The Student's Froebel


Book Description




A Child's Work


Book Description

This book considers Friedrich Froebel's work and ideas in the light of the continuing debate over methods of primary education, raising the old conflict between child-centred and traditional education; concern about the role of teacher in the classroom; and the renewed challenge of 'play' as a tool of education. To Froebel, play provided the means for a child's intellectual, social, emotional and physical development. Froebel believed that the education of a child began at birth, and that parents and teachers played a crucial role in helping children in this activity. 'Play is a mirror of life' - he wrote, leading to self discipline and respect for law and order. The events of Froebel's life are carefully documented in A Child's Work, together with their influence on his ideas and their spread. The author shows how the early death of Froebel's mother and a home lacking in love were to provide the impetus behind one of Froebel's overriding aims: the fostering of family life. The shaping of his educational thought and philosophy through contact with the ideas of other educators, especially his 'spiritual father' Pestalozzi, and philosophers such as Kant, Hegel and Krause, is examined. Froebel's continuous reassessment of the function of play in a child's life came to fruition in the concept of the Kindergarten and the creations with which he peopled it. Illustrations from original sources complement the thorough explanations of these educational innovations in the book. From the soft ball on a spring, the simplest of the Gifts, to the unravelling of more complex ideas in the Mother Songs, Froebel incorporated the various facets that he saw as important in play: the notion of the symbolic and the surmise, the tension between the known and the unknown, the development of physical dexterity and care for the environment. As we continue to shift towards an emphasis on a more formal, more restrictive and less creative mode of education, it is an appropriate time to re-examine Froebel's contribution to educational thinking, which was revolutionised by his ideas. His respect for a child as an independent, searching and creative person learning through his own actions, and for the teacher as facilitator and guide, led tomonumental changes. Froebelis legacy challenges us to examine the assumptions underlying current trends in education, and our attitude towards educating young children.




The Wisdom of Our Hands


Book Description

A guide to living fully and humanely by learning the wisdom of authentic manual work. Most of us modern people live in a world of constant abstraction, immersed in our heads and our screens. But there is a deeper wisdom in working with your hands in the real world. In The Wisdom of Our Hands, craftsman and educator Doug Stowe shows how working with handcrafts, either professionally or as a hobby, is essential for a full education and a full life. Based on his 45 years as a woodworker and 20 years as a teacher of handcrafts, Stowe argues that human beings have a natural need to express themselves creatively through tangible work. The use of one's hands and whole body to make physical things promotes both physical and mental health and fosters a sense of mastery in both young and adult students. A life of craftsmanship is also an opportunity and obligation to define one's own values. Drawing on his experiences living and working in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a town dedicated to handcrafts and arts, Stowe demonstrates how craft work creates community, forges deeper social bounds, and fosters a saner attitude about the value of relative value of human labor and material goods. A quietly radical and spiritual blueprint for a deeper and more connected way of life, The Wisdom of Our Hands is a transformational book.




Early Childhood Practice


Book Description

Nursery World Awards 2012 winner! This stimulating book brings together contributions from distinguished practitioners, who demonstrate how they have used educational methods advocated by Froebel in contemporary settings. Stressing the importance of outdoor play, they explore the Froebelian principles of: - Play - Learning through firsthand experience - Parent partnership and community in early childhood - Practitioners supporting children′s interests and learning - Finger rhymes and action songs - Movement - The garden and forests - Wooden blockplay - Use of clay, paint, junk modelling, construction kits The book emphasises how learning and the application of knowledge become possible through play. It contrasts the Froebel approach with the methods such as Montessori, Steiner and recent approaches to play such as post-Modern ′playfulness′. This book is relevant to undergraduate and postgraduate students of Early Childhood Education, as well as students following QTS and EYPS, PGCE, CPD and BEd courses. Tina Bruce CBE is an Honorary Visiting Professor in Early Childhood at the University of Roehampton.




Bringing the Froebel Approach to Your Early Years Practice


Book Description

This work looks at the founder of the kindergarten and his profound influence on provision and practice for young children today. It looks at Froebel's theory of a garden for children and why he believed that play is central to young children's learning.




The Student's Froebel


Book Description




How Kindergarten Came to America


Book Description

Originally published as "Reminiscences of Friedrich Froebel," this enchanting 1894 account of the German inventor of kindergartens was instrumental in bringing kindergartens to the United States. This lively portrait of a pioneer of modern education is a refreshing reminder of the essential role of play and creative exploration in the development of children. Froebel's methods provide a much-needed antidote to the current emphasis on high-stakes testing and accelerated curricula--a corruption, as Herbert Kohl argues in his foreword, of the original concept of kindergartens as children's gardens of learning.




The Bloomsbury Handbook to Friedrich Froebel


Book Description

Friedrich Froebel (1782 – 1852), the inventor of kindergarten, was one of the most influential educational thinkers of the 19th century. This book showcases the cutting-edge work being undertaken around the world inspired by this pioneer of early childhood education and shows the many ways in which Froebel's work has been applied and extended. It presents a wealth of Froebelian expertise on topics including pedagogy and curriculum, history, architecture, neuroscience, peace and religious education and links Froebel's theories to other thinkers including John Dewey, Michel Foucault, Paulo Freire, Aili Helenius and Chen Heqin. It highlights what Froebel means today in a variety of settings around the world and includes contributions from academics and practitioners based in North and South America, Europe, Australasia, Africa and Asia.







Friedrich Froebel and English Education (RLE Edu K)


Book Description

This collection of essays describes Froebel’s life and the history of his influence on the education of young children in Britain. It also traces the religious roots of his philosophy and discusses his psychological and educational principles in the light of developments in these fields since his day.