PREFACE ACCORDING to a prevalent theory of education, the child acquaints himself with the various objects of his enviorrment in order to have a, basis of choice in his after life as well as to develope his observing faculties. The knowledge which he consciously or unconsciously gains in his early years remains indelible, as do the letters lightly cut in the bark of a young sapling, which may be read even more distinctly in the grown tree. Owing to the rapid changes in environment, economic, industrial, mechanical, and social, many a teacher finds herself at a loss in trying to aid her pupils to find their place in a world which is almost as new to her as to them. Where everything is in a more or less plastic condition, firm foothold is not possible, and the already overworked teacher is not able to search out the truth from the multitude of books, to understand the new processes, to keep up with the daily inventions. To the childs endless Journey and How she must turn a deaf ear, or she must mark up the various subjects from newspaper or magazine articles based on encyclopidias, which are admirable epitomes of past and gone history, but most misleading and insufficient as to growing science. This little book is an endemor on the part of the severd experienced teachers to put into a form helpful to others that which they themselves have gathered with much labor. The topics relate to that routine of daily life which influiences every child for good or ill throughout its career, and which may be beneficial in proportion as it is understood and controlled. Objection has been made to taking the time of the school for those things which the home should teach. If they were taught in the home, the objection would be valid but, with the best will in the world, how can the mother, any more than the teacher, keep abreast of the revolutions in social habits mhich are now taking place That she does not do so the present chaotic and unscientific condition of the household amply testifies.....