Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-08-13
A German Kindergarsen. ~.


ten than description of the way in
which the principal one in Bremen ais
conducted, and which i have had occa-
sion to visit. q Many of the children are
50 small that they need to be conducted
thither by older persons, when they are
met at the door by a servant who re-
lieves. 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 as
sisted 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 OF working in
the little gardens out Of doors. In
the school room each scholar is provided
with a, very neat and, comfortable desk
and chair, and is taught to regard them
as its own property. The employments
are Fworsted work, knitting, elementary
drawing and every other Imaginable
thing which is supposed to furnish such
young fingers and minds with, combined
skill ,o and amusement. The children
have patterns before them for everything
they. are to do, and the teacher person
ally superintends them in each little la
Dor, when every pains is taken to impart
as much elementary instruction as pos
sible. For example, if little girl is at
work upon book-mark or lamp-mat,
she is taught imitation, combination.
perspective, counting the alphabet, and
many other things. As soon as she is
tired Of one employment she is at Iiber-
ty to begin something else that she may
like. Thus all weariness is avoided.
ct he room for exercise is very large,
and, like the school room, neatly orna-
mented with pictures, and when the chill
dren are in it they are underthe care of
ateacher, who has them gothrough many
gymnastic exercises" This is the most
interesting feature of the kindergarten.
The children boys and girls promiscu-
ously-are directed to assume certain
position. 1t may be that of regiment
drawn up in a line of battle. The teach
er then commences story about GER
| tain battle :, then comes some stirring
song, when all sing it together, and then
the battle commences in right good earn
est. After the great victory is won, the
teacher narrates- peaceful story in
verse, which the children have been also
previously taught, and which they re-
peat with her, going through 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 go off and
hop around on the ground, while others
light on the chairs, some get tired and
tothers fall down, and thus the supposed
movements of 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, bellows. i. red-hot
iron and great hammer, when the chill
dren sing with her, and the whole room
| is transformed for time into a great
smithy, and all the little folks industri-
ously and laughingly playing black,
smith. Another song tells about walk.
ing over a heath, where at last a great
pond is reached. The frogs are heard
to croak, and seen to leap into the pond
During this time the entire class be-
comes a large group Of similar croakers
"In all these initiatory exercises the
children preserve strict order, but theil
risible propensities are but little re-
strained. just as soon as the slightest
fatigue or decrease in interest is observ
ed, the exercises are changed, when the
class is Immediately taken into another
room, or else into the garden. About
one-half of the time seems to be devoted
to the gymnastic and horticultural en-
ployments, and the other half to the
! light manual labor at the desks in th e
school-room proper. 4 5.1i
There are great many of these half
poetical and half-prose stories,. having
somewhat of a theatrical character
taught and performed at the Kindergar
ten. I have at hand a volume which
contains fifty in all, profnsely illustrated
Some of the titles are: The Mouse 9ant
the Cat,' The Ants The StorkIand the
Frog The Butterfly The Grasshoppe
and the Worm,' and The Horsechesnu
Tree Each of these stories Requires
perhaps, from ten to fifteen minutes t,
repeat and perform. lz9g'1 s' EsaE2
"The exercises and employments a
the kindergarten are sure to be brough
away by the children, and enter largely
into their home life." eeaI -rs.l
a-n;nuiur Charles Lamb.