1. Friedrich Froebel was the first person to emphasise the importance of play, and from there he invented the Kindergarten in 1837. Prior to this there had been no educational training for children under the age of seven. There was no recognition that young children were capable of learning social and intellectual skills!

2.  Froebel’s Kindergarten (translated to Children’s Garden) had indoor and outdoor spaces to play, where every child could also grow his own plants. Froebel himself had an unhappy childhood after his mother died when he was very young.  This led him to care for himself a lot of the time and as a result he spent his time alone playing in the gardens and forests around his home.  His childhood led to a love and respect of nature that remained throughout his lifetime.

3.  Froebel suggested that play is a necessary element in educating the “whole” child allowing him to use all his imaginative powers and physical movements to explore his interests. Froebel stated, “Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.”

4.  Based on this theory of harnessing a child’s imagination and learning through play, Froebel created a series of toys, which he called ‘Gifts’.  These Gifts are still used by children around the world today! The Gifts are organised by numbers for the order in which they should be given to the child as they grow and develop - starting with Gift 1 - The Yarn Balls.