'i^^^./^ uJtiii i#i^^^''v^w::rr;-; ^.li^'^^^i^^si^^ iw#& ,!13riARY0FC0NGREr .■.10. ...:.. ILorerisW po ■y,]^Y]) 8TATKf! OP A'^'plM ^rV^^vw^M^^'"'-^^'^ ■:^?«"«vv^M:,^«^f3v,:--:r:; >^-^ ^\^^^^^^^..:, '^^^f^^i^m^^ ^vi^sjjr'-"""-^-'--"— *■ z&i€msmmmmm ^^m^m;ctt:^ MiiT ^sm^w^^i^i^^^^^^^'---^^^^ KINDEE-GAETEN CULTUEE A SUCCINCT EXPOSE OF FRIEDRICH FROEBELS EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES IN CONNECTION WITH THE KINDER-GARTEN. DESCRIBING ALL ITS MEANS OF OCCUPATION IN THEIR LOGICAL CONNECTION WITH ONE ANOTHER; SHOWING THEIR USE AND POINTING OUT THE RESULTING DEVELOP- MENT WHICH MAY BE EXPECTED IF THEY ARE PROPERLY EMPLOYED. / ,V, 1 EDWARD ViEB:E], AUTHOK OF "PAKADISE OF CHILDHOOD:" A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO KINDER- GARTNERS, &c. MILTON BRADLEY & COMPANY, SPRINGFIELD, MASS. L6II97 PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. The following was originally prepared by Prof. Wiebe, as a lecture covering the whole ground of Kinder-Garten culture, for the pur- pose of interesting the educators of this coun- try in the subject by presenting it to them in a condensed form, and as the Kinder-Garten is so little understood in America, it may not be inappropriate to preface the essay with the opinions of some of our prominent educators, in regard to this as well as the Paradise of Childhood by the same author. Gen. John Eaton, commissioner of educa- tion at Washington, in a letter to the author referring to this lecture says : " I am satisfied that it has real merit and should be given to the public, not so much for its adaptation to satisfy a popular demand, as to meet the ne- cessity for information on this important sub- ject among educators." Mr. J. W. Dickinson, principal of the State Normal School, at Westfield, Mass., says: "Froebel's methods of Kinder-Garten instruc- tion, are in accordance with the constitution of the human mind. If correctly and faith- fully applied, these methods must secure a natural, yet systematic use of the child's men- tal powers in their early activity. I com- mend Prof Edward Wiebe's illustrations of Froebel's system of primary instruction to ever)^ teacher in this country." Miss Elizabeth P. Peabody who is earn- estly working for the introduction of Froe- bel's principles into American schools, and who has done more than all others by per- sonal effort to bring the subject before Amer- ican educators, says in a private letter to the author : " I have just read your lecture, which is the most complete thing I have ever seen, and which I wish could be printed and added to your Paradise of Childhood, in which case it would make iAai a still more perfect thing. The lecture, as delivered would be lost in effect, somewhat, by reason of its being so loaded with thought, and so concisely ex- pressed, that a mere hearer could not grasp it. It is material that could be expanded into a dozen lectures, to say tlie least." * * * " It is the most important document yet presented to the American people, and if un- derstood will do the most to prevent pseudo Kinder-Gartening." In a letter to the publishers urging the pub- lication of this lecture, as of great value to the educational interests of the countr)-. Miss Peabody says : " Mr. Wiebe's lecture is more of the philosophy of the Froebel metliod than I thought could be put on paper." Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1871, by Miltom Bradley & Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congren at Washington. KINDER-GARTEN CULTURE. The fundamental principle of the Kinder-Garten system of education, so clearly laid down in his writ- ings, and so successfully carried out in practice by Friedrich Froebel, is expressed in the axiom, that, be- fore ideas can be defined, perceptions must have pre- ceded ; objects must have been presented to the sen- ses, and by their examination experiences acquired of their being, quality and action, of which detinite ideas are the logical results, w^ith which they are there- fore inseparably connected. It is not claimed that this principle originated with the inventor of the Kin- der-Garten ; for long before him it was said that : " Nihil est in intellectu, quod antea non fuerit in sensu," but, in the Kinder-Garten system, he has furnished all material to begin the education of mankind on this logical basis. Definite ideas are to originate as abstractions from perceptions. (Anschauungen, as the Germans say, meaning literally the looking at% or into things. ) If they do not originate in such manner they are not the prod- uct of one's own mental activity, but simply the consent of the understanding to the ideas of others. By far the greatest part of all acquired knowledge with the mass of the people, is of this kind. Every one, how- ever, even the least gifted, may acquire a stock of fundamental perceptions, which shall serve as points of relation in the process of thinking. Indefinite or confused fundamental or elementary perceptions pre- vent understanding words with precision, which