100. Speaking and Listening Simultaneously Ask each child to get a short statement or piece of news ready in his mind, something to tell his next neighbor, not more than a sentence in length, such as, To-morrow is Thursday,

It is a pleasant day,

I am five years old.

Have the children seated in a circle or round a table, then at the signal, "Now" have every child simultaneously speak to his right-hand neighbor in an ordinary conversational tone, the statement he has prepared, at the same time listening to what his left hand neighbor is saying to him. There should be no repetition, but when finished, each in turn, as called upon by teacher, should repeat what his left hand neighbor said to him and verify the statement.

FURTHER HABIT DRILLS

The preceding drills are not by any means exhaustive but every teacher or parent who has gone through these should have so imbibed their spirit as to be ready to vary or extend them, or to originate other drills to suit the needs of her own particular case.

Many habits are also formed by the activities prescribed for the following periods. For example, habits of courtesy, unselfishness, etc., are formed by Social Training; industry, accuracy, concentration, etc., by Manual Training and so on.

One of the most valuable of all habits - the habit of initiative must be inculcated not by infrequent drills, but by daily calling upon the child to suggest something, start something, do something, without the teacher specifying what or how. For this purpose it is best to call upon the children at the free play, manual training, rhythmic art or other period and especially upon those that are prone to copy and constantly wait for others to make a start or take the lead.

Certain habits by their very nature cannot be staged for practice but must be inculcated as the occasion arises. For instance, we cannot train a child in self-control under circumstances such as fear, because it would.

be manifestly improper to cause him terror for the purpose of practising him in self-control. On the other hand, it is perfectly feasible to drill the child in courage and fortitude by causing him bodily pain with the purpose of seeing how much he can stand without a whimper. This Spartan-like drill is not so cruel as it sounds and the idea comes from the children themselves. I have known children to say, "You can't hurt me" and offer their arms for pinching, their hair for pulling, on the wager that they could not be made to cry out. Tests of this sort that work no bodily injury might be of great value in teaching courage and scorn of minor aches and pains and might develop a spirit that not only should stand the child in good stead throughout life, but should smooth the domestic way for the whole family.

In order to prevent any danger that might arise from over habituation as described under "Breaking of Habits," it is well occasionally to act as follows:

Alter the program so as to exchange periods, for instance, story telling for manual training or give lessons at a different time of day.

Vary the sequence of exercises or the forms or manner of execution.

Give drills and exercises in a different room or different setting from usual.

Let a visitor or substitute give a lesson or a whole day's program.