The Children's Garden

[CyrilSebastian]

Juliette Cobert, a Catholic, was from France. On August 18, 1806 she married Carlo Tancredi, a Catholic gentleman from Turin.
The Tancredis welcomed into their majestic mansion in Turin children whose parents had abandoned them out of necessity or negligence. This was the origin of what was called the Children’s Garden. The schedule consisted of catechism lessons, reading, prayers, games, etc. The goal was to infuse in the children’s mind the essentials of the moral life, such as the fear of God, obedience, and honesty. The lay women teachers were replaced by nuns in 1832.

 

[Convert_in_99]

Wow that’s really cool!

We sure need those today!

 

[Gertabelle]

Juliette Cobert, a Catholic, was from France. On August 18, 1806 she married Carlo Tancredi, a Catholic gentleman from Turin.
The Tancredis welcomed into their majestic mansion in Turin children whose parents had abandoned them out of necessity or negligence. This was the origin of what was called the Children’s Garden. The schedule consisted of catechism lessons, reading, prayers, games, etc. The goal was to infuse in the children’s mind the essentials of the moral life, such as the fear of God, obedience, and honesty. The lay women teachers were replaced by nuns in 1832.

Yes. And the German word for “children’s garden” is “kindergarten.”

 

[Convert_in_99]

Yes. And the German word for “children’s garden” is “kindergarten.”

But most kindergartens today are far from promoting good morals and faith.

 

[Gertabelle]

But most kindergartens today are far from promoting good morals and faith.

Well, we do our best…

Honestly, though, in the public schools, the kids are coming from the most extraordinary gamut of nature and nurture – we spend a lot of our time with the kinders just teaching them to stop hitting, punching, jumping on, biting, or in other ways harming their neighbors… It’s morality of the most basic kind.

Seriously, pray for us! Our society makes teaching these precious wee ones so much more challenging than in previous generations. :sad_yes: But we love them sooooo much.

 

[Convert_in_99]

Well, we do our best…

Honestly, though, in the public schools, the kids are coming from the most extraordinary gamut of nature and nurture – we spend a lot of our time with the kinders just teaching them to stop hitting, punching, jumping on, biting, or in other ways harming their neighbors… It’s morality of the most basic kind.

Seriously, pray for us! Our society makes teaching these precious wee ones so much more challenging than in previous generations. :sad_yes: But we love them sooooo much.

What do you mean you can’t bite your friends?

I thank you for all you do! I’ve been a pre-school teacher and have taught kindergarten PRE. Such a wonderful age. But it can be very challenging! I can’t imagine not being able to talk about God with these precious little ones. They just soak it up like sponges at this age. That aspect must be very hard for you.

 

[Gertabelle]

What do you mean you can’t bite your friends?

I thank you for all you do! I’ve been a pre-school teacher and have taught kindergarten PRE. Such a wonderful age. But it can be very challenging! I can’t imagine not being able to talk about God with these precious little ones. They just soak it up like sponges at this age. That aspect must be very hard for you.

It is really hard.

I do spend a lot of time silently asking their guardian angels for assistance though. And it helps to know there are other teachers praying for our students as they teach. I’ve seen a few of my students and their families at mass, so we can share our faith outside the school sometimes – and that is a huge blessing!