What is the meaning of Kindergarten? The question popped into my head as I was filling out my background information for a Google Buzz profile. There is a tab for "Schools I've attended" and I remember attending two schools in Guadalajara. I also remember calling them, "kinder." That's what a lot of people in Mexico call Kindergarten. I sat at my desk a while contemplating the word. I had an idea it was German, of course, it kind of sounds German. So, I set forth on a journey to find the origin and meaning of the word. Lets see what other interesting facts I learn.
As I begin research, one of my suspicions is proven true. I thought "Kindergarten" looked an awful lot like "Children's Garden" and indeed, according to Answers.com, that's what it means. My research, however, was meant to dive deeper into the word and find other insight.
Something I HAVE found interesting, however, is the fact that "kindergarten" was originally designed keeping the children's natural playfulness in mind. Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel, who was largely self-educated, designed the "kindergarten" system to help children "develop their spirits as well as their bodies by making use of a child's natural playfulness and creativity." This seems a bit foreign to me, although I HAVE been through kindergarten, but it somehow seems counter-intuitive. My initial instinct is to teach via textbooks and more traditional forms of teaching. Froebel's design of a new "school" was for the opposite... to teach using art and toys. This makes sense, though, it makes for a good transition from infants to students.
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