is nec- essary to reflecting on the ideas and thoughts of others with clearness, and appropriating them to one's self. In the fact that a large majority of persons are lacking in clear and distinct fundamental perceptions, we find cause for the existence of so many confused heads, full of the most absurd notions. The period of life in which the first fundamental perceptions are formed must necessarily be our earliest childhood. They can form only during this state of. as it were, mental un- consciousness, because the impressions on the senses can best be fixed lastingly upon the soul, when this process is least disturbed by reflection ; and impres- sions of objects of the world without upon our senses, are made more or less clearly and distinctly, accord- ing to the nature of these objects themselves. A mere acquisition of perceptions, however, is not sufficient. As in the development of all organism in nature, a certain, peculiar series of events takes place, which always must be the same, or at least take place in ac- cordance with the same law, to reach the same aim, or produce the same form ; so, also, in mental devel- opment, a peculiar process, a natural series of events must take place without disturbing occurrences, to successfully reach the corresponding idea in the mind. This series of events in the mind and heart, connected with the process of thinking, is in philosophy ex- plained to consist of: ist. A general or total impres- sion. 2d. A perception or looking on a single thing. 3d. Observation of qualities and relations. 4th. Com- parison. 5th. Judging. 6th. Conclusion. Although a right selection of objects, and their proper succes- sion, are of the first importance, adherence to these two conditions is not yet sufficient to prepare and ac- custom the mind to logical thinking ; these means should be applied or presented in a systematic, me- thodical way, also. A system of education in perfect accordance with the laws of nature is only possible, therefore, when the modus operandi of the natural functions of the soul, during their development, is fully understood, and the exact means are discovered to assist these functions in a corresponding manner from without. As long as this is not done, the education of the human race is left to be the result of chance, and at the mercy of mere educational instinct. We claim that the significance of Froebel's educational sys- tem consists mainly in a perfect understanding of the natural process of mental development. This under- standing guided him in preparing certain means of education, or play, all following the same course as the mental development which they are intended to promote. No man has ever looked so deeply as Friedrich Froebel into the secret workshop of a child's soul, and so successfully discovered the means and their methodical application for a development of the young mind in accordance with nature's own laws. To be certain that the natural course of development be not interrupted but logically assisted, the child's instinct should have free choice within appointed limits, and still be obliged to receive the objects as they are presented to it for the first perceptions. The means to obtain this, Froebel has found in allowing KINDER-GARTEN CULTURE. the child to manipulate the things destined for the production of changes according to his own choice. Thereby the child will be led to devote attention to the objects formed, because he looks upon them as his own work, and rejoices in what he is able to do. That free unrestricted activity of the child, which we call play, alone can comply with these conditions ; any thing eXsc/orciJ upon the child, can never be success- fully employed for this purpose. A desire of acquir- ing knowledge of things, is an innate faculty of the soul, hence there is no need of forcing the child into making acquaintance with the things given him to play with. We have only to select for his playthings the fundamental forms, which, like the typical forma- tions in nature, offer, as it were, a fundamental scheme for an acquaintance with the large multitude of things Knowledge of things can be acquired only by acqui- sition of a knowledge of their qualities. We then have to provide ojects in which the general qualities of things are shown in perfect distinctness, in order to produce thereby clear and lasting perceptions in the mind of the child. These objects should be such that they may be easily manipulated by the limited strength of the child, that he may become acquainted with them by their use, and become enabled thereby to gather experiences in regard to events and facts in the physical world, and may, so to say, serve him for the first physical experiments. Examining the list of Froebel's Kinder-Garten occupation material, we find it to consist of the following : 1. Six soft balls of various colors. 2. Sphere, cube, and cylinder, made of wood. 3. Large cube, divided into eight sm.ill cubes. 4. Large cube, divided into eight oblong blocks. 