The kindergarten in the home; a book for parents and for all interested in child-training

Front matter

Glass Uili£l

CofyrightU?

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT.

Preface

— * —

Each year of work in the Kindergarten deepens the conviction that in Froebel's writings are hidden rich gems for the mother in her work of home building and child nurture.

His style, however, is somewhat obscure, and the busy mother with her limited time for reading is not likely, unaided, to penetrate into his deep secrets.

It, therefore, becomes both the duty and the privilege of those who have the leisure and inclination to delve into these mines of truth, to unearth and bring to the notice of

vii viii PREFACE

those actively engaged in child nurture these priceless gems.

To present in a simple and attractive form some of the truths underlying Froebel's system of education is the object of this book.

If, by its words, a deeper reverence for

child-nature is awakened in some breast ; if

new light is thrown upon the problems

which confront parents in their work; if

fresh inspiration and joy is kindled in some

heart and some home blessed thereby, its

mission will be fulfilled, and the writer

abundantly repaid for the hours spent upon it.

Having found a source of light and inspiration one longs to lead other thirsty souls to the same fountain.

The deep importance of the first years of life, and the impressions gained then, grows on one as the years go by, and makes one

PREFACE ix

long for the privilege of assisting, in some

humble way, In the great work of training

>. the coming citizens of the world.

May it be true of this little book that wherever it goes " the grass grows greener still." Because of its message may some little life unfold in greater beauty and perfection.

Careie S. Newman.

Toronto, May, 1909.

Contents

CHAPTER

I. The First Gift

II. Play with the Limbs .

Chapter I

A little stranger had arrived at the Brown homestead and as the dear mother lay resting, with the precious bundle, her first-born son, asleep beside her, her thoughts travelled back over the past months of joyful preparation.

There, in the bureau bought for this special purpose, lay the dainty little garments it had been such a joy to fashion,

and side by side with the tiny shirts and

l jackets lay the coloured Kindergarten balls she had made, " food for his heart and mind," as she laughingly told her friends. Thinking of the balls, she lifted her eyes to what she called " the baby's shelf," as on it were kept the books she and the dear father had studied so earnestly during the past months. There was the valuable book on the care of the little body, but more precious still were the books telling how to care for the awakening mind and soul. Oh, what an earnest prayer arose in her heart for blessings on the dear friend who had first led her to see that in her baby she would have not only a little body to care for, but, wonderful thought, an immortal soul, and that to a very great extent the making or marring of that soul lay in her hands !

As week after week she and her husband had read and pondered on this gigantic thought, the tremendous responsibility of parenthood had taken hold of them and touched them deeply, so that many times a day the prayer rose spontaneously in their hearts, " Father, make us fit to have a little child to train.''

Tears of joy sprang to her eyes as she recalled the look on Frank's face as he said to her at their last reading, " If every man could gain an insight into this teaching what different lives we should all live. I feel bigger and stronger every time I dip into one of these books."

Presently a smile hovered over her face as she recalled the laughter and fun they had learning to sing nursery rhymes and play ball games that they might be ready in every way for their little visitor. Then, too, what a depth of meaning they had often found in these little songs that at first sight seemed so simple!

" As soon as I am strong enough I must gather some of my mother-friends together and interest them in this study," was the next thought of this awakened mother. Frank coming in just then she told Mia this thought. He heartily agreed, only adding, " Why leave out the fathers? '

During the first few weeks of our baby's earthly life he nursed and slept, slept and nursed as all good babies should. One day during this time our mother ran in to visit one of her neighbours and found her ten-weeks' old baby lying in the cradle sucking a rubber nipple.

" You must get one of these comforts for your baby," said her friend. " They are comforts indeed: as soon as he gets restless we just put it in his mouth and it keeps him quiet for a long time."

" No," said our mother thoughtfully, " I don't think I shall. It doesn't seem to me that is a right principle to work on. He isn't physically hungry, why then put something into his mouth? It seems to me the same thing as trying to satisfy an older child who is restless because he is unoccupied, by giving him a cake or some candy. Is it not training him to seek satisfaction in the physical nature rather than in the intellectual and spiritual? "

" But how could you give a wee baby intellectual and spiritual food? " was the astonished answer.

