Did you know that Lincoln Logs were invented by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, John?
That’s just one small nugget gleaned from an amazing episode of the 99 Percent Invisible podcast, Inheriting Froebel’s Gifts (Ep. #492) that’s a must listen for restoration ecologists, ecological designers, educators, parents.
https://99percentinvisible.org/…/inheriting-froebels…/
Froebel invented kindergarden. He then developed a set of instructional toys in geometric shapes–spheres, cubes, cylinders, etc.–and a precise progressive methodology for introducing them to children. The consequences are mind-blowing: basically all of early modern, abstract art and much of modern architecture flow from hands and minds formed by his shapes and kindergarden educational process.
If that sounds overblown, listen to the episode, and let me know what you think.
Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian are in this lineage. Walter Gropius’ first hire at his new Bauhaus design school was a kindergarten teacher. Frank Lloyd Wright’s mom took classes in kindergarten education and bought Wright a set of Froebel’s blocks. Le Corbusier attended Froebelian schools in Switzerland. Buckminster Fuller, famous for geodesic domes, might seem to be from a different track, but actually his ideas too were rooted in his experiences in kindergarden, connecting peas with sticks, and feeling the strength of the triangular structures.
In the coming nascent and hoped for future age of biology and ecology, what are the building blocks of the ecological minds, the ecological sensibilities, we seek to nurture?
