What is Spielgaben (Spielgabe)?
Spielgaben (Spielgabe) was originally developed by founder of kindergarten, Friedrich Fröbel with his highly organized and linear approach, which has inspired so many world famous artists, architects and designers such as Albert Einstein, Buckminster Fuller, Charles Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, Paul Klee and Piet Mondrian.
Spielgaben (Spielgabe) consist of 14 sequential series of wooden manipulative to be used for children between 1 and 12 years old (under 3 years old needs parent’s supervision). Each set added to the next in a particular order, growing more complex over time and teaching different lessons about shape, structure and perception along the way.
A soft knitted ball could be given to a child just six weeks old, followed by a wooden ball and then a cube, illustrating similarities and differences in shapes and materials. Then, kids would get a cylinder (which combines elements of both the ball and the cube), and it would blow their little minds. Some objects were pierced by strings or rods so kids could spin them and see how one shape morphs into another when set into motion. Later came cubes made up of smaller cubes and other hybrids, showing children how parts relate to a whole through deconstruction and reassembly.
In a very structured way, these lessons encouraged young children to think abstractly and to relate ideas, objects and symbols. A set of blocks could be used to teach counting, then they could be turned into a house and then be used to tell the story of a family living in that house. Children will learn to model the world in fundamentally different ways while using the same set of geometric forms, arranging and rearranging them to make new connections.
What is the difference with first iteration of Fröbel’s Spielgaben (Play Gift) and New Spielgaben?
The core concept is exactly the same. We maintain Fröbel’s highly organized and linear approach. We even make all our wooden parts out of solid German hardwood timbers.
However, we make them even better with tighter quality control, creating better storage system, so parents and children who have limited space can store them neatly after use, and we offer vertex balls instead of peas to connect rods and sticks to learn 2D and 3D relationships.
The biggest difference is in accessibility. Parents are often concerned that they don’t have the skills necessary to lead their child in play the way a professional teacher would and improve communication, creativity, problem solving skills and Mathematics. This new version are made to be accessible to any parent by offering hands-on and easy-to-follow learning resources. Parents will find themselves able to fill their role as their child’s best teacher and teach step-by-step how to use Spielgaben (Spielgabe) with your child.
Instead of limiting our toys to preschool children, new version make them valid to children up to 12 years to make the most of these amazing educational tools that have been forgotten and not fully utilized to their maximum potential.
Now you can use these tools to teach your children the way Fröbel intended for many years to come and help your child to achieve his or her full potential.