Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-14
BABY SCHOOLS.
The Kindergartens of the
City.
Play Which Instructs as Well
as AmuSes.
An Outline of the Duties of the Little
Students.
Facts Dexterously Mixed Up with Pas
times Observation the Chief Faculty
Developed-The Schools.

DeveIoped-The Schools.
In no department of the school work
has the HERALD school reporter taken so
much interest as in the kindergartens
OF the city. There are eight of these in
stitutions. Boyle Heights and East Los
Angeles have each one; the West End
also has one, on Fremont avenue; the
remaining five are distributed as fol-
lows: CASTELAR, street, Railroad street,
Ninth street, San Pedro street and
Thirtieth street.
The kindergartens were only intro
duced about year ago, and that under
protest, so that every item of expendi-
ture connected Herewith is carefully
scrutinized by the solons who control
the board OF education. Only one Of
the kindergartens, that at Thirtieth
street, has piano, and that is paid for
by Miss Dorm herself, out of her by no
means munifcent salary. Any one at
tending kindergarten supplied with
music and then one not supplied, will
readily see what drawback the
absence of the piano really is.
However, the board is trying
to be economical, so no one
can object. In former article the
HERALD has spoken OF the plays of the
kindergarten. Many people have an
idea that the sessions are all play, but
anyone with observation faculties fairly
developed, who will spend an hour or so
in any of the city kindergartens, will
readily see the underlying principle OF
all the plays and exercises. Even if
this were not so, and the time were
spent altogether in play, if such play
were not OF harmful kind, those who
have ever tried to keep one or two
children amused for an hour or more
will appreciate the skill of teacher
who, day by day, can keep from thirty
to fifty children occupied and happy.
The relief afforded dozens of tired moth
ers is worth double the salary allowed
the kindergarten teachers.
For the benefit of those who are un-
able to visit the kindergartens them
selves, the HERALD will endeavor to
sketch briefly the performances likely to
be seen at session on any morning of the
school week. The children, to the num-
Der of thirty or more-for no kindergar-
ten has less than thirty pupils enrolled
will be found sitting in little chairs at
low tables. The morning exercises COM
mence with music. Lack of space for,
bids the printing of words employed,
but most of the songs, in fact, all of
them, embrace motion exercises as we'll
as the words, and from ten to twenty
minutes is devoted to these opening
songs. Then the teacher distributes the
materials to be used in the first play.
On some days this material consists of
squares of bright colored papers; on
others it is bowls of softened peas and
toothpicks; at other times boxes of
blocks, or quantity of triangles of thin
wood; or possibly it is squares of card
board perforated in patterns, accom-
panied by needles and bright colored
worsted.
While these are being distributed let
the supposititious visitor take look
about the room. 1t is now almost the
close of the school year and the black
boards will be found decorated with
numerous pictures. There are birds,
nests, and geometrical figures in colored
chalk. Above the black boards will be
found designs made of small pieces of
red, blue, green and yellow cloth or pa
per. There is also to be found design
composed OF small sacks of flour, roll
ing pin, rolling board, spoons and other
things used by the baker in his art.
In the making of these designs the
children have all had hand and all
taken an interest. The small pieces
composing the various designs were
brought to the school by the children
themselves, and formed into the designs
by the teacher.
At the end of the school year these
will be removed. After vacation the
new kindergartens will commence the
term with clean black-boards and bare
walls. The designs indicate the pro-
gress made by the school.
1t is not the intention of this article
to go into an exposition of the design
and object of kindergartens. Any one
alton from dozens of books on the sub
iect, or, if they feel so disposed, from
any of the kindergarten teachers in the
city. 1t is sufficient to say that every
design upon the board, and every action
during the plays has a meaning, which
the child mind and the child imagina-
IlOu Tedully SelZt upOHs 1cACHeIs VI Iilc
first grade say that children who come
to them from kindergartens are advanced
as far as children who have been in the
first grade year.
Teachers of the first grade of the
primary are allowed salary nearly as
large as those of the seventh grade in
the grammar department, the reason
assigned for this being that the work of
preparing the children for the course of
study embraced by the school depart
ment is more arduous than the task of
teaching the children after they are so
This being the case, it seems
rather odd that kindergarten teachers
with younger children, whose work
makes the task of the first grade teacher
SO much lighter, should only be paid
about half the first grade teachers
salary.
Well, we will suppose that the mate
rial is all distributed. If it is blocks
that the children have, there commences
a series OF questions: what is the
shape of this block? How many sides
has it? How many corners? What
kind of angles do the corners form ?"
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