, and then you can put the 
 parts together, and thus read the whole word. In the 
 next line you may read the parts of a word all sepa- 
 rated : 
 
 " Ab ra ca dab ra. Now you have read the parts 
 all separated, you can read them easily together so 
 as to make one word, and the word is — Abracadabra. 
 This long and hard word was the name of a false god 
 that was worshiped many hundreds of years ago by a 
 people who did not know the true God." 
 
 Also this from the Introduction to the same book: 
 
 " Many little boys and girls are fond of running out 
 of their places in school with a great many unneces- 
 sary questions. This always troubles the teacher, 
 and prevents his going through with all his business 
 in time to dismiss you at the usual hour." 
 
 What description of a child's natural activity and 
 curiosity is found in that first sentence! Pray tell, 
 what is the " business " of the teacher but to answer 
 a child's questions! What an aim for a teacher, to 
 get through " in time to dismiss you at the usual 
 hour "! 
 
 Educational ideas are improving and the work 
 we do in our departments each week and year adds to 
 this gradual growth. 
 
 36 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 III. Measuring the Teachers 
 
 Let us begin with ourselves. Are we beginning to 
 attain the qualities which have been set forth in the 
 Elementary Standards for the Beginners' and Pri- 
 mary Departments? 
 
 " Teachers qualified by nature, training and relig- 
 ious experience, that is, teachers who : 
 
 Possess a sympathetic understanding of child life. 
 
 Have a personality attractive and helpful to 
 children. 
 
 Seek frequent contact with little children in their 
 home, school and play life. 
 
 Are graduates or students in a Training Course, a 
 Community Training School or a School of Principles 
 and Methods. 
 
 Are continuing their specialized training in a 
 Graded Union or by the reading of one specialzation 
 book a year. 
 
 Lead a sincere Christian life." 
 
 (Discuss these points in detail. If the one who has 
 charge of this part of the program wishes to do so, 
 she may assign the six points to different persons, 
 asking them to speak two minutes upon each point. 
 Be practical and specific. Fine theories are valuable 
 only when they are translated into life.) 
 
 37 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 IV. A Standard for the Teacher 
 
 In addition to these general and very important 
 qualifications, there are certain commonplace details 
 which must not be overlooked. Would it not be a 
 good plan for the teachers in our departments to 
 agree to measure up to a certain standard of conduct 
 and practice? (Discuss the following questions): 
 
 When should a teacher be counted on time? What 
 should she do when she comes early? 
 
 Will the " Quarterly " give the teacher a complete 
 lesson plan without any originality or rearrange- 
 ment of material? Would it not be a help to make a 
 few notes on each lesson, even though these are not 
 used in the class? 
 
 What should be a child's attitude toward the 
 Bible? What would be the effect, if, as she tells the 
 lesson story each week, the teacher has the open Bible 
 near at hand, occasionally reading a simple sentence 
 from it? 
 
 What is the difference between a story that is told 
 and one that is read? 
 
 What can reasonably be expected in the way of 
 calling in the homes of the pupils? 
 
 Are we dedicating part of our reading time to our 
 church-school work? 
 
 How can a visit in another church school be most 
 valuable? What shall we look for in the work of 
 other teachers and officers? 
 
 What opportunities for inspiration and instruction 
 through institutes and other meetings are valuable? 
 
 38 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 What is our relation to the rest of the school and 
 how can we keep in touch with what they are doing? 
 
 What should be the attitude of a teacher of chil- 
 dren toward the church services? If children are 
 present with their parents or attend the services with 
 the teacher, what impressions may they receive? 
 
 As a result of this discussion a standard similar to 
 the following may be developed : 
 
 Present at least fifteen minutes before the Church- 
 school session. 
 
 A written lesson-plan. 
 
 The Bible in the hands of the teacher. 
 
 The story told and not read. 
 
 Call upon pupils at least once each quarter. 
 
 Read at least one book concerning the work, each 
 year. 
 
 Visit and observe one other Sunday school during 
 the year. 
 
 Attend a Teacher-training Class, Institute or 
 School of Methods. 
 
 Attend the Workers' Conference. 
 
 Attend the church services regularly and reverently. 
 
 V. Materials for the Department 
 
 At this time discuss the winter songs, which should 
 be included in the program during this month. 
 Become familiar with these. The following from 
 Songs for Little People are appropriate: " In Winter " 
 (for Beginners); " Winter Hymn " (for Primary). 
 
 39 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Ask some teacher to be responsible for bringing 
 to the meeting such seasonable pictures as would be 
 suitable in the room or in connection with the teach- 
 ing period. Snow scenes, winter birds, home com- 
 forts and other pictures are to be found in current 
 magazines. 
 
 SEVENTH PROGRAM January 
 
 Theme: The Joy of Knowing How 
 
 Up to the point of efficiency, when one is learning a 
 trade or profession there -is comparatively little 
 joyousness in his labor; but with the consciousness of 
 mastery, of thorough knowledge and aptness, comes a 
 feeling of strength and self-satisfaction, of superiority, 
 which takes away all sense of drudgery and makes the 
 pursuit of one's occupation a source of constant 
 delight. ■ — William Matthews. 
 
 I. Presentation of Theme 
 
 At the last meeting we measured ourselves and 
 discussed our qualifications and our duties. We 
 should also be able to know, in part at least, whether 
 or not we are succeeding in our work. We must 
 know what we are trying to do and whether or not 
 we have done it. The standards for Beginners' and 
 Primary Departments provide us with an excellent 
 outline to guide us in testing our work. 
 
 40 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 II. Testing Results 
 
 (The Beginners' and Primary Standards should be 
 presented by different persons, and if it is thought 
 best, the various sub-topics may be assigned to the 
 teachers for discussion.) 
 
 Beginners 
 
 Are the children growing in : 
 
 Love, trust and reverence for God? (Indicated by 
 their manner in speaking of him and in their 
 attitude both in the church school and outside.) 
 
