KINDERGARTEN 



3240 



KINDERGARTEN 



JNDERGARTEN, an institution for 

 the progressive development of children be- 

 tween the ages of three and six years, by means 

 of organized play. It was devised by Friedrich 

 Froebel in Blankenburg, Germany, in 1837, 

 to meet the needs of children below the school 

 age and to furnish a natural basis for their later 

 education through the agency of books. The 

 name, which signifies a garden of children, im- 

 plies that education is primarily a process of 

 development, rather than one of mere learn- 

 ing, and that this development can be directed 

 by providing right conditions and the guid- 

 ance of a person trained for the task. Froebel 

 believed that such an institution was needed 

 to supplement the home, since the child has 

 needs during this period which the home can 

 but partially meet and which the school does 

 not recognize. 



These needs arise from the development of 

 his play instincts, and require, for their full 

 satisfaction, the companionship of children of 

 his own age, and the opportunity for experi- 

 mentation in larger variety than the home can 

 furnish. The kindergarten, therefore, fills the 

 gap that exists between the home and the 

 school. That its work furnishes a real basis 

 for that of the grades has been confirmed by 

 practical experience, as well as by more recent 

 study of the child's development. As a result, 

 the kindergarten has been adopted by all pro- 

 gressive countries, in a greater or less degree. 



A Kindergarten Visited. The purpose and 

 method of the kindergarten can be most readily 

 understood by a consideration of its daily pro- 

 cedure. An imaginary visit will assist in mak- 

 ing its purposes clear. The visitor does not 

 wonder that the children enjoy a place with 

 so homelike an atmosphere. Here, on each side 

 of a fireplace, are low cupboards that contain 

 quantities of play material of different kinds, 

 and at each end of the room are several small 

 tables, put together so as to form a large one, 

 upon which the children use the material. 

 Under the window seats of the large bay win- 

 dow are drawers filled with picture books and 



mounted pictures which the children are free 

 to use at certain times. On the opposite side 

 of the room is the piano, and at the end oppo- 

 site the fireplace is a sand table, that, at this 

 time, contains the children's representation of 

 a near-by park. Under two of the windows 

 are plant stands, on which are boxes filled with 

 ferns or blooming plants. Over the fireplace 

 hangs a Sistine Madonna, and on the walls are 

 pictures of children at play. 



The room shows many evidences of the chil- 

 dren's recent efforts. On a small table is a col- 

 lection of fall fruits and vegetables, which they 

 modeled the week before and painted in ap- 

 propriate colors. On a window sill is a tray 

 of envelopes made by the children, to hold the 

 assortment of seeds they have collected for 

 their spring planting. On a screen is a festoon 

 of autumn leaves, and paper cuttings of leaves 

 of different kinds. The ledge above the black- 

 board is decorated with sprays of bittersweet 

 leaves and berries, and below it hang festoons 

 made of rose hips and pumpkin seeds in alter- 

 nation. On the mantel is a vase containing 

 barberry twigs with their brown leaves and 

 scarlet berries, and on the piano is another 

 containing milkweed stalks with the pods just 

 bursting into feathery whiteness. The deco- 

 rative material the children have gathered on 

 their walks together to the near-by gardens, 

 fields and roadsides, along with the vegetables, 

 seeds and fruits, is a part of the harvest which 

 the autumn brings the harvest of beauty, 

 which has been used for the adornment of their 

 play room in ways of their own suggesting. It 

 is evident that through their play the children 

 have shared in the thought and effort of man- 

 kind during the autumn season. 



The Program of Exercises. The work of the 

 morning gives further evidence of their par- 

 ticipation in the thought of the season. At a 

 signal, the children bring their chairs to the 

 circle for the opening period of conversation, 

 song and story. The song of greeting is fol- 

 lowed by several autumn songs of their own 

 choosing. Since it is Monday, the children are 





