Figure 1.--This is an unidentified French maternelle class in 1970. It looks like it may be the Moyenne section. They are all boys. L'école maternelle is now mostly mixed. Thge boys all wear smocks, although there was no designated style, |
|
The école maternelle is a nursery school for pre-school age children 2 to 5 years of age. We are not sure just when the école maternelle was founded. Attenance is not mandatory, although it is part of the state system. More and more parents gradually decided to take advantage of the maternelles. Many parents now begin sending their children to school before primary school which begins at age 6 years. Ecole maternelle usually begins with age 3 years. Some 2 year olds can be accepted if they are toilet trained. The école maternelle is usually affiliated to a borough's primary school, commonly attached to the schools. The école maternelle are now a deeply engrained part of the French school sdystem abd are even available in rural areas. An estimate 30 percent of 3 year iolds attend and almost all of 5 year olds. L’école maternelle. School is divided into three sections: Petite section (3-4 years olds), Moyenne section (4-5 years old), and Grande section (5-6 years old). The last year of maternelle (Grande section) is an important step in the educational process French children. It is essentially Kindergarten and the year in which the children are introduced to reading and basic aspects of a primary school classroom. The clothing worn to maternelle was quite varied. We see boys wearing rompers, smocks, and pants. The girls commonly wore dresses, sometimes with smocks. We begin to see a few boys wearing long pants by the 1960s.
France was among the first countries to found scgools for younger children. This is interesting because it was the Protestabt states of Europe which led the way in free public education. One source notes schools for very young children being founded in France just before the Revolution (about 1779). Jean-Jacques Rousseau's book Émile helped spark the interetvin educating younger children. The book was fictionalized account depicting the growth and education of a young boy. Rousseau described what he saw as the ideal approach. After the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), the new French Third Republic initiated major reforms, including educatiinal reforms. Reformist educator Pauline Kergomard was appointed general inspector of schools (1881). She is best known fior her effort to transform childcare into what she called 'école maternelle' (maternal school). Kergomard was convinced that the teacher's role was to provide a warm instructive environment for younger children. She thought teachers shouls trat a child's needs and abilities much like like that of a mother. At the time of course, most French teachers were men and approached their students in a much stricter way than woukd a mother. Kergomard emphazized the need for socialization to help children learn to live in society. Children needed to be taught to respecting rules and boundaries. Especually younger children had to learn to share and work with the other children in their class. We are not entirely sure just when the école maternelle as a nursery school was founded. We believe that charitable groups operated maternelles before the French Government assumed responsibility for a nation-wide program. The école maternelle gradually evolved into a nursery school for pre-school age children 2 to 5 years of age.
Attenance is not mandatory, although it is part of the state system. More and more parents gradually decided to take advantage of the maternelles. Many parents now begin sending their children to school before primary school which begins at age 6 years. The école maternelle are now a deeply engrained part of the French school system and are even available in rural areas. An estimate 30 percent of 3 year olds attend and almost all of 5 year olds.
Ecole maternelle usually begins with age 3 years. Some 2 year olds can be accepted if they are toilet trained. This is decided on a case-by-case basos. Many parents believe that age 3 years is too young to send a child to school. Children are enlessly varied. And for some children this may be the case. The parents make the call.
The French maternelle is set up to introduce very young children to the social environment of a school, esentislly tonprepare them for primary school. Of course it also aided mothers, especially mothers who had to work. Children of course come from widely varying envirmonents. Some are well prepared by their parents at an early age by their parents. Others or not. And if they have to acqyuire the sicial skills needed in the first year of primary school , it can significant impair the learning process, puting a child at a disadvantage early in his academic carrer. The maternelle also works on coordination skills. The focus of maternelle schooling is oral expression and communication. The orogram promotes self-awareness in addition to group activities. Activities include arts and crafts, music and games. Slowly the academic program becomes more advanced. The last year addresses basic reading and writing as well as arithmetic to prepare them for the first year of primary school. This is esentially Kindergarten.
The French maternelle is far more than playschool. The curriculum prepares the children and then presents reading and writing, numeracy and perhaps even a foreign language. Also important are artistic and creative activities. French educators estimate that a child beginning the first year of primary school withoutv the advantage of maternbelle may be about 6 years behind the other children. Many of these children have to repeat their first year. This is a specially severe problem for children coming from homes where French is not spoken. This is the case for many Muslim children. It is very difficult to learn to read and write in a language that the child has not yes mastered. There are also socialization problems. Children who enter primary school without maternelle may not only find it harder not only to succeed academically, but to integrate as well.
The école maternelle is usually affiliated to a borough's primary school, commonly attached to the schools. L’école maternelle. School is divided into three sections: Petite section (3-4 years olds), Moyenne section (4-5 years old), and Grande section (5-6 years old). The last year of maternelle (Grande section) is an important step in the educational process French children. It is essentially Kindergarten and the year in which the children are introduced to reading and basic aspects of a primary school classroom.
The modern maternbelles operate from about 08:30/09:00 am to 11:30 am/12:00 pm and ten 1:30/2:00 pm to 4:00/4:30 pm. This is similar to the hours that primary schools operate. Wednesdays is a day off and Saturday morning classes which were once standard no longer are held. Parents can choose to sign the children up for aor full day. Often the younger children begin with only a half day. The younger children have a mandatory rest period is held after lunch. The children sleep as long as they want and are allowed to wake up on their own schedule. They bring dolls and teddies with them for their naps. The children can bring their lunches or eat aserved lunch. They cost about €1.50 or €2.50 for working parents. The municipal council sets the cost. Provision is made for children with special dietary needs. This is the same system used for primary children.
We notice a range of events held at at maternelles, celebrating special events. There seem to be some events where the children put on little recitals or other performances. Many maernelles were attached to primary schools and each of the different classes gave a presentation for the assembled school and parents. We also note what looks to be formal parties with the children dancing. The children see very formally dressed for these events, much more formally than regular school days. At most maternelles there were no real uniform, but at some of these events the children wear identical outfits. While barbeoteuses (rompers) seem apopular choice for the boys and white dresses for the girls during the 1950s and 60s. Some of these events seem to be end of the year celebrations with the older children ready to begin primary schools. We believe there were also many special events celebrated less formlly during the school year. The photographs we have found show rather formal affairs. We are not sure yet if fun events wee also held. We suspect that they were less likeky to be photographed. Here hopefully our French readers will provide some details about their experiences.
The clothing worn to maternelle was quite varied. Some maternelles may have given the mother guidelines, but for the most part the outfits seem quite varied. The garments were often similar, but we see different designs, patterns, and colors. We see some of the boys dressed like very young boys in juvenile toddler styles while other boys wee dressed more like older boys. We see boys wearing rompers, smocks, and pants. We rarely see rompers worn in primary school, but until the 1970s, quite a fe boys wire them. They were common in maternelle, but only the boys wore them. Smocks were also common, but they were also widely worn in primry school. Gingham was aopular material. Most of the boys not wearing rompers wore short pants. The girls commonly wore dresses, sometimes with smocks. We begin to see a few boys wearing long pants by the 1960s and even some girls wearing them a little later. We also note dressy outfits for special events. A popular choice for these outfits during the 1950s and 60s was dressy barboteuses for the boys and white dresses for the girls.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Main Chronology Page]
[The 1880s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Main school uniform page]
[Main country page]
[Long pants suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer
[School sandals]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing School Uniform Pages
[Main French school type page]
[Australia]
[England]
[France]
[Germany]
[Italy]
[Japan]
[New Zealand]
[Scotland]
[United States]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Page
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
