Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-14

the plays there is not song which mas
not its Lesson. For instance, there is a
play entitled The Worm and the Butter
fly. Eight children take hold of each
other around the waist in line. Stoop-
ing down, and in time to music, they
slowly creep around the room initiating
the motions and twists of caterpillar
Why should there be eight? Ask one of
the children, and he or she will readily
answer. Because a caterpillar has six
teen little feet" There YOU see lesson
both in arithmetic and observation. The
child not only knows the play, but
knows the reason why, and enjoys the
play that much better in consequence.
Botany is considered study for the
higher grades, yet the little ones OF the
kindergartens can tell you more about
the flower and talk OF it more intelli-
gently than many pupils of double the
age who have studied the regular botany
lessons. This is where observation
comes in again.
Miss Dorm, at Thirtieth street, is one
of the best kindergarten teachers in the
city. The rea sons for this are numer-
Gus. She has a most intense love for
children. Without this in some degree
no person can be success as kinder
garten teacher. She has had most thor
ough preparation for her work. She is
agood musician. She has most perfect
health and vivacity that infects the en-
tire school. There is never any dullness
or inattention to be observed in the class
under Miss Dorm.
All that has been said OF Miss Dorm
can be said also of Mrs. Swizer, of the
Hellman-street school. She labors un-
10 4kn Af hax N ~
enough assistance, and of having no in
strumental music. Her school is as or
derly, and her children as intelligent as
person can accomplish more than GER
tain amount of work, and when more is
required the work must suffer.
Taking them in their order, Fremont
avenue school under Miss Mary A. Rich
ardson, follows the Hellman-street
next comes Miss Ellis DeHart, of Corn
well-street; then follows Miss Marietta
Hodgman, of Castelar-street; Miss Ella
E. Clark, of Railroad-street; and finally
Miss Emma J. Davidson, of Ninth-street,
and Miss Augusta Flentjen, of San Pc
dro-street.
The kindergartens have a separate
principal, and are not under the control
of the principals of the school in which
they are situated. Mrs. Nora d. May
hew is principal of the kindergartens OF
Los Angeles. Mrs. Mavhew came to
Los Angeles from st. Louis, where she
had long been associated with the kim
dergarten work of that city. She has
had most thorough preparation as a
kindergarten teacher, and had to in
struct several of the teachers supplied
to the kindergartens here before they
could go on with their work. Kinder
garten teachers receive salary OF $50
per month. Mrs. Mayhem, as principal
receives $50. For this salary she is
obliged to visit and inspect the kinder
gartens all over the city constantly, and
from it she pays her own fare and ex-
penses of correspondence, ,,etc. which are
naturally quite heavy.
AS before stated, the kindergartens
are as yet only an experiment in this
city, but nearly all those opposed to
them have been won over during the
year in which they have been in opera
tion. 1t is expected, therefore, that the
board OF education will pursue some
what more liberal policy toward them
during the coming year; that the ma
terial will be supplied with q more
generous hand; that music will be pro-
vided in some way and that possibly, il
they are very good, the teachers may OBJ
tain a raiseof one or two dollars in theil
salary.
Some changes will certainly have to be
made, as next year children are to be
admitted at the age of four years, and a
large number of children will conse-
quently be enrolled. in addition to the
children now in the rooms. Further
than this, kindergarten should be
added to many of the schools now up
provided, and the experiment, if it has
not already passed beyond this stage,
should be conducted in an extensive and
thorough manner.
In future article the HERALD will
endeavor to do the subject Of kindergar-
tens more justice than is possible in this
brief article, for this branch OF the
school work is an important one, if not
the most important OF all.