kindergarten \Kin"der*gar`ten\, n. [G., lit., children's garden; kinder (pl. of kind child, akin to E. kin kindred) + garten garden.] A school for young children, conducted on the theory that education should be begun by gratifying and cultivating the normal aptitude for exercise, play, observation, imitation, and construction; -- a name given by Friedrich Froebel, a German educator, who introduced this method of training, in rooms opening on a garden.

Faith substitute taught kindergarten yesterday and said it was immensely boring: "They don't know anything...we covered the names of the months!"

Recess was the high point, it seems, basically consisting of little boys colliding with each other repeatedly.  I was by this school a few weeks ago and saw much the same thing, but they were colliding on top of snow piles.  Meanwhile the little girls had snow shovels they were pushing around. Even pushing snow shovels the girls held hands with each other.  Little girls always hold hands and in Europe the older girls continue to do so.  Does something happen to girls as they grow older in the US?

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