Froebel in the school.

Yesterday at Clear Spring School, I shared the first part of a promotional video on the History of Kindergarten with my fellow teachers. We then retired to the school's wood shop to make Froebel's gifts, 3 and 4.

Since the password protected video is over an hour long I've broken it into three viewings to allow time for discussion and for us to discuss other things having to do with the start of the school year. The point is that we learn best through guided play and that even at the upper grade levels, maintaining a excitement for learning is a valuable classroom resource.

Gift number 2 as shown, consisting of a cube, a cylinder, and a sphere, each having different characteristics in how they behave when manipulated by hand, has become the symbol of Froebel and his method of learning. If you change the order of stacking, placing the cylinder on the lower level, then the cube and sphere, you get the shape Froebel referred to in his letters as "the doll," a thing that Froebel preferred teachers not demonstrate. Children should first and foremost be allowed to discover things for themselves.

The image is a screenshot from the documentary film.

Make, fix and create....