My niece Jessie and her husband Tyler’s little boy Lincoln just finished his last day of kindergarten. The split photo shows him on his first and last day of kindergarten. He is excited about moving on to first grade. Jessie and Tyler call Lincoln their future President. I have fond memories of kindergarten. My parents sent me to the Catholic kindergarten in town because it was the best. My mother told me when the teacher and students made the sign of the cross with their hands that I shouldn’t do that. I guess that was her only objection since we were Methodists. Top-notch education won out over religion. Sister Ramunda was our teacher, and we all wore white graduation robes and square hats on our last day. My friend Georgia was a kindergarten teacher, and she always emphasizes to me how critical the first five years of a child’s life are. Teachers really can make a difference in children’s future adulthood, depending on how they are treated in school. She says effective preschools and kindergartens can reduce poverty and crime in the future. Let’s learn more about kindergarten.
According to Wikipedia, kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th century in Bavaria and Alsace to serve children whose parents both worked outside home. The term was coined by the German Friedrich Fröbel, whose approach globally influenced early-years education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from 2 to 6 or 7 years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods.
History – early years and development
In 1779, Johann Friedrich Oberlin and Louise Scheppler founded in Strasbourg, France an early establishment for caring for and educating preschool children whose parents were absent during the day. At about the same time, in 1780, similar infant establishments were created in Bavaria. In 1802, Princess Pauline zur Lippe established a preschool center in Detmold, the capital of the then principality of Lippe, Germany, now in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In 1816, Robert Owen, a philosopher and pedagogue, opened the first British and probably globally the first infants’ school in New Lanark, Scotland. In conjunction with his venture for cooperative mills, Owen wanted the children to be given a good moral education — so that they would be fit for work. His system was successful in producing obedient children with basic literacy and numeracy.
Samuel Wilderspin opened his first infant school in London in 1819, and went on to establish hundreds more. He published many works on the subject, and his work became the model for infant schools throughout England and further afield. Play was an important part of Wilderspin's system of education. He is credited with inventing the playground. In 1823, Wilderspin published “On the Importance of Educating the Infant Poor,” based on the school. He began working for the Infant School Society the next year, informing others about his views. He also wrote “The Infant System,” for developing the physical, intellectual and moral powers of all children from one to seven years of age.
Countess Theresa Brunszvik (1775–1861), who had known and been influenced by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, was influenced by his example to open an Angyalkert — "angel garden" in Hungarian — on May 27, 1828, in her residence in Buda, the first of 11 care centers that she founded for young children. In 1836 she established an institute for the foundation of preschool centers. The idea became popular among the nobility and the middle class and was copied throughout the kingdom of Hungary.
History – creation of the kindergarten
Friedrich Fröbel (1782–1852) opened a "play and activity" institute in 1837 in the village of Bad Blankenburg in the principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Thuringia, as an experimental social experience for children entering school. He renamed his institute Kindergarten — meaning garden of children — on June 28, 1840, reflecting his belief that children should be nurtured and nourished "like plants in a garden." He introduced an educational environment into his school, in contrast to other earlier infant establishments, and is therefore credited with the creation of kindergartens. Around 1873, Caroline Wiseneder's method for teaching instrumental music to young children was adopted by the national kindergarten movement in Germany.
Women trained by Fröbel opened kindergartens throughout Europe and around the world. The first kindergarten in the U.S. was founded in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856, and was conducted in German by Margaretha Meyer-Schurz.
Elizabeth Peabody founded the first English-language kindergarten in the U.S. in 1860. The first free kindergarten in the US was founded in 1870 by Conrad Poppenhusen, a German industrialist and philanthropist, who also established the Poppenhusen Institute. The first publicly financed kindergarten in the U.S. was established in St. Louis in 1873 by Susan Blow.
Canada's first private kindergarten was opened by the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in 1870. By the end of the decade, they were common in large Canadian towns and cities. In 1882 the country's first public-school kindergartens were established in Berlin, Ontario — modern Kitchener — at the Central School. In 1885, the Toronto Normal School for teacher training opened a department for kindergarten teaching.
American educator Elizabeth Harrison wrote extensively on the theory of early childhood education and worked to enhance educational standards for kindergarten teachers by establishing what became the National College of Education in 1886.
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, children between the ages of 3 and 6 attend kindergartens. Although kindergartens in Afghanistan are not part of the school system, they are often run by the government.
Early childhood development programs were first introduced during the Soviet occupation with the establishment in 1980 of 27 urban preschools or kodakistan. The number of preschools grew steadily during the 1980s, peaking in 1990 with more than 270 in Afghanistan. At its peak, there were 2,300 teachers caring for more than 21,000 children in the country. These facilities were an urban phenomenon, mostly in Kabul, and were attached to schools, government offices or factories. Based on the Soviet model, these early childhood development programs provided nursery care, preschool and kindergarten for children from 3 months to 6 years of age under the direction of the Department of Labor and Social Welfare.
