Miller's Mind training for children Book 2 (of 3): A practical training for successful living; Educational games that train the senses — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Miller's Mind training for children Book 2 (of 3): A practical training for successful living; Educational games that train the senses
John Stuart Mill · en
The senses can be sharpened and improved as you have seen in the First
Book, but practice is the whetstone and every stroke will produce
its proportionate result; without it you can not expect to become
proficient in anything. The methods by which the senses can be trained
are suggested in the First Book, and if they have been overlooked, or
slighted, you can now see the importance of paying proper attention to
them.
=Practice is the motive power which can propel you along the road
of progress toward the goal of perfection.=
Continue the Memory Pictures
In the same manner in which you learned the first twenty words fix the
following in mind. Begin with the last object of the previous list,
Piano and add the next one, Spoon.
Now, add to Spoon, Road. See a Spoon with arms and legs running down
the Road. Make a real cartoon of it. Continue to picture the words in
pairs, always dropping the first when adding a new one. Now take Road
and Picture; Picture and Desk; Desk and Window; Window and Apple; Apple
and Book; Book and Door; Door and River.
Stop a moment and review these Memory Pictures, first in pairs as Piano
and Spoon; then as a list. Now go over the list backwards.
Add more words and be sure you stop each time to see a clear, definite
picture. You must fix your attention upon it for a moment, use motion,
exaggeration and the unusual.
Picture River and Dress; Dress and Hammer; Hammer and Ball; Ball and
Train; Train and Gun; Gun and Moon; Moon and Curtain; Curtain and
Pepper; Pepper and Bed; Bed and Scissors.
Review the series as before, those pictures which come slowly should be
improved. With the book closed, start with House and repeat the entire
list. See each picture clearly before you speak the word, even though
you may feel sure what the following word is, see the picture first,
this will insure accuracy. Then begin with Scissors and go through the
series of pictures backwards working your way, picture by picture, back
to House. Take time to be accurate, do not try to go rapidly at first.
See each picture and try to see it more clearly, adding all the detail
you can. Mental exercise is necessary to development. See that you
perform this one often and accurately.
Have Learned Forty Words
When the child can say the list he has learned a series of forty words
which he can repeat forward and backward. These words are unassociated
and would be difficult to learn by the old cumbersome method of
repetition. Yet the feat is accomplished easily by the application of
these simple and natural principles.
Be Gratified But Not Satisfied