What does kindergarten mean

Why is kindergarten called kindergarten?

Kevin Zoromski, Michigan State University Extension - December 20, 2019

Updated from an original article written by Insa Raymond.

Learn why kindergarten is called kindergarten and how it relates to the 4-H program.

Kindergarten in the United States is a program generally for 5-year-olds, but sometimes includes 4-to-6-year-olds, that offers developmentally appropriate learning opportunities to build the child’s social and academic skills and to prepare them for the transition into first grade, and for school in general. 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 (1782-1852) started the first kindergarten, Garden of Children, in 1840. According to Froebel Web, the word kindergarten was invented by Froebel and symbolized his vision for early childhood education: “Children are like tiny flowers; they are varied and need care, but each is beautiful alone and glorious when seen in the community of peers.”

Before 1840, children under the age of 7 did not attend school yet. “Pioneers In Our Field: Friedrich Froebel - Founder of the First Kindergarten” from Early Childhood Today states it was believed that children under the age of 7 did not have the ability to focus or develop cognitive and emotional skills.

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.

Froebel’s kindergarten was filled with objects for children to play with. He developed a set of gifts and occupations. These were designed to help children recognize and appreciate patterns in nature and introduce them to basic concepts of science, geometry and architecture. The occupations provided material such as clay, sand, paper and string to build skills such as sculpting, lacing, weaving and folding, and to stimulate imagination, creativity and ingenuity.

The word kindergarten also translates into garden for children. A piece of land was an important part of the kindergarten, which was a place where children could interact with nature as well as play, plant, nurture, explore, observe and discover.

According to Froebel Web, Froebel's philosophy of education rested on four basic ideas: free self-expression, creativity, social participation and motor expression.

This philosophy resembles the philosophy of the 4-H program, which is based on hands-on learning experiences. The Michigan State University 4-H Children’s Garden, for example, is designed to be a place for children to explore and stimulate their curiosity and sense of wonder. The 4-H Cloverbud program for 5-to-7-year-old children offers many resources and hands-on programs that build curiosity, creativity and exploration.

Froebel’s kindergarten concept of informal, hands-on and explorative learning relates closely to the experiential learning model used in 4-H programming. While Froebel’s kindergarten is for 4-to-6-year-old children, which is close to the 4-H Cloverbud age (5 to 7 years old), 4-H also offers experiential learning experiences for youth age 8 to 19 years old.

Michigan State University Extension and the Michigan 4-H Youth Development program help to create a community excited about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). 4-H STEM programming seeks to increase science literacy, introducing youth to the experiential learning process that helps them to build problem-solving, critical-thinking and decision-making skills. Youth who participate in 4-H STEM are better equipped with critical life skills necessary for future success.

To learn more about the positive impact of Michigan 4-H youth in STEM literacy programs, read our 2018 Impact Report: “Equipping Young People for Success Through Science Literacy.”

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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Kindergarten Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

kin·der·gar·ten ˈkin-dər-ˌgär-tᵊn

ˈkin-də-,

-dᵊn

: a school or class for children usually from five to six years old

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Those frustrations were intensified last year after a kindergarten teacher was abducted on an early morning jog and then found dead, and a shooting spree by a gunman who killed four people, wounded three others and set off a manhunt across the city. —Jessica Jaglois, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2023 Berg later became a kindergarten teacher and shares some of her favorite classroom moments on Instagram. —Christina Dugan Ramirez, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2023 People like my kindergarten teacher, my second-grade teacher, my sixth-grade girlfriend (laughs). —David Oliver, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2023 Yes, your kindergarten teacher was right all along. —Alex Orlando, Discover Magazine, 16 Jan. 2023 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average kindergarten teacher in California made $85,760 in 2021. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Jan. 2023 Janine is obsessed with getting the approval of Barbara Howard, an old-school kindergarten teacher played with command by veteran star Sheryl Lee Ralph, 66. —Ariana Marsh, Harper's BAZAAR, 11 Jan. 2023 At his introductory press conference, Green compared his offense to a high-speed helicopter and his disciplinary philosophy to that of a kindergarten teacher. —Kent Somers, The Arizona Republic, 23 Dec. 2022 Mary-Anne Welch, who was tutoring the second graders in blended sounds, rhyming words and other aspects of literacy, was a kindergarten teacher before retiring in 2017. —Donna St. George, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'kindergarten. ' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

German, from Kinder children + Garten garden

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of kindergarten was in 1851

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Kids Definition

kindergarten

noun

kin·der·gar·ten ˈkin-də(r)-ˌgärt-ᵊn

-ˌgärd-

: a school or class for very young children

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

Kindergarten | it's... What is Kindergarten?