5. Large cube, consisting of 21 whole, 6 half and 12 quarter cubes. 6. Large cube, consisting of 18 whole oblongs with 3 divided lengthwise and 6 divided breadthwise. 7. Quadrangular, and various triangular tablets for laying figures. 8. Staffs or wands for laying figures. 9. Whole and half wire rings for laying figures. 10. Material for drawing. 11. Material for perforating. 12. Material for embroidering. 13. Material for paper cutting and combining the parts into symmetrical figures. 14. Material for weaving or braiding. 15. Slats for interlacmg. 16. 19. Slats with 4, 6, 8, and 16 links. Paper strips for lacing. Material for paper folding. Material for peas work. 20. Material for modeling.* The list begins with the ball, an object, comprising in itself, in the simplest manner, the general qualities of all things. As the starting point of form — the spherical — it gives the first impression of form, and being the most easily moved of all forms, is symboli- cal of life. It becomes the first known object, with which all other objects for the child's ^lay are brought into relation. Beside teaching form, the balls are also intended to teach color, hence their number of six, representing three primary and three secondary colors. The principle of combining, uniting, or bring- ing into relation of opfosiles, which is a governing law throughout all occupations in the Kinder-Garten, is applied here to discriminating primary and secondary colors, the latter being produced by a combination of two of the former.t For the purpose of acquiring clear and distinct, correct ideas of things around us, it is indispensably necessary to become acquainted with them in all res- pects and relations. The balls are made the object of a great variety of plays or occupations, to make the child become well acquainted with its uses, and to enable him to handle it gracefully. Then, for the purpose of comparison, the second Gift is introduced, consisting of sphere, cube, and cylinder. We can here, certainly not yet speak of a rational comparison on the part of the young child, but simply of an imme- diate, sensual perception or observation of the simi- larities and differences existing in the things pre- sented. The child will find by looking at the three new objects exhibited to him that the sphere is just like the ball, except in its material. The first impres- sion, that of roundness, made upon the child by the many colored, soft balls, finds here its further devel- opment by the fact that this quality is found in this wooden ball, or the sphere, as he may be led to name it, learning a new word. To facilitate the process of comparison, the objects to be compared should first be as different as possible, opposites in a certain sense. The opposition between sphere and cube relates to their form. Together with the oppositional, or dif- ference in objects, their similarity should in the mean- time be made prominent, for comparison demands to detect equality and similarity of things as well as their • The above aixangcment and numbering of the Gifts, adopted by writers on the Kinder Garten, and manufacturers of its occupation material, has been retained here, as a change could not well be made without producing much confusion. The logical connection of the Gifts, as described in this paper, can not be affected in the least by the numbers attached to them for the purpose of designating them as articles of manufacture. t When the secondary colors are presented, it would be well to have three pieces of glass of the three primary colors, and let the chil- dren take two and look through them toward the light, which would teach them sensuously the combinations. KINDER-GARTEN CULTURE. distinction by inequality and dissimilarity. The cyl- inder introduced as the mediatory between the oppo- sites in form, given here, is the simplest and imme- diately suggested mediative form, because it com- bines the qualities of both cube and sphere in itself. These three whole bodies, introduced as fundamen- tal or normal forms or shapes, in which all quali- ties of whole bodies in general are demonstrated, and which serve to convey the idea of an impression of the whole, are followed by the introduction of variously divided solid bodies. Without a division of the whole, observation and recognition, /. e., knowledge of it, is next to impossible. The rational investigation, the dissecting and dividing by the mind, in short, the analysis should be preceded by a like process in real objects, if the mind is calculated to reflect upon nature. Division performed at random, however, can never give clear ideas of the whole or its parts, but a regular division, in accordance with certain laws, is always needed. Nature gives us also here the best instruction. She performs all her divisions according to mathematical laws. The orders in the vegetable kingdom are distin- guished according to form and number of parts. Froebel here, also, borrowed from nature a guide which led him in systematizing the means of devel- opment of the young mind in the