Figure 1.--The French maternelle is set up to introduce very young children to the social environment of a school, esentially to prepare them for primary school. Of course it also aided mothers, especially mothers who had to work. Here we see a French matrnelle in 1956. Notice the different putfits. Most boys wear short pants. Several boys wear smocks. This is difficult to tell, but Peter Pan collars and no front buttons probably means a smock. One boy at the left in the front row wears rompers which is aittle difficult to tell because he is wearing a sweater over the rimpers. One girl wears long pants. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the class.

The French maternelle is set up to introduce very young children to the social environment of a school, esentislly to prepare 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.

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Created: 10:32 PM 1/21/2012
Last updated: 10:32 PM 1/21/2012