Friedrich Froebel

Kindergarten. A place where education begins for most students. Friedrich Froebel was the creator of Kindergarten previously known as Play and Activity Institute. I chose to do Froebel because kindergarten is where our journey through school begins, and I have never heard the background of it. Froebel created a new method of on learning using structured and activity based learning scenically. This method soon created what we have now, Kindergarten. To Froebel this aspect of education was extremely important because it was a place where students could grow and learning with freedom and Kindergarten was this place. It stood for a garden for children. He wanted it a place where they can learn from nature through observations and interactions. Froebel wanted a place for students to learn freely but using practical methods and multiple uses of materials. For his new method he created "gifts" and "occupations" which were used mainly within Kindergarten. These gifts were toys such as blocks or balls, and the occupations were different lessons in which the students would learn from. Froebel wanted healthy activity through these occupations and also the use of nature through observations.  I definitely agree with Froebel and his teachings because kindergarten is the starting point and it is like a freedom learning stage. The students are to young to understand a whole lot but they are learning from themselves and each other. The gifts and occupations are the beginning for them and teach the basics aspects they need. These basics are taught through freedom though and that is what I love. In Kindergarten the freedom is the aspect of sitting on a rug and learning a new song, shapes, or colors, where as down the road it becomes sitting at a desk and learning these things. I think that Froebel's method of  kindergarten is one of the greatest teaching methods because it gives us the beginning to it all.

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-froeb.htm
http://www.froebelweb.org/