THE BUILDING GIFTS
The Building Gifts meet two very strongly marked tendencies in the child. a. The tendency to investigate. b. The tendency to transform.
The first and second gifts consist of undivided units, each one of which stands in relation to a larger whole, or to a class of objects.
The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth gifts are divided units, and their significance lies in the relationship of the parts to one another, and to the whole of which they are the parts.
The effect of the Building Gifts is to develop the constructive powers of the child. Their secondary importance lies in the fact that they afford striking fundamental perceptions of Form, Size, Number, Relation, and Position.
The following rules should govern the dictation exercises:—
BUILDING RULES.
1. Use all material in order to keep the idea of relation of parts to a whole, and because all unused material is wasted material.[31]
2. Build on the squares of the table in order to develop accuracy and symmetry.