Sunday, January 17, 2010

TROUBLE IN THE KIDS BLOCK WORLD


I'm a big fan of Legos, Brio and all that, but the building blocks I and my kids had the most fun with were the Froebel (also spelled "Frobel") blocks shown above. These are big, heavy, hardwood blocks that cost a fortune in the high-end toy stores. If somebody hits you with one of these, believe me, you'll know it.


The problem with these blocks, apart from the cost, is that modern kids will only play with them from ages 3 to 5. After that they won't touch them. Amazingly, the blocks continue to have a life after they're abandoned. I used mine to make bookshelves. Some people make permanent sculptures and even desk supports out of them. Someday when my kids have kids I guess they'll return to being toys again.



The inventer of these blocks, and possibly alphabet blocks as well, was the same man who invented kindergarten: Frederick Froebel (1782-1852). Froebel was a genius (I forgive him for the idea of kindergarten, which may not have been a good idea). The beechwood blocks are a treat to hold in your hand. The weight, the proportions, the finely sanded but still tactile surfaces, the way they sound when they collapse...really, they're an almost perfect toy.

Froebel's only failing was that he disdained to provide shapes like turrets and staircases. He believed that everything can be made from cones, balls, rectangles and triangles, which is not exactly true.



The Haba company, which makes the Froebel toys, finally gave in and added some accessories to the lineup. Poor Froebel is probably rolling in his grave, but I like them. The dormers on the roof add a nice touch, don't you think?



And turrets add a lot, too. One of the many things I wish I could sell in the Theory Corner Store is add-ons to the Froebel blocks, but I'm not a woodworker and the demand would probably be small, if not non-existent.



Some other companies put out building blocks (above), and those have no shortage of turrets, but the blocks are way too small and light. Froebel had a knack for finding the weight and proportion that works.



There's something out there (above) called "Anchor Blocks." You can buy them now, but I don't know the details.


Then there's something (above) called "Richter Blocks." They might be a variant of Anchor Blocks, made by the same company. The Richter people have disdain for the Froebel people. I think there's a kind of block fan war going on, and the discussions get pretty heated.

The Froebel people have accused the Richter people of making blocks that have irregularities on the surface, which limits the height and stability of what you can build. The Richterites reply through clenched teeth that their wooden blocks are meant to simulate stone, and stone can and should be irregular.

The Richter people are putting out a set they're really proud of later this year. I'll be featuring these blocks in The Theory Corner Store (no profit for me, I'm just a facilitator), so check the store when it's up for updates.



Some of the competitors' blocks (above) are pretty colorful, but the designs are just okay.



This (above) is what all toys would look like if accountants were allowed to design them.



You see modern-artsy, Matisse-type ones sometimes. Interesting, but I don't know if kids would play with them. Boy, am I imagining it or are blocks increasingly becomming an adult toy?



The set that would have dominated the post-Froebel world would have been one based on Disney's theme park ride, "Small World," but for reasons impossible to understand the Disney management showed no interest in it. Too bad. A set of colorful blocks based on Mary Blair's still-fresh ideas would have sold, no doubt about it. Every year they could have added new designs for collectors.


Kids aren't as attracted to building blocks as they used to be, a horrible state of affairs that I blame on the decline of war toys. Blocks make great forts. If boys are discouraged from making that sort of thing, then they loose interest in building. These are hard times for little boys.


Many thanks to Hans Flagon who reminded me of what Froebel called his "gifts" in a comment on the previous post.



BTW: While researching this I stumbled on a number of fascinating examples of 19th century toys and children's furniture. Here's (above) a writing desk with a chalk board writing surface and a beautiful scroll containing summaries of the subjects on the right.



I wasn't able to find the nested "Noah's Arc" tower site I was looking for, but here's something similar, sold through Amazon for 20 bucks. The 19th century version I had in mind was hard wood and about 5' high. This is a modern knock off that's probably made of cardboard and is about 3' high.

