Why Froebel’s gifts?

As we look at God’s creation around us, we come to realise that everything we see is made up of shapes.  We can see how those shapes are formed by breaking them down from solids to their surfaces, to lines and even to points.  

Friederich Froebel, the inventor of kindergarten, believed in the importance of children learning through play. He developed a specific set of 20 “gifts” (physical objects such as wooden shapes, balls, blocks, sticks and dots) which allows children to explore the idea of shape and how it can go from a whole to its parts and back to a whole. Froebel carefully designed these gifts to help children recognize and appreciate the common patterns and forms found in nature.

In Preschool and Grade R, our children explore Froebel’s 10 gifts throughout the year, starting with the sphere.  They are free to build and form imaginative creations using both 3D and then 2D shapes over the course of the year.  We encourage the children to use their imagination during this time, creating something unique each time they play with a different gift.

Gift 1 Yarn Balls

Gift 2 Sphere, Cylinder and Cube

Gift 3 Divided Cube

Gift 4 Rectangular Prisms

Gift 5 Triangular Prisms

Gift 6 Classic Building Blocks

Gift 7 Tablets

Gift 8 Sticks and Rings

Gift 9 Point

Gift 10 Framework Gift

Froebel’s occupations, which follow after the gifts, are what form our Handwork syllabus for all grades, starting with weaving in Grade R. These are the link between the beautiful ideas formed while playing with the gifts, and using those ideas in work.

For more information about how to apply to The Vine School, click HERE to have a look at the application page on our website 

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