Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index The German expression Kindergarten usually refers to the first level of official education, according to the K-12 educational system. Kindergarten is usually administered in an elementary school. The first kindergarten was opened in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg, Germany by Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel. Youngsters, usually aged 4-6 attend kindergarten to learn the finer points of meeting friends (and enemies), professional authority (in the form of a teacher), playtime, naptime, drawing, music, the basics of reading and writing, and various other activites. The youngster continues to Grade 1 after Kindergarten. The actual word "Kindergarten", as one may guess, translates to "children's garden". This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.