The Noah's Arc toy had hand painted pictures of animals and their keepers inside the wooden cubes.






16 comments:

Steven M. said...

I think I used to play with blocks like that. Now I'm itching to get some.

Mattieshoe said...

My favorites have always been Legos.

In my mind, In their heyday of the 80s and 90s, they may just have been the perfect toy.

The perfect marriage between models and playable toys.

You would buy the sets themselves half for their great designs and extreme playability, and half for the wonder of putting it together and creating something from a pile of toy bricks.

However, they too have been devolved by corporate indecision making, the quest to be "hip" and just plain bad design. I think a few examples should sum it up.

Late 70s: http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=375_2&v=z

Mid 80s: http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=6074_1&v=z

Late 80s: http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=6285_1&v=z

Early 90s: http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=4558_1&v=z

Mid 90s: http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=6762_1&v=z

1997: http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=6037_1&v=z , http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=6486_1&v=z
(uh oh. wonkiness creeping in)

1998: http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=5978_1&v=z
(Well, this one is great)

http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=6977_1&v=z
(more clutter, less imagination, less design, less fun)

2004: http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=4853_1&v=z
Ugh.

2008: http://guide.lugnet.com/set/?q=3830_1&v=z
UGGGH.


Maybe not the best examples, but I think it's clear that the company has been losing sight in general since the late 90s.

Things do seem to be getting better recently, though. Lego's at least recognizing it's fans across the age spectrum, but it's either a straight up "Model" or a toned down "Toy"; never both, and hardly ever very fun.

What say you, Eddie?

Amanda H. said...

Oooh, I really like those domed mosque looking blocks. I've never seen those!
And I never knew those specific types of blocks had a name or a creator.

Anonymous said...

Hi Eddie,

I remember playing with Froebel blocks as a kid. One thing about the set I had was that if you wanted to fit them all in the box (when you were told to clean up your mess), you actually had to assemble them in a certain order, or they wouldn't fit. It was like a 3D Tetris before anyone had heard of Tetris.

Hans Flagon said...

Some froebel blocks are better than others. I played with some such minimal shapes in Kindergarten I think I remember a lame arch or so. Yes they weren't even around after kindergarten, and they were barely there then.

It is merely that the those marketed as froebel gifts generally are a good deal better. You have shown some excellent sets. They can be quite convoluted in the theory sold along with them, sort of tracing the idea of platonic solids into the idea of learning theory. Which is one reason you do not see them mass produced at affordable prices, as much as sort of gussied up in legend to sell to those that would put their kids through (and importantly, have the dispo$able income to do so) some idealized theoretical learning process such as Montessori or Waldorf schooling.

I didn't learn about the really nice sets until I became a Frank Lloyd wright freak and heard him mention them, and was able to look them up on the web.

That desk reminds me of a toy chalkboard I once had, which may have had a formative influence on me, as the scroll portion had drawing lessons sort of once removed from Preston Blair, building shapes with internal spheres as construction, and by the time I entered K-12, I was considered the school artist.

Kelly Toon said...

When I was about 12, my brother 9 and my sister 6, we got a set of Kapla blocks. They seem boring at first glance, as they are all the same size and shape: a long rectangle, about six inches long, 2 inches wide, and half an inch thick. We spent hours playing with them! They can be stacked and arranges in an endless variety of shapes and structures. We had a lot of fun recreating the sample images in the accompanying booklet.

Here is a link to the amazon reviews:

Link

Here is the official site's photo gallery:

Pics

I'm sure you would love playing with these, Eddie :)

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Kelly: Thanks for the tip! I never heard of the Kaplan toys before you mentioned them. I looked at your links but the Kaplan people do such a bad job of site building and package design that I couldn't get a sense of what the blocks could do. I'll definitely keep the name in mind.

