The sequence in which certain kings reigned, or the order in which certain events took place, or in which certain books of the Bible were written is not the important thing for early childhood.  At this time the great object is to seize upon the event, the character or the incident, and make it real and vital; it is to bring the meaning of the lesson out of its past setting and attach it to the child’s immediate present.

Psychological organization.—­It is the psychological organization of material that should obtain both in the curriculum as a whole and in the planning of the individual lessons.  We must not think, however, that a psychological order of material necessarily makes it illogical.  On the other hand, the arrangement of material that takes into account the child’s needs is certain to make it more logical to him than any adult scheme or plan could do.  That is most logical to any person which most completely fits into his particular system of thought and understanding.  If we succeed in making our plan of presenting material to the child wholly psychological, therefore, we need not be concerned; all other questions of organization will take care of themselves, and the psychological will constantly tend to become logical.

What is meant by a psychological method of arranging material for presentation has already been discussed (Chapter III).  Suffice it to say here that it is simply planning the subject matter to fit the mind and needs of the child—­arranging for the easiest and most natural mode of approach, securing the most immediate points of contact for interest and application, remembering all the time that the child speaks as a child, thinks as a child, understands as a child.

Jesus’ use of the psychological plan.—­The teacher who seeks to master the spirit of the psychological presentation of religious material should study the teaching-method of Jesus.  Always he came close to the life and experience of those he would impress; always he proceeds from the plane of the learner’s experiences, understanding, and interests.  Did he want to teach a great lesson about the different ways in which men receive truth into their lives?—­“Behold a sower went forth to sow.”  Did he seek to explain the stupendous meaning and significance of the new kingdom of the spirit which he came to reveal?—­“The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed,” or, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal,” or, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.”

And with this simple, direct, psychological, homely mode of approach to great themes Jesus made his hearers understand vital lessons, and at the same time showed them how to apply the lessons to their own lives.  So throughout all his teaching and preaching; the lesson of the talents, the prodigal son, the workers in the vineyard, the wedding feast, placing a little child in the midst of them—­all these and many other concrete points of departure illustrate the highest degree of skill in the psychological use of material.