The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-30

garten school, and make some u -
wish. | have no doubt, that we were
some twenty or thirty years younger
so that we too might be learners. Miss
Coe has peer seventeen years perfect
ing her system, and receives the hlgh-
est encomiums from the best authorl-
ties. both North and West.
Very few of our people know what
y Kindergarten" is, and as l never
have seen one in operation i think
had better not attempt to instruct you
on the subject. 1t may be said, how
ever. that the idea is to educate young
| children to clear notions of things In
daily use around them-notions OF
| form. of size, of color-by mean OF
object lessons, rather than as is usually
done to give up their first years to n
learning of their letters, and abstract
ideas from books alone. The Kinder
parten claims to bring out all b
child's fine senses in full perfection by
constant, varied. pleasing exercise.
They are taught to see-taught to feel
to handle, taught to construct, to
weave, t o combine, TO judge. A great
variety of objects are provided blocks
of every shape-paper for weaving,
of every color, drawing tools, cards,
balls, paints in fact American inge-
nuity has been taxed to provide OBJ
iects that shall educate the eyes and
hands of the infant generation. In my
Young days a school 70 conducted
would have been thought neither more
nor less han a great play-place, carr
fully fitted up to amuse the little ones.
And l believe the Kindergarten advo-
Gates are not ashamed to declare that
they do intend to amuse-to keep h
child's mind awake and intereSted-tO
enlist all his faculties and give each
one fair play. Our schools have hith-
erto been placed where all childllke-
ness and naturalness have been studi-
ously banished. Alb alb, e-b eb, Id Id,
and so on, week after week and month
after month, before the poor little
prisoners can learn to read, and many
of them never 10 master the blue
spelling book, and never do get over
the awful way in which they are first
taught to conceive of numbers.
The kindergarten introduces child
rem to Nature-to her three great king
doms. They are encouraged to search
for and bring. and talk over every
specimen of stone, or plant, or metal,
they can find-to write about them as
soon as they can write, to describe
things around them, their pets-the
dog. the cat, the bird-their home life
and daily incidents everything with
in and without is pressed into the SER
vice and made to do duty in forming
and tempering and impressing the
infant mind, and heart, and hands.
: Another and an indirect good is Oh
: tanned in that the child is taught tC
waste and destroy nothing. Every
little thing is made useful, and he
: soon finds it out, and learns to take
care of it. Every little picture he car
5 pick up-picture in the wraps of
l bottle of liniment, picture on paper o
seeds. in advertisements or ILLUSTRATED
= newspapers-these are treasured VI
0 and taken to school and somethins
: made of them.
e A child thus taught and trained. b,
!, the time he is sever or eight years old
e which IS quite time for him to go a
: serious study of what books can teach
is already master of many things, an,
e has had some of the best traits of hi
|. character and strongest points of hi
l. mind we'll brought out and improved
e and made ready to so at higher work
d Best of all, lie has learned to Xix
It school, and go to it with alacrity, n
t longer creeping unwillingly." 1t
a associated in his mind with a thOusan
q enjOyments, and when once you hav
got a child to enjoy the sense of learn
d ing something, to feel a pleasure i
IS the stir of thought and feeling, yo
haze started him.
r am conscious of a very great pr,
IS sumption in giving my friends "A tai
ID upon a subject OF which l know S
little. My excuse is that l think vo
ar will be interested to know even 5
j. little, and my consolation is that nc
r. many who will read this will kno,
1t more than l do. l hope that publ
IN attention will be turned to Chap,
he Hill this summer, with more intere.
to than ever-that those who ccme thel
be Will come again, and ten times
at many more. 1t would be a good thin
I'd II some of you ladies. wives and m,
nd theirs, who have no thought of bein
en- professional teachers, would run u
RS here for even a few days after IL
school is fairly begun and IooE -. 6.