Fröbel project week
The Gifts 1-6 by Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852) are well-known and popular, especially in reform pedagogy. However, the concept of guided play is suitable for all types of kindergartens and primary schools.
Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel was one of the most important elementary pedagogues of the 19th century. He is known throughout the world as the founder of the first kindergarten in Germany. He invented the Gifts.
The ‘Fröbel Project Week’ consists of:
- Weekly plan for the children and a Fröbel diploma
- Documents for the educator to explain the individual gifts, information on Fröbel's pedagogy
- Templates for showing, building, crafting and playing - suitable for every gift
- One or more activities every day at different levels of difficulty - for older and younger children
Don't forget! Tick the box on the plan at the end of the day's tasks!
Day 1: Friedrich Fröbel - Or: How do you invent the kindergarten?
What was life like for children when there were no nurseries?
Children had to toil in mines and factories, birthday parties and play were out of the question and children were considered to be of age at seven. Until Friedrich Fröbel came along and invented the kindergarten. He believed that children should be nurtured and cared for like a plant in a ‘kindergarten’, hence the name.
‘A garden for children’
Unfortunately, Fröbel himself did not live to see the blossoming of his kindergarten concept ‘A garden for children’, but he had many employees who carried on his idea. That's why today you are in a beautiful kindergarten and can play, paint and experience lots of great things with your friends every day.
Questions for the children:
- Why is it called a ‘kindergarten’?
- What did children used to play?
- Did they have toys back then?
Day 2: Gifts 1 & 2
Start with the balls of gift 1. Let the children pick up the balls, dangle them from a string or throw them in the air and catch them. Sing a song together with the children, e.g. ‘Bunny in the pit’, with the ball representing the bunny.
Task 1: The children throw the balls to each other. They practise throwing and catching.
Task 2: The children draw a picture in which there are things that are also round.
Now it's the turn of Gift 2. Let the children hold the three different shapes (ball, roller, cube) in their hands.
- How do the shapes feel?
- Do they have edges?
- Are they smooth?
- build a Fröbel tower
- try out the inclined plane
- experiment with twisting on the rod and with the threads
Task 3: Place the three shapes in a bag and let the children feel the shapes.
Day 3: Gifts 3 & 4
Start with gift 3. Unpack the box with the building blocks for gift 3 together. Let the children pick up the cubes and explore them.
Ask the children:
- Where do you know this shape from?
- What can you build from it?
Now it's the turn of gift 4. Here the children can familiarise themselves with the shape of the cuboid.
- What can you build from it?
- Perhaps a fence or a bridge?
Task 1: The children make a cube or cuboid out of paper.
Task 2: Draw a picture in which there are things that are also square and rectangular or a picture that only consists of squares and rectangles.
Putting things away is part of it! Let the children sort the gifts again at the end. It gets more and more difficult from gift to gift.
Day 4: Gifts 5, 5B & 6
Boxes 5, 5B and 6 contain a wide variety of shapes. Now the children can work with the booklets. They become more complex from template to template. They differ in terms of beauty, cognition and life form. Explain the difference to the children and let them explore the new shapes.
Task 1: Each child builds a tower. Who will build the tallest?
Task 2: Each child chooses a template from the booklets and builds it.
Day 5: All the gifts
Today all the gifts are placed together on the table or floor. Encourage the children to build their own creations using animals and figures.
Task 1: Give the children additional small dolls, cars, animals etc. and let them build freely. Simply allow the group to build freely. Set a time, for example.
Task 2: Each child chooses a gift to put in the box.