Kinder-Garten. As the first divided body, a large cube is intro- duced, consisting of eight small cubes of the same size each, as its parts. The large cube is divided once in each direction of space, lengthwise, breadth- wise and hightwise. The form of the parts is here like the form of the whole, and only their relation as to volume is different. In shape, alike, they differ in size, which fact becomes more apparent by a variety of combinations of a different number of the parts. Thus the relation of number is here introduced to the observation of the child, together with that of form and magnitude. A clear and distinct idea of these relations could hardly be attained unless pre- sented in this manner. In the following Gift, diver- sity of form in the whole and its parts, is made ap- parent, preceding the introduction of the relations of the plane. The logical connection with the preced- ing Gifts consists in the same form of the whole, the cube, and the same manner of division ; the 5th and 6th being divided twice, whereas the 3d and 4th were divided only once in all directions of space. The variety of forms gained, by this division of the cube, give the widest scope to the invention and production of combined forms, without ever leading to an indefi- nite, unlimited, unrestrained activity. The logical combination of parts to a whole, which is required in using these blocks, renders it a preparatory occupation for succeeding combinations of thought, for, also the 1 of parts into a whole follows certain laws, thereby forming a serial connection, which, in nature, is represented by the membering or linking of all or- ganisms. As nature, in the organic world, begins to form by agglomeration, so the child in its first occu- pations commences with mere accumulation of parts. Order, however, is requisite to lead to the beautiful in the visible world, as logic is indispensable in the world of thought for the formation of clear ideas ; and Froebel's law to link opposites, affords the simplest and most reliable guide to this end. In the building occupation this law, f. i., is applied in relation to the joining of blocks according to their form, or the different position of the parts in relation to a common center. If I join sides and sides, or edges and edges of the blocks, I have formed oppo- sites ; side and edge or edge and side joined, are con- sidered as links or mediation. Thus below and above are opposites in relation to which the right and left side of form or figure built, serve as mediative parts. Car- rying out this principle, we have established a most admirable order, by which even the youngest pupil, frequently unknowingly, produces the most charming regular forms and figures. This regular and serial constructing of the parts to a whole, according to a determinate law, is followed by connecting various wholes with one another, to produce orders and series as we find them in all the natural kingdoms, just as we are in need of categories in the process of thinking. Therefore we produce in the Kinder-Garten, by means of our occupation material, different series of forms and figures from common elementary forms, which we call either forms of life, forms of kno'.vledge, or forms of beauty. The fijst arc representations of objects act- ually existing and coming under our common obser- vation, as the works of human skill and art. The second are such as afford instruction relative to number, order, proportion, etc. The third are figures representing only ideal forms, yet so regularly con- structed as to present perfect models of symmetry and order in arrangement of parts. By occupation with these differently, yet always regularly constructed bodies, the child will make observations of the great- est variety, which, by immediate use of the objects by manipulation and experiment, make a real expe- rience. The observations f. i. of the vertical and hor- izontal, of the right angled, of the directions of up and downward, of under, above and next one another ; of regularity, of equipoise, the relation of circumference and center, of multiplication and division, of all that produces harmony in construction, etc., impress them- selves, as it were, indelibly upon the child's mind almost at every step. The first knowledge, or rather idea of the qualities of matter, and the first experiences of its use, are obtained thus in the simplest manner and de- KINDER-GARTEN CULTURE. lightfully. Thus the lawful shaping, logical develop- ment and methodical application of the material, is, as it were, the logic of nature imitated, whose repre- sentation is found in the forms of crystallization. It is natural that the works of God should reflect the logic of the great Creator's mind, and thereby be made the teachers of mankind. What can man do better in educating the human mind, than imitate these means, for the purpose of unfolding and strengthening the germ of logic, implanted in the mind of every human being, created in the image of his God. A condition of indisputable importance