" Come to our home this evening and I will show you the coloured balls and tell you about the songs and games we have prepared for just this purpose," was her reply as she took her departure happy in the thought of sharing with another the great light that had come into her own life.

As Baby Robert, as he had been named, neared his third month he spent more time wide awake. The parents wisely refrained from taking him up as soon as he awakened, and let him lie as long as he was content. When he became restless, however, they hung the soft red ball where he could watch it comfortably, sometimes lowering it so that as he tossed his hands about he would touch it and set it gently in motion. Often they were rewarded by chuckles and coos of delight.

Then the mother began regularly playing with her baby, using the ball as his first plaything, realizing that as he had a three-fold nature and that play was the means provided for educating the heart and mind as well as the body in early life, this was as essential to his development as the daily food and bath and should be as carefully planned for.

With the little fellow sitting on her lap, she would swing the ball gently to and fro by its string, singing " Here, there," or "To and fro," or, suiting the action to the words, " Up, Down," " Around and around," or " Jump, ball, jump," baby's eyes following the movement. At first these games were played very gently and just for a few minutes at a time, both the length of time and the vigour being gradually increased to keep pace with baby's development.

One of the books studied both before and after baby's arrival was " Pedagogics of the Kindergarten," by Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the Kindergarten. This, together with Kindergarten song books by various authors, supplied them with suggestions for these early games as well as later ones.

This playtime soon became a great joy not only to baby but to his father and mother as well.

After several weeks' play with the red ball, the blue ball was put in its place, this followed by the yellow, then the three played with together, and they soon became familiar and dearly loved playmates, care being taken to use the colour name very often, talking and singing of " Red Ball," " Blue Ball," or whichever was being used at the time. The orange, green and violet were not given him till a later period.

At first father or mother played the game, while baby watched, but very soon he could join in. He learned to grasp the ball by having it put into his tiny palm and the fingers closed gently around it, and it was not long before he would laugh gaily when one of them took hold of the string and pulled it out of his hand. His hold became stronger each time this game was played, showing that the muscles were being developed by the exercise. Care was taken that both hands were used in these games that both sides of the body should be equally developed.

One day about this time as Father was carrying Robert across the room he noticed his eyes fastened on the pendulum of the clock as it swung to and fro. He paused and holding him up before it swung the little arm in imitation. It soon became a regular thing thus to stop and imitate, the swing of the pendulum and the ticktock of the clock, then to play that the balls were pendulums.

Robert and his mother spent much time every day out of doors, for this she considered very important for them both, and there were few days so stormy that they were not able, well- wrapped, to visit nature for at least a few minutes.

" Above all things," said this mother, " I do not want our child to be a hothouse plant."

So every care was taken both before and after birth to give this little soul a strong, healthy body to work with: good wholesome food, cleanliness, plenty of fresh air, wise physical exercise and high, noble thoughts were to them the necessary conditions for a healthy body, and these they earnestly strove to supply.

In these outdoor rambles our mother found that the objects which first attracted her baby were animals. She was surprised to find at what an early age the cat, dog, chickens and flying birds appealed to him, and she began at once to develop this love for his " dumb brothers " by herself expressing sympathy by means of caresses and kind words, often, too, laying the tiny hand on the back of doggy or pussy and so helping baby to pet them. Crumbs and seeds were frequently taken with them to draw the birds and chickens they met on their way close about baby's carriage. These little experiences were repeated with the balls, indoors, and great was the parents' delight when in answer to the words, " My little bird," sung by one of them, baby would swing his ball.

When Robert was strong enough to sit on a quilt or rug on the floor he would often amuse himself with his bright balls for a long time, and many a jolly game he and father had rolling and tossing the balls or playing they were doggies running, pussies jumping or birds flying, and great was the joy of both parents when baby joined his little cooing, humming sound to the song. Years after it was the proud boast of Robert, " My father and I have been chums since long before I could walk."

He used to declare that he could remember these plays of his first year, but that was probably because one of his dearest life-long treasures was a book containing the history of his first seven years. There on the first page was the photograph of his parents on their wedding day, while page two showed them at the time of his birth with the house and the room in which he was born. Then came photographs of himself in many different positions, first in long clothes, then in short, asleep in his first bed, in his carriage, in mother's arms, in father's, sitting alone and so on. Here he saw himself taking his first steps, in his first boys' suit; saw how he looked when he first went to school. Here he had a record of the first word he spoke, the date when he first walked alone, and accounts of his first games, his first pets, his first friends, his owu quaint sayings, all written in the one dear handwriting.

