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marianne
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| Posted: July 10 2007 at 11:16am | IP Logged
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A lot of you mentioned the pink tower to me, and I was wondering if you'd seen the Eric Carle stacking blocks, but they have animals on them, numbers, and on one side of each block there is a touch-and-feel type of feature. The lion's mane has a little fur, ect....They are just sturdy cardboard, so I keep them up on a high shelf so that they don't get destroyed and scattered, but just wanted to post this here.
Sorry, couldn't get the link to work - they're at Target's website though.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 10 2007 at 3:39pm | IP Logged
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Marianne - I couldn't get your link to work, but I think I know what you're talking about. Are they sort of a nesting block that you can also stack?
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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marianne
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| Posted: July 10 2007 at 4:00pm | IP Logged
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Yes - sorry about the link - I'll try to fix it.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 10 2007 at 9:22pm | IP Logged
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No problem Marianne - I have a set of nesting blocks too. My kids really like them, but they started to really misuse them, so they are tucked away in my rotation closet right now. I might bring them out in a week or so.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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JoJo
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| Posted: July 11 2007 at 8:20am | IP Logged
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From my reading of Montessori, the concept that she trying to get across to the children with the equipment, such as the pink tower, red rods, brown stairs etc, from memory is called the isolation of difficulty. The pink tower is purposely kept very simple, and only the size of the blocks change - therefore that is what the child will focus on when using these. Similarly the rods are all exactly the same, except for their length, and the stairs change only in their thickness.
So I think that is the difference between the multi-coloured stacking/nesting towers you tend to see in toyshops. Yes, they are beautiful to play and provide a great multi-sensory experience, but they do have a different purpose to them.
Also, the pink tower (and rods, stairs etc) indirectly prepare the child for the decimal system (the cube sides measure from 1cm to 10cm, in 1 cm increments).
Another great example of how Montessori approached the same concept was in the learning of colors - she used the colour tablets, where the tablets are all exactly the same and only varied in color, so therefore it is easy for the child to pick that this is what we are trying to show/teach him. This was then compared to a more conventional example of a teacher bringing forth various objects coloured say blue, where the only thing they had in common was that they were blue - you can see that the child has to think much harder to understand that.
I hope that helps to explain the pink tower a bit more.
Jo
Mum of 4dc
PS That being said, our budget and lack of room does not stretch to the genuine article either - I have chosen stacking blocks as a substitute myself - the plainest ones I could find had no pictures, but they still were all the colours of the rainbow. 
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 11 2007 at 8:44am | IP Logged
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That is very true Jo - well said. My kids enjoy the challenge of stacking the nesting blocks, and nesting them. There is a control of error there.
I do appreciate the simplicity and mathematical design of the other sensorial materials though. My children immediately responded to the Brown Stairs for example. There are no pictures, nothing flashy, but in the simplicity of its design, the material really drew them in - all of them. They enjoyed the ability to compare, and I was amazed at all of the comparisons and connections my 6yo made! I have found in my own family that my 6yo is benefiting from these materials more than anyone else. As a boy, he is...can you guess? Quite active, easily distracted and craves order. Montessori materials provide a focus for him that I have not found in anything else. The materials are very attractive. Their simplicity of design allows for the child to focus on their intended purpose, no visual distractions. The hands and mind are engaged together. So, I too started with a set of nesting blocks, and we still use them, but I have come to really appreciate the principles of design in some of the montessori designed materials.
I do want to say that I have seen a number of families here duplicate this design in their families, within their budgets in some of the most awesome and creative ways! I don't want to emphasize the purchase of these materials, but rather the design and intent of them. 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Meredith
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| Posted: July 11 2007 at 9:03am | IP Logged
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Jo and Jennifer, you both said this so beautifully!! I am amazed at how drawn my dc are to these simple and yet beautiful materials and I do see the benefit of their simplicity. My ds 2 couldn't wait to use the Red Rods as I unpacked them yesterday and he was surprisingly intent and patient in wanting to place them exactly how I had presented them to him!!
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Meredith
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marianne
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| Posted: July 11 2007 at 9:11am | IP Logged
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Thank you! That does help me differentiate between a Montessori lesson and many of the other things you see out there. Very interesting!
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Stacking blocks