for the ac- quisition of knowledge of things, is the knowledge of the material of which they consist, and their qualities, and this should be introduced in right succession. From the 2d to the 6th Gifts, the objects consist of ■wmxi, and they are in the meantime solid bodies. The next step in the use of matter as the represen- tation of mind, is the transition to the plane, Froebel's Tablets for laying figures. In them, the simple mathe- matic fundamental forms are given as embodied planes, beginning with the square, which is followed succes- sively by the right-angled triangle with two equal sides, (l-2 square;) the right-angled triangle with unequal sides, the obtuse-angled triangle, and the equilateral triangle. The slats given for the play of interlacing form the transition from the plant to the !ine, resembling the latter, although owing to their width, still occupying space as a plane. They represent in one respect a progress beyond the staffs, because they may be joined for the purpose of representing lasting forms. The staffs, representing the embodied line, facili- tate the elements of drawing, serving as movable out- lines of planes. They are to be looked upon as the divided plane in order to adhere to their connections and relation with the form from which we started. By means of the staffs, numerical relation first is made more prominent and evident by the introduction of figures. The application of the law of opposites re- lates in all previous occupations to ihc/orm and di- riction of parts. In the so-called ptas-work the staffs (eventually wire) are united hy points, represented by peas, demonstrat- ing that it is union which produces lasting formation of matter. Here closes the first section of Froebel's embodied alphabet, intended to give the elemental images for the succeeding recognition of complex form, magni- tude and numerical relations. Thus the child has been guided in a logical manner from the solid body through its divisions and through the embodied plane, line and point, in matter and by matter, to the bor- ders of the abstract, without going over into abstrac- tion, which is a later process, to be postponed to the school that succeeds to the Kinder-Garten. To re- duce or "lead tack" mathematical perception, (ab- stract thinking) to appearances in the material world, no more appropriate means and method could have been devised. All abstractions are drawn, — abstracted according to the original meaning of the word — from manifestations of the visible world. Although further final conclusions (which may be continued ad infini- tum) shall remove them from their origin, elevate them to the loftiest bights of thought, their roots are ever to be looked for in the material world. The assertion that ideas are founded and defined by per- ceptions only, is either entirely erroneous and not to be proved, or there must exist such a connection, such an analogy, between the things of the material world and the objects of thought, as has been indicated here. And if it can be proved that such a course of develop- ment of the human mind necessarily takes place in some degree without our assistance, as a natural pro- cess, then education should not dare to prescribe any other one ; then this is the only true method of de- veloping the mind, because it operates with nature's laws, although it does not exclude all assistance on our part, but invokes it. We have often opportunity to notice how easily the mind, without human assist- ance, grows in wrong directions, like the young tree that never felt the effect of the pruning-knife. In the following occupations of the Kinder-Garten, we shall notice the progress from the solid body or ot>Ject itself to the representation of its image by drawing. Planes and lines, the various forms of the triangle and other geometric figures occur also here, but they are produced by different material. The touching pt handling of the solid body, the most important means of acquiring knowledge during the first years of a child's life, during the state of its rational uncon- sciousness, is now entirely changed to a looking at objects, presented to its observation ; and the image of the body, so to say, takes the place of the body it- self. Drawing with pencil is of such paramount im- portance because the child is enabled by it to repro- duce quickly and easily the images imparted to its mind by their own visible representation, whereby they become truly objective and are only then fully understood. Instruction in writing should never pie- cede instruction in drawing. In the development of the human race, the body unmistakably precedes its image or representation, as the drawn image preceded the written sign or letter. In the incipient st.iges of civilization, these signs for things were images, as we see in all hieroglyphic in- scriptions. Our modern letters occupy the highest step in the scale of the language of signs, (which we should not forget.) Froebel's method of instruction in drawing is as KINDER-GARTEN