, education must also” (“Friedrich Froebel”, 2000). Kindergarten acts as a bridge between home play and school life. Froebel expanded on Pestalozzi’s philosophy that school should be an emotionally secure environment. He said the teacher should act as a moral and cultural model for children, a model worthy of emulation. Before this time teachers were considered a disciplinarian. The early years in education are the most critical for forming a foundation to continue. With Froebel’s philosophy that children learn through experiences he created “gifts” and “occupations.” The gifts were toys such as balls, blocks, and cubes. The occupations were tasks that taught skills useful in later life such as weaving, folding paper, stringing beads, perforating paper, modeling with clay, lacing cards, follow the dots, and joint and stick construction (Jalongo and Isenberg, 2000). He also believed children were brought closer to God through song, dance, plays, and games. Froebel called his approach to education “self-activity” and “self-representation” (“Friedrich Froebel”, 2000; Ransbury, 1995). Therefore the teacher’s role is as a guide, not a lecturer (“Friedrich Froebel”, 2000). He was also the first to introduce the “concept of curricula appropriate to a child’s developmental level” (Woodill, 1995). Froebel designed Kindergarten to children’s needs in “physical activity, the development of sensory awareness and physical dexterity, creative expression, exploration of ideas and concepts, the pleasure of singing, the experience of living among others, and satisfaction of the soul” (“Friedrich Froebel”, 2000). Until his death in 1852, he was devoted to making Kindergarten known. The German immigrants brought the idea of Kindergarten to the United States in the nineteenth century. ...