This term has other meanings, see Kindergarten (meanings).

Six-year kindergarten class in Alanya (Turkey)

Kindergarten in Bedigheim (Baden, Germany)

Kindergarten is an educational institution for preschool children (usually from 3 to 7 years old), in the Russian Federation one of the types of preschool institution.

The system of kindergartens is designed both for the initial socialization of children, teaching them communication skills with peers, and for a mass, public solution to the problem of their parents' employment (for which the kindergarten's working hours in most cases coincide with the typical work schedule of most professions: from 7 up to 19hours five days a week). The kindergarten system also provides a minimum preparation of children for schooling - at the level of primary reading, writing and numeracy skills.

Parents' Day at a kindergarten in Nagoya, Japan, 2009.

1 History
2 Classification of kindergartens
3 Kindergarten games
4 Criticism of kindergartens
5 Interesting facts
6 See also
7 Notes
8 Literature
9 Links

History

The world's first kindergarten was founded in 1837 by the German teacher Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel in Bad Blankenburg. From 1851 to 1860 kindergartens were banned in Prussia.

Classification of kindergartens

Kindergarten of a general developmental type with a priority direction, for example: physical, intellectual, artistic and aesthetic education.
Child development center - kindergarten.
Kindergarten of combined type. These are the majority. Along with the usual groups, they have groups for children with some form of developmental disabilities. As a rule, these are speech therapy groups (speech correction).
Kindergarten of a compensating type - specialized and sanatorium. In such kindergartens, some chronic diseases are corrected. In specialized kindergartens, unlike sanatoriums, children with chronic diseases can go to the same groups as healthy children. Compensatory and combined kindergartens attract more diverse specialists, mainly doctors, to work ^[1] .

Depending on the type of kindergarten, the curriculum will vary, the number of children in the group, the quality of food and toys, and even, to a large extent, the psychological atmosphere.

Games in kindergarten

For preschool children the game is of particular importance, because the game for them and study, and work, and a way of knowing the world around us, and a form of education ^[2] .

Criticism of kindergartens

According to American and European studies, cortisol levels increase in children during their stay in kindergarten ^[3] .

Interesting facts

In order to enroll a child in a kindergarten in Turkmenistan, parents are required to fill out a special questionnaire, indicating detailed information about relatives in three generations, as well as brothers and sisters. In addition to passport data and registration, the questionnaire must also indicate the degree of relationship, information about the place of work or study, about the criminal record or its absence of all family members ^[4] .

Notes

↑ SibMama: /Education and education of children. Children's leisure / Kindergarten / What kindergartens are
↑ N. Krupskaya "Pedagogical essays". Volume VI. Preschool education. Questions of family education and life. Moscow: Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, 1959
↑ http://www.ahealthymind.org/ans/library/Childcare%20cortisol%20Vermeer%2006.pdf
↑ New rules for admission to kindergartens come into force in Turkmenistan

Literature

Kindergarten // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
Asiya History of kindergarten // Children in Islam, 01/20/2010.
Severyukhin D. Ya. The history of kindergartens in Russia // City for kids.
Simonovich A. On the history of kindergarten // Preschool education.

Kindergarten with joy.

advice to parents

Kindergarten is the first place in a child's life where he is left alone, without the support and advice of his mother. It is here that he takes the first steps in mastering the science of communication with peers, learns independence.

How to help your child avoid stress at the first visit to kindergarten?

Before you send your child to kindergarten, think about whether he will normally endure a long separation from his parents and how to make sure that your child does not experience severe stress. Perhaps you should try taking him to the garden first for an hour or two, while watching for a while how his relationship with other guys will develop, whether he will play or start acting up. In the evening, ask if the kid liked it there, with whom he made friends, and with whom he did not. The next day, try to increase the amount of time your child spends in the garden and then take him there for the whole day. And do not forget to ask the baby from time to time how he feels there.

"If in the fall to kindergarten ..."

"Most parents believe that it is necessary to prepare a child for school. But few people think that readiness for kindergarten is no less important.

If you decided at the family council that the baby should go to kindergarten in the fall, then try to prepare him and yourself for this event in the remaining time.