CULTURE. ingenious as it is simple. The same course as pur- . sued in the study of things, according to their form, size and number, and mathematical proportions is also here adhered to. The various forms which have previously occupied the child in their existence as bodies, appear here in drawn pictures, and are multi- plied ad infinitum. The progression from the sim- plest rudiment to the more complicated, the great multiplicity of series, determined by the various direc- tions of the lines and the geometric fundamental forms the logical progression from the straight to the curved lines, render drawing — not considering here its im- mediate artistic significance — one of the most ef- ficient means for disciplining the mind of the young pupil. It is the first step for the child to a future careful observation of the general connection of things from the smallest to the largest, as parts as well as wholes. In the following occupations, the material of which is a more refined one, color is introduced in connec- tion with multiplication of form, and the products of the children's work are constantly approaching real artistic creations. In the braiding or weaving the thought of number is predominating because the op- posites of odd and even are combined by alternately employing both. In the paper-folding, opposites are formed by the oppositional directions of the lines, (horizontal or perpendicular) originating in the folding of the paper, and these opposites are connected by the mediative oblique line. In like manner this law is applied to angles, acute and obtuse as opposites, the right angle serving as a mediatory. This is re- peated in the occupation ol perforating an^ embroider- ing. The cutting of paper, also, especially affords a perfect view of all the mathematical elements for the purpose of plastic representation. Thus we find everywhere the same logical chain of perception, and subsequent representation and exper- imental knowledge resulting from both, and thus all parts and sections of this system of occupation are logically united with one another, serving the child's mind as a faithful reflector of its own internal devel- opment at each and every step. And well may the matured mind, developed according to these princi- ples, in future days retrace with facility its conceiving and thinking to the clear and sharply defined, as it were, typical images of this reflector, as their very origin, for such experiences surely can never be ef- faced. It has been charged by those who have only a su- perficial knowledge of Froebel's educational system, that by it the facilities of the young mind are too soon awakened, which should not be taxed at so early an age. To this accusation we invite the most careful investigation, the result of which, we doubt not, will be a conviction that just the opposite is the case. Manual occupation, performed in connection with all means of occupation in the Kinder-Garten, con- tinual representation of objects, plastic formation and production, are all attractive to the nature of the child and touch the springs of spontaneity in its very core. All observations which appeal to the understanding and prepare mathematical conceptions occur, as it were, as accessories only, and to such an extent as the child's desire calls for them. Nothing is ever forced upon the pupil's mind. It can not even be said that teaching is prominent, but rather practical occupation, individually-intended production, on the part of the children ; which give rise to most of the remarks re- quired to be made on the part of the Kinder-Gartner. The element of working, which every child's nature craves, is predominating. Activity of the hand is the fundamental condition of all development in the child, as it is also the fundamental condition for the acquisi- tion of knowledge, and the subjection of matter. Me- chanical ability, technical dexterity, education of all human senses require under all circumstances manual occupation. However, if this side of Froebel's edu- cational system is mentioned, another class of op- ponents is ready to object, that the child should not begin with work, but that first its mind should be de- veloped. We understand these various objections to mean that the child's powers should not be employed in mechanical occupation exclusively, nor be entirely deprived of it, but that a harmonious development of body and mind should be the task of education. This is in perfect accordance with Froebel's principles, which, if carried out rightly, will accomplish this in the fullest meaning of the word. No occupation in the Kinder-Garten is merely mechanical, it is one of the most important rules that the mere mechanical, as contrary to the child's nature, should studiously be avoided. Nothing is plainer to the careful observer of the child's nature than the desire of the little mind to ob- serve and imbibe all its surroundings with all its senses simultaneously. It wishes to see, to hear, to feel, all beautiful, joyful, and pleasant things, and then