How to Develop the Child’s Sense of Smell
By Vina M. Sherwood
An exercise which is both pleasing and useful, also one which breaks the usual routine of the schoolroom, is the following: Pass to each of the pupils a small envelope having written on it the name of some spice, fruit, vegetable, or narcotic. Then request the children to bring this substance to school. Each child is to keep the name on his envelope a profound secret from the others. When the envelopes have been returned, have the children take position, then pass one envelope at a time, allowing each child to smell. Then have the older pupils write what they think the envelope contains, while the little ones may come and whisper their decisions. Their delight knows no bounds when some common substance, like the onion or camphor, is passed, and each recognizes the odor readily. Do not make this a sober hour. Let them, if they wish, laugh, and even clap their hands with pleasure when one of their number discovers the scent. It is best to have them take position while passing the envelopes, because of their tendency to feel the substance through the envelope, as well as smell. When some substance is difficult to detect, allow them more than one trial. Sometimes it is necessary to make a slight opening in the envelope. You will observe that in some the sense of smell seems very acute, while others can hardly detect any of the odors. When this inability to detect is not due to any defect in the organs of the smell, each repetition of this exercise will be sure to show a development of this sense. I have known of people walking through a field of clover or an orchard of blossoming trees without detecting the fragrance of either. How much of the sweetness of life we miss because of lack of observation! It is not alone for the esthetic side that a development of this sense is valuable. As to-day, in the preceding exercise given to correlate with a previous lesson on the olfactory sense, some harmful substances were introduced. For instance, cotton saturated with carbolic acid was placed in one envelope. At first trial very few of the children recognized the odor. It can be readily seen that a child might not be able to read the label on the bottle, but if able to detect the odor would not carelessly use the contents. I would be pleased to read the method of some teacher in developing the sense of hearing. I refer more definitely to the observation of the sounds in nature.