Kindergartens owe their name and origin to Friedrich Froebel, philosopher and educator, who opened the first Kindergarten (children's garden) in Blankenburg, Germany in 1837. Froebel understood and respected the nature of young children and believed that they learned best through activity. He designed special playmaterials and introduced the ideas of associating actions with singing songs. In the mid-nineteenth century his ideas were brought to North America by German immigrants who set up Kindergartens for their children.
There were privately operated Kindergartens in Saskatchewan as early as 1900. Gradually, Kindergartens were incorporated into publicly supported schools. However, it was not until 1972 that the Minister's Committee on Kindergarten Education recommended the implementation of publicly supported Kindergartens throughout the province.
A summary of Kindergarten development in Saskatchewan follows:
| 1959 | The Department of Education developed and distributed a Kindergarten manual. |
| 1972 | Kindergarten pilot projects began. |
| 1974 | Kindergarten became publicly funded in Saskatchewan. |
| 1974 | Children First: A Guide for Kindergarten Teachers was completed and distributed by the Department. |
| 1978 | Children First was reprinted in modified form. |
| 1983 | The Department of Education completed an assessment of Kindergarten programs in Saskatchewan. |
| 1984 | The Directions report proposed the adoption of the concept of a Kindergarten to Grade 12 Core Curriculum. Within the framework of Core Curriculum, Kindergarten is considered to be a foundational part of the K-12 continuum. |
| 1989 | The Kindergarten Curriculum Advisory Committee and the Kindergarten Program Team were formed to provide support to the assessment, development and implementation of the Kindergarten program. |
| 1990 | The Kindergarten Curriculum Advisory Committee surveyed Kindergarten teachers in order to determine the needs of Kindergarten programming in the province. |
| 1992 | Children First was revised and piloting began. |
| 1994 | The pilot project was completed and the implementation of Children First: A Curriculum Guide for Kindergarten began. |
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