ROOMS, ETC.
I HAVE made an article, which I published in the "Atlantic Monthly" of
November, 1862, my first chapter, because I cannot, in any better way,
answer the general question,--What is a Kindergarten? I will now proceed
to make a Guide for the conduct of a Kindergarten; in which I shall
freely make use of what Madame Rongé has said in her "English
Kindergarten," and Madame Marienholtz in her "Jardin des Enfans;" but I
shall not confine myself to them, for an American Kindergarten
necessarily has its peculiarities.
In the first place, we must think of the accommodations. These are not
to be in the open air, as has been supposed by many, through
misapprehension of the use of the word Kindergarten. But it is desirable
that there should be a good play-ground attached to the rooms; and
Froebel thought it of very important religious influence that every
child should have earth to cultivate, if it were only a foot square.
Two rooms are indispensable, and if possible there should be three, all
of good size, with good light and air: one room for music and plays,
gymnastics, dancing, &c.; another for the quieter mechanical
employments,--pricking, weaving, sewing, moulding, folding,
paper-cutting, sticklaying, and block-building; and still another for
drawing, writing, object-teaching, and learning to read. It is desirable
that every child should have a box, if not a little desk, in order to
learn to keep things in order. When this cannot be done, the teachers
must so arrange matters, as to have everything ready for every change;
that no time may be lost and no confusion arise. In my own Kindergarten,
I arrange beforehand the chairs in the play-room in a solid square, into
which the children march at the commencement of the exercises. Sitting
in them, they sing their morning prayer or hymn, hear the reading, and
take a singing lesson on the scale. Then they rise, and, taking up their
chairs, march into the other room for their reading lessons, which are
always in two classes, sometimes in three. They bring their chairs back
again for luncheon, and then take them out for another lesson; for in
this room they have gymnastics, dancing, and the play, and need a clear
space for all. They come back with their chairs, at the close of the
exercises, to sing songs together before they disperse. Two of my rooms
are carpeted. The other is smooth-floored for dancing, playing, and
gymnastics. And, for the convenience of the gymnastics, it is well to
paint, at convenient distances, _little feet in the first position_, as
Dr. Dio Lewis has done in his gymnastic hall.
When Kindergarten accommodations can be built expressly, I would suggest
that there should be a house with glass walls and partitions, at least
above the wainscoting; and that the wainscoting should be rather high
and painted black, so that every child might have a piece of the
blackboard; for it is easier for a child to draw with a chalk on a
blackboard than with a slate and pencil.
A house of glass, on the plan of the crystal palace, would be no more
expensive than if built of brick. It would secure the light and
sunshine, and make it easy for the superintendent to overlook the whole.
It should be equably warmed throughout. My own Kindergarten is not in a
glass house, but is the lower floor of a house which has three rooms,
with a hall between two of the rooms; a large china closet which I use
for the children's dressing, as well as to store many things; and beyond
the third room, a bathing room, with every convenience. Rooms, hall,
closet, and bathing room have all an east-south aspect, and are amply
lighted. The room between the china closet and bathing room is longer
than it is wide, and has blackboard painted on three sides of it, so
that each child has a piece of blackboard.
It is possible to keep a Kindergarten in two rooms, but not possible to
keep it in one, if it is of any desirable size, or there is any variety
of age in the children. A large play-ground and some garden is
desirable. I am so fortunate as to have these in my house in Boston.
The tables for the children to sit at should be low; and it is a good
plan to have them painted in squares of an inch; chequered, or ruled by
lines, so that they may be able always to set their blocks down with
perfect accuracy.
One of the rooms it would be well to provide with _flat_ box-desks, in
which can be kept all the materials which each child uses,--slates and
pencils, blocks, sticks, weaving and sewing materials,--and the children
should be required to keep these in order.
In my own Kindergarten I provide all the materials for their work and
instruction, thus securing uniformity; and it is better to do so always,
and to charge a price covering the expense. It should be understood,
from the first, that Kindergarten education is not cheap.
As a Kindergarten requires several persons to keep it properly, a genial
family, consisting of a mother and daughters, of various
accomplishments, might devote their whole house to it, preparing for the
writing and drawing one large room with blackboards all round, whose
area could be used for the playing, gymnastics, and dancing.
When this new culture shall be appreciated for its whole worth, it will
not be deemed extravagant for a whole family thus to devote their house,
as well as their time, to make a Kindergarten the temporary home of a
large company of children.