 Association of the heavenly Father with daily life? 
 (This will be expressed in informal conversation 
 before and during the session.) 
 
 Right behavior? (Shown in their attitude toward 
 other children in their department and in their 
 daily conduct.) 
 
 Love for God through prayer, praise and effort to 
 please him? (It is not difficult to know by the 
 manner in which children respond to song and 
 prayer whether or not they are really entering 
 into the spirit of them. Are details of program, 
 seating, care of maps and ventilation so cared for 
 that good order and reverence prevail?) 
 
 Love for others through acts of helpfulness? (This 
 can easily be ascertained through your own 
 observation and from what the mothers of the 
 children will tell you. Do the mothers report 
 growing habits of good behavior?) 
 41 
 
PROCxRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Primary 
 
 (Consider the Primary Standard in the same way, 
 noting the differences between the two and discussing 
 the points in their practical aspects as indicated by 
 the questions given above.) 
 
 " The conduct of the Primary child may manifest: 
 
 Love, trust, reverence and obedience to God the 
 Father and Jesus Christ the Saviour. 
 
 Recognition of the heavenly Father in daily life. 
 
 Love for God through worship. 
 
 Love and reverence for God's Book, God's Day and 
 God's House. 
 
 Increasing power to act in response to ever enlarg- 
 ing ideas of what is right and desirable. 
 
 Increasing spirit of obedience and helpfulness. 
 
 Increasing power to give love and forget self in 
 social relations." 
 
 III. Testing Our Methods 
 
 1. Have we a room or space that is 
 Clean 
 Light 
 
 Well-ventilated 
 
 Attractive in color and decoration 
 Childlike 
 
 That has good seating arrangement 
 Place for maps 
 
 Or if not, how can we improve conditions? 
 42 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 2. Have we suitable and sufficient teaching ma- 
 terials? 
 
 Pictures 
 
 Objects 
 
 Blackboards 
 
 Music 
 
 Helps for teachers 
 
 3. Do we provide opportunities for self-expression 
 through : 
 
 Worship 
 
 Offerings 
 
 Conversation and retelling of stories 
 
 Handwork 
 
 Helpfulness within the department? 
 
 EIGHTH PROGRAM February 
 
 Theme: Special Days 
 
 I. A Prayer (offered by the Welsh bards in the 
 morning before Eisteddfod, as they are seated in a 
 circle on the highest hill. Copies of this may be 
 written upon cards and given the teachers.) 
 
 " Grant, O God, thy protection. 
 And in protection, strength; 
 And in strength, understanding; 
 And in understanding, knowledge; 
 And in knowledge, the knowledge of justice; 
 And in the knowledge of justice, the love of it; 
 And in the love of all existence, the love of God — God and all 
 goodness." 
 
 ■ — Gallant Little Wales, Jeanette Marks.i 
 1 Used by permission. Houghton, Mifflin Co., 4 Park St., Boston. Mass. 
 
 43 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 II. Introduction of Topic 
 
 There are certain days in the year that have special 
 significance for us. Some of these are personal and 
 recall to us persons and places and past happenings. 
 Some of them are days which have meaning for all of 
 us and these are the festival days of the year. Cer- 
 tain ideas grow up about them, and our love, patriot- 
 ism and spirituality are quickened and deepened by 
 the recurrence of these days. They have a signifi- 
 cance for the children, too, perhaps for them most of 
 all, and our relation to these occasions becomes a 
 twofold one, mcludmg our appreciation and the 
 interpretation of them to the children whom we 
 teach. 
 
 III. Questions for Discussion 
 
 These questions should be assigned in advance. 
 The meeting will probably be more spontaneous and 
 interesting if each one who is to lead a portion of the 
 discussion presents it in her own way, without at- 
 tempting to closely coordinate the subjects. 
 
 1. What special days during the year affect a 
 child's week-day interest only? Which of them 
 arouse the greatest enthusiasm? How is unselfish- 
 ness cultivated through these experiences, or where 
 lies the danger of self-seeking? 
 
 2. Which of these special days should be included 
 in our church-school plans? What should be the 
 degree of importance given to each of these? May 
 
 44 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 some be simply referred to and others emphasized in 
 our programs? 
 
 3. What special days come in February? (These, 
 of course, will include Washington's and Lincoln's 
 birthdays and Valentine's day.) 
 
 Which of these looms largest in a child's eyes? 
 
 What moral teaching is included in the celebration 
 of these two great birthdays? If the Beginners' 
 children do not attend kindergarten, it will probably 
 be true that these two figures in American history 
 mean little to them, unless they have older brothers 
 and sisters in school and absorb their ideas. 
 
 Is the idea of patriotism the one most connected 
 with these great characters, or are there other lessons 
 of honesty, faithfulness and courage? 
 
 What opportunities for unselfishness, kindness and 
 thoughtfulness are offered through the activities that 
 Valentine's day always brings into the lives of the 
 children? 
 
 4. Which of these days shall we make a part of our 
 department programs for February, and how shall we 
 do it? 
 
 Perhaps we shall wish to be patriotic in the Begin- 
 ners' Department, with the flag much in evidence as 
 we say: 
 
 " For God and home and native land, 
 Each little child may bravely stand." ' 
 
 The story, " Little George Washington," in The 
 Story Hour, by Wiggins and Smith, may be told in 
 the department program this month. 
 
 ' From " Beginners' Department," Angelina Wray. 
 
 45 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Or, perhaps we shall wish to emphasize the love and 
 thoughtfulness of the valentines which the children 
 receive and give. How natural to sing, — 
 
 " God is love, God is love, 
 Love one another, God is love." ' 
 
 5. What decorations shall we have for this month? 
 Let us remember the great danger of having too 
 much, and practice " artistic reserve." It certainly 
 will not be a good idea to have the grave faces of 
 Washington and Lincoln looking out from a galaxy 
 of gay valentines. 
 
