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nKindergarten was invented to be an interesting,nplayful, child-centered pre-school for kids.
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nTheninventor, Friedrich Froebel (born in Germany on this day in 1782)nthought that kids could learn all sorts of thing through song andnplay—which were previously unheard of in school—and through artnand interaction with the natural world. That “natural world” partnexplains why many kindergartens (which means “children’s gardens”nin German) had actual gardens attached to them, which kids tended.nFroebel thought that, while kids were cultivating the garden, theynwould cultivate their own inner lives, too.
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nFroebelnsaid that all topics (or school “subjects”) were interconnected.
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nHensaid that children were innately curious and interested in learningnnew things.
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nAndnFroebel was right about all of these ideas. n
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nButnbeing right doesn’t always guarantee success.
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nFroebelnstarted the first kindergarten in 1837 and sold stock in thenenterprise. Although the kindergarten idea spread throughout Germany,nhe never got rich from his idea. The autocratic Prussian governmentnwas against Froebel’s kindergartens—they promoted democracy, and wencan’t have that!—and eventually, in 1851, kindergartens werenoutlawed in Prussia.
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Froebelndied a year after that…some say of a broken heart. However, hisnlegacy lives on in the word he invented and also in the ideas he promoted. There are many kindergartensnin Germany named for Froebel, and in the Netherlands, froebelennmeans to be busy with arts and crafts. n
Froebelndied a year after that…some say of a broken heart. However, hisnlegacy lives on in the word he invented and also in the ideas he promoted. There are many kindergartensnin Germany named for Froebel, and in the Netherlands, froebelennmeans to be busy with arts and crafts. nn
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nBynthe way, I’ve noticed that many modern kindergartens (a word usednhere in the U.S. for the grade immediately before first grade, mostlynfor children age 5) are much more book-paper-pencil oriented, rathernthan centered on play and song, paintbrush and outdoors. That’s andarn shame, because the play-and-activity center idea that Froebelnput forth is much more what kids need! n
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nAlsonon this date:
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nJohn Muir Day
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nKartini Day in Indonesia n
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