Why do we call kindergarten kindergarten?

In the 197s, a little boy named Frank got a set of wooden blocks to play with. His mother opened a kindergarten in their home in Wisconsin, and young Frank was fascinated by the endless ways he could build and shape things with building blocks. This helps to stimulate his imagination and curiosity.

Frank's story has been repeated millions of times. Before American children go to primary school, they must first show their budding curiosity in kindergarten. This academic course for students aged 4-6 can go directly to the first grade, where these prepared children can start to absorb knowledge beyond crayons and snacks.

But when you stop to think about it, German phrases in American school education are a bit strange. So how do we call kindergarten kindergarten?

thanks to Friedrich Froebel. The German educator opened the first kindergarten around 184. (Kinder means children in German, while garten means, as you might guess, garden. As a little boy, his mother died before he was one year old, and Froebel has basically left. To nourish your wisdom. When he was young, he spent most of his time in the outdoor family garden, fascinated by the world around him.

As an adult, Froebel became an educator in Frankfurt Model School, which encouraged active learning. After leaving to become a private tutor, Froebel often spent time in the garden with his students-he comforted his nature when he returned to his childhood.

In 1837, when Froebel finally opened his own school in Blanckenburg, Germany, he called it a "game and professional organization". In 184, he changed its name to Children's Garden because he believed that children were like flowers. Or, as Froebel said, "Children are like small flowers; They are diverse and need to be taken care of, but in the peer community, each one is beautiful and glorious. "

Kindergarten combines games with education.

this is a novel idea of that era. In Froebel's time, it was thought that children under seven could get little benefit from formal education. But Froebel disagreed. I believe that children can do it themselves and get encouragement from teachers, which can help them lay the foundation for future education. Froebel encourages children to sing and play with toys. Through interesting activities, they can start to establish contact with the larger world around them.

Froebel took the theme of kindergarten far away. The children have a flower, fruit and vegetable garden in the campus that they can look after. With the vigorous development of children's gardens, more kindergartens have been opened in Germany.

But Froebel's innovative thinking has not been generally accepted. In 1851, the Prussian Minister of Education Karl von Rau tacitly acknowledged that Froebel spread atheism and socialism in his teachings: in von Laumer's view, kindergartens are replacing traditional Christian day care centers that teach Christian teachings. In retaliation, von Laumer banned kindergartens in Prussia-a ban that was not lifted until 186.

Froebel died in 1852. He brought a vital new member to education, and it will not be confined to Germany. Shortly after the opening of his children's garden, German immigrants Caroline Louisa Frankenberg (a former student of Froebel) and Margarethe Meyer Schurz opened kindergarten courses for German-speaking children in the United States.

in 1856, the educator Elizabeth Palmer Peabody noticed the kindergarten curriculum. She knew the Schultz family and was shocked by the clever performance of Margaret's daughter Agate. When Margaret told her that Agate was a product of the kindergarten system, Peabody personally visited these schools.

By 186, Peabody opened the first English-speaking kindergarten in Boston, and continued to train thousands of kindergarten teachers. By the 198s, there were 4 kindergartens in the United States. The name has always existed-even the outbreak of World War I or World War II and the anti-German sentiment that followed it could not shake it. Today, children who have just started their formal education journey start in kindergarten.

As for Little Frank and his building blocks, he grew up to be one of the most famous architects in the 2th century, Frank Lloyd Wright. He once wrote that his career can be directly traced back to the time when he was immersed in the creative world of kindergarten.