 If we are going to give special thought to the former 
 celebrations, the flag, which should be in every de- 
 partment room, will be quite decoration enough, with 
 a good print of each of these men. These prints may 
 be obtained in large size for a very moderate sum from 
 the Perry Picture Co., Maiden, Mass. 
 
 If valentines are to enter into our religious educa- 
 tion (and who dare say that they shall not?) a simple 
 border of hearts cut from colored paper may be 
 placed somewhere in the room. 
 
 6. Something to do. The children who come early 
 may prepare very simple but attractive valentines 
 to be sent to the members of the Home Department 
 or to the Cradle Roll children. Perhaps the Primary 
 children can make valentines for those in the Begin- 
 ners' Department. If anything so elaborate is to be 
 attempted, it is best to have a story hour during the 
 week in connection with which this work can be done. 
 
 • "Songs for Little People," Danielson and Conant 
 46 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 NINTH PROGRAM February 
 
 Theme: Problems of Attendance 
 
 I. A Quotation 
 
 What we want, to speak plainly, is to feel that God 
 knows what happens to us, and is with us while it 
 happens, and loves us steadily and tenderly through 
 it all. — Henry van Dyke. 
 
 II. First Problem (stated by the leader) 
 
 How may we cause the children and their parents 
 to share our desire that every child shall be in the 
 church school every Sunday? 
 
 Aspects of this Problem 
 
 1. Does the marking of a class record book which 
 the child cannot see, nor would understand if he could 
 see, develop his desire to have a good record in at- 
 tendance? 
 
 2. What is fundamental to his regularity of atten- 
 dance? How may we make him feel that he is per- 
 sonally missed when he is absent? Do attractive 
 designs in attendance records help in this matter? 
 Should these be in the form of class records, such as 
 posters, or should they be individual in form, so that 
 each child feels that it is his own personal record that 
 he may take home at the end of the month or quarter? 
 Discuss designs of this sort, such as a use of hearts in 
 February, daffodils in March, and butterflies in April. 
 
 47 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 3. What may be done in the program to develop 
 or cultivate regularity in attendance? In one 
 Primary Department where the attendance had been 
 very low on a rainy Sunday, a child who had been 
 present on that day was asked to tell on the following 
 Sunday the difference between Sunday and week-day 
 for some people. He said something like this, " On 
 a week-day when you wake up in the morning and it's 
 raining, you put on your overshoes and raincoat and 
 take an umbrella and go to school, but when it's 
 raining on Sunday, some folks say, ' Dear me! it's 
 raining, so I can't go to Sunday school.' " 
 
 In this same connection it might be suggested that 
 on a rainy day some special privilege or pleasure be 
 given, an unusually interesting story or a game in 
 keeping with the day and the place. 
 
 4. How shall we go about looking up absent pupils? 
 Discuss this in a very definite and practical way. 
 The conditions prevailing among your teachers will 
 control this to some extent. If the teachers are 
 employed throughout the week and have little time 
 at their own disposal, it would be well to arrange for 
 the secretary of the department to send out cards or 
 notes the first time that a child is absent. These may 
 be obtained from- a publisher or they may be personal 
 notes written upon small and attractive note-paper. 
 After a child is absent the second Sunday, the teacher 
 should get in personal touch with the home through 
 the telephone or a call. If this does not seem to solve 
 the problem, the department superintendent should 
 call. Sometimes it is. necessary to report the details 
 
 48 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 of the case to some other person, the pastor or a 
 committee of the Woman's Bible Class, or any person 
 who is in close personal touch with the homes of the 
 community. 
 
 III. Second Problem (stated by the leader) 
 
 What is our relation to the child who is unavoidably 
 kept from attendance at the church school for a long 
 or short period of time? 
 
 Questions for Discussion 
 
 1. Should we not take more seriously the connection 
 between the home and church school by sending to 
 each child his paper which contains the lesson on the 
 Sunday that he is absent? Perhaps a note to the 
 mother should accompany this until the point of 
 contact is firmly established. If the mother and the 
 child alike feel that it is important for him to have 
 every story, will it not improve the attitude toward 
 religious education? 
 
 2. If a child is absent for a period of time, through 
 illness or absence from the city, should not we see that 
 the papers for that period of time are either mailed 
 weekly or sent out all together? A call from the 
 teacher at least once during that period, or a letter 
 each week in case of a contagious disease, will deepen 
 the sense of relationship. 
 
 3. Who should attend to the sending out of these 
 papers, the secretary or the teachers? 
 
 49 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Right-at-Hand Problems 
 
 The leader of the conference should have a list of 
 these carefully outlined in as logical order as possible 
 and ready for discussion. These may consist of such 
 items, interpreted locally of course, as the following: 
 
 Individual children 
 
 New program material (songs, etc.) 
 
 Order and reverence 
 
 Lesson problems 
 
 TENTH PROGRAM March 
 
 Theme: Books and the Teacher 
 
 Preparation for the Meeting 
 
 It will be necessary to secure the books given in 
 the list which follows, and have them in the meeting. 
 If there is a church-school library, or a public library 
 is available and these books are to be found there, 
 ascertain this fact and rnake arrangements to have 
 the books taken out by members of the conference 
 in time for the meeting. Since these books are very 
 closely specialized in title and contents, it is quite 
 likely they will not be found in the public library. 
 It would be better, in any event, to own them, so that 
 they may always be obtainable for reading and refer- 
 ence. The entire seven will cost little more than five 
 dollars, 
 
 50 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 The various topics and work should be carefully 
 assigned in advance. They are to be treated as 
 those to whom they are assigned choose, but sugges- 
 tions are given as to the trend of the discussion. 
 
