The child's mind has the receptive side, the sensibility, the most prominent. His senses are alert. He handles and examines objects about him. He sees more, and he learns more from the seeing, than he will in later years unless his perceptive powers are definitely trained and observation made a habit. His judgment and his will are weak. He reasons imperfectly. He chooses without appropriate motives. He needs the building up and development given by educational training. Nature points out the method.
Sensibility being the characteristic of his mind, we must appeal to him through his senses. We must use the concrete; through it we must act upon his weak will and immature judgment. From his natural curiosity we must develop attention. His naturally strong perceptive powers must be made yet stronger; they must be led in proper directions and fixed upon appropriate objects. He must be led to appreciate the relation between cause and effects--to associate together related facts--and to state what he knows in a definite, clear, and forcible manner.
Object lessons, conversational lessons, lessons on animals, lessons based on pictures and other devices, have been used to meet this demand of the child's mental make up.

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