Why is kindergarten called kindergarten

Learn why kindergarten is called kindergarten and how it relates to the 4-H program. But why is it called kindergarten? The word kindergarten comes from the German language.

Kinder means children and garten means garden. The term dates back to the 19th century. Friedrich Froebel started the first kindergarten, Garden of Children, in Before , children under the age of 7 did not attend school yet.

Froebel was an educator who believed in self-activity and hands-on learning for children. He also had a love for nature, science and mathematics. He felt children needed to be nurtured and caringly tended to like plants in a garden. Hence, he founded an early education program for young children, which he called kindergarten.

It was a place where children could develop and flourish freely through self- directed play under the guidance, not direction, of the teacher. In essence, Froebel believed that children should be allowed to explore anything that interests them. The role of the educator was to guide the children rather than lecture them.

In , the then Prussian government shut down all kindergartens in the country because they feared it would trigger a socialist revolutionary movement. At the end of the nineteenth century, Germany reopened its kindergarten.

Prior to Froebel, education of toddlers was unheard of. But thanks to him, it is almost inconceivable for kids to start school nowadays without going through kindergarten.

Froebel advocated the use of formally trained teachers to tutor the children in his kindergarten, a sharp departure from the past when anyone with a modicum of education could assume the role of teacher. This curriculum has become a source of reference for kindergartens today. The nineteenth century saw scores of kindergartens being opened around the world.

France and England started the establishment of free kindergartens for kids from underprivileged areas around the s. From these two countries, kindergartens have blossomed around the world. Nevertheless, the overall idea and philosophy still remain the same. Proudly helping the global childcare and early years community. Kindergarten: The Story Behind.

The Launch In , Froebel established the first-ever school for toddlers in Bad Blankenburg, which he initially called the Play and Activity Institute. The Philosophy Friedrich Froebel was the first to introduce the concept of learning through play. The Legacy Prior to Froebel, education of toddlers was unheard of. As a young boy whose mother died before he reached his first birthday, Froebel had largely been left to nourish his own intellect.

He spent much of his youth outside in the family garden, fascinated by the world around him. As an adult, Froebel became an educator at the Frankfurt Model School, which encouraged active learning. After Froebel left to become a private tutor, he often spent time in gardens with his students—a return to the nature that had comforted him when he was a child.

When Froebel finally opened his own school in Blankenburg, Germany, in , he called it the Institution for Play and Occupation.

In , he changed the name to the Garden of Children, because he believed kids were like flowers. This was novel thinking for the era. But Froebel disagreed, believing kids left to their own devices and receiving encouragement from teachers could help them establish a basis for their future education. Froebel encouraged kids to sing songs and play with toys. Through fun activities, they could begin to connect with the larger world around them. Froebel took the kindergarten motif pretty far.

Kids had a flower, fruit, and vegetable garden on school grounds they could tend to.