 Suggested List of Books 
 
 1. Child Nature and Child Nurture, St. John 
 
 2. The American Child, McCracken 
 
 3. The Child's Religion, Wilbur 
 
 4. The Study of a Little Child, Whitley 
 
 5. Methods ivith Beginners, Danielson 
 
 6. Story-telling for Beginners and Primary Teachers, 
 
 Cather 
 
 7. Methods for Primary Teachers, Lewis 
 
 Program 
 
 I. Presentation of Theme 
 
 II. Prayer 
 
 By the leader, thanking the heavenly Father for 
 the pleasant work he has given into your hands, for 
 the companionship of little children and the fellow- 
 ship with other teachers. 
 
 III. Quotations 
 
 These may be read by different persons, and com- 
 mented upon in a conversational way. 
 
 Books must follow sciences, and not sciences books, 
 — Bacon. 
 
 51 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 The true university of these days is a collection of 
 books. — Carlyle. 
 
 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get 
 wisdom ; 
 
 Yea, with all thy getting get understanding. — 
 Proverbs 4:7. 
 
 ( Note. All of the above quotations are on golden 
 tablets in the halls of the Library of Congress in 
 Washington.) 
 
 Who, without books, essays to learn 
 Draws water in a leaky urn. 
 
 — Austin Dobson. 
 
 To discuss favorite books with congenial associates 
 is one of the greatest pleasures of life, as well as one 
 of the best tests of knowledge. — George Hamlin 
 Fitch. 
 
 IV. Topics 
 
 1 , What books have meant to me 
 
 This must be a personal account of the place that 
 books have had in the life of the one who gives it. 
 Bring out the idea that in all good books there is 
 something that relates to the work of teaching, if 
 only by enriching the mind. The work of teaching 
 little children is not detached from the rest of life's 
 experiences. Everything that broadens our knowl- 
 edge and sympathy makes us better fitted for our 
 work, whether we use the particular matter or not. 
 It will be well also to mention the fact that it is very 
 
 52 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 easy for us to say we have no time for reading, when 
 what we really mean is that we do not have a large 
 amount of time and do not think it worth while to use 
 the little we have. Even a few minutes a day, wisely 
 spent, lifts us out of ourselves and gives us the back- 
 ground we need for our own thinking and observation. 
 Open discussion. 
 
 2. Hoiv to read 
 
 Such ideas as the following phrases suggest may 
 be presented: leisurely, without a sense of haste; 
 pleasant anticipation, not a sense of duty; thinking, 
 comparing, as one reads ; marking passages of special 
 interest, by underscoring and by marginal notes; 
 taking time to look up references or unfamiliar expres- 
 sions and words. 
 
 Open discussion. 
 
 3. What to read 
 
 (1) All good books that reveal life: fiction, essays 
 and accounts of the world's affairs; (2) books that 
 reveal child life, such as The Very Small Person, by 
 Donnell, Una Mary, by Hunt, Jeremy, by Hugh 
 Walpole, Emmy Lou, by Martin, Anne of Green Gables, 
 by Montgomery; (3) books of child study, such as 
 items 1, 2 and 3 in the list given at the beginning of 
 the plans for this meeting; (4) books of methods, 
 to be first read because of their interest and then kept 
 at hand for reference, such as items 4-7 in the list just 
 mentioned. 
 
 It will be seen that this list includes books of two 
 general classes: those that apply indirectly to our 
 
 53 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 work and those that apply directly. The value of 
 both depends upon how we read and use them. 
 
 Open discussion, each member of the conference 
 group adding the names of books she has found 
 helpful. 
 
 4. Other^ reading 
 
 (1) The magazines have every month very helpful 
 articles that teachers of children should read. Give 
 a brief list of these. 
 
 An excellent plan is to cut out these articles and 
 bind each one separately in a folder of cover paper 
 about 6 by 10 inches in size, and using brass paper 
 fasteners. A very interesting and timely " circulat- 
 ing library " may be accumulated in this way, and 
 helpful material for future programs may be pre- 
 served. 
 
 (2) Selected chapters or sections in books of a 
 general nature very often contain messages that are 
 unusual and provoke new and original thought, for 
 example: the essay " Child's Play," in Virginihus 
 Puerisque, by Robert Louis Stevenson, and " The 
 Ignominy of Being Grown Up," in By the Christmas 
 Fire, by Samuel McCord Crothers. These are 
 particularly refreshing, and will be found in nearly 
 every public library and in many private ones. 
 
 (3) The Children's Bureau, Department of the 
 Interior, Washington, D. C, issues bulletins and 
 other publications of great interest, including the 
 findings of important conferences and the results of 
 investigations. The work of the Children's Year is 
 
 54 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 classified and well written up in a volume entitled 
 Standards of Child Welfare. At least one copy of this 
 should be included among the books belonging to your 
 conference group. Nearly all of these bulletins are 
 sent free upon application. Most of them are particu- 
 larly helpful to mothers, dealing with the care of 
 children's bodies, questions of nourishment and 
 kindred topics. They are excellent for use in mothers' 
 meetings, in calling and in other ways. 
 Discussion. 
 
 V. Assignments for the Next Meeting 
 
 1. Chapter V in " A Child's Religion," by Wilbur 
 (see item 3 in the list at the beginning). This chapter 
 is entitled " The Child and His Book," and should be 
 assigned to one person to be reviewed and presented 
 for discussion at the next meeting. 
 
 2. Chapter V in " The American Child " by 
 McCracken (see item 2 in list). This is entitled " The 
 Child in the Library," and should be assigned in the 
 same way as the other chapter. 
 
 3. Appointment of a library committee to ascer- 
 tain what is available in your own community. 
 
 4. Observation of children's attitude toward books, 
 reading and being read to. Discoveries to be re- 
 ported at the next meeting. 
 
 VI. Discussion 
 
 Problems relating to the departments and classes in 
 your school. 
 
 55 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 ELEVENTH PROGRAM March 
 
 Theme: Books and the Children. 
 
 I. Quotations from " The Child's Garden of Verses" 
 
 1. All the pretty things put by, 
 Wait upon the children's eye, 
 
 Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks. 
 In the picture story-books. 
 
 We may see how all things are 
 Seas and cities, near and far. 
 And the flying fairies' looks. 
 In the picture story-books. 
 
 How am I to sing your praise, 
 Happy chimney-corner days, 
 Sitting safe in nursery nooks, 
 Reading picture story-books? 
 
 — Plcture-Books in Winter. ' 
 
 2. There, in the night, where none can spy. 
 All in my hunter's camp I lie. 
 
 And play at books that I have read 
 Till it is time to go to bed. 
 
 — The Land of Story-Books.'^ 
 
 II. Reading 
 
 Have you ever stopped to think how much time we 
 spend in planning what we shall put on and in our 
 children's bodies and how little in planning what we 
 shall put in their minds? They go to school, to be 
 sure, but that is for only five hours a day for approxi- 
 mately one hundred and eighty-five days in the year. 
 What of the years before they begin to go to school, 
 what of the hours and days each year in which they 
 
 'Used by permission. Charles Scribner's Sons, 597 Fifth Ave., New York. 
 ^Ibid. 
 
 56 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 are not under instruction? Have we any deliberate 
 plan to care for the mind's growth as we care for the 
 body's? 
 
 It is just as important that children shall read good 
 books as it is that they shall learn to read at all. 
 It would be hard to find any one who would declare 
 that it is unnecessary for children to learn to read. 
 Yet reading in itself is not the end we seek, but only a 
 means to that end. The goal of all education is the 
 enrichment of life, and a child's reading carefully 
 guided will deepen and strengthen his future ability 
 to make the most of himself and his opportunities. 
 
 To really love books so that they may be woven 
 into the warp and woof of his life a child should have 
 his own individual library, which grows year by year 
 with his growth, yet which contains friends to whom 
 he will return time and time again, secure in the 
 knowledge of a happy companionship full of pleasant 
 association. A large number of books is not essential 
 to have, but a few should be added each year and the 
 standard of choice should be kept high. — Seattle 
 Public Library Bulletin. 
 
 Discussion. 
 
 III. Presentation of *' The Child and His Book " 
 
 See assignment in preceding program. This should 
 be given informally, but should develop the following 
 ideas : 
 
 1. The history of the book, as shown in the pictures 
 by Alexander. 
 
 57 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 2. Books in the present age. 
 
 3. What books mean to children. 
 
 4. The two tests for a child's book. 
 
 5. What is he keen in discovering? 
 
 6. What about words he cannot understand? 
 
 7. Does what the author says about church-school 
 libraries apply in your community? 
 
 8. How may we cooperate with the home in the 
 matter of the children's reading? 
 
 Discussion. 
 
 IV. Presentation of " The Child in the Library " 
 
 See assignment in preceding program. This charm- 
 ing study will probably bring out something of the 
 following : 
 
 1. Influencing the children's reading. 
 
 2. The " finding out " habit, and how children use 
 it in relation to books. (Be sure to tell the charming 
 " red-bird " story.) 
 
 3. What children, even young ones, may find in a 
 public library. 
 
 4. What publishers are doing. 
 
 5. The adaptation in children's books of the great 
 literature of the world. 
 
 6. Reading as a bond between children and grown- 
 up people. 
 
 Discussion. 
 
 58 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 V. Report on Observations of Children and the Books 
 
 they like 
 
 See assignment in preceding program. Perhaps 
 you will discuss questions such as these : 
 
 1. Is there a place for the story that is read as well 
 as the one which is told? 
 
 2. What books do children like, and why? 
 
 3. Why does a little child like to have a book that 
 is his very own, even before he can read? Did you 
 ever know such a one who could " read " every word 
 in a book he loved? 
 
 4. What effect have books that are read or known 
 through their pictures, upon the play and other con- 
 duct of children? 
 
 5. What value is there for the teacher in reading 
 children's books? 
 
 VI. Report 
 
 Of the committee to investigate available books and 
 magazine articles in the public library or other sources. 
 
 VII. Exchange of Books 
 
 Also plans for future reading. 
 
 VIII. Miscellaneous Business 
 
 TWELFTH PROGRAM April 
 
 Theme: Easter Plans 
 We have come to observe certain special days in 
 the year in rather set ways, without always having 
 
 59 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 due regard for their real value and significance. 
 Customs and practices have grown up around them 
 and these often obscure the truth rather than reveal 
 it. Sometimes there seems to be a plausible connec- 
 tion, as the giving at Christmas and the stories 
 associated with the occasion; or the feasting and 
 rejoicing at Thanksgiving time. But it must be con- 
 fessed there seems to be little connection between the 
 rabbits, chickens and other creatures that gather so 
 gaily at Easter time. In what way should the church 
 interpret Easter to the children? Perhaps we should 
 first ask, " What does Easter mean to me? " 
 
 (The foregoing statement may be used as the basis 
 for the short talk in which the leader of the conference 
 will introduce the theme of the meeting.) 
 
 I. A Story for Teachers 
 
 " The Handful of Clay," from The Blue Flower, 
 by Henry van Dyke. This is not a story for children, 
 at least not without great modification, but it is a 
 fine one for teachers and has in it the idea of suffering 
 for the sake of rendering acceptable service. This 
 story should be told for the inspiration of the teachers. 
 
 II. Topics for Discussion 
 
 What does Easter mean to the children? (Be 
 perfectly frank in discussing the things which really 
 loom the largest in the children's minds at this time.) 
 
 60 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 What shall be our attitude toward their enthusiasm 
 concerning the Easter eggs, baskets, rabbits, etc.? 
 
 What is there in the world of nature that will help 
 us to interpret the message of Easter? 
 
 How may these ideas be brought to the children? 
 (Discuss the matter of decoration of the room, the 
 circle talk in the Beginners' class, the informal con- 
 versation with the Primary children and other op- 
 portunities for impression.) 
 
 III. Pictures 
 
 Have some teacher appointed in advance to get 
 from the current magazine covers, from her own 
 files of pictures and those of the other teachers, such 
 pictures as will be suitable for use in the room or in 
 connection with the lesson. If these are neatly 
 mounted and presented at this time, their use can be 
 discussed. 
 
