When I was recently in Oak Park, Illinois, I visited the Frank Lloyd Wright home. During the tour, the docent was telling me about how Wright was introduced to the Froebel gifts (includes the blocks) after his mother discovered them at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial. Throughout his life, Wright attested to the Froebel blocks influence on his life. The blocks were developed by Friedrich Froebel in the 1830's, for children to learn the elements of geometric form, mathematics, and creative design. When using the blocks, I recommend the Froebel booklet, which is $10.00 on the shipwright website. It gives directions for using the blocks. I purchased one set of the blocks plus the Froebel booklet while at the museum bookstore, I was amazed at what my son was able to build even after a short time working with him!
"The maple wood blocks........are in my fingers to this day."
-Frank Lloyd Wright
Resources:
Purchasing Froebel Gifts and blocks:
http://shopwright.org/blocks.html
Learning about the influence Froebel Gifts had on Frank Lloyd Wright:
http://www.froebelweb.org/web2000.html
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