Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1905-03-10
KINDERGARTEN OCCU-
PATION.S.


of Heavenly, not an earthly
growth, and the Divine suspended
the head and root of him, where
the generation of the soul began"
In other words made mind some
thing higher than matter.
Froebel, in his viewing of the
child, looks upon him as a fresh,
tender bud of humanity, that is
forever progressing towards high.
er destiny, and it is, in reference
to this progression, that he asks
the educator to guard and protect
against unwholesome influences.
He must guard the child in such
a way as will unfold all his powers
Alright, so he will know how to live
up to the highest ideals of which
man is capable. Education must
develop the child to a higher
moral and spiritual plane.
To develop the child in the
proper way is to lead him early
to Industry and diligence. Here it
is Froebel makes a plea for man
ual training, whose worth as an
educational factor lies deeper than
the mere skill gained. Manual
training is necessary, not only for
the laborer, but for every man,
in every walk of life. The Kim
dergarten, fully cognizant of this.
takes the primitive race occupa-
tions and uses them in education.
Froebel believes that for the
normal development of the child,
he must relive at least three race
occupations, weaving, planting,
and building for shelter.
Weaving is one of the most
primitive race occupations; and in
the bright colored mats used in the
kindergarten and the simple, def
mite designs given to the child to
weave, a chance is given not only
to relive the race experience, but
also to cultivate the ideas of color
form and number. No weaving can
be done without number being
recognized. The child loves and
Graves color as he does sunlight
and air, and we can truthfully
say, that, in weaving, he is liter
ally feasted OH it. Through this
simple mat weaving the child can
be made to see that his work is in
line with the industry which man
has developed to such perfection
and he can have the delight of
taking part in a world wide occu-
patton.
Planting for food, dates back to
prehistoric times. Man was obliged
to have something upon which to
subsist, beside the fruit aud nuts
with which nature provided him.
After man began to domesticate
the animal, a moral revolution
took place, aud from it arose the
ideas of social and personal rights
of property; it was then that man
began to cultivate the land, fol
his own and his herds subsist-
ence. This planting and digging
is as much feature of the Kinder.
garten as is any of the other &C.
equations; and the child that is
deprived of the pleasure of having
his own garden or his own flowers,
is deprived of great educative
force.
Now when man began to cult.
vate the land he began to think
of permanent residence, and
then began to erect rude huts
which have progressed up to the
architecture of the present. Ii
the kindergarten gifts the child
eau relive in perfectly educativt
way this primitive instinct Of
building and constructing. These
gifts of Froebel's respond to the
chlld's desire to create, to repro
duce, what he sees around him, al
we'll as to express in all outward
form what he feels within him
self. These building gifts cul
tivate ambidexterity, definite
thought, neatness, patience, anc
a host of other homely virtues
that go towards making the futur,
citizen better and a nobler being
Here we may say a few word
in regard to sewing. 1t is ranked
next to modelling in its value ed
ucationally. Both boys and girl
love to sew partly through I
hereditary instinct, and partl,
through q desire they have of re
producing through their own eff
forts, what they see others arounC
them doing. Sewing dates bacl
to mans first attempt to use 9th
er than the skins of animals 70
clothing. In this Kindergartel
sewing is emphasized both form
and color. The designs are Away
simple and definite, and sew ed il
bright colored worsted.
i Through the child's love of dig
glng and planting in the ground
and his desire to reproduce oh
jects he sees about him, has arisel
his love of modelling, which
connected with the original max
ing of utensils out of clay.
The Kindergarten believes tina
the child only develops properly