 IV. The Easter Story 
 
 Have some one tell the Easter story suitable for 
 Beginners, and another that which would be told to 
 the Primary children. Lesson 26 or 27 usually con- 
 tains the Easter story, although it is necessary to 
 readjust this according to the date each year. The 
 following are the topics and Scripture given in the 
 International Graded Lesson Series: 
 Beginners, First or Second Year 
 
 Jesus and the Heavenly Home 
 61 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 Story material: John 14: 1-3; Revelation 21:1-4; 
 22:1-5 
 
 Primary, First Year 
 
 Jesus Going to the Heavenly Home 
 
 Story material: John 19:30, 41, 42; 20:1-18; 
 Luke 24 : 50, 51 
 
 Memory verse: Behold, I am alive for evermore. 
 — Revelation 1:18 
 Primary, Second Year 
 
 Jesus Dying and Living Again 
 
 Story material: Mark 15 : 1, 25, 37, 43-47; 16 : 
 1-8. 
 
 Memory verse: Because I live, ye shall live also. — 
 John 14 : 19 
 Primary, Third Year 
 
 The Resurrection Day 
 
 Story material: Mark 16 : 1-7; John 20 : 11-18; 
 Matthew 28:5-10; Luke 24:13-31, 34-40; 1 
 Corinthians 15 : 5 
 
 Memory verse: Ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, 
 who hath been crucified : he is risen. ■ — Mark 16 : 6 
 
 Discuss the possibility of having the entire Primary 
 Department together on Easter Sunday. Sometimes 
 when all of the classes will be having stories very 
 similar and when you wish to create an atmosphere 
 particularly reverent and favorable for the story, it is 
 a very good plan to have it told by one person. You 
 can plan to have the classes in their separate groups 
 long enough to have their records marked or for 
 other customary matters. 
 
 62 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 A simple, well told story, omitting the things which 
 the children cannot understand, will make the Easter 
 message very real to all the children. They have 
 heard of Jesus, the little baby who came from the 
 heavenly Father, and of the kind Friend that he grew 
 up to be, helping people who were sick or in need. 
 They will enjoy hearing how finally he went back to 
 the heavenly home. 
 
 V. Prayer 
 
 That the reality of the living Jesus may come into 
 your mind and spirit and that Easter may enrich 
 your life so that you in turn can lead little children to 
 their Friend and Saviour. 
 
 VI. Easter Songs 
 
 Learn and sing together one or two Easter songs, 
 such as " Easter Song " or " Children's Easter Praise," 
 the latter a very simple song for Beginners, and both 
 found in Songs for Little People. 
 
 VII. An Easter Gift 
 
 Plan to send from the department a beautiful 
 flower, preferably a growing plant, to some one whom 
 the children know. Perhaps this ffower may be in 
 the front of the department room during the session 
 and then sent to some hospital or an old lady in the 
 congregation. 
 
 63 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 THIRTEENTH PROGRAM April 
 
 Theme: The World of Nature 
 
 The several topics which follow are to be assigned 
 to different teachers and the aim of this meeting will 
 be to enrich the observation and personal experiences 
 of the teachers, rather than to provide material to be 
 used directly with the children, although the latter 
 will probably grow out of the discussion. 
 
 I. What do Children see in the World About Them? 
 
 (Tell the things which children you know have said 
 about the creatures, trees and flowers that you have 
 observed them investigating with interest; and the 
 questions that children ask about these things.) 
 We so often laugh at their quaint sayings that we miss 
 the eternal truths underlying them. The eyes of 
 little children are nearer the ground than ours and 
 so they can quite easily see the little things that are 
 growing and living. Bird notes are fresher to their 
 ears than ours, and so many sights that have become 
 familiar to us are new and amazing to them. 
 
 n. The Things I Do Not See 
 
 Have some teacher to whom this topic has been 
 assigned in advance tell of the things and happenings 
 in the world of nature that she is inclined to overlook 
 because of their familiarity or her preoccupation. 
 
 64 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 III. The World of Nature and Religious Teaching 
 
 (These topics may either be used as a basis for a 
 talk by one of the teachers or for discussion by the 
 whole group.) 
 
 What place has nature in the church-school pro- 
 gram and teaching? 
 
 Is it nature study or appreciation that we wish to 
 cultivate? 
 
 Can we be irreverent in God's world any more than 
 in his house? 
 
 Is there any time or place quite so favorable for 
 creating reverence for God's world as the hour of the 
 children's worship in the church? 
 
 What was Jesus' attitude toward the world of 
 nature? 
 
 Have we not a record of his interpreting the book 
 of nature to the people more often than the Book of 
 the Law? 
 
 IV. Nature Study for the Busy Teacher 
 
 Ask yourself this question, " What do I really 
 know about the trees and flowers of my own com- 
 munity? " It is quite possible for the older Primary 
 girls and boys to be better informed in some of these 
 matters than their teachers. While they still have a 
 profound respect for the wisdom and powers of grown 
 people, they are often quite astonished by the number 
 of things that these same adults do not know. The 
 literature that has grown up as the result of the 
 popularity of nature study is very rich and it is a 
 
 05 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 question of choosing. At this season of the year there 
 are at least two brief articles which every teacher 
 could read with great profit: "The Return of the 
 Birds," in Wake Robin, and " The Spring Birds' 
 Procession," in Field and Study, both by John Bur- 
 roughs. (The one who presents this topic should 
 discover what nature books are available in the local 
 library or can be secured from other sources. If at 
 least one of the articles suggested is read and a brief 
 review of it given at this time, it will be very helpful.) 
 
