ABSTRACT
Patty Smith Hill (1868–1946) was an innovative and creative educator who played a key role in moving American kindergarten education away from a strict allegiance to the pedagogical approach originated by Friedrich Froebel. Froebel, who is credited with establishing the first kindergarten in Germany in 1837, believed that young children should be provided with a transitional place between home and school that nurtured and protected them while they grew. He suggested that the teacher of young children should serve as an affectionate, motherly guide for them. He developed special play materials, called “gifts,” that the teachers were to carefully present to the children. The gifts for play included yarn balls, geometric shapes, wooden parquetry tablets, materials with rods and connectors, natural objects, and blocks.
