Lucy Wheelock (February 1, 1857October 1, 1946) was an American

early childhood education Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of Education sciences, education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is ...

pioneer in the American

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

movement. She began her career by teaching the kindergarten program at Chauncy-Hall School (1879–89). Wheelock was the founder and head of Wheelock Kindergarten Training School, which later became

Wheelock College Wheelock College was a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The college was founded in 1888 as the Miss Wheelock's Kindergarten Training School and was merged into Boston University as part of the university's Boston Univer ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and is now the namesake of

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

's college of education BU Wheelock. She was a writer, lecturer, and translator in the field of education.

Early life and education

Lucy Wheelock was born in Cambridge, Vermont, February 1, 1857. Her parents included Edwin and Laura (Pierce) Wheelock, and five siblings. Her father, a descendant of

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

, had been a pastor for many years in Cambridge. Wheelock's education began under the care of her mother. She was a student at the Underhill Academy in Vermont, and the public high school in

Reading, Massachusetts Reading ( ) is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, north of central Boston. The population was 25,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Settlement Many of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ...

, from which she graduated in 1874. In preparation for entry to

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, she studied at Chauncy-Hall School, in Boston, where she became an excellent classical and German scholar, and a writer of both prose and verse. Towards the close of her course in that school, she was drawn towards the education of very young children according to the kindergarten system, and abandoned her plans for Wellesley. Instead, she took a thorough course of instruction at the Kindergarten Training School conducted by Ella Frances Snelling Hatch, receiving her diploma in 1879 from

Elizabeth Peabody Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (May 16, 1804January 3, 1894) was an American educator who opened the first English-language kindergarten in the United States. Long before most educators, Peabody embraced the premise that children's play has intrinsic d ...

. She continued her studies in Europe under Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Maria Montessori.

Career

Educator

Wheelock began to teach in the recently established kindergarten of the Chauncy-Hall School, remaining in that role for about 10 years. Her work made her a successful exponent and advocate of the system of

Friedrich Fröbel Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Froebel (; 21 April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique nee ...

, which she was often called upon to expound before educational institutes and conventions. For at least four years, she taught a training class of candidates for the kindergarten service, coming from all parts of the United States and Canada, increasing in number from year to year. Established in 1888, she was the founder and head of Wheelock Kindergarten Training School. It became Wheelock College in 1939, or 1945. She served as president of the International Kindergarten Union (I.K.U., 1895–99); and was the chair of its Committee of Nineteen (1905–09) and chair, of the Committee for the Fröbel Pilgrimage (1911).

Lecturer

Her interest in young children led her into

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

work, and she soon became superintendent of a large primary class connected with the Berkeley Temple, in Boston. Her success in that work won her a reputation, and she became a favorite speaker in Sunday school institutes and gatherings, as well as those for general educational purposes in New England,

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, St. Paul, and

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. Wheelock devoted a great part of her summer vacation to work of that sort. She also taught a large class of adults in the Summer School of Methods in

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

, and gave a model lesson weekly, for eight months in the year, to a class of about 200 primary Sunday school teachers.

Writer and translator

In addition to her lecture work, Wheelock translated for ''Barnard's Journal of Education'' several important German works, and contributed many practical articles to other educational journals. She also translated and published several of Johanna Spyri's popular stories for children, under the title of ''Red Letter Tales''. She published weekly in ''The Congregationalist Magazine'' a department called "Hints to Primary Teachers", in the same line of work. Her unpublished autobiography is titled ''My life story''.

Personal life and death

Wheelock was a member of the Twentieth Century Club. She died in Boston, October 1, 1946. Her papers are held by Wheelock College.

Selected works

* ''Over and over, and other stories'' * ''Jack and Ted, and other stories'', 18?? * ''Nettie's muff : and other stories'', 18?? * ''Polly's minutes, and other stories'', 18?? * ''A rainy day, and other stories'', 18?? * ''The Hobby horse, and other stories'', 188? * ''Ben and the berries, and other stories'', 188? * ''Froebel materials to aid a comprehension of the work of the founder of the kindergarten. ...'', 1887 * ''Sara's gift, and other stories'', 1890 * ''Child songs'', 1890 * ''The Moral Influence of the Kindergarten'', 1893 * ''Old testament stories'', 1894 * ''Ideal Relation of Kindergarten to Primary Schools'', 1894 * ''Clare's thanksgiving bag, and other stories'', 1894 * ''Spice and allspice, and other stories'', 1894 * ''Daisy's lesson : and other stories'', 1894 * ''Reubie's resolve, and other stories'', 1894 * ''Letters from Europe'', 1903 * ''Report for Committee of Nineteen of the International Kindergarten Union'', 1907 * ''Kindergarten Pilgrimage to the Haunts of Froebel'', 1910 * ''The Froebel Pilgrimage of 1911'', 1911 * ''Signs of Kindergarten Progress'', 1911 * ''The function of the kindergarten in the public-school system.'', 1912 * ''The Little White Schoolhouse'', 1915 * ''What's in a Name?'', 1918 * ''The Kindergarten children's hour'', 1920 * ''Talks to mothers'', 1920Talks to mothers
-

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

library * ''Pioneers of the Kindergarten in America'', 1923 * ''Ideas and Ideals'', 1924 * ''The Wheelock School'', 1926 * ''Annie Laws'', 1927 * ''The kindergarten in New England'', 1935 * ''History of the kindergarten movement in the mid-western states and in New York'', 1938 * ''History of the kindergarten movement in the southeastern states and Delaware'', 1939 * ''From the Kindergarten to the Primary School'', 1942 * ''Childhood days'', 19??

References

Citations

Attribution

* * *

Bibliography

* DuCharme, Catherine C. "Lucy Wheelock: Her Life and Work" ''Childhood Education 76'' no. 3, 164–9. Spring 2000. * * * * * * * *

External links

* * *
Wheelock College Library Milestones: A Timeline of Wheelock College

at wheelockgenealogy.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheelock, Lucy 1857 births 1946 deaths 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American women writers People from Cambridge, Vermont People from Reading, Massachusetts Educators from Vermont University and college founders Wheelock College faculty American educators American autobiographers American women non-fiction writers American women autobiographers Chapel Hill – Chauncy Hall School alumni 19th-century American translators Presidents of Wheelock College American women academics Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century Women heads of universities and colleges