Froebel Gifts
Encyclopedia
The Froebel Gifts are a range of educational materials designed by Friedrich Fröbel. They were first used in the original Kindergarten
at Bad Blankenburg
.
Fröbel advocated the importance of free play in childhood
. Each gift (Gabe) was designed to be given to a child to provide material for the child's self-directed activity.
These Gifts are a series of activity-based playthings ranging from simple sphere-shaped objects, through to geometric wooden blocks and more advanced Gifts pertaining to sewing, cutting, weaving and the modelling of objects in clay.
Ottilie de Liagre in a letter to Fröbel in 1844 observed that playing with the Froebel Gifts empowers children to be lively and free, but people can degrade it into a mechanical routine.
"Realising how the Gifts were eventually misused by Kindergarten teachers who followed after Froebel, it is important to consider what Froebel expected the Gifts to achieve. He envisaged that the Gifts will teach the child to use his (or her) environment as an educational aid; secondly, that they will give the child an indication of the connection between human life and life in nature; and finally that they will create a bond between the adult and the child who play with them" Joachim Liebschner on page 82 in his book, A Child's Work: Freedom and Guidance in Froebel's Educational Theory and Practice
Frank Lloyd Wright
was given a set of the Froebel blocks at about age nine, and in his autobiography cited them indirectly in explaining that he learned the geometry of architecture in kindergarten play,
writing "For several years I sat at the little Kindergarten table-top . . . and played . . . with the cube, the sphere and the triangle—these smooth wooden maple blocks . . . All are in my fingers to this day . . ."
Froebel Gifts remain popular today in Korea
and Japan
in early childhood education
.
The balls themselves are not completely solid, and can be squashed in the hand, before reverting back to its original shape.
The first gift was intended by Fröbel to be given to very young children. His intention was that, through holding, dropping, rolling, swinging, hiding and revealing the balls, the child may acquire knowledge of objects and spacial relationships, movement, speed and time, colour and contrast, weights and gravity.
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
at Bad Blankenburg
Bad Blankenburg
Bad Blankenburg is a spa town in the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 6 km southwest of Rudolstadt, and 37 km southeast of Erfurt....
.
Fröbel advocated the importance of free play in childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
. Each gift (Gabe) was designed to be given to a child to provide material for the child's self-directed activity.
These Gifts are a series of activity-based playthings ranging from simple sphere-shaped objects, through to geometric wooden blocks and more advanced Gifts pertaining to sewing, cutting, weaving and the modelling of objects in clay.
Ottilie de Liagre in a letter to Fröbel in 1844 observed that playing with the Froebel Gifts empowers children to be lively and free, but people can degrade it into a mechanical routine.
"Realising how the Gifts were eventually misused by Kindergarten teachers who followed after Froebel, it is important to consider what Froebel expected the Gifts to achieve. He envisaged that the Gifts will teach the child to use his (or her) environment as an educational aid; secondly, that they will give the child an indication of the connection between human life and life in nature; and finally that they will create a bond between the adult and the child who play with them" Joachim Liebschner on page 82 in his book, A Child's Work: Freedom and Guidance in Froebel's Educational Theory and Practice
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
was given a set of the Froebel blocks at about age nine, and in his autobiography cited them indirectly in explaining that he learned the geometry of architecture in kindergarten play,
writing "For several years I sat at the little Kindergarten table-top . . . and played . . . with the cube, the sphere and the triangle—these smooth wooden maple blocks . . . All are in my fingers to this day . . ."
Froebel Gifts remain popular today in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in early childhood education
Early childhood education
Early childhood education is the formal teaching and care of young children by people other than their family or in settings outside of the home. 'Early childhood' is usually defined as before the age of normal schooling - five years in most nations, though the U.S...
.
The Gifts (Gabe)
The Gifts were each assigned a number and ranged in complexity from simple (e.g. Gift 1 for young children) to advanced (e.g. Gift 20 for older children).Gift 1
The first Gift consists of six individual, crocheted coloured, woollen balls. Each ball is attached to a matching string. The balls are dyed in one of six solid hues consisting of the primary colours red, yellow and blue, as well as their secondary colours, purple, green and orange.The balls themselves are not completely solid, and can be squashed in the hand, before reverting back to its original shape.
The first gift was intended by Fröbel to be given to very young children. His intention was that, through holding, dropping, rolling, swinging, hiding and revealing the balls, the child may acquire knowledge of objects and spacial relationships, movement, speed and time, colour and contrast, weights and gravity.
See also
- Montessori sensorial materialsMontessori sensorial materialsMontessori sensorial materials are materials used in the Montessori classroom to help a child develop and refine his or her five senses. Use of these materials constitutes the next level of difficulty after those of practical life....
- Unit blockUnit blockA unit block is a type of standardized wooden toy block for children. Known also as standard unit blocks or kindergarten blocks, these building blocks are common in preschools and some kindergarten classrooms in the United States.-Sizes:...
- Alphabet Nursery Blocks (ABC-Blocks)
- Waldorf dollWaldorf DollA Waldorf doll is a form of doll used in Waldorf education. Made of wool and cotton, using techniques drawing on traditional European dollmaking, its appearance is intentionally simple in order to allow the child playing with it to improve or strengthen imagination and creativity. For instance, it...
External links
- Play is the work of children
- Friedrich Froebel website
- Froebel Web
- The http://213.179.68.166/nb-cgi/query.pl?DEF=c%3A%5Cdata%5Csp_nb%5Chida&DATEN=c%3A%5Cdata%5Csp_nb%5Cinv&THE=c%3A%5Cdata%5Csp_nb%5Cidx&USER=test&BAG=18&POS=0&DOK_TPL=foto_doc.tpl&LIST_TPL=foto_list.tpl&FCT=q&i3370=Fr%F6belgabe&N_3370=0&R_3370
&i499=&N_499=1&R_499
&O_499=and&i2017=&N_2017=2&R_2017&O_2017=and&i140=&N_140=3&R_140
&O_140=and&i353=&N_353=4&R_353&O_353=and&i360=&N_360=5&R_360
&O_360=and&itext=&N_text=6&R_text&O_text=and&Fröbelgaben] in the collection of the " virtual depot" of the Nürnberg Spielzeug Museum (Nuremberg Toy MuseumNuremberg Toy MuseumThe Toy Museum is a museum in Nuremberg, Bavaria. Located in a city famous for its toy-makers, it was founded in 1971, and is based on the toy collection of Lydia and Paul Bayer....
, Germany)