The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-01-16
Kindergarten
Helps for Parents
Articles Issued BY the Department
offfe Interior. Bureau of Education
and the
National Observation-Disclosures
CHILD'S EVERYDAY EDUCATION
Rx KATHERINE REERE

(Author OF kindergarten Activities.")
In one of her interesting and iIlumi-
mating articles published by the Out
look Elizabeth Childs quotes at length
from q book by Gayley called "Idols
of Education" in which the trials Of
the college with uneducated high
school students, of the high school
with uneducated grammar pupils. and
of the grammar school with unediI-
Gated children from the homes are con
vincingly set forth; the conclusion be
ing that many a child arrives in the
kindergarten ga badly damaged arti-
Gle"
kindergartners know this to be true
When the new group comes in in Sep
TENDER it's members can at once be
roughly classified into two divisions
the trained and the unframed. The
former are the teachers delight. tn"
latter her problem. The former can be
led onward and upward by means o,
normal and joyous activity withoul
friction or loss of time The latter
must be worked over, wept over, OK
perimented with. disciplined and led AZ
far along the road as their unfortunate
variety of handicaps will permit.
The Mothers Viewpoint.
Now what has happened at home to
two such little creatures equally en-
dowed at birth? What is the reaso'l
for this unhappy difference? The AZ
swer is in the fact that the mother OF
the one child from the first intimation
of its existence has consciously or sub,
consciously reasoned with herself in
some such way as this: This little
new life will come to me possessed of
Il growing body, and expanding mind.
4 developing soul. During the first
years his growth will be so rapid and
SO vigorous that what he learns viii
set the tendencies for his whole f.
ture. He will get in proportion more
education in the first five years than
in the twenty which follow. and this
education will be an everyday edCca
ton. During all his waking hours he
will be learning, observing, absorb ng.
Everything he sees, everything he
hears. everything he does will count.
II | want him to be strong, alert, wise
and good I must begin at the beginning
and carry on | must learn from the
best authorities how to care for his
precious body; | must take counsel
with experts in child training for the
sake of his opening mind; | must tai.
to him, walk with him, play with him,
read to him; I must provide for hirl
place in which to play as we'll as to
eat and sleep; must see that he has
playmateS; | must teach him to play
alone, to entertain himself; he must
learn to love to work, first by heIpin',
me and later by having set tasks;
must know where lie is and what he is
doing all the time and we two must
be loving, sympathetic, intimate
friends
And that other mother-what does
she say to herself consciously or sub
consciously? Let us be honest and
face the facts. for judging by her re.
suits it is something like this: ''It is
lovely to have this darling baby and
| am Just going to enjoy him in my
own way; l don't believe these people
I who make such q fuss about trainin"
children get on better than those of Us
who don't bother about all this mod
ern highbrow stuff. mother knows
best what to do for her own child. OF
course [ will take good care of his
body for I want him to be well, but for
fhn fret f0w 7 trninO tn lpt
him be happy little animal. | dOn'i
like to play with children anyway
and reading to them is bore Be
sides, l am too busy. He can just play
around as other children do and wher
the time comes, go to the kindergarten
and to school and be taught there
While he is at home and my baby | an
going to do just as want with him
Being my child, he will of course come
out all right in the end
Danger in Neglect.
Now sometimes he does. but in spite
of them. Thanks to his teachers, his
| companions and the sharp lessons OF
| experience he often manages to grow
up fairly decent man. But, oh, wha
he has missed! And alas for the pow
ers of mind and soul which never I'm
| folded, for the spiritual development
| unpossessed which might have beer
! hisi
| On the other hand, often he doesn't
| and N view of this fact how does an,
| mother dare to take chances? Fol
| from the ranks of the so-called. an(
well-called. spoiled children come thu
| fretful, fractions, screaming, unhapp!
babies; the shy. self-conscieus and I'm
/ controlled kindergarten children TIL,
! irresponsible scatter-brains of the pub
| lie school whose school life is one ION:
| series of adjustments between parent: