The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-23


cause" was the indignant reply, she
:. surrounded in her home by every
hing to be desired 1 was speaking of
.be kindergarten as an institution for
the poor"
The remark is merely an expression
If what many people feel in regard to
the necessity for kindergartens among
the richer classes, and it is not sur
,rising that such should be the case,
u,ben so few realize what kindergar-
ten work really means.
snend a morning in well-conduct-
ID kindergarten. Ask why they do
.bts or do that. Do not take for grant
al that it is simply for the amuse-
,,ent of the children-although of
course. the children are amused, for
childhood is the time for play, and
the kindergarten knows this we'll
Thai there is something deeper, how
ever, than mere pleasure, contained in
cbildrens play, is proven by the facts
that the foremost educators of many
countries are to-day investigating play
as a scientific study, and each year
hundreds of women are making the
kindergarten their life work
Let us now try to see what there is
in kindergarten training that makes
if as. necessary for the child of the
rich as for the child OF the poor.
Anyone who has had the most cas-
nal experience with children knows
that the small child is essentially a
creature of play: he can no more help
nlaying than growing-it is his lie.
Rut though he plays, the child be-
tween 8 and has reached most i'm
nortant stage of his development,
when his growing body, his plastic
mind, his impressionable little SOUL
Weld themselves readily to those
about him; when sensations received
are stronger and more lasting than
those gained at any other time. Some
use should then be made of this
reriod. Friedrich Frobel watched
the little children about him: he saw
what they enjoyed, he found out
what they needed, he put the two to-
gether, and to-day we have the KIN
dergarten-the place where the chlld
can play to his hearts content ana,
better still where every moment OF ms
play contributes something that will
be of benefit in his future life.
Education in some form, however
crude. is almost as old as the history
of man, but for thousands OF years
in fact, long after it had advanced TO
a comparative degree of perfectlon'
children were educated at one extreme
or another: their bodies were trained
at the EXPENSE of their minds, their
souls were developed to the neglect OF
their bodies. Froebel was among the
first to realize that to be educated IN
the fullest sense of the word, child
must advance on every side In PAN
ming the kindergarten he arranged run
ming, jumping, hopping and skipping
for the physical development OF the
child. he arranged songs and games in
which the child must use his own men
tai powers thereby gaining 1acillty
and strength; he arranged games ana
plays by which are firmly implanted in
the child's mind the blessedness OF CIV
ing and receiving, of upholding and up
lifting of truth and obedience, OF uni
versal helpfulness and love-the high
est spiritual teachings that nave yet
been revealed to mankind.
These lessons are brought TO the
child in the form of play, worked out
by the child himself, at time When
his plastic state makes every strong
impression a lifetime gain, and for
these reasons are needed no less oy
the rich child than the poor.
It is a recognized fact among the SCI
entists and educators of to-day that
the child develops along the lines or
the race-that is, each child in his
small way must pass through the sue
cessive stages from barbarism to civil
cation until the infant savage hnaliy
represents in his own person the cul-
ture of the twentieth century. me
little one in the kindergarten, by liV-
ing the life of the savage; endowing
trees, birds and flowers as did primi-
tive man, with a life similar to his
own; discovering for himself simple
mechanical and architectural primer
pies and working them out In the
crude forms used by his forefathers, is
passing through these necessary stages
of his existence. Without them, though
he may never know the cause, some
thing must always be wanting IN the
foundations upon which he builds MS
life.
1t is surprising to note how many OF
US go through life losing much OF lts
sweetness, because we have not Deen
trained to observe. Our senses are. dull.
We walk into the woods and scarcely
see that this tree is gay, light green
the next both dark and sombre; we
hear the calls of two birds, and do not
know a moment later that one is LOUD
and shrill, the other soft and low; by
the fragrance of yon sweet flower we
child knows many of these things
Dame Nature is his teacher and his
friend-but this is not all; what ne
does not know he has learned to dis
cover for himself He has not been
told, "See thisl" Hear that" He has
been led to feel II must find out what
there is to know" and his organs OIL
sense have been trained to do the bid
ding of his will.
AS we watch the children at play
in kindergarten. and notice the I'M
portant position that music occupies,
we perhaps remark that the child from
the rich home hears music there. SO
he does, but in the kindergarten he not
alone hears music. he plays to 1T. claps
to it, runs to it, jumps to it; he is a
bird flying, a horse trotting, a frog
leaping-in interpreting it he uses his
highest mental powers. and in acting
out in perfect time the image screated
in his mind he is left with feeling
of rhythm and harmony that places
him at ease with himself and with
the world at large. Remember, sucn
play as this is repeated daily, and the
Kindergarten child is at an age where
being at ease" quickly becomes a
habit of being at ease" The chlid
who merely hears music does not gain
this self-confidence and poise.
How often we hear it remarked with
only too much truth. II really believe
have talent in this direction, l think
could have done we'll in that line,
out the discovery came too late. When
the child was. at a period where indl-
Vlduality and taste were developing, no
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