The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-06-28
a German Kinderrarten.
Hurst writes from Bremen to the New York

DR.. Hurst writes from Bremen to the New York
Methodist: farr
!. Perhaps better idea cannot be presented of
the working of a Kindergarten than description
of the way In which the principal one in Bremen
is conducted, and which have had occasion to
visit. Many of the children are so small that they
need TO be conducted thither by older persons,
when they are met at the door by servant. who
relieves them of hats, coats, shawls and lunch
box, care being taken, however, that each child
aid in adjusting its own things, and having fixed
place for all. The proprietress Miss Grabau, is
assisted by two other ladies. The school is
divided into two classes, either one or the other
Of which is nearly always in the large hall for
exercise, or working in the little gardens out Of
doors. In the school.room each scholar Is pro-
vided with very neat and comfortable desk and
chair, and Is taught to regard them as Its own
property. The employments are worsted work.
knitting, elementary drawing and every other
imaginable thing which is supposed to furnish
such young fingers and minds with combined skill
and amusement The children have patterns be-
fore them for everything they are 70 do, and the
teacher personally superintends them in each little
labor, when every pans is taken TO impart as
much elementary instruction as possible. For
example, If q little girl Ia at work upon book
mark, or lamp mat, she is taught imitation, COM
binaton, perspective, counting. the alphabet and
many other things. As soon as she is tired OF one
employment she IL at liberty to begin something
else that she may Ike. Thus al WEAKNESS is
avoided.
1.-The room for exercise is very large, and, like
the school-room. neatly ornamented with pictures,
and when the children are in II they are under the
care of teacher, who has them go through many
Fymnastic exercises. This Is the most interesting
feature of the Kindergarten. The children, boys
and girls promiscuously, are directed TO assume
a certain position. 1t may be that OF q regiment
drawn up in line of battle. The teacher then
commences a story about certain battle then
comes some stirring song, when all sing II to-
gether and then the battle commences in right
good earnest. After the great victory Is won, the
teacher Darrates peaceful story 10 verse, which
the children have been also previously taught,
and which they repeat with her, going through
with all the gymnastic exercises suggested by the
verses. For instance, she tells OF great pigeon
house, out of which the pigeons come one by one.
| Some fly slowly and others more rapidly others
20 of and hon around on the ground, while others
light on the chairs some get tired and others fall
| down. and thus the supposed movements Of q
whole flock OF pigeons are represented BY the
| children.
Afterward, the teacher may begin to tell in
prose about an old blacksmith, and by and By
she reaches the verses telling Of his anvil, bel
| lows, red.hot iron and great hammer, when the
| children sing with her, and the whole room Is
transformed, for time, into great smithy, and
all the little folks industrieusly and lsughingly
| playing blacksmith. Another song tells about
walking over heath, where at last gre AT pond Is
| reached. The frogs are heard 10 croak, and seen
TO leap into the pond During this time the entire
class becomes a large group of similar croakers.
"ln all these initiatory exercises the children pre-
! serve strict order. but their risibe prOpensities
are but little restrained. just soon as the
slightest fatigue decrease in interest is observed
| the exercises are changed, when the class ia i'm
mediately taken into another room, or else into
the garden. About one-half of the time seems TO
be devoted TO the gymnsstic and horticultural
empoymeDts, and the other half TO the light
manual labor at the desks in the school room
proper.
There are great many of these hafpoetical
and half.prose stories, having somewhat Of q
theatrical character, taught and performed In the
kindergarten. | have ct hand volume which
contains fifty in all, profusely illustrated. Some
| of the titles are: The Mouse and the Cat The
Ants.' The Stork and the Frog The Butterfly.
the Grasshopper and the Worm and The Horse
| chestnut Tree Each of these stories requires,
perhaps, from ten TO fifteen minutes to repeat and
perform.
"The exercises and employments at the Klnter-
parten are sure to be brought away by the chill
dren, and enter largely into their home life. II
you send your little folks 70 one Of them for three
months you may expect, for long time after.
terward, to see them hopping about your premi'
ses like frogs, Ieaping like deer, springing like
cats. and as nearly as they can. flying Ike swal.
lows. barking Ike dogs, swimming like 6sh
swinging Ike tree tops, sailing like boats, and
chattering like magpies.n
Beware Of tooth pOisons yended under the