cise will thus be achieved.

These three sets, the cubes, the prisms, and the rods, cause the child
to move about and to handle and carry objects which are difficult for
him to grasp with his little hand. Again, by their use, he repeats the
_training of the eye_ to the recognition of differences of size
between similar objects. The exercise would seem easier, from the
sensory point of view, than the other with the cylinders described
above.

As a matter of fact, it is more difficult, as there is _no control of
the error in the material itself_. It is the child's eye alone which
can furnish the control.

Hence the difference between the objects should strike the eye at
once; for that reason larger objects are used, and the necessary
visual power presupposes a previous preparation (provided for in the
exercise with the solid insets).

* * * * *

[Illustration: FIG. 13.--BOARD WITH ROUGH AND SMOOTH SURFACES.]

During the same period the child can be doing other exercises. Among
the material is to be found a small rectangular board, the surface of
which is divided into two parts--rough and smooth. (Fig. 13.) The
child knows already how to wash his hands with cold water and soap; he
then dries them and dips the tips of his fingers for a few seconds in
tepid water. Graduated exercises for the thermic sense may also have
their place here, as has been explained in my book on the "Method."

After this, the child is taught to pass the soft cushioned tips of his
fingers _as lightly as possible_ over the two separate surfaces, that
he may appreciate their difference. The delicate _movement_ backwards
and forwards of the suspended hand, as it is brought into light
contact with the surface, is an excellent exercise in control. The
little hand, which has just been cleansed and given its tepid bath,
gains much in grace and beauty, and the whole exercise is the first
step in the education of the "tactile sense," which holds such an
important place in my method.

When initiating the child into the education of the sense of touch,
the teacher must always take an active part the first time; not only
must she show the child "how it is done," her interference is a little
more definite still, for she takes hold of his hand and guides it to
touch the surfaces with the finger-tips in the lightest possible way.
She will make no explanations; her words will be rather to _encourage_
the child wit