 V. The Children's Bird Book 
 
 It is a delightful plan to make a scrap-book of 
 heavy gray paper pages at least 5 by 8 inches, with a 
 brown or deep-blue cover to remind one of the earth 
 or the sky, and to place in this the colored pictures of 
 birds. These can be secured at a very moderate 
 price from the Brown Picture Co., Beverly, Mass. 
 A list can be secured from them and a selection made 
 of the pictures and birds which appear in your com- 
 munity. Cut these out and paste upon the left- 
 hand pages of the scrap-book. Upon the other page 
 will be recorded the things which the children observe 
 about the birds or what they do for them. This book 
 can be made at the time of this meeting or prepared 
 and brought in at this time. It should be used in 
 the pre-session period. It is well to have a special 
 table upon which it is kept and near the teacher, who 
 is always in readiness to record the interesting items 
 
 66 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 which the children report to her before the session. 
 In one department where this plan was followed 
 during several months of the spring, a small boy 
 said one day in a burst of enthusiasm, " Well, this is 
 just like a telephone book for birds! " Each pair of 
 birds that arrived and built their nests near the homes 
 of the children had been reported. 
 
 VI. A Spring Party 
 
 The children may meet at the church some after- 
 noon after school and on Saturday and have a good 
 time together " just because it is spring again." 
 They may make attractive little messages for the 
 members of the Home Department or the children's 
 mothers. These can be made by cutting out pictures 
 of birds or coloring jonquils which have been drawn 
 in outline for them. Such Bible verses as " The 
 time of the singing of birds has come," or " He hath 
 made everything beautiful in its time," may. be 
 written on small folders of white paper ready for the 
 children to insert in the book covers they make and 
 tie with cord or ribbon. Cookies cut out with a 
 flower design could be part of the refreshments and the 
 old-fashioned games that are always appropriate at 
 any season of the year may be played. The story, 
 " The Little Boy Who Discovered Spring," is very 
 appropriate. It is by Raymond M. Alden and may 
 be found in his Why the Chimes Rang, or in Stories 
 Children Need, by Bailey. 
 
 67 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 FOURTEENTH PROGRAM May 
 
 Theme: The Teacher's Work on Sunday 
 
 I. Quotations 
 
 (To be given in advance to certain teachers who 
 will read them as an introduction to the theme of this 
 meeting.) 
 
 Two great things : — to have the child come to 
 school with all the experiences he has got outside — 
 and leave it with something to be used in his life — 
 Prof. John Dewey, The School and Society. 
 
 All is shifting day by day — 
 Worse or better, who can say? 
 Much we lose and much we learn, 
 But the children still return 
 As the flowers do, every year; 
 Just as innocent and dear 
 As those babies who did meet 
 At the heavenly Master's feet. 
 In his arms he took them all. 
 Oh, 'tis precious to recall — 
 Blessed to believe it true — 
 That what we love, he loved too! 
 
 — Francesca Alexander, The Hidden Servants.^ 
 
 Meet the child on a childlike plane of achieve- 
 ment, to acknowledge the day's accomplishments 
 and, without disheartening him or even talking 
 to him about the better things he will do, keep our 
 own faces turned toward the morrow. — Angela 
 Keyes, Stories and Story Telling. 
 
 1 Used by permission. Little, Brown and Co., 34 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. 
 
 68 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 II. Prayer 
 
 That the task of teaching children may never seem 
 common or unimportant. 
 
 Questions for Discussion 
 
 1. What should the teacher do before the session? 
 Discuss the readiness to hear childish confidences; 
 
 plans for pre-session work; the opportunity for story- 
 telling by both teacher and pupils. 
 
 2. What should the teacher do during the depart- 
 ment program? 
 
 Discuss participation in prayer and song; the 
 power of example; the confusion caused by teachers 
 moving about the room during the opening program; 
 the reasons for having the teacher seated with her 
 class. 
 
 3. What is the best time for the lesson period 
 — early in the hour, or after the general opening 
 program? 
 
 4. How long should the lesson period be? 
 
 5. Which is better — a continuous thirty-minute 
 period, or two periods of fifteen minutes each, with a 
 department assembly between? 
 
 6. Should the teacher mark the pupils' records, 
 or should this be done by a secretary in advance? 
 
 Discuss the relative advantages of the two plans — 
 the former giving the teacher information concerning 
 what the pupils are doing, and the latter giving her 
 additional time to be used for other purposes. 
 
 69 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 7. What is a logical lesson plan? 
 
 Give these in outline such as the following: 
 
 Expression (10 minutes) 
 
 New story (10 minutes) 
 
 Suggestions for home work (5 minutes) 
 
 8. If the story comes too early in the lesson period 
 what is apt to occur? 
 
 9. To what extent may the teacher plan the expres- 
 sion period, allowing for the exercise of originality 
 by the pupils and the needs of the particular occasion? 
 
 Discuss forms of expression, such as re-telling 
 stories, relating experiences, recalling memory verses 
 and handwork. 
 
 10. If the children are asked to re-tell a story 
 immediately after they have heard it or to express it 
 in any other way, is their expression likely to be 
 valuable? 
 
 In this connection it may be interesting to know 
 what Angela Keyes has said on this subject: " The 
 tendency of teachers to require immediate reproduc- 
 tion is unwise utilitarianism and develops shallow 
 glibness. It (the story) must be given time to root 
 and flower." 
 
 11. What is the best way to recall memory verses? 
 Discuss the relative value of recalling a verse in 
 
 connection with the letter of the alphabet with which 
 it begins, or in connection with a life experience which 
 it suggests. 
 
 12. Which is better ^ — handwork in which the 
 child merely cuts out, fills in or colors an outline given 
 
 70 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 him, or a form which permits freedom of choice and 
 expression? 
 
 13. What is the best way to make the transition 
 from the period' of expression to the new story? 
 
 Discuss the wisdom of always attempting to make 
 a connection between the two. Is it not better some- 
 times to leave the former entirely, and begin the new 
 story with simplicity and directness? 
 
 14. How long should the story be in point of time? 
 
 15. What are some of our most common mistakes 
 in story-telling? 
 
 Discuss the misunderstandings which arise through 
 our use of ideas, figures of speech and words which 
 the children do not understand. Be frank in giving 
 some examples of these — ■ not for their drollness, 
 but for the truth they reveal. 
 