The vast majority of Afghan families were never exposed to this system, and many of these families were in opposition to these programs due to the belief that it diminishes the central role of the family and inculcates children with Soviet values. With the onset of civil war after the Soviet withdrawal, the number of kindergartens dropped rapidly. By 1995, only 88 functioning facilities serving 2,110 children survived, and the Taliban restrictions on female employment eliminated all of the remaining centers in areas under their control. In 2007, there were about 260 kindergarten/preschool centers serving over 25,000 children. Though every government center is required to have an early childhood center, at present, no governmental policies deal with early childhood and no institutions have either the responsibility or the capacity to provide such services.
Canada
Schools outside of Ontario and the Northwest Territories generally provide one year of kindergarten, except some private schools which offer junior kindergarten for 4-year-olds; school before kindergarten is most commonly referred to as preschool. Kindergarten is mandatory in British Columbia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and is optional elsewhere. The province of Nova Scotia refers to kindergarten as grade primary. After kindergarten, the child begins grade one.
The province of Ontario and the Northwest Territories provide two years of kindergarten, usually part of an elementary school. Within the French school system in Ontario, junior kindergarten is called maternelle and senior kindergarten is called jardin d'enfants, which is a word borrowed from the German word kindergarten.
Within the province of Quebec, junior kindergarten is called prématernelle — which is not mandatory and is attended by 4-year-olds. Senior kindergarten is called maternelle, which is also not mandatory by the age of 5; this class is integrated into primary schools.
China
In China, preschool education — before the child enters formal schooling at 6 years of age — is generally divided into a "nursery" or "preschool" stage and a "kindergarten" stage. These can be two separate institutions or a single combined one in different areas. Where there are two separate institutions, it is common for the kindergarten to consist of the two upper years, and the preschool to consist of one lower year. Common names for these three years are:
1. Nursery (or preschool or playgroup): 3- to 4-year-old children
2. Lower kindergarten: 4- to 5-year-old children
3. Upper kindergarten: 5- to 6-year-old children.
In some places, children at 5–6 years may in addition or instead attend reception or preparatory classes focusing on preparing children for formal schooling.
State or public kindergartens only accept children older than 3 years, while private ones do not have such limitations.
Finland
At the end of the 1850s, Uno Cygnaeus, known as the "father of the Finnish primary school," presented the idea of bringing kindergartens to Finland after attending a kindergarten in Hamburg and a seminar training kindergarten teachers during his study trip to Central Europe. As early as 1920, there were about 80 kindergartens in operation across Finland, with a total of about 6,000 children.
Kindergarten activity emphases and background communities vary. In Finland, most kindergartens are society's service to families while some are private. The underlying philosophy may be Montessori or Waldorf education. Preschools often also operate in connection with Finnish kindergartens. Kindergartens can also arrange language immersion programs in different languages. Finnish kindergartens now have an early childhood education plan, and parenting discussions are held with the parents of each child every year. Among the 13 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Finland has higher-than-average public funding for early childhood education and the highest number of staff for children under the age of 3: only four children per adult.
France
In France, preschool is known as école maternelle — French for "nursery school," literally "maternal school." Free maternelle schools are available throughout the country, welcoming children aged from three to five. Although in many places, children under three may not be granted a place. The ages are divided into grande section (GS: five-year-olds), moyenne section (MS: four-year-olds), petite section (PS: three-year-olds) and toute petite section (TPS: two-year-olds). It became compulsory in 2018 for all children aged three. Even before the 2018 law, almost all children aged three to five attended école maternelle. It is regulated by the Ministry of National Education.
Germany
In Germany, a kindergarten — masculine: der kindergarten, plural kindergärten — is a facility for the care of preschool children who are typically at least three years old. By contrast, kinderkrippe or krippe refers to a crèche for the care of children before they enter kindergarten (9 weeks to about three years), while kindertagesstätte — literally "children's day site", usually shortened to kita — is an umbrella term for any day care facility for preschoolers.
Attendance is voluntary and usually not free of charge. Preschool children over the age of one are entitled to receive local and affordable day care. Within the federal system, kindergärten fall under the responsibility of the states, which usually delegate a large share of the responsibility to the municipalities. Due to the subsidiarity principle stipulated by §4 SGB VIII, there are a multitude of operators, from municipalities, churches and welfare societies to parents' initiatives and profit-based corporations. Many kindergärten follow a certain educational approach, such as Montessori, Reggio Emilia, "Berliner Bildungsprogramm" or Waldorf; forest kindergartens are well established.
Most kindergärten are subsidized by the community councils, with the fees depending on the income of the parents.
