Minnetta Sammis Leonard (1879 – October 15, 1960) was an American educator, and editor of ''The Home Educator'' (1923), a parenting manual.

Early life and education

Sammis was born in Indiana, the daughter of David Sturges Sprague Sammis and Adelaide F. Hall Sammis. Hymn writer John H. Sammis was her uncle. She graduated from

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

in 1906.

Career

After college, Sammis was Supervisor of Kindergarten Work in the Oglethorpe School at

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the Southe ...

. Leonard taught kindergarten education courses at the Milwaukee State Normal School. She was president of the Wisconsin Kindergarten Association. She served on the advisory board of '' Parents' Magazine,'' and on the editorial board of ''The Home Kindergarten Manual'' (1921). Leonard spoke about her work to community groups, including the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

. In 1940, she was director of a kindergarten program in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. She visited Indonesia and Japan in 1956 and Hawaii in 1958, while her daughter was abroad. She was active in the Woman's Club of Madison, and the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

. In her last years, she cared for her grandson Ted Reynolds when he was a student in Madison.

Publications

* "The Kindergarten as a Socializing Agency" (1912) * ''The Home Educator: The Foundation Library'' (1923, editor, with Patty Smith Hill) * "The Wisconsin Kindergarten Association" (1925) * ''Best Toys for Children and Their Selection'' (1925) * "Buying the Gift to Fit the Child" (1926) * "A Call on Santa Claus" (1926) * *Buying Toys with an Eye to the Future" * "Toys for Travelers and Stay-at-Homes" (1929)

Personal life

Sammis married English professor Sterling Andrus Leonard in 1913. They had a daughter, Barbara Leonard Reynolds, who became a noted peace activist with her husband, Earle L. Reynolds. Sterling Leonard drowned while canoeing with

I. A. Richards Ivor Armstrong Richards CH (26 February 1893 – 7 September 1979), known as I. A. Richards, was an English educator, literary critic, poet, and rhetorician. His work contributed to the foundations of New Criticism, a formalist movement in ...

Lake Mendota Lake Mendota is a freshwater eutrophic lake that is the northernmost and largest of the four lakes in Madison, Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. The lake borders Madison on the north, east, and south, Middleton, Wisconsin, Middleton on the west, Sho ...

in 1931. She died in 1960, in Madison, at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Minnetta Sammis 1879 births 1960 deaths People from Madison, Wisconsin Teachers College, Columbia University alumni American women educators