" It must have been a lot of bother to make this book/' he once said to his mother. " Why did you do it? "

" Well, dear," was the answer, ".I had often wished that I knew more of my own early life. I questioned with one of our Kindergarten writers, ' Should we not better understand what we are if we knew how we came to be? ' and so I felt it might be a help to you children to have these early records."

When Robert began to creep about, which he did very early as he had from the first been given plenty of opportunity to kick and toss about his little limbs, his father made a fence which could in a moment be set up in nursery or sitting room or in fine weather on the lawn, and as quickly taken down, and in this fold with his dear woolly lamb, his rag-doll and his bright balls, he was as happy as a king while mother sat near by with her sewing or moved about attending to household duties.

When the parents found that baby was pleased with a sharp noise such as he could make by pounding with a spoon they knew he was ready for Froebel's second gift, the wooden sphere, cube and cylinder. So one day when father was rolling one of the soft balls back and forth to baby, who was being helped by mother to perform his part of the game, he exchanged it for the wooden sphere and both were interested to see the puzzled look on baby's face as he heard the sound on the bare floor. It was added to his playthings and many of the old games played with it and some new ones added, the addition of ability to make sounds giving great pleasure.

One of the games of which he never tired was to watch the sphere roll round and round on a plate as it was inclined first this way and then that, while father or mother sang,

" Around, Around ; How happy now am I.

Around Around, I turn now full of glee.

Be happy thou like me,"

or some other rhyme improvised for the purpose.

Robert had been playing with the balls for some little time when his mother noticed that he put out his hand as she carried him past the round top of the balustrade post, and seemed much pleased when she stopped and let him touch it, showing that he was beginning to notice the forms about him and pick out the familiar ones. Sometime before this he had put out his little hands towards bright-coloured objects like his balls.

When the wooden cube was put amongst his playthings he soon discovered that it would not move like his ball, which ran away from him at the slightest touch.

With the cubes and cylinder he began his first building and amused himself for longer and longer periods piling one upon another and then pushing them down.

A lady who made the Browns a visit at this time was greatly interested in little Robert and his first educational steps and had many questions to ask about it. u It seems to me," she said one day, "a most sensible idea to choose from out the great chaos of forms and colours with which the civilized child finds himself surrounded when he awakens in this new world, those which are typical and present them one at a time so that he may get a few clear, distinct impressions in place of many vague, indistinct ones. It certainly must be a wonderful help to the young mind and build up the brain in a way which would be impossible otherwise. Then, too, to connect the sensation received through the senses as he looks at and handles his gifts with the proper terms and this by means of song, the voice of love, is a most happy thought."

Eobert was six months old when Mrs. Brown decided to take into their home for a few months the three children of her widowed sister while she was absent in a distant part of the country. " I am the more pleased to clo this because I have always felt that Mary did not understand her children and was making some serious mistakes in their training, and this will give me an opportunity to study them and so be better able to advise her/' said she to her husband.

" And the effort to understand and help them will be the very best preparation for understanding our own children," was his answer.

The three little visitors were Jamie, who had just passed his sixth birthday, Lulu, four years of age, and May, aged two and a half.

The nurse who had been with them since Jamie's babyhood came to help take care of them. She was a kind-hearted Scotch woman who loved the children dearly but thought it unwise to show her love. She had been brought up on a system of repression and strove to apply the same methods with her young charges. " Children must be obedient," were the words most often on her lips, and Mrs. Gray was often congratulated on having such an excellent nurse who took almost entire charge of the children, leaving her much time to devote to church and society duties.

Up to her light Nursie was a most excellent woman and as a mother's assistant would have been most valuable, relieving her of much of the physical care and strain that she might be free to nourish the higher nature of her children, but what hireling however competent can take a mother's place? Alas, how many of God's little ones are bountifully, often luxuriously, cared for in all external ways, while their inner selves are stunted, dwarfed, starved for lack of intelligent care and understanding !

Nursie's chief concern was to keep her little charges fresh and clean and to protect their bodies from all danger and disease; it was her proud boast that no scratch or bruise Avas ever to be found upon them.

