The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-07-15
CHILD GARDEN.


When in 1910 Frederick Froebe
opened his first Kindergarten in the lit
tie town of ~Blankenburg, ne did not ex'
poet hat in fifty years it would be one
of the greatest, educational forces, not
only in his own land but in the new
country to which he looked with long
ing eyes. His own life when a child was
one of hardship and privation, and when
he had reached mans estate it was
largely the remembrance of what was
lacking in his own childhood that fur
nished the ideas for the foundation Of
his system. He realized, also, that to
make good men and good women, it was
necessary to begin the work early in life,
and that it must be done in such a way
that the little ones would delight in it.
His motto was Love. He conceived the
idea Of developing the child in its three
fold nature--as q child Of God, a child
these lines he built.
To Miss Peabody, of New York, and
Miss Susie Blow. Of St. Louis, is due in
a large degree the establishment of kin
dergartens in the United States. Miss
Blow, a lady Of wealth, went to'Ger-
many, spent a number of years study
ing the system, and returning to her
home, at her WI expense opened in st,
Louis schools for the training of teach
ers and for the instruction of children.
In a little while the advantages of the
kindergarten we're recognized by the st.
Louis school board, and it was made a
feature of the public schools. Now
thousands Of scholars, ranging in age
from four to six, attend them, and in a
number of instances entire buildings
are devoted to this branch Of school
work. From st. Louis the work extended
to Chicago and in that city there is a
strong effort being made to have it be
como part Of the public school system.
Then it spread east and west, and to
day hundreds of thousands of children
in America are wiser and happier for
the work done by Miss Blow,
Notwithstanding the growth of kinder
gartens in America, among many people
Of liberal education, including bishops,
clergymen, lawyers and doctors, there is
gross ignorance concerning it. Those
who have given it but a passing glance
will assert with all positlveness that the
kindergarten Is a place to which moth
ers can send their children when they
become troublesome; that in them
all the children do is to play, and
while a kindergarten does no harm, there
are no particular advantages derived
from it. Nothing could be farther
astray than such assertions, and those
who make them do SO because of lack
of knowledge. Every game played, every
song sung, every particle Of work per-
formed has a direct bearing on the
world in which we live. and the duties
and responsibilities Of the present and
future. In many respects Froebel's les
sons have been changed, 30 that they
will be more closely in touch
with our Institutions. American
kindergalt,n teachers of experience have
81 IdI u Ullibu iilSlilStIfG5, UIdb NIltU1SI
in geometry, botany or natural history,
they stand ever ready to prove the eff
ficiency of their system by pitting the
six years old child, who has been under
their instruction for a couple of years,
against the high school scholars.
But the Kindergarten has become es-
pecially popular from the fact that it
prepares the mind of the child to re-
ceive and assimilats the Instructions
given in the more advanced grades.
This is why 1T has been SO generally
adopted in the public schools of the
larger cities, both east and west In
Montana, also, it is taking a firm hold.
The difficulty has been, in many cases,
to secure thoroughly trained teachers.
as the demand is greater than tho sup
ply, and the east pays more for this
class than the west seem to think they
are worth. Butthe value Of the kinder
Carton is becoming moro and more ap-
preciated in this state and ere long its
teachers will find here a very inviting
field.