strives to reproduce them as far as its limited faculties will admit. To receive and give back, is life, life in all its directions, with all its powers. This is what the child desires, what it should be led to accomplish with a view to its own development. Eyes and ears seek the beautiful, the senses of taste and smell enjoy the agreeable, and the impression which this beautiful and agreeable make upon the child's mind calls forth in the child's innermost soul, the desire, nay, the neces- sity of production, representation, or formation. If we should neglect providing the means to gratify such 8 KINDER-GARTEN CULTURE. desire, a full development of the heart of the individ- ual, a higher taste for the ideal in it, never could be the result We believe that this desire can not be assisted more perfectly and appropriately than by ac- complishment \r\ form, color, axiA tone, each express- ing and representing in its own manner, the feeling of the beautiful and agreeable. The earlier such accom- plishment is begun, the more perfectly the heart or xsthetic sentiment in man will be developed, the more surely a foundation for the moral development of the individual be laid Aptness in formation and produc- tion conditions development of the hand, simultane- ously with the development of the senses. It condi- tions, also, knowledge and subjection of matter and the proper material for the yet weak and unskilled hand of children. Formation itself furthermore con- ditions observation of the various relations of form, size, and number, as shown in connection with the gifts, employed for the preparatory development of the perceptive foculties. Mathematical forms and fig- ures are, as it were, the skeleton of the beautiful in form, which, in its perfection always requires the curved line. Images of ancient peoples, as we find them f. i. in the Egyptian temples arc straight-lined, hence are geometrical figures. The curved line, the true line of beauty, we find subsequently, when the artistic feeling had become more fully developed. The forms of feuw/y alternating in all branches of Kin- der-Garten occupation, with those of life and knowl- edge, afford the most appropriate means for the de- velopment of a sense of art as well as of aptness in art, in the meantime preventing a onesided prevalence of a mere cold understanding. The faculties of the soul are not yet distinctly sep- arated in the young child, the understanding, feeling and will, act in union with one another and every one is developed through and with the others. The com- binations of the power of representation in formation serve also as the preliminary exercise for that combi- nation of thought ; and what the hand produces strengthens the will and energy of the young mind in the meantime affording gratification to the heart. All work of man, be it common manual work, or a work of art, or purely mental labor is always the uniting of parts to a whole, i. i., organizing in the highest sense of the word. The more we are conscious of aim, means, manner and method connected with our svork, the more the mind is active in it, the higher and no- bler the result will be. The lowest step of human labor is formed by mechanical imitation, the highest is free formation or production, according to one's own conception. Between these two points we find the whole scale by which the crudest kind of labor mounts to a free production in art and science and on which invention stands uppermost as the gradual triumphant result from simplest imitation. It is this scale en min- iature through which the child's mind is conducted by means of Froebel's occupation material. From the first immediate impression, received from objects and forms of the visible world, it rises to art, or creation according to own ideas, which is its own production, a self-willed formation. For this purpose nature im- planted in the human mind a strong desire to produce form, which, if correctly guided, becomes the most useful faculty of the soul. Simply by this desire of formation the images of perception attain the neces- sary perfect distinctness and clearness, the power of observation, its keenness and experience, its proofs, all of which are requisite, to afford to the working of the human mind a sure foundation. Free invention, creat- ing, is the culminating point of menial independence. We lead the child to this eminence by degrees. Some- times accident has led to invention and production of the new, but Froebel has provided a systematically graded method by which infancy may at once start upon the road to this eminent aim of inventing. If the full consciousness, the clear conception of its aim is at first wanting, it is prepared by every step onward. The objects presented, and the material em- ployed, afford the child, under the guidance of a ma- ture mind, the alphabet of art, as well as that of knowledge, and it is worth while here to remark that history shows art comes before science in all human development. If we now cast a retrospective glance