 16. What is the best way to close this period? 
 This is the point at which the teacher needs skill 
 
 and a light touch. Further comment on her part is 
 apt to be an .anti-climax, but a comment by a child 
 may be very illuminating. 
 
 17. When is the best time to give out the lesson 
 papers and how may this be done? 
 
 IV. Children's Day 
 
 In most churches a day early in the summer is 
 called Children's Day and is set aside for them. The 
 following matters relating to it might be discussed 
 with profit: 
 
 1. If it is their day, what should it mean to them? 
 71 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS* CONFERENCES 
 
 2. What have you in songs, stories and Scripture 
 verses that might be appropriately used on this 
 occasion ? 
 
 3. If anything new is to be used, how may it be 
 included in your regular program, so that the children 
 may become familiar with the songs and other things 
 in a normal way, without feeling that they are merely 
 getting ready to do something in public? 
 
 FIFTEENTH PROGRAM May 
 
 Theme: Summer Plans 
 I. Quotation 
 
 Dear Master of the Garden, unto thee 
 I bring the blossoms, tended by my care; 
 
 I pray thee to receive them tenderly, 
 And find them fair. 
 
 These many days have I with longing eyes 
 
 Waited and watched for seed long sown to spring, 
 
 Eager to see (oh, heart grown strangely wise!) 
 Its blossoming. 
 
 So graciously and softly fell the dew 
 
 Of blessed promise on the precious seed. 
 
 As if the Lord of Harvests saw and knew 
 Its daily need. 
 
 Until, at last, in radiant life and light. 
 
 To fragrant bud and bloom I saw it spring. 
 
 I pray thee, guard from hurtfulness of blight 
 Its blossoming. 
 
 Dear Master of the Garden, unto thee 
 
 I bring these sweet child-flowers with a prayer: 
 
 Lord Christ, wilt thou receive them tenderly. 
 And find them fair! 
 
 — Marion Bernice Craig. 
 
 72 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 II. The Room 
 
 How may a department room be made summer- 
 like and attractive? In one department fresh white 
 curtains were placed at the windows, and a simple 
 cut-out border of wild roses put at the top of the bur- 
 lap frieze around the room. All of the pictures except 
 one large framed one were put away, and two or three, 
 cut from the covers of summer magazines, were 
 mounted and put up. In another room which had 
 uncolored glass windows, flowers and leaves cut from 
 crepe paper were mounted as a transparency on the 
 lower part of the windows, and gave the effect of 
 flower beds in bloom. There should be " artistic 
 restraint " in summer decorations, but you should 
 plan together to make the environment pleasant and 
 suitable for the season. 
 
 III. Classes 
 
 You may wish to plan for the combination of classes 
 during July and August. If your two departments 
 must meet in one room, perhaps you will have only 
 one class for each; or, in some cases, all of the children 
 may be in one large circle. This seems, indeed, like 
 a happy family with big brothers and sisters, little 
 children and helpful grown people. Discover the 
 vacation plans of the teachers, so that you can arrange 
 a schedule showing when the various teachers and 
 officers can be present to share in the work. 
 
 73 
 
PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 IV. The Program 
 
 Make it a happy, worth-while time for the children 
 who will remain at home during the summer. Such 
 a happy song and exercise as " The Waking of the 
 Flowers " {Songs for Little People) will be a source of 
 delight to the children. It can be modified to suit 
 various circumstances, and could be the one new song 
 which you will attempt during the summer season. 
 Discuss your program, perhaps planning to make it 
 entirely different from anything you have done before. 
 
 V. The Children Who Go Away 
 
 Ask each teacher to find out from the parents 
 just when the different children will be away. Do 
 not feel that they are no longer a part of your class, 
 and that you are not responsible for them because 
 they are away on vacation. It is a poor teacher who 
 cannot extend her influence beyond actual personal 
 contact. Any one of the following plans may be 
 used, and perhaps all of them will be needed to meet 
 the different circumstances: 
 
 Offer to provide the mother with a copy of the 
 teacher's book, or at least an outline of the lesson. 
 These may be secured from your denominational 
 publisher. The mother who really wishes to co- 
 operate in the religious education of her child will be 
 glad of this opportunity to be his teacher. 
 
 Make up a set of the papers for the time that the 
 child is to be absent, either putting these in the usual 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 seasonal book covers, or giving them to the mother, 
 who will in turn give them to the child each week. 
 
 Plan for each teacher to talk with the children 
 about the summer plans, strengthening their loyalty 
 to their church school, and helping them to feel that 
 they are going out into God's big world, and perhaps 
 will see wonderful things that they can come back and 
 tell. 
 
 VI. The Teacher's Summer Plans 
 
 What are you planning to do this summer that will 
 make you a better teacher? Everybody needs a 
 change occasionally, and perhaps it would be a good 
 thing for you to be away from your class and other 
 work for a little while. Plan to do at least one of the 
 following things during the summer: 
 
 1. Visit other schools. 
 
 2. Come a bit nearer to God's Word by reading the 
 Bible not as a teacher preparing a lesson, but as one of 
 his children who wishes to know him better. 
 
 3. Find out something new about God's world, if it 
 is nothing more than to watch a bird family or the 
 succession of wild flowers. 
 
 4. Attend a Summer School, if possible, and add 
 to your knowledge concerning your work. 
 
 5. Read a book that will help you as a teacher. 
 
 VII. A Look Toward Autumn 
 
 Decide the date, approximately, of the next meet- 
 ing, which should be not later than the first of Septem- 
 
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PROGRAMS FOR TEACHERS' CONFERENCES 
 
 ber. Perhaps you can plan to go together to the 
 woods or park with your suppers some evening before 
 the first Sunday in September. Let the fellowship 
 of these conferences carry over into your hours of 
 separation and the plans for the new year. 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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