Friedrich Froebel

I am Friedrich Froebel, a German educationalist, best known as the originator of the "kindergarten system". I had a very difficult childhood. My mother died when I was a baby and my father, who was a pastor, remarried. My parents were self involved and didn't nurture me as a child. Even though I had an unhappy childhood, I grew up with a love for nature and with a strong Christian faith which was my central thinking as an educationalist. I sought to encourage unity in all things.
I feel that the purpose of education is to encourage and guide man, thinking and perceiving being in such a way that he becomes a pure and perfect representation of the divine inner law through his own personal choice. Education must show him the ways and meanings of attaining that goal.
I believe that humans are essentially productive and creative and fulfillment comes through developing these with God and the world. I created an educational environment that involved practical work and the direct use of materials. I feel that when people engage with the world, understanding will unfold. The Kindergarten system that I developed has an emphasis on play and use of gifts (play materials) and occupations (activities). I even became known around the world as Froebel Gifts. The Froebel gifts have been widely imitated and adapted by many educators and toy makers. I was convinced that the kindergarten's primary focus should be on play- the process by which I believe children express their innermost thoughts, needs, and desires. I realized that at the time, my emphasis on play contrasted with the traditional view prevalent during the nineteenth century that play, a form of idleness and disorder, was an unworthy element of human life.
Some of the special materials or gifts that I develop include shaped wooden bricks, balls, tiles, sticks and rings, blocks and various materials for drawing, embroidering, paper cutting, weaving or braiding, paper folding, modeling, and interlacing. These materials are used in almost every Kindergarten classroom today. I also developed a series of recommended activities (occupations) and movement activities. Some of the occupations included paper, pencils, wood, sand, clay, and straw. The kindergarten activities included games, songs, and stories that I designed to assist in sensory and physical development and socialization. My original concern was teaching young children through educational games in the family. But in my later years, I became linked with a demand for the provision of special centers for the care and development of children outside of the home. These activities/games not only nourish the inner activity drive, but they also teach the use of the child's immediate environment as means for play and occupations, and as educational aids. These activities/games that have developed are educative and developing for the person who plays with the child, which then influences a genuine bond between them both.

How do you feel about using play as instructional activities in the classroom?