promoted

finished

wonder

Auntie

Dear Auntie:

you.

I have some good news for I am going to be promoted. Our class has finished the First Book in reading. We know a great many words, and can find out a great many more.

When we find a new word. we look to see if we know all its parts. If

we do, we can tell what

the word is.

The smallest parts are the letters. There are not so many of them as you would thinkonly twenty-six. When they are all put together, we call them the Alphabet.

We sing them to a tune, and call it the Alphabet Song. Now we are learning to say all the letters, just as they should come, without the tune.

I can read a good deal in the pretty story book you sent me. But there are some word parts that I don't know yet, so I cannot make out all the words.

I suppose I shall learn the

rest in the next class.

Your loving niece,
Jennie.

NURSERY SONG.

As I walked over the field, one day,

I listened, and heard a mother sheep say,
"In all the green world, there is nothing so sweet
As my little lamb, with his nimble feet.

With his eyes so bright,

And his wool so white—

Oh, he is my darling, my heart's delight!”

And the mother sheep and the little one,
Side by side, lay down in the sun.
And there they sleep on the hillside warm,
While my little lammie lies here on my arm.

I went to the kitchen, and what did I see
But the old, gray cat, with her kittens three?
I heard her whispering soft. Said she,
"My kittens, with tails so cunningly curled,
Are the prettiest things that can be in the world!
The old ewe, she

I went to the yard, and saw the old hen
Go clucking about, with her chickens ten.

She clucked, and she scratched, and she bustled away;
And what do you think I heard her say?

Why, this: "The bright sun never did shine

On anything like to these chickens of mine!

You may hunt the full moon, and the stars, if you please,
But you never will find such ten chickens as these.

My dear, downy darlings, my sweet little things,

Come, nestle in cosily, under my wings!"

So the hen said,

And the chickens all sped,

As fast as they could to their snug feather bed.
And there let them sleep, in their shelter so warm,
While my little chicken lies here on my arm.

Adapted from MRS. CARTER.

METHOD. This poem is to be read to the children after the lesson on page 109. It should be studied, so as to be read, not with strained elocutionary effect, but with natural feeling. At the close of each stanza, address an imaginary child in arms.

AVAILABLE VOCABULARY.

1. The following words learned by the Word Method: and, am, again, after, any, away, are, about, apple, acorn, ax, able, ah, ask, alphabet, Auntie, by, baby, Bessie, blows, breaks, bone, bare, boys, broke, button, bread, bed, black, book, bags, birdie, ball, boat, big, be, been, better, buzz, both, began, blue, cradle, come, cupboard, clock, crown, came, children, cook, cow, calf, care, close, climbs, chicks, cloud, curl, could, country, cub, colors, down, dog, day, dive, dock, door, did, do, does, dear, dig, dry, deep, Dolly, dream, dreadful, dared, drowned, disappeared, eight, eyes, every, eat, egg, eighth, full, fun, four, five, fell, fair, fall, for, fly, flies, funny, feet, fishes, fast, frolic, frisk, freeze, frighten, fence, forehead, fire, first, fourth, fifth, finished, get, got, girls, goes, gave, garden, goat, good, great, grass, green, grows, glass, give, her, head, having, here, hill, his, he, have, has, hand, high, hold, horse, hen, hung, home, horrid, ha-ha, I, in, if, is, I've, jump, Jack, Jill, just, Jippie, know, kind, Kitty, king, kitten, little, lock, let, long, limbs, live, like, lost, leaves, loves, lap, leaf, line, legs, lion, mother, me, mouse, matter, my, met, man, marry, master, may, Mrs., monkey, mind, make, morning, mate, more, mice, Mamma, middle, myself, mean, Mr., muzzle, mouth, none, now, nine, no, never, nose, nest, naughty, nap, nice, number, ninth, on, old, off, out, one, of, orange, oak, oxen, only, poor, pail, play, pick, pie, penny, piece, put, pretty, peep, Puss, pull, proud, pert, pardon, Papa, policeman, puppy, prettiest, promoted, queen, rock, ran, reads, rest, red, roses, run, rope, round, right, robin, rolled, river, she, so, sea, saw, six, seven, struck, shoe, sticks, sit, straight, simple, Simon, said, sir, some, sang, song, sheep, says, strong, sleep, shall, sing, swing, sister, sail, sides, sad, scream, scolding, snow, should, spider, spinner, tree, top, to, there, town, two, three, ten, tumbling, Tommy, toes, taste, them, till, then, too, tall, take, throw, this, think, these, they, time, true, twelve, third, their, tenth, teach, tadpole, toddled, up, us, under, very, when, wind, will, went, was, we, what, water, where, woman, who, white, wool, wing, wall, well, wade, write, whisper, would, work, were, web, which, your, you, yes, yet, zig-zag. (A few others have been used, but not reviewed.)

2. A number of words that have been found within the foregoing in the course of analysis, including the following: all, air, at, an, as, ate, ever, ear, each, ink, ice, inner, or, other, oat, old, ox, out, board, cup, corn, but, loud, out, way.

3. Words derived from the foregoing by adding or taking away s, er, ing, ly, ed, en, ie, ble, ful, and dis.

4. More than twelve hundred words that are easy combinations of the following word parts with the foregoing words or with one another: ay, aster, atter, aw, ang, ack, ade, ail, ake, ame, âre, aste, ave, ass, ad, ast, ap, ai, ar, a, ă, bl, br, b, ble, cl, cr, c, ch, ce, dr, d, dis, en, et, cep, ell, eave, est, ew, ent, ed, eak, čad, eet, en, em, êre, eeze, eam, een, ead, es, el, ean, er, eg, ea, ē, ě, f, fr, fl, g, gr, gl, h, im, ive, ittle, ike, ine, ir, ing, ish, ind, ide, ite, ick, ïe, ig, id, irls, igh, isk, itten, ight, iddle, ider, is, iss, ire, ī, Ĭ, j, k, l, m, n, ock, ook, ow, onger, ose, ot, ong, oke, ove, ouse, own, oor, op, oes, one, oys, og, ood, ōme, ound, ore, olly, ōō, ob, ost, ole, or, ō, ŏ, p, pl, pr, qu, r, s, sh, str, sl, st, sc, squ, sn, spr, sp, th, tr, t, tw, unny, ull, ust, ut, ump, ung, ue, nb, ũ, ŭ, v, w, wh, wr, x, y, ỹ, ÿ, z.