TRAINING THE SENSES

All through life you are accumulating knowledge, and storing it away for future usefulness. This knowledge becomes yours through one process, which is a series of impressions carried to your brain by the nerves connecting it with the sense organs of your body.

The future value of this knowledge will depend largely upon the accuracy of the first sense impression. If the sense impression is dim and indefinite the resulting knowledge will be uncertain and useless. If the sense impression is inaccurate the resulting knowledge will be an error and cause a mistake in judgment. The senses are the tools, by the use of which the mind accumulates the knowledge which it uses in memory, thought, judgment, imagination, and all the mental operations.

Professor W. Prior says: "The foundation of all mental development is the activity of the senses."

The first step in mental growth is the making of impressions on the brain by the senses. The senses are the instruments by the use of which all knowledge is acquired.

Sense training is the logical beginning of all Education.

You give your child an education to help him to succeed in life. First give him sharp tools—keen senses—that he may get the best results from the time spent in study.

An understanding of the proper use of the senses will enable you to make these impressions lasting—instead of fleeting.

Lack of ability to properly use the senses is a handicap in life and a subtle foe to success.

In the beginning all the brain does is to store the simple sense impressions. The baby sees his mother many times before he recognizes her. The eye nerve carries to the brain the picture of the mother's face and stores it there. Soon the brain perceives the similarity and the child recognizes her. The fact that in some way the brain retains the first, second, third, etc., impressions becomes the foundation of recognition.

If the sense nerve failed to carry the image of the face there would be no comparison and no recognition. Without sense impression there can be no knowledge. Imperfect sense impressions can only result in imperfect knowledge.

Each set of sense nerves carries its impressions to a different area of the brain. Each set has a distinct and localized memory. The ear memory is the auditory memory. There is the gustatory memory oftaste; the olfactory memory of smell, and the tactual memory of touch.

The visual memory is the most accurate and lasting. The nerves connecting the eyes with the brain are many times larger than those of the other sense organs. Psychological tests have also proven the eye to be the most accurate of all the senses. Next to the eye comes the ear in both strength and exactness.

The training of the senses, important and necessary as it is, can be accomplished in a most entertaining and pleasant manner. The playing of games, so necessary in the life of children, can in most cases be used as the agency to gain this result.

You can entertain your children for an hour with this game and at the same time, even without their knowledge, be training one of their most important senses.

Go into a quiet room and hide a watch where it will be out of sight but in a place where the ticking will be plainly audible. If the children are small it will be well to start with a small clock, or a watch which ticks loudly. Now let the children come into the room and, standing perfectly still, try to locate the watch by hearing it tick. Let them move around, but very quietly, so as not to disturb the others; or let all move at one time.

When one of them has located the watch allow that child to remain and assist you in hiding it for the others. A record can be kept to see who finds the watch the most often. One child must not be allowed to move noisily, or in any way disturb the efforts of the others. See to it that they use their ears and not their eyes; it will even be well to blindfold them.

That the senses can be trained every one will at once admit. The world is full of examples, as the Indian savage with his keen sight and hearing. You may think this a natural born ability but there are many examples to prove the contrary. The American scouts, some of whom have gone into the Indian country when they were grown men, have become almost as proficient as the Indians themselves.

This fact of the unusual ability of the Indian is true today as well as in the story periods of the past. On a recent camping and canoeing trip through the lakes of Canada, it was a common occurrence for the Indian guide to say, "Washkeesh," meaning deer. No one in the party could see the animal, but the Indian would point out the exact spot, and as the party canoed silently along the shores the deer would soon become visible to all.

This training of the Indian was brought about largely by necessity. It was required for the preservation of his life. The same is true of the white man who has gone into the Indian's country. If wewere all driven by the same necessity we would have the same keenly developed senses.

Prof. Magnusson says: "There is affecting our senses what may be called the disease of civilization. Civilized man does not have to use his senses." Let the realization of the importance of the ability spur you to conscious effort to secure this result for your children. It can be done by playing the games which are to follow—it is of great value.

Prof. Gates has demonstrated that by exercising one of the senses we actually build up brain matter. A child who is helped to cultivate the sense of sight will not only make more brain cells in the visual areas but will also make more brain generally; for the sense of sight correlates with all other areas of the brain. This is a result well worth striving for.

There are many other examples in the different trades of today. The Tea and Wine tasters have a very fine sense of taste and smell. The jeweler has a well developed sense of hearing so that he can detect irregularities in the ticking of a clock that are imperceptible to most of us. Makers of telescope lenses complete the smoothing of the surface by rubbing them with the fingers, being able in this way to detect the slightest roughness. The blind have a very fine sense of feeling and hearing. Deaf people often have a keen sense of sight.

Necessity and Desire are the parents of all progress and development.

Youwill notice that in all of these cases there are these two impelling motives which have caused this great improvement. Create in the child the desire to be unusual in this regard. Show him that the highest success of life necessitates this development. Also that in every case it comes as the result of individual effort. The one possessing this unusual capacity acquired it only as the result of his own continued practice. The senses cannot be developed in a day. They CAN be developed, however, if you will make any reasonable effort.

The child will attach most value to that which gives him the greatest pleasure.

This is a fact which you must keep in mind throughout all your efforts in child training. Whenever possible make the exercises into games and make them interesting. Do not work so long with one idea that it becomes tiresome or tedious to the child. Add anything that suggests itself to you that will give variety. When the child seems to be losing interest or paying only partial attention, vary the game or change to some other. In all the exercises it is helpful to note the results and keep careful watch of the progress made. Have competitive trials and championship records; always keep some incentive for further effort before him.

Each child should be a rule unto himself. Do not encourage or strive for uniformity of desire or resultin your children. Let them reveal those distinctive characteristics with which they are endowed and then encourage and assist them in their development.

A child will excel in some things and possibly be deficient in others. He will naturally wish to play most often that game in which he does best. Do not deny this game, but use it as a reward, when the child does well the thing he most needs. Use the promise to play it as an inducement to get him to do the more necessary or difficult exercise first.

Even in cases where the children are old enough to use these books themselves, parents should keep an oversight of the games used, to see that all of their senses, and especially the eye and the ear, are developed.

An all around development is most necessary. When parents join the game let it be an opportunity to introduce and encourage the most needed exercises.

Training the senses will result in greater ability in all mental operations throughout life.A few moments' daily use of the games and exercises in these books will attain the result.

Training the senses will result in greater ability in all mental operations throughout life.

A few moments' daily use of the games and exercises in these books will attain the result.

There is one principal instruction, that is—MAKE AN EFFORT—TRY.

Then persist, try again, let failure spur you to greater effort. Only he who continues to try, after others have tried and given up, will win the prize of success.

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