KINDERGARTEN 



3251 



KINDERGARTEN 



fulness and self-control. Can this be done 

 without violating the principle of adapting in- 

 struction to his comprehension? Yes, if the 

 mother understands the principle of habit 

 formation. She has chosen the food adapted 

 to his need on the basis of the world's best 

 judgment, and it is on the same principle that 

 she has selected the pictures, stories and mate- 

 rial that met his play needs. It is through her 

 selection of these that she has already influ- 

 enced his ideals in the direction of right stand- 

 ards. 



The formation of habits to correspond to 

 these ideals is effected largely through the 

 mother's approval of the arts that are in har- 

 mony with these ideals, and the ignoring or 

 disapproval of those of the opposite character. 

 The repetition of the art is the result of such 

 approval, and by frequent approvals and repe- 

 titions, the habit of action is established. The 

 mother's approval has thus become, for the 

 child, the selective principle by which he is 

 led to adopt the standards of civilization. 



Self -Activity as a Means of Development. 

 That the child's development is effected by 

 means of his activity in the form of play is 

 another truth which the kindergarten first illus- 

 trated, and which the school has adopted. The 

 part which the different forms of kindergarten 

 activity play in the child's development has 

 already been shown, and need not be repeated. 

 The example of the kindergarten has helped 

 to bring the value of play to the attention of 

 educators, and has had its influence in building 

 up the playground movement. Play is now 

 recognized as having even greater value than 

 Froebel attached to it its value in building 

 up the nervous system, the nature of which was 

 not as clearly known in his time. That children 

 are physically active during the early years, 

 because nervous energy is generated faster than 

 it can be controlled or used; and that the 

 activity which they could not control if they 

 would is the means by which the nervous 

 system is developed is now generally known. 



It is because play is now recognized as having 

 a physiological function that of developing 

 nervous and muscular energy that the kinder- 

 garten activities are being increasingly appre- 

 ciated and that playgrounds are being gener- 

 ally established. It is through activity in this 

 and other forms that children develop initia- 

 tive and individuality. The help given them 

 when they are working out their own problems 

 is help of the most effective kind. It is in such 

 activity that Froebel believed children to show 



their highest self the self that allies them 

 with the creative principle of the universe. 

 The fact that schools have spent millions of 

 dollars to provide facilities for cooking, sewing, 

 basketry, manual training and art work in 

 recent years shows that the public, too, is con- 

 vinced of its high value. 



Other Principles Which the Kindergarten Il- 

 lustrates. It is because the kindergarten ex- 

 emplifies so conspicuously the principle of edu- 

 cation by development, through the medium 

 of activity, that this aspect of its doctrine is 

 especially associated with it in the public mind. 

 Its whole message is not expressed in this 

 alone, however. It is from another doctrine 

 that a part of its influence has come one 

 that gives the principles named their deepest 

 significance. This is Froebel's interpretation 

 of humanity as spiritual in essence, and of 

 the child's unfolding as bringing the spir- 

 itual principle within him to expression. To 

 bring this to its fullest development in every 

 child was, therefore, to Froebel the means of 

 bringing into existence a higher and happier 

 humanity. His methods were, therefore, or- 

 ganized with such unfolding in view. This 

 is why he insisted on freedom, under limita- 

 tion, at least, since without it the child's best 

 self cannot come to expression. He would 

 have the conduct or effort resulting from such 

 freedom brought to the test of some standard, 

 however the conduct of a character in a story 

 or the effort of a playmate. If the result of 

 that comparison were favorable, he would win 

 merited commendation; if not, the better effort 

 of the other would become the incentive to 

 improvement on his own part. Growth of 

 character would be the result, because the im- 

 provement would be the result of his own will. 

 In this way, he would become, on his own 

 plane, a self-governing personality. This doc- 

 trine has large implications, but for these the 

 reader is referred to Froebel himself. (See 

 article FROEBEL, in these volumes.) 



There are other phases of the kindergarten 

 doctrines that merit discussion, but these must 

 suffice here. It is because these principles are 

 based upon accepted facts of the child's devel- 

 opment that they are valid for the school and 

 the home, as well as for the kindergarten. In 

 consequence, their study cannot fail to give 

 mothers a deeper insight into the problems of 

 child-training and the methods of solving them. 

 A wider acquaintance with these principles, as 

 applied to the work of young children, would 

 furnish the spur of an educated motherhood to 



