The word “kindergarten” comes from the German language and was first used by Friedrich Froebel in the 19th century to describe an educational program for young children. The word itself is a combination of two German words: “Kinder” meaning children and “Garten” meaning garden, so it can be translated to mean “children’s garden“.
In the United States, the concept of kindergarten was introduced by German immigrants in the mid-19th century. The first kindergarten in America was established in 1856 by Margarethe Schurz in Watertown, Wisconsin. As the concept of kindergarten spread throughout the United States, the German term “kindergarten” was retained, rather than translating it into English, and it became the standard term for the early childhood education program.
Today, “kindergarten” is a widely recognized term in the United States and is used to refer to the first year of formal education for children, typically at age five or six.