Gifts
The gifts are intended to give the child new universal aspects of the external world, suited to a child’s development. The gifts lead to discovery and give insight.
Solids
- Color First Gift
Six colored worsted balls, about an inch and a half in diameter.
- Shape Second Gift
Wooden Ball, cylinder. and cube, one inch and a half in diameter.
- Number Third Gift
Eight one-inch cubes, forming a two inch cube (2x2x2).
- Extent Fourth Gift
Eight brick shaped blocks (2x1x1/2) forming a two-inch cube.
- Symmetry Fifth Gift
Twenty-seven one-inch cubes, three bisected and three quadrisected diagonally, forming a three-inch cube (3x3x3).
- Proportion Sixth Gift
Twenty-seven brick-shaped blocks, three bisected longitudinally and six bisected transversely, forming a three-inch cube.
- Squares
derived from the faces of the second or third gift cubes Entire squares - one and a half in. square of one-inch square and Half-squares - squares cut diagonally
- Equilateral triangles
length of side, one inch, or one inch and a half. Entire triangles, Half triangles - the equilateral triangle is cut in the direction of the altitude, yielding right scalene triangles, acute angles of 60 degrees and 30 degrees and Thirds of triangles - the equilateral triangle is cut from the center to the vertices, yielding obtuse isosceles triangles, angles 30 and 120 degrees
- Straight
Splints of various lengths.
- Circular
Wooden, metal or paper rings of various sizes; whole circles, half circles, and quadrants
Beans, lentils, or other seeds, leaves, pebbles, pieces of card-board of paper, etc. The child has progressed from the solid to the point. This last gift enables the child to represent the surface and solid with points.
Occupations
The occupations furnish material for practice in certain skills, the occupations lead to to invention and give the child power.
Solids
Plastic clay, card-board work, wood-carving, etc
Surfaces
Paper-folding, paper-cutting, parquetry, painting, etc.
Lines
Interlacing, intertwining, weaving, thread games, embroidery, drawing, etc.
Points
Stringing beads, buttons, etc.; perforating, etc.
This occupation enables the child to reconstruct the surface and solid synthetically from the point. It consists of softened peas or wax pellets and sharpened sticks or straws.
footnote: The exact composition and numbering of the gifts seven and above varies in different countries around the world.
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