Friedrich Froebel

Sascha * Ashley Gaudiano

• Froebel had a hard life as a child• Mom died when he was young• Stepmother treated him indifferently• Dad was always busy with work • He poured everything he had into his

studies

“Protect the new generation: do not let them grow up into emptiness and nothingness…”

Family Life

“Play is the work of children.”

• Froebel’s went to an all girls’ school

• Religion became an important role in his life

• His older brother inspired him to go to college

• Attended the University of Jena

• Studied Botany

Getti ng Started

Froebel as a Man

• Known as “an educational pioneer”• Invented Kindergarten in1873• Froebel College opened in 1892• Wrote his own books

“Man is a creative being”

Influenced Froebel• John Amos

Comenius- “the father of modern education”

• Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi- Swiss educator

• Anton Gruner-ran his own school

Influenced by Froebel

• Henriette Schrader-Breymann- a key educator

• Baroness Bertha von Marenholtz-Buelow- advocate of Froebel’s methods

• Margarethe Schurz-opened several kindergartens in Germany

THE GREAT INFLUENCES

“Recognize that each child’s personality is sacred.” -Pestalozzi

The Big K

• Froebel started teaching at Gruner’s school

• While teaching, he found his true calling

• He loved spending time with kids

• He also found things he did not like about the school system

• Vowed to make his own school

“People can do creative things that mirror and contribute to the unity of the universe”

• Began in 1873• “A Kinder Garden”-a

garden for children• Stimulating environment• Encourage kids to be

curious• Kids had choice, not rules• Outdoor activities as well• Provided stability and

security• Encourage kids to take

responsibility

• Close observation by teachers and parents• Provides choices for the children• Helps children to develop social, emotional,

and cognitive skills• Lets kids explore the world in fun ways• Prepares children for school• Generally taught by women

KINDERGARTEN

Mother and Independent Women• The loss of a mother helped

Froebel realize the importance of women

• He wanted the mother figure expanded outside of the home

• Gave women a chance for careers as Kindergarten teachers

• Also gave women respect“The destiny of nations lies far more in the hands of women, the mothers, than in the Possessors of power, or those of innovators who for the most part do not understand themselves. We must cultivate women, who are the educators of the human race, else the new generation cannot accomplish its task.”

G i f t s • Their purpose is to assure

constant progress of the child’s development

• Play Gifts are simple at first

• Gradually become more complex

• Follow the order of evolution

1st Gift • 6 Worsted balls• 6 Different colors• Ages 2 months and up• Replica of the world• Teaches motion,

direction, and control of the muscles

2nd Gift• Spheres and Cubes• Basis of the

kindergarten system• Children employ

themselves in more definite ways

• The cube and sphere are opposite and alike

• Wooden cube• Children pull things

together and pull them apart

• Forms of life• Forms of knowledge• Forms of beauty

4th Gift 5th Gift• Cube• Has same

dimensions of 3rd gift

• Has 8 identical blocks

• Same volume as 3rd gift, but twice as long and half the thickness

• Add together with the 3rd gift

• Expands on the cubes of the 3rd gift

• Larger cube with blocks along each edge

• Consists of 27 cubes• 3 of the cubes divide

diagonally to form 6 triangular faced blocks

• 3 other cubes are divided twice to form 12 smaller triangular blocks

“If three hundred years after my death my method of education shall be completely established according to its idea, I shall rejoice In heaven.” –Friedrich Froebel

*ANY QUOTES THAT WERE NOT GIVEN CREDITTO WERE QUOTES OF FROEBEL HIMSELF*

Works CitedDowns, Robert B. Friedrich Froebel. Boston: Twayne, 1978. Print.

"Friedrich Froebel and Informal Education." Contents @ the Informal Education Homepage. Web. 06 Dec. 2011.

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

"Friedrich Froebel’s Work on Strengths - The Strengths Foundation." Welcome to The Strengths Foundation - Sharing the Strengths Way of Encouraging People. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://www.thestrengthsfoundation.org/3-tips-for-understanding-friedrich-froebels-work-on-strengths>."Quotes of Friedrich Froebel." Friedrich Froebel Created Kindergarten

and Designed the Froebel Gifts and Blocks. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://www.froebelweb.org/fblquote.html>.