Step 1: Note what is being asked.
We must find the literal meaning of the word $kindergarten$.
Step 2: Trace its origin.
The word is German, not English, and it is built from two smaller words.
Step 3: Split the word.
$Kinder$ means children, and $Garten$ means garden.
Step 4: Join the meanings.
Putting them together literally gives Children's Garden.
Step 5: Eliminate the distractors.
Home, school, and playground are tempting, but none translates the word $Garten$, which strictly means garden.
Step 6: Recall the idea behind it.
Friedrich Froebel chose this name because children, like plants in a garden, grow best when nurtured through play.
Step 7: State the final answer.
Therefore the term means a children's garden.
\[ \boxed{\text{A. Children's Garden}} \]