That children grow by means of activity of body and mind; that experimenting, testing, trying their wings was an absolute necessity for full development, and that in developing we must often make mistakes, and do a certain amount of stumbling and falling, was a theory of which she had never dreamed. She, good woman, felt guilty if for a moment one of them strayed out of her sight or met with the slightest accident. " Always ask me before you do anything; then you won't get into trouble," was her kindly meant but unwise advice.

However, of late even she had begun to feel that something was wrong, whether with the children or herself she hardly knew. Master Jamie was sullen and discontented, Lulu often so stubborn she could do nothing with her, while Baby May seemed the very personification of mischief the moment her eye was off her.

So when Mrs. Brown with much trepidation suggested that as soon as the children felt at home she should take charge of them during the morning and leave her free to assist with the housework and sewing, much to her surprise Nursie made no objection, though she said, "I'm afraid, Ma'am, you'll find them a handful. They are very hard to manage, though they've been so carefully brought up."

During the first days while Nursie was in full charge both Mr. and Mrs. Brown kept their eyes and ears wide open in their anxiety to understand the children and the particular needs of each. With their knowledge of and sympathy with child-nature they were not long in putting their ringer on the source of the sullenness and discontent almost habitually pictured on Jamie's face, and of the stubborn fits Nursie complained of in Lulu.

They saw that Nursie 's training consisted very largely of an almost continuous series of " Don'ts." When the children were taken out of doors they were naturally seized with a desire to examine everything within sight, to run and jump and caper as all young things should, but Nursie 's idea was to take them for a walk, little May holding her hand and Lulu and

Jamie walking before her, according to her ideas, " Like a little lady and gentleman." Any attempt to run on ahead, to jump off the sidewalk, to examine the hundreds of curious things in the grass or the little ponds, was quickly repressed, " They'd make themselves hot, or soil their clothes, or fall and hurt themselves." And so we have the sight, sad indeed to one who understands child-nature, its needs and grand possibilities, but which may be seen in any city on any pleasant summer day, of little children starched and befrilled, compelled to walk up and down the board walks as sedately as if they were eighty years of age, blind and deaf to the wonders with which the great world is everywhere teeming, God's lesson books spread out before the childish eyes, Nature crying out " Look, touch, handle, learn,"

but ignorance commanding " Leave it alone, you 11 soil your clothes/'

Mrs. Brown, with Robert in his carriage accompanied Nurse and the children on one of these walks. A few days afterward she said, " Nurse, suppose I take the children out this morning so you can sort the clothes and see to the mending. But put on some plain clothes and their stout shoes, so that it won't matter if they should soil them." Nurse looked her disapproval of the latter request, for of all things she loved to see them daintily dressed when they went out, but the prospect of a morning free from the children, together with the quiet determination in Mrs. Brown's face and voice, kept her silent.

When the children returned from their walk with rosy cheeks and tongues which could not move quickly enough in their desire to tell Uncle Frank, whom they had met on their way home, of all they had seen and done, they looked askance at their dusty shoes and dirty hands and said in a whisper, " What will Nursie say? "

But Auntie only laughed, and leading them round to the side door helped them off with their shoes, saying, " Now run up to Nursie and ask her to wash your hands and faces and give you your slippers."

After lunch Lulu as well as May, much to Nursie's surprise, was ready for a nap, and Jamie amused himself for a long time sorting the leaves, stones and flowers which he had brought home. Under Uncle's direction he made holes in the top of a box for a home for a beautiful caterpillar he had found and, joy of joys to the hungry young naturalist— and what child is not that? — had not only been allowed but encouraged to bring home and keep as a pet.

The next day and for several days afterwards the rain poured down, so instead of a walk Mrs. Brown had to devise indoor work and play. Early in the morning she came upon Jamie sulking behind a door. She waited until Nurse had gone into another room, then followed and inquired about it.

" He has some nonsense about going out to get leaves for a caterpillar or something of that kind. Of course he can't go out in the rain/' was the reply.