Hans: I have a kazillion education theories of my own that I've never discussed on this site. I have the same misgivings about Montessori and Waldorf that you do, though a charismatic teacher can accomplish miracles almost regardless of the theory applied. Adam Smith had some good ideas about education.

Stephen: I'll bet Froebel made his students put the blocks back in the right order!

Amanda; It's interesting to see how many modern ideas were actually the result of 19th century passion and idealism.

Mattie: Boy, that's an interesting chronology! I wish I knew what happened to that company!

I still have the Lego pirate ship. It's a work of art, but my kids didn't appreciate it for some reason that I don't understand. The little rugrats lost some of the pieces.

Rooni: Tinker Toys are worth having, too. You can make interesting load-bearing shelf supports with them after the kids loose interest.

Hans Flagon said...

Have you seen the giant tinker toys that come with tarps, so kids can build tunnels and playhouses? Now those are Tinker Toys that would have grabbed my attention. The smaller ones did too, but I never seemed to play with more than 5 bits at a time.

talkingtj said...

i actually had the froebels when i was a kid, big heavy blocks, good for beating the crap out of the bigger kids on my block, wow, good times!

Jake Thomas said...

I like this post a lot, makes me want to get some Froebel blocks.
Any other cool old toys you would recommend?

Kelly Toon said...

I agree. the Kapla website is lame. I remember being pretty frustraterd witht he booklet that came with our blocks, as it only had one view of every structure and no "how to" guide. Honestly though, it prompted us to puzzle things out on our own, with the help of our dad, which was more fun than just following instructions :)

Here are a few videos of Kapla constructions being demolished:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtxfXcV7Nn4

http://www.youtube.com/user/Op3d#p/u/4/CoEyk3eoP_c

Charles H. said...

Gee whiz, I wish I had those when I was a kid. I had Legos instead... and the only reason I stopped playing with them was because they kept getting lost in the couches and because of mother's indiscriminate sweeping. I must have about 10 or 20 percent left (assuming they weren't "donated").
Still, the model making bug never left me... only now I use paper and card... and the models run on rails.

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Charles: Paper and card and runs on rails? i can't picture it.

Kelly: Nice videos! Kind of poignant. A political campaign should buy the buildings crumbling video. You accuse your opponent of dismantling a venerable thing, then we see Kaplan blocks crumbling in slow motion.

Jake: Lots of old toys need to make a comeback, Full blown chemistry sets for one.

Mattieshoe said...

Sorry for the late response Eddie, but I think this sums up the current state of LEGO pretty well

http://www.1000steine.com/brickset/images/7592-1.jpg

Roofers Houston said...

Haha! This is an awesome post! Froebel Blocks!!! I especially love the dormers! I would like to see what you could do with actual modeling materials - maybe some asphalt shingles or a tin roof! Awesome post!

Roofers Houston

lijhe said...

I found this post by googling "Froebel blocks". I didn't have blocks as a kid but as an adult they greatly appeal to me, because if I'm going to have toys around they may as well be nice for me to look at. I couldn't afford to buy them new but collected them over the years from thrift shops. We painted many of them to suit ourselves. You can see them in use here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20818947@N00/sets/72157624465432931/ You mention that modern kids will only play with them when very young. My girls are 7 and 11 and still use them in their imaginative play, as props. And yes, they have TV and computers. But, I make space specifically for these kinds of toys; I showcase them. I move things around to create renewed interest; I tidy up to make a fresh canvas. Maybe that makes a difference. In any case, I am constantly finding them scattered around the house. I just asked my older daughter what they use them for and she said that one thing is that they play at owning a restaurant or electronics store and the blocks, depending on shape, size, color, decoration, have specific functions. Their system is pretty impressively complex, I was having trouble following it. Granted, it's not about building physical structures, but they are building something nonetheless. I wonder if the real problem is more that parents put the blocks away in storage or get rid of them altogether, considering them to be toys for babies? Especially if the kids go through a phase of not using them -- my girls do go back and forth.