KINDERGARTEN CONFERENCE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 207, 27 May 1920, Page 6

KINDERGARTEN CONFERENCE

I ; SOME ASPECTS OF, THE WORK. A kindergarten conference was held ' iri : 'the : Taranaki- Street Kindergarten ■ yesterday, to. which the delegates were Mrs. ■ Gilkinsbn and Mis 9 Bird (Dunedin), Mrs. Tipler (Christchurch), and jMrs. Gill and Miss Helyer (represent- ' ing the Free Kindergartens). ' In •the*"' evening papers .were given by ;': Miss Bird (principal of the Dunedin S- Kindergarten), and Miss Riley (principal !: of the .Wellington Free Kindergartens). ;. Miss.;ißird took'for her subject "Public i •Playgrounds and Their Uses,"' and point- '■: ed' out the effect, of flat life, physically, ■• mentally, and .'from a character point of • -view upon the coming generation. To her mind it tras false economy for the . Jack of opportunity for development of : character and of physique, which flat :.. life imposed on. the child, must neces- '■.'. Barily sadly", decrease- the efficiency of '. the •community in the years to come. This condition of affairs also applied ' toccity:-life in general, and to the chil- : dr.'n of the poor, who lived in crowded Areas with little breathing space and ctill less 'space for natural and healthy development, as well as to the jchildren of the well-to-do. To the child fplay was .the preparation for the busi.liw of life, and in his play ho in-

etinctively"did-those things whioh help- ; ed to develop him physically, gave Mm complete muscular control and poise, and a tight sense of his relation- : ship to others. As the child drew older '■ pames "more or less took the place of .-. ihT msHnctive' play of the baby. Games jmplied a certain amount of organising power and social ability that play did . not, and it; was the community spirit BO strongly fostered by Rames that the [world so sadly lacked at present. The fjreat* needs of society were co-operation : Jind tolerance.- Mis<? Bird believed,(hat ■ thei.lack of self-discipline lay at the root of most of'the unrest of the present '< day. There.,had been for many generations a;forced discipline imposed on tho child byrparent and teacher, and this Jiad developed a pior-headednees far removed' from. true will-power. True 6elf'discipline should develop the power of inhibition in us, that power of restraint ,und 9elf-coutrol which was the highest aspect of the will. It was through "■ games that this power of inhibition ' could bo- best developed. The volitional ■■ ,ahd inhibitive powers worked in unison /in ! games, and produced true self-control. j lit was'in games that self-discipline-and ■ co-operation were learned, also such so- : Icial virtues as regard for others, im- : partiality, protection of the weak, tol- ' erance, justice, etc. Games also developed courage and endurance, and tho power to bear reverses. Tho physioal benefit of eames was obvious. Miss Bird '•■:' stressed the crying need for public play- ''; grounds "under the direot supervision _of wise_and competent directors supplied : with all equipment necessary for the na-tural-activities, sports, and games of the

child from his early years upward. Miss Riley, principal of tho Wellington Free Kindergartens, spoke of tho kindergartens.ns a factor in social'life. She. held that the child had to learn to live life now, and he_ was just as much a factor in social life now ns he would ba 20 years hence. Tho kindergartens ■ fitted him for mature life byteaching him to lovo work, (2) to think that it was wrong to be idle, (3) to respect the property of others, (i) that to be clean was a duty they owed to their neighbours, and,(s) never to throw down what other people might hnve to pick hd. These points the children took homo and their impress upon the family life was strengthened by the visits of tho director of the kindergartens, and also by the formation of _ children's clubs, parents' clubs, libraries, playgrounds, and creches. Whorever kindergartens wero established they brought about tho development of a otandard of industry, care for othors and cleanliness. They formed habits of self'recpect in the children, self-reliance, self-control, and l consideration of the rights of others and save a vital interest in the surrounding life. •: AJisa Shortrldg', a lady administrator 'in the Women's Royal Air Force, who arrived from England by the lonio a few days ago, was married m Auckland about an hour after her- arrival to Flight-Captain John Warnock, of New Plymouth, who was on the wharf to meet his fiancee.