2.2 Froebel’s gifts
You will notice that one principle is ‘The central importance of play’. Today it is seen as normal practice that young children should learn through play, but this was not at all the case in Froebel’s day as Miriam LeBlanc (2012) explains:
He observed that play was a necessary developmental phase in educating the ‘whole’ child, enlisting all his imaginative powers and physical movements in exploring his interests. Though widespread today, this insight was revolutionary in the early nineteenth century, when play was viewed as idle, and children as miniature adults to be moulded as rapidly as possible into economically productive members of society.
Froebel believed that children needed open ended objects when they were playing. Prompted by this idea, he went on to produce a collection of resources which have been translated into English as ‘the Gifts’. In fact, the very first kindergartens were set up to be ‘distribution and production facilities for the gifts’ (Wasmuth, 2020, p. 45). The ‘Gifts’ included six sets of cubes, spheres and cylinders for young children to explore, create and play with. Wasmuth tells us that the idea of play and these gifts were so important to Froebel that ‘he devoted himself to… [them], and until the end of his life, he tirelessly thought about [them]’ publishing advertisements and explaining his ideas (p. 44).
Dr Fengling Tang is another Froebelian scholar. Watch the video below as she explains both the importance of Froebel’s gifts and their relevance today.
Transcript
FENGLING TANG: To me, if you can see the screen, the photos behind me on the shelf, yeah, that's the four sets of Froebel Gifts. And the first one on the right-- or the left side, yeah, yeah, that one is the Froebel gift number one. I opened the box already. And then the second one up there as well, that's the gift number two, and then we've got to three and four on the shelf, yeah, four. Hopefully, yeah, this give you the visual image of those gifts, very much addressed and explained by Froebel himself and Froebelian scholars.
So they are very innovative and educational learning resources for the young children, especially today we talk about babies and toddlers, the very young children by seeing innovative resources. What we meant, actually, yeah, because the very young children in a historical period of time, let's say, nearly 200 years ago. The children normally were seen as mini adults.
But Froebel designed those series of gifts with educational purpose and for the parents, caretakers, and also kindergarten teachers to engage children with those learning resources by playing, by exploring. So that what we meant, the innovative learning resources for the younger children. And that's the deal, early effective, very much using similar resources, if not the original gifts designed by Froebel.
One of the things we all know, block play, is another modern version of Froebel's Gifts, especially when I talk about gift number three and number four on the shelf, yeah, the little cubes. Yeah, there are a lot of possibilities for the very young children to play with it, to build up things. And to imagine with these learning materials with them. So that's one thing I'm thinking about Froebel Gifts.
Next, Fengling talks about their significance for babies and toddlers.
Transcript
FENGLING TANG: I think Froebel's emphasis on the importance of outdoor and engagement with nature is also important. And that importance of nature, being part of the Froebelian, if we see catch phrase or the flexi term, which is unity, and unity is really means the connection between the child, the community, nature, humanity, and a wide, wide world around them, which more than $3 billion.
Like Liebschner, Read, Brehony, Whinnett, they all recognised the unity, the importance of that in the truth of life through the engagement with nature, through the learning resources we just described, which is Froebel gifts and some other resources as well.
So that's the Froebelian unity, I think, is the key sort of theoretical underpinning of the Froebelian faith, which connects-- which clearly connects with the importance of nature. That's one thing, because we need to-- Froebelian scholars the need to highlight the importance of unity, as a thread for training purpose, and for supporting young children learning. So that's one thing.
The other thing I would like to see if we consider the Froebel gifts over there, they're made of natural materials. So itself, is children playing with natural material, and if children engage with those natural materials. For example, I made the-- did the little demo about children through playing those little blocks, and they are symbolic, through what they are doing. This is the forms of life, with these little bricks. This is a little bed, and this is you know, a sunflower, and then they can combine playing with those little gifts with the natural materials.
So in a way, they are playing with natural materials, and they're engaging with nature already but, of course, in a different way from when they are playing in the natural world. But to me, playing with the gifts, with those natural materials, children actually engaging and experiencing with nature in a different way.
Did you note how Fengling explained how, although you may not see the Gifts often in practice today, their influence can be seen through open ended resources such as blocks and treasure baskets.