upon the means of occup.ttion in the Kinder-Garten, we find that the material progresses from the solid and whole in gradual steps to its farts, until it arrives at the image upon the flane and its conditions as to liiu and foint For the heavy material, fit only to be placed upon the table in unchanged form (the building blocks), a more flexible one is substituted in the following occupations : Wood is replaced by paper. The paper plane of the folding occupation, is replaced by the paper strip of the weaving occupation, as line. The wooden staff or very fine wire is then introduced for the purpose of executing permanent figures in connection with peas, representing the point. In place of this material the drawn line then appears, to which colors are added. Perforating and embroidering introduces another ad- dition to the material to create the images of fantasy which, in the paper-cutting and mounting, again re- ceive new elements. The modeling in clay or wax affords the immediate plastic artistic occupation, with the most pliable material for the hand of the child. Song introduces into the realm of sound, when mete- ment plays, gymnastics and dancing help to educate the body and insure a harmonious development of all its parts. In practicing the technical manual perform- ances of the mechanic, such as boring, piercing, cut- KINDER-GARTEN CULTURE. ting, measuring, uniting, forming, drawing, painting, and modeling, a foundation of all future occupation of artisan and artist — synonymous in classic and mediaeval antiquity — is laid. For ornamentation, especially, all elements are found in the occupations of the Kin- der-Garten. The forms of beauty in the paper-fold- ing {. i., serve as series of rosettes and ornaments in relief that architecture might employ without change. The productions in the braiding department contain all conditions of artistic weaving, nor does the cutting of figures fail to afford richest material for ornamen- tation of various kinds. For every talent in man means of development are provided in the Kinder- Garten material. Opportunity for practice is constantly given, and each direction of the mind finds its starting- point in concnti things. No more complete satis- faction, therefore, can be given to the claim of rational education : " that all ideas should be founded on pre- vious perception, derived from real objects," than is done in the genuine Kinder-Garten. Whosoever has acquired even a superficial idea only of the significance of Froebel's means of occupation in the Kinder-Gar- ten, will be ready to admit that the ordinary play- things of children are not, by any means, as regards their usefulness, to be compared with the occupation material in the Kinder-Garten. That the former in a certain degree, may be made helpful in the develop- ment of children, is not denied. Occasional good re- sults with them, which, however, usually will be found to be owing to the child's own instinct rather than to the nature of the toy. Planless playing, with- out guidance and supervision, can not prepare a child for the earnest sides of life, or even for the enjoyment of its own harmless amusements and pleasures. Like the plant, which, even in the wilderness, draws from the soil its nutrition, so the child's mind draws from its surroundings and the means, placed at its com- mand, its educational food. But the rose-bush, nursed and cared for in the garden by the skillful hor- ticulturist, produces flowers far more perfect and beautiful than the wild-growing sweet-briar. With- out care neither the mind nor the body of the child can be e.xpected to prosper. As the latter can not, for a healthful development, use all kinds of food without careful selection, so the mind for its higher cultivation requires a still more careful choice of the means for its development. The child's free choice is limited only in so far as it is necessary to limit the amount of occupation material in order to fit it for systematic application. The child will find, instinct- ively, all that is requisite for its mental growth, if the proper material only be presented, and a guiding mind indicate its most appropriate use in accordance with a certain la^ci. Froebel's, genius has admirably succeeded in invent- ing the proper material as well as in pointing out its most successful application, to prepare the child for all situations in future life, for all branches of occupa- tion in the useful pursuits of mankind. When the Kinder-Garten was first established by Froebel, it was prohibited, and its inventor driven from place to place in his fatherland on account of his liberal educational principles to be carried out in the Kinder-Garten. The keen eye of monarchial government officials quickly saw that such institution would not turn out passive subjects to tyrannical oppression and the rulers " ty the grace of God" tolerated the Kinder- Garten only when public opinion declared too strongly in its favor to be safely resisted. 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