MOLTT Gift 2: The Sphere, Cylinder, and Cube – Discovering Form, Motion, and Connection

Product Overview

MOLTT Gift 2, often called “the children’s delight,” is the foundational set that introduces the three essential solids of geometry: the sphere, cylinder, and cube. This carefully curated Gift moves beyond simple shape recognition, inviting children into a world of comparative discovery. Through hands-on manipulation—touching, rolling, stacking, and even spinning the pieces on included sticks—children explore the intrinsic properties of these forms. This material, historically developed from Froebel’s original design and beloved in kindergartens worldwide, is perfectly suited for children ages 3 and 4 to begin a joyful, sensorial study of form, physics, and interconnectedness.

A Guided Presentation: Multi-Sensory Introduction

The learning journey begins with curiosity. An adult can shake the closed box, asking, “What is inside?” Upon revealing the contents, the child is invited to touch, feel, smell, hold, and examine each solid in turn: first the sphere, then the cylinder, then the cube. A key feature is that all three primary solids have holes drilled through them, allowing them to be spun on the provided sticks. An additional solid cube (without a hole) is included for direct comparison with future Gifts. This initial presentation focuses on observation, comparison, and the pure experience of handling the forms.

The Three Forms of Play: Life, Knowledge, and Beauty

Following Froebel’s methodology, play with Gift 2 unfolds in three developmental categories:

Forms of Life: Connecting to the Familiar World

The solids become proxies for objects in the child’s life. The sphere becomes an orange or a ball, the cylinder a bottle or a tower, and the cube a house or a block. Children are encouraged to stack them (e.g., cylinder on cube with sphere on top creates a person), roll the sphere and cylinder, and incorporate the box itself into structures. This imaginative, narrative-based play builds language and symbolic thinking.

Forms of Knowledge: Building Foundational Science & Math

This is where geometric and physical properties are discovered through action. Children learn to name and sort the shapes. They explore basic physics: the sphere and cylinder roll; the cube and cylinder can stand. They investigate sound and resonance by tapping the solids together. Early math concepts are introduced by counting pieces, surfaces, edges, and corners, along with positional words like on/under, front/back, and up/down. Each discovery lays a concrete foundation for scientific reasoning.

Forms of Beauty: Revealing Interconnectedness through Motion

This Gift uniquely reveals the hidden relationships between forms through spinning. When a child spins the cylinder on a stick, its blurring edges visually transform into a sphere. When the cube is spun, it appears as a cylinder. This captivating activity demonstrates a profound truth to even young children: forms are connected and can transform. Spinning can be done with sticks for direct handling or with strings for suspended motion, making it a engaging, shareable activity that delights the senses and reveals the beauty of geometric transformation.

Core Educational Value

Gift 2 is designed to cultivate a child’s natural curiosity and build a tangible understanding of the physical world. It goes beyond naming shapes to answering how and why: Why does a sphere roll freely? Why does a cube make a different sound than a cylinder? How are a cylinder and a sphere related? By providing the tools for this direct experimentation, it helps children construct their own foundation of basic science, geometry, and spatial reasoning through play.

Ideal For

This Gift is perfect for preschools, Montessori early childhood environments, homeschool settings, and Froebel-inspired kindergartens. It is an essential material for educators and parents who wish to provide children aged 3 and up with a timeless, hands-on introduction to the building blocks of our physical and geometric world, sparking wonder and analytical thinking from the very start.