Even in smaller townships, there are often both Roman Catholic and Lutheran kindergartens available. Places in crèches and kindergarten are often difficult to secure and must be reserved in advance, although the situation has improved with a new law in effect August 2013. The availability of childcare, however, varies greatly by region. It is usually better in eastern regions, and in big cities in the north, such as Berlin or Hamburg, and poorest in parts of southern Germany.
All caretakers in kita or kindergarten must have a three-year qualified education or are under special supervision during training.
Kindergärten can be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. or longer and may also house a crèche or kinderkrippe for children between the ages of eight weeks and three years, and possibly an afternoon hort — often associated with a primary school — for school-age children aged 6 to 10 who spend time after their lessons there. Alongside nurseries, there are day care nurses working independently of any preschool institution in individual homes and looking after only three to five children, typically up to the age of three. These nurses are supported and supervised by local authorities.
The term vorschule or "preschool" is used both for educational efforts in kindergärten and for a mandatory class that is usually connected to a primary school. Both systems are handled differently in each German state. The schulkindergarten is a type of vorschule.
Hungary
In Hungary a kindergarten is called an óvoda or "place for caring." Children attend kindergarten between ages 3–6/7; they go to school in the year in which they have their 7th birthday. Attendance in kindergarten is compulsory from the age of 3 years, though exceptions are made for developmental reasons. Though kindergartens may include programs in subjects such as foreign language and music, children spend most of their time playing. In their last year, children begin preparation for elementary school.
Most kindergartens are state-funded. Kindergarten teachers are required to have a diploma.
Italy
In the image of a classroom layout from left to right are the restroom, bathroom, playroom and outdoor playground.
In Italy, preschool education refers to two different grades:
- Nursery schools, called asilo nido for children between 3 and 36 months.
- Maternal schools formerly scuola materna and now scuola dell'infanzia, for children three to five years old.
Italian asilo nido were officially instituted in a 1971 State Law and may be run by either private or public institutions. They were originally established to allow mothers a chance to work outside of the home and were therefore seen as a social service. Today, they mostly serve the purpose of general education and social interaction. In Italy, much effort has been spent on developing a pedagogical approach to children's care: well-known is the so-called Reggio Emilia approach, named after the city of Reggio Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna.
Asilo nido normally occupy small one-story buildings, surrounded by gardens; usually suitable for no more than 60 or 70 children. The heart of the asilo nido are the classrooms, split into playroom and restroom; the playroom always has windows and doors leading to the outside playground and garden.
Maternal schools or scuola materna were established in 1968 after State Law n. 444 and are a full part of the official Italian education system, though attendance is not compulsory. Like asilo nido or nursery schools, maternal schools may be held either by public or private institutions.
Japan
Early childhood education begins at home, and there are numerous books and television shows aimed at helping mothers and fathers of preschool children to educate their children and to parent more effectively. Much of the home training is devoted to teaching manners, social skills and structured play, although verbal and number skills are also popular themes. Parents are strongly committed to early education and frequently enroll their children in preschools. Kindergartens, predominantly staffed by young female junior college graduates, are supervised by the Ministry of Education but are not part of the official education system. In addition to kindergartens, there exists a well-developed system of government-supervised nursery schools, supervised by the Ministry of Labor. Whereas kindergartens follow educational aims, nursery schools are predominantly concerned with providing care for infants and toddlers. Together, these two kinds of institutions enroll 86% at age three and 99% at age five prior to their entrance into the formal system at first grade. The Ministry of Education's 1990 Course of Study for Preschools, which applies to both kinds of institutions, covers such areas as human relationships, health, environment, language and expression. Starting from March 2008 the new revision of curriculum guidelines for kindergartens as well as for preschools came into effect.
Romania
In Romania, grădiniţă — literally "small garden" — is the favored form of education for preschool children usually aged three to six. The children are divided into three age groups: "little group" (grupa mică, age 3–4), "medium group" (grupa mijlocie, age 4–5) and "big group" (grupa mare, age 5–6). In the last few years private kindergartens have become popular, supplementing the state preschool education system. Attending kindergarten is not compulsory.
The "preparatory school year" or clasa pregătitoare is for children aged 6–7, and since it became compulsory in 2012, it usually takes place inside regular school classrooms and is considered "year 0" of elementary education, bridging the gap between kindergarten and years 1-4 of elementary school.
Russia
In the Russian Federation, Детский сад — dyetskiy sad, literal translation of "children's garden" — is a preschool educational institution for children, usually three to six years of age.
United States
In the United States, kindergarten is usually part of the K-12 educational system. In most schools, children begin kindergarten at age five for one year. Forty-three of the fifty states — the exceptions being Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania — require school districts to offer a kindergarten year. Students develop skills such as numeracy, literacy and a greater awareness of the world around them geographically, scientifically, socially and culturally.
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