FROEBEL'S EIGHTH GIFT
THE STRAIGHT LINE.
The Single and Jointed Slats and Staff or Stick.
"The knowledge of the linear lies at the foundation of the knowledge of each form; the forms are viewed and recognized by the intermediation of the straight-lined."
Friedrich Froebel.
"Froebel's laths, wherewith the child can form letters, correspond to the beech-staves (buchenen Stäbchen, now contracted to Buchstaben, i. e., letters of the alphabet), whereon were carved the runes and magic symbols of our primitive ancestors."
Hermann Poesche.
"It will be readily seen how useful stick-laying may become in perspective drawing, in the study of planes and solids, in crystallography; how, while it insures an enjoyable familiarity with geometrical forms and secures ever-increasing manual skill and delicacy of touch, it develops at the same time the artistic sense of the children in a high degree."
W. N. Hailmann.