5 Most Impactful Points of Froebel’s Philosophy

Friedrich Froebel, a nineteenth century German educator and creator of the kindergarten, is arguably the most significant of the pioneers of early years education and care. His principles formed the basis of and informed all the excellent theories of early childhood education, including Montessori.

Froebel created the first 'kindergarten' that's German for Garden of Children, a place where children can grow and develop at their own pace, nurtured by knowledgeable and supportive adults. Froebel saw children as active, curious, creative learners who learn best through activity, play, talk, and self-reflection. Froebel rejected the tradition of teacher-led education which viewed children as passive learners much before any formal research confirmed it. Rather he believed in education through activity and enquiry. He saw the earliest years of a child’s life as the most formative and play as the leading form of development.

As a proponent of play based learning across the school age, it is my belief that Froebel's Kindergarten leads the way in ensuring that children immerse themselves in play. As educators, it becomes imperative for us to understand his philosophy and apply that to the classroom today.

While there are many aspects that are fascinating and insightful about Froebel’s Philosophy of early childhood, below listed are the ones that have left a lasting impact:

·??????Unity – Froebel believed in unity and that everything in the world is connected. This is beautifully represented in the second gift where the cylinder or the cube will spin to make a sphere. There is a sphere in the cube, which is in the cylinder!?Unity and connectedness underpinned the idea of the 'whole child', that every area of development is inter connected and work in unity. Unity also translated to the community coming together in the child's education, respecting the work of children and also that of the educators.

·??????Respect for the individuality of the child – Froebel gave a lot of importance to the individuality of the child. ‘Start where the child is’, a popular Froebel maxim reflects this philosophy. The design of the gifts which allow for children to independently work, is further proof of this.?The self-correcting nature of the Gifts, allowed the teacher to observe the child and give the child space to express and explore their understanding of the world.

·??????Forms of Life, Forms of Beauty and Forms of Knowledge – Through playing with Froebel’s gifts, children explore and represent these three forms. This also further reinforces the concepts of connectedness as well as places importance on play.?When children constructed Forms of Life, they were creating and representing things and experiences from the world around them. Forms of beauty, children created from their imagination for example aesthetic aspects of pattern, order, symmetry and harmony. In Forms of Knowledge, the teacher could help children learn concepts from concrete to abstract, for example exploring mathematical forms and scientific concepts.?

·??????Froebel’s Gifts – The simple yet powerful nature of the gifts (Froebel called the toys as gifts and activities as occupations) make them an essential part of any early childhood setting. They are provocative, in the sense that it allows the child to think and express, both drawing from personal experience as well from imagination and creativity. They are made to represent nothing in particular, and everything when put together. The Gifts progress from simple to complex, seamlessly allowing the child to internalise and be able to manipulate the materials to express his/her learning.

·??????Unsuitable toys – Froebel believed that toys or ‘gifts’ should be open ended and not be prescriptive. He expressed his dislike of toys that were elaborate and complete, and hence not allowing the child to further explore and discover by themselves. In today’s scenario, this would very well apply to battery driven toys that render them useless for learning by the child.

Today, more than ever before, these challenging times require strong advocates for young children, their families and communities so that together we can work towards shaping a better future.?Looking closely at Froebel’s principles helps to deepen our understanding of the roots of current practice in ways which can help us move forward and plan in a VUCA world.