Mrs. Brown made no comment, but after some pleasant chat about the style for Lulu's new dress — a subject very dear to Nursie's heart— in which she gave up her own idea and allowed Nurse to have her way, thinking, " It will pay to give in in these external matters for the sake of winning in the higher/ ' she said, " Don't you think we might put on Jamie's coat and rubbers and let him run out for the leaves? It won't take a minute if I go with him and it will make kim happy." Winning a somewhat reluctant agreement, she ran off to comfort Jamie's heart, whispering to her husband as she passed him in the hall, " You can't imagine how diplomatic I'm growing."

Coming upstairs, broom and dust-pan in hand, later in the morning jSTursie was surprised and mystified at the happy scene in the nursery. Baby Eobert sat in the centre of the group on the floor holding one of his beloved balls, and from time to time imitating the others, who just now were listening breathlessly to Auntie as she told them a wonderful story about

Jamie 's caterpillar; how if he fed it every day with some of the green leaves he had found it upon, it would spin a tiny nest in which it would go to sleep, then by and by wake up no longer a creeping caterpillar but a glorious butterfly such as they had often seen flying about. The children then played that the balls were caterpillars crawling on the ground, eating green leaves, then spinning a cocoon and going to sleep to finally wake up beautiful butterflies sipping honey from imaginary flowers made by the left hand while the right hand held the ball, accompanying the game with the little song " Fuzzy little Caterpillar/ 9 found in the Finger-Play Book by Emilie Poullson, the pictures of which greatly interested them.

Presently Lulu jumped up, and running to a bouquet of real flowers on the table m KINDERGARTEN IN THE HOME

let her butterfly (ball) sip the honey there, and the other children quickly followed.

" I didn't know there was honey in flowers/' said Jamie.

To which Auntie answered by breaking off a nasturtium bloom and letting him taste the drop of sweet juice hidden in it. She then suggested that each should find about the room all the objects of the same colour as the ball he held, making the agreement that they should not touch anything, but tell her what they found.

While she was busy with Robert a gay party of discoverers was at work in this and adjoining rooms, and there were continual shouts of " Auntie, this curtain's red; " " Auntie, your pincushion has some blue on it," etc.

As it was now time for Robert's morning nap, Auntie called the children to her, and, giving to each of them a saucer full of Kindergarten beads (large wooden beads of the six colours of the spectrum, indigo being omitted as too difficult for the children to discriminate) and a shoe-string, she left them to the ever-fascinating stringing of beads.

This box of beads was a great source of joy all through the winter to the two younger children, and for sometime to Jamie also.

At first simply stringing the beads satisfied them, afterwards they enjoyed having a set task given them, such as, thread all the red, all the green, all the yellow; one yellow, one violet; two blue, three red, and repeat till the string is full. Sometimes they played the beads were fruit and picked out the oranges, the red apples or the grapes, either stringing them or arranging them in rows. Jamie liked to play he was store-keeper and sell the different fruits and vegetables to the others. Then, that they might learn the source of these things, Auntie would suggest that they play they were trees or vines and fasten the coloured balls on for fruit.

The beads are not all spheres, but cubes and cylinders as well, and sometimes the children came to Auntie and Nurse as they sat sewing, selling spools (cylinders) of coloured silk or boxes (cubes) containing all sorts of wonderful things, when Auntie would say, " Yes, I'll take four spools of green silk," or " Give me five boxes of pins, please, three blue and two yellow," and then help the little tradesman to pick out the correct number, giving him thus in his play much exercise in counting and so preparing him for his later school work.

Little May liked to have two boxes to fill and refill with the beads.

Adding the large cubes and cylinder of the Second Gift gave many more possibilities in the way of store-keeping and other games invented by the children, helped out by occasional suggestions from Aunt or Uncle. Imitating the work going on in the home, the cube was sometimes a stove on which bead kettles and saucepans gaily boiled, while water from the cylinder standing beside it and connected by sticks for water pipes was freely drawn to wash the bead dishes, the lively sphere making a most active and busy cook; on a second cube were carefully arranged the jars of jelly and preserves which Lulu displayed with housewifely pride. Mrs. Brown never failed to enter with genuine interest into such pla}^ realizing that by her sympathy she was watering seeds which were well worth nurturing in view of the fruit they would yield in later life. The child's actual powers are so limited that without this imaginative play the spirit would be sadly cramped and fettered.

The long oblong box in which the Second Gift forms are kept, with the round and squared sticks which come with it, made excellent boats and carts to be loaded with all sorts of merchandise and dragged about the room.