A symbol is something that stands for something else. As soon as children begin to use symbols they are moving from the present, literal, concrete and real to something that is not necessarily present or real. They can think in more abstract and imaginative ways. They are no longer tied to the present. They are able to think, feel and remember the past and anticipate the future.
Froebel made it central in his approach to the education of young children from babyhood and through life. He said, ‘For what man tries to represent or do he begins to understand.’ Froebel did not see education as something only taking place in school. That would constitute narrow schooling rather than the kind of broad, rich and deep educational experiences that he wanted for children and their families. Froebel envisaged children growing up in a learning community, with family and school at the heart of this.
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