Show TRAINING CHILD IN FIRST YEARS the earliest school Is the family 7 froebel Fr ochel by HILDA national kindergarten association new york city mrs wood a young mother whose children childen would soon start to public school was anxious to know what she could uld do to help them at the beginning of the previous school year she had seen her neigh neighbor her almost dally bribing coaxing and arguing to get her twin sons started with the other children what was wrong there that they did not want to go asked mrs wood of tile the primary teacher whose class the twins attended too much sugar coating at home answered miss doane frankly this this she went on to say bay was not good for any child this mother had bad never allowed her boys to feel that there were hard tasks to be performed and lessons to be learned in the first years of their lives and so they bad not formed the habit of attack and had missed the joy of achievement she had waited on them had paid them for each little service and had tried to eliminate every hardship from their young lives miss doane said the children best prepared for school entrance were those who had learned to wait on themselves to sit quietly for short periods of time when there were guests to perform little errands and chores without being rewarded for each act slid who knew how to work and play with others this she added Is what boys and girls learn in L kindergarten I 1 wish we had one here so mrs wood conducted a little survey of herself and her children to check up on the various items she found that bile was waiting on her children more than was necessary and was paying the klicin in pennies and treats much too frequently on the other hand she had many strong points to her credit as slip she had always talked with them about in a very happy way speaking of it as being a great pleasure and one to which they would be admitted when they were sufficiently big and brave and strong she had been firm in not allowing them treats that would upset dl digestion a frequent cause of naughtiness in and she had seen to it that they were fair and generally unselfish in their play so go with this good foundation on which to build she gradually eliminated the other habits not so desirable she played school with the children representing it as a very de H fitful experience and she gave them specific duties including keeping their play desks in good order at other times she set them tasks in the kitchen and dining room and although it made considerable extra work she invited many other boys and girls to the house to play she soon saw a great change in the chil dren she had tr tried led to keep them bables before now she put emphasis emph asli on their development and the joy of added responsibilities how did you know all these things she asked the teacher who had bad guided her miss doode donne laugh angly answered 1 I have dealt with babyish children too long not to know or not to have the desire to help when I 1 can the teacher was always eager that the little pupils who came to her should get the very most out of their first school year and that was what the properly prepared children ally did |