· If the decision has already been made, stop worrying. Everything will be fine. Do not project your anxiety onto the child, do not discuss possible complications with him. You should not hit the other extreme, drawing the kid idyllic pictures of his life in kindergarten. It is best to take a position of perceived need.

Pay attention to the child's daily routine. During the summer, it should be rebuilt in such a way that the baby wakes up easily an hour and a half before the time when you plan to leave the house for kindergarten. If your child is no longer sleeping during the day, teach him to just lie in bed alone. Teach him some games: in words with himself, remembering the poems and songs he has learned, writing fairy tales, counting, examining surrounding objects with memorizing small details. The so-called finger games are very useful. Well, if you manage to simulate the situation of a collective quiet hour.

· Try to teach your child to go to the toilet in a big way at the same time (not from 11 am to 1 pm - time for a walk in the garden). In a small way, the baby needs to be taught to go to the toilet not when he already "really wants to", but in advance: before going to kindergarten, before a walk, before going to bed.

· Is your child difficult to feed? Did you have to deal with a lack of appetite, selectivity in food, slowness? Bring your child's menu as close as possible to kindergarten, eliminate "nibbling" between meals. Try to reduce the calorie content of the food he eats, which after a while can lead to an improvement in appetite. If your strict tone and insistent requests to eat everything “quickly” and completely cause an attack of nausea in the baby, this is a serious reason to think about the possibility of visiting a kindergarten for a child. In any case, about children with problematic appetite, it is necessary to talk with the teacher and ask him to be gentle and patient in this matter. Eating problems are very often the reason why children do not want to go to kindergarten.

All children need to be hardened, and especially children who go to kindergarten. Walking barefoot indoors and on the ground in summer in any weather is the easiest and most effective way. This strengthens not only the immune system, but also the nervous system. Any water procedures (shower, bath, lake, sea) are very useful, while trying not to limit the child's stay in the water and do not control its temperature very much. Gradually accustom the child to cold drinks (kefir, milk, juice from the refrigerator). Ice cream is not only tasty, but also healthy in terms of temperature contrast.

Quite often there are children who cry when parting with their mother. They have to be persuaded for a long time, even if they stay with close, well-known people. If, after the mother has left, the child feels good, does not feel sad, does not ask about the mother, easily copes with the daily routine, then, most likely, it is only necessary to change the established "tradition" of parting. The "honorable duty" of the baby can be to help his mother with packing for work ("Come on, carry my" work "bag" or "Where did I put the umbrella? Could you look for it?"), As well as such rituals, how to walk mom to the elevator or wave out the window.

· However, there are children who are very nervous in their mother's absence, they keep track of the time when she should come. In the absence of their mother, their sleep and appetite deteriorate, sometimes they simply refuse to eat and do not go to bed without their mother. It is best to consult a psychologist in this situation. As a rule, such behavior of children is a consequence of the behavior of adults. The increased anxiety of the mother, the incorrect assessment of her own role in the life of the child, the unwillingness to see elements of manipulating adults in his behavior - all these reasons, to one degree or another, can provoke such behavior. First of all, in such a situation, the mother must change her internal state.

· In practice, it is best to teach a child to part with his mother, creating situations where the baby himself wants to ask his mother to leave. For example, he needs to make a surprise for his mother, or he played with friends, and his mother needs to go to the store. Leaving for a long time, ask not adults, but the child to keep order in the house. Give him instructions on what he should have time to do by your arrival, let him follow the time when it's time to eat or go to bed. At the meeting, ask the baby in detail about the day he lived and praise him for his successes, tell him how much you managed to do, because he helped you.

· Watch your child play with other children. (Children's relationships with peers at this age are just being formed. By sending a child to kindergarten, we accelerate this process, so it would be wrong to let him go on his own.) Does he fit in with a group of children playing? If it is difficult for him to do this, help: teach him how to greet a group of children correctly, offer children their toys, ask permission to play with them, respond correctly to refusal, finding a compromise.

· It's good if you have a large children's company in your summer cottage. Arrange with mothers and follow the children in turn. But with the condition that during the agreed time, children cannot leave your amateur group and must resolve all emerging issues only with each other and with the "duty" mother.

Two words about toys. Teach your child to take out into the yard, and in the future to bring to kindergarten only those toys that he is ready to share with friends. Otherwise, the baby will be known as a greedy person or will be in anxiety all the time for his favorite toy, with which something can happen.