Froebel and the teaching of botany: the garden in the Kindergarten Model School of Madrid

Abstract

This contribution looks at the garden that Friedrich Froebel (1782–1852) founded in Bad Blankenburg in 1838 in order to understand the proposal presented at the Kindergarten Model School of Madrid for training teachers in 1879 (the Schools introduced new teaching methods or systems and, at the same time, trained the teachers in their application). Based on a description of the garden we analyse, from a botanical standpoint, the educational intentions of the original garden for children in the Kindergarten of Blankenburg and the modifications made to fit it to a Spanish context. Among other things, we study the introduction of productive work into the education curriculum of the youngest pupils, together with the floristic configuration and composition of the garden. The initial Froebel model in Spain underwent several modifications and adaptations, and, in the case of the garden itself, these modifications were reflected in the form, composition, and therefore didactic intention of the proposal. Its reception in Spain shows similarities and differences with respect to the original concept, which must be analysed in the context in which they were produced. Moreover, the differences in interpreting the method underscore its application in Spain and subsequent reinterpretations over the years.