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PREFACE |
Vii |
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nated to relationships and inner meanings suggested to the feelings, not told to the intellect —the truth indirectly given, like a golden thread woven through a fabric.
The manner of presenting a song determines how vital a meaning it shall have to the child. It may be only a memory drill, in which case the mind and heart will be little touched ; or it may be the giving of definite, verbal expression to thought and feeling roused by some previous intelligent experiences. As example: the Carpenter Song tells of life and action. Children led, by means of pictures and talks, to a sympathetic appreciation of the work and life of the carpenter will give spontaneous expression in action to their vivid conceptions. After the gradual developing of the play for several days, the words of the song may then be given *> a story of what has been acted; or during the pantomime the action may be described in verse, leaving to another day the introduction of the music; finally giving the words and music together.
All the children are encouraged to help in the singing of the story, which they can now quickly and easily do, since the action and the meaning is their own.
The same spirit should characterize the manner of presenting those songs which admit of little or no dramatic action. The sentiment must first be made real. A hymn has the fullest beauty and power only when it follows awakened reverence. Under such conditions children pour out their souls in song, which is as different from merely singing a song as prayer is from saying a prayer.
In consecutive work with little children, songs selected with reference to a leading thought and to its gradually developed details, are more educative than it is possible for them to be when made an end in themselves. For instance, the idea of service rendered by the rain, treated, perhaps, under the two heads—the earth's need calling down the raindrops—their ready departure when the work is ended.
The varied service of the raindrops being considered through conversation, pantomime, manual work and drawings illustrating rain stories, various songs are selected with reference to the demand for them. One would be Rain Clouds (in this collection).
When the thought of the raindrops leaving is being considered, instead of having any verbal explanation of this scientific fact, the qbildren are led to the verge of the mystery by some little experience, as wetting, or " filling with raindrops," a napkin ; then wringing out as many as possible; finally leaving the napkin in the window awhile to see if any more will "go away." Later still, when the napkin is found to be dry, the teacher remarks, "I wonder where they have gone ?" On one such occasion a child replied," I bet the sunbeams just tooked them right up there.'1 The song, Earth and Clouds (Songs, Games and Rhj'mes), is then presented to give the mysterious relation poetically to the feelings.
The thirsty earth, one summer day,
Looked to the clouds so far away
And said, " The rain and drops of dew
Have left me now and gone with you."
I . . . ■
It must be evident that in the selection of songs for different phases in the develop-
ment of a truth, there frequently will be the need of one to convey a certain impression, a shade different in meaning from any that can be found in the song books at hand; this will lead to the necessity of creating a song, since for conscious, definite work, not every song on the general subject will answer. Thus, Snow Clouds and Merry Snow-Flakes both tell of winter and the action of snow-flakes, yet they express two distinct impressions.
Every song in this collection was directly inspired by a need for some special expression, and the result in each case was original work or the adaptation of the verses of others. |
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